Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Location: email, Ljubljana – New York
Interview date: 11/25/2014
Mike Flyntz is the guitarist of Riot V. Riot V are today the logical, posthumous continuation of the career of Riot, the legendary New York heavy metal band. That makes them one of the pioneers of the metal scene, with roots reaching back to the ancient seventies. Until last January, the band was led by the conductor’s baton of its late leader, founder and undisputed visionary, guitarist Mark Reale. Among the members of the new Riot, Riot V that is, Mike Flyntz is the man with the longest tenure. He joined in 1989 and stuck around without a break through the whole time Mark Reale was running the band.
Hi Mike. First off, I’d like to say that your new album “Unleash the Fire” (2014, SPV Records, RockLine review HERE) is killer and has all the recognizable trademarks and the vibe of Riot’s musical legacy.
Mike: Thanks.
Can you tell us more about how the new material came together and where you recorded it? Did the ideas start taking shape while Mark Reale was still in the band, or was most of the album written after his death, when you decided to carry on as Riot V?
Mike: Don (Don Van Stavern, bass, Riot V, editor’s note) and I had eight songs ready to go before we even started writing and creating the new material. After Mark passed away, Don threw himself into writing new music even harder, especially as a tribute to his good musical partner who had left us. Mark’s death had the opposite effect on me. Musically, I went completely numb. I spent that time hanging out with Mark’s dad a lot and looking after him. After a year went by, Don showed me the new songs, or rather demos, with Todd on vocals, and that fired me up and inspired me, so I quickly came up with four brand-new songs for the new record. All the music is brand new, except for half of Until We Meet Again, which I started writing while Mark was still alive and was able to show him.
We recorded the guitars at Josh Block’s studio. Most of the work was done in several different studios, over different periods of time, because we were on a tight budget. I recorded my parts together with Frank (Frank Gilchriest, Riot V, drums, editor’s note.) and Nick (Nick Lee, Riot V, guitar, editor’s note.) in my studio in the middle of New York.
I listened to the new album and we think it very successfully sums up all the eras of our Riot career. The album has also had a fantastic reception from music reviewers around the world, which proves we went about this the right way.
What drove you to create such a strong album?
Mike: We were very emotionally invested in making the album. We wanted to pay tribute to Mark and to Riot’s entire discography. We wanted to make an album that equally bows to the different eras of Riot, in terms of both style and sound. Our fans gave us energy and inspiration. It was also a test, and it proved that we can, completely credibly, make a successor to the earlier Riot albums that are considered classics today!
Of the members in the current Riot V lineup, you’re the musician who played the longest alongside Mark Reale. How did you end up in Riot, and what’s your musical background?
Mike: I went to high school with Mark’s cousin, John Dunne. In 1984 we went to see a Riot show and I became a fan of the band. I met the members after that gig and got their autographs. In 1989 John called me and said Riot were heading to Japan and were looking for a guitarist who could help them get through the tour! I met Mark at his place and passed the audition. A few weeks later I was in Japan with the band, and I also stayed on for part of the US tour in 1990, and that same year we went back to play stages in Japan again. Tony Moore (Riot, vocals, editor’s note.) and Don left the band soon after because of trouble with the management at the time, and the reason was financial. After that I worked on recording the album “Nightbreaker”. Mark was so kind that he didn’t just let me play on the album, he let me contribute my own ideas to it too. Mark was the kind of person who made everyone who worked with him shine.
What did Mark Reale give you as a musician, and what did he teach you during your time with him in Riot, both personally and as a musician?
Mike: Mark taught me how to write songs. He was always focused first and foremost on writing a good song rather than on becoming the best guitarist. He also taught me a lot about vibrato and tone. Mark had an excellent vibrato. Comparable to Brian May and Michael Schenker, if you ask me for my personal opinion. He also really liked dynamic chord sequences and modulations in songs. Mark and I were friends. Not just bandmates. We spent a lot of time together. We often listened to the same iPod, sharing a pair of earbuds. I love telling everyone about his laugh. He loved to laugh, and he was always hinting that I should keep entertaining him until he was rolling on the floor holding his stomach. We managed to do that quite a few times. He loved making films and doing photography. Mark took the cover photo for the Riot album “Inishmore”.
Let’s talk a bit about the new Riot V lineup. How did you all come together? We know Frank played with Riot in the past. Now you’ve also brought in the excellent young guitarist Nick Lee, who’s bursting with explosive energy on stage. I’m also curious where you found a singer as great as Todd Michael Hall?
Mike: Don found Todd through the German producer Bart Gabriel. Todd sent us a demo with his vocals on the songs “Still Your Man” and “Riot”. He sounded great, and that’s exactly why we decided to carry on with the career! We were extremely lucky. Todd had been a huge Riot fan for a long time. He has an incredible vocal range that never lets him down! He’s a real wonder of nature, and he’s also a great character as a person.
Nick is my former student. Later he became a teacher himself at my little music school. He’s a natural musician and performer who lives and breathes his instrument. He’s a perfect addition to Riot V, and we’ve been playing guitars together for more than 15 years.
Let’s turn back the clock. How would you describe the music of the eighties, the nineties and the present through the eyes of a Riot member? I know you’ve been through a series of lineup changes, and Mark also said the reason was bad management.
Mike: I think the grunge scene in the nineties really hurt everything we were doing in Riot. When I joined the band in 1989, Riot had a deal with CBS/Sony Records. Then the metal scene started to change, and a lot of bands, much like Riot, lost their label deals. Management was the main reason members kept leaving the band.
The previous Riot studio album, “Immortal Soul”, was a tough nut for the band. Mark was already frail while it was being made, and you took on the main responsibility for recording all the guitars. What feelings and memories do you have from the time that album was made? And how would you comment on Tony Moore’s temporary return on vocals, and how did that classic lineup work out live?
Mike: We believed the whole time that Mark’s health would get better and that he’d come into the studio and play his guitar parts. When I recorded my guitar parts, I never thought that would be the last guitar recording for this album. Every day while we were recording the material for this album, Bruno (Bruno Ravel, producer of the album “Immortal Soul” and bassist of Danger Danger, editor’s note.) asked me whether Mark was coming in. I always told him: “Not today, he’s not feeling well.” Mark listened to the songs and approved their inclusion on the album “Immortal Soul”. As for Tony, I was thrilled to be working with him again, because writing songs with him is always a joy. He’s different from every other singer on the metal scene. It was a pleasure to play live with that lineup, because it was exactly the same as 24 years earlier, when I joined Riot.
You and Tony also launched the Faith and Fire project. Can you tell us more about that?
Mike: After Mark started the hard rock band Westworld, producer Paul Orofino approached me and told me to start a side project of my own. I thought it would be phenomenal to get Tony back on vocals and out in front of people again. I’d also been very good friends for years with bassist Dany Miranda (Blue Oyster Cult, Meatloaf), and he brought along John Miceli (Meatloaf), a great drummer by the way!
Riot V have incredible stage energy, at least that’s how you came across at the summer European festivals like Slovenia’s Metaldays and Germany’s Bang Your Head!!!. Do you have any plans to hit the road in the near future to promote the new studio album “Unleash the Fire”?
Mike: Right now we’re busy booking shows for a new tour!
Do you plan to release a DVD in the near future?
Mike: Riot have an incredible legacy of all kinds of releases, but we’re still missing one thing. A live DVD. Yes. The plan is to put out a DVD, and we’re working on that right now.
Mike, thanks for your valuable time. Do you have any message for the fans in Slovenia who missed your show at this year’s Metaldays festival in July?
Mike: I’d like to thank all of Riot’s fans in Slovenia. Riot can’t go on without the support of the fans. I hope we’ll be back soon and play some new shows for you!
translated and edited by: Aleš Podbrežnik
questions prepared by: Jani Mihevc Cah
In the photos: Mike Flyntz and Riot performing at the Bang Your Head!!! festival, on 07/12/2014 (RockLine photo archive 2006-2014, all rights reserved). You can read RockLine’s full report from that festival day HERE!
Also check out RockLine’s live report from day four of this year’s edition of the Tolmin festival Metaldays, held on 07/24/2014, where Riot V were the main draw on the second stage HERE!
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