OT: Vito Bratta Speaks!

Voted Worlds #1 Most Loonatic Fanbase

Moderator: Andrew

OT: Vito Bratta Speaks!

Postby T-Bone » Mon Feb 12, 2007 6:54 am

Not sure if anyone here is a big fan of Vitto... He pretty much has stayed out of the public's eye since WL broke up. This email came from the webmaster at vitto-bratta.com


WHITE LION GUITARIST VITO BRATTA WILL BREAK HIS SILENCE AND GUEST WITH EDDIE TRUNK ON THE RADIO!
Vito-bratta.com members- If you have time, please consider thanking Eddie Trunk via email for having Vito Bratta on his show the 16th of this month!

Also, If you would like to add a questions to the list vito-bratta.com is going to send the Eddie Trunk show for the Vito interview on the 16th, please visit the vito-bratta.com messageboard and post it! The thread is located in the "Vito General Talk, Just a Idea for the radio show."

Thanks!
Admin

WHITE LION GUITARIST VITO BRATTA WILL BREAK HIS SILENCE AND GUEST WITH EDDIE TRUNK ON THE RADIO!

2/9/07: I am thrilled to announce that one of my good friends, White Lion guitarist Vito Bratta, will join me live in the studio Friday 2/16/06 for the Q104.3/syndicated show! I have had so many emails and calls about this great guitarist over the years and Vito has not spoken to anyone in probably more then 15 years. He will be live in the studio with me, playing tunes, taking calls and giving away copies of the brand new 2 CD White Lion Best Of from Rhino. This really should be a special show that I know many of you are excited about. It is live on Q104.3 NYC from 11PM-2AM EST and will run on all affiliate outlets at the usual day and time (see Syndication for a list of all outlets). You can listen live online at www.q1043.com but only in the USA. If outside the US you can hear it online through the KNAC.com replays. Again, all info in Syndication. Do not miss this special show, another Eddie Trunk EXCLUSIVE! Don't get my show on YOUR local station? Let them know you want it!!!
T-Bone
 

Postby *Laura » Mon Feb 12, 2007 7:26 am

I've been wondering what happened to Vitto Bratta,he just vanished... :? I loved WL in their hey days,and Vitto was one of the best guitarits out there.
Hopefully,there will be a transcript of that interview somewhere...Maybe on his website?
I'm curious what he has to say after all this time.

Thanks T-Bone.
Image Available @ LuluBooks.com
User avatar
*Laura
Stereo LP
 
Posts: 3978
Joined: Tue Feb 14, 2006 9:51 pm
Location: Zen, SoCal

Postby T-Bone » Mon Feb 12, 2007 8:26 am

It's not for a couple of days yet, so I'm going to try and plan to listen in on it :wink:
T-Bone
 

Postby conversationpc » Mon Feb 12, 2007 10:50 am

That guy was one of the better guitarists in the 80s. Too bad he hasn't done much since then.
My blog = Dave's Dominion
User avatar
conversationpc
Super Audio CD
 
Posts: 17830
Joined: Wed Jun 21, 2006 5:53 am
Location: Slightly south of sanity...

Postby Carrington » Mon Feb 12, 2007 12:10 pm

Wow, Vito was as close as you got to Eddies finger tapping, hammer on's and pull offs.....loved him with White Lion....glad we'll get to find out what has happened all these years...

"When the Children cry's" solo on his Stienberger is about as fantastic and simple as it gets!....great guitarist.....
User avatar
Carrington
Ol' 78
 
Posts: 165
Joined: Tue Jun 20, 2006 9:53 am
Location: H-Town

Postby conversationpc » Mon Feb 12, 2007 12:25 pm

Carrington wrote:Wow, Vito was as close as you got to Eddies finger tapping, hammer on's and pull offs.....loved him with White Lion....glad we'll get to find out what has happened all these years...

"When the Children cry's" solo on his Stienberger is about as fantastic and simple as it gets!....great guitarist.....


I love that solo. Very simple yet beutifully melodic.
My blog = Dave's Dominion
User avatar
conversationpc
Super Audio CD
 
Posts: 17830
Joined: Wed Jun 21, 2006 5:53 am
Location: Slightly south of sanity...

Postby larryfromnextdoor » Mon Feb 12, 2007 12:28 pm

conversationpc wrote:That guy was one of the better guitarists in the 80s. Too bad he hasn't done much since then.


yep, he always stated that he wanted to be new yorks version of SRV... he caught some lip in texas for it,, until we saw him in concert,, again, im partial to 70's and 80's-early 90's talent.. but try to play Wait.. its really kinda tough to pull it off,,in fact , its a mother! Vito could play,, i wore out that CD.. (they opened for KISS, was great)
larryfromnextdoor
MP3
 
Posts: 10331
Joined: Mon Jun 26, 2006 3:40 am

Postby T-Bone » Mon Feb 12, 2007 2:38 pm

Image
T-Bone
 

Postby *Laura » Mon Feb 12, 2007 3:58 pm

I am stunned by the way he injured himself.But playing 14 hours a day sounds a bit,well,obsessive... :? He should have taken it easier.
Poor guy,he must've gone thru hell,maybe still does....

Thanks for the article,T.Now I miss listening to White Lion,kinda forgot about them.
Image Available @ LuluBooks.com
User avatar
*Laura
Stereo LP
 
Posts: 3978
Joined: Tue Feb 14, 2006 9:51 pm
Location: Zen, SoCal

Postby JRNYLIVE » Mon Feb 12, 2007 5:55 pm

Sounds like an excuse to me..a la Perry-ish....
JRNYLIVE
Ol' 78
 
Posts: 125
Joined: Tue Nov 28, 2006 12:49 am
Location: City by the Sea

Postby Aaron » Mon Feb 12, 2007 10:28 pm

TB,

Thanks for the heads up and for the article scan. Vitto's work in White Lion is some of my favorite. WL would make my top 10 favorite band list.

Best regards,

Aaron
Taking life a quarter mile at a time .... [img]
User avatar
Aaron
Stereo LP
 
Posts: 2510
Joined: Fri Sep 06, 2002 9:55 pm
Location: Indiana, USA

Postby T-Bone » Sun Feb 18, 2007 11:37 am

WHITE LION guitarist Vito Bratta was the in-studio guest on Eddie Trunk's "Friday Night Rocks" radio show on New York's Q104.3 FM last night (Friday, February 16). In what was being billed as his first interview in over 15 years, Bratta discussed what he has been doing since the band's breakup and spoke about the possibility of reforming WHITE LION with singer Mike Tramp. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):

On the possibility of a WHITE LION reunion:

"As far as working with Mike Tramp again and doing the WHITE LION thing, I've never said 'No' to anything. I've said 'No' for certain reasons. Things have happened in my life where I've had to say 'No' to people. 'Listen, I just can't do this right now.' And there were reasons behind it. . . My father had a five-year illness, and it was just a nightmare. And there was no one who was gonna take care of him except for me and my mom, and that's what we did to the very end. Unfortunately, you can't just walk away. Now, in the WHITE LION days, it's not just you that's young — you're in your 20s — but your parents are young, too. There's really no medical stuff going on. I remember the tour bus pulling up… 'Oh, there's a two-year tour? Fine. Make it a three-year tour.' None of this stuff [with the parents getting ill] happened. But as you get older, there's responsibilities and things…. And there's… you know, financial [responsibilities], too. When you're young… I remember when WHITE LION went out — me, Mike, Greg and James — we never spoke about… I don't think anybody ever said, 'How much are we making tonight?' No one said a word about money, because we were so used to not having any that nobody cared. But then it gets to a point in your life where you've got bills to pay, and it's not just you that's gonna suffer — there's other people that are gonna suffer. 'Oh, I'm gonna go out and do this WHITE LION reunion tour, and I'm not really gonna make much, but I'm gonna have a blast.' Well, there's bills to be paid, and you can't tell the electric guy, 'Well, I'm just out having a blast' — you've gotta pay the bills. That, and like I said, the family illness… There just always seemed to be something. I never said 'No,' but the problem is… now I'm gonna use one of these stupid analogies I always do… When you've got a girlfriend and you break up, and she's basically cheating on you in front of you, saying, 'Well, if you don't get back together with me, this is what I'm gonna keep doing. And the more she cheats, the more you're not gonna get back with her. And the problem is that I have to keep watching Mike do these TRAMP'S WHITE LION [tours, featuring an all-new band playing WHITE LION songs] and all that stuff. I've always wished the guy luck, but the more he does these things, the more it makes me not wanna be part of anything. I don't know how much I can do to stop it, I just wish I could… I wish that didn't exist, I wish that part of it didn't exist. I understand what he's doing and all that stuff, I don't like it… I wish he wouldn't do it, but I understand why he's doing it. I wish him luck, but I'm not gonna sit here and tell anybody I'm not gonna do the WHITE LION thing ever again. I did kind of lie to you a little bit, Eddie, when you had asked me one time if the rumors of a hand injury were true. I said, 'No, they're false.' I mean, they actually were true. I did injure… I snapped something in my wrist about 1997, I think it was, that just prevented me from playing all day. It wasn't a hand injury that… In other words, I didn't know if I was making up my own excuses. This is gonna be 'Dr. Phil' now on Eddie's show. But I did have a hand injury, and the thing is that I was the type that played 14 hours a day. I mean, it was ridiculous what I was doing. I used to get home at four o'clock in the morning from club shows and play another two hours. I just was always playing. Guitar players will understand — to get to a certain level, you have to maintain it. It's like an athlete. And basically I was like a marathon runner who couldn't run more than 10 feet. So how was I gonna keep it up? So these are things I'm hoping to get over."

Q: Where does that stand now? Do you feel better? Do you still play? Do you still practice?

Vito Bratta: "It's gotten better, but I haven't tried to do, like… The actual injury I had, when I was touching the steel strings, it would feel like I was touching a live wire, like I was having electrical shocks. And the doctors basically told me, 'Listen, it's 50-50. You could lose the use of your hand, or you could be cured.' And it's up to me to decide, do I wanna play through pain? In the midst of all of this, family stuff was happening and everything else. So I had excuses for myself coming left and right. 'Now I can't play because of my hand.' 'Now I can't play because my Dad is not feeling well.' 'I can't play because of this.' But to answer the question [of the possibility of a WHITE LION reunion], I'm not gonna say, 'No, it'll never happen.' I would love for it to happen today, to be honest with you. I just don't think it can happen today. But I'm not gonna shut the door. And Mike Tramp knows that. And what I keep appealing to Mike is 'Stop shutting the door in my face.' You know what I mean?!"

WHITE LION's "The Definitive Rock Collection", a two-disc compilation featuring the band's hit 1987 single "Wait", plus "When Children Cry", "Tell Me", and several rare rehearsal recordings, came out on January 23 via Rhino.

According to Wikipedia, Vito Bratta was the guitarist and main songwriter for WHITE LION from 1983 to 1992. Bratta's style earned him worldwide acclaim, as well as numerous awards, including Guitar World magazine's "Best New Guitarist" in 1988. Following the breakup of WHITE LION, Bratta produced an album for the band CPR on Atlantic Records. Despite his cult status and guitar-based following, Bratta has not been involved in the music industry in any capacity since 1994. He is currently residing in his childhood house in Staten Island where he lives a modest life trying to keep himself out of the spotlight.
T-Bone
 

Postby Rick » Sun Feb 18, 2007 11:51 am

Wow, that tale sounds frighteningly familiar.
I like to sit out on the front porch, where the birds can see me, eating a plate of scrambled eggs, just so they know what I'm capable of.
User avatar
Rick
Super Audio CD
 
Posts: 16726
Joined: Sat Dec 23, 2006 9:29 am
Location: Texas

Postby *Laura » Mon Feb 19, 2007 8:17 am

T-Bone,thanks for the transcript...Very interesting,to say the least.

As I see it,Vitto went through some problems that wouldn't let him focus on his career,plus the physical problem that sidelined him.I can understand him so well.It's a tragedy when artists lose or injure the instrument they work with...Weird enough,guitarists hurt their hands,dancers hurt their feet,painters lose their sight... :? And yes,singers hurt their cords.
Image Available @ LuluBooks.com
User avatar
*Laura
Stereo LP
 
Posts: 3978
Joined: Tue Feb 14, 2006 9:51 pm
Location: Zen, SoCal


Return to Journey

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 30 guests