Mike Tramp | White Lion | Freak of Nature | Mabel | April 2000 |

 

This month interview will be very different..
not only was it in person (so the questions are really answered in length) 
but this is the first interview Mike has done in a really long time.. 
let alone the first online interview..
so find out all the newest info here along w/what ever happened to White Lion....
and will there ever be a White Lion reunion..
its all here..so sit back..light some candles..and enjoy...
I bring you........
the one and only Mike Tramp..

 

J-Well first off we need to go backwards.. how did you hook up w/White Lion back in the day?
M-I was born and raised in Copenhagin,Denmark and from the second I started playing rock n roll..at age 15 and joined my first band there.. Mabel  which right from the start was a professional band, they were also 10 yrs. older then me.. and  already had a record deal..it was like leaving school and jumping into a business.. that instantly we were living off of ,and at age 15 I wanted to be a soccer player..but once I started tasting rock n roll…Im saying rock n roll but it could have been called more pop rock n roll at that time..but still.. as I started growing older..and started writing my first songs I started taking over the band..in the writing,..and so on..and in about 1977 ,1978 Van Halen came out w/there first album..that was the ticket for me..I knew I had to go to that place..I was living in a place that wasnt excepting what I was doing.. made fun of me..and I felt really uncomfortable..we ended up moving down to Spain from 79-82..playing rock n roll down there..but I knew I had to be at the place my heros were..so hell or high water I convinced the band that this is where we had to go.We met someone who lived in New York and if we came over we could stay at his house,that was all I needed to know.So we went over in the summer of 82 and instantly started playing..and its funny..the first place we played was Lamours which later became White Lions birthplace and home..and Im going back there this month..everything we did was Lamours..we rehersed there our manager owned the club..etc.One night we (Mabel) were playing in November w/a band called Dreamer,which was fronted by Vito..not fronted..he was the guitar player and I met him in the dressing room..and in guitar playing he was like a decade ahead of us..and I instantly knew as a survivor I had to be w/that guy. We had gone back to Denmark around Christmas..all broke and broken down..but I knew I tasted blood I had to come back..and I took out a bank loan that I didn't pay back for 10yrs. just to get over here.The 2nd night I came back, I came back to the club,I met a girl and she said I know who your looking for...and she gave me Vitos phone number..the next day we were together..

 

J-was it Vitos band...w/the rest of his guys..?
M-No..no..at that time he brought in the bass player and the drummer..from his band ,the band had basically broken up.Vito had already heard about me..even though I had been in new York for such a short time..I made some sort of waves..just in my approch,and people were saying ahh..that could be the New York, David Lee Roth and Eddie Van Halen thing So we got together and started playing some of my old material..then the 2 other guys left and it was just basically Vito and I .We started writing and the first song we wrote as him and I was "Broken Heart".

 

J-Did everyone in the band get along?
M-Well Im the type of person that came to play I didnt come to party..and thats always been a bit of a problem, here and there. Ive always been dead serious about everything I do..so at the time everyone got along,but I instantly had all the plans..I wasnt going to be a local New York band..so I wanted  to 
be up there playing w/the big ones..so we were friends..but it wasnt going the way I wanted it so thats also the reason I didnt want to continue..

 

J-How important was the look back then..and do you ever look back at the pictures  and think what the hell was I thinking?
M-Well no I think the look was everything there was so much pressure on the look..if a drummer showed up and looked like a mechanic he wouldn't be taken..which is sad..and its almost the opposite right now..the look was everything. I remember one night early in our career in 86' we were opening up for Triumph we had been driving all day,and there was almost no time to get dressed..I didnt tease my hair that night..and my manager and Vito are standing there..."What,do you have a death wish on the band?"...I guess at that time I was hair..and I must say in reality in the long run I have been uncomfortable w/that.. but obviously I took care of my hair and went as far as I could w/it.. but I refuse to answer that "I was hair"..cause the songs and the lyrics, the performance..would have been there regardless of the hair..but w/out a doubt going out in front of 25,000 people in the right outfit w/the 
right hair..was performance,there is no way Hootie and the Blowfish got the same reaction when they went out in front of 25,000 people...as we did..and thats what rock n roll was those days..

 

J-whats the biggest crowd you ever played for...
M-It was funny actually that we played for 100,000 people as the 2nd show w/Freak of Nature,when we played the Dynamo Festival..in  front of 100,000 dead head  thrash metal fans,but  playing w/White Lion we were  playing out to 50-60,000 when we were out w/AC/DC..but the bigger the crowd the more it just blends..playing for 6 people..now thats hard,cause you feel like you have a contact  w/each individual person...

 

J-Whats the craziest thing a fan has ever done to meet you?
M-Well…we were playing Ireland,and we were going all the way up to play Belfast.As we leave Belfast its all military and you have to get through zones..and its really scary to be in that city, but very important to be there cause there is people that really wanted to hear the band. So we are about an hour ,hour and a half out of Belfast and we are having a pow wow in the back of the bus,ya know the whole band,the crew..and the manager..and everyone is looking at each other wanting to use  the toilet and everyone is counting…everyone is there..but the bathroom is filled…so we open the bathroom door,and there is 2 girls in there.. they had just thrown themselves on the bus and hid in there..

J-Hahaha…what did you do w/them?
M-The manager pulled the bus over and opened the door..and kicked them out….

 

J-What led to the band lineup changing? Did you record w/the new guys?
M-Are you talking about White Lion? Well it already started w/the "Big Game" album.. and "Big Game" tour..and I think it just was in one way or another me and Vito took all the glory that we were what the band was…we did the songwriting ..we were the band..we started the band…I never discredited Greg or James..and even though I was kinda caught in the middle cause I was friends w/everyone Vito kinda  stood alone on one side.and said "We are the song writers..Ive asked everybody if they wanna be part of this..or have songs to come to the table.. and nobody would come w/anything"..and it basically came down to a money issue that never was debated ..then one day….they didn't even tell me,I got a call from my manager saying..hey..they decided to leave the band.I wasn't surprised but I didn't anticipate  it. And we got Jimmy and Tommy in the band and the first couple weeks of rehearsal  were probably some of the best times in the bands life, but it was never White Lion.They were great players..and there was a lot of fun in that.. yet it became a mind funk.Basicaly they were great players, and we would go out and play..but it wasn't the comradery that went out on the "Fight to Survive" tour…when we were 4 guys in the back of the van  going up to kill every night on a 3x5 ft. stage in from of Ace Frehley….

J-Do you know where the original guys are? And do you still talk to them?
M-Haha..do I know where they are…ya..Greg and James are in California  and Vito is in Staten Island..the place he was born..and the house hes been livng in..but its kinda a sore subject cause,I have a great relationship w/Greg and James now..I bear no anomosity even though we have gone through law suits and stuff like that..Ive always said..do whatever it takes to settle it…but Vito has chosen to be on the whole other side.. after the "Remembering White Lion" album..that I had asked him to do….see…after I had traveled around the country w/the Capricorn thing..the rumors about White Lion  had started. As im writing inside the album…and I went to Vito…and said I dont wanna do that..but I have to come to you and say how do you feel about it..and he just said Ive retired from music I don't wanna do it..
I just said..Ive been approached to do some sort of album..Ive come to you first..Im going to do it one way or another..but Im coming to you first,if you and I get together..we are White Lion..and not that I wanted to go that way,cause I just didn't feel that music anymore..so he never calls me back after we met …I just moved on..I went to Denmark did the "Remembering White Lion" cd. I wanted to do something that was just remembering the songs in a new way..not continuing it..and once I did that album..Id never touch the stuff again……and since then I didnt hear from Vito and  now last time I heard from Vito he was suing me..so its kinda like I stand here and say my memorys of White Lion are unfortunatly seriously bitter…….and its not from my side…that's just the way it is.

 

J-Ok after White Lion you where in a band called Freak of Nature..tell us about that and how many releases do you do w/them?
M-Well Freak of Nature was based on all the stuff White Lion wasn't..and all the stuff White Lion had forgotten.From the start I made the band a total band effort.. even though I had started the band..I had the record deal..I had all the stuff behind me,and it was based on Mike Tramp..but when the guys came in  we were writing the songs in the rehearsal room as 5 guys..I wanted it to be team work..I knew we had to start from the bottom,I knew if I had to ask that of the guys..they had to be a 5th of the band. We released 2 albums, then I released a 3rd album of some out-takes..I called it "Outcasts".. but I wrote in the cd..that Freak of Nature was the happiest days of my life..in rock n roll.. its my proudest moment regardless if any of the albums went on any charts..and sold a lot..
I don't know if ill ever top it w/my own stuff..its just at my prime..it was sad for me knowing how quickly the band fell apart, and there really isn't a reason for it.. we are still  friends…but each member has made it impossible for the band to reunite..

 

J- Did you always plan on recording a solo album?
M-No cause I hate being alone! but after spending my life w/2 bands,and the energy it takes to build 2 bands,I couldn't go through starting a new band,I knew I could never do what Freak of Nature did..it was the best band I've ever been in…

 

J-Whats your writing processs for the songs on "Capricorn"..those are really deep songs?
M-Well Ive always felt that playing in a band,even though I was writing the lyrics..I kinda represented the band,the band might not always agree on what ive written,ive always had that in mind..but "Capricorn" was me outside of Freak of Nature..and White Lion..if you found me in thew back of the bus,at that stage I was already writing "Capricorn". "Capricorn",Mike Tramp solo artist is what Mike Tramp has always been..that is the sound Ive added to the 2 bands Ive been in..then we have taken it from there..that is what I am..that kind of music is what I added when Vito came to me w/a guitar riff..I pitched back my sound and we met in the middle..

 

J-How would you explain the music to someone that has never heard it as compaired to White Lion?
M-Well White Lion was a period of time when music was like that…

J-Ya but if someone was sitting here right now and said what kind of music do you play..how would you explain it?
M-Well what I am today I am rock n roll..I am no frills rock n roll..the rock n roll I grew up w/..Im not out doing new music..Im doing what my heros have done..White Lion could not have exsited in the 90's or the yr. 2000..in reality..and be out there.."Capricorn" Im the same as Tom Petty,Bruce Springsteen, AC/DC,Bryan Adams..unchangable rock n roll.. no frills..walk straight in..do it..take it for what it is..no gimmicks..

 

J-After the release of "Capricorn" you went out on a self promoting tour  across the country to promote at radio stations..etc..tell us about that trip..
M-I wanted people to understand ,same thing w/Freak of Nature I would go in there an fix the lights myself…I  wanted people to see..Im a human being I can drive to this town come out w/an acoustic guitar and I am real..

 

J-Just a quick note..during the promo tour across America,Mike kept a diary of everyday of the trip...this is a must read! its like being there for the whole thing..Its some of the saddest and some of the funniest stuff Ive ever read.. Im giving you the link here to come back and read it sometime...It awesome! and it shows you what real life is like traveling around.. one man..one guitar Trampin Across America!

 

J- Now your getting ready to embark on an actual tour for a couple weeks..what will it be like..old stuff? New stuff? What are your plans..?
M- It will be old stuff ,new stuff.. Im doing about 6-7 songs White Lion..and the same amount for "Capricorn"..the White Lion songs are the songs that fit in the style of "Capricorn"..they are not the songs that would represent the time they were written in..they are the songs that will fit in today…Im not going back in time.. Im just playing the songs cause people kinda expect me to play the songs,so Im playing the ones that fit naturally into my style of music today.. and its very important for people to understand,this is not White Lion..Im not trying to recreate White Lion..its  Mike Tramp out there..and in between my own songs I bring out White Lion songs..and it all blends together..

 

J-Onto the future anymore releases planned?Have you been recording?
M-Well ya…I mean,Im ready to record tomorrow..its tough out there..Im already gathering the songs for the next solo album..I mean the next Mike Tramp album..I don't need to say solo album,cause a solo album is something you do in between being in a band…its just a matter of working really hard..if Im going to go in there and spend the effort and get my songs together..I want them to get out to people..and not have to go on ebay and pay 35.00 for my album..I want them to pay 13.00 at a record store.. but that is probley more the delay..cause my songs are done..I just need to get them out there.. there will be a 3rd album too…

 

J-Then an acoustic… unplugged….hahaha…
M-Well Im actually sick and tired of the unplugged thing..I think in reality its been over exposed, with the unplugged thing..its easier for a record company to send a band out on a promo tour w/a couple of acoustic guitars on the plane..every band has been over exposed…as long as AC/DC never does an unplugged there is still hope for rock n roll.. I don't need to do an unplugged cause my music is based on folk…rock n roll..that is my backbone,that is how Ive grown up..I don't need to do unplugged..that's what I do in the back of the bus..or at a radio station..but I don't wanna do unplugged in that way..

 

J-Ok that's about it..what would you like to say to your fans that are reading this?
M-I wanna say thanks to the ones that still believe in me..and undertand that for me to live I have to do what I do..and that is the reason I do this..Im not doing it for the money…cause I aint makin no money on it..I wouldnt do the kind of tour Im doing right now,where basically everynight I show up and have tons of problems everyday..and the only fun I have is the hour Im out on stage..the only time things change is when they go wrong..

J-Well thank you very much!
M-Your welcome……