The Hot Spot

Can you name the #1 rock radio song of 1993? Surely, you remember that song – “Two Princes” and it’s smiley cousins – “Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong” and “Jimmy Olsens’ Blues.” Yeah, The Spin Doctors could do no wrong in late ’92 and early ’93 as they soon welcomed in a new era of beatnik rock that led to the full bloom of the HORDE generation. Back in those days, the Spin Doctors quickly sold over five million copies of their debut, Pocket Full of Kryptonite, made the cover of Rolling Stone and the band even opened for The Rolling Stones, but like flannel shirts, not everything cool in the early 90’s lasted for long.

The original Spin Doctors: Chris Barron (lead vocals), Eric Schenkman (guitar, vocals), Mark White (bass), and Aaron Comess (drums) would be history by late ’94, as Schenkman left the band after the follow-up album, Turn It Upside Down. That effort didn’t exactly flop either, hitting platinum, but it was more runoff from Kryptonite than anything, as the Spin Doctors soon became victims of their own success, falling out of musical fashion, becoming even too pop for their college rock roots.

White parted ways as well during the recording of 1999’s Here Comes the Bride, and when the band was closing in on a curtain call, Barron lost his voice to an attack of vocal chord paralysis and that was it. In September 2001 to help say goodbye to the famous Wetlands in NYC. All four original members regrouped and dusted off some classics that were pushing ten years old, but regained their enthusiasm, and even booked a few club tours here and there. Of course a reunion wouldn’t really be a reunion without original material, so this year they recorded Nice Talking To Me, their first new studio album in eleven years with the original members. Recorded at Sound City in Van Nuys, CA, the same room where Fleetwood Mac made Rumors and Tom Petty &The Heartbreakers created Damn The Torpedoes, The Spin Doctors eagerly tried to reclaim their sound but also keep things fresh and alive.

Nice Talking To Me sounds like the same band you played hacky-sack to, but with a new found vigor and a contemporary flair. Still, second chances are hard to come by and rock reunions are typically better received at the twenty year mark instead of just a decade - just ask Motley Crue and Duran Duran. So we put drummer Aaron Comess on the hot seat and threw a few questions his way.

In the early 90s, when things were really rolling for you, what was the catalyst for the eventual progression off the radar screen?

I think it was just over exposure really...I mean I was sick of us too.

Was it all a bit too much too fast - hit record, "Two Princes" overload, playing with the Stones, MTV? Looking back on it now, is there a part of you that wishes it just brewed a bit slower and longer before it exploded?

I can't complain. To have had that kind of success is something I believe most musicians would be pretty happy about. I think we would have imploded with or without all the hype to tell you the truth.

All of the HORDE bands have had different levels of fame, popularity and obscurity. What’s the biggest surprise ten years later?

I’m just glad to see most of those bands still out there doing their thing…that is what that first HORDE tour was all about - getting a bunch of different groups of musicians together and bringing a great diverse show around.

It has been 11 years since the last record with the original lineup, but this one seems to pick up right where the last one left off. Was there a thought of trying to change the original formula after all this time - given how much the industry and scene have changed?

We really felt we wanted to make a record that stood up to our first record. We hired on a great producer, Matt Wallace, to oversee the project and make sure it sounded sonically current. As far as any formula, we have always had a certain chemistry together when the four of us play, it just sounds like us…for us to try and be something else would just be a mistake.

How has each of the band members matured as musicians in the past eleven years? Are there any new tricks or talents offered?

We have all been part of many different musical situations over our years apart. When we came back together we were able to use these new tools in the band, and even more than that, we gained a greater respect and appreciation for what we have together. I realized there is something special and unique about playing with this band, and the other things I may miss in this group I can just go play somewhere else.

With such a lapse, how do you reconnect with a fan base that has moved on from college keg parties to a house in the suburbs?

Well, the cool thing is the age gap at our shows now…we have everything from young kids to older folks. It seems a lot of the younger generation has discovered us and the old fans are coming back to either get a blast from the past or see what were up to now.

So what are your goals and aspirations this time around?

The same they have always been really - to make the best music we can and make a living doing it…that’s all we ever set out to do. The record deals and the hit records were really just a fluke…we never sat around and said “we got to get a record deal.” It was always about making a living playing great music...who can ask for more than that?