‘IF THINGS HAD BEEN DIFFERENT, WHO KNOWS?’
METAL SLUDGE EXCLUSIVE: Taking a walk on the WildSide with singer Drew Hannah
LOS ANGELES — They’re not Young Gunns anymore, that’s for sure, but they’ve still got their wild side, as in WildSide the band, the Los Angeles pop-metal act that everyone thought was going to be the next Guns N’ Roses or Motley Crue — but it didn’t happen.
WildSide, led by singer Drew Hannah and noted guitarist Brent Woods, fizzled out in the early 90s after signing with Capitol Records, and in the meantime the fivesome’s sizzling-but-unsuccessful debut “Under The Influence” has become a treasured collectable.
The group reunited every so briefly six years ago for a concert at the Roxy back on the Sunset Strip where it all started, and by most accounts the performance went well.
WildSide is back once more for reunion show this coming September at Wolf Fest 2016 in Colorado, and Hannah is hoping to parlay this latest stab at success into something a bit more; perhaps it’s not too late for WildSide to reach a wider audience as first expected.
Bassist Marc Simon and drummer Jimmy D. are also back in the fold, so four-fifths of WildSide is still intact, as estranged guitarist Benny Rhynedance has been left out (though, ironically, he has been reliving WildSide’s past through a series of Metal Sludge essays you can read HERE).
We caught up with Mr. Hannah. The beautiful blonde hair is gone, but he is hoping his golden voice remains. We shall see.
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WildSide L-R, Benny Rhynedance (guitar), Marc Simon (bass), Brent Woods (lead guitar), Drew Hanna (vocals) & Jimmy Darby (drums)
METAL SLUDGE: Hey Drew Hannah, always a pleasure. You do know that WildSide is one of my favorite bands ever.
HANNAH: I know that. I really appreciate your support, too.
So what exactly is going on with the band right now?
HANNAH: There is not a lot going on because everyone has got their careers. The bass player, Marc Simon, he has a new business venture, his own wine brand.
That’s too much info. I mean music stuff.
HANNAH: Oh, I was trying to plug Marc, man! Music stuff was quiet until recently. I’m the only one trying to keep the whole music thing alive. A promoter in Colorado called me about doing a festival, and we’re going to do that, and then maybe go back on the road after that. I had kept saying no, that we’re busy. We’re not a touring act. We don’t rehearse. We don’t get together. But then we finally agreed, and we’re all down for it. We’re going to play Wolf Fest with Lynch Mob and some other bands on Sept. 3, so it’s still a ways away.
Lynch Mob is kind of from the same era as you. Did you hang out with those guys?
HANNAH: I don’t know. I can’t remember. Brent probably knows George Lynch and Oni Logan because he’s out there every day, friends with George. Quite honestly, I think Lynch Mob was just getting introduced back then when things were falling apart for us.
Spearking of falling apart, have you been reading Benny Rhynedance’s series of essays about WildSide in Metal Sludge?
HANNAH: Yeah, the best part of that, something that is important, is Benny’s disclaimer at the bottom — that this is absolutely HIS recollection, not the rest of the band. He is right about a lot of things, though. I remember a lot of it the same way, but there are some parts I remember very differently. It’s interesting that everyone has their own recollections.
I’ve got to say, I am just so impressed with Brent Woods. He has really done well for himself, playing with a major act — Sebastian Bach — and also doing all the Led Zeppelin and Rush tribute stuff plus he just did some other stuff with (Grand Funk) Mark Farner and the guy from Three Dog Night (Chuck Negron). He has really made a name for himself.
HANNAH: I think he’s the busiest man in metal. He is so busy that he can’t even find five minutes to talk to me — and you can quote me on that! That’s a little jab, but we’re great buddies still. Between my life and his life, though, its very difficult, very hard for us to get together.
Looking back, do you think Brent was really talented the first time you met him?
HANNAH: You know, I hadn’t played with a lot of guitarists, but you can judge by how confident someone is and what they can do. Brent was actually in three or four bands, so we had to kind of drop bread crumbs to lead him into the studio, but ultimately, when we started writing material, you can see how talented he was.
That one song on “Under The Influence” has a police siren in it, and every time I play it again, I keep looking in my rear-view mirror.
HANNAH: It’s happened to me before, too. Am I being pulled over? No way!
So I’m not the only one?
HANNAH: We had a lot of people tell us that about the album when it came out. A lot of people have said that.
What else is going on, Drew?
HANNAH: One thing I want to mention, the classic material, do you remember “Just Another Night“? I know it’s one of your favorites, and a lot of people feel the same way. It should have been released a lot earlier. If things had been different, who knows? There was never a music video, so I wanted to release the song again as a video with tons of never-seen-before footage, all this stuff from the road, on busses, playing at venues all over the country. (See video below)
So you’re going to play “Just Another Night” live now? Cause last time, at the Roxy, you didn’t play that one.
HANNAH: At Wolf Fest, I think we’re going to play it live, yeah.
It is a great song. Who wrote it? How did it go? Do you remember?
HANNAH: Originally, I wrote it with Brent in an apartment in Hollywood. We needed a song like that. I wrote the lyrics, and then with the melody, I think, Brent just jumped in. I can’t remember, I might have been stuck on some lyrics and Benny helped out.
The demo version was amazing, too. I remember it.
HANNAH: Yeah, when the demo version circulated, that’s what got everyone’s attention to come out and look at us.
Those original “Under The Influence” CDs are worth like $100 on eBay. How many copies did you ever have?
HANNAH: I guess I had about 10 at the most, but they go pretty quick. You know how it is.
You should have bought like 300 of ’em when it first came out; you could make $30,000.
HANNAH: Yeah, I have one left. I think there is some vinyl floating around somewhere, too. I think a bunch of promo CDs tucked away somewhere, the ones with the radio single. I have a vinyl import from South Korea and a vinyl import from Japan.
SLUDGE: So after WildSide, you produced porn. Do you still like great tits?
HANNAH: Of course I like great tits.
I guess there must have been some rad porn parties, though. Who had more fun, Drew the rock singer or Drew the porn director?
HANNAH: I think they kind of rivaled themselves, for sure. In music, I was growing up quite a bit. By the time I got to entertainment, I was full-grown and ready.
Now what?
HANNAH: Now I’m working for another media company that emerged through Europe, and we’re starting a new channel on the Dish Network. I just did a pilot for sitcom. It’s called “Hollywood & Vine.” Meanwhile, I’m playing around in L.A. a little bit, doing some cover songs with some friends and kind of getting my chops up. I’m doing it with Jerry Best from Lion.
Lion? That band with Doug Aldrich?
HANNAH: Yeah.
He’s great but that band sucked!
HANNAH: (laughs) Jerry is an amazing bass player. He’s an old friend who introduced us to Jimmy D. We’re talking about getting together here and doing some stuff locally for fun. What I’m hoping to do is some new WildSide product, some vinyl of the old stuff, and then to possibly set up something for 2017.
Can you afford Brent Woods? He should get all the money!
HANNAH: Maybe he will. (laughs)
But yeah, he should do it, do some WildSide shows, because it’s HIS band. Anything else, it would have to bigger, but Young Gunns/WildSide was his band, so I would do it, too.
HANNAH: He’ll do it. WildSide is the ONLY band he’s ever played in that was HIS band, if you think about it. It’s not a lot of shows, anyway. Just a select few. I don’t have a lot of time, either.
Yeah, he’s like Keri Kelli.
HANNAH: I remember Brent played with Jani Lane.
And VInce Neil. He was awesome with Vince Neil.
HANNAH: Yeah. It’s going to be fun getting back together again. Brent still looks great. He’s like 150 pounds soaking wet. I’m going to spend some time on myself, and I’ll be ready. It’s going to be some fun. It’s going to be a party.
WildSide @ Facebook – Twitter – Twitter 2 – WolfFest Tix – iTunes – Amazon – eBay
The History of WildSide is a 5 part series by Benny Rhynedance. Please check out Parts 1-3 and Part 4. Look for Part 5 coming soon.
Gerry Gittelson can be reached at gerryg123@hotmail.com
