INTERVIEW: Cinderella

- Kelley Crowley

The cliche of overcoming adversity has been used as a marketing tool for as long as record industry people have called music "product." The struggling artist who has a dramatic story to tell usually doesn't sell a lot of CDs. But, if suffering for your work could be measured in records sold, Cinderella's new release is multi platinum.

The Philadelphia band, who rose to fame at the the end of the glam years, has struggled four years to release Still Climbing. The ooze of blues on this record only tells part of the long story. With names like Kenny Arnoff, Jay Davison and Andy Johns involved how hard could it have been to make this recording? Cinderella's lead singer Tom Keifer talked about the tough times and how long it took from his hometown of Philadelphia.

"When we came off the tour from Heartbreak Station album, I was suffering from unexplained vocal problems. No doctor could find a reason for what was happening to my voice. It just went away. I finally met someone who helped me. I had surgery and had years of vocal therapy and vocal exercises. That was our first set back; it only lasted two or three years".

When Keifer's voice returned, the group made plans to begin recording the album. A new set of problems began as the group tried to straighten out their drummer problem.

"We got into making the record and we were having problems with the drummer whom we started working with after Fred left. We started the record and we couldn't get any tracks cut. Every time we cut a track it wouldn't be right was it the drummer or the producer. Finally we said, get rid of Andy."

Cinderella had problems with the world famous producer Andy Johns. Although he had produced the two previous Cinderella records, the group was unhappy with his work.

"It just didn't work out with Andy this time. He has some substance abuse problems. It really messed things up. We worked with three different drummers with Andy and we couldn't find a groove anywhere. We knew we had a bigger problem".

The group brought in producers Duane Baron and John Purdell to pick up the pieces. "Magically we started finding some grooves. Once John and Duane took over the project it really started to come together. Just as everything was working, smoothing Duane's wife goes into premature labor. He has to fly out to L.A. because she's bedridden. We eventually went out there as well and we recorded some stuff there."

The band came back to Philadelphia to finish the record. When the record was finally finished, it was time to start "mixing hell" as Keifer put it.

"We couldn't find anyone to mix the record to our satisfaction. They mixed it about four times. We eventually ended up having John and Duane come back. It came out the way we wanted it to. Despite all the time it was all worth it in the end."

During the four years it took to make Still Climbing Keifer received another blow when he learned that doctors diagnosed his mother with cancer. The first single off the record is his song to his mother "Hard To Find The Words."

"I wrote that after I found out she was sick," says Keifer. "It's my way of saying thanks for all she's done for me throughout my life."

Since one release took so many years to record, was Keifer worried about their record company Mercury dropping them?

"They were great. The understood everything that was going on blow by blow and they were cool. Besides, they know that it's more important to make a good album. We can't make a good album if I can't sing, we don't have the right drummer or the right producer. When it started getting me down I would say "we are doing what we have to do to make this record right."