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Interview with guitarist Carey Howe on the anniversary of Leatherwolf’s 1989 Street Ready album. The Hungarian version will be available tomorrow.
Carey, Leatherwolf was formed in 1981, did the line up consisted of you and Geoff Gayer on guitars, Michael Olivieri on vocals/guitar, Perry Boyer on drums and Matt Hurich on bass? How did you get together?
Actually, the way it started was Dean and I were in a band with Jerome Sevrin our original bass player. Then Geoff joined after we played a backyard party together with both of our current bands. We were joined together immediately and shortly thereafter we recruited Michael Olivieri at one point our original bass player. Jerome Sevrin was incarcerated and Matt joined the band at that point. Perry Boyer was playing with Geoff in a completely separate band around the same time of the formation, they were literally neighbors maybe lived 100 m from each other.
What were your views of the early L. A. scene?
I mean, when you talk about the early LA scene, I assume you know in the days of the Starwood and great bands like Y&T, Judas Priest were coming through the club scene and first viewing Iron Maiden on MTV this was a great time, but very shortly there after this sort of LA seen hairband started taking over and I don’t know if I was too happy about that it really wasn’t our roots or exciting musically to us, I preferred the LA punk rock scene to the LA hair band explosion. For sure.
Do you agree with, that the L. A. scene was divided into two parts? There were the glam/hair outfits, such as Dokken, Ratt, Mötley Crüe, Sister (later became W.A.S.P.) and the underground, mostly thrash/speed/power ones, such as Metallica, Slayer, Shellshock (Dark Angel), Armored Saint, Abattoir, Spectre, Vermin etc.?
Yes, I very much agree that the LA scene was divided as far as the metal scene definitely. There was the side of glam outfits like Dokken and Mötley Crüe and W. A. S. P., and then there was like all of us sort of more European metal type bands, which tended to come from Orange County more like you know Metallica Slayer Leatherwolf all came from the same area at the same time. We actually played Judas Priest covers and Iron Maiden covers at a club, called the Cuckoo’s nest and a club called Woodstock and we played with Metallica and Slayer at both those venues and both of them were playing cover songs at the time as where we.
Your first album was just OK, but on your second you signed to a major label (Island) and had some decent production, how were you picked up by them? Were there other labels’ interests in the band, by the way?
Do you know this question about our first album and then, when we got signed to a major label is somewhat of speculation. I mean, I imagine we could’ve shopped for longer as they were some other label interest in the band, but we felt Island was a good choice because they had Anthrax on the label and they seem to be doing a good job. However, timing wise that didn’t work out for us as Island had other plans shortly after us getting signed and selling to Polydor and what not and Chris Blackwell wanting to do movies which were great by the way “kiss of the spider woman” and he was having some success with that so I can understand however, it wasn’t beneficial to Leatherwolf.
Is it true, that the first album was released as an independent album and when you got signed to Island Records they didn’t want to release it; the label treated your first album like a demo and viewed your first album with them as your „debut” and required it to be self-titled?
Yes, it’s true that the first album was released as an independent album through tropical records with Mark Avnet and once we sort of got to Island records. They wanted to treat that like a demo that’s totally true and that’s why they wanted to us to just release a self entitled record off the bat.
Around those times joined bassist Paul Carman instead of Matt Hurich, what was the reason of it?
Around the time, Paul Carman joined the band. It was because Matt Hurich had excepted the position to join the band Stryper, and Paul Carman was playing in a band well known in LA called Black Sheep, and we auditioned him and he worked out great from the very first rehearsal.
At which point did you start to work on your third effort Street Ready?
We started the work for Street Ready on our first US club tour for the first album. Actually, there was a lot more to it. Geoff and I had created these really heavy songs and they were determined too hard-core and heavy for us at the time….
In your opinion, is a third album a crucial point in any band’s career?
I mean, I think the songs for Street Ready was definitely a really good representation of a lot of things that Leatherwolf did very well so in that sense after many years looking back, I could say yes that is probably the most crucial point and group of songs that we ever did. Not to say I don’t love the stuff that Geoff and I did with Haunt of Jackals and Hail Mary (which is recording right now with all three of the LW songwriters and the “ triple axe attack”). Also even the new Leatherwolf album that Dean released is written by Geoff and couple songs by me but I got out because Dean is just never gonna be able to emotionally get over us getting rid of him after the Street Ready record, and the current lineup is very talented players, but as history shows, they can’t write songs as the current lineup , obviously it’s been 14 years and that lineup hasn’t written anything.
You closed yourselves in the famous Compass Point Studios, Nassau, how did the recording sessions go?
Both of our records were recorded at Compass Pointe with island. We enjoyed this time very much. It was instrumental in the development of the songwriting of the band working with a legend like Kevin Beamish, and Michael Wagner.
Leatherwolf combine three guitars and keyboards that sets them apart from other bands, do you agree with it?
I mean as far as combining three guitars and triple harmonies, and putting keyboards behind that yeah that did set us apart from most of the other bands in our area. I guess, but we kind of just wrote songs as they came to our head and how they should’ve sounded in our head.
Did you register/record an awesome collection of songs, ranging from the almost power metal of Wicked Ways, Take a Chance, and Too Much to catchy anthems as Hideaway” and Lonely Road?
I mean, I think that yes, we did record an awesome collection of songs, and there is a really wide range of types of metal. Right you know from Wicked Ways to sort of Hideaway and Lonely Road to Too Much is never enough.
Is the album free of filler and each song has some kind of memorable hooks? Did, by this third album, your songwriting chops really grow?
I know I think that the album was free of any filler as a matter fact there was many more songs that actually we wanted to kind of put on there but never made it and so you know like I said Geoff and I had a lot of really hard and heavy stuff that didn’t make it.
How do you mind, that unlike your previous albums, Street Ready sounded like an heavy/rock arena record?
It was our attempt that sort of being able to get on some kind of heavy rock arena tour and so we needed an album to match right for the time.
How do you explain, that with its enormous sound (for that time) and its enormous production (especially the vocals and the guitars), Street Ready was the new heavy metal sound, the kind of album that would put shade on Iron Maiden?
I mean you ask, how do we explain. You know it’s enormous sound and it’s normal production yeah, it was the best production we had and it was great. I thought at the time the vocal harmonies the guitars, the solos Street Ready was a really good heavy metal album. You know I thought it would’ve been more successful than it was, but you know hindsight. There is no guarantees in life for anything right so it was just a fun time and a really good part of all of our lives.
This album is perfect from the first note until the last one…
I do believe so we are grateful for that and proud of the accomplishment.
How about the bonus track Alone in the Night, that originated on the 1988 Return of the Living Dead Part II soundtrack (which also featured Zodiac Mindwarp and two Anthrax tunes)?
Alone in the Night, the idea I wrote it really sort of a minute they asked us for the song for the movie, and it turned out pretty well. I thought obviously there was input from everybody after the idea came to the rehearsal room and we all put our stamp on it, and really quickly pump that song out faster than we normally ever did and it turned out great.
Did you perhaps have more material written, that didn’t make up on the record?
Yeah, we had plenty of stuff that didn’t make it. You know onto those records some of which are reworked up and on the current Leatherwolf record that Dean just released.
You went on European tour with German Zed Yago to support the album, how did it go and what do you recall of this particular tour? Was it your first touring experience in Europe, by the way?
Yes, touring with Zed Yago was our first European tour in support of our Street Ready record, and I feel it was a great trip. We really enjoyed those guys. However, we hope to get on something a little bit better, which was in the plans we were going to go back to the states and tour with Alice Cooper however, in the last minute that got changed.
How do you think, that you should have been much bigger? You had everything; great songs, an outstanding guitar team with the classic triple axe attack (the intro for the opening Wicked Ways speaks for itself), a powerful sound, a big label, and even a killer look…
So here is that you know million dollar question the elephant in the room. How do I think that we should’ve been much bigger and more popular yeah. I mean people can say we had everything great songs, outstanding guitar team, players, really good chemistry sort of some unique things that we did but you know like I said before nothing in life is guaranteed and so we have to take it for what it is and move on right. It’s it still doesn’t mean that the songs and the records were any more or less because of the popularity in my eyes I was certainly proud of both of those records and our accomplishments as far as the music popularity is almost out of control.
Is Street Ready probably the most mainstream and accessible of your releases?
Street Ready is definitely the most mainstream and accessible release we’ve ever had for sure I think it was a great testament to Leatherwolf riding ability the many different types of songs we had on there from top to bottom. It was a great record with absolutely no filler and we rarely proud of how it turned out, we couldn’t have been more pleased.
Carey, thanks a lot for your answers, what are your closing words?
I just wanna close with thank you for taking the time to ask about some of these things and we have new works in the near future. I hope you’ll give it a listen. Thanks again sincerely!
