H R H - I N T E R V I E W S

Spread Eagle (Rob DeLuca)
Interview October 2006

Rob DeLuca from Spread Eagle dropped by Hardrock Haven to talk about the re-release of their incredible 1990 self-titled CD, touring places like China and Australia as part of Sebastian Bach's band while opening for Guns N Roses, what the "grunge movement" meant to Spread Eagle, and a whole lot more.

Hardrock Haven: Your band recently released your 1990 self-titled CD. Why did you think the time was right to release that CD again?

Rob DeLuca: I think the right time to do it was just because we felt like it. We weren't really gauging if it was the right time. We felt like it … there are things that made us feel like doing it. The climate was coming around again for aggressive rock. In other words, that kind of music is becoming popular again. When I'm out there playing in other bands, people find out I was in Spread Eagle and they always want to talk about it. They always say that they can't get the record. There was a guy pirating the record on Ebay for a fortune. So, there were a few things that came together for it to make sense.

HRH: Was there any difference between this version and the 1990 version?

DeLuca: It was remastered and it really sounds a lot better.

HRH: You actually hit the road and played the end of the summer into September on the "Back on the Bitch" Tour. How did the tour go, and do you plan on touring again with Spread Eagle?

DeLuca: Great. It really went great. We had a blast. Those songs … they are really well written songs, and it doesn't matter. Some of those songs, written 13, even 16 years ago, you can pick out that sound dated. But there's a lot more of the music that doesn't sound dated. Those are the songs that we played live, and it was great. It was a blast.

HRH: The original lineup wasn't in place for the tour, but holy shit did you get some great people to step in. Chris Caffrey on guitar and John Macaluso on drums. How did you hook up with those guys?

DeLuca: With John, absolutely. He did our second record. John played on our second record, almost all of the songs on it. I'm guesstimating that he played on 80-85 percent of the songs on the second record. We have a definite history with him. We were looking for a record at that time, but he had prior commitments with the band TNT. So he didn't end up joining the band. We've always been friends; he and I have played in a bunch of things together since then. So it wasn't that odd-he was the obvious choice.

For Chris, I didn't know Chris that well. I'd see him around, and we'd talk to each other in passing and we would definitely be friendly. But we didn't know each other that well. But Ray West (vocalist) is a good friend of his, and he had been mentioning that we should do it again. If Paul didn't want to do it, then we should get Chris. So, that's how it all came together.

HRH: You are a busy man in your own right, touring not just with Spread Eagle but with Sebastian Bach's band. You actually played in China and in Australia, correct? How did those dates go?

DeLuca: It was really incredible. China is so … in some ways, it's so different, it's really life-changing to go visit somewhere like that. To go and spend a little time there is even more incredible. It's like a double-edge sword: you want to go somewhere and you want to play a lot, BUT, if you go somewhere and you don't play much but you really do a lot of sight-seeing, that's pretty cool too. And that was the case of the last tour … it was two polar opposites. In China, it was the one show, at the Bejing Pop Festival, and then we had four days to just go around China, check it out, it was just incredible. Australia was really the opposite. We played, but we didn't get to see. We just played. But you know, it's always incredible to get to visit other countries, to go in there with your gang, with your band, and have everyone go nuts, to have a great show. It's really rewarding, it's really fun, and there is a lot of bonding too.

HRH: Getting back to Spread Eagle, your biggest hit was probably "Switchblade Serenade," which still stands as a great song today. What was it like having a hit like that the first time around, being on MTV, and then having the grunge thing move in?

DeLuca: Well, for starters, it was shocking. Because it really did change things. Instantaneously. I don't think I've ever seen anything change so abruptly and drastically. But I'm a firm believer that things get old, overexposed, and things just start to get bad. It's healthy for that to happen, because there were a lot of really bad bands. It was simple to get a picture of Guns N Roses or whoever, and dress the part. But they really weren't focusing on creating good music, and there was a lot of that going on. When you have labels signing bands, that many bands, only because the way they look and not for any particular musical proficiency, that's when it happens, and that's why it did happen. And that's what happens to the fans when they start looking somewhere else; that's when grunge was discovered, cultivated and promoted. So, I thought it was a good thing.

HRH: It seems that this kind of music is starting to be popular again, and since the music industry is really cyclical, so you feel maybe listeners are getting sick of the emo/screamo thing and wanting to hear good ol' heavy rock n roll again?

DeLuca: I think there is some truth to what you just said. Musical is cyclical, and just like what I was saying, if you hear enough of something, you want to taste a different flavor. The key is if it's good, people will like it. If it's good and people are exposed to it, people will like it. Spread Eagle was definitely a very good band, both recording-wise and live-wise. So I think people are starting to look for something with a little different edge to it right now

HRH: What's next for Spread Eagle? Any chance of getting back together with Ray West and the other band mates and recording new material?

DeLuca: We are definitely open to that. We are not talking about it in detail. What I'd like to do is just do another tour first, and just get that whole live thing solid again, and then start thinking about recording some new music. We are not talking any timeline right now. I'm leaving to go with Sebastian again, we are opening for Guns N Roses all through North America. So it's going to have to be after that. But it is going to happen. The touring, and the recording, we are all very open to it. We just haven't gotten to the point where we have specifics about it yet.

HRH: Is there anything I left out that you'd like to leave for our Hardrock Haven faithful?

DeLuca: Thanks to Lovember Records for releasing the record. Check out the Web site if you want to check out the record (www.lovemberrecords.com). I have another band, called Of Earth, that is on that Web site also. And we'll be releasing something also on Lovember Records pretty soon. Thanks to all the Spread Eagle fans, and we hope to get to wherever you are.