FIB MUSIC: How long did it take to record the "Thundersteel"? Where was it recorded?
TM: It took a while, as I recall - a period of several months at Greene Street Recording in
Soho, NYC. Great studio at the time.
FIB MUSIC: How long did you guys tour to support the album? Where did you tour?
TM: We did a club tour of the US, then a pretty nice stretch of dates at 2500+ seat venues in
Japan. Repeated the process for "Privilege of Power", except that by then our producer
had pissed off CBS to the point where we were living on $15 dollar-a-day per diem and
sleeping on the bus (in the parking lot of the hotel where the bus driver was staying. He
had a better deal than us.)
Riot / "Privilege of Power" Era
(L-R)Bobby Jarzombek, Tony Moore, Don Van Stavern, Mark Reale
FIB MUSIC: Same thing for "Privilege of Power". Anything stand out in your mind from those
recording sessions?
TM: That stuff was amazing, and I'll never forget walking into the control room and meeting
Randy & Mike Brecker, plus the Tower of Power Horns. These guys were my heroes - I
transcribed all of their stuff when I was in college playing in funk bands (on bass).
FIB MUSIC: Did you guys receive a bigger recording budget? Did the label consider “Thundersteel”
a success?
TM: "Thundersteel" did OK, we barely finished "Privilige Of Power", and, like I said, never saw any money.
Not a nickel.
FIB MUSIC: Where did you record that album? How long did it take?
TM: Same place, and roughly the same time frame - it happened slowly over a period of
several months once the basics were done, then the producer disappeared with a huge
bag of coke and our masters so he could mix in all that unintelligible nonsense in
between the songs. We missed 3 delivery dates and that's why CBS/Sony wrote us off
after that.
FIB MUSIC: Who were some of the bands you toured with to support "Privilege of Power"?
TM: We headlined, but at small places. Sometimes we would show up and the club wasn't
even sure we were supposed to be there. We got no radio buys, advance advertising,
not even any fucking posters sometimes. The second US tour totally sucked.
FIB MUSIC: Any AMAZING stories from the road?
TM: Mike(Flyntz, Riot guitarist) saved my life once. I was really drunk at the end of the US POP tour and inhaled a
piece of chicken fried steak at a truck stop. He gave me the Heimlich maneuver and
here I am today.
FIB MUSIC: If you had it to do over again, would you sign with CBS?
TM: Never again. Your'e so much better off self-producing and doing a licensing deal with a
reputable indie. I've made more money from CD Baby with my Faith & Fire project than I ever did being on Sony.
