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VVFF Interview - Robert Fleischman

Posted: Fri Aug 27, 2010 10:05 pm
by Genebaby
The very talented Robert Fleischman agreed to answer some questions for us in our never ending search for answers.

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1. Where did you first meet Vinnie Cusano?
HE CAME TO MY HOUSE.

2. What was he doing at the time?

TRYING TO PUT A BAND TOGETHER.

3. When you and Vinnie first got together, prior to his Kiss days, what was the material and his playing style like?
THE SAME AS WHAT WAS ON THE VVI.

4. Similar to what it was like on the first Invasion album, or less over the top?

IT'S ALWAYS OVER THE TOP...WITH VINNIE.

5. What did Vinnie tell you about his time with Kiss and about his departure?
NO. FUNNY I NEVER ASKED.

6. What can you tell us about the following songs which might have been recorded that we haven’t heard: Cockteaser - Ride The Serpent - Brainsaw.
DON'T KNOW THE SONGS...DON'T RECALL.

7. What extra songs were recorded for Guitars From Hell/Guitarmaggedon that were not going to be used at that time?
DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THIS STUFF. EVERYONE THINKS I DO BUT I DO NOT KNOW !!!! YES!!!

8. Did you do all of the Guitarmageddon vocals in LA?

I NEVER HEARD THE CD SO I CAN'T TELL YOU IF I AM ON IT.

9. You’ve stated that the bootlegs of Guitarmageddon/Guitars From Hell are rough drafts. Are there final versinos of these songs? Do you have copies?
MAYBE SOME WHERE.???

10. After the first album, how many recording sessions did you do with Vinnie for the Guitarmageddon/Guitars From Hell projects?
A FEW WEEKS...ON ONE OF THEM I DON'T KNOW WHAT CD I AM ON.

11. How was working with Vinnie different the second time, than the first time? Which experience was more fun?
ALL WERE FUN AND WORK...

12. What is your favourite song on the 1st Invasion album?

NO SUBSTITUTE.

13. Have you heard All Systems Go, and what do you think of it?
NO..&..NO.

14. Would you have approached the songs on All Systems Go differently?

I NEVER HEARD THE CD.

15. Vinnie said at first Mark was the singer they wanted but he didn't put his address on the tape. What do you make of that?

STUPID IS..... AS STUPID DOES

16. Did Vinnie use other guitars to record Guitars from hell apart from his Jackson's (eg Pear, Washburn's)?
HE USED THE JACKSON ALL THE TIME.

17. Were you actually involved in the Euphoria EP, or did Vinnie just use your vocals from previous recording sessions?
DON'T KNOW NEVER HEARD IT.

18. What kind of mics did you use to record your vocals on the first album, and on Euphoria?
I USED A ...C-12...

19. Would it have been easy to sing on the top of your voice live like you did in the studio with Vinnie?
YES.

20. Are you still capable of hitting all the notes in your vocal range?
YES AND NO !!... LIFE YOU KNOW!!

21. Did they ask you to wear a wig for the photo shoot so the band would look more cohesive and outrageous?
YES...SO THEY PUFF UP MY HAIR UP...LOOKED SO STUPID...I LOOK LIKE I AM WITH THREE INFLATABLE DRAG QUEENS.

22. Did Vinnie try to speak with you about the contract or did he stay out of it and let the SUITS do it?
HE STAYED OUT OF IT...THE SUITS TOLD ME IF I DIDN'T PUT MY X ON THE CON....TRACT THEY WOULD TAKE ME OFF THE RECORD.. SO I SAID,.. THEN YOU DO WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO ....THEY FLIPPED!!

23. Did you ever have any verbal or physical altercations with Vinnie?
NO!

24. Did he stay in touch with you during the tours for both albums or did he call you out of the blue to record again?
OUT OF THE BLUE.

25. When was the last time you spoke to Vinnie?
MANY YEARS OVER TEN
and would you record with Vinnie again if asked to?

NO.

26. At the time when the Boyz R Gonna Rock video came out, (in the most positive way possible) how did you feel about Mark "appearing" to be the singer who sang your vocals?
WHAT SOMEONE WILL DO FOR 15 SECONDS OF FAME...WHAT A WHORE...YOU SHOULD ASK HIM...HOW HE FEELS...SOME TALENT.

27. Were your vocals run straight into the board, and then to tape?
YES.
Were the vocals cut on the same tape machine as Vinnie's guitar parts?
YES.

28. Can you remember how many tape machines were used in total for the first album?
WE HAD TWO STUDER 24 TRACK MACHINES SYNCHRONIZED TOGETHER.

29. Did you guys record on the Trident console at Cherokee? YES I THINK SO . And was this the same console used in Nashville?
DON'T KNOW ABOUT THAT.

30. Was Dana a member when you were practicing with drummer H. Gardner?
NO....GARDNER..NICE GUY.

31. Your reaction to Myron Grombacher legally going after Vinnie and supposedly having VVI’s gear confiscated.
DIDN'T KNOW THAT..BUT I LIKE MYRON HE IS A NICE GUY.

32. Did you ever call Vinnie on his bullshit?
SOME TIMES.

33. Any pleasure in Vinnie's downfall, being how you were treated? (I.e. He got what was coming to him.)
NO..NOT FOR ANY ONE. EVERYONE HAS THERE OWN MOVIE... YOU TRY TO DO YOUR BEST.

34. Your opinion of George Sewitt.
HE IS LIKE THE LITTLE DOG WHO LIKE'S TO HUMP FURNITURE.

35. Have you discussed (bitched about) Vinnie with his former band members (members of Kiss, VVI , etc.)?
THE BIG (G)...... HAS CALLED ME..... BIG (G)......... YOU KNOW WHAT HE'S DONE NOW!!!

36. What do you like most about Vinnie’s playing style?
HE'S FUCKIN GREAT!!!!!

37. Have you kept in touch with Bobby Rock?
YES, HE'S THE BEST!! I WISH HE WERE IN A GREAT BAND SO PEOPLE COULD SEE HOW GOOD HE IS!.... GO GET THEM .....BOB

Robert has a new band called The Sky, check it out on his You Tube chanel: http://www.youtube.com/user/robertfleischman#p/a

Re: Robert Fleischman Interview

Posted: Fri Aug 27, 2010 11:07 pm
by wolfgang161272
Great great interview!!!!

he answered a lot of question - short but verry interessting!

Thanks a lot that you've don it!
Wolfgang

Posted: Fri Aug 27, 2010 11:47 pm
by poserboy71
Very cool and honest !!! I got so giddy when my questions were answered. Thanks to Robert and also this forum. YOU CAN'T HIDE FROM THE TRUTH HERE !!!

Rick -Poserboy71-

Posted: Sat Aug 28, 2010 12:58 am
by ankh
thanks for the interview and thanks to Robert for taking time to answer them

Re: Robert Fleischman Interview

Posted: Sat Aug 28, 2010 1:04 am
by metatron
wolfgang161272 wrote:Great great interview!!!!

he answered a lot of question - short but verry interessting!

Thanks a lot that you've don it!
Wolfgang
Thanks Genebaby. Gotta agree with wolfgang161272. He didn't seem like he didn't wanted answer the questions @ any great length. The answers almost creates more questions in some ways. Still cool. :D

Posted: Sat Aug 28, 2010 4:34 am
by Fullshed
Yep in typical Rob fashion...I liked the "Gene is alway's bitching about what VV did now!!! answer"

Thx Genebaby!!

Posted: Sat Aug 28, 2010 8:01 am
by Genebaby
People are busy so sometimes you get the short answers, and I guess if they are really into the topic it might get expanded on.

Posted: Sat Aug 28, 2010 9:47 am
by poserboy71
What I got from the interview is that Robert respects Vinnie's talent but doesn't think much of Vinnie business-wise yet wishes him no ill will.

Posted: Sat Aug 28, 2010 9:50 am
by shramiac
Cool!!!

Posted: Sat Aug 28, 2010 1:31 pm
by Genebaby
You have to respect Vinnie talent (bitches!!) but other personality traits seem to come up short.

Posted: Sat Aug 28, 2010 11:38 pm
by doublev
great.

the big G spoke to him??????

Posted: Sat Aug 28, 2010 11:39 pm
by Genebaby
I'm guessing it's a reference to Gene but not really sure what that's about.

Posted: Sat Aug 28, 2010 11:44 pm
by doublev
gene may have asked him about vinnie or vice versa.

Posted: Sun Aug 29, 2010 11:29 am
by Slayer
Robert - Thank you for your time and for answering some questions! :)

Dino or BT,
Do we think that those 3 three songs that were mentioned to be included on Guitarmaggedon were actually completed? Brainsaw may have been an instrumental but I expected the other two to have vocals?(Cockteaser and Ride the Serpent)

If Robert didn't sing on them that creates a big question mark.

The 4th song that we have discussed and that has been mentioned sometimes along with these other three songs has been recorded and Robert sang on it even though it wasn't included in the Guitars From Hell Demos. :?:

Re: VVFF Interview - Robert Fleischman

Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2011 4:19 pm
by strangeways
Genebaby wrote: 34. Your opinion of George Sewitt.
HE IS LIKE THE LITTLE DOG WHO LIKES TO HUMP FURNITURE.
:lol:

Great interview.

Re: VVFF Interview - Robert Fleischman

Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2011 6:23 pm
by Brooklyn_Born
Robert doesn't think much of Mark Slaughter! He obviously harbored Ill feelings about how it was all handled...

Re: VVFF Interview - Robert Fleischman

Posted: Fri Nov 30, 2012 12:21 pm
by 5minLuvKills
I think it's awesome to get these interviews but I wonder if anyone has told Robert about responding in all caps...apart from a few funny answers he seems pissed off through the whole interview...LOL

Re: VVFF Interview - Robert Fleischman

Posted: Fri Nov 30, 2012 8:27 pm
by doublev2
Roberts not pissed off.. its all humour. Robert knows whats what.

Re: VVFF Interview - Robert Fleischman

Posted: Sat Dec 01, 2012 5:13 am
by erg2
I wonder if the 4 songs even exist at all other than in Vinnie's mind...or if they are variations of music created during the GFH recordings?

Re: VVFF Interview - Robert Fleischman

Posted: Sat Dec 01, 2012 5:37 am
by Slayer
We have heard Heavy Metal Poontang and Ride the Serpent so we know 2 of the 4 were completed 1st hand. There are some individuals that reputedly have the 4 songs in question that have declined to share them. That just leaves Cockteaser and Brainsaw to be 1st hand confirmed.

Re: VVFF Interview - Robert Fleischman

Posted: Sat Dec 01, 2012 5:51 am
by doublev2
I know someone with both cockteaser and brainsaw. Working on it.

Re: VVFF Interview - Robert Fleischman

Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2012 4:10 am
by erg2
Slayer wrote:We have heard Heavy Metal Poontang and Ride the Serpent so we know 2 of the 4 were completed 1st hand. There are some individuals that reputedly have the 4 songs in question that have declined to share them. That just leaves Cockteaser and Brainsaw to be 1st hand confirmed.
Where? I would love to hear them.

Re: VVFF Interview - Robert Fleischman

Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2012 5:34 am
by Slayer
erg2 wrote:
Slayer wrote:We have heard Heavy Metal Poontang and Ride the Serpent so we know 2 of the 4 were completed 1st hand. There are some individuals that reputedly have the 4 songs in question that have declined to share them. That just leaves Cockteaser and Brainsaw to be 1st hand confirmed.
Where? I would love to hear them.

Here you go brother!

http://vvforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=1018

Re: VVFF Interview - Robert Fleischman

Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2012 5:40 am
by Slayer
Many don't particularly dig the song but Robert Fleishman totally kicks ass on this. In the day Robert could really hit those high notes.

Re: VVFF Interview - Robert Fleischman

Posted: Mon Dec 03, 2012 8:22 am
by erg2
Thanks! How did I miss that?

What about Ride The Serpent...or is it just that snippet that was up on the website?

Re: VVFF Interview - Robert Fleischman

Posted: Mon Dec 03, 2012 4:37 pm
by Slayer
Just the snippet on the website

Re: VVFF Interview - Robert Fleischman

Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2012 1:28 am
by erg2
I've listened to it.
Ummmm...not his best work, IMO. Sounds a lot like SHOCKER.

Re: VVFF Interview - Robert Fleischman

Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2014 10:08 am
by RXrocker
Can't help but imagine him screaming his answers, since they're all in caps. Looks like he picked up some typing habits from Vinnie.

Re: VVFF Interview - Robert Fleischman

Posted: Sat May 03, 2014 3:52 pm
by GOLD5
I remember back in the day the album cover totally confused me. My friend and I thought that Vinnie was the lead singer and that Robert was the drummer.. Just going by the album photo. I remember the day he pointed out to me that Robert was the singer. We both sat there scratching our heads and trying to figure out how he could be the lead singer. Of course we erroneously assumed that the hairstyle was his preferred look. So it just made it look like they got some Pet Shop Boys/Duran Duran reject to be their singer.. They really should have given him a better wig and clothes. Like to surprise him with it is one thing and on top of that they were like heres a crappy hairstyle for ya. They should have at least given him the Lick it Up/Animalize wig.. I think his voice is awesome. Way better than Mark Slaughter but I dont mind Mark. I like him better than Ritchie Scarlett too. Back on the streets is a great song. I still would love to hear the rumored Paul Stanley vocals version..

Re: VVFF Interview - Robert Fleischman

Posted: Sat May 03, 2014 5:17 pm
by Genebaby
We'd all love to hear the Paul version of BOTS!!!!!

Re: VVFF Interview - Robert Fleischman

Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2018 1:29 am
by poserboy71
Reading the interview now...knowing the little things we know...
Robert WOULD work with Vinnie again.
Vinnie used the Carvin in the studio for GFH,etc...
Robert made nice with Mark.

Re: VVFF Interview - Robert Fleischman

Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2018 1:00 pm
by Genebaby
Robert has been having bad times with Vinnie's management. George dropped the ball big time back in the day.

Re: VVFF Interview - Robert Fleischman

Posted: Thu Dec 20, 2018 7:04 am
by Kuron
Brooklyn_Born wrote: Sun Jun 12, 2011 6:23 pm Robert doesn't think much of Mark Slaughter!
Might be some jealousy there. VVI was more successful without Robert and Mark certainly had much more success post-VVI than Robert. Mark comes across as a nice guy and does not seem bitter about the VVI era. Robert comes across as a nice guy, but still seems bitter.

Both are great singers with major talent. Just different styles.