Boston's Tommy DeCarlo Coming Home

Hey, this is Aero. Guess who's out on the road this summer? Boston and guess who's singing lead vocals. Tommy De Carlo.

Hey, this is Tommy De Carlo. What are you doing Tommy De Carlo?

Not much. What are you doing? Man, you know, I'm just playing radio. You've been in the studio. We've got

so much always going on in here. That's right. Dude, I heard that you are practicing up getting

ready for the big tour. Yeah, we are. You know, we have we actually just finished up rehearsal

a couple of days ago and I just got back from Boston yesterday. So I'm home for a couple of days

and that's off to Hollywood to kick off this tour.

When people say that they're getting ready for a tour, I mean, does that mean that you're

vocal getting ready? You practice out as a rescatch, as their choreography. What does that mean

that you're getting ready for the tour or practicing for? Well, in this case, most recently,

we were getting ready up in Boston with all the band members rehearsing all the music that we're

going to be performing on the tour. However, prior to that, I'm always prepping vocally here.

You can never get ready for a tour a week before the tour. You really have to spend some time

getting yourself physically ready and especially if you're a singer. You've got to get your voice

up the speed and I found out on the 08 tour, which was my first, that I actually finished the

tour a lot stronger than I started it. And so I knew that at that point there was quite a bit of

work that had to be done before I got up to rehearsals for the next tour. So what I did is I

really prepped prior to the 2012 tour. I basically was in tour form by rehearsals and that's

kind of my model. That's kind of the way I go into it and that's how I went into it this year.

I wanted to be tour ready by the first day of rehearsals and that's what I did. And

is that sitting down with a vocal coach or have you reached to the point now where you can just

sit down and just work that diaphragm big time? Well, you know, some of it was a vocal coach

back on my first tour and he gave me his name as Mark Baxter and he's just an amazing vocal coach

out of Boston. He does, you know, some of the greatest singers if you ever check him out online

Mark Baxter, he's just a great vocal coach. But he gave me kind of a format to follow to keep

my voice strong. So and that's basically what I do from time to time. I'll hit him up for a

question or two but basically my first, you know, my first few lessons with Mark were, you know,

were just made a world of difference. It does take some time and, you know, it's not every day

that I sing when we're not on tour but I am, I do follow my vocal routine and I just really got

it down to a science. So I kind of look at myself as a, you know, I'm an authority on how to get

my voice ready for a tour now. I've never was before but I am now. Do you find yourself sitting

in the background going people who watch you to come over for barbecued to have a conversation?

You kind of look at him going. Yeah, I mean, there are some things that I definitely do not do

when it's time to sing and believe it or not, one of the things for singers is acid reflexes,

always a, it's one of the things that you got to avoid. You got to, you know, eat the right

foods to keep that from happening and believe it or not, one of the worst things for your voice

is talking. And so on, especially on a show day, I just, I just shut it down and truthfully,

it's really throughout the whole tour. I mean, the minute the show is over, I shut it down until

the next day's sound check and, you know, aside from maybe a quick conversation with my wife or

kids, that's pretty much it. Yeah, and we're talking about Boston too because that's all about

holding long notes and bending the notes while you're holding that note. Yeah, I mean, that

doesn't even, the Boston catalog is incredibly challenging. You know, it, you know, of course,

during a show it may seem as though we can pull that off pretty easily. But it's, you know,

we got to work to get to that point. It certainly isn't, you know, it's, it's not easy. And,

you know, prepping for that does take time. Better fact, one of my bandmates, David Victor,

just the other day, he goes, he says to me, we're having dinners our last night in Boston for rehearsals,

and he says, man, he says, I'm going to miss it when we start touring. He says, because that's when you

stop talking.

Have you ever sat down and played the guitar hero that has the Boston songs just to see if you

how well you could match it? You know, I never have. I tend to not listen to, because I know they have a

some of those games they have like a, you know, vocalist who will cover some of that stuff. And,

I really try not to listen to anyone else in Boston, other than Brad Delph. I, I don't know what it

is, maybe, you know, I just kind of feel funny about that. I just don't listen to any other singers,

sing Boston music. I just, I try to get into my zone because I don't want to be influenced by

anybody else's, you know, performance of a particular song. And, and I'm, you know, and I'm a musician.

I learned to play keyboards by ear, and I, and I really, everything was by ear. So a lot of times,

what I hear, I tend to want to duplicate. So I try not to listen to that, but no, I never did sit down

and, and, and I think my kids have that, though. And they used to mess around with that, but I, I never did.

Does Tom ever let you go into a studio and listen to just the dry tracks of Brad Delph?

I have come across some recordings where the vocals had been soloed out. And, um, Brad's vocals

are soloed out. And, you know, a lot of times when you strip away the music, well, maybe I shouldn't

say a lot of times, but I guess it's always possible when you strip away the music, and you hear just

the vocals. You may hear some of the imperfections of the vocal track or, you know, buried in the music,

but I mean, this guy was amazing, man. I mean, you pull away all the, I mean, I have, I have, I have several tracks,

um, of, Brad's vocals just soloed out that I've come across over the, or through the internet.

And, uh, they're flawless. And, um, so if I'm going to listen to any vocal, that's going to be the

vocal I listen to sing in Boston music, because it helps me dial into that.

You are going to stand in front of your hometown for the first time as a lead singer of Boston.

You've got to let me know what you're thinking.

Why did you have to bring that?

Hey, man, that's going to be like the most nerve-wracking show for me because that's, uh, you know,

it's all, you know, it's funny, you know, I remember going up to the kid I played sports, you know,

and, um, I used to love, you know, going to my baseball games and playing even right up to

Legion Baseball. And, uh, there was always something a little different when you knew your parents

were coming at night. Well, my parents are going to come tonight. So you felt a little added pressure.

So I tend to feel like that playing in front of the home crowd here, but, um, you know,

fortunately I have been out with, uh, with my bandie Carla with my son and our, and our drummer Dan

Hitz and we played a lot of small, you know, small places around Charlotte. So I, I had an

opportunity to go out in front of, you know, some of the, and I'm sure there are some Boston fans that

come out to those shows as well. So it has been kind of nice to go out there and, and kind of, uh,

you know, um, you know, just kind of do that and, and know that, um, I'm going to be seeing probably

a lot of those people at the show. So it is kind of comforting to know that I've been out performing

in front of the, uh, you know, the Charlotte fans. So, um, you know, it is what it is. You know,

once the music starts, you get into it, you just kind of, you know, forget about everything,

you just have a good time, and that's what I'll do. I can't imagine what's going to be going through

your son's mind, though, when he sees that crowd react to you because, you know, you got a future

rock and roll right there beside you, right? Yeah, I think what he's probably going to be thinking

about most are what's man, I wish I could grab my guitar and go out there with him. I know that song.

I have you, have you picked up any lessons from your father because I know your father is very

in the public as well when it comes to hair styling and everything like that. Is he, he's,

does he ever sit down and say, Tommy, this is, this is what you got to do.

Oh, you know, when it comes to the performance end of things, you know, and nothing, I mean, my,

my father's a very, very cool guy, but now he, um, I didn't really pick up anything, uh, maybe

a bit of a sense of humor because he's, he likes to joke around and have a good time.

Far as the music itself goes. No, that was pretty much, you know, you know, just growing up. I,

I think it's a lot like, you know, the way that I got into singing and, and music, I think it's

really a lot like how young kids will, you know, they'll want to, you know, kind of emulate their

favorite, you know, sports heroes by, you know, if it's not wearing the same shoes, maybe they're

trying to pull off some of their moves, whether it be in a basketball court or baseball or football.

So I kind of look at that as what I did as a singer, you know, I kind of got a lot of my,

um, you know, my techniques just by watching, um, you know, uh, Fred Dulles and singing the

Boston music, you know, that was really how I kind of took it. So, um, I think, uh, you know, I,

I think that's really where I got most of that from.

My father is a good guy, though, you know, he's, uh, he's a hard worker and, um, it's, uh, you know,

you know, the tough thing is there, I got to tell you, my, my, my dad's actually really,

he's, he's battling terminal cancer. I know. Like, yeah, it's very sad and, uh, you know,

I don't know how far along he's going to be, you know, um, or, you know, how far things are

going to get for these, um, or if you're out this tour, but, uh, you know, it's, it's, it's going

to be a tough tour.

He's really, uh, he's really struggling right now. And actually, this is the first time

they ever spoke about that publicly. And it's just, you know, it's been awful hard on our family,

but, uh, you know, I know that he'd want me to go out there and, and do what I love to do. And,

so when, uh, in the spirit of my father, I'm going to forge ahead and just, you know, try to have

a, a great tour and, and just, you know, have a, have a good time.

Anything you would call.

It shots in helicopters on my TV, can you feel anything after all?

And everyone is telling me, this is just the way it's meant to be.

And living in the world of fantasy, and there we went up, it's raised a day hoping to see.

Stay in the way, stay in the way, and all the refugees are going to make this great

time.

You want to be the best you can be, you know, and, um, and I guess, uh, you know, that probably

should be something to follow through, or my son will want to follow through.

And, and my footsteps to do the same. I put a lot of work into just, again, going back to

what we were talking about earlier, prepping for a, uh, show. And, um, not to mention a tour. And,

you know, because I haven't done this my entire life, I do tend to put a lot more pressure on

myself, you know, when this is one more about the tour. And especially when I'm about to walk out

on stage, I mean, you know, I know that it's, uh, you know, some people probably look and say,

man, that guy, you know, yeah, they're having the time of their life. And yeah, certainly it is

the time of your life. You're out there having a great time. But, you know, for somebody like

myself who didn't get into this until their, you know, early 40s, there's still quite a bit of,

you know, there's a bit of a fear factor there when I got to walk out in front of people because

I want them to be happy with what I'm doing. And, uh, you know, and so I strive to be the best I

can be. And it certainly is an awesome feeling not only to make the fans proud, but to make my bandmates

proud. And especially the, you know, especially Tom Shoals who gave me the opportunity, you know,

it's nice to, it's nice for me to have a good show and, you know, for him to be proud of the fact

that I, you know, I stepped up and I, and I did, uh, you know, I did my job that night.

You guys developed that relationship yet in the band where really all you have to do is just kind

of look across that stage in each other's eyes. And you go, yeah, this is it. We got it.

Oh, yeah. Yeah. You know, we, we do it. It's a, it's a, it's a great chemistry that we all have.

And, um, of course, that builds over a period of time. But once, once, when we get, when we get back

into rehearsals, it's amazing how we'll dial right back into that. And, you know, we'll have our own

little, you know, funny jokes and, and again, sometimes it is just a look. It's just a look or

emotion. And sometimes, uh, David and I, uh, we'll, we'll get, uh, David and I and, um, uh, Tracy,

actually are basically a Tracy Ferris. We'll get into a little bit of two joking around,

a too much joking around him. We got to dial it down so we can actually sing. But, um,

it is a great time. We have a lot of fun with it. And you have to, you know, you can't, I mean,

there is a, you know, you definitely do need to take it serious and go out there and have a great

time. But at the same time, you got to have fun with what you're doing. And if you can't have fun,

playing rock and roll music loud in front of thousands of people, man, you got a problem.

Where does Tommy go inside his mind and with his body actions when he's singing those songs?

The first and foremost, um, before any interaction, I, um, I tend to want to make sure that I'm,

I'm dialed into my voice and, and, you know, doing a good vocal performance. Um, you know, uh,

it's funny because early on, my first, uh, my first tour, you know, uh, people said, well,

he sounds good. He doesn't really have any stage presence. Oh, you're right. I don't have any

stage presence. I mean, you know, a week before I was at home, people working. So how much

stage presence can I get? I try to dial into as many people as I can and make eye contacts with

them. I try to give them what I would want if I was at a show. Now, they know that I'm, you know,

you know, I'm not a David Lee Roth or, you know, Steven Tyler or anything like that where I'm going to

go, you know, I got all kinds of moves and everything else. But I think, um, they, uh, they

really appreciate, you know, when, when you give them all you got and you just, you know, you

smile at them. And for me, it's, um, you know, I can't help but, you know, look at, look at the fans

and, and I'm happy for them because, you know, given the, the tragic death of Brad Delft,

you know, some of them might have thought they'd never get to see the band-boss in again.

So, you know, it means a lot for me to be able to go out there and, you know, help, help them

continue, you know, you know, their enjoyment of the band and this music live. And, um, it's just,

it just feels good. And I think one of the most gratifying things of being up on stage in front

of thousands of people is, and this, this hit me on the very first tour that I was on with Boston

was I have never been in a place where there were so many people so happy at one time. And that

is just the most amazing thing, just to look around and, and the funny thing is when you, when you

dial into those fans and you're there and they're there, you know exactly how they feel. At least I

do because that's where I sat. I was out in the crowd watching these shows. So, I know exactly how

they feel when they hear a certain line in the song that just, you know, makes them, you know,

feel really good inside and, you know, makes the hair on the back of the next stand-up, I know that

feeling because that's how I feel. I'm feeling it the moment I sing it. So, it's a great connection,

you know, it really is. Do you ever have to live with the business side of the music business where

you have to go to the meetings and, you know, because in radio, we're always talking about ratings,

ratings, ratings, but you don't have to deal with that stuff, do you? No, I don't, you know, and that's

one of the beauties of my position in this band, along with the other band members, with the

exception of Tom, of course, is that, you know, we don't have to get involved in that. And there,

you know, the funny thing is, Arrow, if you don't know the business, which I never did, you just

assume it's a band. It's a band that goes out and performs music. What's they do? That is what

happens when the band's tour. What people don't see is what goes on behind the scenes. It's almost

like an office building, just being stripped down and put together in different, you know,

in different venues every night.

Behind there, you have a accountant, you have tour managers, you have road managers,

you have crew people, you have runners. It's all just a, it's one big operation. And they're not

sitting back there, you know, I mean, there's computers set up, there's an entire, and not to mention,

you know, all the people that are involved in the business side of that, that don't go on for

that, you know, that are based in an office somewhere. There's, you know, Boston is a band,

and my favorite band, however, there is, you know, there is people behind that band that really,

you know, kind of unsung heroes, you know, for lack of a better term that put in a lot of work,

and a lot of time to get these, to get these tours happening. So, you know, in that,

that is something that, you know, Tom is something that he has to deal with, but having done it,

you know, for as many years as he has, I'm sure he has a formula for how that all works, but,

you know, there is quite a bit that is involved in this. And, you know, again, some people do tend to

think that it's just, you know, group of musicians that we just decide to go and jump on a tour bus

and go, and there's so much planning involved, and it's just way beyond being what I ever thought it was.

Do you ever just sit out there while they're building that stage and just watch that whole performance,

because the teamwork that is required for this to happen is just mind-blowing.

Yeah, you know, I have, and, you know, one of the funny things is, you know, I tend to feel,

at least on the O-8 tour, and I've learned since, you know, that to not think this way,

but I would be out on the road with the band in O-8, and I would see a crew member, you know,

rolling some, you know, some cabinets or whatever they are across the stage floor.

My first thing is, I've got my hands ready to sit here. Let me help you roll. Oh, no, no, we got that.

Tom, we got that. That's good. You know, I'm like, oh, okay. And, you know, matter of fact,

I'll give you an example of something that happened that was very cool once. We were at a show

somewhere back on the O-8 tour, and there was, of course, a lot of helpers that assist the band

and all that stuff. And really, my goal, one of my biggest things is I try to do as much as I

can not to ask for anything, because they have their hands full, but they're more than happy to do it for you.

There were one night I said, hey, I have to have some more than a feeling. Tom does a

guitar solo, at least he did on that one particular tour. And so there was nothing for me to do on

stage at that point. So I said, hey, I said, after there's more than a feeling, I said, do you think

tonight you can maybe put a half cup of tea or a warm cup of tea back behind the, you know,

the stage, and I'll step off stage for 15, 20 minutes while he does a solo, and I'll get a warm

cup of tea, get my, you know, my voice, my throat re-energized. No, yeah, no problem. My throat

came straight. So I get off the stage, ensuring off there it is. Nero, it was there every night after

that, every night. It was like, jeez, you know, I didn't even have to ask for it again. I was just,

I almost fell, I almost fell. See, like, where do I leave the tip?

It's fun to hear your excitement. It's fun to have been with you almost a year ago, and then

you made the announcement of the concert, and now this close to the concert. Are you going to

journalize through this so that your fans and those that are close to you can just experiences

through you? Well, you know, I do have some thoughts, and, you know, I do have, I do have some thoughts

of being able to put something down on paper someday, and, you know, I'm not the greatest at

making writing notes about stuff, but I have an amazing memory, at least I think I do, and,

you know, I would love to put something down on paper someday, because I think people would

really be, you know, they'd be amazed at, you know, some of the little details that someone

like me would, and I'd love to read up on that. I'd love to hear about that, because, you know,

you're going to see the concert, you know, to me, it's the things that happen prior to the concert,

and what happens after? I mean, people think, so, you know, you've got some of your buddies,

they say, man, so where do the after show parties lie? I'm like, what, you mean us sitting around

having dinner, and we can't wait to get on the bus to get some sleep, so we can, you know,

strive, you know, several hundred miles to the next gig, that after show party.

So, you know, there's not a whole lot of that, it's really kind of the funny, but, you know,

there are some, there are some people that you just, yeah, yeah, it's great, man, you know, you just

let them, you know, they even let them think that it's, you know, party time, but, you know,

it's, it's not always like that, but it's, you know, there are a lot of little things that go

unsaid that are unseen rather than people just don't realize, but they're all good things,

and they're all things that are very interesting, and you know something? I don't read a lot of books,

I don't read up on a lot of people who become, you know, singers and rock bands after working, you

know, you know, their whole life doing something totally different, but I think it's a pretty

amazing story, but it's not all about what goes on on stage, I think there's some amazing things

that go on backstage, and it's pretty interesting, and I think people are kind of interesting.

Yeah, because in the 1970s, we had the loadout stay from Jackson Brown, and that was kind of like

an inside view of what was going on, but we've never had anything since that, where the fan gets

to experience it through your eyes. Yeah, and I do, you know, I do have some pictures,

gosh, I think a couple of shows back in 2008, I videotaped myself walking from the

dressing room right up to the microphone during the sound check, and maybe not all that clamor,

but people who've never done it, they probably say, man, well, wonder what that's like, well,

check this out, this is what happens when I leave the dressing room, and I walk out to the sound

checker, and I think people would find that fascinating. I think especially amongst musicians

that there's a part of me that definitely feels, I do feel for the musician who just worked so hard

to make it in the music, I really do, because I know how much work probably goes into that,

but what a lot of people don't know is, yes, I was working at Home Depot, and I got the phone call.

Well, what people don't know is, you know, ever since, I got pictures of me playing a keyboard

back when I was 17, 18 years old, and I have old demo tapes that I wrote, and I sent into record

companies and tried to get connected. I mean, I did a lot of that, I just didn't do it in a band,

I did it in my bedroom recording studio or whatever set up I had at the time, and it wasn't

necessarily one of those overnight, hey, this guy just got lucky. Well, yeah, I definitely got lucky,

but I certainly spent a good amount of time that you never knew about working on music. I mean,

that's, you know, when I wasn't working, I worked on music at home, and that was, but again,

I do feel for the musicians that look and say, man, this guy's been playing in this band for 20 years,

man, look at this guy, you know, and, but, you know, it is what it is, and I, you know, I have no

control over it. Well, it's because of your passion that we're getting the opportunity to continue

living these incredible albums, and we can't wait to see you in Charlotte, not to put the pressure on

you, but we can't wait to see you finally come home, Tommy. Yeah, well, I can't wait to, I think it's

going to be a great time, and, you know, we're looking, I mean, heck, I've been with the band since

late 2007, first tour in 2008, and never had we played Charlotte, so, you know, it's going to be

exciting for me for the people who have heard about all this over the years, actually get to see it,

and I think that, you know, I'm excited for them, so. It's going to be a beautiful night.

Tommy, I really do hope and pray that your father really finds tremendous peace inside of his

heart, and he's got to be so proud of you for bringing him music and everything. Oh, yeah,

man, and likewise, he's an awesome guy, and, you know, I just pray for him every day, and then we're

just, you know, you never know, miracles do happen. Well, you're proof of that, sir.

Yeah, I know, I know. Well, I, I, I extend, I went over the line, I was always supposed to talk to

you for 15 minutes, but dude, I, you're, I love talking with you. We can talk for hours, man.

It's all good. I mean, I, I enjoy telling, telling, talking about this. I mean, it's not

the, and, and I gotta tell you the reason that I enjoy talking about it is because every time I,

I tell my story or how this all happened, I'll think of something else that I forgot, you know,

to talk about the time before, and I think it's, you know, when people get excited to hear that,

it didn't make, you know, I'm excited to, to, to tell the story. So I, no worries, man, we can,

you know, anytime you want to talk, we can talk. I'll never forget the day that you, me, and Tommy

Jr., were out there in front of the radio station, and every day I walk through the front of this

building is the most positive thing because it was just the three of us out there being three regular

people talking about the rock and roll. Yeah. Well, yeah, he and my son often said that, he says, hey,

dad, you know, it's a work, we're in the mall, right? And, and, and both the Massachusetts, you know,

we, my son came up with me to rehearsals and spent some time with me while we're up there. We're

walking around the mall and he says, hey, dad, you know, it's funny because I wonder how many people

in this mall bought a ticket to see you guys play this year and they have no idea that you're watching

the mall. Yeah, you're probably right. But it's still fun to do that, man. That's part of the

artistry of music and, or any kind of artistry because you can hide behind the lines and then go out

there and do what you do on that canvas. Yeah. Yeah. Well, that's, to me, the most important part of it is,

you know, I love to go out there and for 90 minutes, I got to, I got to go out there and I got a

hammer out a bunch of songs and if I'm vocally happy with my performance, I come off that stage

thrilled and I know that and I'm so hard on myself that I know if I'm happy with it, I know the

fans will be super happy with it. It's just so fun to watch you realize your dream. Well, thank

you very much. I appreciate that. Thank you, Tommy. You have a wonderful weekend, okay?

Carol, you too, buddy. We'll see in Charlotte. And prayers to your father.

Thanks a bunch. I appreciate that. Bye-bye.