Chris Catero of Razer

by Alexandra Mrozowska
– Sr. Columnist —

Last year, the Phoenix-based band Razer released its 2nd album, surprisingly embroidered with an eponymous title. As Hardrock Haven caught up with the group’s bass player and co-producer of Razer, Chris Catero, the album sparked quite a conversation as there were many things to be discussed. From the Zeppelin-esque cover artwork and the rootsy, organic approach sound of Razer’s current recordings to the input of the legendary Alan Niven – Catero has plenty of stories behind the album to tell.

Hardrock Haven: Your new self-titled album took you, in your own words, two years to complete. What’s contributed to such prolongation of the songwriting and recording process?

Chris Catero: We took our time to organically develop the songs right. And when I say “right” I don’t mean perfected, I mean the tunes were actually developed in a manner where we thought a lot creatively about arrangements, parts and performances to the point where they felt right to us, then we just simply recorded. We didn’t do the traditional “record a bunch of songs in a month in the studio” thing, instead we captured each song as it was finished. I really liked this aspect of the recording as it broke up technical conformity, i.e. meaning it all the same drum sound, same bass and guitar sounds, etc., leaving the songs themselves to create the overall album statement all together. The different sounds and production elements in the individual songs make for a more interesting listen as an album than if everything sounds the same. And I firmly believe rock music shouldn’t adhere to the pop formula of singular songs as good rock artists are typically far more evolved as songwriters and have more to say. Call me old school but I like getting whole albums from worthwhile rock artists. Also from the engineering perspective I really liked being able to basically record the album at home where I could sit and do it organically at better creative times for everyone, or go mobile and record in interesting spaces. Drums were recorded by my producer buddy Chuck Alkazian in multiple sessions at his Pearl Sound Studios near Detroit which has one of the greatest drum rooms in the world. Conversely I recorded guitars and bass between one of our guitarists houses and my place, and the vocals were actually recorded in an old shed in Prescott, AZ, next to a goat pen. The vibe was right, we got a lot of cool takes done in there, and the goats even tried to get in on the action raising hell just outside the shed. How many albums have been done that way? Ha! The spirit of this recording was way more akin to an old Zep record where they recorded in house or wherever they felt good recording versus any modern production norms, and to me was far more interesting a journey.

Hardrock Haven: What was your goal as you’ve started working on the album and do you think the goals were made a reality?

Chris Catero: We had come off a confused and dispirited time from the album before where we had lost our way personally somewhat and musically. Our longtime guitarist Jeromy Graves decided to leave the band, we had been drained emotionally and financially at that point, and really everyone was quietly in their own thoughts wondering if they wanted to do this anymore. For me I was pretty unhappy musically and just started writing tunes for myself that were way more akin to ‘70s and early ‘80s hard rock. At the time we did have a great addition to the band in guitarist Jordan Ziff who had been filling in on same dates after Jeromy had quit. In Jordan he’s a standout guitar talent in a room full of standout guitar talents – a true blue guitar god in the making. So with him on board, and us having a powerhouse singer like Chris Powers… he’s aptly named, isn’t he (laughs) I just decided to write songs that I thought really fit the talents in the band. Most of the time newer bands get way too involved in listening to what’s on the radio instead of listening to what’s not only in their hearts but also what are the capabilities of their band, and they end up sounding contrived and unconvincing at best. I firmly believe bands need to work in the light of it’s individual and collective strengths and minimize their weaknesses, so in my thinking doing more organic rock songs that creatively had a vibe versus douchey radio rock songs was the way to go. We got off slowly in the process as everyone had to kind of “buy in” at their own speed, but once we got going and Alan Niven joined in on the project it really started coalesce. And that process took time so we threw out any potential self imposed deadlines and just decided when it was done it was done. So our end goal was simply to create a really good rock record on our own terms, and in that respect I believe we wildly succeeded.

Hardrock Haven: What do you think differentiates Razer from the previous album Dark Devotion?

Chris Catero: They’re simply different beasts, and products of where the band was at that time. With Dark Devotion we had set out to make a Rock record that would get us noticed and musically it was one of the moments where Rock radio in the U.S. was still breaking bands. I can only speak for myself here, but in retrospect musically it wasn’t totally an honest statement for my part. I really am proud of that record, and we came up with some good stuff on it, but there was a mismatch of the band’s individual talents and the music we were trying to make. But in fairness too we were taking our shot at getting on the radio and we did get noticed in that respect.
With our new album I feel like for the first time this band really made an album that aligned with everyone’s personal tastes and interests, is authentically us as a band, and because of that it really shines in a brighter light to me. To be honest it really isn’t even fair to compare the two as they’ve very different statements. This album felt like the birth of something new to us, really to the point we even discussed changing the name of the band; ultimately we decided not to since we’d spent a lot of hard work, time and money around the name leading up to that moment. But if I were to sum up the differences in the two albums, and again this is personal retrospection here, I would say the previous album was made for something more specific in purpose and this one was made for the pure love of the music. I feel the authenticity of the new album has made a deeper connection with listeners too as we’ve gotten far more really great reviews with not even a fraction of the budget of the previous album, and in a much more maligned musical climate today.

Hardrock Haven: The usual policy in the music industry is that the self-titled album is a debut one, therefore an introduction to an artist or a band to the audience. What’s the reason for the current album to be the eponymous one?

Chris Catero: Again as I said this album felt like the first album on almost every level – new direction, a new line-up, new partnerships forged… all of it felt brand new. And really as darkly as we all felt right before this album we’ve been equally as energized by the direction we’ve now taken. So it was Alan who suggested we self-title the album, and he was right on the money on that point I think.

Hardrock Haven: Speaking of the legendary manager and co-producer Alan Niven, he plays a big part in the story of making the album. Could you please elaborate on this?

Chris Catero: I met Alan when I was still doing artist relations for the guitar amp manufacturer Krank Amps. He had a band that was interested in the amps and from our first conversation, there was an immediate connection. We became friends and eventually I played him some Razer music in giving him the Dark Devotion album. He honestly cared little for it (laughs) but I think he heard some potential, and I had told him we were at the beginning of redirecting band so to speak. Eventually he came over to the house one day and listened to some of the demos we had been working on and I could visibly see what he was hearing was piquing his interest, with him eventually asking, quite sheepishly I might add which is NOT a typical thing with him (laughs), if he thought Chris Powers would be into doing a vocal session. So we set it up, and the first thing we worked on together was “Blood For Blood”. Chris started to sing the song’s opening scream and Alan’s eyes got wide and I knew he was in! So we did the album together which has turned out to be the beginning of a musical production partnership with him and I that’s ongoing with us now doing other acts together.

RAZER – “BLOOD FOR BLOOD”

But really he was the catalyst that turned to ship around for everyone once he got involved – to all the guys there was a sense of hope and encouragement in what we were doing once Alan came on board. I’ve been in the music business a long time, and I can honestly say he’s one of the smartest individuals I’ve encountered. It’s very easy to see how big a role he played in getting bands like Guns N’ Roses and Great White to where they got eventually. And with him and I see eye to eye uncannily on many things so for me personally, I also feel like I found a true partner in crime musically and personally as we’re very close friends at this point too.

Hardrock Haven: What do you think is the strength of the current Razer line-up? How do you think it is reflected on your latest album?

Chris Catero: Well when I started writing music for this album in my mind’s eye I could clearly see we have not only one but two of the best talents in rock today with Chris Powers and Jordan Ziff. I too am a pretty capable bass player, but above all, I see myself more as a facilitator in what we do – writing, recording, and whatever the hell else needs to get done. I’m the dirty work guy. So when I started coming up with basic music I knew we could have something really cool happen musically in the songs with the talent in the band. I’m a huge fan of the old school singer/guitarist thing, like Page/Plant, Eddie Van Halen/David Lee Roth, etc, etc. So Alan and I somewhat pushed that direction at the guys and they responded how I thought they would and really came up with some cool ideas. I feel like this album is just the beginning of what we can do collectively which makes me pretty excited for the future.

Hardrock Haven: What do you think was the highlight of playing with Razer so far?

Chris Catero: One that stands out to me was doing a firefighter benefit with Slash. Alan set up this show to benefit some fallen firefighters in the area he lives in and got Slash to commit to flying in and doing a set. So were did our normal set then came back on to back Slash for half of that set consisting of Guns’ tunes and cool covers. It was a great gig and the guys tore it up!

RAZER WITH SLASH PERFORMING LED ZEPPELIN’S “HEARTBREAKER”

Hardrock Haven: While listening to the album, I had a feeling some songs have been influenced by Blues and Southern Rock. What were your actual inspirations during the process of making the album?

Chris Catero: Absolutely Blues and Southern Rock influences are in the mix. Chris is a tremendous Blues and R&B singer and naturally, sings in that style. Jordan was weened in Blues-based Rock growing up as was I so it was a very natural thing to gravitate in those directions. In regards to Southern Rock, there’s a cool vibe in a lot of that music that translates well into what we do – the tough slinkiness of a lot of the riffs to the soulfulness in the ballads.
As far as inspirations it was kind of wide and varied. Stuff like Zep, old Whitesnake, old Scorpions, Queen, etc. For me a big catalyst in getting the creative juices rolling was watching Black Country Communion’s “Live Over Europe” DVD. What a kick ass disc! I love Glenn Hughes’ vocals and bass playing, Joe Bonamassa showcases some of what I feel is his best and most original playing, and Jason Bonham and Derek Sherinian are killer. It was truly inspirational in that what I was watching was killer players gleefully playing unfashionably kick ass ‘70s rock and people loved it. The next time I picked up my acoustic guitar ideas just kinda came out which kick-started the writing process for me.

Hardrock Haven: In spite of all its musical value, the album is more about feeling and expressiveness rather than the technical prowess. Was it a deliberate choice of yours and what’s more important to you as musicians?

Chris Catero: Well nothing about what we did on the record was deliberately thought out per se but rather organically it just evolved into a more expressive statement. I guess the only thing that became deliberate in nature was that we decided we wanted the album to real – no drum samples, no autotuned vocals, no cut, and pasting or perfecting parts – we just wanted to make a real album. And while we all know we can seriously play in the band, we all put our best foot forward in making sure what we did do served the song. Don’t get me wrong, there’s some monster playing on the album, but none of it is at the expense of the song which I think all of us are proud of in the end.

Hardrock Haven: For “Razer”, you managed to capture the band’s energy on record – which is quite rare nowadays. What’s the secret of this authentic, straight-in-your-face, rough vibe to your music other bands just fail to capture?

Chris Catero: Well it starts with being authentic as a band. We can all actually play and sing, and as simple as that sounds, way too much of today’s new band’s music is manufactured – the bulk of the attention comes in the form of technology with songs being assembled and performances being perfected in ProTools, sounds are samples, vocals are tuned to perfection… all of it contributes to songs losing their soul. Good rock n roll isn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination but rather it brims with attitude and makes you feel something inside. So when a band can really play AND they’ve put a lot of effort into developing their songs all you really have to do is push “record” and go for it for the most part. Making a record with “analog consciousness” was a mantra Alan brought in that I was more than happy to oblige as I felt exactly the same way, and it’s affects are pretty evident throughout. From a production standpoint I like things a little more on the raw side when it comes to music like ours as I feel it lets the listener dig in and listen…when it gets too slick it just rolls on by. If you have good tunes then it all becomes about attitude and vibe to me – if it creates an impressionable moment people will connect, and if the production snarls a bit all the better. Rock radio here in the U.S. at the moment is a fucking wasteland with manufactured, generic songs that are way too produced. Pop on classic albums by bands like Motörhead, Iron Maiden, AC/DC, etc., and today they have never sounded so vital I think.

Hardrock Haven: What’s inspired the songs on the album in terms of lyrics and are there any stories behind the songs you’d like to share perhaps?

Chris Catero: Life itself inspired a lot of the lyrics on this album – what was going on in those moments. Chris and I wrote most of the lyrics and Alan contributed en masse to about half of the songs which was a first for us to have anyone outside the band write with us. For instance “It’s A Mutha” was an idea Alan had to tongue-in-cheek write about some of the governmental injustices we’ve seen in more recent times. “Shattered” was focused on a long term relationship ending for me… “Ironborn” is about characters from the George R.R. Martin Game Of Thrones novels…”The Things You Do” is a take on hot mess bad love… One of my more favorite lyrics I wrote was for the song “Into The Light” which was a very personal statement for me as it dealt with some losses in my family. I can say regarding my contributions lyrically to this album that they were some of the most open, honest and hardest things I’ve ever written. “Into The Light” and “Shattered” were actually very cathartic in many ways and personally helped me grow as an artist by allowing myself to write with vulnerability and be ok with it. I think all of us felt really good about the lyrics by the time we were done, that we had said something beyond the typical clichés.

RAZER – IT’S A MUTHA

RAZER – THE THINGS YOU DO

RAZER – IRONBORN

Hardrock Haven: While writing lyrics, do you focus on a particular story from your personal viewpoint or perhaps, do you prefer to create a universal concepts different people can relate to?

Chris Catero: Well it can be both really. Sometimes you just have something you want to get off your chest. Other times it’s a story from a third party perspective. I do think that in all lyrics though you strive to let the listener relate uniquely to what you’re saying, so we do try to make statements that anyone can apply to themselves.

Hardrock Haven: Some reviewers draw comparisons between your album and Guns N’Roses’ classic Appetite For Destruction – the presence of Alan Niven being just one of many reasons for it. Do you yourselves see any parallels?

Chris Catero: (laughs) Well that’s a nice thing for people to say and an honor to be mentioned in such esteemed company, and yes Alan’s presence has certainly made it easier to draw a line between the albums. But I think while there is perhaps a moment or two one could somewhat musically relate to Appetite… they’re pretty different records. The one big commonality I see though that I think has maybe helped draw those comparisons is a “fuck you, we’ll do it on our own terms” notion, and in this respect I give Alan a lot of credit. He’s a highly perceptive rock n roll guru, the Gandalf of rock I’ve called him (laughs), and he has a true knack for seeing the authenticity in something with the acumen to then help it come to realization. His presence helped push the band as a whole to see more clearly what we were best at, that it was different from what’s out there at the moment and we’re better off for it. It’s aspects like these that are missing in rock n roll now – people who know how to actually develop a band being given the reigns from labels to help new acts do so…the lack of artist development leads to why there aren’t many great new bands emerging. Are we a great new band? That’s not for me to say, but I can proudly say that we are ourselves and not one of the sheep.

Hardrock Haven: The cover artwork for the album brings to mind nothing else but the front cover of Led Zeppelin I album. Assuming it was a deliberate choice, what did you want to declare by such a maneuver?

Chris Catero: This was another Niv idea, and yes it’s a play on Zep I. When we were talking about album cover ideas he mentioned how when he first started working with Mötley Crüe in getting their debut album up and going that he liked how the Too Fast For Love cover was a play on the Stones’ Sticky Fingers album cover. He liked the idea of an old tank marauding in place of the zeppelin going down and jokingly reminded us of the legendary myth of how Keith Moon said Jimmy Page’s new band was “going to go down like a lead zeppelin”… given how well that turned out if we “tanked” was that such a bad thing? Ha! The other aspect of it was if you got the wink and nod to the Zep cover you’d have an idea of what you might get with us, musically and in spirit. Why not!

Hardrock Haven: What’s been the general feedback on the album? How important are those opinions to you?

Chris Catero: The response to the album has been overwhelmingly positive, and we’ve had a ton of awesome reviews and excellent feedback in general from both fans and music industry people. I’ve been in the music business for a long while and at this point what others think doesn’t necessarily have a lot of bearing with me, but the fact the response has been so positive tells me we’ve made a great record that connects to those who will take the time to listen. The problem nowadays is the last part of that statement – those who will take the time to listen. In today’s world generally people want the instantaneous and quickly move from one thing to another, so when it comes to music the amount of real fans who will spend time with new music has greatly dwindled. It’s hard to break through without having a lot of money behind you to where your band is beaten into the consciousness of music fans. But the fact we’ve garnered so many great reviews from all over the globe without having the big machine behind us really says a lot I think.

Hardrock Haven: As you mentioned earlier in 2013 the band performed with no one else but Slash at the Rockin’ 2 Remember benefit show in Prescott, Arizona. Do you plan to collaborate with the legendary guitarist again, perhaps this time in the recording studio?

Chris Catero: You never know what might happen. He’s a pretty busy dude but I could see it maybe happening down the line one day. He’s really a lovely guy and it would be a lot of fun to do something together at some point.

Hardrock Haven: Speaking about Gunners here and there, also in reference to Alan Niven and now Slash… with the Guns N’Roses reunion happening, what do you think about it?

Chris Catero: As a fan, I’m a little nonplussed by it I guess as it feels like an increasingly inept cash grab. The whole thing hasn’t been done very well for something of that magnitude, and from what I understand it’s a complex situation behind the scenes. To me as a fan though the true reunion would be to have Izzy and Steven there or at least Matt Sorum on drums. That’s Guns N’ fucking Roses to me. Even Gilby Clarke on guitar would feel more right…I believe as a fan there should be no one on that stage who wasn’t on stage pre-1993 for it to be called a reunion. I will say so far from all the footage I’ve seen online Axl has sounded good which I didn’t think would be the case so credit him there. And Steven joined them recently on a couple dates for two songs and with him on the kit they suddenly sounded a lot more authentic. But again that thing is complex so who knows what ultimately comes of all of it…if anything really…

Hardrock Haven: Beside your band activity, two Razer members have been involved in Marty Friedman’s touring band. Is it a rewarding experience altogether?

Chris Catero: Yeah, Jordan and I both have done Marty’s gig at different times, and individually I think it was rewarding on lots of levels. Marty has been a long time friend of mine and during my tenure in his band we had a lot of fun, and I got to play with some pretty heavyweight cats. In truth when Marty first asked me if I wanted to play in his band I said yes without really knowing if I was completely up to the task…it was a daunting thought knowing who all I was going to be onstage with, and certainly didn’t want to be the weak link! I think beforehand I always thought I was at that level as a player, but after I jumped in and did it I came out knowing I was at that level and it forever changed me as a player – the ceiling moved up. I became truly a professional and it was a great experience. And for Jordan I think it was a similar thing. I hooked Jordan and Marty up a couple years ago and Marty was pretty enamored with his playing, and for good reason. They have a lot in common as players, and I’ve never heard anyone ape Marty’s vibe as well as Jordan can, so seeing them playing onstage together on his last tour was a real treat.

Hardrock Haven: Knowing you’re a guy who keeps busy, are there any other projects you’re involved in at the moment?

Chris Catero: Yes I do keep myself occupied! (laughs) Earlier this year I joined up with legendary Dokken drummer Wild Mick Brown to play in a new solo band he started called The Bourbon Ballet. It’s a project that focuses mostly on tunes from Mick’s career that includes material from Dokken, Lynch Mob, Ted Nugent, and Montrose. Soon we’re going to start writing music which will step up the band to the next level so we’ll see how that goes! Mick is a cool dude and a good guy, and really a great 70’s style drummer which maybe hasn’t been totally showcased in the bands he’s been in. So everyone might hear a little different musical vibe in this band.

WILD MICK BROWN’S BOURBON BALLET PROMO

Also I spend time playing in a really fun Ozzy Osbourne tribute called I Don’t Know with maybe the single greatest Ozzy impersonator on the planet, a guy named Kevin Schumacher who uncannily looks and sounds like the Ozz man himself. We play casino-type dates and it’s just a blast to do as Bob Daisley is one of my big personal influences on bass so I’m getting play a ton of his bass lines in all the music I’ve loved since I was a kid. Super fun gig that pays ok which is ok with me!

I DON’T KNOW PROMO VIDEO

On other fronts, I’ve been doing some producing as Alan and I did an EP with this band from Texas called 3Eighty3 that’s like Motürhead, Fear, and ZZ Top smothered with Pantera BBQ sauce (laughs), as well as some other acts. And coming up I’ll be doing my own show on Heavy Metal Television which a really cool online music video channel (www.heavymetaltelevision.com). I did a guest hosting stint for them in June and they liked my jackassery on camera enough to give me a show! The fools! Ha! That will most likely start in late August, as well as being in talks to do an ‘80s Metal podcast on a very big podcasting entity. So yeah I’m staying busy!

Hardrock Haven: Is there anything you’d like to add in the end?

Chris Catero: I’d just like to tell people to go check out the Razer album, and if you dig it pick it up – you won’t be disappointed! You can check us out at or at www.reverbnation.com/razer. And without fail thanks to all who support!!!