Interview with Real Steel

Real Steel played around the Cleveland, Ohio are in the late 1980's and early 1990's. They never got signed back then, but just recently Retrospect records signed them and released a CD. So now they are back together and set to play a side stage at Rocklahoma in the summer. I recently got to check in with drummer Bobby Stocker and find out more about this band.

MM-Tell us who you are a little about the history of your band.
BS-Formed in 1987 in rural Tuscarawas County. Moved to Cleveland in 1988.

MM-So what was the Cleveland hard rock/metal scene like back around 1988-1991?
BS-Very fertile! Very competitive! Lotsa great bands, lotsa great fans!!

MM-Who have you opened for and what were some of the more memorable shows that you played back then?
BS-Opened for Blue Murder, Savatage, Bullet Boys, Bang Tango, Love Hate opened for us!! Aldo, Gorky Park, Trouble,Sword!! Big shows were Nautica Stage, Live WMMS broadcast from Empire concert club!! All of the shows became a big event after awhile!!

MM-You got to open two shows for Shok Paris and it sounds like after that your popularity picked up right away. How fast did things go after that and was it hard to keep up or were you just riding the wave and trying to make the most of it?
BS-We did go from the rehearsal room to being pretty popular fast!! We were able to keep up through a lot of hard work!!



MM-You won US Rocker Magazine’s Best unsigned band contest over thousands of bands. When was that and what do you remember about that contest and what it meant to win?
BS-That must have been 1991!! It felt good to win!! There were a lot of other good bands,so it felt like we had accomplished a big goal!!

MM-Were you being played on local radio channels at this time as well?
BS-Yes! Lots of college radio,WMMS, Zrock,these were big stations at the time so it was a big perk to be getting airplay!!

MM-How close were you to getting signed and what labels showed interest in you back then? BS-Atlantic,Warner Bros,Electra,and Metal Blade!! We were very close to signing with Warner Bros!! They loved the tune Never Mind The Money!!

MM-How quickly did things change when the bottom kind of fell out of the hard rock scene in 1991? What are you memories of that time?
BS-It changed in a matter of weeks after Nirvana hit!! It was very disappointing!! We had worked 7 days a week for four years and got it snatched away at the last minute!!

MM-What were you guys doing in the 1990’s after the band broke up? Did any of you try to make a go of it with other bands?
BS-We Formed a Blues Rock band called Powercats and played all over the eastern USA 300 nights a year!!

MM-How did you manage to get signed to Retrospect? How surprising is it to get signed at this point in your career?
BS-They found us through my personal website,where they heard me talking about Real Steel!!So your album just came out on Retrospect. Are these all songs from 88-91 or is it a mixture of old and new or what?All from back then!

MM-You are playing Rocklahoma this summer, what day and time are you playing? How excited are you about and what are your expectations about this show?
BS-Sunday night July 13 at 10.45!! We are very excited to play in front of such a huge crowd!! We hope it can help start a whole new chapter for Real Steel,which is already happening actually!!

MM-You are back together, your CD is out and you have a big show lined up. That’s a lot already and it’s only April. Outside of preparing and playing at Rocklahoma, what other plans do you have for the near future?
BS-We are working on new material now!! We are planning a big show for Cleveland probably in August and a special show for the hardcore fans in T County!!



MM-Pick the band that you prefer from the following pairs and tell why you picked them.
BS-
-Breaker or Shok Paris I love both! Cleve Metal with euro influence!! Plus they are both old and dear friends of mine!!

-Scorpions or Thin Lizzy Both again!! Lovedrive is my favorite Scorps!! Bad Reputation is my favorite Lizzy

-KISS or Van Halen
Kiss made me want to be a rocker!! Van Halen blew me away with the first album,Eddie sounded outta this world!!

-Deep Purple or UFO
UFO has a special place in my heart because I loved them so much as a young drummer,still do!! But the first time I heard Deep Purple Machine Head in junior high I was hooked on their heavy,melodic,classical sound,not to mention monster riffs

http://www.myspace.com/realsteelmusic

***Thanks to Bobby for doing the interview.