ROX Interview: Frederic Slama.

 

Firstly perhaps an introduction would be best for those who don’t know you. Please tell us about yourself Frederic?

I'm a songwriter, musician and producer who released 27 albums since 1984 under various names , but mostly under the name AOR (More than 20 album out) and i was a famous music journalist in France and the U.S during the 70's & 80's with thousands of reviews and interviews featured in the biggest magazines of the genre. I've been releasing AOR albums since the year 2000 with every time prestigious guests of the Westcoast / Melodic Rock scene around me like members of Toto, Chicago, FM, Journey, Night Ranger and many many others (more than 200). You can check all their names on my website: www.slama101.fr

Would you call yourself a musician first? Or a songwriter? Producer or AOR aficionado?

I'm a little bit all of that at the same time. First I consider myself as a songwriter because i wrote many songs for French, Japanese and a few U.S artists during my career. As a music journalist in the 80's, i started collecting LP's and CD's very young and now my collection is around 20 000 albums ! I wrote many books about this subject (All available at Amazon, worldwide) called the Westcoast Bible (s) or the AOR Bible. There are 23 volumes available now that includes the rarest and best albums in the Westcoast / AOR / Melodic Rock genre, which are my passions.

Which drives you the most?

I love to write and produce albums that features singers and musicians i really admire. As an 80's fan, i try to keep that style alive with releases reminiscent of that time. I put all my heart in each of my songs and that's the music style i'd like to hear that reminds me of famous 80's bands like Toto, Journey, Kansas, Survivor, The Eagles and many more.

You’ve written, produced and arranged the new album “LA Suspicion” (on Perris Records, 2022) ?

Yes i did, like all the previous ones, with the help of my buddy Tommy Denander, a great Swedish guitar player and producer who worked with the best artists ever like Alice Cooper among others ! Tommy worked on 18 of my albums and other various projects i produced. Each release is like having a new baby, so it's a lot of work each time ha!ha! 

And you worked on "The Best Of Paul Sabu” album (also on Perris)  too didn’t you?

Yes i did ! It was my 21st AOR CD featuring all the songs i recorded with the legendary Paul Sabu (John Waite, Kiss, Shania Twain) and featuring 2 brand new songs, maybe among my best ever, that you can find on my YouTube Channel (Frédéric Slama's AOR). The CD was remastered and features incredible performances by Paul Sabu, who has been considered as one of the best singer / producer since the 80's !

What else has your magic touch?

I wrote and produced 2 albums for 2 sisters under the band name Chasing Violets, featuring the who's who of Melodic Rock and AOR musicians, very similar to my AOR releases but with 2 female singers instead of various singers. Their albums were a big hit, mostly in Japan. I wrote songs for various other projects that you can discover on my website too.

What’s this compilation “The Best Of The Westcoast Spirit” all about? What made you want to do it? Who’s on it?

Since my 5th album "L.A Attraction", i went from soft Westcoast Rock (like Christopher Cross, The Eagles, Steely Dan) , to more heavier territories with a more Melodic Rock sound (like Foreigner, Survivor, Giant). So i did this compilation with all the ballads and songs in that style, because many fans interested in Westcoast Music told me i forgot them when i turned into "heavier" sounds. It features the biggest stars of the genre like Bill Champlin (Chicago), David Roberts, Dane Donohue, Steve Lukather (Toto) and many many others (More than 30 famous musicians and singers in that style) !

You’ve worked some truly outstanding musicians?!

Yes since i started the AOR Project, my goal was to have an all star cast around me. That's why for each album i called the best musicians of the genre like Steve Overland (from the band FM), Bill Kelly (from the band Dakota), Robbie LaBlanc (from Find Me & Fury"), Paul Sabu among others for this new album called L.A. Suspicion. Usually i always have some different names from one album to another cause i'd like to work with as many of my heroes as possible. But of course i'm friend with many of them, so many great singers comes back in other albums.

And you have a great website “AOR “?

Yes i have a website, where you can find most of my works, but also reviews, videos, the music books i wrote and the reissue label i own (Sunset Dreams Records). You can find there many infos about the singers and musicians i recorded with and all the latests news. Check it out at: www.slama101.fr

What’s next for you?

I'm working on several projects at the same time. I write songs for artists and i'm producing severals songs for a great girl singer that will release her album in 2023. Of course i'm still writing music books and i'm starting to record the next AOR album for 2023. Now the challenge will be to do better than this one, which seems to be one of the best ever for many fans and journalists alike !

Any advice you would give to an aspiring writer or producer?

Always believe in your dreams and don't let anything stop you whatever people says. As a songwriter, i can only recommend to follow songwriting classes, because you don't improvise being a good writer. It takes time and there are rules if you do that kind of music that must be learned. Of course some new artists don't know anything about songwriting and their releases is forgotten as fast as their names. I did the Musician Insitute and other schools in Los Angeles and it takes time to learn the golden rules, but after that the road is open for you and you can achieve all your dreams ! Keep on rocking !