BRAIN/BOC: interview w/ Deborah Frost

[Bolts of Ungodly Vision]

Interview With Brain Surgeons' Deborah Frost from music street journal.
Some good news and bad news alike innit, but such is life.  Jason



      Music Street Journal:Correct me if I'm wrong, but your role in the
business seems to be pretty large: Vocalist, publicist, manager, label
mogul. You seem to wear a lot of hats. Do youthink that this is a unique
place to be -- in general or as a woman in a generally male dominated
business?

Deborah Frost:Well, you asked to be corrected. I'm not a publicist. We have
a very small company and share whatever has to be done. I may oversee what
goes out publicity-wise, simply because as a journalist who dealt with the
best-- and the worst-- publicists in the biz for 25 years, I have some
experience with how I'd like things to be. And Albert may supervise, more
closely, those details with which he's had more expertise--- from mic
placement in the studio to mixing specifics
that I have a lot less patience with. But everything is a team effort,
including writing and playing. I certainly wouldn't characterize myself
primarily as a vocalist, as you do. I'm as much a songwriter, and I've been
forced to become a much better musician. I could afford to get lazy about
my guitar playing because I had these great guys to do it for me. That
isn't the case any more. In fact, both
Pete and Billy were around only sporadically for "Piece of Work", so I just
had to do it. Live, I am the guitar player now. It's a challenge. I never
felt that I could sing the way I sing and play at the same time. And I
don't know if I've ever seen too many people do it-- Robert Plant doesn't
try to  play the guitar. And of course we don't notice Jimmy Page
singing... This definitely is a challenge.     And I'm also playing bass on
some songs, which I never realized I would enjoy so much. The band is   a
trio now, and we're experimenting with a lot of different approaches. It
will be different and I am sure there will be rocky moments, as there were
when we put the band together after Albert and I  recorded our debut,
Eponymous. What is really unfortunate is that the Brain Surgeons had really
developed as a killer live show just before Billy got sick and the momentum
we had been building ground to a halt. During the long lay-off, Pete
decided he was quitting music completely, sold all of his equipment,
without even telling us. He also got married and had a child-- which, I
suppose, in his  mind, doesn't seem compatible with playing. It is really a
shame, because he's an incredible musician, but it's his life, he has a lot
of issues to work out, and he was never really that comfortable performing
live, anyway. If he changes his mind or if Billy miraculously feels better,
we would be thrilled to have them. But after two years, we have to get back
out there, and Albert, David and myself, are really enjoying playing
together in a way we didn't before.

And to get back to your original question about wearing a lot of hats--
most women I know wear even more. They juggle more children, more
complicated households, inflexible careers or demanding bosses. What I do
is not so atypical. But as to the music industry, it has more women now
than certainly when I began...but reality is that it is still, like just
about every other business, controlled by white men. During the years I
have been involved, I have seen women who were once literally
relegated--for years, despite doing ALL of the work for which their bosses
got credit---to the receptionist and secretary desks (where they would also
frequently be lunged at by the visiting "talent."). Now that they are VPS,
they (and the many capable women who work for or with them) are no longer
subject to the outright groping and in some ways, the workplace is a more
civilized environment. However, the ultimate decisions (and the real
bonuses) are made by the male CEOs, who control the huge corporations that
have bought all their companies up.

      Music Street Journal:What kind of advice can you give to people
trying to break into  this business?

      Deborah Frost:I think that the bottom line has to be that you have to
have something to  say and you must be driven by the sheer desire to
express it, not some kind of glittery reward, You should not expect other
people to pick up the tab and if you do, you should recognize that they
will not necessarily have your best interests at stake, only their
financial one. If you really have something to offer, build your own
following. Educate yourself--both in the traditional sense and in
terms of music history and business, which is more about total exploitation
rather than shiny fortunes. If you're a writer, join ASCAP, an organization
I heartily recommend. They have a lot of useful programs. If you're a
woman, there are other organizations, like Women in Music, and magazines
like ROCKRGRL, which offer motherlodes of support and information. Forget
about"overnight success." There is no such thing.

      Music Street Journal:You seem to have a very versatile vocal presence
-- among other things I have heard influences as far reaching as Patti
Smith and Janis Joplin. Who would you consider to be your influences?

      Deborah Frost:As a singer, I am not influenced at all by Patti Smith.
The only thing that we  may have in common is that we probably heard a lot
of the same soul music and Rolling Stones.  Janis Joplin probably had a
much greater effect upon me at a very impressionable age but it was also
the first time that I heard a white woman sing the blues and express that
degree of pain, which  I also identified very strongly with. People sort of
assume that because one is a woman that your
      greatest models are women. I disagree but not because, like Patti
Smith and others of that ilk, I don't consider myself a feminist. I'm proud
to identify myself as a feminist-- but the rock vocalists who influenced me
most are people who are much more versatile than either Patti Smith or
Janis Joplin, people who could write and sing a lot of different kinds of
songs-- like Lennon and McCartney. Mick Jagger, in his prime, used several
different voices, so does Robert Plant. I love Joni Mitchell's songs and
singing, although no one ever compares me to her. Instead, I get Chrissie
Hynde-- I think it's more the hair do than the music, although again,
obviously Chrissie Hynde and I grew up loving a lot of the same music. A
lot of R&B artists had a tremendous influence on me-- in terms of singing
and writing--most of the Motown artists, Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin. As
a singer, Aretha Franklin is probably my favorite of all time. Albert likes
to tease me that my major influence was Fanny, who he considers total
musical lightweights. They were simply the first group of women I saw doing
what I'd wanted to do since I first saw the Beatles when I was 9 or 10 and
none of my little girl friends had the slightest interest in having a band.
But I also shared a youthful affinity for the Blues Project, which had a
huge influence on Albert and Buck Dharma--in college, they were a Blues
Project cover band. The kid who sat next to me in sixth grade and taught me
how
to play "Wipe Out" on the desk took piano lessons from Danny Kalb's mother.
The Blues Project were our heroes for awhile, and a Rascal went out with
another classmate's big sister. So those are just other ingredients that go
into the main stew and simmer, and after a long while it comes out with a
unique and hopefully tasty flavor of its own.

Music Street Journal:Are there any musicians with whom you would like to work?

Deborah Frost:I'm working with one of the greatest musicians-- Albert is
not only a
phenomenal drummer, who's always improving, he knows more about arranging,
certainly, writing, and most aspects of playing and recording than almost
anyone I've ever met, and that includes some of the so-called biggest stars
in the business. The depth of his knowledge constantly amazes me. And
anyone who works with him would agree. If things present themselves in a
natural way, there are certainly people with whom I'd like to work. But if
the situation is forced-- just like when
you're set up for a date, even when your best friend is doing the
introducing-- it never works. Things have to develop naturally.

 Music Street Journal:When you play live, do you do any of the old BOC songs?

      Deborah Frost:If you are referring to songs that Albert wrote earlier
in his career, of course we play them. A better question might be why the
band that tours as BOC irregardless of who's playing on any given night so
heavily relies on the material and contributions of someone who's been gone
for almost 2 decades. But why shouldn't Albert play songs that meant enough
to him to write them? His fans love to hear him perform them because it's
something they've really missed. In some cases, "Death Valley Nights," for
instance, these are really special songs for very
dedicated and knowledgeable fans who appreciate hearing something that was
never or rarely performed live ever. In some cases, Albert feels that the
songs were never done justice on record-- which may be due to a poor choice
of producer or a rushed recording schedule or compromises that were made to
appease colleagues at the time. It's a chance to get it right now or to
re-interpret them. Bob Dylan never does anything the same way twice. It's
not that extreme. But there's a unique opportunity to fix something that
really might have been broke. Then there are songs, like
"Cities on Flame" or "Dominance and Submission," that are just too much fun
not to play. And people just really love hearing Albert play and sing them.
And he does them better than ever. He's the rare rock musician who's really
increased his chops and expanded his vocabulary, rather than so many
performers who rely on the oldies are essentially going through the
motions, and whose core audience has dwindled down to the faithful few who
are basically there out of some nostalgia for their youth rather than to be
challenged by anything new or demanding. These songs are just the
icing, rather than the meat of the show. Times have changed, and the Brain
Surgeons don't have the kind of corporate marketing muscle behind them that
Albert's previous band was the beneficiary of, but those who have followed
his career or find his new music the good old fashioned way, through word
of mouth, appreciate that he's writing great stuff that continues to push
the envelope. It makes for an unusually interesting audience.

      Music Street Journal:How is the new album being received?

      Deborah Frost:It is being received well. It's a great album--actually
two albums, so it's a lot of material. It takes a long time to digest. But
anyone of any intelligence and taste who listens to it agrees it is great.

      Music Street Journal:What is next on the agenda -- tour, etc?

Deborah Frost:We've been rehearsing as a trio. Of course, if Billy is
feeling better, we hope he will join us. Perhaps we will have other guests,
like original Cult member Joe Bouchard, who's joined the Brain Surgeons
live and on record in the past. We're in the process of putting together
some dates now. Albert will be doing a one-off thing with Joe and Leslie
West at the end of July. We're planning to go to Seattle and maybe do some
other West Coast dates in the fall.

      Music Street Journal:Any spin-off projects in the works?

Deborah Frost:We are working on an album and a concert to honor the memory
and music
of Helen Wheels, who collaborated on many songs with both Albert and Joe
Bouchard for Blue Oyster Cult and the Brain Surgeons. She passed away
tragically and unexpectedly on January 17.
      Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser and his wife Sandy, who were close to
Helen "back in the day"plan to participate in these projects, and hopefully
Eric Bloom and Alan Lanier will, too. The  Dictators, who were Helen's
first back-up band, are on also on board already. Albert has discussed some
other things with Donald Roeser, who's already contributed some guitar work
to the next album of David Roter, who co-wrote songs like "Joan Crawford"
and "Unknown Tongue" with Albert. Donald Roeser is an awesomely talented
musician whose creativity and potential should not be untapped for so long.

      Music Street Journal:Where did the name for the band come from?

      Deborah Frost:It's a little bit of a play on Patti Smith's brilliant
lyrics for "Baby Ice Dog." And we thought my mother might be happier with a
son-in-law who's a brain surgeon -- even if he does wear earrings.


      Music Street Journal:What is the last CD you bought/what are you
listening to these days?

      Deborah Frost:Everything
Music Street Journal:What was the last concert that you attended?
Deborah Frost:Blue Oyster Cult at the Bottom Line
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