Interview with Michael Cartellone (Part One)
Drummer Michael Cartellone has had a diverse career, to say the least. His early interest in British progressive rock set him on an unlikely journey from his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio to New York City, where he spent several years recording various demos with former Roxy Music/ UK/ Jethro Tull keyboardist/violinist Eddie Jobson. From there Cartellone landed a tour with Styx singer/guitarist Tommy Shaw; Cartellone’s very first tour was in support of Shaw’s Ambition record, opening for Rush in every major arena in the country.
In the early Nineties Tommy Shaw joined forces with Ted Nugent and Jack Blades to form Damn Yankees, and Cartellone fell naturally into the drum chair for the all-star group. On paper a collaboration betwen a former member of Styx, a former member of Night Ranger, and Ted Nugent might have seemed implausible, but the group’s debut managed to balance the superior singing and pop songwriting sensibilities of Shaw and Blades with Nugent’s flamboyant guitar heroics, and the result was a radio-friendly multi-format smash. Damn Yankees went Double Platinum and spawned rock radio hits like “Coming Of Age” and “Come Again”, as well as the soaring power ballad “High Enough”, which crossed over to #3 on Billboard’s mainstream charts. The follow-up album Don’t Tread saw Damn Yankees expanding its songwriting into new territories, but the sudden emergence of grunge as the principal force in the marketplace virtually destroyed the band’s radio market, and Don’t Tread missed going Platinum. The band had another album in its contract, but with the marketplace changing so rapidly Warner Brothers decided to pay the band’s option off instead of releasing a third album.
Cartellone spent the next several years in a wide variety of recording and touring projects including Cher, Peter Frampton, John Wetton, John Fogerty, Adrian Belew, Accept, Big People, and even country star Suzy Bogguss. In the late Nineties he joined Lynyrd Skynyrd, and since then he has spent the majority of his time on the band’s massive touring schedule. Cartellone also still plays on a number of outside projects, and he is a painter as well; his ‘Road Series’ of paintings have shown to substantial acclaim.
I interviewed Michael Cartellone on Sunday, October 11, 2009 by phone. This was my second interview with Michael; we had spoken at great length before for my book The Grand Delusion: The Unauthorized True Story of Styx. The drummer was exactly as I remembered him; humble, soft-spoken, and full of interesting and funny stories about his long and varied career.
In Part One we discuss Lynyrd Skynyrd’s current live dates in support of the God and Guns album; choosing which new songs to play with such a large back catalogue; how to integrate new songs into a set of classics without alienating fans; fan reaction to the new songs, especially “Still Unbroken”; the recent deaths of Billy Powell and Ean Evans, and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s history of overcoming adversity and moving on; the process of replacing members and how that affects the music; whether a band that replaces members can still be seen as that band; Michael’s own entry into Lynyrd Skynyrd, and how he found his place in the band despite being a “Damn Yankee” joining a Southern Rock band.
My thanks to Michael Cartellone for this interview.
