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Triple Threat
An
interview with musician B.J. Lisko
By Bob
Ignizio |
Youngstown based musician B.J. Lisko is probably best
known to Northeast Ohio rock fans for playing bass in the rockabilly meets
Motorhead sounding band Hellvis. Recently, however, an incident took place
which resulted in that band being put on indefinite hiatus (for the story,
just read this interview). While B.J. is committed to seeing Hellvis rock
again, in the meantime he has become involved in two other projects – he
plays bass for the old school punk rock band The Fools Like You and does
just about everything except play drums for his eighties metal influenced
project Turbo Lover. We managed to cover just about all the bases in this
interview. Read on.
Utter Trash: A little background about yourself.
Where were you born/did you grow up? What got you interested in playing
music in the first place? Were you always into underground music or do you
have some embarrassing musical skeletons in your closet?
B.J. Lisko: I was born in Youngstown, Ohio and grew
up about a half hour south in the sticks of Columbiana County. My music
interests all started with AC/DC and then branched out from there. I think I
was like 9 or 10 when I first heard ‘Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap’, and I was
into rock ‘n’ roll immediately. I then started picking up a whole host of
metal albums like Metallica, Judas Priest, Quiet Riot, Ratt, etc. I suppose
that answers the question of whether or not I was always into underground
music. I’m pretty into the cheese metal even today, whether it’s L.A. Guns,
or Faster Pussycat, or Krokus, it’s all cool to me. And to this very day I
still think Huey Lewis and The News had some killer records. I know that’s
completely ruining any punk rock credibility I ever had, but what the hell.
The man could write hits.
UT: The three bands you’re in are all quite different
in style. Do you have a favorite, or do they each serve as an outlet for
different aspects of your musical interests? How would you describe the
style each band plays?
BJL: I don’t know if I have a favorite. I think like
you just said they serve as an outlet for everything that I’m into. I dig
the dirty underground rock scene and that’s where Hellvis falls. Before I
joined the band it was pretty rockabilly/psychobilly, but I slowly
incorporated a Motorhead influence in there, and the more songs we wrote in
that style the more comfortable it felt for the band. The Fools Like You is
probably the project where I have the least influence on, but that’s because
if I was to throw my influence in, it would screw up the chemistry of the
band. Jeff Phillips and Eric Schwartz (the guitarist and drummer) come from
a much more punk background than I do, and my role in the band is basically
to come up with a catchy bassline, or maybe throw in a riff or two every so
often. It works pretty well, and the more we write together the more it’s
coming off as its own entity. There’s a definite an early Wire influence
there, and a bit of the early Police, but it’s becoming it’s own sound,
which is what I think every band should strive for. Turbo Lover is basically
a nod to my 80s past, with a bit of the rock ‘n’ roll thing thrown in for
good measure. I do that because there are no bands in Northern Ohio that
sound anything like it, and in Youngstown if you want to hear a particular
style of music, it’s better to just write it and record it yourself. It’s a
pretty sheltered area musically.
UT: Hellvis is probably the best known of your
projects. How did that band come about and tell me the story of what led to
its at least temporary demise. What do you think are the prospects for
Hellvis to get back together again after vocalist/guitarist Ted Laskowski
“pays his debt to society”?
BJL: Hellvis existed before I joined for about 4
years. I answered a musicians wanted ad in the Cleveland Free Times that
said “Bass player wanted, influences: AC/DC, George Thourogood, Elvis.” I
figured it was probably just a cover band but it turned out to be Ted. He
knew Marty from a while back and convinced him to play drums and it just
went from there. We recorded two albums, played a bunch of shows, and all
was well until the night The Supersuckers came to town. Ted tried driving
home after sucking down quite a few beers and passed out behind the wheel.
When he awoke a cop was telling him to get out of the van, and he had all
but obliterated the officer’s squad car. Luckily no one was hurt, but
unluckily he hit the cop in Lyndale, which is a pretty rough area to get
pulled over in. Hellvis will play again when he gets out. It may be a while
before Ted gets everything straightened out before we play, but it will
happen. I won’t let the band go out on that note.
UT: What’s it like to play with a drummer like Marty
Katon in Hellvis who has been in Blue Cheer and Strawberry Alarm Clock?
Does Marty have any good stories he’s told you about touring with those
legendary bands?
BJL: Marty is a riot. He’s an unbelievable drummer
and a blast to play with. He’s got so many stories it’s ridiculous. Most of
them involving the opposite sex, haha. It’s amazing how so few of his
stories actually include the music groups he was with at the time. Marty’s
great though. The guy is a legend in his own right. You couldn’t write a
book to cover Marty’s life and the things he’s done and seen; it’d be an
encyclopedia.
UT: Did you get involved with Fools Like You and Turbo
Lover after the incident with Ted, or were you doing all three bands at once
for a while?
BJL: The Fools Like You came right after Ted’s
accident. Ted basically said he’d be going to jail for a while, and I’d
known Eric for a bit and knew he and Jeff were looking for a bass player, so
we hooked up.
UT: If I’m not mistaken, Turbo Lover is just you. Any
plans to put a band together and do some gigs?
BJL: Well Turbo Lover is me in the sense that I write
everything, but Eric from The Fools Like You played drums on the EP.
Eventually Turbo Lover will be a band, but not till I find the right
guitarists to do it. It’s amazing how few people there are in Youngstown
that would even get what’s going on with Turbo Lover, let alone be able to
play it properly. I’m no guitar god or anything, in fact what I do is pretty
minimal, but people just can’t play that style of music at all here. But
yeah, when I find the right people, and the timing is right, Turbo Lover
will be a gigging band.
UT: Just from the name you can tell Turbo Lover has an
eighties metal influence. A lot of punk rock fans hate metal (and a lot of
metal fans hate punk). What appeals to you about metal?
BJL: Well, the whole fact that real metal is
underground again here in the States is what makes it so appealing. I think
it was overkill to everyone there as the early 90s hit, but now finding a
real metal band is a tough task. No one ever came along to carry on the
torch of bands like Judas Priest and Motley Crue. Why do you think just
about every 80s band in existence has put out a new album, or had a reunion
tour? It’s nostalgic. And no one has capitalized on that today with the
exception of The Darkness, who do it tremendously. It’s the right time for a
band like Turbo Lover. The Unband from NYC almost hit on it a couple years
ago but they couldn’t hold it together.
UT: You’re listed as producer on the Hellvis CD. Did
you produce Turbo Lover and Fools Like You as well? Are you interested in
producing for other people’s bands at all?
BJL: Turbo Lover I produced. I suppose I did on The
Fools Like You as well if you want to call what I did there producing. All I
basically said was set all the stuff up in a room and mic it so it’s live,
and don’t overdub anything. But that’s not anything Jeff wouldn’t have done
anyway. Hellvis was the most in depth thing I ever produced. I set the
tones, I reworked the songs, and played most of the guitar as well as the
bass. If someone screwed up, we did it again. And if they screwed up or
didn’t play something as well as I thought they could of, I made them do it
again. In the case of the guitar if Ted didn’t hit the take in one or two
tries, I took over and did it myself. I know it sounds like I’m some sort of
band Nazi but that’s the way producing works, and Ted and Marty both showed
a lot of class letting someone way younger than them take the reins. I’d
love to produce for other bands. I don’t know how many bands in the area
understand that concept though either. I hear tons of local CD’s through the
magazine I run down here, and some bands could be so much better if they
just had a bit more direction. Bands are real touchy about other people
messing around with their sound though. But if any band ever asked me to
produce I’d be down for sure. Give me a direction you want the band to head
in, and I’ll get it there.
UT: You had mentioned to me that Hellvis was starting
to get some label interest. Do you get bummed out over the band not being
able to take advantage of that, or do you just chalk it up as part of life
and focus on getting attention for your other projects now?
BJL: Well, it’s a weird thing with our label because
they knew Ted was going to jail when they expressed interest, and in
fact they just re-released the album. They’ve also said they’d be interested
in anything we put out in the future so it’s pretty inspiring to continue on
with the project whenever that happens to be. There’s a pretty big market
out west where our label is located, and they wouldn’t have signed us if
they didn’t think they could make money off of it. So apparently even
with Ted in jail the album is doing fine, and it’s as if nothing even
happened. That’s rock ‘n ‘roll for ya.
UT: Anything you want to comment on that I didn’t’ ask
about?
BJL: Nah, you hit on the good stuff. Just check out
www.hellvisrocks.com.
That’ll take you to all three projects. Thanks for the interview brother,
keep up the good work.
Visit the Hellvis website (which
will also take you to The Fools Like You and Turbo Lover).
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