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SPOTLIGHT INTERVIEW
DECEMBER 2003
BOBBY BORG-AUTHOR/DRUMMER
By Rob Watts
BOBBY BORG IS THE AUTHOR OF "
THE MUSICIANS HANDBOOK-A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO UNDERSTANDING THE MUSIC BUSINESS ". THIS BOOK IS A DEFINITE MUST FOR ANY MUSICIAN STARTING OUT IN THE MUSIC BUSINESS OR EVEN THE MOST ACCOMPLISHED
OF MUSICIANS. IT'S ALSO A GREAT READ FOR FANS OF MUSIC WHO ARE INTERESTED IN WHAT GOES ON BEHIND THE SCENES IN THE
INDUSTRY. BOBBY IS THE FORMER DRUMMER FOR THE BAND WARRANT AS WELL AS A GRADUATE FROM BERKLEE COLLEGE OF MUSIC IN BOSTON. BOBBY RECENTLY DID AN INTERVIEW WITH US AND TALKED ABOUT HIS MUSIC CAREER AS WELL AS HIS NEW
BOOK. ENJOY.
OCEAN VIEW PRESS- HOW MANY YEARS HAVE YOU BEEN PLAYING MUSIC PROFESSIONALLY?
BOBBY BORG- IT HAS TO BE AT LEAST 25 YEARS. I STARTED AT A VERY YOUNG AGE.
DO
YOU PLAY ANY OTHER INSTRUMENTS BESIDES DRUMS AND IS THERE AN INSTRUMENT THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO LEARN?
AS
A STUDENT AT BERKLEE COLLEGE OF MUSIC, I PLAYED PIANO. MY TEACHERS ALSO HAD ME LEARNING THE MARIMBA AND TYMPANY. I ALSO DABBLE
WITH PERCUSSION INSTRUMENTS. BOTTOM LINE, MY PRINCIPLE INSTRUMENT IS THE DRUMS. I'D LIKE TO LEARN GUITAR THOUGH.
DID YOU EVER HAVE ANY CAREER AMBITIONS BESIDES MUSIC GROWING UP?
I WANTED TO BE AN ARCHITECT AND DESIGN HOMES. THAT'S STILL AN ART, RIGHT?
WHO
WERE SOME OF YOUR MUSICAL INFLUENCES GROWING UP?
BUDDY RICH, GENE KRUPA, JOHN BONHAM, GINGER BAKER
TO NAME A FEW.
WHAT TYPE OF DRUMS DO YOU PLAY THESE DAYS?
I'M
ENDORSED BY PEARL DRUMS.
YOU GRADUATED FROM BERKLEE COLLEGE OF MUSIC IN BOSTON. TALK
A LITTLE ABOUT HOW IT EDUCATED YOU AS A MUSICIAN AND WOULD YOU RECOMMEND THE SCHOOL TO ASPIRING MUSICIANS?
AS I PREVIOUSLY SUGGESTED, BERKLEE HELPS YOU TO BE MORE OPEN MINDED TO A VARIETY OF OTHER INSTRUMENTS, AND TO MUSIC
IN GENERAL. I THINK IT IS IMPORTANT THAT MUSICIANS UNDERSTAND THE THEORY BEHIND THEIR CRAFT, BUT TO ALSO FIND A BALANCE WITH
THEIR SOUL. THAT'S THE CHALLENGE.
WHAT YEAR DID YOU GRADUATE?
I
GRADUATED IN 1988
WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR BEST MEMORIES OF GOING TO SCHOOL IN BOSTON?
RUNNING AROUND THE CHARLES RIVER ON A WARM SUMMER NIGHT, WALKING ON NEWBURY STREET DURING THE CHRISTMAS
HOLIDAY AND PLAYING MUSIC UP IN CAMBRIDGE IN CENTRAL SQUARE WITH ALL MY BUDDIES.
DO
ANY CLUBS COME TO MIND FOR SEEING A GOOD LIVE SHOW IN BOSTON.
I THINK MANY OF THE CLUBS THAT WERE
UP AND RUNNING WHEN I WAS THERE ARE GONE NOW. GOSH, EVEN IF THEY WERE STILL THERE, I DON'T REMEMBER THE NAMES ANYMORE.
AS YOU KNOW, I'VE DONE A GOOD DEAL OF TOURING SINCE THEN, AND ALL THE VENUES BECOME NEARLY THE SAME.
NOW YOU WERE A MEMBER OF THE BANDS BEGGARS AND THIEVES AND LEFT FOR DEAD. WHAT YEARS WERE YOU WITH EACH OF
THOSE BANDS AND DO YOU STILL KEEP IN TOUCH WITH ANY OF THE BAND MEMBERS?
I WAS IN BEGGARS AND THIEVES
IN EARLY 1989 TO 1991. I WAS IN LEFT FOR DEAD FROM 1991 TO 1994. I'M IN TOUCH OCCASIONALLY WITH A FEW OF THE GUYS.
NOW MOST OF THE READERS WILL REMEMBER WARRANT FOR SONGS LIKE "CHERRY PIE" AND
"HEAVEN". WHAT THEY MAY NOT KNOW IS THAT YOU JOINED AFTER THOSE SONGS CAME OUT AND RECORDED ON WARRANT'S "BELLY
TO BELLY" ALBUM. WERE YOU A FAN OF WARRANT'S OLDER SONGS, AND DID YOU ENJOY PLAYING THEM LIVE AS OPPOSED TO THE SONGS
YOU RECORDED WHILE IN THE BAND?
NO, I WAS'NT A BIG FAN OF WARRANT, BUT I RESPECTED THAT THEY WERE
GOOD AT WHAT THEY DID. NONETHELESS, I ENJOYED PLAYING THEIR OLDER HITS AS WELL AS THE NEW MATERIAL ON BELLY TO BELLY ALL THE
SAME.
WHEN WAS YOUR LAST SHOW WITH WARRANT?
I BELIEVE IT WAS
AROUND 1998
WHAT BANDS ARE YOU CURRENTLY ENJOYING THESE DAYS? ARE YOU A FAN OF ANY
NEW MUSIC THATS OUT RIGHT NOW?
I LISTEN TO ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING. I'VE BEEN LISTENING TO A LOT
OF RAP ACTUALLY, STUFF LIKE NASS. YOU KNOW I ALSO LISTEN TO OPERA, CLASSICAL, JAZZ...YOU NAME IT.
CAN
YOU TALK ABOUT WHY MOST BANDS TODAY DON'T SEEM TO HAVE LONGEVITY IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY ANYMORE. I.E.-BANDS LIKE AEROSMITH,
METALLICA, AND EVEN DAVE MATTHEWS SEEM TO STAND THE TEST OF TIME, BUT MOST DO NOT. WHAT ADVISE WOULD YOU GIVE TO A BAND
STARTING OUT THAT WOULD HELP THEM STAY IN THE GAME LONGER?
IF YOUR QUESTION IS HOW A BAND CAN STAND
THE TEST OF TIME IN THE MUSIC BUSINESS, I WOULD SAY IT'S ALL ABOUT WRITING QUALITY SONGS AND NOT BEING AFRAID TO REINVENT
THEMSELVES CONTINUALLY. A BAND MUST MAKE IT THEIR GOALS TO WANT TO STAY TOGETHER FOR THE LONG RUN. SERIOUSLY! MANY GREAT BANDS
END UP GIVING UP AND PARTING WAYS AS SOON AS THE GOING GETS ROUGH. IS THIS A LIFE COMMITMENT?
SPEAKING
OF ADVISE, YOU HAVE WRITTEN A BOOK TITLED "THE MUSICIANS HANDBOOK". WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO WRITE THIS BOOK?
I HAD DECIDED TO WRITE THE BOOK AFTER SEEING ONE TALENTED MUSICIAN AFTER ANOTHER BECOME SO FRUSTRATED
ABOUT THE MUSIC BUSINESS. IT SEEMED THAT THERE WAS JUST NOT AN ASSEMBLED ENOUGH TOOL IN THE MARKETPLACE FOR MUSICIANS TO GET
THE BUSINESS END OF THINGS TOGETHER. I FELT THAT THERE WAS A NEED FOR A BOOK WRITTEN BY A MUSICIAN FOR MUSICIANS IN A SIMPLE
AND EASY TO UNDERSTAND STYLE.
STEVE VAI, MIKE INEZ ( ALICE N CHAINS, OZZY OSBOURNE
) AND THE LATE RANDY CASTILLO ( MOTLEY CRUE ) ARE AMONG THE MANY MUSICIANS THAT HAVE READ YOUR BOOK. CAN YOU TELL US IF ANY
OF THEM OWNED UP TO LEARNING ANYTHING NEW AND VALUABLE IN YOUR BOOK?
THEY LIKED THE BOOK BECAUSE IT
WAS ONE OF THE FIRST BOOKS ABOUT THE MUSIC BUSINESS THAT SEEMED TO PRESENT COMPLEX ISSUES IN A VERY PRACTICAL STYLE.
WILL THERE BE ANY FOLLOW UP WRITING PROJECTS TO LOOK FORWARD TO IN THE FUTURE?
I WROTE THE MUSICIANS HANDBOOK SO THAT ALL THE MUSICIANS OUT THERE PURSUING A CAREER IN MUSIC TODAY WOULD NOT HAVE
TO SUFFER THROUGH SOME OF THE SAME HURDLES AS I DID. I'M STILL FOCUSING ON FULFILLING THAT MISSION BY TRYING TO GET PEOPLE
FOCUSED ON THE BOOK. A SECOND BOOK WILL COME LATER.
WHERE IS THE BOOK AVAILABLE SO
OUR READERS CAN CHECK IT OUT?
GO TO bobbyborg.com AND CLICK ON THE AMAZON LINK. THE BOOK IS ALSO AVAILABLE AT ALL MAJOR BOOK SELLERS. IF YOU
DON'T SEE IT, IT'S BECAUSE IT'S SOLD OUT. JUST ASK THE CLERK AND THEY WILL ORDER IT FOR YOU.
YOUR A VERY TALENTED MUSICIAN AND AN ASSET TO THE MUSIC INDUSTRY. WE WISH YOU LUCK WITH
YOUR ENDEAVORS. WOULD YOU LIKE TO LEAVE THE READERS WITH ANY PARTING WORDS BEFORE WE END THIS?
THANK YOU FOR THE COMPLIMENT. I'D SIMPLY LIKE TO REMIND YOUR READERS THAT THOUGH MUSIC IS AN ART, MAKING A LIVING
FROM IT IS A VERY SERIOUS BUSINESS. IF YOU WANT MUSIC TO BE YOUR LIVELIHOOD, YOU MUST TREAT IT AS A BUSINESS OR THE BUSINESS
WILL TAKE ADVANTAGE OF YOU. I HOPE YOUR READERS WILL GET A COPY OF THE MUSICIANS HANDBOOK. PLEASE EMAIL ME WHEN YOU GET A
COPY AND I WILL BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO OFFER A FREE PHONE CONSULTATION IF YOU HAVE ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS. I'D LIKE TO HEAR
FROM YOU. PEACE!
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