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By Byron
Fogle
When the idea for this Eric Carr special
came about in mid July while I was on vacation, I had all sorts
of hopes and dream to makes this a very special tribute to Eric
and for all of his fans.
I had my wish list of people to interview or get quotes from and
went to work. There's no better person in my mind to interview
about Eric than a fellow drummer especially the man who came in
the band after him.
I thought how could you not want to know what Eric Singer's thoughts
were on Eric Carr without having to compare the two drummers to
each other. Well turns out luck would be on my side...
In the beginning of August I had met Eric Singer at the Bon Jovi
concert in NJ. My friends & I approached him and we talked for
about 1/2 hour about all things (Kiss etc)
A few days later I e-mailed him and he responded, after a few
e-mails I asked him if he'd be interested in being interviewed
for this special and to my delight he said yes.
As I said earlier I wanted to approach this (as did Eric) the
right way from a fan & drummer's view. I feel there's too much
Peter vs Eric vs Eric crap on the net and you rarely get to hear
what the other members thought of other members. Eric didn't personally
know Eric but did meet him as you may or may not know so he was
very upfront that he didn't want to come off like he knew him
well and rather we talk about Eric Carr's drumming style & other
topics.
I want to publicly thank Eric for being such an all around great
guy and just the most down to earth Kiss member I have ever met.
So here's an exclusive for you all to enjoy as for the first time
Eric comments on Eric!
Byron Fogle: When & where did you meet Eric Carr?
Eric Singer: I first met Eric in 1989 on Paul's solo tour. We
were in New York playing at the "Old Ritz" I remember
Eric being very nice (as I have always heard) Paul said: "Eric
this is Eric" and Eric's response was "Nice to
meet you" & "Hey you're wearing my shirt" It
turns out that I was wearing a "Led Zeppelin II" T-Shirt
and evidentially Eric Carr wore Zeppelin shirts onstage a lot
too!!
BF: Drum wise name your 5 favorite songs from Eric's time with
the band?
ES:
1) I Love It Loud
2) I Still Love You
3) Tears Are Falling
4) Creatures Of The Night
5) Forever
BF: What was the first Kiss album you heard with Eric Carr?
ES: Creatures Of The Night
BF: What is your favorite Eric/Kiss album?
ES: This one is too easy " Creatures Of The Night"!!!!
BF: What song or songs from the Carr years would you have like
to have played live with Kiss but never did?
ES: I mentioned the 5 favorite 'Eric Carr era" songs
above. I was fortunate to be able to play those songs live
w/Kiss Although "King of the Mountain" or "Who
Wants To be Lonely" would also have been cool too...
BF: Did you approach the Eric era songs differently when learning
the parts to play live as opposed to the Peter era or was it the
same?
ES: I would listen to "all" the songs in all formats
studio-live etc... and try to extract both of their feels & ideas.
Eric approached older Kiss songs much differently than Peter did
so I had to meet them somewhere in the middle style wise.
BF: Have you ever seen Eric with Kiss live?
ES: I did see Eric on the "Hot In the Shade" tour he
& the band were great. One thing I have to say about Kiss I feel
they always put on a good show.
BF: What song from Eric's era do you find the most challenging
to play feel wise or had the most intricate drum parts or fills?
ES: I don't think any of the songs were difficult to play or very
intricate from a technical point of view but, I find "the
feel" is the hardest thing to emulate. We as drummers (musicians)
all have our own way we approach a song or band's sound. This
is when it becomes a matter of personal taste I guess.
BF: Which songs from that time frame do you have the most fun
playing?
ES: Most definitely "I Love It Loud "!!!! It is such
a heavy song & of course the drums lead the song from the start.
BF: As a drummer what do you feel Eric brought to the Kiss?
ES: I can somewhat relate to Eric in a way since we both replaced
a drummer in Kiss and had to deal with all the hardcore fans!!!
(WOW)
So I know how difficult it was to step into the Kiss world & Eric
Carr was the first person to replace an original member, I'm sure
he caught heat but he survived it all & came out with flying colors.!!!
I feel Eric brought heaviness to the band and a more modern drum
style. He helped propel Kiss into the 80's. He was the "Right
Guy" at that time.
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