Interview with Little Caesar

Little Caesar arrived on the scene in Los Angeles in 1987. They first appeared on Metal Blade's “Street Survivors” compilation. The band then released a four song EP titled “Name Your Poison” (produced by Joe Hardy of ZZ Top fame), which subsequently led to a deal with Geffen records. Little Caesar’s self-titled 1990 Geffen debut was produced by Bob Rock. The band is back together again and I recently got to interview Loren Molinare (Guitar+Vocals), Apache (Guitars) and Tom Morris (Drums).

Hello, so what are you currently working up to or working on?

We are in the early 1st phase of recording the new LC album.



How and when did you guys first form?



The band got together in LA in 1987, through mutual drug dealers.



You were on a compilation on Metal Blade called “Street Survivors” back in 1989 along with Bang Tango, Black Cherry and others. Your EP came out around this time, were you already in negotiations with Geffen at this time or were you ever offered a long term deal from Restless or Metal Blade?

We were already in talks with Geffen when we did the Metalblade EP.



How did you come to get signed by Geffen records? Did any other labels make you offers?

All the labels were interested but we felt Geffen was the best label.

What was it like working with Bob Rock on your debut?

It was great till Motley Crue went NO. 1 while we were in the studio with him and all of a sudden it went from Bob making our record to us making his record...with the labels approval.....much to our disdain.



Didn’t you have to compromise your sound some on that album? Were you satisfied with how the album turned out?

We wanted to make a record that consisted of 16 tracks and it would up on 128 tracks....sort of we wanted to make"Back in Black" and we wound up making "Bat Out Of Hell"



What was your relationship with Geffen like during this time? Wasn’t their some change in management some time after your debut was released?

Lets give you short history:
1) We signed with Geffen and we get shifted over to the new launch of DGC records with Marko Babinaue at the helm.
2) 3 weeks into our release David Geffen sells the label to Matshushita and while our record is just released our records are sitting in WEA's warehouses and the distribution gets switched to BMG. We are on MTV heavy rotation and you can't find our records in the stores.
3) 3 weeks later Marko gets fired for masturbating ON his secretary and he gets fired...so there's no one at the helm. He gets bought out for millions...his secretary gets bought out for millions, and we get dicked.
4) One month later our manager Jimmy Iovine starts Interscope records and tells David Geffen he will not be using his publishing wing of Geffen or using his distribution and Geffen strongly implies that we will be caught in the crossfire if we don't change management....conflict of interest reasons of course.
5) Geffen hires a new head of marketing, Robert Smith, who decides that all 300 acts on the label need to be peared down and the cash faucet is being turned off....so there we were....we sold 150,000 copies despite the drama yet that didn't meet with the expected hype. We are $100,000,000.00 in the hole with no label manager, no artist manager and they decide it's best to move on to another record, shelve the first and go into denial.

When and why did Little Caesar break up?

We were so beat up at that point , the second record was an exercise in bitterness and frustration. When our option expired, several labels said they wanted to pick us up, but David Geffen would not allow a band that failed on his label to potentially succeed on another. So he decided to keep Ron Young on a key man clause so that the band couldn't reform on another label....similar to the fights with Neil Young for years. David Geffen actually said "I collect artists like I collect art and will do with them what I please".



You reformed back in 2002. How did that come about?

We all love each other and missed making music together....it's that simple.

What has the response to your band and your shows since you reformed?

The response has been great...the band is better now because we play simply for the pleasure of making music with all the other bullshit removed from the equation.

What have been some of your favorite shows that you have played?

The Sturgis 50th anniversary, opening for Iggy Pop at the Scream in LA....and playing to a packed house at The Shamrock....with all of the 75 people it held, every couple of weeks.

What do you think about the hard rock metal scene these days? Is it better, worse or about the same as it was say twenty years ago?

We stopped listening to hard rock music after 1976 so we have no idea what they are even calling hard rock these days....but we appreciate that you call it hard rock ...we were never metal.....and we never used hairspray....on the Sunset Strip that was considered sacrilegious and blasphemous....let alone having facial hair.

What advice would you give to a young band just starting out?
Have good time all the time and be your own label on the internet...a gift we never had the chance to engage in.

What kind of music are you listening to these days?

Lets just say that it was all issued on vinyl originally.Pick the band from each of the following pairs that you prefer and tell why you picked them.

Aerosmith or Alice Cooper:
Aerosmith...way bluesier and it had one of the greatest guitar hero/frontman pairs ever.
Little Caesar formed back in the

Tom and Loren and Apache

Circus of power or The Four Horsemen:
Considering Ron fronted the Four Horsemen for a tour of Canada after Frank was in a terminal coma, we would have to pick them....just for sentimental reasons.

The Cult or Guns and Roses:
G-n-R is way deeper of an act than the Cult

AC/DC or KISS:
We bow to the alter that is Bon Scott every day.

Is there anything else that you would like to say about your band or your music?

No, but thank you for asking insightful questions.

http://www.myspace.com/littlecaesarband