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..Well let's see... I have two kids (Matt, 10 and Alexa, 3) that I love more than anything. I'm in a relationship with the most wonderful person I could have ever hoped for (I love you Ang). I've lived in Ohio my whole life. I've played in a band more than half of my life and I am an avid follower of music. Some people will say I am stuck in the 80's... I would have to disagree and say although I do listen to it more than anything else, I do like a wide variety and can handle almost everything. The reason I enjoy the 80's so much is because it was just a fun time for music. I live life's bullshit, I don't want to have to listen to it in music every day. With the bands I have been in (Fashion Police and 1988), I have seen much of the US... and beyond now after our trips to Monterrey Mexico (thanks Champi!!!)... and wouldn't trade any of the memories or experiences I have had.
Growing up I was into sports 365 days a year... baseball, football, soccer (indoor and outdoor), I even played some floor hockey... yea, yea, that's pretty gay, but oh well... it was co-ed ;) Once in high school (Mayfield Wildcats baby!), I had to make a decision about which path to follow. Obviously I chose music. I don't regret not following sports, but there are times I wish I could know what my life would have been like on the other side of the coin.
I got into my first band when I was still in high school. We were called Out Of Bounds... dumb name, but we were 16. We used to play (no singer, just instruments... really, really bad instruments) at the home basketball games. After that we changed our name, added a singer and became 'Livewire' with such great stage names as AT Stix, Jay Wombat, JJ Nipples (long story short, he pierced his nipple himself, and it got all infected and was pretty gross...), Nicki Thrill, and yours truly Robb (yes, I wasn't the most creative back then. We put on a high school yearbook fundraiser called the Monsters of Rock. 3 bands put on one of the most kickass, thundering, concerts that school had ever seen (I can say that because it was the first one that school had seen... lol) and so began the annual concert to raise money for yearbook. After a Talent Show the band played one gig at a high school dance (can't remember the name of the school for the life of me) and then called it quits. The recording of the Monsters of Rock show got me into my first working gig... Fantasia.
This band (to this day) was the most fun I ever had at practice. We did so out in Mentor Ohio across from a cemetary and it was just 6 guys (yea, you read that right... 2 guitarists, a keyboardist, a bass player, a singer and a drummer. Everyone in the band but me sang. We frequented Christie's Pub, Spanky's East, a few Battle of the Bands and then things fell apart. I still miss those guys... OD, Paul, Todd, Steve, Mark... not to mention all the guys in Chantz... I wish I knew where you were right now.
Valentino came next. This is also where I acquired my stage name. We already had Aaron "Hollywood" Zieglers", Joey Z, Tommy Lewis, Jamie Martin, and then me. Let's see... the origin of Robin Steele... I used to work at a place called DJ Sound. I 'borrowed' some equipment that I was gonna give back at some point, *cough*sure I was*cough*, so Aaron says jokingly that I should be called Rob and Steal... that fateful day in Joey's basement, my alter ego (after minor tweaking) was born... Robin Steele We played at Flash's and then The Akron Agora (home sweet home) and for the first time we were in the spotlight. We rose to the top faster at the Agora then most bands. This was also my first taste at being a 'rockstar' (yea...) I think our big show in that band was opening for Sweet F.A. Who out there remembers that band? After a short while, the bass player was replaced (Christmas Eve '90 or '91 I believe) and we did a show that night as a 4 piece. Joey Z and I traded off playing bass on different songs... that was a disaster. We had a show at Flash Gordon's with our new bassist shortly after that. He was one of the opening band's (Snow White) guitarists and they didn't know he was quitting their band... they finished their set and before they knew it, here comes Cari 'Crash' on bass, playing for us. We wrote some good tunes and had a lot of fun, but slowly realized the the chemistry that was there in the beginning was slowly going away. After the experiences in that band, I truly know what paying your dues is all about. This time in a band is what makes and breaks them. At that time, to me, it wasn't about the money... it was 5 guys having fun, making music and living the life. I mean come on... we traded a car to Billy Morris to record our demo!!!
June of '91 (I think... isn't that when prom is - June?) I'm standing at a urinal in the bathroom and in walks a dude with long hair and stands next to me... he looks over "You in a band?". "Yea". "What's it called?". "Valentino". He laughs... then proceeds to tell me that his band is looking for a guitarist. A while later after Valentino had split, I get a call from one Dave Belanger. He drops off a packet, tells me to learn some tunes and try out. I walk in his basement setup, and coming down Dave's stairs is the guy from the Prom... Doug 'One Pedal" King. We jammed and the rest is history. Oh... some may question why on the cassette insert my name is Draye, Rob. Everyone in the band had a first name that started with D, so they wouldn't let me use Steele. Anyways, 'Plug It In' went multi platinum and I became rich and famous... Seriously... Ok, not really, but we recorded, we toured from Cleveland to El Paso, to LA for a week (The Whisky, FM Station and Coconut Teaser), to a one night stay in Vegas, then off to Utah, then Kansas, then home. Unbelievable experiences that whole trip. Dan Montesanto left the band, and we brought on Joey Z (from Valentino fame) to play bass and Dave took over the vocals. That was an interesting "Resurection... of... the Fashion... Poliiiiiiiiiiiiice!!!" - Thanks Elmar. (at the Redeye Rock Club). That lasted about 2 shows. Joey and Rob wrote a bunch of killer tunes ('Mother's Little World', 'Pulse') and then we both decided FP wasn't for us anymore. So we have had a Resureection of the Fashion Police... it was only a matter of time before the Redeye hosted the Fashion Police Funeral. Everyone that was in Fashion Police showed up (except Derek... he was afraif playing the show would hurt the reputation of his current band) and took turns playing, and then the finale of Smoke Pot featured EVERYONE on stage at once. Afterwards we talked, laughed and shared a lot of memories. This was also the only time Daniel ever complimented me on my playing... his exact words... "You used to suck." came before the picture was snapped. I still have that picture in my guitar case. That was the last picture the 4 of us took together... he died shortly after 1988 formed... I miss you bro!
I continued to see Dave everyday due to work at Concorde Controls and then American Controls. It wasn't until '95 when we decided to do this 80's tribute. You can find out all about us at 1988 on the web, or at 1988 on myspace. We had our first show at The Cove in Geneva-On-The-Lake. Our second show found us in the Akron Beacon Journal as they came out to interview us at The Carriage House. Since the band has started there have been about 14 members, with only 2 constants, Dave and myself. We have played at Princeton, Six Flags Chicago, The Toy Tiger in KY, Bachelorette parties, weddings, Monterreey Mexico, Erie PA, all over Ohio and a bunch of places in Michigan. We have opened for almost every 80's band that has done a smaller tour since the 80's. Dokken, Jackyl, Slaughter, Pretty Boy Floyd, Warrant, Ratt, LA Guns, Vixen, Great White, Britny Fox... the list goes on and on!
Well anyways, that's my life in a nutshell. If you want to learn more, feel free to send me a message!
