I can still
remember the first time I ever saw "Set the Night on Fire" on Mtv...
I was blown away.. it was the most over the top GLAM I had ever seen.
This wasn't like Poison and Bon Jovi, it was more like a sleeze rock!
Whatever you want to call it I was hooked and went out and bought the tape..
(ya remember cassette's ..LOL)
Anyway, This month I found Vinnie online, and hit him up for an interview..
He has such a great sense of humor, and answered everything very well..
So enuff babble..
Welcome to the world of Vinnie Chas........
J-First we have
to go wayyy back to the old days..
How did you
hook up with the guys in Pretty Boy Floyd? 
V-I moved
down to LA with this drummer named Freddie Ferrin (Who later formed Big Bang
Babies with Keri Kelli) We tried to form a band in orange county but that
didn't work out for we couldn't find the right members. Then one day while I
was looking for a job in the Recycler I saw a ad that read "Producer with 21
Gold and Platinum records looking for ultimate bass player for glam band etc"
I thought wow this is my big break.
I called the number and then met up with Aerial Stiles (who was formally in a
band called Doll and wrote the majority of the Pretty Boy Floyd Album). I
wasn't good enough for that band but Aerials said he knew a singer out in the
valley looking for a bass player. He then introduced me to Steve Summers.
Steve came over and the minute I saw him knew we'll be in a band together. We
had the same goals, tastes in music and the determination to succeed. Steve
then set up a meeting so I could meet his drummer Kari Kane. We all met and
talked and then the next step was to for me to audition (they wanted to make
sure I could turn on my amp) Steve set up a audition and asked Aerial to play
guitar. We then played/jammed cover tunes and originals at a rehearsal studio
and a band was born. We then started working with producer Kim Fowley
who christened us "Pretty Boy Floyd". After
a couple months Aerial left the band. We then put a ad out in Bam looking for
a guitar player. Kristy Majors who was in Jett Blakk answered the ad from New
York, drove out and auditioned and 8 months later we had a record deal.
J-How long were you together
before you got signed?
V-It was less
than a year, our first three shows we had opened for Sweet Savage, Smashed
Gladys and Keel after that we headlined so it was about 7 or 8 shows when
Brett Hartman signed us to a 3 song demo deal with MCA Records that Howard
Benson produced. MCA wanted to make sure we all could play and sing, then
after hearing the tape, quickly signed us to the label.
J-How
important was the look back in the day? and do you ever look back at the
pictures and think what the hell was I doing?
V-The look was very important. We wanted
to be the ultimate band. A band that was everything. Great image, Great songs,
Great show. No I don't think that. I look at those pictures and think damn
I'm good looking.
J-Did everyone in the band get
along?
V-Everyone
got along great in the band. Like any relationship we had our disagreements.
We worked hard as a team 24/7 to accomplish our goals.
J-Any good fight stories?
V-No fight stores between band members but have some
with Kristy and hecklers in Texas.
J-What's the craziest thing a
fan has ever done to meet you?
V-Showing up at my front door naked with a six-pack.
J-What kind of things did you do
on the road to keep busy.....lol..?
V-Besides sleep and the groupies, we
would hang out with the fans who
then would show us their town. I've met a lot of cool people on our tours and
made a lot of friends, some who I keep in contact with today.
J-What was your favorite tour
back in the day?
V-I think my
favorite is when we headlined Japan. The fans over there treated us like some
sort of Rock Gods. In the States I
really enjoyed touring with LA Guns for Traci Guns and
Steve Riley were great to hang out with.
J-Any good road stories?
V-Plenty of good road stories but can't get into details here. What happens on
the road, stays on the road....
Okay I'll
give you one cause I know everyone loves a good road story. We had a rule on
our buses that No one was to shit in the buses toliet (for if one did it would
stink up the bus for the duration of a tour). If you had to take shit you
would have to line the toliet with a plastic trash bag and use that. You then
would tie it up and give it to our tour manager, Rob Jones, who then would
despose of them properly in a dumpster. After one show we were in a hurry to
split town so Rob took up the collection of shit and instead of tossing it in
the dumpster he tossed it under the bus. A group of fans watching the bus saw
this and the minute he climbed back into the bus one fan ran and grabbed the
bags and took off running, giving her friends the high five and holding the
prize up high. We all never laughed so hard imaging their faces when they
opened the bag.
On another
leg of the tour we cristined it " the long neck tour" for we had this champane
bottle with all these x's on it that ........
J-What
was your favorite track you recorded...?
V-Probably Leather Boyz with Electric Toyz
J-Least favorite or didnt turn out like you wanted?
V-I liked them all.
J-What led to you leaving the
band?
V-The usual reasons why a band splits up, drugs, playing shows and not seeing
any money ect...
J-Do you still talk to any of
the guys? Or know what they are up to?
V-I spoke with Aerial Stiles last week (He's writing comedy songs for
cartoons and always has some kind of band thing going)
and Kari Kane Yesterday (Currently playing in two MTV bands). I haven't spoken
with Steve or Kristy in years and not sure what they're doing today.
J-How do you feel about Pretty
Boy Floyd touring.. with only one original member?
V-Well Steve did tell me once that he "was" Pretty Boy Floyd and that all the
girls/fans came just to see him....
J-Have you seen the new line-up?
V-Nope and no plans to.
J-How do you feel about 80's
bands in general getting back together and touring w/different members?
V-I think there is some level of disappointment. Some bands should learn when
to call it a day and move on. It would suck seeing a band play with only one
original member.
J-After Pretty Boy Floyd.. did
you go on and do side projects, or any recordings..?
V-Aerial Stiles and I continued to work together afterwards and recorded with
singers Robert Wolf (Holy Soldier) and Jeff Alpine in Rattlin Bonez that
later became Stratosphere.
J-What are you up to these days?
V-6 foot 1 I've been doing doing pretty good since getting out of
prision. I'm now on step 9 of the 12 step program. My lawyer says after I
finish rehab, my divorce should be final and it looks like I wont have to pay
child support for her 5 kids or pay back taxes on the trailer. Filing for
bankrupcty should take care of that- Heh- just kidding! If you really want to
know what I've been up to check out my site
for details.
J-What are your plans for the
rest of 2003?
V-Is this is where I plug myself eh? Heh I don't think that far in advance
anymore. I do know I'm getting the oil changed in my Jeep this weekend. I'll
leave it up to fate, whatever I did yesterday and do today and tomorrow will
determine what I do for the rest of the year. But if your really wondering,
just check out my web site for details.
J-How
do you feel about file sharing and Mp3 downloading?
V-A part of my file-sharing fanaticism died with Napster but now has be reborn
with Kazaa among others. I may be wrong, but I believe that sharing
information is one of the greatest ways to learn rather than being unable to
learn as a result of not having enough money to purchase.
File sharing to me is a rebellion from the
corporations. Like it or not File sharing is here to stay. Of course
I'm only doing it for evaluation purposes.
My MP3
experience has been cheapened by the explosion of the constant lawsuits from
record companies. Whatever service the RIAA shuts down, file sharing will not
die, considering that every program they do shut down, breaths life into a
better idea to come after that. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has actually
bought more CDs from downloading MP3's . I feel I'm helping the artist because
I'm more likely to buy the album if I can listen to it beforehand.
Then again I know personally a lot of bands that never see anything
from it. Also what If there's no good radio in your area, what is
one supposed to do? What about out of print records? How is one supposed to
get those?
At this point, to win me back, the industry
has to lower prices, pay the performers a bigger piece of the pie, and stop
being so damn greedy.
J-What new bands are
you currently listening to?
V-The White Stripes,Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Buddy Jewel.
J-Do you have a website that
people can keep up with what your doing?
V-
www.vinniechas.com
J-Anything you wanna say to your fans reading this?
V-Thanks for helping a dream come true for me. With out you I wouldn't be
writing this. Believe in what you do, listen to your heart and your dreams can
come true also.
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