Interview with Bruno Ravel:
May 2001

Q1) Well, Bruno, let me start by acknowledging that you and I share the same birthday-May 1st! Not that I'm big on astrology, but you and I must share some similar personality traits. I too am a producer, and I consider myself to be highly critical of my work and that sometimes leads to differences of opinions with the engineer. (Because most engineers consider themselves producers.) Do you (or have you ever) found yourself in a similar position?

A1) Of course I have! It happens all the time. I can see both sides of the coin, being an engineer as well as a producer. When I'm wearing my engineering hat, I always defer to the client, however when I'm wearing the producers hat, the engineer most often defers to me. It's normal studio etiquette.

Q2) On your most recent release, "The Return Of The Great Gildersleeves" (which has been out for a year already), you make your debut as lead vocalist on "Cherry, Cherry". Was this something that was inevitable and if so, why has it taken so long for you to step forward?

A2) It took me so long to step foward because I've always hated the sound of my singing voice. Over the years, I have become more and more comfortable with my voice and now it dosen't sound silly to me anymore. I'll probably do more singing in the future.

Q3) I know this is a taboo subject with some bands from the 80's-90's era, but when I first saw you guys live in 1989, you used some sampled background vocals. You guys could obviously sing, so why the decision to do that?

A3) We used samples only in certain venues that had poor monitor systems. We used them in a unconventional matter though. While most bands didn't sing at all and had the sampled vox blaring out of the PA, we would have the sampled vox coming out of the BANDS monitors. That means that they were facing us, coming in our direction and not the audiences direction. We did this because we would play at a very high volume on stage and most of the monitor systems in the clubs were terrible, so we could never hear ourselves sing. Remember, this was 1990 when "In Ear" monitors were very expensive and only the bands that could afford them used them. We didn't have them so we were forced to sing the old fashioned way. The sampled vox were great, simply because even if we couldn't hear ourselves singing, we could match the pitch of our voices with the samples. What the audience heard was 80% us singing, 20% bleed from the microphones picking up the sampled vox coming from our stage monitors......

Q4) I hear you are about to finally release both Ted's and Paul's version "Cockroach". Three of those songs that Paul re-did ended up on "Four the Hard Way". Will those versions (Paul's) be the same or will there be some slight differences?

A4) They're not the same versions, however they are the same arrangements. Some of you might think they're the same but if you listen closely, you'll hear many differences.

Q5) Since you have produced both, what are the differences between Ted and Paul in the studio?

A5) There was a large contrast between the two. Ted had to be led a lot more in the studio than Paul. I believe this was due to Paul being more of a musician/songrwriter. He plays piano, guitar etc and writes most of his own material. Ted dosen't play an instrument except for the drums and only started writing seriously after his departure from D2. Ted has a wonderful voice but he was a bit lazy when he was in the band and I believe that he still hasn't reached his full potential as a vocalist. While they both have to be "produced", I believe that Paul has more lead vocalist instinct with phrasing and melody.
I always put it this way ... Ted has a great voice and Paul is a great singer.

Q6) You and Steve have your own production company, The B.O.M.B Faktory. I'm sure some people will be interested to know that your company is responsible for writing some themes for a few Major League Baseball teams. (Who do you have to know to get that gig?) Was that something that you guys recorded some material and submitted it or were you hired right off the bat (pardon the pun) to do the recordings?

A6) Living in NYC has many perks. One of them is that there is a ton of work here if your talented and lucky enough to hook up with the right people. We are fortunate in that we have many friends and peers that are now in a position to help us move into another phase of our careers. With the sports themes, it came down to one of our friends having an idea, calling us up and we did the rest. He then brokered these themes to Major League Baseball as well as other sports companies. We were hired, but it was more of a speculative deal.

Q7) The B.O.M.B Faktory is also responsible for Producing and writing some of O-Town's (the band from "Making the Band") material. What other big projects have you worked on?

A7) To clarify, it was not "O-Town" that we worked with, it was "LMNT" the band that features Ikaika, Brian and Mike from "O-Town". I don't know if I would call the projects the we work on "big", but we're constantly working with new artists. Hopefully you'll begin to see B.O.M.B. Faktory's name more and more on new releases. Recently, I just finished mixing a few tunes for "Joan Jett and the Blackhearts" for an upcoming release. That was a lot of fun because I love working with rock acts as opposed to r&b/dance acts.

Q8) Since you and Paul handle all of the guitar work now on your recordings, do you guys use anyone else on guitar when you tour?

A8) We sure do! Tony Bruno has been D2's guitarist for a while now. He comes and goes as he pleases and plays with many bands, but that's the nature of the business now. Everyone's has bills to pay so there has to be a free open door policy with everyone we work with. Tony has played on our last 3 CD's so he knows the material cold and is a pro, of course. We wish that Andy would be more open to touring with us but he has other priorities now and we totally respect that.

Q9) I notice you guys sell your merchandise on your website (www.dangerdanger.com). That is a great way to keep the fans in touch with your music. How have sales been since you have been doing that?

A9) Sales have been great! Our site now has the secure credit card option, so people that were scared to buy before have been buying with their credit cards. I think that over time, more and more people will buy through dangerdanger.com, instead of going to a local store. It's a lot easier. I expect the sales for "Cockroach" to be really good.

Q10) And finally Bruno, since it seams you have so much on your plate right now, where do you see yourself 10 years from now?

A10) Wow ... tough one. Hopefully I'll be married and have a kid or two and still be in the business. If I'm not, it'll be for one of two reasons.
1 - I wrote a blockbuster tune and retired to the Playboy mansion. (Nice dream) OR
2 - I decided to go into another field of work. (a possibility...we'll see)

Thanks a lot Bruno for the time and I wish you all the best in all you do. If you find some time for touring, you have to make a stop in the Burgh!