Krys Baratto Interview

...Hello Samantha 7 fans! As a prelude to the release of the début album by Samantha 7, an interview with one of the band members will be unveiled right here about each week! You are about to read one now with Krys Baratto. This interview took place over a few month period, which started out as him answering one question at a time whenever I asked him sumthin. But as the album release date drew nearer, it was crunch time to get this finished so we could get it up before the release. During that time, I was also able to interview Francis Ruiz and C.C. DeVille. Those interviews are on their way. So let’s get to it - here is the man you might have already chatted with on the internet, Mr. Krys “Brinks” Baratto...

RED HÖT: Hi Krys! To start off our interview, I’d like to take the opportunity to allow you to introduce yourself to all the Samantha 7 fans out there. Besides being the bass player in S7, who are you, and give us some insight into your musical background.
KRYS BARATTO: OK, let me grab a beer. Sit back an I’ll tell you a little bit. The story starts off many years ago... I started playing bass by accident in a way. You see, my brother wanted to play bass and I wanted to play guitar, we were young and didn’t know too much about either just that Gene and Paul played, and on Christmas we opened the gifts and there they were! Wrong! I guess I got the bass - it had 4 strings. Didn’t matter though. I was 12 years old then. I taught myself how to play, and by 13 I was on the road doing the “circuit” . Going to school and playing at least 4 nights a week. My dad let me take one of the cars to go to the gigs as long as I made it back to get up for school in the morning. After 5 years of that stuff, being a big fish in a little pond, it was time to move to CALIFORNIA. Not a hell of a lot to do in northern Minnesota. Just after moving to the west coast I landed an audition with Alice Cooper; all went well but the tour never happened. That was the start of roller coatster. In the years that followed, I have recorded, performed, or worked with in some degree with everyone from Thomas Dolby to Guns N’ Roses. Loving every minute of it. I have been lucky to work with a diversity of people. The new band, Samantha 7, has been great. Juan Croucier from RATT hooked me and C.C. up together. C.C. ran into him at a club and Juan said “Hey, if you need a bass player, you gotta call Krys.” He didn’t call. Another night C.C. went out and ran into Randy Castillo (who I’ve played with before) and Randy said “If you need a bass player, you gotta call Krys.” HE CALLED. I went up to C.C.’s house to meet with him and he said “I want to take this slow, let’s work on some material”, and he played me a few songs. I said “hang on a minute.” I went to my house and loaded up my studio (which took more than a minute) and moved it into his house. Long story short, a week later we were at Sony and everywhere else playing the music. The rest as they say is history. All in all it has been a crazy life. That is it in a nutshell. A guy from Hibbing, Minnesota pulls through (not as well as Bob Dylan has - yet). Bob’s from Hibbing too and my hero.

RH: It seems like you have a pretty rich and diverse background. You mention working with Thomas Dolby, GnR, and I know you worked with ex-Danzig guitarist John Christ also. What did you do specifically? Did you write songs with them and produce them too, aside from playing bass?
KB: With Thomas Dolby I played bass on a soundtrack recording for a Sega Genesis video game called “Double Switch”. John E. Love from Love/Hate played guitar on it. I also appreared in the game itself. They shot it like a movie, it was, I believe, the first or one of the first of it’s kind. I was in Time Magazine with that one! In the game, Debbie Harry from Blondie was the queen of the castle. It was cool. The GN’R stuff I played bass on some of the demos after Duff left to do Neurotic Outsiders. This was a few years back, and I don’t believe any of those songs will make the new GN’R album. With John Christ, we had a band called Juice 13 with Randy Castillo (Ozzy, Mötley), and Cheezeboy from TSOL. It was a writing/producing kinda situation along with playing bass. That my friend is it. There are probably one or two hundred more people I have worked with in some degree, but I don’t think there is enough disk space to store all of it!!!!! If I think of any cool stories to go with those, I’ll let you know.

RH: It sounds like you’ve been involved in some really interesting and cool things musically. Before we move on to talking about S7, I wanna ask one more question about your background - What were you like as a little kid growing up in your hometown (describe a typical day in your life, like school, friends, hobbies you spent time on), and then what was the defining moment that made you want to persue a career as a rock star (like your main influence(s) ) instead of becoming sumthin highly respectable, like a politician or lawyer? ...The politician/lawyer comment is sarcasm...
KB: Well, Igrew up in a small mining town in northern Minnesota called Hibbing. Bob Dylan is from there. Childhood was actually quite normal. Always enjoyed school and always did well at it. I was quite a bit outgoing as a youngster. I loved those highschool girls, spent a little time with a whole lot of them. I started playing the local bar and highschool scene when I was 13. When I saw that the beer and women were free (not that I was paying for the women before) and that I could make money at this, I said “This is what I’m gonna be doing for a while”. I did manage to slip a little college in there, but... Never really had any “influences” as far as bass players go, but Bob Dylan really inspired me. I learned bass on my own, just listening to and playing a ton of music. Had quite a few friends, I was pretty damn popular, and a few of them are still very close to me. With all of that said, that’s about it. Two wonderful and supportive parents, two amazing brothers that I have - very close Italian family. That I believe is it, I’d like to finish by telling you about my wife, Alyssa Milano, but we have not been introduced yet, but when we do meet ...

RH: Ok, let’s get into it about S7. When you were first introduced to C.C. and he played you the songs he wrote, what did you think of him, and what did you think of the songs? And aside from that, what is your vision or idea of what S7 should and should not be?
KB: What did I think of the songs? I thought they blew! I was like “If you think I’m gonna work with you if this is what you have, you’re nuts!” No, actually I thought they were great. As a matter of fact, he told me before he even played a note that “I don’t have much right now, I want to take it kinda slow”, but after I heard a couple, I went to my house, loaded up my whole recording studio and raced back to his house. I started loading gear in the front door saying “Were should I put this?” He’s like “Put what?” Well, as they always say, the rest is history. We recorded about five songs the first couple of days. I was crackin’ the whip. I’d program the drums, put the bass down, then go wake him up from his beauty sleep, and say ever so nicely “Get the fuck up, there’s work to do!” About six weeks after we met we were in John Koladner’s office. So, as for what I think S7 is or should be... I think S7 is simply put a damn great band. It’s fun, great hooky songs. The personality of each person is very unique. Everyone in the band is a fine, seasoned musician. It really has everything you could ask for in a band. We are not trying to save the rain forest, not trying to solve the world’s problems - no one can! But we do know how to have some fun, tell some good stories, and entertain large or small groups of people. It’s time someone put the fun back in rock’n roll, and S7 is here to do just that...

RH: When you say you told C.C. to hang on and then you went and got your studio, did you hurt your back while moving it? Cuz I guess it must be quite heavy. If so, will this effect your live performance in any way? Also, did Cecil offer to help you move the equipment? And, when he woke up from his beauty sleep as you said, was he grumpy, or did he have a spark in his eye rip-roaring ready to go back to work? Sarcastically and humorously speaking, of course...
KB: There was indeed a whole lot of gear, nothing a young strong guy like myself could not handle! Cecil looked on, more amused than anything, but I believe he brought in a mic chord - yup, I’m pretty sure he did. Once the studio was set up he did wake up from his beauty sleep and he was quite anxious to get to work. That lasted about three days.

RH: How did the meeting with John Kalodner go, and what were your impressions of him?
KB: John couldn’t stand it!!! NO, just kiddin’. He developed us, got the cattle prod out, and made it happen. He is a great guy. A year later we got the deal. John and all at Portrait/Columbia/Sony have been great.

RH: You guys were also in negotiations with other labels, what made you finally decide that Portrait/Sony Music should be the home of Samantha 7? What did they offer that the others didn’t?
KB: There were talks with others, but Portrait had all the goods. They are great and because they are a smaller label, there is close contact, and a more personal attention.

RH: Every S7 fan knows that you’ve been very into and cool about communicating with the fans online, ever since around June/July of 1999. You have an online presence, and a good rapport with the fans. How have they been so far, and what is their feedback about the music they have already heard? (Demo versions of Framed, Hanging On To Jane, and Slave Laura were released on mp3 format exclusivley on Amp3) ...Also, have you ever tried that Cyber Sex chat room thing? If so, what was it like, and did you like it?
KB: Oh yes, the internet. It has been great. I love chattin’ with everyone out there, it is a lot of fun for me. The feedback on the record/band is great. I think with that the songs do the talkin’. They are just simple, fun songs. I also think that people out there appreciate the fact that someone in the band responds to the questions or comments. Sometimes I don’t have a clue what is goin’ on, but I try to answer back anyhow. No cyber sex for this cat, not interested. I don’t quite understand that!

RH: Ok, everyone knows that as great and informative as the internet can be, it can also be the complete opposite - full of mind numbing drudgery and complete lunacy. How many times have you already thought about gently and intimately introducing your computer to your baseball bat or sledge hammer?
KB: That’s funny. It hasn’t been so much the loonies out there, it is more of trying to figure out how to work this damn thing. I’m so much better on the phone - there is no “click this”, “drag this”, “double click that”. But I manage to control my anger, I’ll simply walk away, put the bat down, pick up the cat, and throw it accross the room. Just kidding of course.

RH: Krys, I want to congratulate you guys on an excellent debut album!!! I guarantee fans will be pleased, and you guys will surely make new ones. I think you have a surprise hit album on your hands! Tell us about the recording process. Did you have fun in the studio? How much did you contribute? Any cool stories to tell about Francis or C.C., like good luck rituals they do before recording?
KB: Thank you RED. We believe the record will do well, and are very proud of it. The recording process was actually very easy, it was the putting the songs together that was the work. The way it would work, in the beginning, is that C.C. would bring the idea in, we would record the guitar on my home studio, we would put down a drum idea, I’d put a bass track down, and then we would work on vocal parts/melodies/backups. We would then play around with the arrangements until they sounded like what we heard in our heads. A bit of a process, but when it came time to do the record we were able to finish it in 12 days! Not too many rituals going down in the studio, C.C. ate about 3 tons of M&M’s, 30 cases of Diet Coke, and 3 pears though. There was this pyramid thing you put on your head to help with something - we tried that - gave us a headache! Francis, well, you call him Harpo, but he would scream uncontrolably and run around the studio ’round the clock until he just got tired and went to sleep. Me, I would find comfort in my water spiced with differant grains, barleys, and hops, and my Judge Judy, and sneak away on the breaks to find a local hangout - that wasn’t easy since we were in the mountains of Northern Cal. I had to jump a plane back to LA for a night at one point. I made the best of that night!

RH: What kind of artwork will the album have, and are you guys involved in that decision? And will the cd booklet come with the lyrics? Cuz it sounds like there are some great and funny stories on there.
KB: The artwork will be some cool and some funny pictures of us. There is some say in what is used and we are happy with it. There will be lyrics in there so as to sing along with S7.

RH: What are your hopes and expectations for the album? Besides making money, which you all definitely deserve to do, would you be happy going gold and building the band one brick at a time? Or would you rather sell around a million or more right outta the starting gate?
KB: What I would like to see the record do is sell like 1,000. That way we can kinda have that cult-like following. Yea right. I would like to see it do very well. I would like to have a career out of it, in that if we do more records that progressively sell more and more and it keeps growing. I would also be happy with 20 million out of the box!

RH: Why don’t you take some time now to talk about the album, and tell fans what they can expect to hear. Go into detail about some of the songs; got any favorites? And say a few words as a parting message to the fans.
KB: The record like I’ve said from the very beginning is simply great. I say that cuz it is fun and there are great songs on it. It is the kind of record I would buy even if I wasn’t in the band (I’ll probably have to buy it anyway). We didn’t try to save the rain forest with this record, but there are some great stories that I think people can relate to. In parting, I would like to thank all the fans old and new for the continuing support of the band. It is an uphill battle but with a little luck I think we can make it to the tippy top of that mountain. See you all on tour. I’ll be talkin’ with y’all on the net. Take care...

...Thank you, Krys, for taking the time to answer my questions. I want to congratulate you on a great album, and I wish you guys a lot of success and luck with it. Also, thank you for having me work on the S7 website! It’s been an honor and a pleasure, and a great opportunity. -RH

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