Eric Brittingham | Naked Beggers | Cinderella | March 2005 |
This month I had the great opportunity to interview
Eric Brittingham of Cinderella / Naked Beggers..
I've been a fan since the first time I saw a Cinderella video.. and could
hear these guys had more talent then most the fly
by night hairbands.. and over 20 years later.. the guy is still plugging away..
So here's a trip down memory lane .. and into the future..
J - First off.. wayyy back in the day, how did you guys all hook up to form Cinderella?
E - Tom and I had been in a few cover bands together and decided to start an original band. We had a different drummer and guitar player at first. Eventually, we replaced them with Jeff and Fred.
J - How long were you together before getting signed?
E - About four years
J - Did Jon Bon Jovi help you guys out in some way?
E - He saw us play at a club in Philly while he was in town recording. He was impressed and urged his A&R person to see us. That led to us signing a deal with Mercury.
J - How important was the look back in the "hair days" and do you ever look back and think.. "what the hell was I thinking"?
E - Image was always important and, to some extent, still is. As styles change, looking back at how you once looked is kinda funny. I like to compare it to looking at your old yearbook pictures from high school. I bet that most people would say "what was I thinking?"
J - What was your favorite package tour.. any good road stories?
E - The Bon Jovi tour was probably the most fun. Everyone from the bands and crew got along great together. As far as stories, I like to keep that sort of thing private.
J - What was your least favorite... w/lots of drama?
E - Actually, all the tours have been good. We had some differences with a couple of bands, but have had a great time overall.
J - Biggest crowd you ever played for and where?
E - Either in Russia for the Moscow Music Peace Festival or Germany for the Monsters Of Rock. Both were over 150K but the Moscow show was broadcast live to over a billion.
J - Craziest thing a fan has ever done to meet you?
E - One time some fans were following the tour bus and accidentally swerved and flipped their car. We pulled over and turned the car back up and signed stuff for them.
J - What was your favorite music video to make?
E - Shake Me. It was our first video and just sticks out for that reason.
J - Least favorite?
E - Gypsy Road. We filmed it in Mexico and I got a severe intestinal bug the first day. Also, my bass was stolen at the airport when we got there.
J - Favorite Cinderella release? and why?
E - Long Cold Winter. I think that we had recorded the best we could and had fun doing it too.
J - Least favorite, or just didn't turn out as well as you wanted?
E - Night songs. I wish we had the experience we had on the subsequent records when we recorded that one.
J - What led to the break up of the band?
E - Circumstances. We were dropped from Mercury and had no interest from other labels. The grunge scene had basically ostrisized bands like us from the market, so we basically had to pack it in.
J - Did everyone still stay in touch.?
E - Oh Yeah. We had parted ways with Fred after the Heartbreak Station record, but still talked to him regularly. We never really had much of an internal problem with the band.
J - Its been years since the last Cinderella release.. what ever happened to the c.d. that was supposed to come out?
E - We were dropped by Sony before we ever started recording it.
J - Any plans on new music coming out anytime soon?
E - Not in the near future. Tom is doing a solo record which will include some of the songs intended for the Cinderella record. Jeff and I are recording the second Naked Beggars record which will be released this summer.
J - Now you guys are getting back together for the "Rock Never Stops" tour, how did that come about...?
E - We wanted to tour and they made a good offer.
J - Does this mean the band is back together for good?
E - The band never really broke up. We enjoy working together and are willing to play, record, etc. when we're afforded the opportunity.
J - Any touring plans, by yourselves...?
E - There will be some one-off dates as we do the Rock Never Stops tour and maybe some warm-up dates before we start.
J - Also you guys are also realeasing a greatest hits c.d. /DVD.. what kind of stuff will be on there? Any unreleased tracks?
E - Basically, the CD will have the hits but we added more album tracks from all the records. The DVD has all the videos, except "Hot and Bothered" which is owned by Warner Bros.
J - Now on to Naked Beggars.. how did you guys hook up..?
E - The band started out as Inga's project with guitarist Kris Casamento. I was helping out with demos and then got more involved. When Cinderella didn't tour last summer, I asked Jeff to join. We also added Kristine Brasuell on keyboards around the same time. Our drummer, Shawn Hughs, joined the band most recently. We toured for six months and are now recording again.
J - And now Jeff Labar has joined the band.. how did that come about, is he a permanent member?
E - I just kinda explained that LOL. Yes he is a permanent member. He is very committed to the band and we all work together great.
J - How would you describe your sound to anyone who hasnt heard you yet?
E - It's straight ahead rock with a fun attitude.
J - Who does the writing in the band?
E - We all contribute to the writing. Some songs are written spontaneously together as a band, some are co-writes, and some individually.
J - How is it playing w/chicks!!?
E - In a band or in general? hehe! It's actually great. It's definitely different being married to the singer but it works.
J - Any more recording planned?
E - We're recording the second record now and will have it completed this spring.
J - Tour plans?
E - Naked Beggars will probably do some dates before the Cinderella tour kicks off. We plan on touring extensively after.
J - Do you have a website where everyone can keep up with what your doing?
J - How do you feel the internet has changed promoting bands..etc?
E - It allows bands to get on a more personal level with fans and promote themselves more effectively.
J - How do you feel about Mp3's and file sharing?
E - I really don't see much difference than when people used to make their own tapes. The more your music is exposed to the public, the better.
J - Into any of the "new" bands out there today?
E - Not much has really impressed me lately.
J - What would be in your cd player right now?
E - Chris Whitley
J - What's the future hold for Eric Brittingham?
E - I'm still doing what I love to do and plan on doing it for quite awhile.
J - Anything you would like to say to all your fans reading this?
E - I'd like to thank them for all their support over the years and I'm glad they still follow what's happening.
