LC: Loretta Caravello
WB: First off, were there any quirks that Eric had that were either funny or annoying to you?
LC: Let's see, that's a good question. He liked to tap on the tables and everything with sticks and he used to...actually he used to do that alot when we were young. A lot of times he would just go around the house and take some pencils and kind of tap me and my sister on the head with it, ya know? That's how he got 90% of his practise, but other than that, I mean he loved to watch movies. Like the same movie over and over again. Like one of his favorites was the 10 Commandments. He knew it backwards and forewards, he would watch it 2 or 3 times in a row, and then he liked the Wizard of Oz. Because when he was in elementary [school] he played the scarecrow at the school play, and he also liked finding movie bloopers, things like that. He liked to find things wrong in movies, and he was good at it too.
WB:What was the last conversation that you recall having with Eric?
LC: Well, basically, thats kind of a hard question, I guess, besides telling him, "You are gonna be ok, just hang in there," I guess you talk about a lot of things you wanted to say to the person, you didn't before, I always made sure I told him how much I loved him.
WB:Ok, on a lighter note, what were his favorite colors, sports, foods, and cars?
LC: Black, and yellow, and he had a Porshe that KISS gave him, he loved it.
WB: Cool, what about sports? Did he watch a lot of sports?
LC: He wasn't into sports, as long as I can remember, I never saw him watch baseball, football, anything, except for girls, that was his sport.
WB:What about food, what were his favorite foods?
LC: Definatly spaghetti and meatballs, being Italian, we had it all the time. He also loved lentils; he ate those all the time too. Later on he went into Japanese foods, and last but not least, he loved Italian ices made by a company called Gino's, he could eat those by the box full.
WB: As far as you know, were there any unfullfilled goals that Eric had?
LC:Actually yea, Maybe you can't call it a goal, but he loved children and he always wanted one. And probably his cartoon, the Rock Heads.
WB:Ah! That brings me to my next question. Is there any chance that that [The Rock Heads] might happen in the future?
LC: Possibility, I mean that we have been working with people on it, but it's very hard because that kind of thing, in order for someone to take it, they have to invest a lot of money into it, ok? And now a days, everybody wants things to be instant payback. It would take $100 to $200,000 to just get the animation done.
WB: Well, let me know if there is anything I can do...
LC: Well, if you have $200,000 that would help...*laughs*
WB: O, let me go get my checkbook! *laughs*
LC: The Rock Heads were so ahead of there time, actually, ya know, that if it would have come out when it was supposed to in '86, it would have been a first, before all these other music cartoon shows surfaced, his concept was there way before all that.
WB: O were there any special memories that you have of you, Eric and Sissy in your childhood?
LC: Yea alot actually. We lived in Brooklyn and we had this basement that was really wrecked, it was mostly cement, and we used to like to play soldiers and he used to put up like boxes, ya know? It was just fun because we would get shot of course, and he, you know how brothers are, right? But just those kind of memories. Just him being commander. There were a lot of them, but that is the one that sticks out most in my mind.
WB: What do you think his favorite and least favorite KISS songs to play were?
LC: Hmm, all I know is that his favorite song was Saint snd Sinner. He thought that was his best druming preformance with the band.
WB: Do you think that if he hadn't passed away, that he would still be with KISS on drums?
LC: I could only guess on that, when someone passes on it effect's many others likves, it changes a lot of things. Here's my view: When he passed awat, that last tour, Hot In The Shade (HITS), KISS was coming back, selling out concerts all over the country. The song "Forever" was like #1 on MTV. KISS hadn't been doing that great for years, they were coming back strong. I think they would have went on with Eric for many more years, then maybe, beause Gene is such a clever business man, now remember, this is all speculation, they may have done a reunion tour, which I believe would have featured the first half with Peter and the second with Eric. It would have been very special. I beleive this because Eric was so acceptable to the fans, the fans love(d) him, so it would not have been taboo for KISS to put both drummers on stage, as a matter of fact, it would have been a first in rock concerts. It would have been pretty unique.
WB:What about you, are you a KISS fan?
LC: Actually I wasn't before my brother got in the band, I was like 19 or something and I thought they were corny. I remember doing a window trimming job in New York and I was doing a Halloween theme, I rememer seeing the KISS masks and laughing and goofing with them. Of course, once Eric got in the band, I became a total hyppocrite, and I loved them. I didn't know half the songs they did. When they did the first few concerts, I was like "Wow! I didn't know they did that?!" I was really amazed to find out how many really great songs they had written.
WB: What do you think were the best and worst KISS albums that Eric played on?
LC: I think the best wa probably The Elder. The worst, I wouldn't use that word, I would say more like a little over done was HITS. Just a few too many songs, but lots of great ones also.
WB: Oh, by the way, I heard some rumours that Eric played totally wasted on King of the Mountain...
LC: Well, that is definatly a rumour. I can tell you, one thing you can't hide is drug use. When someone is into drugs, you can sense it, besides see it. There are a lot of warning signs. Believe me though, he [Eric] was very straight. Ok? He was against drugs. I mean, he drank sometimes, when he would go out with his friends, stuff like that. But one thing about Gene and Paul, they would never have allowed my brother in the band if he was on drugs or would he have remained. They are so straight as afar as drugs go. Eric also did an anti-drug commercial for channel 23 in 1989; he was totally for helping the kids stay off them.
WB: Who was your favorite band member besides your brother?
LC: Probably Bruce, Peter, and Ace. I have a few...they were really nice. Gene and Paul are nice in their own way, but they other guys were a little bit warmer.
WB: There are also some rumours going around that Gene and Paul mistreated both Bruce and Eric...
LC: Well, there will always be things which could have been handled diferently, but that would hold truew for anyone working closely with others for so many years, they won't always agree.
WB: Were there any people that Eric really never got along very well with?
LC: Well, me and my sister! *laughs* He was the typical brother when he was around us. But lemme see...no, not even. Even when Vinnie Vincent was around and everybody thought that he [Vinnie] was bad for the band, my brother really liked Vinnie. He liked everybody!
WB: You may or may not know that Eric died on the same day as Queen vocalist Freddie Mercury...
LC: Yes, I knew that...
WB: But was Eric ever friends with Freddie?
LC: No, I don't think so. He never spoke of him, he was more into the metal, ya know? He liked the meal bands.
WB: If you had to describe Eric's personality in 3 words, what would you say?
LC: Loving, warm and kind. I am not putting a halo on him, because, he was a guy, you know what mean, you know how guys can be right? I am sure he had his moments. But if you ever speak with his friends, family, and mostly the fans, you wil see he was always loved and respected and still is. He is a positive role model for a lot of young people today.
WB: Tthe new Creatures dolls that just came out, had Eric in them, and I am proud to say that I have 3 of them, one with the full drum set and 2 smaller ones. Are there any new toys that are going to come out?
LC: Well, that is all kind of KISS owned, and we really don't have anything to do with that, but it is nice to see, he deserves it. We do carry some merchendise witch we have on Eric's official website [www.ericcarr.com] We released the fox drumsticks, plaques, and many other cool items, for the fans! We don't really do things on the larder scale, you see. But we do enough to try and keep his memory alive. That's what its about. My brother would have wanted that, to always be remembered. He would not want to know that he was forgotten.
WB:...Besides drumming, did Eric have any other hobbies?
LC:I am trying to think. Well, he just loved basically music. He didn't really do anything else. He was just playing drums, the guitar he played really well, hell he played everything well. He played the piano. He was really into song writing. And his drawing of course.
WB: Yea, the Rock Heads. I love those by the way.
LC: I mean there is like an entire portfolio of them that I have and all the music, I presume you have heard Rockology?
WB: Yea I have that...
LC: Like that, you know, when you hear this stuff, you got to hit yourself in the head and say why wasn't this on any KISS album? It's unbleievable, because he is singing every vocal, leads and backgrounds, Bruce also sings some backgrounds with him. And he practically plays all the instraments with the exception of lead guitar...that's Bruce.
WB: Did Eric like to read?
LC: He loved science-fiction.
WB: Did he have a favorite book?
LC: Big UFO man, I would say stories of the Gods, things like that,
WB: Did he have any pet peeves that annoyed him or you?
LC: Sometimes he was a little impatient. But I would tell him calm down, calm down. You know, when you are into that fast paced lifestyle and you are used to everything happening quickly, it would be hard for him to relax sometimes. Once off tour, things were simpler for him...he had more time to relax and just enjoy the quiet...writing music and seeing the family.
After the interview, Loretta and I chatted for a while, discussing serveral other topics that we both agreed to be left out of the published interview. Be sure to check the photos Loretta was gracious enough to give to me below.
I would like to thank Loretta Caravello for her time, patience and efforts in this interview.
Much time and effort was put into making this interview happen. More conversations and questions that are not written here took place, and after the interview, Loretta and I spoke
for some time. Thanks for reading and enjoy!!