Paola Faenza - Semiramis & Mighty Dog Interview

Tell me about growing up in Barcelona, Spain. What were those early years like for you during your childhood? Was music something that was relevant around your household growing up, or was this something you found entirely on your own?

I was born in Barcelona, Spain summer of 1947 on my mother’s 22nd birthday and in 1950, at the age of 3 my parents and I moved to Cuba. That’s where I grew up until age 14 when I came to the U.S. as a refugee (my parents were not allowed to come with me). Living in Cuba when I was young was interesting. Wonderful people, very musical and a great place to live… Until the communist revolution, but that’s another story for another time. We went through some very tough times (financially) and wanted to go back to Spain but couldn’t afford it. Needless to say, we listened to music at home all the time and I became familiar with “American music” listening to a local (Havana) radio station named Radio Kramer where I heard Bill Haley and his Comets, Elvis, Paul Anka, Neil Sedaka… The early beginnings of rock n’ roll. I was also familiar with Cuban music which was and I believe is known all over the world… Mambo, rumba, cha cha cha, bolero, son and the start of salsa. So yes, I did listen to music at home regularly and found it inspiring and fascinating.

When did you first begin playing music (more specifically the drums) and what initially fascinated you about it?

That was a fluke… I was on my own for about 5 years (in Los Angeles) before my parents and younger brother (born in Cuba) were allowed to leave the country. I lived in a refugee camp for a while in the everglades (Florida, near Miami) then two foster homes in L.A. and finally a boarding school in Bellflower (also L.A.) While in the boarding school we had a rally one evening to promote (probably) an upcoming football game or something where the student body assembled in a big hall that also served as the dining room. Before the assembly, there was supposed to be a band who would play music before the speakers took the podium. This would be around 1965, or 66. The band showed up and the “brother” in charge (this was a Catholic school populated by priests and brothers), well he gave me the key to the room where the musical equipment was stored and asked me to open it and allow the band members to get the equipment and set it up and I could help. Turns out that their drummer never showed up and here I was trying to setup the drum kit… I had never in my life even touched a set of drums. Once all was ready to start, but no drummer in sight, the leader of the band (I have no idea why to this day) asked me if I wanted to sit in and play the drums… LOL seriously, I thought he was kidding… I said yes, of course I would love to. So, I did. I can’t remember how bad it must have been, or if I actually had some kind of “inner rhythm” – I do remember playing “Telstar” a song by The Tornadoes from the early 60’s. The thing is that it went well, people clapped, and I was hooked – I loved it. I actually joined the band and we named ourselves “The Agents” (James Bond was quite popular at the time). We rehearsed in one of the school bungalows when the school band practiced. We never did play another gig, but I was becoming a “musician” by Osmosis, if that is possible at all.

Do you have any siblings? What would you and your friends do for fun back in the day? Where would you go to see live music? When and where was the first show you ever attended and what was that experience like for you in terms of its impact?

Yes, a brother. He was born in 1955 in Cuba. His name is Raul (like our Dad) and still lives in L.A. with his wife. He was also part of the road crew and in charge of special effects when I played with “Mighty Dog”. Well, besides chasing girls (once we were old enough to drive and someone had a car) go to parties, movies, concerts… I saw KISS at the L.A. Forum for the first time, I think I paid $5 for the ticket and was very impressed with the pyrotechnics and the show as a whole. I guess I (we) did what most teenagers do, started smoking (Salems) got a job, after graduating high school… My parents finally came to the States and I started hanging out with other musicians… Started playing bass guitar which I did for several years until I switched back to drums. To be honest, I don’t recall going to see live music in those days since not being allowed in bars or clubs (having to be 21) – I do remember early on (not sure of the timeline, but probably 1971 and on) Seeing Uriah Heep… My all time favorite band (to this day) at the Hollywood Palladium and The Whiskey in Hollywood and Back Sabbath at the Hollywood bowl along with Captain Beyond… Another amazing and favorite band. Seeing these bands live really awakened in me a need to create music and play in front of audiences… Mind you, I had already been playing in band for a few years but this was the ultimate “push”.

Tell me about moving to California. What led to this decision?

I landed in Miami as a refugee (as what at the time was called a “Peter Pan kid”) unaccompanied children that fled communism (there were over 14,000 of us) and I was in one of the camps. Being a “city boy” the everglades (the jungle, to me) was not a place to be… Snakes, alligators, that would just not work for me. At the time there was a program to relocate (us) to orphanages, boarding schools, foster homes… Wherever we could be cared for. Many people were extremely generous and took in these children of which I was one. Wanted out of Florida… Anywhere would do. There was an orphanage in Wichita, Kansas that was taking in kids, I applied and asked to be sent there having no knowledge of what or where it was. The day before departure I (and some other kids) were informed that this location had fallen through and was no longer available, however, there was a foster home in Los Angeles… I’ll take it. So, this is how I became a Californian (and an American citizen by choice) and lived there for 58 years until it became unsustainable and moved to Las Vegas 2 years ago.

Prior to setting off on your own path in music, you participated in a band called “Mother Funk”? Tell me about meeting Jake and the very fascinating story of how this outfit came to be! When and where did you guys first get together to jam/rehearse and what was the overall chemistry like between everyone? When and where did the band make their live debut performance and what was that experience like for you? What eventually happened to the band?

I had played in a few bands since departing High School and the first “serious” band (playing regularly for a living) was a group called “WAX” I still keep in touch with a couple of the guys and as a matter of fact they will be providing vocals in a couple of songs in an upcoming album I’m working on for later in 2023) I was the original bass player and one day the drummer and I switched places during a slow night playing in Hermosa Beach. That sealed the deal… I bought his Ludwig kit, and I sold him my Fender bass rig and the switch was on. Later that band morphed into “Creation” with some personnel changes, and we hit the road for a U.S. tour… Best time ever. Single, on the road, steady income, and free drinks… Who could ask for anything more. 1970… You can just imagine. When the tour was over, and I came home as the band disbanded… I was driving in L.A. and saw a long-haired hitchhiker carrying a guitar case. I had never or have ever since picked up a hitchhiker. But I did stop, that’s how I met Jake. I found out that he, and some of his friends from Nebraska were living in Venice Beach and had a band but needed a drummer. That was enough for me to join in. We called ourselves “Mother Funk” and with them I recorded my first album and experienced my first studio experience. I remember that Jake ad a really nice “scruffy” dog named… Jake.  Played many gigs including concerts at the beach. I’m still in touch with Jake who now lives in Northern California (still playing music) and Stockton, the sax player who now lives in Australia (and still plays music). That was a fun band with horns and happy music. A great bunch of guys. Unfortunately, as we get older, we begin to lose some of our friends. I believe that 2 of Mother Funk’s members have passed away as well as WAX’s bassist. I’m not sure where we first played, probably at a little bar called “Father’s” near the beach where we were the regular house band. For me being on stage has always been exhilarating and one of the things I miss most.

What led to the decision to step out as a solo artist towards the mid to late 70s?

Another fluke… Kind of. While playing with Mighty Dog, the most “professional” band I’ve been involved with, I had started to write songs for the band. As a matter of fact we were signed to record for Republic Records and I wrote about half of the songs for the first album. I had also written several songs that were more in the “romantic” mood and were not really Mighty Dog material but I did like the songs and so got together with some other friends who played and sang and decided to do a solo album. That’s how “With you in my arms” came to be. We actually pressed 100 units and gave them all away to friends and fans. As you know, Subliminal Sounds (a Swedish label) recently re-issued the album with some re-mixing and tweaked cover. A couple of years ago, I asked Chuck (Russo) the original singer in the album and who now lives also in northern California, if he would be interested in singing the same songs again using new “modernized” tracks. He agreed and came to my house/studio in Chatsworth for a weekend and we recorded “With You In My Arms Again” not too bad actually… It was fun.

When and where did you make your live performance debut and what was that experience like for you? Tell me about writing as well as recording your legendary debut LP “With You In My Arms”. How did you want to approach this record and what was the overall vision you had in mind when going about creating this incredible album?

Terrifying… Being on stage in front of a live audience was scary to say the least. Aside from the “playing drums for the first time experience” which actually felt great… This was an actual planned paying gig that we had been practicing for. I was still in high school and had met a kid who had a band and needed a bass player. As an aside, his younger brother who used to annoy us while we rehearsed at his house grew up to be “Rat’s” bass player. I did now own a bass guitar at the time so I borrowed a six string electric and used the low strings to simulate a bass. I kept dripping my pick during the show and I’m sure I made plenty of mistakes. The audience kept asking for us to play “My Girl” which we didn’t know… We played some Beatles and Stones and one original… “Smokey” (I still remember that one) not the best gig ever. I’ve never thought of it as “legendary” or “incredible” but thank you. The songs were just ideas that I had with chord progressions I came up with while tinkering on the keyboards at home. Mighty Dog rehearsed in my soundproofed one car garage at the first home I ever owned in Hawthorne, CA and we had a Hammond organ as well as an electric piano and an Oberheim synthesizer. On the off days, when we didn’t practice, I would go into the garage and play the keyboards, I was fascinated with the sounds of the synthesizer and how I could create sting arrangements or horn sounds… All magical to me. So, this is how I created the songs, with simple triad chords and accompanying melodies. The same was I wrote Mighty Dog’s “hits” (kidding). Most of the lyrics relate to girls that I had known or dated in the past. For example, “Lonely Lady” was about a girl I befriended (that’s all, we were just friends - I liked her but it was not to be) we had met at a club Mighty Dog was playing at in Redondo Beach, she was going through a divorce, her fireman husband left her for a younger woman (although she was young as well and very good looking) had no kids, and was lonely. That’s how I came up with the story of the “Lonely Lady”. So, I think all the songs have references to someone I knew and how I interpreted their life story or my relationship with them. Nowadays I’m inspired by my wife and many of my new tracks are about her.

When and where did recording take place in ‘76? Would you mind giving a brief background for each of the songs that are featured on the LP?

We recorded during October and November of 1976 at Media Art in Hermosa Beach a recording studio owned by a friend of mine (Dave Tarling) where we (Mighty Dog) also recorded an album and had recently been used by Supertramp to do some recording. I think a lot a great records were recorded there years later. Dave and his assistant “Spot” (don’t know his real name) handled the engineering. I still remember a call from Dave years after we had worked together and I think it’s a great statement. He wanted to know if I was working on any projects which I was not and he told me… “I don’t need the money, I need the work” - music people, who knew. This is a deep dive into the past… Well, “Lonely Lady” I already described above and it’s based on a true story. I know that “A song for Paige” I wrote based on a story by Jim McKay, the lead singer of Mighty Dog and my roommate for a while, we lived in Hermosa, and he was telling me about a girlfriend he left behind in Memphis, where he was from. Her name was Paige, so I wrote the song based on his story and his feelings for her. I believe that “I’ll always love you” (I thought I had an original title, had no idea there’s a million songs with the same title… Luckily titles can’t be copyrighted) this was about my then wife (now ex-wife) we were separated for a short while, when I lived with Jim, and the lyrics reflect my feelings at the time. It’s OK, we’re friends now. The rest of the tracks have to do with girls I met while on tour or during my single years but although I remember the names and the faces I can’t truly put them together with the songs but I’ll tell you that they probably reflect my feelings at the time while remembering my musician related escapades.

What was the first order of business once the album was released? Did you tour, or play any gigs to help support/promote the album? Was there ever any talk, or interest in releasing a follow album around that time? Did you continue to play music after “With You In My Arms”?

The album was recorded mainly for fun. A few songs that I wrote along with Chuck and Henry (the guitarist) that I wanted to keep for posterity and at the time this seemed like the best option and to give to friends and family, a sample of music and lyrics that I could write outside of the rock direction of the band. None of these songs have ever been played live (as far as I know) maybe there’s a John Michael Roch tribute band somewhere in the Philippines, or China raking it in unbeknownst to me. Wouldn’t that be a kick in the pants. We never even thought about a follow up until 44 years later in 2020 when we agreed to re-record the same tracks with updated music. Well yes, Mighty Dog recorded an album between October 1977 and January 1978 and then went on to record a single (two sides) at ABC recording studios in October of 1978 until we were asked to leave the premises because Steely Dan was recording in the same studios and they didn’t want any other bands in the building. Elvin Bishop and his band were also asked to leave since they were also in one of the studios and were they pissed. We were sent to a wonderful studio north of Santa Barbara where we finished recording what was to be our first hit… “Street Dancer” until newly formed Republic Records folded or something and we got nothing. We also had dealings with Neil Bogart of Casablanca Records who at the time was promoting their first band “Kiss” and were looking for a second act… We lost out to a really good band from D.C. called “Angel”. This was all happening in the mid to late 70’s and I’m not sure of the timeline, just of the events. We continued to play clubs and small concerts locally. We became the house band at Gazzarris on the Sunset strip after VanHalen left. We played together until 1980 when we recorded a second album.

Tell me about working with the folks over at Subliminal Sounds for a proper reissue of this masterpiece back in 2015? How did that all come about?

Masterpiece… Wow, thanks but… I’m speechless LOL. I have received requests from time to time from individuals in various parts of the world asking for copies of the original “With you in my arms” record which I don’t have (I have one copy, the other 99 were given away) and of course, they were disappointed, I had no idea this had become something of a collector’s item and I found out that one copy was found in a record store in Japan another in Scotland, I think. In any case how this simple record made for fun with songs about girls became somewhat popular and “toured the world” is beyond me. I received an email from Stefan Kéry of Subliminal Records in Stockholm and he apparently is also a big fan of this record and he proposed that I allow them to re-issue it in larger quantities. I provided original artwork and music which I have and apparently more of these albums are all over the place.

What has it been like for you to have a whole other generation have an interest in your music after all these years? In what ways has this impacted not only your artistic legacy, but you as a person?

I think the word is “baffling”. When we got together so many years ago to lay down on tape a few musical ideas which we knew weren’t going anywhere (or so we thought) and it was just for fun I was not aware that it would turn out this way… I’m always happy to share my music projects and thinking that it all started back in high school and now at 75 I’m still coming up with new ideas and still look forward to recording new tracks like I did way back then. I think it’s great that new generations of music lovers are listening (not necessarily to me) but to the music that I grew up with… This has never happened before. Radio stations are still playing tracks from 50 or even 60 years ago and call it classic or plain old rock n’ roll, no matter… It’s still out there to be enjoyed. I think it’s fantastic and I’m very happy to be a part of it all.

Is there anything else you would like to further share with the readers?

I feel blessed that I have been around long enough to hear the changes in music and the technological innovations that simplify the process of creating music and at the same time allow someone like me, with no formal musical training but perhaps a genetic gift, that lets me learn how to play instruments and put together chord progressions that (usually) make sense and melodic lines that intrigue as well as delight those who hear them. Words that tell stories, sometimes true sometimes made up but hopefully always entertaining. I often wonder what it would be like to “make it big” and then I realize that making it is not a destination… it’s a journey. Enjoy every minute of it.