The Rods recently released their new album, Wild Dogs Unchained. This new album drips emotions of Classic Metal roaring back and is one hundred per cent thoroughly enjoyable Heavy Metal. The band features bassist Freddy Villano, drummer Carl Canedy and David ‘Rock’ Feinstein on guitar and vocals, the latter being a former guitarist of Elf and a cousin of the late, great, Ronnie James Dio.
For David ‘Rock’ Feinstein, there are so many memories of playing alongside Ronnie James Dio. “We could talk for hours about Ronnie,” David told MetalTalk in Part Two of this interview. You can read Part One here and the album review here.
David Feinstein’s Lifelong Bond with Ronnie James Dio
Those were amazing times for me,” David says, “because when I first got in that band, the fact that Ronnie and I were related, we grew up in the same town, and the guys in his band, and Ronnie himself were five years older than me. So when I got in the band, I was the kid learning from them. I was seeing what was going on, and it was an incredible experience.
“I was just so inspired by Ronnie, and how he worked, his talent, and his ability as a musician, and also the type of person he was. He was a great person, and my memories of being inspired in those days are just something that I could never duplicate, and something I’ll never forget. They were just great, great times for me.”
While they were both from New York, their paths did not cross very often when they were not in bands together, “unless there was a birthday or some kind of thing going on,” David says.”Ronnie was five years older than me, so the friends he hung around with were an older group of guys. With me being five years younger, it was different.
“However, once I got in the band, then the band becomes your second family, whether you’re related or not. You’re spending most of your time with the band members, and that’s when it changed. So there was a lot of time spent together once I got in the band, because of travelling and being on the road. You’re living with those people, basically, so it was really great.”
The Rods – Carrying the Torch of Classic Metal
Canedy and Feinstein formed The Rods in 1980 along with bassist Steven Starmer. Their debut album was released independently as Rock Hard that year, and then, after signing to Arista Records, was re-ordered and re-released as The Rods in 1981. Wild Dogs would follow in 1982.
The inspiration for the band name is lost in time. When it came to starting the band,” David ‘Rock’ Feinstein said, “it was the punk rock era, and The Rods is kind of like a punk rock band name. I think that’s why we did it. Short and easy to remember, so that’s how it came about. Nothing too complicated.”
Three studio albums [four, if you count Hollywood, not issued under The Rods] and a live album would follow, before The Rods split in 1986.
As a self-taught musician, does David feel that this is more liberating than being classically taught because you can sidestep the conventions and the rules when it comes to creating music?
“Well, I grew up in a time where my inspirations were people like Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck and Richie Blackmore,” David says. “They were blues-based players, and that’s what I consider my learning base. But really, even though they stayed within their style, they also took it above and beyond. Way beyond. And that’s what I liked about those players.
“Later on, in the Van Halen era, when all the scales and all of that technical guitar playing came into vogue, well, that’s not my style of playing. I’m not interested in that, but that’s only because I grew up with the other style. But I love listening to all that stuff.
“The Rods did some dates with Ozzy, when he had Randy Rhoads playing guitar. I can remember being backstage when Randy was warming up. He had a Marshall or something like that in his dressing room, and when he started to warm up and play, I couldn’t believe it. I just couldn’t believe that kind of sound and that kind of music was coming out of someone playing guitar. And that was just him warming up.
“What you heard him playing in Ozzy’s band, believe me, that wasn’t even the tip of the iceberg compared to what he was capable of playing. That type of playing really astounded me when I started to hear these people playing like that. But for me, it’s not something I grew up with, and to be honest with you, it’s not something I could even do, even if I wanted to. I couldn’t do it.”
In terms of the style David plays and the music he plays within the band, is he happy expressing yourself within those parameters? Are we likely to see him do a blues album or an acoustic album, or is it The Rods all the way?
“I could probably pull off a blues album,” David says, “because the blues is my style of playing. It’s easy for me to play. That style of playing comes from your heart, from within. It’s not a technical exercise, like scales and all that stuff.
“I see these young kids on the internet that are like ten and twelve years old, and they’re ripping up and down the guitar neck playing all these scales. It’s just incredible. I think they must think it’s a video game or something. Like, ‘let me see if I can learn that,’ and they actually learn it.
“But the blues isn’t like that. Playing the blues is something that comes from within a person. You could hit one note, and you can just feel that note come through. So, yeah, I could do a blues album.
“I don’t think I could ever do an acoustic album, though, because I’m terrible at playing acoustic guitar. My fingers are too short for that. I’ve played acoustic guitar on some of the albums before, but it was a struggle for me. I could do part of a song, but not a whole album.”
The Realities of Being a Musician
David ‘Rock’ Feinstein has been a musician all his life. It is a tough job. If you wondered if there was any part of being a musician that maybe the fans don’t know about, that makes him sometimes wish that he had worked in a factory instead, then the answer is “not really.”
“I’ve done a bunch of other jobs, actually,” David says. “In the early days with Elf, and the times when we were supporting Deep Purple, and back then, Deep Purple was probably the biggest band in the world, so we’re talking arenas, the feeling you get on stage when you’re playing, it’s just incredible.
“At that time, I had never had any kind of a job. Even at a young age, I would always play in a band. When I was thirteen or fourteen years old, our band would play at some high school and make five bucks. So I never really did anything else.
“When I played with Elf, there were a lot of times when I was on stage, and I really wanted to experience what the crowd was experiencing, because there’s a certain magnetism, a certain energy between the band and the crowd.
“But then, during the hiatus with The Rods, I thought, I want to try some different things. I’ve done nothing else in my life apart from being a musician. So I did some other jobs. I worked with a carpenter for a few months. I worked with a mason for a few months. I worked for the Environmental Conservation Department because I love the outdoors. I did that for a summer or two.
“So I got to experience some different things outside of music. But when it came down to it, at the end of the day, you ask yourself, What do I want to do? Do I want to be a carpenter? No. Do I want to be a mason? That doesn’t interest me. Do I want to be a conservationist? No.
“What I want to do is be a musician, and so I came back. But I’m also really glad and happy that I got to experience some different things besides music. It was good for me to do that.”
The Power of Live Shows: Onstage Chemistry and the Energy of the Crowd
With the magnetism between crowd and band, many, myself included, dream about what it’s like to do that very thing. David ‘Rock’ Feinstein has done it for real, been there, done it, got the t-shirt. How does it feel when you go out on stage with The Rods, and the lights come down, and the crowd roars?
“It feels like a drug,” Dave smiles. “I think it’s a musician’s drug, because the feeling of being on stage is what it’s all about. If it’s for an hour, or an hour and a half, or forty-five minutes, whatever your set is scheduled to be, that’s what we all live for. To play live for the audience and the fans.
“But what a lot of people don’t understand is all the work that goes into being able to do that. You’ve got the logistics of rehearsals and travel. There’s a lot of stuff that goes on before you get on that stage.
“But once you’re there, it’s like having a drug. It just makes you feel so good to be up there. You feel good doing it, and you see that the audience feels good, and it’s just a great feeling.”
No Cover Songs, No Compromise: The Rods’ Authentic Creative Approach
During COVID, quite a few acts and bands released albums of cover versions because there was not the ability to get together and create new songs. Those albums were interesting because they told you a lot about that band, their influences and where they came from.
This was never in scope for The Rods. “When you are going out, and you’re playing small bars, and you have to do cover songs, and that’s what people wanna hear, and yes, musicians are making their living doing that. And if I felt that I needed to do that to make my living, then I would probably do it.
“But for me, to spend time to learn cover songs, and do an album of cover songs, I don’t think we ever really even talked about it. In all the years we’ve been together, we never really talked about the idea of doing a whole album of cover songs.
“Which is actually a pretty interesting idea, now that you mention it, because we would fit into a category of many different bands that we could do cover material from. So, hey, you might have started something here.”
For choice of weapon, David ‘Rock’ Feinstein is Gibson all the way. “My first guitar was a Gibson,” he says. “That’s what I started with when I played in Ronnie’s band, and I’ve stuck with Gibsons ever since. The first one I played was called an ES-330, which was basically a rhythm style guitar. But then later on, when I started adapting to playing some leads, I played a Gold Top Les Paul.
“I’ve also got a couple of Melody Makers that are also Gibson guitars, and I’ve played Les Paul Juniors. So basically, I’m pretty much Gibson guitars all the way through.
“That said, a few years ago, a friend of mine gave me a Steinberger, which is actually like a Gibson, but it’s made in New York. This was an early ’80s model, and it was built like a tank. But it was also different. It was a headless guitar, which was very odd to get used to.
“But for me, it fitted perfectly, because it was small, and it sounded great. It had a great sound to it, very much like a Gibson. So in the last few years, I’ve been bringing the Steinberger with me most of the time, for a couple of reasons. One, it sounds great. Number two, it’s small, it travels easily, and three, it’s built very well, so it’s less likely to get broken.”
Looking Ahead: Will Wild Dogs Unchained Bring The Rods Back to Europe?
Will we see The Rods and the Steinberger in Europe next year? “Right now, there’s nothing booked for next year, so I don’t know,” David says. “We’re hoping that the release of this album [Wild Dogs Unchained] will spur some interest with promoters and get the fans psyched up to see us. Maybe a few of them will bug the promoters and tell them that they gotta get The Rods to play.
“In the last ten or fifteen years, we’ve done six, eight, ten shows throughout the summer, in many different countries, more than we did even when we were in our heyday, and that’s basically because of the internet.
“Until the internet came along, we never realised we had fans in all these countries. So because of that, I’m hoping that next year we can come back over to Europe and do some festivals, clubs and all points in between. Whatever there is, we’ll play it. We’re looking forward to it.”
“You Need to Stay Strong”
And all too soon, the interview was almost over. David ‘Rock’ Feinstein, for me, embodied the very spirit of being a musician, and he is a man who has every right to be proud of his journey.
“Back when I played with Ronnie, there were a lot of proud moments,” he says. “Proud to be in a band with Ronnie, with his capabilities, and the tightness that we had together as people. I’m also proud of simply being a musician, because you have to be able to take being put down, to have to take no for an answer.
“You’ve heard stories where bands like Boston tried to sell their record to a hundred and one different labels, and got turned down by all of them, until finally, one said yes. You have to be able to take rejection in this business, and if you can’t, then it’s gonna be very difficult for you, because it’s just the way it is.
“Maybe it’s different nowadays because of the internet, because now you can make your music, you can put it on the internet, and people can hear it. You can get all these followers.
“But back in the day, you were at the mercy of having a record label. You needed them, and if the labels said no, then that meant no, and you didn’t get a deal, which meant you had no record, and nobody heard your music.
“So to be a musician in this world, you need to stay strong.”
Feinstein is not there for the glory or the fame, and he is not there for the pay cheque. He’s there for the music, for the feeling, and the fans.
And when you drill right down to it, what else is there?
The Rods new album Wild Dogs Unchained is out now via Massacre Records. The album is available as limited Vinyl LP, CD Digipak, and Digital. For more details, visit save-it.cc/massacre/wild-dogs-unchained.
