Interview: John Corabi & John Alderete, The Scream

John Corabi

SHOUT IT OUT!

THE SCREAM, a powerful quartet have been blazing a trail across their homeland as openers on the BULLETBOYS' current tour. Their new LP, Let It Scream, has just been released on Hollywood Records in the States and is set for an October release over here. On the night prior to this interview, they had just played to a capacity crowd at New York's Marquee Club (don't worry, ours came first) with a journey to North Carolina to look forward to, on completion of their international press obligations. The lads are obviously being kept pretty busy but nevertheless found time to give me an insight into their world, past, present, and hopefully future.

Vocalist John Corabi and bassist John Alderete took over spokesman duties on the transatlantic blower as the remaining two band members Bruce Bouillette (guitar) and Walt Woodward III (drums) were nowhere nowhere to be seen or should that be heard probably in their pits sleeping off the aftereffects of the previous night's show.

So, lads, how did the Scream come to be?

"It happened through our manager," states John Alderete. "He knew Bruce and I from RACER X, one of the biggest bands on the LA club circuit during the late 1980s. He knew John Corabi from another band and drummer Scott Travis, who is now with JUDAS PRIEST. He then found Walt, ex-SHARK ISLAND."

Right, so, are you all from the same area?

Again, Alderete is quickest to respond.

"Well, we all live in Los Angeles, but Walt is from New Jersey and John is from Philadelphia and Bruce is from Indiana. But I was born and bred in LA."

Did you grow up on a diet of typical LA rock then?

"I grew up listening to things like Motown and then went on to the BEATLES and 70s rock like LED ZEPPELIN and that's pretty much where our band all clicks; we have pretty much a real 70s band kind of base, 'cause that's where we really draw our inspiration from."

Listening to Let It Scream, it becomes apparent that the band have an obvious love for the bluesy-based sound and feel.

So, who do you cite as your main influence or nearest comparison?

"Well," continues Alderete, "I like to see us as a heavier AEROSMITH. I happen to think we sound a bit like them, only heavier, a bit more 90s, if that's actually a good description.

Are Stephen Tyler and his Bunch of Merry Men John's favourite band then?

"Yeah," he states pensively, "them and Zeppelin. Those two bands were so powerful when we were growing up."

Having settled on a line-up, the band locked themselves in a rehearsal studio and worked together at writing good, strong material until they were satisfied with the results. Next stage was the record deal.

The band signed on the line for Hollywood Records, the new Disney-funded label, with a track record so far which only includes the launching of an all-singing, all-dancing, manufactured teen band called THE PARTY. They have also just released QUEEN's latest albums in the States as well.

John Alderete

So, why did you decide to go with this new label instead of a well-seasoned major?

"It's weird," Alderete enlightens us. "Rachel, our A&R girl, knew John [Corabi] from his previous band. She almost signed that band to Capitol Records. And the president of Hollywood Records used to be Racer X's attorney. So that's how Bruce and I know him. Everywhere we turned we knew someone at the label, and I just think that they had enough belief in us and they took a chance on us. I have friends on major labels and they are dying. They [the labels] are so big that right now in the business, if they [the bands] don't hit in the first month or so, they get blown out. They don't even push you anymore. But our label is so behind us."

What has the media support been like for you in the States?

"We've been doing really well on the radio," he enthuses, "and we are hoping to get a big ad on MTV. They came to the show last night and everybody tells us we were really good. So hopefully we'll get that ad and things will really happen."

With both the single, "The Man in the Moon," and the album already at large in the US stores, the band were itching to get on the road. An opening slot on a nationwide tour with the BulletBoys was up for grabs, so they jumped at the chance.

How have things been going so far?

John Corabi takes the spot.

"It's been going great, actually. The BulletBoys have been phenomenal with us. We're really like good friends with those guys anyway, so we didn't expect any problems."

BulletBoy's drummer, Jimmy D'Anda, is actually John Alderete's cousin, so the tour's a real family affair.

Have there been any particular highlights on the tour?

"Well, yeah, actually coming back into the United States from Canada was cool," Corabi responds. "The first show in the US was in Buffalo and the radio station that promoted it was really into the band, and they made a big deal out of us coming to Buffalo, so there was a lot of people there early singing the songs and so on. So, that was really cool."

Have the band noticed the size of the audiences being affected by the recession-caused public spending cutbacks, which have affected a lot of live shows and tours in the United States this year?

"Well, sometimes," states Corabi. "Not to sound weird or anything, but I think that a lot of people are getting too greedy. It used to be like you could get a front row seat to see someone like Aerosmith at the Philadelphia Spectrum for about $8.50 and maybe get a t-shirt and tour book and maybe drop 25 to 30 bucks. But these days, it's got way out of hand. These days, it's five or six bucks for a hot dog and a beer, 20 bucks for a shirt. It's costing kids around $150. Heck, I don't have that kind of money. Never mind the kids."

Well, presuming that the promoters managed to keep music live and managed to find the right balance between value for money and keeping themselves in the profit margin, when can we expect to see The Scream on British and European turf?

"It's up to the public there," offers the vocalist. "If they accept the album, then I'm sure we'll be over there. We'd love to get over, you know, but we'll just have to see how it goes. Possibly early next year."

Finally, gentlemen, on to the name, why did you call yourself The Scream?

Corabi has the last word.

"Basically, we're about having fun. We're pretty amazed at all that's happened to us, and we're about having a good time. When somebody goes out and has a good time, they say, 'Man, we had a scream last night,' and that sums us up."

Nick Douglas
Riff Raff
November 1991

Share on Google Plus