The Lizards are back after almost 7 years due to the accident their mastermind and bassist Randy Pratt suffered. Now Randy is alive, well and willing to recover the lost ground of the band. We had a very interesting chat with Randy about the band, the new album, his accident and lots of other things… read below.
Hey Randy, I’m pleased to have The Lizards back with a new album! Where have you been in the last 7+ years? What happened to the band? At some point I thought that you had called it a day.
R: After I recovered from my accident, while Mike was touring with Masterplan, the other 3 of us and Scott Treibitz on keys wrote the new cd together. This was 2007-2008. We drifted into other things after the basics had been completed.
I do believe that those years of absence have worked “in a very strange way” for the band’s own benefit, as you have returned with your best work thus far! What’s the secret?
R: I’m glad that you feel it’s our best. I think it’s more focused then our last, “Against All Odds”, which may have been too adventurous for some fans. It was all over the place, stylistically, perhaps. Having Scott writing with us added some new flavors, too. This is no diss on Mike’s keyboard playing, it was just some new blood. When Mike came back, we started adding vocal ideas.
So how much time has this album been in the making and when did you decide that it was time to actually work on some new tracks at last?
R: After we had stopped working together, Pat and I did a band called “Fun Puppet”, which was more pop than The Lizards. Pat said to me one day, “I wish The Lizards could put out one more record.” Well, we had one more, so we slowly polished up the songs, enlisting our friends for guest appearances. We really did work on it slowly for years.
Do tell us a bit about the guest appearances of: Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple), Vinnie Moore (UFO), Frank Marino (Mahogany Rush), David Lanik (Sharks) & Scott ‘The Doctor’ Treibitz?
R: We made great friends touring. We chose to open for artists that we loved. Glenn Hughes is probably my favorite rock musician. I have all of Frank Marino’s records on vinyl. I love every incarnation of U.F.O. David Lanik was my hero growing up. Scott and I have done many bands together. I toured with him in Star People and The NYC Blues Devils. All of these people lived up to and surpassed expectations and were complete gentlemen.
What does the album title “Reptilicus Maximus” declare?
R: When I was a little kid, I loved dinosaurs! In the early 60s (yes, I am old) there were lots of movies about dinosaurs rampaging through society… Godzilla was the first, I think. I cried when Godzilla died. This love influenced our cover art theme starting with our first CD. For the new one, I remembered seeing an ad for a movie that I actually never saw called “Reptilicus”. There was a picture of a guy in a big construction crane fighting with a dinosaur. I kind of stole the idea for this cover, with a robot dinosaur fighting one of our Lizards. The “Maximus” part was hoping it would be our best effort. Rick Klemann did an amazing job on the cover art, as usual.
Do give us a hint about each track…
R: “Ton on the One”: A perfect opener and probably the rockiest number on the record. Dave Lanik does the solo and the lyrics are about a bunch of cocky guys touring with their badass band!
“Evil Eyes”: Frank Marino was perfect for this one and plays with Pat throughout in a psychedelic style. He really put out for us.
“Incurable”: This track was written about someone feeling hopeless about having a disease.
“Crash”: This track was written about my horrible car crash in ‘06, which sidelined us right before we were set to do our first headline tour in Europe. I wrote the lyrics in the hospital right after the accident. The song is epic and Vinnie Moore knocks it out of the park with his amazing “shredding”.
“Crawling King Snake”: This song is another heavy rock tribute to John Lee Hooker. We also did his song “I’m Mad” on our covers CD, “Archaeology”. I just borrowed his title for this bluesy number about a badass, sexy singer in a touring rock band. Mike made the number his own with his perfect vocal performance. I also love Pat’s creepy solo.
“In the Pleasure Dome”: I love this song. I guess you could call it “sexual science fiction”. It also fits the “epic” mold and has a middle eastern feel.
“Wild West”: Pat wrote this one. We played it on only one tour, because we thought it sounded too “80s”…I can’t see what the problem was when I hear it now. This song kicks ass!
“Pray For Peace”: This song was built up on a demo Pat made with a drum machine. I came up with the vocal. We ended up liking the mechanical sounding drums and tried to emulate it on the final cut. It’s about the scary situation in the Middle East.
“The Rat’s ‘N Us”: We took this song off our 2nd CD and put Mike on vocals instead of John Garner, our first singer.
“Turnin’ Me Under”: We had a day off in Poland when we were touring with Pat Travers and Carmine Appice. We were such workaholics, instead of sightseeing or resting, we rented a recording studio and put this number together in one day. Mike wrote the vocal when we got home. I’m proud of the bass soloing on the outro.
“Miracle Man”: After we toured for 2 months with Glenn Hughes on his Soul Mover tour, we invited him to our studio in New York to record and write with us. We put 4 songs from those sessions on “Against All Odds”, our 6th CD. This number Glenn wrote for us and we saved it for later. It finally sees the light of day here. I sit this one out and let my hero, Mr. Hughes, play bass and acoustic guitar. He and Mike do another of their over the top duets on the song.
Where did the recordings take place and who mixed, produced and mastered the album?
R: “Reptilicus Maximus”, like our other CDs, was recorded and mixed at my studio in my basement, “Electric Randyland” (dubbed that by Randy Holden of Blue Cheer). It was recorded by the supremely talented Mr. Pat Klein, our guitarist. Like the last two, it was also mastered by Pat.
There’s also some “new musical textures” on the album with the use of keys/organ/piano etc. How did that occur?
R: Scott Treibitz is a master of all styles, heavy prog, classic rock, classical, jazz, blues. We let him run wild on the record. I have a giant pipe organ in my studio and he’s the only guy we know who knows what to do with it. You can hear it at the end of “Crash”…
The album does keep its 70s classic rock character but it has bits of 80s, 90s and even 00s rock music as well… it sounds very fresh and not “retro” in any way. What’s your say?
R: That’s nice to hear, but I consider most of what we do “retro” and I am not ashamed of it. Thanks for the compliment. We just do what comes natural, really.
Do you plan to release any lyric or concept video in the next weeks?
R: No, I don’t think so.
Have you already booked any live shows?
R: We’re gonna see how the record is received before we think about touring. We’re all friends… in fact, the whole band and our label boss Carmine Appice will be at my engagement party to my darling Joy this weekend! (i.n.: Wish you the best dude!)
I’d like to think that The Lizards are back for good, right? What do you wish to accomplish with the band from now on?
R: Let’s see.
OK time for our “weird questions”!!! How did you come up with the name The Lizards?
R: Honestly, I just blurted it out when we decided we had a band. Maybe I was influenced by my childhood love of them?
What are those things that you do not like in the music industry nowadays?
R: Not enough new Classic Rock. I actually like a lot of the new, quirky bands I see on Palladia and MTV, but after a while I start to ask “Am I in The Hells Angels!!!” My tastes are so much heavier than most of what I see, I feel like me and my generation are another breed of creatures.
Which is the most underrated musician/band of all time?
R: Mel Galley and Trapeze…
Which are the best 3 classic rock albums of all time according to you?
R: “The Doors”, “Led Zeppelin 1”, any of the first 3 Black Sabbath albums.
Which do you consider to be the best vocalist in rock history?
R: I can’t do that one…
Which is the record you wish you had written and why?
R: I hope that I do write that one.
Were you obliged to give just one album to extraterrestrials that would represent the whole human music, which album would it be and from which band/artist?
R: I can’t do that one either…
Fill in the phrase… “Classic Rock music wouldn’t have evolved the way it did, if it hadn’t been for…”
R: The sexual revolution…
Put together the best rock line-up of all time. Who plays what?
R: Tom Jones and Janis Joplin on vocals, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page on guitars, Tim Bogert on bass and Carmine Appice on drums. That’s some great backing vocals there, too. I’ll write lyrics, play harmonica and produce.
What’s the worst thing you can say right after sex?
R: I always say, “I love you, Joy”…
You have the opportunity to sleep with the movie-celebrity/porn-star of your choice. Who would it be & why?
R: I’m happily engaged.
Which of the Seven Deadly Sins do you reckon is the one, that’s more likely to send you straight to Hell, in the afterlife?
R: Murder.
Imagine that your wife is selling your whole album-collection just to buy an expensive ring for herself. How would you react?
R: I already bought her all the rings she can wear.
It was great having you on Grande Rock, Randy. Say anything you feel like saying before we close. Wish you the best for the future… take care!
R: It’s flattering to have you take an interest in our music. We hope it give you all pleasure.
R: After I recovered from my accident, while Mike was touring with Masterplan, the other 3 of us and Scott Treibitz on keys wrote the new cd together. This was 2007-2008. We drifted into other things after the basics had been completed.
I do believe that those years of absence have worked “in a very strange way” for the band’s own benefit, as you have returned with your best work thus far! What’s the secret?
R: I’m glad that you feel it’s our best. I think it’s more focused then our last, “Against All Odds”, which may have been too adventurous for some fans. It was all over the place, stylistically, perhaps. Having Scott writing with us added some new flavors, too. This is no diss on Mike’s keyboard playing, it was just some new blood. When Mike came back, we started adding vocal ideas.
So how much time has this album been in the making and when did you decide that it was time to actually work on some new tracks at last?
R: After we had stopped working together, Pat and I did a band called “Fun Puppet”, which was more pop than The Lizards. Pat said to me one day, “I wish The Lizards could put out one more record.” Well, we had one more, so we slowly polished up the songs, enlisting our friends for guest appearances. We really did work on it slowly for years.
Do tell us a bit about the guest appearances of: Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple), Vinnie Moore (UFO), Frank Marino (Mahogany Rush), David Lanik (Sharks) & Scott ‘The Doctor’ Treibitz?
R: We made great friends touring. We chose to open for artists that we loved. Glenn Hughes is probably my favorite rock musician. I have all of Frank Marino’s records on vinyl. I love every incarnation of U.F.O. David Lanik was my hero growing up. Scott and I have done many bands together. I toured with him in Star People and The NYC Blues Devils. All of these people lived up to and surpassed expectations and were complete gentlemen.
What does the album title “Reptilicus Maximus” declare?
R: When I was a little kid, I loved dinosaurs! In the early 60s (yes, I am old) there were lots of movies about dinosaurs rampaging through society… Godzilla was the first, I think. I cried when Godzilla died. This love influenced our cover art theme starting with our first CD. For the new one, I remembered seeing an ad for a movie that I actually never saw called “Reptilicus”. There was a picture of a guy in a big construction crane fighting with a dinosaur. I kind of stole the idea for this cover, with a robot dinosaur fighting one of our Lizards. The “Maximus” part was hoping it would be our best effort. Rick Klemann did an amazing job on the cover art, as usual.
Do give us a hint about each track…
R: “Ton on the One”: A perfect opener and probably the rockiest number on the record. Dave Lanik does the solo and the lyrics are about a bunch of cocky guys touring with their badass band!
“Evil Eyes”: Frank Marino was perfect for this one and plays with Pat throughout in a psychedelic style. He really put out for us.
“Incurable”: This track was written about someone feeling hopeless about having a disease.
“Crash”: This track was written about my horrible car crash in ‘06, which sidelined us right before we were set to do our first headline tour in Europe. I wrote the lyrics in the hospital right after the accident. The song is epic and Vinnie Moore knocks it out of the park with his amazing “shredding”.
“Crawling King Snake”: This song is another heavy rock tribute to John Lee Hooker. We also did his song “I’m Mad” on our covers CD, “Archaeology”. I just borrowed his title for this bluesy number about a badass, sexy singer in a touring rock band. Mike made the number his own with his perfect vocal performance. I also love Pat’s creepy solo.
“In the Pleasure Dome”: I love this song. I guess you could call it “sexual science fiction”. It also fits the “epic” mold and has a middle eastern feel.
“Wild West”: Pat wrote this one. We played it on only one tour, because we thought it sounded too “80s”…I can’t see what the problem was when I hear it now. This song kicks ass!
“Pray For Peace”: This song was built up on a demo Pat made with a drum machine. I came up with the vocal. We ended up liking the mechanical sounding drums and tried to emulate it on the final cut. It’s about the scary situation in the Middle East.
“The Rat’s ‘N Us”: We took this song off our 2nd CD and put Mike on vocals instead of John Garner, our first singer.
“Turnin’ Me Under”: We had a day off in Poland when we were touring with Pat Travers and Carmine Appice. We were such workaholics, instead of sightseeing or resting, we rented a recording studio and put this number together in one day. Mike wrote the vocal when we got home. I’m proud of the bass soloing on the outro.
“Miracle Man”: After we toured for 2 months with Glenn Hughes on his Soul Mover tour, we invited him to our studio in New York to record and write with us. We put 4 songs from those sessions on “Against All Odds”, our 6th CD. This number Glenn wrote for us and we saved it for later. It finally sees the light of day here. I sit this one out and let my hero, Mr. Hughes, play bass and acoustic guitar. He and Mike do another of their over the top duets on the song.
Where did the recordings take place and who mixed, produced and mastered the album?
R: “Reptilicus Maximus”, like our other CDs, was recorded and mixed at my studio in my basement, “Electric Randyland” (dubbed that by Randy Holden of Blue Cheer). It was recorded by the supremely talented Mr. Pat Klein, our guitarist. Like the last two, it was also mastered by Pat.
There’s also some “new musical textures” on the album with the use of keys/organ/piano etc. How did that occur?
R: Scott Treibitz is a master of all styles, heavy prog, classic rock, classical, jazz, blues. We let him run wild on the record. I have a giant pipe organ in my studio and he’s the only guy we know who knows what to do with it. You can hear it at the end of “Crash”…
The album does keep its 70s classic rock character but it has bits of 80s, 90s and even 00s rock music as well… it sounds very fresh and not “retro” in any way. What’s your say?
R: That’s nice to hear, but I consider most of what we do “retro” and I am not ashamed of it. Thanks for the compliment. We just do what comes natural, really.
Do you plan to release any lyric or concept video in the next weeks?
R: No, I don’t think so.
Have you already booked any live shows?
R: We’re gonna see how the record is received before we think about touring. We’re all friends… in fact, the whole band and our label boss Carmine Appice will be at my engagement party to my darling Joy this weekend! (i.n.: Wish you the best dude!)
I’d like to think that The Lizards are back for good, right? What do you wish to accomplish with the band from now on?
R: Let’s see.
OK time for our “weird questions”!!! How did you come up with the name The Lizards?
R: Honestly, I just blurted it out when we decided we had a band. Maybe I was influenced by my childhood love of them?
What are those things that you do not like in the music industry nowadays?
R: Not enough new Classic Rock. I actually like a lot of the new, quirky bands I see on Palladia and MTV, but after a while I start to ask “Am I in The Hells Angels!!!” My tastes are so much heavier than most of what I see, I feel like me and my generation are another breed of creatures.
Which is the most underrated musician/band of all time?
R: Mel Galley and Trapeze…
Which are the best 3 classic rock albums of all time according to you?
R: “The Doors”, “Led Zeppelin 1”, any of the first 3 Black Sabbath albums.
Which do you consider to be the best vocalist in rock history?
R: I can’t do that one…
Which is the record you wish you had written and why?
R: I hope that I do write that one.
Were you obliged to give just one album to extraterrestrials that would represent the whole human music, which album would it be and from which band/artist?
R: I can’t do that one either…
Fill in the phrase… “Classic Rock music wouldn’t have evolved the way it did, if it hadn’t been for…”
R: The sexual revolution…
Put together the best rock line-up of all time. Who plays what?
R: Tom Jones and Janis Joplin on vocals, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page on guitars, Tim Bogert on bass and Carmine Appice on drums. That’s some great backing vocals there, too. I’ll write lyrics, play harmonica and produce.
What’s the worst thing you can say right after sex?
R: I always say, “I love you, Joy”…
You have the opportunity to sleep with the movie-celebrity/porn-star of your choice. Who would it be & why?
R: I’m happily engaged.
Which of the Seven Deadly Sins do you reckon is the one, that’s more likely to send you straight to Hell, in the afterlife?
R: Murder.
Imagine that your wife is selling your whole album-collection just to buy an expensive ring for herself. How would you react?
R: I already bought her all the rings she can wear.
It was great having you on Grande Rock, Randy. Say anything you feel like saying before we close. Wish you the best for the future… take care!
R: It’s flattering to have you take an interest in our music. We hope it give you all pleasure.