A few words with Robert Lazaneo. Robert plays rhythm guitar and is one of three vocalists in Tommy Torpedos Direct Hits.
Leicester Bangs: Tell us a little about yourself, and your band.
Robert: I'm 59 years old. I live in the city of South Lake Tahoe in California. Tahoe is known as a vacation resort area with skiing in the winter and summer time activities around the lake, casino gambling, and many special events for people to enjoy.
The band came about from a long musical association with my brother Tom and drummer Jim Dotson, writing songs and jammin'. Later on, my son Galin began playing bass, which led to some club gigs where the music got more organized, until we decided to book studio time and record a CD of original songs.
LB: How did you start out making music?
Robert: I started out making music first as a singer when I was twelve or thirteen, just learning to play songs on the radio in garage bands. When I began to learn to play some guitar, I started to write songs and the amount of tunes I came up with began to grow. At first, I mainly wrote with my brother. He came up with the music and I wrote the lyrics. Eventually, I got better on the guitar and began composing complete songs myself.
LB: Who did you grow up listening to and how do they influence what you’re doing now?
Robert: In the beginning, it was the Beatles, Stones, Kinks, and through their interviews I learned about who influenced them. Elvis, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Carl Perkins. Also growing up in San Francisco, I was influenced by the San Francisco bands, Grateful Dead, Moby Grape and Country Joe & the Fish. I listened to everyone and they have all influenced me in my development as a singer and as a songwriter, to be open to experimentation but also to understand the roots of popular music. Where it came from.
LB: Tell us about your latest release.
Robert: The latest release is a CD called Tommy Torpedos Direct hits. It is a collection of 10 songs written my brother Tom, drummer Jim Dotson and myself. The music shows the influence of many years playing together; blues, jazz, R&B, and some country and folk elements. It was recorded over a period of three sessions in a studio in Reno, Nevada. It was mainly done live with a minimal amount of overdubs to give it that immediate spark like you might hear if you saw us in a club.
LB: Do you get out and play your music live, and if so, what can an audience expect at one of your shows?
Robert: At the moment, we are not playing gigs in any kind of organized form. No tours. Some of the band gets together to perform at open mics here in town while others are involved with separate music projects. When we do get together, we entertain the crowd with a fun set of high energy rock ‘n’ roll, perfect for dancing that includes classic covers and our originals. We make the effort to make sure the audience has a good time.
LB: What aspects of playing and recording music do you most enjoy?
Robert: The energy of a good crowd can push you into playing at a completely different level of musicianship. It’s exciting and sometimes a little scary. I like recording because it is like painting with sound. A plain sketch of a song becomes something else, colorful, instruments complimenting the arrangement, to make the original emotions come across to the listener.
LB: Where can people find (and buy) your music?
Robert: Various online locations (links below).
www.cdbaby.com/Artist/TommyTorpedosDirectHits
www.reverbnation.com/tommytorpedosdirecthits
www.jango.com/music/Tommy+Torpedos+Direct+Hits
www.lazaneome.com
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