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Recently, we caught up with veteran Frontman, Ron Young of Little Caesar. Among other things, we touch on how Little Caesar is kicking off 2022, the band’s early years and formation, the band’s latest remaster of American Dream, and a whole lot more.

If you would like to learn more about Little Caesar, the link to their webpage is here. Once you’ve checked that out, dig into this interview with Ron. Cheers.

Andrew:
Ron, thanks for taking the time to dig in with us. Let’s kick off by diving into the remaster of 2012’s, American Dream. What led to the band releasing the record? Where you unhappy with the mix?

Ron:
Not at all! There aren’t any changes in the mixes. We are just putting together some live tracks along with the studio versions for some perspective. Since we weren’t on a major label, we wanted to rerelease it to hopefully get it to fall on new ears. 

Andrew:
The 2012 lineup was a very different animal as it didn’t feature Pharoah Barrett or Mark Tremalgia. How big of a role did the band’s newest members play in this remastered version of American Dream?

Ron:
When any band mixes an album, you are subject to the room that you mix it in. After a band gets to hear it on many systems, you hear frequencies you would like to rebalance. The newest members of the band are very “like-minded” guys to the original players on the album. Though unique in their own stylings, they possess a love of the same types of music that has always been present in any of the band’s members over the years. 

Andrew:
Bruce Witkin initially produced the record. Was the band unhappy with his production?

Ron:
Not at all. Bruce is a killer producer and brings out great performances in us. He understands the essence of the band and doesn’t allow technology to shave off all the personality of the band.

Andrew:
It goes without saying that American Dream is an important piece of music to yourself and your bandmates, which was recorded over a decade ago – a different world, so to speak. Ten years on, what are your lasting impressions of the album?

Ron:
We think it holds up well. We have always been a band that didn’t rely on studio trickery or heavy production values. We are just a rock ‘n’ roll band and have a deep love and affinity for classic hard rock. The subject matter within the lyrics is as relevant today as they were ten years ago. 

Andrew:
On the new music side of things, 2018’s Eight was the band’s last studio release to date. Is the band writing or recording its next album as of yet?

Ron:
Now that COVIDis subsiding, we are working on new material, and hope to be in the studio when we return from our upcoming tour in Europe that kicks off in September. 

Andrew:
Going back a bit in time now, walk me through the formation of Little Caesar amongst a bustling LA rock and metal scene.

Ron:
We all loved classic, blues-based hard rock. The flavor of music at that time was more pop-orientated, and the players were very glamorous. We were just working-class guys that loved cars and motorcycles, and the whole “dudes looking like girls” thing just wasn’t our style. Nor were the musical leanings. We all found each other in the collective sensibilities of that, and it was the founding principle of the band’s formation.

Andrew:
I know this is going back a bit, but what do you recall regarding Little Caesar’s first gig?

Ron:
For sure. I was the doorman at a great club in LA called the Music Machine. I asked the talent buyer for the headline slot on a Saturday night and took a big risk that we could draw a crowd. Fortunately, I had a lot of friends in the motorcycle crowd and put flyers on all their bikes for a few weeks. The place was packed and had hundreds of bikes that lines the boulevard down the street at the club. They were a great crowd and Jimmy Lovine’s assistant was there, and the next week, we signed with him as our Manager. 

Andrew:
What do you recall about the recording of “Down The Wire,” and how did the band catch the attention of Metal Blade Records for inclusion on its Street Survivors compilation?

Ron:
That was a great shot in the arm. Metal Blade is such a great label, that had a passionate team of music lovers that ran the label day to day. That label has such street credibility, it really helped kick start things for us. 

Andrew:
DGC Records signed the band not long after. Take me through their courtship.

Ron:
Once Jimmy Lovine came aboard, we had every label sniffing around. We weeded out most of them when we met with various A&R guys that didn’t see the vision of the band and wanted us to glam it up, and be like every other band out there. We were supposed to be on Geffen, but then David Geffen started DGC which was meant for “start-up” bands. Our A&R guy there, Mike Vukovich really loved the band. Jimmy asked John Kalodner to also be involved – a big mistake – and John contacted Bob Rock about working with us. The rest is infamy. [Laughs].

Andrew:
Little Caesar’s self-titled debut record is retrospectively adored by your fanbase. How big of an influence did mega-producer, Bob Rock, have on its inception?

Ron:
Bob did a great job taking off all our personalities and making us sound so nice and slick. It made it even harder to look at a picture of the band and understand how something so slickly produced could come from such a bunch of thugs. [Laughs].

Andrew:
Despite the strength of its songsmith, Little Caesar’s debut struggled to break consistent rotation on MTV. Why do you feel the band had trouble gaining exposure? Was DGC prepared to support the band?

Ron:
We immediately entered heavy rotation on MTV. Unfortunately, within four weeks of our initial release, the label was sold, and our records weren’t in retail outlets until the warehouse moved the product over to the new distributors. DGC’s label manager was fired for jerking off on his secretary, and they fired their head of promotion in order to cut the budgets when Matsushita – the new owners – found out how much money they were spending on the two-hundred bands that were on the label. Other than that, things went quite well. [Laughs].

Andrew:
While image was everything on The Strip, Little Caesar always had a more rugged look. Do you feel the band was edged out of opportunities due to its aesthetic not aligning with the mainstream?

Ron:
No more than bands like Nirvana, Soundgarden, and other more rugged bands did. The problem was that we knew that genre of music was running its course, and we couldn’t get the label to see it was coming. If we were allowed to make our first record the way we wanted it to sound, it would have sounded more like Soundgarden’s first album, and not the shiny Bob Rock record we made.

Andrew:
Veteran guitarist, Earl Slick, came on for the recording of 1992’s Influence. How big of an impact did he have from the get-go, as opposed to the departed Jimmy Hayne?

Ron:
Slick is a killer player. So is Apache. Apache was just fed up with all the corporate crap and left the band. Slick came in with his own brand of heavy blues guitar playing and put his stamp on the band for that record. 

Andrew:
From its inception, DGC was more of an alternative-centric label, and as the sonic landscape shifted toward grunge in the 90s, do you feel your label properly supported you? How big of an impact did the rise of grunge have on the fortunes of Little Caesar?

Ron:
Grunge killed glam. We told them it was coming. Between the label being sold and losing its label manager in its early days, and then having the whole entity sold off to Japan, it was a total shit show. When I spoke of it to the press, I kinda got in trouble with David Geffen, who didn’t like his dirty laundry being aired in public. But when someone shits the bed, and you’re sleeping next to it, you really need to open the window. 

Andrew:
Moving forward, walk me through the reformation of Little Caesar in 2001. What’s kept the band going strong since?

Ron:
Once we got through licking our wounds and we were legally allowed to reform – Geffen wouldn’t allow us to go to another label, reform, and possibly become successful as it would “hurt their brand” – we decided to get back together, and do it as a journey of the spirit, and not one of the wallet.

Andrew:
While the band has been more creative than ever in terms of new music, the reissue of American Dream begs the question – will we see your classic era albums remastered and reissued at some point?

Ron:
I don’t know. When David Geffen asked Jimmy Lovine to let him distribute his fledgling label Interscope when Jimmy started it, Jimmy said, “No.” David never forgave him for that, and the band paid the price. David made us fire Jimmy. Since its initial release, David has never reissued our music. He can really hold grudges. [Laughs]. We have been trying to find out if our masters got burned up in the Universal fire like so many artists, which would make it tough to rework any of those recordings. 

Andrew:
While many of your contemporaries struggle to maintain their vocal range, you don’t seem to suffer from that malady, Ron. What’s your secret?

Ron:
I stay in shape and take care of my voice. I have been using in-ear monitors since their early days of inception, and they have really helped me not overwork my voice. 

Andrew:
Last one. Little Caesar seems to have its strongest lineup to date and is as creative as ever. What’s next in all lanes, Ron?

Ron:
These days, we are just grateful we get to keep the wheels rolling down the highway. We still have three original members, and we lost Apache after the first record. We have always been a family and Mark and Pharoah – who I met when I did a brief stint with the Four Horseman filling in for Frank Starr – fit in perfectly. It’s great to play with true brothers in arms. We will keep making new music – which isn’t very easy these days – and keep selling it door to door if we have to.

Interested in learning more about Little Caesar? Hit the link below:

Be sure to check out the full catalog of VWMusic Interviews, by Andrew Daly, here: www.vinylwritermusic.com/interviews