{"id":16302,"date":"2016-08-17T01:00:34","date_gmt":"2016-08-17T05:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southeastofheaven.com\/?p=16302"},"modified":"2016-09-01T08:43:33","modified_gmt":"2016-09-01T12:43:33","slug":"blowin-wind-with-alice-cooperbeasto-blancos-chuck-garric","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/?p=16302","title":{"rendered":"Blowin’ Wind with Alice Cooper\/Beasto Blanco’s Chuck Garric: “It was important for us to establish ourselves as not a side band. Beasto Blanco is a band with original material, it’s own stage presence, it’s own life, and it’s own beating heart.”"},"content":{"rendered":"

For 14 years, Chuck Garric has been holding down bass duties for the legendary Alice Cooper<\/a>\"\" but he’s this cat has a pretty extensive career performing with LA Guns, the Eric Singer Project, and the late great Ronnie James Dio.\u00a0 In 2003, Chuck also released his band Beasto Blanco’s<\/a>\"\" debut album which gave him an outlet to express himself creatively and artistically.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

On the eve of Alice Cooper’s Atlanta performance, I had the pleasure of talking with Chuck and we talked about all kinds of cool shit!\u00a0 We talked about what Alice Cooper song he would love to play live that he hasn’t already, playing bass with a pick vs. with his fingers, and how important Beasto Blanco is to him.\u00a0 This was a truly great conversation and I hope you all will enjoy getting to know Mr. Chuck Garric.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Chuck, thanks so much for taking the time out to talk to me today!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Oh yeah, it’s all good, brother.<\/p>\n

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Chuck, you’ve got quite a history behind you so I’m really excited to talk with you.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thank you so much, Don.\u00a0 I’ve been fortunate enough to play with a couple of the best in the industry, Alice Cooper and Ronnie James Dio.\u00a0 I mean, Coop and Dio have contributed so much.<\/p>\n

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You have been with Alice for quite a while now.\u00a0 Being that you’ve been in the band for so long, do you feel like you have kind put more of yourself into these songs than you did say when you were first starting out and just playing these songs you had learned?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Absolutely.\u00a0 These songs have become my own.\u00a0 They’re part of me.\u00a0 I don’t think about them while playing them as much as I did when I was learning them and becoming a touring member of the band.\u00a0 They’re engrained in me and it’s been my life now for 14 years.\u00a0 It feels very natural.<\/p>\n

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So before we get to far into this interview, I have to ask, what is the one question you get asked so much that if you get asked it again, you’ll kick something.<\/strong><\/p>\n

[Laughs] I think the question I hate the most is, “What’s your favorite place to play?\u00a0 What’s your favorite city?”\u00a0 I mean, how do you answer that?\u00a0 Wherever I have a fucking bass in my hand.\u00a0 Hell, I don’t get to see the city anyway [laughs].<\/p>\n

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Chuck you’re about to release a new album with Beasto Blanco.\u00a0 What sets this album apart from the debut?<\/strong><\/p>\n

We’re just setting ourselves up right now.\u00a0 You’ve got to think of the first record as this new band.\u00a0 What sets the 2nd record apart from the first one for us is that we are really developing our own sound and our own confidence in what we do. We needed to figure out who Beasto Blanco is and what we are about.\u00a0 We’ve had the opportunity to tour Europe and the States and figure out who we are in front of a live audience and it’s been amazing.<\/p>\n

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I’m sure a huge misconception that people may have is that it’s easy for Beasto Blanco because of your history with Alice Cooper but in some ways it makes it harder.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Absolutely.\u00a0 Well, I don’t know if it makes it harder but it doesn’t make it any easier.\u00a0 People do think that being in Alice Cooper means we’re going to sell out shows and that’s not the case.\u00a0 That’s what I do love about the music industry.\u00a0 You’ve got to go out there and prove yourself.\u00a0 I think it’s only going to make us better.\u00a0 When we go out there and we get to that point to where we are packing in clubs and doing well, then we obviously have proven ourselves and earned that.\u00a0 The people aren’t going to come see us just because I’m on stage with Alice Cooper.\u00a0 I mean, sure, there’s going to be some diehards that will come but the rest of the people are going to have to hear about it.<\/p>\n

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Another thing people probably really need to know is that Beasto Blanco is its own entity.\u00a0 You’re not going to get up there and play a whole set of Alice songs.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Exactly.\u00a0 That’s one thing we wanted to shy away from.\u00a0 Alice’s daughter, Calico, is in the band and myself and it would be easy for us to do a bunch of Alice Cooper songs all night but what good is that going to do anybody.\u00a0 I don’t want to be a cover band and I never had a desire to go out there and tour on a side project that does covers.\u00a0 With Beasto Blanco, it was important for us to establish ourselves as not a side band.\u00a0 Beasto Blanco is a band with original material, it’s own stage presence, it’s own life, and it’s own beating heart.<\/p>\n

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Will you take Beasto Blanco to another level once this album is released and maybe try and do some more touring?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, that’s the goal; to take this to the next level whatever that level may be.\u00a0 Everybody’s definition of that is different.\u00a0 We’ve definitely developed a bigger following and we’re getting more attention now.\u00a0 We’ve already got several dates in November booked already and we’ve got several dates in January including the Monsters of Rock cruise that leaves out of Tampa, Florida in February.\u00a0 We are definitely going to tour more with this record.<\/p>\n

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I really wasn’t on the wagon with Beasto Blanco until I gave the first album a listen and what I really dug about it was how different it was from Alice Cooper and that you really were establishing your own identity as an artist.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thanks, brother.\u00a0 That really means a lot to me.\u00a0 That’s definitely what we’re trying to do.\u00a0 You’re not the only one who’s just now discovering it.\u00a0 That, for me, is killer.\u00a0 We’re still seeing sales come in for the first record as more people are getting hip to this thing.<\/p>\n

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Being that you worked with Ronnie James Dio, what’s your opinion on the former members of his band hitting the road as two different acts and performing all his songs?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Well, I know that everybody needs to work.\u00a0 Most of the people I know in this industry, it’s their life, it’s their passion, and it’s the way they support their families.\u00a0 It’s what they do.\u00a0 You’re also talking about someone who left a legacy that is very, very deep rooted in rock and heavy metal.\u00a0 Why not pay tribute to such a great individual that we all miss so very much and cherish so much.\u00a0 I did have the pleasure of playing, touring, and writing with Ronnie and I think at this time, the way that the industry is, when you lose someone like Ronnie or Lemmy, it’s kind of hard because who’s going to replace them?\u00a0 Everyone’s just trying to figure out what’s next with our icons; our real rock stars.\u00a0 We’re just trying to carry the torch.\u00a0 As far as them doing the songs, I say great.\u00a0\u00a0 More power to them.\u00a0 Those guys are killer musicians and they need to work.\u00a0 They’re also very passionate about Ronnie’s work.<\/p>\n