Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Quin A Cantar picks one oh six.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Hello, my name is Blotto, the movie debuting at the
co Host Music Hall this Saturday. We're talking to bow
Tie Blotto. How are you man?
Speaker 3 (00:17):
I'm good man. Thanks for having us on the show.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
I know that it's a super busy week for you,
so thanks for making time. I don't know, I don't
know where to start, except it's okay. If I don't
get you.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
Right, that's fine.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
You gotta know what don't you get about? They're fun
loving and uh and KOOKI were you Were you lampooning
the musical genres or were you showing your talents? What
are you guys doing back then?
Speaker 3 (00:44):
Well, I guess we were just expressing ourselves. We always
had h like kind of theatrical background, and uh, you
know we've performed these songs and you know with some
you know humorous uh you know, sidelights and so forth
to and uh, that was just our natural way of
doing it.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
And it took off.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
Well, we we had a you know, not everybody loved it,
but we had a strong following. And you know, we
had a long career even before the Blao, we had
a long career with a band called Starshbang, a washboard
band in the seventies that was more of a country
bluegrass band. We toured all over the country and played
a lot of big shows, and then when that wound
(01:26):
down in seventy eight, it transitioned into more of a
you know, a guitar you know, new wave kind of
bands in the eighties.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
Okay, yeah, you had that new wave look for in
the eighties. Did you tour with any regular bands, like
non parody bands or whatever you want to call him?
Speaker 3 (01:45):
Well, we did a big tour with Blue Oyster cult
n Buck Dharma had He produced the song Metalhead and
he played the lead on that and we were using
the same agency at that time, and they and we
toured with them, uh on the East Coast and in
the Midwest, and you know, that was a lot of fun.
(02:05):
I'd say some of their fans were a little confused
by what we were doing, but uh, they got they
figured it out.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
What did like, what did labels make of the band
Blatto in the eighties?
Speaker 3 (02:18):
Music labels, Well, they struggled to because we didn't fit
into any particular slot and and labels pretty much liked that,
so that you know, they couldn't really quite understand what
we were doing. So we did get some offers, but
they weren't really very good. So we decided to more
or less do it on our own, and we used
(02:39):
distributors and other other means to uh, you know, to
get our message out.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
When uh, when I want to be a lifeguard hit
MTV did Did the Capitol region even have MTV available
to watch it?
Speaker 3 (02:50):
It wasn't in all, but it wasn't available. It was
available across the river in East green Bush. Sure. So
we were on the first day, on the April first,
nineteen eighty one. We were the thirty sixth video that
was played that day. I like to they s an
important band in the world.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
Now.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
We talked to it's bow Tie Blotto here promoting the
movie the documentary Hello my Name is Blotto Saturday Cojo's
music Hall doctor John on Picks one oh six. He
thinks he was one of the first people to play
you guys back in the day. Now, I think he
worked with Lee Harvey Blotto back then.
Speaker 3 (03:26):
That could be, that could be. We had a lot
of support from local radio, and you know, we got
picked up on WNEW in New York City and then
that exploded into you know, New York City, Long Island, Jersey.
Then we went out, you know, we got airplane in
the Midwest, down to Virginia, out to Oregon and so forth.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
How many it was?
Speaker 3 (03:51):
It was crazy.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
How many years were you able to live as a
musician without doing anything else. I mean, that's really the
success here, when you can do something that you love, right, well,
all all in.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
The seventies, I was playing professionally nice and uh in
the in the Watchboard band, and then we played for
about four and a half years and Blotto professionally. Well
there you go.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
Now you're a lawyer, right.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
No, no, that's Paul the other pol. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
So but how did it because I like to say,
and it's negative. I know, if it didn't end badly,
it wouldn't end. So how did Blotto end? What was
the end of Blotto? And does that get revealed in
the documentary?
Speaker 3 (04:31):
Oh? Yeah, you know, the I would say, the band
didn't end for see, it's just that we decided to
stop playing full time as a profession and then you
know we had to like, you know, enter the real world.
But it didn't crash and burn or end in some
big you know, feud or something like that.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
And you when was the last time Blotto reunited.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
It was in two thousand and fifth, Dean. One of
our very last gigs was we played a live at
five show with with loo Oyster College. Matter of fact,
I remember that actually.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
Were here, We were here. Did you get it?
Speaker 1 (05:10):
Did you get any groupies?
Speaker 3 (05:12):
No?
Speaker 2 (05:15):
What was the Blatto fan base? Did they travel for you?
Speaker 3 (05:20):
Maybe some?
Speaker 1 (05:21):
Did you know?
Speaker 3 (05:21):
We had the fans in the in the towns that
we you know, came back to and uh, you know,
we had good We we sold a lot of merchandise
back then, which was they remember this is pre internet days.
The people people had to send in send an envelope
with a check in it.
Speaker 4 (05:38):
So that's amazing, right, It's Paul tell regale our our
younger audience listening this morning, Like, how didn't radio matter
back then?
Speaker 2 (05:50):
I mean radio was everything back then, wasn't it.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
Yes, kids, radio mattered a lot, Seriously, that was it.
It was the you know, the radio stations were the
gatekeepers to access to the public. And people today can't
understand that because anybody can make a record in their
bedroom and release it on the internet.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
Hello, my name, my name is Blotto the movie Coe's
Music Hall this Saturday. It's a unique and joyous take
on the timeless story of trying to make it in
the show business. And I think that's great that anybody
can enjoy that, you know.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
But it's a fun rob It's you know, we don't
take ourselves too seriously. Uh, there's a lot of you know,
we had a lot ups and downs that we uh
uh you know discussed in there any rehabs. There were
no rehits. We didn't know it's not going to be
in the kind of thing. Maybe maybe I've had that
(06:52):
third beer.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
But so we got to give credit to we got
to throw props to Rob Lichtor ak Bird Block. He
wasn't a member of the band, but he was. He
was like your multimedia guy throughout.
Speaker 3 (07:04):
The career and everything. Right, I'm sure Bert Blotto is
the person responsible for this documentary coming together. And uh
he he first worked with Broadway, and Broadway was doing
some some cable television shows and stuff down on Long Island,
and and and uh, Rob Lichterbob Bert Blatto was working
(07:27):
in the control room and they got to know each other.
And Bert found out about Blatto and he was started
doing interviews with us about doing a documentary over twenty
years ago. Uh, and then it sort of became as
as we lost two of our members, we decided we better,
you know, get hustling on this. Well, there's people left
to talk about it.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
Well, Martha Quinn, one of the original MTVVJ shows up
in the documentary. Will she show up him? Cahos time.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
No, she was invited, but but able.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
We're really are talking. You wish you had a ton
of luck with the documentary story. Hope it's a sellout
on Saturday for you guys.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
Thanks.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
Man, he's left, but I'm pretty sure it'll be sold
up by the there's a few seats on the balcony left.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
That's great, man, have a great time Saturday. Thanks for
the time this morning.
Speaker 3 (08:15):
There, guys. I really appreciate that.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
My name hello, my name is Blotto. The movie cost
Music Hall this Saturday.
Quin A Cantar picks one oh six.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Hello, my name is Blotto, the movie debuting at the
co Host Music Hall this Saturday. We're talking to bow
Tie Blotto. How are you man?
Speaker 3 (00:17):
I'm good man. Thanks for having us on the show.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
I know that it's a super busy week for you,
so thanks for making time. I don't know, I don't
know where to start, except it's okay. If I don't
get you.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
Right, that's fine.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
You gotta know what don't you get about? They're fun
loving and uh and KOOKI were you Were you lampooning
the musical genres or were you showing your talents? What
are you guys doing back then?
Speaker 3 (00:44):
Well, I guess we were just expressing ourselves. We always
had h like kind of theatrical background, and uh, you
know we've performed these songs and you know with some
you know humorous uh you know, sidelights and so forth
to and uh, that was just our natural way of
doing it.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
And it took off.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
Well, we we had a you know, not everybody loved it,
but we had a strong following. And you know, we
had a long career even before the Blao, we had
a long career with a band called Starshbang, a washboard
band in the seventies that was more of a country
bluegrass band. We toured all over the country and played
a lot of big shows, and then when that wound
(01:26):
down in seventy eight, it transitioned into more of a
you know, a guitar you know, new wave kind of
bands in the eighties.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
Okay, yeah, you had that new wave look for in
the eighties. Did you tour with any regular bands, like
non parody bands or whatever you want to call him?
Speaker 3 (01:45):
Well, we did a big tour with Blue Oyster cult
n Buck Dharma had He produced the song Metalhead and
he played the lead on that and we were using
the same agency at that time, and they and we
toured with them, uh on the East Coast and in
the Midwest, and you know, that was a lot of fun.
(02:05):
I'd say some of their fans were a little confused
by what we were doing, but uh, they got they
figured it out.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
What did like, what did labels make of the band
Blatto in the eighties?
Speaker 3 (02:18):
Music labels, Well, they struggled to because we didn't fit
into any particular slot and and labels pretty much liked that,
so that you know, they couldn't really quite understand what
we were doing. So we did get some offers, but
they weren't really very good. So we decided to more
or less do it on our own, and we used
(02:39):
distributors and other other means to uh, you know, to
get our message out.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
When uh, when I want to be a lifeguard hit
MTV did Did the Capitol region even have MTV available
to watch it?
Speaker 3 (02:50):
It wasn't in all, but it wasn't available. It was
available across the river in East green Bush. Sure. So
we were on the first day, on the April first,
nineteen eighty one. We were the thirty sixth video that
was played that day. I like to they s an
important band in the world.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
Now.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
We talked to it's bow Tie Blotto here promoting the
movie the documentary Hello my Name is Blotto Saturday Cojo's
music Hall doctor John on Picks one oh six. He
thinks he was one of the first people to play
you guys back in the day. Now, I think he
worked with Lee Harvey Blotto back then.
Speaker 3 (03:26):
That could be, that could be. We had a lot
of support from local radio, and you know, we got
picked up on WNEW in New York City and then
that exploded into you know, New York City, Long Island, Jersey.
Then we went out, you know, we got airplane in
the Midwest, down to Virginia, out to Oregon and so forth.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
How many it was?
Speaker 3 (03:51):
It was crazy.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
How many years were you able to live as a
musician without doing anything else. I mean, that's really the
success here, when you can do something that you love, right, well,
all all in.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
The seventies, I was playing professionally nice and uh in
the in the Watchboard band, and then we played for
about four and a half years and Blotto professionally. Well
there you go.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
Now you're a lawyer, right.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
No, no, that's Paul the other pol. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
So but how did it because I like to say,
and it's negative. I know, if it didn't end badly,
it wouldn't end. So how did Blotto end? What was
the end of Blotto? And does that get revealed in
the documentary?
Speaker 3 (04:31):
Oh? Yeah, you know, the I would say, the band
didn't end for see, it's just that we decided to
stop playing full time as a profession and then you
know we had to like, you know, enter the real world.
But it didn't crash and burn or end in some
big you know, feud or something like that.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
And you when was the last time Blotto reunited.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
It was in two thousand and fifth, Dean. One of
our very last gigs was we played a live at
five show with with loo Oyster College. Matter of fact,
I remember that actually.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
Were here, We were here. Did you get it?
Speaker 1 (05:10):
Did you get any groupies?
Speaker 3 (05:12):
No?
Speaker 2 (05:15):
What was the Blatto fan base? Did they travel for you?
Speaker 3 (05:20):
Maybe some?
Speaker 1 (05:21):
Did you know?
Speaker 3 (05:21):
We had the fans in the in the towns that
we you know, came back to and uh, you know,
we had good We we sold a lot of merchandise
back then, which was they remember this is pre internet days.
The people people had to send in send an envelope
with a check in it.
Speaker 4 (05:38):
So that's amazing, right, It's Paul tell regale our our
younger audience listening this morning, Like, how didn't radio matter
back then?
Speaker 2 (05:50):
I mean radio was everything back then, wasn't it.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
Yes, kids, radio mattered a lot, Seriously, that was it.
It was the you know, the radio stations were the
gatekeepers to access to the public. And people today can't
understand that because anybody can make a record in their
bedroom and release it on the internet.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
Hello, my name, my name is Blotto the movie Coe's
Music Hall this Saturday. It's a unique and joyous take
on the timeless story of trying to make it in
the show business. And I think that's great that anybody
can enjoy that, you know.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
But it's a fun rob It's you know, we don't
take ourselves too seriously. Uh, there's a lot of you know,
we had a lot ups and downs that we uh
uh you know discussed in there any rehabs. There were
no rehits. We didn't know it's not going to be
in the kind of thing. Maybe maybe I've had that
(06:52):
third beer.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
But so we got to give credit to we got
to throw props to Rob Lichtor ak Bird Block. He
wasn't a member of the band, but he was. He
was like your multimedia guy throughout.
Speaker 3 (07:04):
The career and everything. Right, I'm sure Bert Blotto is
the person responsible for this documentary coming together. And uh
he he first worked with Broadway, and Broadway was doing
some some cable television shows and stuff down on Long Island,
and and and uh, Rob Lichterbob Bert Blatto was working
(07:27):
in the control room and they got to know each other.
And Bert found out about Blatto and he was started
doing interviews with us about doing a documentary over twenty
years ago. Uh, and then it sort of became as
as we lost two of our members, we decided we better,
you know, get hustling on this. Well, there's people left
to talk about it.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
Well, Martha Quinn, one of the original MTVVJ shows up
in the documentary. Will she show up him? Cahos time.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
No, she was invited, but but able.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
We're really are talking. You wish you had a ton
of luck with the documentary story. Hope it's a sellout
on Saturday for you guys.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
Thanks.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
Man, he's left, but I'm pretty sure it'll be sold
up by the there's a few seats on the balcony left.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
That's great, man, have a great time Saturday. Thanks for
the time this morning.
Speaker 3 (08:15):
There, guys. I really appreciate that.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
My name hello, my name is Blotto. The movie cost
Music Hall this Saturday.
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