By: Rob Cavuoto
Not many bands today truly embody the spirit and drive of a classic hard rocking group. Many try, but only a few succeed, though Beasto Blanco hits the mark with their recent release Live Fast Die Loud.
Chuck Garric is most notable know as Alice Cooper bassist for the last 11 years, but fans of the Coop will see in him in another light as fronting his own band – Beasto Blanco. Live Fast Die Loud is his full-length anthemic hard rock CD released via Rat Pak Records.
With influences ranging from White Zombie to Motorhead, Beasto Blanco’s CD keeps you amped on “10” from start to finish.
The CD yields a powerful combination of heavy riffs, driving bass, and melodic choruses that are bound to stick in your head after just one listen. The album was produced by Alice Cooper’s guitarist Tommy Henriksen and also featured Glen Sobel and Jonathan Mover on drums as well.
I spoke with guitarist Chuck about his newest endeavor, Beasto Blanco, and wanting to be the best at whatever he does.
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Robert Cavuoto: The CD just came out on October 29th. Tell me a little bit about the excitement you are feeling to finally be able to release your hard work to the world.
Chuck Garric: It feels like we’re setting it free. We’re all very excited, from the band members to the record company. I’m just glad to be able to share it with the masses.
Robert: How long did it take you to put the CD together from writing to release?
Chuck Garric: It was probably a good year. I started writing sections of songs, a few at a time. We tracked three tunes right out of the gate, “Breakdown,” “Live Fast Die Loud,” and “Freak” so we could get a feel for what we wanted the CD to sound like as those songs are different from one another. It really helped me with the writing process for the rest of CD.
Robert: Where was it recorded?
Chuck Garric: I did all the demos at my house. The vocals and guitars were recorded at Anarchy Studios, which is Tommy Henriksen’s studio. The drums were done at Clear Lake Audio, in Burbank, CA.
Robert: Sonically it sounds great.
Chuck Garric: Thank you. Tommy did an amazing job mixing this CD. It was nice using him for pre-production, production, and mixing. He was involved from the beginning. He really had a solid idea of what we wanted the CD to sound like.
Robert: You kept this CD in the “family” with Tommy, Glen Sobel, Jonathan Mover, and Calico Cooper.
Chuck Garric: Yeah. That’s the beauty of playing in Alice Cooper for 11 years; I get to play with some of the best musicians. It was really easy for me to have guys like Glen, Jonathan and Tommy, because I knew I was going to get quality. It really shows on the CD.
Robert: How did you meet up with your Beasto Blanco guitar partner, Chris Latham?
Chuck Garric: Chris and I go way back. It was in the late ‘80s and I just moved to Los Angeles, I was living in a motel and just got a job at a music store that Chris happened to worked in.
After my first day of work, there’s a knock on my door and there’s Chris with a 12-pack of beer. From that point on we’ve been best friends.
Chris is a full-blooded American rock and roll guitar player. As music started to change, Chris never changed. Chris always stayed true as a Randy Rhoads, Thin Lizzy, Black Sabbath, Ted Nugent guitar player. I love him and he fits perfect in Beasto Blanco.
Robert: I’m intrigued by the name, Beasto Blanco, – my eighth-grade Spanish is finally paying off so I know what it says but what does it mean and how did you come up with it. [Laughter]
Chuck Garric: We had a couple of names, as you do when you start a new project or band. One of the names we came up was White Pegasus. We thought, oh, that’s cool. But really didn’t like the abbreviation. So we said why don’t we call it White Beast, but thought it would sound better if the beast actually had a name to identify this entity.
It just so happens I have this big, white boxer dog that we call “Beasto” at times. So we thought Beasto Blanco. I think it was more of just a way to identify the music and its energy.
Robert: Who is in the line-up when will you head out on tour?
Chuck Garric: We’ve already done a short promotional tour over in Europe, about six shows. I’ve got Jan Le Grow on bass and Tim Husung on drums. They’re both amazing guys from Germany. Tim is by far one of the best drummers I’ve played with. He has a really great ear for music, a great guy to be around. Jan I’ve known for many years and he is incredible in his own right too.
As for the girls, we have Tiffany Lowe who is involved with Combichrist, Alice’s daughter; Calico Cooper, you never know who will show up on stage with us. I’m looking to go out on tour end of January into February with full production.
Robert: Does being the frontman daunt you at all?
Chuck Garric: It’s a completely different show for me. I’ve been playing with Alice for so many years. When I hit the stage with Coop I still get fired up! But I know my role so well, there’s times I don’t necessarily have to think about what I’m doing. As a frontman for Beasto Blanco, it’s a little bit more personal. I’m going out there to destroy, to do what I need to do to get the point across for this band.
So, yeah, it’s a lot more pressure on me, a lot more show prep too. I’ve had to obviously make sure my vocals are good. Playing guitar is a completely different animal at times for me. So it is two sides of the coin, and I have to really apply myself when it comes to touring.
I take my craft as a bass player, songwriter, and performer very seriously. I think there’s a desire to put on a good show, and to keep people coming back. This is my lifestyle; it’s what I do, and I want to be the best at it.
Robert: What have you learned from watching Alice all these years?
Chuck Garric: There is so much to pick up from Coop. The first thing that comes to mind is the number of shows we do. One day we can be headlining the Wacken Festival to 75,000 people and the next night playing a smaller theater.
Alice gives 100%, regardless of how many people are there. Coop believes in what he’s doing. It’s important to go out there and give them the best show you possibly can. Coop is just a great guy to be around when it comes to being positive.
Robert: How about from a business perspective, what have you learn from him?
Chuck Garric: I think what makes Coop so successful is that he has a great manager, Shep Gordon. He’s got a guy that he can rely on. He’s got a guy who will always make the right decisions for him, and he doesn’t second-guess it. He’ll do what he’s asked to do. He trusts Shep’s decisions.
He knows he’s got a great band, so he doesn’t have to stay on us. Because we’re not going to let this thing be half-assed. We’re going to make sure it’s great.
I’ve learned from that and applied it when working with Tommy on this record. When I presented the demos to him, I didn’t say, “It has to be this way.” I wanted Tommy’s ideas and input to the songs. So he would throw stuff out at me, nine out of ten times, we would make those changes.
Because I felt like it was a good idea. He’s involved in this thing, so why not trust him? His intentions were the same as mine – let’s create great material. And I think that’s why Alice works so well with Shep, is that they know how to work together. So that’s what I take from Alice.
Robert: Let’s talk a little about the songs on the CD, I love “California,” it’s one of my favorites on the CD.
Chuck Garric: Thank you. It’s one of my favorites too! I think I’m most proud of that song as a whole because of the way it came together. I remember writing down the word, California, on my working sheet of song titles. I remember sitting down to write a song one day and I looked over and said, “Oh, man, California.” What do I even do with that? But within a couple of hours, I had a riff and a melody. It was real organic.
I tracked it with the bass tone in the verses and the bass line in the melody. It all flowed together. The version you hear on the CD is exactly how I put it together in the demo, except with better tones and a few lyrical changes. I think it’s a really strong song. It’s one of those songs you’ll listen to and think, “I should have this in my playlist.”
Robert: Tell me about putting together a CD where all the songs have a different vibe but all work together as a cohesive unit.
Chuck Garric: You know it’s funny. I didn’t really realize it until I’d listened to the CD as a whole. But I think subconsciously as I’m writing songs, I’ve always been a guy who loves live music.
Bands that come across good live, whether you know the song or not. I’m a huge Motorhead fan, and when seeing them live you get exactly what they’re about, so when you put in that CD, you know it’s going to sound like it just did on stage.
I’ve always loved the vocal styling’s of Rob Zombie, Lemmy, Gene Simmons, and Billy Gibbons. I like that low tenor with the attitude. I’ve always been drawn to that. So I think when I was writing the CD, I was thinking more along the lines of what would sound good live, and what’s different from what everybody else is doing? But on top of it, what works for the audience.
I don’t consider myself a crooner, so I’m not going to do anything I don’t feel comfortable doing behind the microphone. So the vocal style that I have for Beasto is exactly how I feel, and I feel comfortable doing it.
Robert: I heard that the pre-orders for the CD where very strong, in a crowded marketplace how do you make yourself stand out?
Chuck Garric: That’s a good question. There are a lot of bands out there but I’m in a unique place where I can reach fans that some new bands can’t. I’m lucky enough to tour the world and able to reach people that normally wouldn’t know about the CD. I believe in the CD and really want to push it. Also, knowing that I can perform these songs live.
When it came to the artwork for the CD cover; I wanted to do something that I thought would draw attention just by looking at it yet be familiar. So that was the whole thought behind the Ted Nugent Free For All cover. Not only was Ted one of my first concerts but that was my first record. He really spoke to me as a kid. I believed in everything he said in his playing. I loved it. I wanted to remind myself, “Hey, that’s how you got here.”
Maybe to turn on some other people that haven’t heard his music. Also maybe somebody who is familiar with Free For All would go like, “Hey, if this is something as cool as Free For All, I might take a listen to this.” You have to look at it from all angles. And real quick Rat Pak Records has been incredible to us. They’ve been working hard over there to get Beasto Blanco out.
Robert: Alice Cooper has had a lot of lineup changes over the years, particularly guitar players and drummers. How important it to be able to handle all these changes and gel with new members quickly?
Chuck Garric: It’s very important. The bass player and drummer, in my opinion, have the most important job. They have to be rock solid and provide a good foundation for the guitar players. When I joined the band, Eric Singer was the drummer. It was my job to figure out how Eric plays these songs.
We rehearsed together and you begin to get a feel for what each person is doing. As the members keep changing, it can be a nightmare. You’re getting everybody playing different versions of the songs. They are learning songs from the studio CD or the live version.
You have to have everybody learning from the same medium. The beauty of it is that in my time with the band, there have never been any hacks. Everybody is a very accomplished musician and good at their craft. Whatever adjustments that needed to be made we are able to do.
Robert: I remember hearing Alice say that he hand-picked you from Hells Angels. Are there any ties to you and the Hells Angels or was he kidding?
Chuck Garric: There is Angel’s blood running through my veins, let’s just leave it at that!
Robert: Alice is coming out with a cover CD in March? Did you play on it and what can we expect from it?
Chuck Garric: I played on quite a few tracks. There were some covers and I think some original songs as well, but mostly covers. I don’t really have a lot of information, regarding the CD or when it’s coming out or which songs are going to be on there. All I know is we had a blast in the studio.
