Dana Strum

Dana Strum (born Dana Strumwasser on December 13, 1957) is an American musician who is a co-founder, bass player, and one of the two primary songwriters of the hard rock band Slaughter, an American Music Awards winner, formed in 1988. He first achieved commercial success as a member of an ex-Kiss guitarist act, Vinnie Vincent Invasion, along with his future Slaughter bandmate Mark Slaughter.

Based in Los Angeles, Strum has claimed responsibility for introducing the guitarist Randy Rhoads to Ozzy Osbourne, as well as bringing Jake E. Lee to Ozzy's solo band following Rhoads's death. Strum has worked with a number of artists and groups, playing bass, co-writing, and/or producing songs, such as The Beach Boys, Détente, Sweet Savage, Ace Frehley, Kik Tracee, Dennis Bono, Vince Neil, and Ozzy Osbourne, among others.

Early life Strum's family came from Trinidad, British West Indies. He was born in Washington, D.C. and spent his childhood in Pasadena, California. His father was a scientist working in neurobiology and a professor and researcher of psychiatry and neuroscience. Strum's mother worked on creating cling-free nylon.

Strum began playing bass guitar aged eight despite his parents' disapproval. Growing up in Los Angeles during his teenage years, his playing was influenced by rock performers such as Black Sabbath and Grand Funk Railroad. His first concert was a Black Sabbath/Captain Beyond gig in Hollywood, California. In November 1976, BadAxe recorded an album at Stronghold Studios with Strum also serving as producer. A limited number of test pressings of the album were released by Earth Breeze Productions. The following year, the band recorded the single "Cry For Me" / "All You Can Stand" at Dalton Studios in Santa Monica, CA with Strum also co-producing.

Strum left BadAxe in the summer of 1979 when he was offered the opportunity to audition for Ozzy Osbourne and become his new bass player. Osbourne was looking to form a new band following his split from Black Sabbath. Strum is credited with introducing Randy Rhoads to Osbourne at that time. According to Mancuso in an interview from 2010, the band had significant interest from well-known producers and engineers. Modern Design began working with Pasha Records, a label that at the time was releasing records for The Beach Boys and Vanilla Fudge, among others. Despite being close to securing a record deal with multiple labels, it ultimately fell through.

In January 1983, while still a member of Modern Design, Strum held auditions for Ozzy Osbourne, who was searching for a replacement guitar player following the death of Randy Rhoads in a plane crash in March 1982. Jake E. Lee, lead guitarist for the band Rough Cutt, was ultimately chosen for the position, beating out George Lynch, the former guitar player for Xciter and The Boyz.

1983–1985: Danny Spanos While working at Pasha Records, Strum along with other members of Modern Design collaborated with Danny Spanos, a former drummer turned singer, who was also recording at the studio. In late November 1983, they opened for Cheap Trick in Kiel Opera House, St. Louis, MO, and the performance was recorded live for the RKO Radio Network. The band's album Looks Like Trouble was produced by Spencer Proffer and released in 1984. Strum also contributed to the album as a writer on the tracks "Good Girl" and "Looks Like Trouble".

1985–1988: Vinnie Vincent Invasion In 1985, Strum joined former Kiss guitarist Vinnie Vincent to form Vinnie Vincent Invasion. Robert Fleishman, the ex-vocalist for Journey, was hired as their lead singer. Over the next few months, the band went through a process of auditioning drummers until the Houston-born Bobby Rock joined the band in October 1985. Vinnie Vincent Invasion signed an eight-album deal with Chrysalis Records. The video "Boys Are Gonna Rock", directed by Jeff Stein, was produced featuring Mark Slaughter as the singer over Fleischman's vocal track. The video received heavy rotation on MTV. At that time, the band's look was entirely over the top glam. Strum spent the next months touring North America with Vinnie Vincent Invasion, opening for acts such as Alice Cooper and Iron Maiden. Strum was credited as co-producer, arranger, and engineer while recording the band's albums. and the band went on a headlining club tour with a few theaters included. The single was also released as a music video.

Three months after the release of their second album, Vinnie Vincent Invasion played their final concert on August 26, 1988, in Anaheim, California, and it was officially announced that the group had disbanded. In an interview with Circus magazine in late 1988, Mark Slaughter stated that the split was amicable, saying "When we first joined the Invasion, we were told that it would be a group situation, but it gradually changed to the point where we were all sidemen. Vinnie wants to be a guitar hero, we want to be a band." Slaughter also explained that Strum was fired by Vincent, and Slaughter had the choice to stay but chose to leave the band and go with Strum.

Since 1988: Slaughter

1988–1989: Formation After leaving Vinnie Vincent Invasion in August 1988, Dana Strum shared a cramped apartment in Los Angeles with seven other struggling musicians, including his former and future bandmate Mark Slaughter. Strum revealed that despite having similar modes of thought, he and Slaughter were "two distinctly different animals". However, their differences worked to their advantage, and after securing a deal with Chrysalis Records, they wrote songs, often penning lyrics on top of Domino's Pizza boxes at 3 a.m., and held formal auditions for their new band

Guitarist Tim Kelly joined after meeting Mark Slaughter at a barbecue, while drummer Blas Elias secured his spot after impressing the two in a videotaped audition and playing live in Los Angeles.

His skills in the studio helped Slaughter create the band's unique sound with "bluesy feel", a "definite melodic bass", and a "gutsy, nasty attitude", and also achieve their goal of creating songs with an eye towards commercial success on radio and MTV, and playing concert arenas.

Strum produced the band's debut album, Stick It To Ya, alongside Mark Slaughter. It was recorded at several studios in Los Angeles, California, and was released in January 1990 on Chrysalis Records. Stick It To Ya was the first album on the label to be released exclusively on CD and cassette, with a limited number of vinyl copies distributed to select fans and media members. Prior to its release, the band conducted extensive test marketing in multiple cities, including Chicago. The album received positive reviews, with critics calling it "a smart, sassy pop-metal effort", "full of musical talent". Slaughter's first hit single, "Up All Night", directed by Michael Bay,

The cover of Stick It to Ya caused some controversy for depicting a woman bound to a carnival wheel with knives being thrown. Responding to the criticism, Strum clarified that it was not intended to be anti-women and meant to represent the "wheel of life". The band was originally planned to be featured on the wheel, but the record company opted to use a photo of Robbin Crosby's girlfriend, Lori Carr, instead.

In an interview, Strum revealed that Slaughter was "actually formed at the Record Plant in Los Angeles, rather than by going out and playing the club circuit". The album peaked at number 18 and remained on the Billboard 200 album chart for six months. Three months after its release, Stick It To Ya received a Platinum certification, indicating that it had sold over one million copies. Slaughter's single and video, Fly To The Angels, reached No.1 on MTV.

In 1990, Slaughter released a live mini-album called Stick It Live, featuring five songs from their debut release, which sold 500,000 copies and certified Gold. They also released their first long-form video, titled From The Beginning, including their first clips and behind-the-scenes footage on tour with Kiss, which ultimately, also certified Gold. In August of that year, the band participated in the MTV Celebrity Challenge at the Denver Grand Prix along with members of Mötley Crüe, Skid Row and Winger, among others, with Dana Strum finishing fifth in the race.

With Strum and the rest of the band members moving to Las Vegas, Slaughter became the first internationally recognized hard rock band based in Las Vegas, Nevada by December 1990.

In January 1991, Strum and the other members of Slaughter collectively received the American Music Award for Best New Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Artist, and their album Stick It To Ya went double Platinum.

The band was vocal about their stance on drugs from the beginning, stating in interviews that they don't do drugs and wanted to focus on making music. As a testament to this commitment, Slaughter performed a free concert outside a Taco Bell in Miami in March 1991 to raise money for the Miami Coalition for a Drug-Free Community. Dana Strum described it as the "most ridiculously fun thing" they had done as a band.

During their tour with Kiss, Slaughter received a request from Interscope Records to write a song for the movie Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, which starred Keanu Reeves. Despite their commitment to opening for Cinderella's tour, Dana Strum and Mark Slaughter wrote the song "Shout It Out" in a hotel conference room. The track went on to achieve gold status,

1992–1995: Living The Wild Life Dana Strum, along with Mark Slaughter, co-wrote and co-produced Slaughter's second studio LP, The Wild Life. The album was recorded in the same studio the band tracked their first, The Red Zone in Burbank, California, with drums recorded at Pasha Records, where Strum had previously worked and lived. Blas Elias commented to The Modern Drummer magazine, "Dana grew up there. When he was starting out as an engineer, he was sweeping floors at Pasha and working for [owner] Spencer Proffer, so he knew the studio really well and liked the sound of it. And of course, when you have a good thing, you don't want to change it."

Discussing The Wild Life in interviews, Dana Strum and Mark Slaughter inevitably mentioned classic rock giants like Queen, Boston and Journey. While Strum characterized the album as a "harder-edged record", music critics described Slaughter's second studio effort as "over-flowing with quick 'n' catchy riffs, memorable melodies, layers of vocal harmonies, and stretches of sound effects." The album featured 13 tracks, and debuted at No.8 on the Billboard album chart in April 1992, continuing the commercial success of Stick It To Ya, In an interview with Chicago Tribune, Strum emphasized that Slaughter was "the only self-produced, self-written" new American rock band at the time. He added, "When the fans hear something by Slaughter, they know it's ours." Describing the documentary, Dana Strum explained that he "wanted to show more than the usual band on the road, in the tour bus, leaving the hotel, signing autographs". In fact, all of the music on the home video, except for the finished video clips was Slaughter working on demos.

The cover art for The Wild Life was controversial, featuring a 17th-century line drawing of a man cracking a whip high over the head of a child who shields himself as he holds a guitar,

1995–1998: Fear No Evil Strum played an instrumental role in the production of Slaughter's third studio album, Fear No Evil. During the writing of the album, Strum and the rest of the band encountered several setbacks. In 1993, Guitarist Tim Kelly and the band's tour manager were arrested on six-year-old drug charges, causing uncertainty as to whether Kelly would ever tour with the band again. In July of that year, Strum's dirt bike was struck by a drunk driver within a half-mile of his house in Las Vegas, Nevada, causing 17 broken bones including his left wrist and two fingers on the left hand he plays bass with. He later admitted that if he hadn't been wearing a helmet he'd be dead. in Europe and Japan and showed the band's growth and diversity, with a mix of traditional Slaughter rockers and a more diverse musical style. According to the band, the tour was a long overdue overwhelming success even though Kelly's ongoing legal issues forced Slaughter to perform with Vince Neil's guitarist Dave Marshall, Tim Kelly's long-time friend.

The band's notorious album covers continued with Fear No Evil which featured a woman being "intimate with a snake".

At the time, Revolution showcased the band's ambition to be at the forefront of rock technology, it was one of the first albums to be an enhanced CD, allowing audiences not only to listen to the music, but also to watch it via CD-Rom. Dana Strum saw this as "the wave of the future" and believed that it was the logical next step in "the marriage of music, computers and video."

Critics noted that Revolution had a different sound from the band's previous three albums, with subdued vocals from Mark Slaughter and a range of musical styles. However, despite the album's technological innovation and experimentation with new sound, Slaughter, like many other hard-rock bands, struggled to maintain commercial success amidst the rising popularity of alternative rock music. Despite some airplay on radio stations, the album found it challenging to get support from MTV and radio play.

Despite the challenges, Slaughter continued to tour extensively in an attempt to capture the renewed interest in the hard rock music of the late 1980s and early 1990s. The band opened for Alice Cooper and Mötley Crüe singer Vince Neil on package tours.

1998–1999: Eternal Live and Rock Never Stops tour On February 5, 1998, tragedy struck when Tim Kelly, the guitarist of the band, was involved in a fatal car accident in Arizona. At the time of his death, Slaughter was in the process of compiling tracks for their planned live album for CMC International, and the album they were finishing, Eternal Live, became a tribute to Kelly.

The album, which featured live tracks recorded in late 1997 in Mexico City and Las Vegas, included some of Kelly's last moments on stage. Dana Strum and Mark Slaughter both agreed that using these recordings was the best way to honor Kelly's memory.

They rehearsed with Blando in May 1998 and continued their commitment to the Rock Never Stops tour, which began in mid-May and ran through mid-September. The tour, for which Strum came up with the name and concept, was created to showcase bands from the "hair-metal" era, with acts like Whitesnake, Vince Neil, Warrant, and Ratt. The album was the band's first joint writing effort involving all four members and featured new guitarist Jeff Blando.

Back to Reality received positive reviews from music critics and the band embarked on a supporting tour, joining Quiet Riot, Night Ranger and headliner Ted Nugent on the Rock Never Stops Tour.

The band also received increased media attention, with their new material being played on 60 American rock stations. Strum remarked that it was "five times the amount of airplay we've had in the last four years."

In 2000, Slaughter completed a successful 60-city tour with Poison, Cinderella and Dokken, and in 2001, they took part in The Voices of Metal tour with Vince Neil of Mötley Crüe, Stephen Pearcy's Ratt, and Vixen.

2002 – present Dana Strum has remained active with Slaughter in the last two decades even though they haven't released any new studio material since their album Back To Reality. The band has been touring extensively, mostly in the US, and has taken part in several tours with other classic metal and hard rock groups from the same era. In 2003, Slaughter joined headliner Whitesnake on the annual Rock Never Stops tour, sponsored by VH-1 Classic television. The band has also released DVDs, CDs, and reissued albums.

Slaughter has performed concert dates each year for the past 32 years in all 50 states and different countries. The band has performed at various venues and notable rock festivals such as Rocklahoma, Sweden Rock Festival, M3 Rock Festival, and Rokisland Fest. In 2020, the band took a break from touring due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but in early 2021, they teamed up with Kiss My Wax Records for a limited reissue of their Fear No Evil album on vinyl.

2007–present: Vince Neil band

In 2007, Dana Strum joined Vince Neil's solo band as the bass player. The decision to recruit Strum was made at Jeff Blando's suggestion, who was tasked with assembling a backing band for Neil. Although the idea was initially met with mixed feelings from the Neil's management team, they eventually agreed to the addition of Strum. The band, which includes Strum on bass, Jeff Blando on guitar and Will Hunt on drums, who later was replaced by Zoltan Chaney, has been touring and playing various venues such as casinos, theaters and music festivals ever since. The band's setlist usually includes a mix of Mötley Crüe songs, songs from Vince Neil's solo albums and some covers.

Strum also co-engineered and played bass on Vince Neil's third solo album, Tattoos & Tequila, released via Frontiers Records and Eleven Seven Music in June 2010. Recorded in the winter of 2009, the album included two new songs: "Tattoos & Tequila" that was also released as a music video, and "Another Bad Day", both produced by Marti Frederiksen (Aerosmith, Ozzy Osbourne, Def Leppard), along with classic rock songs that had influenced Vince Neil throughout his musical career. The cover songs were produced by Neil and Jack Blades (Damn Yankees, Night Ranger).

Talent scout

Randy Rhoads In 1978, Dana Strum played bass in the band BadAxe and regularly performed on the LA Club Circuit, sharing the stage with the acts such as Van Halen and Quiet Riot. During this time, he frequently watched Quiet Riot's guitar player, Randy Rhoads, perform. In an interview Strum stated that Rhoads' performances were "extraordinary." In late 1978, Strum approached Rhoads and told him that he believed there was something more out there for him. Strum contacted Rhoads frequently to persuade him to audition for a new band that Ozzy Osbourne was forming. Rhoads initially expressed disinterest. The group rehearsed for approximately one week until Jet Records abruptly sent Strum and Banali home. "He was the best guitarist I'd ever seen," Dana Strum said. "It was Randy's sound – along with Eddie Van Halen's – that changed the whole way the next generation of guitar players thought about music. The ones they tried to emulate but never could." who organized auditions for 10 guitar players who were supposed to be the best in L.A. at that time, including Jake E. Lee, lead guitarist for the band Rough Cutt, and George Lynch, the former guitar player for Xciter and the Boyz.

Although Lynch was initially selected to play on the tour, but, in fact, played only during soundchecks, Osbourne was not completely satisfied with his sound, leading him to request additional auditions. Strum arranged for Mitch Perry and Jake E. Lee to audition with him at S.I.R. studios in Los Angeles, with Lee ultimately being offered the position despite showing up late, not knowing the songs as well as he should have and refusing to do an "off-the-cuff solo" for them. Within days, Jake E. Lee joined Osbourne on tour in Europe and became the first guitarist to play on Osbourne's studio album after Randy Rhoads' passing, featuring on the 1983 album Bark At The Moon. George Lynch was reportedly upset by the decision, with Strum later recalling that Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne favored Jake E. Lee's overall vibe and style.

Style and influences Dana Strum was influenced by various musical styles throughout his life. In a 1990 interview with Circus magazine, Strum stated that he attributed the bluesy feel of much of Slaughter's music to his early exposure to R&B music during his childhood in Pasadena, California, the population of which was known to be highly mixed at the time. In a 1988 issue of Circus magazine, it was reported that, Strum used a Korean-made Arbor bass that had been modified with a Badass II bridge as part of his music equipment. Strum described the bass as a neck-through-the-body model with a maple fretboard and having a single Seymour Duncan vintage single-coil pickup wired directly into a 500K potentiometer with no tone circuit, stating that it was "a simple bass."

In addition, Strum owned two more Arbors at the time — one with a Jackson passive pickup, the other with an EMG active single coil — and a mid '70s Black Fender Precision that he used in the studio. Strum revealed that the Fender Precision still had its stock pickups, stating that it was the only bass that he had ever recorded with. He also preferred to use Dean Markley .105 gauge strings, a Sunn Coliseum preamp, two Carvin DC-900 power amps and 1330 Carvin bottoms loaded with Electro-Voice 15L speakers.

Discography

Soundtracks Dana Strum also produced and co-wrote the themes for the syndicated radio programs "Rockline" and "Powercuts".

Filmography

Music videos Year Title Band/Artist Director Ref(s) 1983 Lie To You For Your Love Danny Spanos 1986 Boyz Are Gonna Rock

Jeff Stein

That Time Of Year Nigel Dick Love Kills Nigel Dick

Up All Night

Michael Bay Fly To The Angels

Spend My Life

Shout It Out Mad About You

Real Love The Wild Life Tom Calabreze Days Gone By

1995 Searchin| 2010 Tattoos & Tequila Vince Neil| 2019 Vultures In The Sky Detente''' Josh Noyes 1990 Slaughter: Metalhead Video Magazine (Volume 2) 1991 Slaughter: MTV: Unplugged| 1991 Slaughter: Up All Night (TV series) 1992 Dana Strum: Bass Essentials. Star Licks Master Sessions (Instructional video) 1992 Slaughter: The Wild Life (Documentary) US: Gold 1997 Slaughter: Live At The Hard Rock| 1998 VH1: My Generation| 2002 VH-1: Where Are They Now (S.3.E.10) 2006 VH1 Metal Mania: Stripped Across America Live!| 2011 Rockin the Red Carpet (TV special) 2014 Quiet Riot: Well Now You're Here, There's No Way Back (Documentary) 2014 War of Rock (TV series) 2022 Randy Rhoads: Reflections of a Guitar Icon (Documentary) 2002 Mötley Crüe's Vince Neil: My Story (Documentary) Strum is often falsely credited as the guitar store clerk in the movie Wayne's World'' (1992). In 1993, in Circus magazine he affirmed: "Although I've been told there is an amazing resemblance, the guy in the movie is definitely not me. When they were filming that movie, I was submerged in the studio recording The Wild Life."