By: Robert Cavuoto
Cinderella guitarist Jeff LaBar will be releasing his first solo, entitled One For The Road on August 26th.
It not only showcases his classic rock roots but his singing and songwriting. After decades of threatening to put out a solo CD, the time was right with Cinderella on temporary hiatus.
With the support of his wife and manager, he finally lived up to the task. After testing the waters with some demos, he signed with Rat Pak Records to give the fans what they want.
He approached the CD with the same sense of spirit, determination, and humor that drove Cinderella to success.
Tracks on the CD range from classic, early Cinderella-style hard rock, to groove-laden blues rock and really captures the magic and spirit of the genre that Jeff helped create!
I spoke with Jeff about the CD and what inspired him to finally get it done, what’s behind the sinister lyrics, and the status of Cinderella.
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Robert Cavuoto: What drove you to record your solo CD, One For The Road?
Jeff LaBar: I’ve been threatening to do one for a long time but a Cinderella tour or side project with Eric Brittingham would always come up and I would end up putting it off. The timing was never right.
When Tom Keifer put out a solo record, my wife and manager told me it’s now or never. I said, “Stop annoying me, I’ll do it!”
So my wife kicked my ass all the way to the studio and my manager had a connection with Rat Pak Records. I wanted to throw down a song or two in the studio prior to signing anything.
Troy Luccketta from Tesla threw down some drum tracks for me at Ronnie Honeycutt’s studio, where I do all my recordings, and then I started overdubbing bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals. I did it all myself.
I got three songs down by the end of the summer 2012 and then Fred Coury [drummer for Cinderella] mixed it for me and made it sound brilliant. I signed with Rat Pak Records in the beginning of 2013.
It took me longer to do the rest of the CD because I got involved in another band project with Eric. My idle threats have all been warranted.
Robert: I wasn’t surprised by the great guitar playing on the CD, but I was surprised by the dark lyrics. Were you in dark part of your life when you wrote them?
Jeff LaBar: [Laughing] Some of these lyrics were written in the ‘90s post Cinderella’s heyday while listening to Alice in Chains and similar kind of music. Some of it was also written in the 2000’s as well.
I think the dark lyrics are tongue and cheek. Like “Nightmare on my Street” is about a fictitious serial killer, similar to what Alice Cooper does.
There were some lyrics about bad relationships where I wasn’t happy. The CD allowed me to get it all out. Songs like “Hello or Goodbye” is about whether your loved one will be there when you get home from being on the road.
“One for the Road” is pretty much about the guy who won’t leave the bar… if his life depended on it. I guess now that you mention it, the lyrics are from a dark time in my life. [Laughing]
Things are no longer dark. I think it’s almost cathartic for me to get it out and share with my fans. Once you get it all out, “I’m hunkie dorie” [Laughing]
Robert: When it comes to writing is it difficult do you separate yourself from working on Cinderella songs?
Jeff LaBar: Not really. With Cinderella, Tom writes most of the songs and it’s a whole different process. When we go into preproduction, Eric and I will hash out Tom’s songs and arrange most of the parts.
All four of us will come up with a bridge, solo section or a break down section. We’ve got used to working like that.
As far as my writing style I come up with most of my songs at sound check, just jamming with Fred. I know for a fact the riff for “Asking for a Beating” was created at a sound check when Fred came up with a beat.
That’s the best place for me to write, just having a drummer through down a beat and coming up with riffs. There is nothing better than doing it on a big stage with three Marshall stacks [Laughing]
Robert: Who influenced you the most growing up and learning how to play guitar?
Jeff LaBar: When I was in the 4th or the 5th grade I started playing drums. I thought it was boring. My older brother who is 5 and a half years older than me was playing guitar. When he was out at work at an afterschool job, I would take his guitar put it on and jump around in front of the mirror to Alice Cooper records.
One day he caught me and said “Do you want to learn how to play that thing or do you just want to dance with it in front of the mirror?”
With that I said I wanted to learn and he taught me three open chords and put a “folkie” songbook in front of me with a “Peaceful Easy Feeling” by the Eagles and other songs by America and Crosby Stills & Nash.
I took it from there and learned how to play by ear to records and started singing the songs. From there I got into Yes, Pink Floyd, Genesis and the classic rock of the ‘70s.
When I was a teenage I got into Sabbath, Zeppelin, Cooper, Maiden, Priest, Anthrax, and Metallica. Before I got in Cinderella I was in a cover band doing all heavy metal covers.
Robert: Is there something you want Cinderella fans to take away from your CD?
Jeff LaBar: I hope they take away that I’m not just a guitar player from an ‘80s band that used to be famous, but viewed as a new artist who is a singer and songwriter.
Robert: Did you have hesitations about singing on the CD?
Jeff LaBar: I’ve been signing all my live and sing all the time. I sing to my cats all day long. I sang in bands growing up but once I got into Cinderella, we had a pretty good singer so I was glad to be the guy on the left. [Laughing].
Robert: Do you think we will see a solo tour?
Jeff LaBar: I just might. I don’t have a band together but in the video, my son Sebastian is playing guitar. He’s in a great band called Mach 22 and I produced their last CD.
Jasmine Cane is on bass – a great singer and performer. The drummer is Matt Horn who is in the best Rockabilly band ever. If I can get them to leave their night jobs, I would do it.
I can make my son do it but I need the other members too. [Laughing] Living in Nashville there are a lot of great musicians to tap into.
Robert: What guitars did you use to record the CD – its rich in guitar tones?
Jeff LaBar: What you hear on the CD is what comes out of my amp. I work out of a studio call Studio Dragon that Ronnie Honeycutt has, he has been my engineer for years. He always says that if it sounds good coming out of your amp it will sound good when people listen to it.
I have been using the same Marshall heads and cabinets for over 30 years now – my whole career. I’ve replaced parts here and there as well as the speaker but other than that. It’s been the same.
The different tones come from the different guitars. The heavy tones come from Les Paul – a 1980 custom shop. When I want a clean tone I use my old Strat, with the pick-up cracked between the bridge and center.
You can hear the distinction of the strings with the plucking chords, which is my Strat and power chords, which is my Les Paul. I also used a Telecaster on “Hello or Goodbye” for the clean tones.
For acoustics I used Eric’s 12-string Alverez, I’ve offered to buy it from him but he refuses so we just keep it at my house [Laughing]. I also used a 6-string Epiphone Heritage acoustic on the interlude for “Muse.”
Robert: What is the status of Cinderella?
Jeff LaBar: Tom is still touring his solo CD and I have mine coming out, Fred is doing a ton of commercial work as he has a studio out in LA. He was scoring the new NBC medical drama, Night Shift, which just got picked up for a second season and he will be busier than any of us.
Eric is out in LA with Rikki Rockett and Tracii Guns working on a new project band called Devil City Angels. We are all busy and haven’t broken up, were just doing our own things. With that said our status is up in the air.
We could or could not tour next summer [Laughing]. We’ll see what the offers are like and if anybody wants to see us. If they do, we’ll go out!
