The day of the overnight success is gone. Oh sure, Trixter may have scored a number one megahit right out of high school, but I wouldn't count on them standing at the top of the heap for very long. So when you hear the history of Beggars and Thieves, who officially formed in 1988 and have released their incredible self-title debut only two months ago, don't be misled that this powerhouse quartet hasn't had their share of laps around the industry track. Their past is of a deeper nature.
The seeds that would eventually grow into Beggars and Thieves were sown in the late '70s. New York native Louie Merlino (vox) began his career at the age of 15 doing classic rock covers in several bands, including Billy Sheehan's early project, Talas. Eventually Louie moved to L.A. and hooked up with guitarist Ronnie Mancuso and Slaughter's Dana Strum to form Modern Design. The group generated label interest but soon disbanded. However, the spark that was ignited between Louie and Ronnie was not to be extinguished so easily.
After venturing back to New York for some more stints with industry biggies like Foreigner's Ian McDonald and Winger guitarist Reb Beach, Louie knew it was again time to form a band on his own. This time he stayed in New York and called Ronnie to join him. Ronnie didn't hesitate at the chance. "We started writing together and came up with the song "Kill Me," which ended up on our album. I started comparing it to the stuff I was working on with my band, and I realized I had to get back with Louie."
The two hastily assembled a rhythm section and began working the club circuit in New York. After only eight shows, they had secured a record deal with Atlantic. The only thing left to do was overhaul the rhythm section, which they accomplished by bringing on Berklee graduate and author of three drum technique manuals, Bobby Borg and seasoned veteran bassist Phil Soussan, who has played with Ozzy Osbourne, Billy Idol and Jimmy Page.
So even though this band has found success so soon after their inception, the road has been long and hard. "This time it was easy getting signed," relates Ronnie, "but that only made up for all the years it wasn't easy."
Now, with their artillery of talent amassed, Beggars and Thieves are ready to continue down the road to success. And they're getting there with soulful, powerful music based deep in the classic tradition and driven by a state of the art sound guaranteed to win fans. As Ronnie describes it, "We really want to get back to our roots. We were mostly influenced by `70s bluesy rock like Zeppelin, Free and Humble Pie. Pre-Van Halen I call it. We just tried to follow our instincts and not have any preconceived ideas. We're not trying to be current or fit into any trend. We just want to do what we do naturally, the best we can."
In that way the band is overwhelmingly successful. They have managed to derive the feel of classic rock into a new approach and a fresh sound as opposed to simply stealing the `70s rock song formula, as some well-known neo-classic bands are doing. You won't get any contrived, reconstituted music from Beggars and Thieves.
Offers Ronnie, "We were weaned on 'Dazed and Confused' live Zeppelin. It's really difficult to find people that are musically on that level where they're free to take a song out and jam for five minutes in a certain spot or just be more free with it, and that's what we try to do live. We try to get some of the dynamics from that."
Beggars and Thieves gave the crowd at Hammerjacks a taste of their dynamic live performance last month and they plan to go on tour in support of the record sometime this spring. Radio stations nationwide have already jumped all over the album's title track and first single, and the video aired on MTV in January. Look out world, because the music of Beggars and Thieves will steal your heart.