Gary James' Interview With Rick Ramirez And Paul Frank Of
Bruzer



Guitarist/composer Rick Ramirez and singer/songwriter Paul Frank make up the nucleus of Bruzer. Back in 1982, when this interview was conducted, their first album had been released.

Q - Your album cover has a late '50s, early '60s look to it. Whose idea was that?

Rick - We were trying to come up with a concept for Bruzer and that's why we're in a boxing ring.

Paul - Actually, we were trying to come up with a Raging Bull era, even earlier than that.

Q - You start the album with a real rocker, then you go softer. Why didn't you continue in that Hard Rock vein?

Rick - Because we want to cross over, hopefully do some AM, not really just Top 40. The next side of the album just hits you over the head.

Paul - We wanted to put a little more variety into it.

Q - Paul, you played the last date at Fillmore East with John Lennon. Were you in John Lennon's band?

Paul - I toured with Frank Zappa And The Mothers Of Invention at the time. He played with Frank Zappa and Yoko Ono. They all sat in together. I just had the pleasure of being on the same stage as all of them.

Q - Did you get to talk to John?

Paul - Yeah. It was the biggest thing in my life. It was the first time I was ever star struck, you know what I mean?

Q - I know what you mean.

Paul - Meeting an actual Beatle, it was a real thrill for me.

Q - One record company executive has stated that the biggest problem in the music business today is the taping of albums off radio stations when they are being previewed or featured. Thousands of record sales are lost when this is done. Do you see this as a major problem?

Rick - It hurts everybody in the business. It hurts new bands. It hurts big acts.

Paul - The disc jockeys shouldn't announce they're going to play the whole album. They should just go into it and play it. By taping off the radio, they're not going to get the quality of sound you get from the record.

Q - Johnny Carson said, "People who are in the creative end of entertainment are not normal by most standards." He goes on to say, "Walking onstage and baring your soul to a bunch of strangers isn't a normal thing to do." Would he be talking about you guys?

Paul - He's definitely not a normal person.

Rick - He could be talking about anybody. He could be talking about himself. What's great about being an artist is you get out there and if people relate to what you're saying, that's one of the best feelings you can feel in this business. It's better than getting money in a sense because people are feeling your expressions and that's what music is all about.

© Gary James. All rights reserved.

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