Looking back at this interview
Brent Fitz first came to our attention with the Bruce Kulick/John Corabi fronted group Union. Brent is a multi instrumentalist who is just as comfortable on guitar as he his the drum kit. When we went to our first Union show Brent was very friendly and took the time to meet us. After Union went dormant, he picked up the touring gig with Vince Neil. He has since become a highly sought after musician. Read the update at the bottom of the page for more information.
Brent Fitz (July 2003)
Hi Brent. Thanks for taking the time to answer a few questions for us. You’re once again manning the skins for Vince Neil.
How’s the tour going?
It’s been a great tour, the new band is really playing well and we’re having fun hanging out with both Poison and Skid Row. We’re playing a few different songs this year, some that Vince hasn’t sang with Motley in a long time.
The Neil band previously had your former Union band mate Jamie Hunting on bass. Now Alan Vine has taken over the bass duties. How did Alan come into the picture? Where did he come from?
Alan was introduced to Vince through Skid Row drummer Phil Varone. Both Alan and Phil are from Florida. Alan was in LA when we met him, he used to play in a band called The Impotent Sea Snakes back in Florida. Alan’s first gig with Vince was New Years this past year. I hadn’t even met him before the gig, we met at sound check that day. Luckily he did his homework and knew all the songs.
Is this current band lineup (with Jason Hook on guitar) going to be recording with Vince?
Have there been any discussions about extending the tour once the run with Poison is over?
Vince has been making plans to record after this year’s touring finishes. As far as who plays on the record, I can’t say for sure that the current lineup would do the record but Vince is reall happy with the band and we’re pretty comfortable around each other, so making a record together would be a breeze. We will most likely continue touring after we wrap up with Poison in September, I’ve been hearing that we might go overseas.
You recorded drum tracks for Bruce Kulick’s new cd “Transformer” . Can you tell us a little about your involvement on the cd?
Well, Bruce and I have been playing together for years now. We’ve been close friends since the beginning of UNION a few years back and remain close friends, so I pretty much was a part of Bruce’s new record since he began the whole writing process of Transformer. I understood where the inspirations were coming from lyrically and musically for Bruce. He had been bouncing ideas off me for quite awhile before we started recording. Bruce has worked with a lot of great drummers and could have used any drummer he wanted, I was glad to be part of it though.
How was the process different from when you and Bruce recorded together in Union?
It was only different in the fact that all the ideas were from Bruce and I was his support, rather than four individuals fighting to get their ideas across.
We recorded things the same as UNION as far as me doing several drum tracks in one day, I think I was done in three days. But for the most part it was easy because Bruce knew exactly what he was looking for musically and since we know each other so well it came together quickly. We rehearsed well in advance before recording so we didn’t end up with any surprises when we hit the studio. The studio we recorded in is owned by Curt Cuomo who we worked with on the first UNION record, and Bruce worked with in KISS. Curt had recently built a brand new building to house his studio and all the equipment was brand new, so we had to work out a few bugs with all the gear for the few few days.
Since this cd brought together so many folks from the Union cds, the million dollar question is obvious. So we’ll ask the question from the land of the obvious. Will we ever have another Union cd?
It’s funny that almost everyday I run into a fan who loves the UNION cd’s, but at this point we don’t have any plans to record another. Though we are in the process of releasing a DVD of some great footage from live shows and personal footage, I’m excited about that.
How do spend your free time? What are interests during your downtime?
Lately when I’m not on tour I’ve been venturing away from LA and have headed back home to Canada numerous times to do some recording of my own music and play a little hockey with my old buddies.
When I have a day off on tour, I hibernate in my hotel room and surf the internet. I pretty much sleep with my laptop while on tour.
What other projects do you have coming up?
I’m wrapped up in touring for the next while. When the time comes, I’ll be focusing on writing and recording with Vince.
I did a CD with Karl Cochran recently before I went out on tour with Vince this year. Karl’s record comes out soon. We recorded it in New Jersey. John Corabi sang on it, Joe Lynn Turner as well. Karl and I have known each other for years, he was playing guitar with Ace Frehley a few years back when we first met. The songs are great, think Grand Funk meets King’s X.
You have only 5 albums you can listen to for the rest of your life. What are they? no greatest hits,live albums, or box sets
Too hard to pick but here goes……..
Jellyfish – Spilt Milk
Van Halen – 1st album
Journey- Escape
Beatles – Rubber Soul
Cheap Trick – Dream Police
Dream band. You get to hand pick the members of “The Brent Fitz Dream Band” . So who is in the band?
Well I’d be playing guitar, drums and piano, and I’d hire Dave Grohl, Phil Collins, Don Henley, and Lenny Kravitz and we’d all switch instruments.
Brent, Thanks for taking the time to answer a few questions for us. You are another warrior keeping the spirit alive.
Keep Defending The Faith !!
ARTIST UPDATE 2019: Since the Interview
Brent rapidly became a highly sought after musician. He has played with numerous artist including Theory of a Deadman, Alice Cooper, Gene Simmons Band, The Guess Who, Whitford/St. Holmes, Ronnie Montrose, Indigenous, Lamya, Streetheart, Harlequin, Sass Jordan, and Econoline Crush. He has recorded and toured with his band Toque.
His is also very busy recording and touring with Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators. For the latest information on all things Brent Fitz check out his website brentfitz.com
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