Welcome to a breath of fresh air with Sandy Kaye. Hello to you, my lovely listener. I hope you’re well and enjoying your week.
I received an email the other week from a guy in New York City asking me to take a listen to some of the music he was producing there. Being one always to do what my listeners ask, I checked out Doug Kistner’s website and was quite surprised to find that the keyboardist, singer and songwriter spearheaded a supergroup recording project known as Studio Deluxe. As I kept reading, I got more excited to learn that this supergroup features former members of bands like Chicago, Steely Dan, Styx and Trans Siberian Orchestra.
It also boasts an incredible drummer by the name of Liberty DeVito, who played with Billy Joel for more than three decades. Liberty DeVito played with Paul McCartney, Stevie Nicks, Mick Jagger, Roger Daltrey, Ronnie Spector, Karen Carpenter and many, many more. In this interview, Liberty tells me how he went from being told by his grade school teacher that drums were not for him, to discovering the Beatles, to turning down Ted Nugent and to finding a great gig with the guy they call the Piano Man.
How are you? Liberty DeVito, I’m terrific. Welcome to a breath of fresh air. Life turned about for you when you watched the Ed Sullivan show on February 9, 1964, didn’t it? Tell us a little bit about that.
Well, I was in high school and I always loved music. My parents bought me a set of drums and I don’t know why. So later on in my career, after I made it with Billy, I asked my dad, why did you buy me drums? He said, because they didn’t make Prozac as when you were a kid.
So I got into the sixth grade school band and I couldn’t do the buzz roll. And the teacher said, put the sticks down, DeVito, you’ll never do anything with the drums. So I got discouraged.
Eventually got into junior high school and these other human beings are walking past me that I’m interested in. They were called girls, but I didn’t play sports in school. So when that night, when my saviors did come on the TV and I saw the Beatles for the first time, I’m looking at the audience on the Ed Sullivan show, screaming at these not that good looking guys.
And then I’m looking at my sister screaming at a black and white TV at these not that good looking guys. I go, that’s what I want to do. I want to tour the world and play music with my friends.
It wasn’t very long after that, that you actually got your first break. Actually, my first break was, I met the Vanilla Fudge, the band, the Vanilla Fudge, Carmine and Pieces and Vanilla Fudge. We’ve been dear friends since I was 16 years old.
The guitar player, Vinnie Martel, he wanted to jam with somebody because he just, he loved to play. So my band, I was in a band called the Newark Workshop. And that’s actually where I met Billy too.
I was in the Newark Workshop, Billy was in the Hassles and we played in the same club together as house bands. So I got this jam session with Vinnie and the Detroit Wheels, there was Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels. They came in looking for a new drummer, just the wheels, not Mitch.
So the guys up front said, there’s a kid in the back that’s pretty good. So I got that gig with the Detroit Wheels, which led to my gig with Mitch Ryder, which was the big break. I just turned 18 when I got with Mitch.
Just graduated high school. Yeah, I was young. What was that like? Mitch was a Detroit hitter, like a tough guy.
And I learned about time and I learned about really being a rocker. You know, like, be a strong drummer and drive the band, make people feel your bass drum. So, you know, he had those songs, Jenny Takes a Ride and Suckin’ to Me Baby and all that.
They were real rock songs. And I learned what it was to be like on the road, not like with Billy on the road. This was like traveling on a bus that had seats and you had to lay across the seats and my peacoat became my pillow.
It was a hard work. Yeah, it was. It was.
I learned how to rock out. So it was cool. That lasted for a little while.
After that, you got a gig with Richie Super. Yeah. How do you know all this? Hey, it’s my job to get you to tell me about your job.
Yeah, Richie Super. He was great. He was in a band called the Rich Kids.
Well, I was in the Newark workshop and Billy was in the hassles. He had a great show. I mean, they used to do Hey Joe.
And at the end, he would get shot at, fake blood on his chest and fall off the stage, that kind of stuff. Really, Long Island was the place to be in the 60s with the bands. Theatrics, the bands would do.
I mean, Kiss was here, the Rich Kids, the Vagrants with Leslie West. They were all in Long Island. The first time I ever was in the studio was with Richie Super.
He had a producer. He just had finished an album by this new band of studio musicians that called themselves the Atlanta Rhythm Section. So a bunch of those guys played on the record, too, with us.
So a record came out with Richie Super called Super’s Jamboree. And I heard it a couple of times on the radio. And then the record company folded.
And so it was the end of that. And I had a car accident when I was with Super. We were on the road.
I kind of had to take some time off to heal. I wasn’t going to play drums anymore. I just was going to settle down.
I wanted to get a job, a real job, you know, because music was breaking my heart because it hurt me because I had a car accident. And my friend at the time, Bobby Ray, was playing weddings. He couldn’t make it one night.
He used to ask me all the time to play. I would say, no, I’m not doing that. I’m not doing that.
One night he said, listen, I told him you’re coming. Here’s my tuxedo. Put it on.
You go down there. I really don’t have that. So I go there and I’m sitting there and the guys I’m playing with, I’m thinking my career is over.
Trumpet player turns around and looks at me and goes, the bride wants to start with a merengue. And I said, what the hell is a merengue? I didn’t know what a merengue was. It’s a rhythm, you know, Latin rhythm.
I stayed there for two and a half years playing those weddings. And I learned more than any other place I was because you have to play all different kinds of music. What was the most requested song? Color My World by Chicago.
Just what you mean to me. And now, now that you’re near, promise you’ll know that I’ve waited to share. And dreams of our moments together.
Color my world with hope of loving you. What brought that new career to an end? I got tired of it. You know, we were more and more playing music.
We were dating waitresses and going to clubs after the weddings and drinking a lot and doing stuff like that. I got kind of bored of it. So I got with this top 40 band.
They were called Blue Hair. There was just three of us. And I had a beat up 57 Chevy.
I mean, there was no air filter on it. It just sucked air when you pressed on the gas and pull up to the bass player’s house. And I said, hey, I need a gig.
And he looked at my car and he went, yeah, you do. So I got that gig. I also had a band, Topper, that we were playing original material.
And I’m now playing six nights and one afternoon. And I’m getting tired. So I leave the top 40 band and just concentrate on Topper.
Doug Stegmaier, who’s the bass player, gets the gig with Billy on the Street Life Serenade Tour, the album after Piano Man. I am the entertainer and I know just where I stand. Another serenader and another long haired band.
Today I am your champion. I may have won your hearts, but I know the game and you’ll forget my name. And I won’t be here in another year if I don’t stay on the charts.
I am the entertainer and I’ve had to pay my price. For things I did not know at first, I learned by doing twice. Ah, but still they come to haunt me.
Still they want their say. So I learned to dance with a hand in my pants, let them rub my neck, and I write them a check. And they go their merry way.
How did he score that gig? Billy’s from Hicksville. Doug’s from Syosset, Long Island. The sound man was from Syosset.
When Billy was looking for a new bass player, the sound man, Brian Ruggles, said, gotta get this guy Doug Stegmaier. He’s great. So Doug goes out, plays with Billy on that tour.
He tells Doug, I want to move back to New York. I want you to come with me. And I want to get a band that plays in the studio with me and tours with me.
I want that. And I want a New York style drummer, which means a hard hitter that is driving. Doesn’t make you eat bagels all the time.
You’re right. And Doug said, you know the guy already. And it took a little while.
But yeah, that’s how I got the gig with Billy. So we’re recording turnstiles, me, Doug and Billy. That’s it.
We’re listening back and Billy says, I think I need guitars on this. And Doug said, well, we know guitar players. That’s how we got in Russell and Howie.
So Topper became Billy’s band with the inclusion of Richie Cannata, who played sax. Good decision that he made, though, isn’t it? I can’t imagine how you’d record with one group of studio musicians and take another bunch of musicians out on the road with you for X amount of time anyway. Why wouldn’t it be just taking these studio musicians that were playing on the albums out on the road then instead of looking for a whole new band? Well, I would assume they were probably a high priced, busy and sometimes studio musicians, if they did that, when they came back, their place was taken.
They didn’t have that work anymore. So they would prefer to stay home than go on the road. Right.
Because Billy wasn’t making any money. When I started with him, we were making five hundred bucks a week. But Piano Man had already come out at that time.
Yeah, he had a cult following. Wow, I’m shocked to hear that. Yeah, we were playing colleges.
It’s nine o’clock on a Saturday, a regular crowd shuffles in. There’s an old man sitting next to me, making love to his tonic and gin. He says, son, can you play me a memory? I’m not really sure how it goes, but it’s sad and it’s sweet.
And I knew it complete when I wore a young romance clothes. La la la la la la la la la. Sing us a song, you’re the piano man, sing us a song tonight.
Well, we’re all in the mood for a melody, and you’ve got us feeling all right. How long did it take till he started making serious money? Well, Turnstiles was the next album that came out, that was the first one I played on. Then I sang about Hollywood, New York City Mind, Angry Real Men, all those great songs.
And it sold like 50,000 copies, which was enough for us to do another album. The Stranger, which was the next album, if that didn’t do anything, Billy would have been dropped from the label. So this was it, this was the last album.
Now he has a band that he loves, that loves him, that plays well together. He’s got a manager that’s his wife, Elizabeth, who’s a driving force. Even though she’s a woman in a man’s world, she’s got to be strong.
And he’s got a great road crew, you know, the lights and sound. The only thing missing is a producer. So he asks, I think George Martin comes to see us play once.
Beatles George Martin, right? And he watches the show and after the show, he goes back to Billy and he says, I want to produce you, but I want to use Studio Guys. I don’t want to use your band. And Billy steps up and says, love me, love my band.
And turns George Martin down. There are not too many artists who’ve turned down an opportunity to work with George Martin. But if the band was worried, they needn’t have been.
This is a breath of fresh air with Sandy Kaye. It’s a beautiful day. It didn’t take very long at all after Billy refused George Martin’s request until another prospective producer came knocking.
Any ideas who that might have been? No? Then I’ll let Liberty fill you in. Enter Phil Ramone. The next one to come see us play at Carnegie Hall, and it’s Phil Ramone.
And Phil loves the energy that we have. Loves it. What Phil does is teaches us how to play in the studio, but keep that same energy.
And we do the Stranger album. We make the Stranger album with Phil. And the whole team is complete.
A bottle of white Perhaps a bottle of rosé instead Get a table near the street In our all familiar place You and I face to face A bottle of red A bottle of white It all depends upon your appetite I’ll meet you anytime you want In our Italian restaurant What was that like working with him? Oh, it was fantastic. Because, you know, he brought everybody from Sinatra to Paul Simon to, you know, all his greats. And I was a little nervous going in there.
And we actually went in, me and Doug and Billy went in. At that time it was just the three of you? Yeah, with Richie. And what was Billy like to work with? I mean, I hear how loyal he was at that time to his band.
What was the whole scene like then as he’s rising on the charts and becoming more and more famous? Well, you know, it’s funny because the Turnstiles, when it came out, we did a major tour. I mean, we would go out for like 18 weeks at a time, you know, be away from our families and everybody. And we became very close.
Laugh all the time, jokes all the time. It’s like a marriage. You got five guys, six guys out there together all the time.
Yeah. So we were tight. You go into the studio to record an album and you’re just doing what you love to do with your friends.
That’s what we were doing. Nobody expected it to do what it did. Nobody.
I look back now and think, like, I would have never dreamed he’d be as big as he is. I’m sitting here doing an interview with you because I play with Billy Joel. So you’re a bunch of Italian boys.
You’ve banded together like family. How much better could it be than doing what you love to do with the people that you love at the same time? So you start to make some money then. It starts to get really big.
How did that change you? It didn’t. We were the same. We stayed the same all the time up until Billy changes all the time.
His career is 50 years, however long it is. And to have a career that long, you have to change. And sometimes you have to change people in the band, which you don’t mean to hurt them, but it’s something you have to do.
So up until the Bridge album, we were that family, that type. But things were changing. Booze was really involved, and drugs started to come in, and making money was a big deal.
So it wasn’t Billy that was really changing. It was more the band that was changing. Some passions start And they may not move Most sugar girls betray So break my heart Squeeze in, don’t shut me out Billy decided to change the band at that time, after the Bridge.
But he also changed Phil Ramone, too, and got Mick Jones from Farina to produce Stormfront. Then going out with that band was kind of weird. It started to get weird then.
And then it eventually got to the point where it was like I was the only one. I was related to the records. And everybody else was almost a stranger.
Because I was in the position that I was in, the only one that Billy would always say, I don’t care what everybody else gets, but I want to make sure that Lib is taken care of. They would be jealous of that. And they would want that top spot.
So it became really weird. You said that nobody changed as you started to make more money. What did you start spending your money on? Obviously, you bought yourself a better car.
Yeah, I did. What else did you do with the money? Well, everybody bought a house. Some of us got married.
Big mistake. You don’t get married when you’ve got a song like Just The Way You Are on an album and the women love it. That was a big mistake.
Don’t go changing To try and please me You never let me down before Don’t imagine You’re too familiar And I don’t see you anymore I would not leave you In times of trouble We never could have come this far I took the good times I’ll take the bad times I’ll take you just the way you are My mother came to Carnegie Hall when Phil Ramone was there. And we were already doing Just The Way You Are but not the way you hear it on the record, a different way. But my mother heard the song and she told me after that show, she goes, if you guys put that out, it’s going to be a gold record.
And I said, yeah, mom, if I get a gold record, you can have it. And I hung it on her wall and it became a gold record. And what about your dad? Did he finally come around and say, well done? He became my biggest fan.
It was so silly. He used to come to the front of the stage and just cheer us on. My mom used to bring a sign that she’d hang over her head and would say, mom.
But sometimes she’d put it upside down and would say, wow. What about all the kids that you’d grown up with at school and that teacher that had told you you’d never be able to make it on the drums and all the kids that had overlooked you because you wore glasses and didn’t play sport? Had their attitudes changed towards you? Oh, my God. I see them now.
They come to gigs. I played with the Lords of 52nd Street. We played the songs that we made famous.
And people come to see that band because they love the Billy Joel songs. It’s funny because the first thing I say to people when I get up to talk on the microphone in the middle of the show is like, I can’t believe you people are still into this shit. And they crack up.
But I’m very thankful that they are. So I see a lot of those people that come to the shows. Of course, they love me now.
Of course they do. When did you come out of Billy’s Band then and start up this new one? Oh, I got out of Billy’s Band in 2002. It came to blows.
It was like one of those he said, she said things where somebody said something to him that I did or said. And what should have happened was he should have come to me and said, did you say this? And I would have said no. Or I should have gone to him and said, what are you doing? What’s going on? But we didn’t do that because we’re hard-headed Long Island guys and we just said, oh, forget him.
I don’t care. It’s like that. I’d imagine you would have been caught up in a complete whirlwind of making music and touring music and promoting music and all of that too.
You probably didn’t have very much time to consider things like that. Well, no, it was quite a blow because I got the second divorce at the same time as that happened. And I knew that I could rely on making a living with Billy.
If my ex-wife got everything and I just went into anger and depression because you’re in a bubble. I mean, for 30 years, I was living in a bubble. We couldn’t do anything wrong.
You get everything for free. You walk into a restaurant. Oh, come on, come.
We got a table right here. And people lined up trying to get in. And then overnight, it doesn’t happen anymore.
I was Billy Joel’s drummer one night, and then I was Liberty DeVito again. So I had to reinvent myself. I was calling for gigs and finding out how much they actually pay on gigs.
I was like, I can’t do it for that. That’s ridiculous. You kind of had to come back down to earth a bit, huh? Oh, yeah.
Yeah. You know when they say the same people you see on the way up, be nice to them because you’re going to see them on the way down? It’s true. When you’ve got a pretty boy, you want a smart one.
When you’ve got a smart one, you want him pretty. When you’ve got one who’s all over you, you wish he’d hold back. Then when he’s being cruel, you want him to attack.
Spoiled girl, nearly spoiled girl, thinks I don’t remember herself. She’s just a spoiled girl. When you were touring with Billy, I mean, you talked about touring in the early days in single seats on buses with your coat as a pillow.
That wasn’t the way that Billy Joel’s team toured, was it? No. By the time we started to have a private plane, and we would also, say we would play Chicago, and then when you play Milwaukee or Minneapolis and places like that, you fly from Chicago to play St. Louis and fly back. So you’re in the same room that night as you were the night before.
Fly to Minneapolis, fly back, the same room. You’re based in the Ritz Carlton Hotel or Four Seasons Hotel where oatmeal is like $20. It’s a great life.
Hard not to get carried away with that and think that that’s normal. Yeah. Yeah, I thought it was normal.
That’s what we did. Billy went through a couple of hard times. We got screwed by our manager, lost all his money at one point, had to ask us for everything back.
So it wasn’t all smooth sailing. No, it was crazy. As a drummer, did you have one favourite Billy Joel song that you’d perform night after night? Well, I like to play the slower songs because you play in clubs and you play with your hands like this, and you play in arenas and your hand starts going up higher.
You play in stadiums and you’re putting your arms all the way up. Why? I don’t understand that. Well, because I feel a couple’s coming to the show, right? He’s bringing his girlfriend or his wife or something like that, filling up the tank with gas.
He’s going to take her out to dinner before he comes to the show. She eats, gets lobster, whatever she gets. They pull into the arena parking lot.
There’s money he’s got to pay to park. He pulls in, he parks, comes in, the merch table’s up there. She wants a T-shirt and a hat.
She’s still a little hungry. She wants popcorn or a hot dog, a soda. The guy’s into us already with the tickets that he had to buy for $500.
We better show him something on that stage, or he could have stayed home, got a bottle of wine, popped a cork, and listened to the records. So you have to show the crowd something. So they go, oh, my God, these guys are so good.
And that’s how Billy got most of his fans. People that loved Billy would come to the show and bring a friend that didn’t even know his music. And then the friend became a fan too.
I want to know who that guy is who’s paying for his girlfriend. I could use a man like that. So as the crowds got bigger and the stadiums got more filled with people, your hands were going higher in the air to perform more.
Yeah, like hitting cymbals like it’s going out of style and just like throwing sticks out in the crowd. It was great. It was like living the life.
Was it exhausting? Towards the end, I wouldn’t get tired playing, but after we were done, you’d wind down. If we had a tour bus, I’d get on that bus and just fall asleep immediately because you put everything into it, everything. If you search for tenderness It isn’t hard to find You can have the love you need to live If you look for truthfulness You might just as well be blind It always seems to be so hard to give Honesty is such a lonely word Everyone is so untrue Honesty is hardly ever heard But mostly what I need from you You had a bit of a fallout with Billy though in the end, didn’t you? When it came, push to shove, that was it.
The two of you stopped talking to each other. Right, right, 15 years. And doing interviews, he would say things about me and I would say things about him.
It was really bad because you get divorced from somebody that you loved and you talk bad about them. In the back of your mind, you’re going, but I love this person. Why am I talking bad about them? And that’s what it was like with Billy when I used to say things about him.
He doesn’t hit the notes anymore. He stinks. He’s drunk.
Is that what prompted you to write this autobiography? Because you released that called Liberty, Life, Billy and the Pursuit of Happiness. Was it the feud that really caused you to put pen to paper? Well, I started that by writing a family history for my children. I have four girls.
But then when I parted ways with Billy, I thought I could write the trash. I can really get back at him. And then I thought, I’m not going to write a book like that.
That’s cheap. I can’t do that. So what I did was I put myself in Billy’s shoes.
Why does he do what he does? And I understood why he does what he does. Like I said before, he changes. Every album sounds different.
He’s got to reinvent himself to keep relevant. Exactly. And so that’s what I wrote about.
This is a breath of fresh air with Sandy Kaye. It’s a beautiful day. Liberty spent weeks trying to rehab after a knee reconstruction and with so much free time on his hands, he realised it was high time that he reconciled with his old friend.
I wrote him and I said, you know, Billy, I’m really sad at the way it ended. I asked him, I said, my band, the Lords of the Sixth Street, were going to come down to Florida. I knew it was down this, wintering down in Florida.
I said, you know, maybe you want to get together for dinner or something like that? I had another child. She’s seven now. And he had two more kids.
They’re in between. So I said, let’s get together for dinner or something like that. If you’d like.
But if you don’t want to, I understand. I get it. He wrote me back immediately.
He goes, I was a little disappointed at the way it ended too. He said, I’d love to get together with you, but dinner’s out because that’s the time the girls go to bed. Now I knew he was getting normal again because he was with his daughters.
We met for breakfast the next day. It was the first time I’ve seen him in 15 years. How was it for you? It was so great.
It was so great. It was, it was like we were standing on the bridge, just talking about people we knew, people who had passed away. Never brought up the bad.
Never. It was like the troubles were the waters that were running underneath us, you know, and we were on this bridge just being friends because that’s all I really wanted. And that’s all he really wanted.
I didn’t want my gig back. I didn’t want to play with him again. And he was talking about winding it down, not doing these tours like he used to.
I mean, he goes to Australia, plays one show and goes back home. You know, we would go to Australia and play Sydney. We’d be there for two and a half months playing Sydney.
So that was out. I didn’t want the gig. I just wanted my friend again.
And that’s what we did. We just became friends again. How does he feel about you playing with the Lords of 52nd Street and playing all of his material? Is he, is he happy about that? Oh yeah, he’s really happy.
He hears about it all the time. He says, I understand you guys sound better than I do. We got this young singer.
He’s like 30-something years old, maybe 32 years old, and he can sing in the key of the records. Billy can’t anymore. So we sound more like the record than he does.
Liberty DeVito, I also want to talk to you. I mean, you’re really busy doing Lords of 52nd Street now, playing gigs all over the place, and the audience, I believe, is really growing for that. Everywhere they hear you, they’re just loving you.
And, of course, I mean, why wouldn’t they, really? You’re a rocker from way back, aren’t you? I am. But you’ve also done a mutual friend of ours by the name of Doug Kistner a big favour recently because he’s had a project called Studio Deluxe. Tell me a little bit about your involvement with Doug and about Studio Deluxe, if you don’t mind.
Dougie is the second keyboard player in the band. So he came to me one day and he goes, I’m recording this stuff. I’ve got this one song I recorded and your drumming would be perfect on it.
Would you do it? I said, yeah, sure. That led to another song, which led to another song, and he gets these amazing players to play on it. What’s his name? He’s from Chicago.
Another guy from the Steely Dan Band. It’s amazing. And it’s really kept us out front, you know, because Facebook, you post stuff on there and people are like, oh, this is so great.
Yeah. The Studio Deluxe music is awesome and, as you said, features all these great players. What’s it like for you then coming together with these artists to make this music? Making the music is different than it was back in Billy Days.
Billy Days, the whole band goes in the studio and you record the basic track and then they do overdubs on guitar. These days, Doug does his part in the studio with a drum machine and he plays the bass. Then he comes to me and he says, can you put live drums on this? And I go in the studio by myself with just his recording played to that.
Then the bass player will play to my drum track. Then he sends it to, like, the guy from Chicago or the guy from Steely Dan. Can you play the solo on this? Can you play? And that’s how songs are built now.
Never thought I’d find someone When you’ve looked everywhere under the sun I had closed the book, my story was over and done The moment I saw your face, emptiness erased I was living alone, always hoping I’d find you Not in a million years, not in a million years Out of the blue, so I finally found you Not in a million years, not in a million years Would I ever want to ever let you go? You’re really missing out on the mateship that once existed. Right, right. And you really don’t get to meet these people.
What do you think of the music that’s coming out the other end? Oh, I think it sounds great. It sounds really good. I mean, Dougie does a great job in just giving you a cue of what he would like.
And he knows the players that he wants on those tunes. Has Doug given you any insight into how he gets these big name players on? He just calls them. That’s what he says.
He says, I just call them. Like they’ve got the trumpet player from Chicago. I say, how did you do that? I just call them.
Amazing. So, I mean, it really attests to the fact that once you’re a musician, if you have an opportunity to make more music, you’re going to go for it because that’s what you love to do. Yeah, it’s crazy.
Yeah, you just call them. That’s how somebody who isn’t famous but writes songs and just wants live drums will get in contact with me, an email or on Facebook. And they go, well, what would you charge me to play on this song? And I’ll give them a ding.
And they go, okay. And then I’ll go to a studio and I’ll play on their song. As a matter of fact, there’s a guy from Australia, we just got a call, that wants us to play a version of Vienna for him.
He’s a piano player singer. Wants us to play Vienna. Now he wants to come here to do it.
So, when you say we, it’s all the lords of 42nd Street, the whole band? Yeah, me, Russell, Malcolm, Doug. Slow down, you crazy child You’re so ambitious for a juvenile But then if you’re so smart Tell me, why are you still so afraid? Where’s the fire, what’s the hurry about? You better cool it off before you burn it out You got so much to do and only so many hours in a day But you know that when the truth is told That you can get what you want or you can just get old You’re gonna kick off before you even get halfway through Ooh, when will you realize Vienna waits for you Slow down, you’re doing fine You can’t be everything you wanna be before your time Although it’s so romantic on the borderline Tonight, tonight Too bad, but it’s the life you lead You’re so ahead of yourself that you forgot what you need Though you can see when you’re wrong You know you can’t always see when you’re right You’re right You got your passion, you got your pride But don’t you know that only fools are satisfied Dream on, but don’t imagine they’ll all come true When will you realize Vienna waits for you Vienna waits for you When will you realize You’re so ahead of yourself That you forgot what you need Though you can’t always see when you’re right That you forgot what you need When will you realize Vienna waits for you And they’re younger than I am, right? They since like are in the late 30s now. And we just got signed to a label in Canada and they put out singles.
So we made an album for them and they put out a single every six weeks. And it seems to be doing well, like on Spotify and those things. So that’s happening, but it’s a totally different kind of music.
We started out, we’ve been together for a while now and we started out doing like, I don’t wanna call it rebel music, but doing songs called Greed and Truth Be Told, stuff like that about the government and all kinds of things like that. But this time we decided, let’s make the I Love You album. Let’s make the album that we wish we heard before we got married the first time, you know? So we do songs like Togetherness and Afterglow and all those kinds of like love songs.
♪ Love you take me to a state of grace ♪ ♪ You’re so hot and shy but you’re home ♪ ♪ Take your mind off of other things ♪ ♪ Don’t you worry about what tomorrow brings ♪ ♪ Be right here, here with me ♪ It’s really cool because it’s like old school R&B like Barry White and Al Green and that kind of stuff. So there’s three of us, but we bring in girl singers, horn players, strings. We really went all out for it.
Talk about reinventing yourself all over again. Oh yeah. You haven’t stopped.
You keep changing, diversifying, but above everything else though, you keep hitting those drums. You keep making music because that’s your love, right? You know, everybody said at one point, they said, well, you’ve done everything. I mean, you played on number one albums, number one singles, the songs you played on won Grammys and stuff like that.
What’s left? You know, what are you going to do now? My dream has always been, I want to be in a band that wins a Grammy. That’s not one guy’s name. Like Billy Joel won the Grammy.
We played on that Grammy record. I want to be in the band like called the Slim Kings and the Grammy goes to the Slim Kings like that. Because I’m a part of the Slim Kings.
The Beatles, Ringo was a part of the Beatles. He did Michael’s songs, but he was a part of the Beatles. You know, that’s what I want.
And before I die, I’m doing it. We’re waiting for you and we’ll be watching. Liberty DeVito, thank you so much for your time today.
What an absolute joy chatting with you and congratulations on all your successes and for sharing all the stories of the lows and all the highs. What an amazing career and life you’re living. It’s been great.
You’ve been great. All right. Thank you.
30 years with Billy Joel and countless other projects, as we’ve heard, Liberty DeVito is still going strong. He can be seen live with his Brooklyn-based rock and blues band, the Slim Kings. Heard on several Studio Deluxe songs written and produced by Doug Kistner and on songs from Paul McCartney and Dave Stewart.
Liberty has also drummed with English invasion icon Billy J. Kramer since 2005. And don’t forget his book, Liberty, Life, Billy and the Pursuit of Happiness. A tale of following and fulfilling your dreams.
A love story of a drummer and his drum and an inside look at the music and career of Billy Joel from the man who viewed it from the best seat in the house, the drum throne. Thanks for being with me today. I really hope you’ve enjoyed Liberty’s story.
Don’t forget if there’s someone you’d like to hear interviewed, just send me a message through the website, abreathoffreshair.com.au and I’ll be sure to follow up on it. Do we have a date to see each other back here again same time next week? I hope so. See you then.
Bye now. ♪ It’s a beautiful day You’ve been listening to A Breath of Fresh Air with Sandy Kay. ♪ Beautiful day ♪ Oh, baby, any day that you’re gone away ♪ It’s a beautiful day