Much ado was made of the ability of early Punk acts like The Sex Pistols and The Ramones to inspire. Someone reportedly once said that each person who saw The Ramones during their first tour of England formed a band.
It would be fascinating to know the numbers on KISS' various television appearances in the '70s. Undoubtedly, thousands of kids caught the band on Midnight Special and decided right then and there that Rock & Roll was to be their life.
One of those kids was Chris Lee, guitarist for 16 Piece Bucket and numerous other Punk, AltRock and Hard Rock bands of the Cincinnati music scene's past. Lee says it was seeing KISS guitarist Ace Frehley on TV that pushed him to pick up the guitar. But he wasn't the original instigator.
"Actually, before (seeing KISS), I remember seeing Tito Jackson play guitar in the Jackson 5 when I was about 5 or 6 years old and thinking that he was awesome," Lee confesses. "So I guess Tito Jackson was the first one, even before Ace."
Lee, who grew up in northeastern Ohio and moved to Cincinnati for college when he was 18 (two years after getting his first guitar), is a veteran of the local scene, playing with bands like Wretched Weapon, V.A.G., Snaggletooth, Baked Buddies, Mt. St. Helens, Horschack, Kid Valance's Mongrel Soup and many others. Lee says he values his time and fun with all of those acts, but it was his experiences with Snaggletooth that taught him the most about the music biz.
"We accomplished way more than any band I was in up until then and since," Lee says of Snaggletooth, which also featured current Ruby Vileos members Ali Edwards and Todd Drake (singer/songwriter Dan Bennett played bass).
"I learned a lot about the business side of things in that band and made a bunch of contacts that have helped me in more ways than I could have imagined. We played out-of-town regularly, played record label showcases in other towns, got our foot in the door significantly in other towns. The band's been broken up since 1995, and I am still constantly making mixed tapes and burning CDs of Snaggletooth material for people. So we seemed to make quite an impact around here in our two years of existence."
Those contacts helped Lee get into the band-booking business. His Devil Saint Booking roster includes national Hard Rock acts like the Dave Brockie Experience (featuring members of GWAR), Deceased, October 31, Reign of Terror and Single Bullet Theory. But Lee still reserves plenty of time to create music, with the explosive Punk act 16 Piece Bucket (whose debut Playing to Win is available at the band's shows), his cheeky Judas Priest cover band, Jewish Priest, and his debut solo effort, Welcome to Mockingbird. Though he greatly values being in bands, the solo album allowed him the alluring luxury of calling all the shots.
"Being in a band is a group effort," Lee says. "Which is a good thing but sometimes things get changed for the good of the band that you don't want changed. A solo album is perfect as an outlet to use your creativity 100 percent the way you want it to be used. I have never been more creatively satisfied with a set of recordings than I was when this solo album was completed. I would recommend all people in a band to do one at some point if possible."
Being a Hard Rock/Heavy Metal fan hasn't always been at the height of fashion, but Lee has remained unabashed about his love for the music of Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Dio and other like-minded bands. Lee says friends introduced him to Punk, his second favorite type of music, in the '80s. But even in the less Metal bands he's been in, the metallic influence is always apparent. His die-hard love of the music has led to head-scratching by some friends, but Lee says he could care less about being perceived as "hip."
"We would play albums at parties, and you would hear Johnny Thunders, then The Cramps, then Black Flag, then out of nowhere The Scorpions would start blaring with everyone stopping and turning to me saying 'What?!?'," Lee says of his introduction to Punk. "People at times have questioned why I still listen to, say, Mercyful Fate or Iron Maiden, when everyone else was listening to (insert Grunge, Ska, Swing, or whatever else people label as 'hip' at that particular moment). But most people that have said something were my friends just saying something like 'Oh there's Chris wearing a Helloween T-shirt again ... he just won't let it die.' Or, as (Shake It Records' owner) Darren Blase always tells me 'Still keeping the torch of Metal burning.' "
Lee says for the immediate future, he and 16 Piece Bucket are working on their second album, scheduled for a fall release. When asked where he sees himself in 10 years, Lee says he hopes to make Devil Saint Booking one of the bigger Metal booking companies, spend time with his wife and two children, and record yearly solo albums.
"Heavy Metal will still be my favorite music," he continues, "and I'll still be a Bengals fan. Although by then, it will have been 22 years since the Bengals had a winning season, and I will be amazed that they still say 'I think we are only a year or two away from being a playoff team.' I hope to always be involved in music. Even if someday the booking agency falters and I need to jump into the 9-to-5, suit-and-tie world, I will still play my guitar and record music."
16 PIECE BUCKET next performs at Sudsy Malone's on Jan. 26, for a food drive benefit show alongside Rip Rock and Raunch, Deceiving Ralph, Chapter 11 and Doctor Up. For more info, check www.angelfire.com/punk/16piecebucket.
