Vocalist / Producer
Paul Shortino
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FIB MUSIC: What's new? What's in the future?
Paul: Right now I am producing a girl. Her name is Alyssa Atherton....kind of like
Avril Lavigne, or Sheryl Crow. I am working with Jeff Northrup on it. We're producing it together. My wife Carmen hooked up with
this Victoria Seeger. So, we've got half a record done and we're moving on to the second half.
I am also working with a guitarist named Pete Reveen from Salty Dog....out of the 80's. We started a band called
R&S Reveen & Shortino. We're playing around here in Vegas. I am playing bass and singing. It's a lot of fun. We're
in the vibe of like Hendrix, Trower....old Robin Trower kind of stuff...Free....Bad Company. We're a trio. Sort of like
Gov't Mule....that would be the newest 3-piece band out there, that's happening.
FIB MUSIC: Who is the third member?
Paul: We've been going through different drummers. We're looking for the right
guy now, so we're playing with a bunch of drummers. We haven't really made up our mind yet. We're looking for somebody with
a name.
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Alyssa Atherton |
FIB MUSIC: Weren't you also jamming with
Ron Keel?
Paul: Yeah, I was working with
Ron Keel out here a little bit out here. Our record company is called ROCK QUARRY RECORDS....we signed the girl Alyssa....and I
signed a band called Warryor they are out of Texas....they're a trio that sounds like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden. I start
recording them at the end of July, early August. Also,
Ron Keel is coming out with a new act called K2....we signed him on our
label, but we won't go in to record with him until the end of the year.
FIB MUSIC: K2 is going to be a solo project?
Paul: I guess it's going to be KEEL...2...., but K2 is the highest mountain.
FIB MUSIC: Any Rough Cutt news?
Paul: I might be going to Europe in October and doing a Rough Cutt reunion, but we
are still waiting on the contracts for that.
FIB MUSIC: A full European tour, or just a few dates?
Paul: It will probably be about ten dates.
FIB MUSIC: Any luck it will come to the States?
Paul:
Probably not. One of the gigs is with Vince Neil and some festivals. We tried to get the Rough Cutt reunion on the
Rocklahoma thing, but it didn't work out.
FIB MUSIC: Maybe next year?
Paul: Maybe next year, if it all works out.
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FIB MUSIC: You've also become quite the Pro Tools wizard.
Paul: Oh yeah, that's what I have been focusing on the last
four or five years....just getting the engineering thing down and looking for talent to produce. There's
a time in your life where you just have to reinvent yourself.
FIB MUSIC: Even then, it still compliments your life.
Paul: Absolutely. There's a different creative aspect to that. It's a lot of fun.
FIB MUSIC: So you are producing and engineering recordings?
Paul: Yeah.
FIB MUSIC: What's your take on getting a good drum sound?
Paul: With today's technology......I mic all the drums, but I've got so many sounds
in there that can be triggered off of what somebody plays. Drum sounds aren't a problem anymore, like they used to
be in the early days. You don't even need to use what you recorded, you know what I mean? They've got so many beautiful
samples that the greatest drummers have played and the greatest engineers have captured the greatest sounds you could
ever want. It's gotten easier on that end....seeing how you used to go in to track the drums and it took all day to
get sounds.
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FIB MUSIC: Do you have any favorite programs / sounds?
Paul: I like Contact,....there's BFD, which is BIG FUCKING DRUMS. Battery....there's
just so many samples out there that you can get.....I've got so many that are in my computer. I haven't even scratched the
surface of my library. I find certain things that work and I still use regular drums, sometimes I'll just replace the
snare and the kick. I'll still use the original snare and kick and then just add another snare and kick to it. There's this program
where you can highlight the drum file, it's called Drum Replacer in Pro Tools. You highlight it and it copies all the information...you
see the wave file in there and then you have these little...almost like a dimmer, like the switch in a house. You just click on
a yellow, red, or blue and it aligns the kick with the sample kick. It actually matches the velocity of the drummer's foot. If he
hits his drum a little lighter, it will catch that velocity. If its a hard kick on the first and a light kick on the second, that's
what it will duplicate it. It's really interesting.
FIB MUSIC: How did we ever survive without it? Getting good drum sounds was such a big deal
in the studio, right?
Paul: Oh yeah it was.....I hated that. The first day in the studio was getting everything
set up and listen to drummers bang on their drums all day.
FIB MUSIC: Say a drummer hit his kick or snare lighter in a few spots, during the song. What did they do back in
the day.
Paul: They would just ride it in the mix.
FIB MUSIC: Ride the fader?
Paul: Yeah. They might even just mix the drums down and bus them over to
a stereo track, where they have the same drum sounds and energy through the whole song. So they will mix it on the two track and
the drums can be taken up or down. If the mix is solid and its just a volume thing.
FIB MUSIC: Did you guys ever punch-in the drums back then?
Paul: Oh yeah. Rolling Punch. That's another way of fixing crap up. The
drummer starts playing ahead of the part he will be recording over. We did quite a bit of it on the Quiet Riot record. Frankie
did a few rolling punches on that record I did with them.
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FIB MUSIC: I guess there is no hope of a Quiet Riot reunion, right?
Paul: I don't think so. I don't think Mr. Banali wants to do anything at this point. I know
that Sean McNabb probably would never play with Frankie.
FIB MUSIC: Why is that?
Paul: They just don't really have a good rapport with each other.
FIB MUSIC: Why not pull in Rudy Sarzo?
Paul: Rudy is playing with Ronnie James Dio. I think they all hate each other. I know
Carlos hates Frankie. I went out on the road and filled in for Kevin, a long time ago. It was in Oklahoma with Tesla, Vince Neil, Jackyl and
a few other bands. We did a few dates in Texas and Oklahoma and we were touring together for a weekend. It was so weird, Rudy, Carlos and
Frankie were all in the band and everybody would
go to a different table to eat. They did not care for each other. We'd stop to get something to eat and everyone would go to
a different table......and I'm thinking, I wonder who I'm going to sit with.
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FIB MUSIC: that's too bad.
Paul: Yeah, it's sad when people who have had so much success together can't
get along.
FIB MUSIC: How do you record vocals nowadays?
Paul: I usually go through a tube mic pre.
FIB MUSIC: Do you have a favorite?
Paul: Well I'm getting some Neve's....I'm getting some Neve modules soon and
that will make a big difference. It's really weird, I used this 414 on Alyssa and had started her out on a Neumann U 87 and it
was a little too harsh for her voice. It was picking up something and it made her voice sound real boxy. So, I put the
414 on her, which is a lot cheaper mic. It worked out great for her.
FIB MUSIC: Did you have a favorite set up back in the day?
Paul: My favorite mic was a C 12. AKG makes it...they're very expensive...they're like
ten grand, if you can find one. They reissued them, but they are not the same. That's an incredible mic. It's amazing, a couple
of the cheapest mics I've used on vocals.....there's another mic by Marshall.
FIB MUSIC: The one that kind of looks like the U 87?
Paul: Yep. Killer mic. 300 dollar mic. They make so many good mics these days. Unless
you are a vintage nut, which seems you can never really go wrong. They perfected something back then and just let it go. But there's
a lot of new stuff out there. There's a new mic called the Sputnik, which is an incredible little mic....about an eight hundred
dollar mic. It weighs about ten pounds....made really well. It's a real warm sounding mic. It's another mic I want to get....I have
these two U 87's....they sound great on my voice, but for a young girl, it just wasn't the mic for her voice.
FIB MUSIC: Are you playing on Alyssa's recording?
Paul: No. Actually Jeff Northrup has cut all the parts so far. I might redo
some bass tracks on some of the original stuff she's doing.
FIB MUSIC: Are you guys going to release it?
Paul: We're going to release it and then see if anybody picks it up. We're going
to do a video for "Hot Child in the City" and see what happens.
FIB MUSIC: Were you signing bands in L.A. like you are in Las Vegas?
Paul: No. I wasn't doing it like I'm doing it here. The music scene is hurting here, but
there are a lot of people here that are wanting to record.
FIB MUSIC: Why did you relocate to Las Vegas?
Paul: Well, the real estate in California and all over the country was in such a slump, so I decided to
get rid of our home and my wife's grandmother left her a home, so we moved here.
FIB MUSIC: And you've been in Los Angeles since the seventies, right?
Paul: Oh yeah. It's a nice change. I still have my mom and son in L.A., but it's
not that far, it's only a four hour drive.
FIB MUSIC: I just got through
living in La Jolla for the past couple of years.
Paul: Oh it's beautiful there;
La Jolla is such a sweet place. Everybody from
Rough Cutt....pretty much everybody, except me and the drummer, were from
San Diego.
FIB MUSIC: Yeah, even Craig Goldy was from
San Diego....and I think just about all the guys in Ratt.
Paul: Oh yeah....yeah....everybody in Rough Cutt was in Ratt, at one time.
FIB MUSIC: Anything else to promote?
Paul: Nothing really. I have this record that I started with Ira Black and
Patrick Johansson. It's a heavy metal record. We did a remake of "Sunshine of Your Love"...I'm still trying to finish that
and get it out, that's a two year old project. But I'm really trying to push Alyssa now....you're going to trip when you hear her. My
wife just sent over a picture and a song....it should be in your email......but that's about it for now. It's been a
pleasure rapping with you my brother.
FIB MUSIC: Shit, we've just begun my friend. I still have to grill you on your career, but if you are burned out, let
me know, or we can reschedule.
Paul: Oh, no, no. Cool, let's go.
FIB MUSIC: Generally, my interviews focus on your history. It's pretty in depth, so anytime you feel you've had enough, just say
something.
Paul: No, no, no, it's all good.
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