Guy musta changed a lot. I met the band back in 88. Hung out with them in bar after a show. All the guys were cool except Tramp. If you didn’t have tits he wouldn’t even acknowledge you were speaking to him.
@@novumdomine9925 yeah. He wasn't into dudes like all the cool people are now...joke man. Same here. I met John Bon Jovi at Ziggys after a show in '89 just before Firehouse released their debut album, he was just scoping out the women
I wore out Pride. I listened to the cassette over and over and over for an entire summer. The whole album is straight fire! Wait. Lady of the Valley. Tell me. Don't Give Up. Hungry. When the Children Cry. Great effing album!!! Big Game was great, too. Little Fighter is one of the best songs of the 80's.
No doubt about it! You start out in a glam(hair) band in the 80s, and you go on to play with Megadeth and Zakk Wylde! I mean by the mid-90s if you were ever a member of an 80s "Hair Metal" band nobody would have anything to do with you but his musicianship clearly stood out from the crowd! What a resume he has - White Lion(1984-91) Pride & Glory(1991-94) Slash's Snakepit(1995) Black Label Society(2004-05) Megadeth(2006-10) Lynch Mob(2010) Dio Disciples(2011-12)
@@Axe_Slinger Damn right...!! I'm a big David Ellefson fan, but I was able to catch Megadeth @Merriweather, some years back, and Lomenzo was playing w/them. He laid down a heavy anchor for Mustaine THAT night !! (And that beard he sported then, went a long way toward him LOOKING "the part" too...🤘)
@@Axe_Slinger One of my favorite bassists ever since he pulled up to the front to hold his own in pride and glory power trio - he's only gotten better. Saw him once live with BLS too and I was pissed I missed P&G when they came to town. I found out like a few months after they were there.
White Lion has to be the most underrated band in the 80's. The musicality of the band, great songs and Vitto...what a guitar player. Love White Lion even now.
I don't really listen to FFDP. Wasn't a huge fan of hair metal / pop metal. Vito was pretty good for the time. But FFDP's new guitarist Andy James? A monster of a player. * If it comes to it, it really dosen't matter if anyone asked anyone else. If it depended on that, there'd be almost no discussions on YT at all. th-cam.com/video/xGsSzTmvcaQ/w-d-xo.html
Mane Attraction was a critically underrated album. Also a side note , James the bassist went on to join Zakk Wylde in Pride & Glory and Black Label Society.
They were. Mike Tramp said that an accountant didn't file taxes one year. He got a letter in the mail, shortly after their split, saying he owed like several million in back taxes. Said Vito got the same thing. The IRS put a lien on all of his royalties for like 25 years.
@@UnblockedOne2 good grief! I remember reading that kiss tried to hide money in various "tax shelters" in the 80s, but later on in the 90s new people at the irs were investigating them; kiss owed millions in back taxes at one point...
@@lemmymotorhead4429 It came up in an interview where they asked Mike if he preferred performing solo or in a band. He said he was broke & only got a band together when he could afford to & he preferred a full band. He added, his manager called him one day saying there was a check there for him. Said it was the 1st check in 25 years, because of the garnishment. He's now being paid again for the old White Lion days.
Not sure what everyone is talking about .... These guys being a "glam band" and such.... Have you ever listened to any of their other stuff?......(besides the song wait?......especially their older stuff..... They had a different style...... They didn't sing about just chicks either..... They sang about social stuff too... Like war. Vito was a total underrated guitar player.... Sure he did some stuff like EVH but he had his own style... His solos were amazing ..... They were memorable, they were melodic and they stuck in your head. James Lorenzo was a great bass player too....way better than your run of the mill glam band....
My favorite album is "Main Attraction" by far! It has it all: melody, heavy riffs, cool lyrics and an amazing production! And Vito's playing is AMAZING!!
Shout out to all the great Italian Rock guitarists: Vito Bratta, Warren DiMartini, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Frank and Dweezil Zappa, Richie Sambora, John Petrucci, Mark Tremonti, Tony Iommi, Neal Schon...
@@goodfella2400 though as a 🎸 geek myself 😆 he produced some catchy riffs. He was no dimebag nor was dimebag an eddie nor was eddie a hendrix and so on and so on. I have used bits and pieces from player's I hear to expand my playing horizon. At the end of the day it's all good
When the Children Cry, is an iconic song. But we're going to have to accept the fact that, record labels changing over to the Seattle sound. Killed a lot of great musicians careers.
Was a dumb move, too, although it seems the industry has learned the lessons. Music doesn't have to be just one sound at one time, nowadays everything can be in the same market together. But back then, there could only be one rock sound, so once the industry decided it was grunge, it was over. And then it was over for grunge shortly after that, because rap metal is money!
@@adaher I dont buy into this storyline as much anymore. Hair metal killed itself. Way too many subpar glam acts kept coming out and watering down everything. Rap was big in the 80s, so was new wave pop, country, punk...glam shouldn't have become a genre where anyone could play. And also the fucking ballads. Generic shit to cash over time. It became a fade instead of an actual corner stone genre that evolved. All that 90s crap is just as generic as the cookie cutter glam bands. I blame artists just as much as record companies for being that big of homers to try and make it rich off a genre theyre only subpar at. Alternative music of the 90s has some of the most 1 hit wonders ive ever seen. I just think glam shot itself in the foot.
Oh yeah, it definitely sowed the seeds of its own demise, but it's not like the fan base went away. It just became homeless. Nowadays labels know to cash in on that rather than having those fans just keep on buying the old albums over and over, which was the old model of cashing in.
The record industry committed suicide. They seem to forget that people over the age of 19 buy music. Always looking for the next new thing while discarding the old thing. I love new music too but now, the only people on earth who would pay for music are the older fans, and the industry ignored them. They catered to an audience who wont pay for anything that can be ripped from the internet. Radio is dying too. The only way the industry makes money now is by touring. And an act can only be in one place at a time. Nothing compared to the days of dozens of artists with double platinum albums. In addition to a sold out tour
@@littlekingtrashmouth9219 lol. It's a shame that Paul Gilbert is an all-time great rock guitarists and all people know of him is a ballad with almost no backing music.
Completely agree, one of the rare to really master and do something original with tapping after Eddie. The Wait solo is one of the best of the 80's. Really sad that he left music.
Vitto had the most melodic and tasteful solos I've ever heard. Just jaw dropping beautiful, and technically tight as hell. What a genius. Such an understanding of peicing together melodies and notes that melt as fluid together gorgeously...what an artist. Surprisingly, alot of geniuses sometime shy away from the spotlight...he deserves this recognition. The solo of "wait" is pure genius... The lady of the valley is phenomenal. Little fighter is awesome too. But I've never heard a more beautiful song than "When the children cry." His solos just sing incredibly by themselves but fit in so effortlessly snug into each song. A rare Artist indeed. The real kind...
White Lion's "Broken Heart" - both the original on their debut and the remake on *Mane Attraction* - is great and so is their scorching cover of the Golden Earring classic "Radar Love."
Most of these “what happened to” bands continued on. It was fans jumping ship that was the issue. MTV would play something and people would just follow it.
Chris F “Typical musicians”? I don’t think so. Sure there’s lots of lazy musicians riding someone else’s coattails to the bank, but they’re few compared to all the hard working musicians in the world giving everything they have for a little recognition. What I think you meant is “stereotypical musicians, lol.
@Chris F • Yes, as have I. But you can’t judge the entire collective of a group because one part attracts all the lazy minded musicians, that’s why the people you’re talking about are your stereotypical musicians, wannabe rocks stars who won’t get a job. Lazy wannabe rock stars are only a small part of the collective that makes up the group of hardworking musicians, I understand the point you’re making but you can’t throw everyone under the tour (lol) bus because rock musicians have a bad reputation. That’s all I’m pointing out, “typical musician” means us all, “stereotypical musicians” means the specific group you’re referring to.
@Chris F • It’s all good, you’re right; I should probably lighten up with the grammar lessons. I hear Ya mate, I’ve got a garage full of gear that I bought for some friends (who I thought were friends) on credit (because they already ruined theirs) and didn’t pay for the stuff after they quit the band. Obviously it’s my fault, I knew better than to trust them but for the good of the band and keeping the ‘dream’ alive I did it anyway. Now I have a garage that I completely converted into a jam space full of gear and nobody to jam with because all my friends are mad at me because they ripped me off and I collected all the gear when they didn’t pay their monthly bill. So I know the exact kind of musician you’re talking about, lol.
Vito Bratta needs to come back. Even if it's just in uploading a video on TH-cam once a week of him just noodling on guitar in his house. That would be enough to satisfy us.
I always wondered about him wearing sunglasses every time I saw him and thought "pothead"? (which might explain why he never does anything these days. Apparently not though
@@JoeR203 I found it before. I found it by tracking down one of his immediate relatives' FB. He has several family members on FB. If I find it, I may link it here.
@@UnblockedOne2 I've always wanted to track him down to see if he'll give me a lesson. My biggest inspiration. Bet there's a few thousand others who share the sentiment though
Good job! One of the most forgotten bands in history. Vito was/is (?) one of the greatest players of all time. People recognize him for his EVH style. But he had hints of Randy Rhoads and many others in his playing. I love me some Vito guitar work.
Vito Bratta created tapping phrases that were unique from Van Halen. I’d argue Vito (and Nuno Bettencourt) added the most originality to tapping, post Eddie Van Halen & Randy Rhoads.
Vito is one of my lifelong heroes. His style was so unconventionally melodic. He may have started with Eddie's technique, but he took it placed Eddie either couldn't or wouldn't go. His work on Little Fighter in particular never fails to bring a smile to my face.
@@curbowman See, I'm too dense to notice stuff like that, but I did notice how he would basically play lead throughout an entire song with only short moments of power chords, mainly at intros and at the beginning of choruses.
Living in Brooklyn , I saw them at L'Amour at least 5 times. I was into more HEAVY METAL like MOTORHEAD, METALLICA, BIOHAZARD, ANTHRAX, OVERKILL, AC/DC, but when WHITE LION played at L'Amour, the place was PACKED to the BRIM with SUPER HOT ROCK CHICKS, so we all went to the shows. WHITE LION on the RECORD and their LIVE SHOW were 2 different things. LIVE , the band was well practiced and REAL GOOD. So overall, we were not disappointed to have a GREAT TIME, plus Vito was a KICK ASS Guitarist to watch live, and easily recognized as HIGHLY SKILLED,
rediscovered is not the word for it completely changing your genre to sell pop records to little girls for the money is pathetic I cant call them what they turned into due to youtubes community guidlines, but another name for a cat for a cat comes to mind they are a bunch of them
@@buzzedalldrink9131 I was referring to mainly Def Leppard releasing Euphoria and continuing to embrace the side of their music that fans wanted. The horrible albums during the grunge era could have easily destroy the band, but they fought through it.
@@bstar777777 sorry they sold out jumped the shark whatever you want to call it Im old enough to remember when the first two albums - yes albums- came out they were hungry and they rocked after that forget about it
Little Fighter, Broken Heart, Love Don't Come Easy, You're All I Need, Till Death Do U Part and When The Children Cry.. Those are my favorites from White Lion..
This band was a lot better than many of the “hair bands “ they are lumped in with. It’s just too bad they didn’t really have that connection. bands need to survive the tough times. They made their money then it all fell apart. They had Plenty of good tunes the casual listener never bothered to listen to.
Yeah, Lady of the Valley is a great song, ahead of its time, nowadays melodic metal bands do that kind of song on nearly every album. White Lion came more out of that European tradition of songwriting where song construction and melody are more important, whereas American bands come from a tradition of groove and attitude and turning clever phrases within the lyrics. So White Lion really stood out, much like Europe did.
Mike tried to keep the hair band era alive, but the record label betrayal we've all heard about was quite literal. Mike put together a band, called his connections in the industry. He said as soon as they mentioned they were White Lion they would hang up on him.
James Lomenzo (bass-White Lion) did the graphics on my old bands last album and Steve Jones (guitar-Sex Pistols) played on it..."The Nothings-Lovely"...we had like a Sex lion/White Pistol combo !
Their 80s stuff is awesome but their 1991 album "Mane Attraction" is great as well and full of hits. "You're all I need", "Love don't come easy", "Out with the Boys", "It's over" "Till Death do us part" or "Farewell to you" are brilliant songs.
Wow. Such an awesome band from the 80's. Never knew the behind the scenes troubles they were going through, till now. I guess it was the same for a lot of those bands trying to make themselves known. There was a lot of competition in the 80's.
Mike did a couple of acoustic shows near me. I went and saw him twice. He's an incredibly nice man. Unfortunately, there weren't many people at the shows, but he took the time to talk, take pictures, and sign autographs. It was obvious he was at peace with how things turned with the band and he was now legitimately enjoying life. He was saying he lives part time in Malaysia where "Til Death Do Us Part" is a popular wedding song and he makes a killing performing it at receptions.
Glad people are digging this video. Have a request for future topics? Fill out our google form! Correction: I had dates of appetite and pride wrong they were released a month apart docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScCQjTcPGrzUbG7H7t4toQehliwBS_Fcp78JeY_js4zZbX2jA/viewform
How about a video on the band CONTRABAND ? Tracii Guns (LA GUNS) SHARE PEDERSON (VIXEN) were in it for a album w/2 other members. Had a minor hit song in late 80's
Back in the early 90s I went to see them at a place called L'Amour in Brooklyn, New York. There was a bar there and Vito was drinking it up. I said what's up to him and he waved and that was it. I saw Yngwie there on another night. Great memories!
I had seen White Lion and Stryper in concert, it was GREAT!! Most of the "gang" I hung around in high school, were more into Metallica, Megadeth and Anthrax. It was kinda like White Lion was my go to and be relaxed band.
Mike Tramp still tours as an acoustic artist. I opened for him many times. He still is great and can sing and play guitar very well. This is what he grew up on and it shows. Great performer and singer/song writer. Nice fucking guy too.
My favorites from the band are “Lady of the Valley,” “Broken Heart,” “Little Fighter,” and their cover of “Radar Love.” And plenty of others, but those stand out to me.
Mike Tramp sure was a cute looking Dane. I will always credit “When the children cry” with being the one song that comforted me in 1989. Great album! I actually had that poster of Vito Bratto and Mike Tramp on my wall White Lion wasn’t a real band, in the sense that there wasn’t camaraderie and was more of a label band
I'd argue more of a Mike Tramp band. Most bands from that era got together to play clubs and have good times and some made it big. Tramp was chasing commercial success from the moment he started making music and has continued to try to adjust his sound to the times ever since.
Yeah, they were both too much in one direction, Tramp with the single minded focus on commercial success and Bratta just not caring. It was bad chemistry. They were certainly no Bon Jovi/Sambora or Meine/Schenker. The tension has to be positive for the art and it just wasn't. Bon Jovi and the Scorpions have lasted forever because they were able to find balance between the desire to make hits and the art. In White Lion, one guy wanted hits and the other guy, I'm not really sure why he even joined the band in the first place.
I remember finding the cassette of Pride in '87 hidden in the dishwasher with my Easter basket. Now I have the Rock Candy records remastered and reloaded Pride CD. Epic audio experience!
Mike Tramp went on to form Freak of Nature, their first album is a real hidden gem. The second is pretty good too. Well worth looking them up if you’re a White Lion fan
I absolutely love Freak of Nature, great albums and the musicianship on those albums is so great, I have the 2 albums on CD and I also bought the “3rd album,” which were more songs that didn’t make it onto the 2 first 2 albums and a few songs from their first albums but in acoustic versions, pretty solid, but not on par with the first album or the second album...
@Eddie V I feel for you. Ive never seen any of those guys but not really a fan. A lot of people didnt like White Lion because they werent considered heavy enough. But they were a good live band and it was loud and sounded a lot like rock music to me.
I think on that Eddie Trunk interview, Vito talks about how when he met Eddie Van Halen a fan came up to him, while he was with Ed, and after a while it appeared this fan got the pair mixed up and thought Vito was Eddie. Eddie went along with it... quite a funny story. I thought with Ed passing we'd have heard something from Vito about it but as far as I know, he's not popped up anywhere to comment.
Look up White Lion: Escape from Brooklyn. There's a scene where a fan comes up to Vito, askes for an autograph and then realizes Vito is not Eddie Van Halen. That might be what you're remembering. Vito was sitting outside and told the fan that Eddie was in the building.
White Lion, has always been one of my favorite 80s bands. Whenever I listen to them, it brings back great memories. Awesome video! Thank you so much sharing it. Be well and stay safe. ❤
These guys musicianship was above and beyond most of their peers, thanks mostly to Vito. They wrote some really great music, this video makes me very sad and nostalgic.
Two reasons: 1) Atlantic was terrible at promoting their acts. Vito said they basically had to promote each record like it was their first. 2) Vito damaged his arm by playing for like 12 hours a day. As far as I know, he's never fully recovered from that injury. And the injury wasn't recent, it's been almost 30 years since it happened.
Yeah I was born in 1969, so hair bands were part of my era, and White Lion was at the bottom of the barrel of all of those groups musically. I thought this video was a joke! lol
to me two major things held this band back from even being bigger than what they were. 1) TIMING. if Pride had been recorded and released in late 85 or by early 86, that would have given them more time to ride the wave of popularity that this type of music was enjoying. (or if "wait" hadn't taken 7 months to break open), 2) Mike Tramp. yes, he had the pretty boy blonde looks and hair. But he was a marginal singer at best, and his melody writing was suspect. The music that Vito provided was flat out incredible and his guitar playing was literally top 5 of the 80's. Look at the comments below......look at how many people are praising Vito. I had many friends that forced themselves to listen at least a little to this band because of the music and Vito's playing, but they could not truly get into them or stick around on them because of Tramp's voice and melodies. He may be the greatest guy in the world and he may be telling the truth that he was "the engine that drove Vito".......but Vito was the reason that most people listened to that band.....and in some cases, he was the only reason some people did.
White lion were talented and sounded good but , their "safe " sound couldn't compete with the dangerous sound and wreckless attitudes of Guns and Roses .
how anyone can stay objective and appreciate GNR after having sweet child o mine or paradise city shoved in their ears for 30 years straight is beyond me.. LOL
Absolutely loved and wore out my Pride cassette. Wait was such a beautiful yet emotional song for me personally, my song to my late husband whom passed just before this hit. But one of my all time favorite song and still relevant today was When the children cry 💗🕊️
You should listen to Eddie Trunk, he would tell you what l will tell you...it's NOT HAIR METAL!!!! it's 80's rock/metal. .it was a generation of music and time, Nirvana isn't referred to as Flanel shirt music? Or flat depressing music..come on people, stop condemning 80's rock and identifying it with Hair ,,it had some of the best music in history!!!!
Speaking from personal experience, there is always something that comes in and destroys a great band that doesn't have a good enough connection (and understanding) between band-mates. Something ends up throwing it all out of balance: Money, significant others or relationships/breakups, substances, and manipulators. One, or a combination, of those often wreck a band who isn't a strong enough team. For one of the BEST bands I was in (a 3-piece), it was manipulators convincing the bass player that he didn't need our band (or myself and the drummer) because we were holding him back (despite having MANY gigs lined up steadily and growing in popularity). We nearly got signed by 2 labels. But, the band had broken up because of the manipulators. The new band the bass player dumped us for fell flat and he enlisted in the Army. Today, he's a devout religious cult member. Go figure!
yeah whole thing seems plagiarised from Mike Tramp interviews. Might be easier of course if Vito had a mouth but James is pretty approachable and Greg pops up every now and again
Seen Mike Tramp last night in Memphis. Such a sweet guy. He even played pool with my GF. They were playing White Lion songs. Great show
I opened for Mike Tramp in Seattle a few years ago. He was an incredibly nice guy and shared a lot of open and honest stories with the crowd.
Guy musta changed a lot. I met the band back in 88. Hung out with them in bar after a show. All the guys were cool except Tramp. If you didn’t have tits he wouldn’t even acknowledge you were speaking to him.
@@novumdomine9925 yeah. He wasn't into dudes like all the cool people are now...joke man. Same here. I met John Bon Jovi at Ziggys after a show in '89 just before Firehouse released their debut album, he was just scoping out the women
You a blessed dude
Talented band. Their cover of Golden Earring's "Radar Love" is one of the best covers you will ever hear.
Oh yes I heard the WL cover before the original GE version. I thought it was incredible the first time I heard it!
@@kensurrency2564 indeed
Yeah man
I'd argue it's THE best cover you will ever hear! 🤘✌️
(and the music video is pretty cool, too)
Best song they ever did...thanks Vito
"It's Over" and "Blue Monday" are brilliant tracks.
I wore out Pride. I listened to the cassette over and over and over for an entire summer. The whole album is straight fire! Wait. Lady of the Valley. Tell me. Don't Give Up. Hungry. When the Children Cry. Great effing album!!!
Big Game was great, too. Little Fighter is one of the best songs of the 80's.
Lady of the Valley is epic!
Lady of the Valley is epic!
Same!!!!
@@brianjones4953 fuck yeah man! My kind of time (h) !
Hungry 👌🏽
Vito Bratta brought tapping to a whole new level with “Wait.” It’s hard to find new ground in tapping post Van Halen, but Vito was one of the few.
Vito created tapping phrases that were unique from Van Halen. I’d argue Vito and Nuno added the most originality to tapping, post VH/Rhoads.
Eddie learned it from Brian May.
@Hebrews 4:10 Judas Priest didn’t tap much. Randy did a little but not elaborately like Vito.
Great comment !
Agreed on Vito and Nuno, just don't leave out Reb Beach.
Can't believe you didn't mention James LoMenzo on bass; amazing musician
And a nice & funny guy too !
No doubt about it! You start out in a glam(hair) band in the 80s, and you go on to play with Megadeth and Zakk Wylde! I mean by the mid-90s if you were ever a member of an 80s "Hair Metal" band nobody would have anything to do with you but his musicianship clearly stood out from the crowd!
What a resume he has -
White Lion(1984-91)
Pride & Glory(1991-94)
Slash's Snakepit(1995)
Black Label Society(2004-05)
Megadeth(2006-10)
Lynch Mob(2010)
Dio Disciples(2011-12)
@@Axe_Slinger Damn right...!!
I'm a big David Ellefson fan, but I was able to catch Megadeth @Merriweather, some years back, and Lomenzo was playing w/them. He laid down a heavy anchor for Mustaine THAT night !!
(And that beard he sported then, went a long way toward him LOOKING "the part" too...🤘)
@@Axe_Slinger One of my favorite bassists ever since he pulled up to the front to hold his own in pride and glory power trio - he's only gotten better. Saw him once live with BLS too and I was pissed I missed P&G when they came to town. I found out like a few months after they were there.
@@Axe_Slinger Several years with David Lee Roth .
White Lion has to be the most underrated band in the 80's. The musicality of the band, great songs and Vitto...what a guitar player. Love White Lion even now.
Agreed!!
I don't know about underrated. White Lion was huge in the late 80's and you can still hear "Wait" over the air on every rock station today.
Before it was a name of a car brand, Tesla was one of my favorites from that era.
Same.
Are you serious? They sucked. PMSL
Still better than Five Finger Death Punch if you ask me and I’m not joking.
@trent adam truth!
I don't care for either of them.
@Chris Mizuno
That's ok...I don't need your blessing.
Have a great weekend.
I don't really listen to FFDP. Wasn't a huge fan of hair metal / pop metal. Vito was pretty good for the time. But FFDP's new guitarist Andy James? A monster of a player.
* If it comes to it, it really dosen't matter if anyone asked anyone else. If it depended on that, there'd be almost no discussions on YT at all.
th-cam.com/video/xGsSzTmvcaQ/w-d-xo.html
@Chris Mizuno Lol u like FFDP
Mane Attraction was a critically underrated album. Also a side note , James the bassist went on to join Zakk Wylde in Pride & Glory and Black Label Society.
And played with Megadeth too !!
My favorite album of them
Mane Attraction is awesome!
David Lee Roth and the Amazing Race as well
@@philipholmes5884 bro what?
Wow, millionaires that quick, 1987 was a magic year for music.
Man oh man it was...😎
They were. Mike Tramp said that an accountant didn't file taxes one year. He got a letter in the mail, shortly after their split, saying he owed like several million in back taxes. Said Vito got the same thing. The IRS put a lien on all of his royalties for like 25 years.
@@UnblockedOne2 good grief! I remember reading that kiss tried to hide money in various "tax shelters" in the 80s, but later on in the 90s new people at the irs were investigating them; kiss owed millions in back taxes at one point...
@@lemmymotorhead4429 It came up in an interview where they asked Mike if he preferred performing solo or in a band. He said he was broke & only got a band together when he could afford to & he preferred a full band.
He added, his manager called him one day saying there was a check there for him. Said it was the 1st check in 25 years, because of the garnishment. He's now being paid again for the old White Lion days.
@@UnblockedOne2 I guess he doesn't have to "wait" any longer...
Hahahahahaha...."Tell him Sebastian Bach is here." PRICELESS!!!
These guys had ALL the girls after them..What gets forgotten is that they were a damn good band. Just listen to 'em !
Not sure what everyone is talking about .... These guys being a "glam band" and such.... Have you ever listened to any of their other stuff?......(besides the song wait?......especially their older stuff..... They had a different style...... They didn't sing about just chicks either..... They sang about social stuff too... Like war. Vito was a total underrated guitar player.... Sure he did some stuff like EVH but he had his own style... His solos were amazing ..... They were memorable, they were melodic and they stuck in your head. James Lorenzo was a great bass player too....way better than your run of the mill glam band....
My favorite album is "Main Attraction" by far! It has it all: melody, heavy riffs, cool lyrics and an amazing production!
And Vito's playing is AMAZING!!
why...do...you...type...like...that...?
@@SombraPiloto I ......have.....a..... stutterrrrrrrrrrr.........
Vito was a huge influence growing up. His licks between rythm lines were legendary. Alot like Adrian Vandenburg.
@@sarcasmoassholio2801 Im right there with ya..... Ive incorporated a lot of his ideas and styles into my own playing. Rock on man! 👍
Shout out to all the great Italian Rock guitarists: Vito Bratta, Warren DiMartini, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Frank and Dweezil Zappa, Richie Sambora, John Petrucci, Mark Tremonti, Tony Iommi, Neal Schon...
White Snake, White Lion, Great White: it's a white out.
it was a time when being "white" was alright, but times have changed.
And they all suck !
@@samorozco2002 yep.....the "black" album came out and life changed forever lol
We need to go back and retroactively change all the those names because it’s so racist 🤦🏼♀️🙄😄
@@samorozco2002 being white is still alright
Their cover of Radar Love was the shit.
Still is!
Yes, it is a GREAT cover.
It was better than the original.
They killed it !!
Is this sarcastic or serious comment 😅
Vito Bratta was an incredibly underrated guitarist.
Everyone loves him, what are you talking about?
@@MadDawgMadDawg come on, the average rock fan on the street has never heard of him. Only guitar geeks.
@@goodfella2400 though as a 🎸 geek myself 😆 he produced some catchy riffs. He was no dimebag nor was dimebag an eddie nor was eddie a hendrix and so on and so on. I have used bits and pieces from player's I hear to expand my playing horizon. At the end of the day it's all good
White Lion IN CONCERT :
Come for the eye-candy (Mike)
STAY for the killer legato-stylings of Vito !!
@@timothya2742 I hear you, though don’t think of guitar playing as a competition. But to say “EVH was no Hendrix” is quite a stretch IMHO.
Tell Me is one of my favourite songs of all time.
You have great taste
@@MadDawgMadDawg Indeed she does.
Yes !
WOOOOOOOOO OOO WOO OO OO! :D !
When the Children Cry, is an iconic song. But we're going to have to accept the fact that, record labels changing over to the Seattle sound. Killed a lot of great musicians careers.
Was a dumb move, too, although it seems the industry has learned the lessons. Music doesn't have to be just one sound at one time, nowadays everything can be in the same market together. But back then, there could only be one rock sound, so once the industry decided it was grunge, it was over. And then it was over for grunge shortly after that, because rap metal is money!
@@adaher I dont buy into this storyline as much anymore. Hair metal killed itself. Way too many subpar glam acts kept coming out and watering down everything. Rap was big in the 80s, so was new wave pop, country, punk...glam shouldn't have become a genre where anyone could play. And also the fucking ballads. Generic shit to cash over time. It became a fade instead of an actual corner stone genre that evolved.
All that 90s crap is just as generic as the cookie cutter glam bands. I blame artists just as much as record companies for being that big of homers to try and make it rich off a genre theyre only subpar at. Alternative music of the 90s has some of the most 1 hit wonders ive ever seen.
I just think glam shot itself in the foot.
Oh yeah, it definitely sowed the seeds of its own demise, but it's not like the fan base went away. It just became homeless. Nowadays labels know to cash in on that rather than having those fans just keep on buying the old albums over and over, which was the old model of cashing in.
The record industry committed suicide. They seem to forget that people over the age of 19 buy music. Always looking for the next new thing while discarding the old thing. I love new music too but now, the only people on earth who would pay for music are the older fans, and the industry ignored them. They catered to an audience who wont pay for anything that can be ripped from the internet. Radio is dying too. The only way the industry makes money now is by touring. And an act can only be in one place at a time. Nothing compared to the days of dozens of artists with double platinum albums. In addition to a sold out tour
@@littlekingtrashmouth9219 lol. It's a shame that Paul Gilbert is an all-time great rock guitarists and all people know of him is a ballad with almost no backing music.
Vito Bratta is / was one of the greatest guitarists of my generation.
Completely agree, one of the rare to really master and do something original with tapping after Eddie. The Wait solo is one of the best of the 80's. Really sad that he left music.
Of any generation
He lived 2 blocks away from me in Staten Island. I went to school with one of his younger relatives. Can't remember if it was a brother or cousin.
Amen
@@laurentfargues8113 he had n has wrist n hand medical conditions
WAIT....WAIT... I never had a chance to love you 🥺
I’ll wait
:P !
Unbelievable song. I'm obsessed with it. It's so beautiful.
Vitto had the most melodic and tasteful solos I've ever heard. Just jaw dropping beautiful, and technically tight as hell. What a genius.
Such an understanding of peicing together melodies and notes that melt as fluid together gorgeously...what an artist. Surprisingly, alot of geniuses sometime shy away from the spotlight...he deserves this recognition.
The solo of "wait" is pure genius... The lady of the valley is phenomenal. Little fighter is awesome too. But I've never heard a more beautiful song than "When the children cry."
His solos just sing incredibly by themselves but fit in so effortlessly snug into each song. A rare Artist indeed. The real kind...
White Lion's "Broken Heart" - both the original on their debut and the remake on *Mane Attraction* - is great and so is their scorching cover of the Golden Earring classic "Radar Love."
The record companies started backing an audio laxative called grunge!!
Mike Tramp is still making great music but White Lion was one of the greatest and Vito was incredible and doesn't get enough credit for his greatness.
Most of these “what happened to” bands continued on. It was fans jumping ship that was the issue. MTV would play something and people would just follow it.
Sounds like the political media.
Pretty much
“ Vito lived with his parents in Staten Island and he never lifted a finger to make any money.“
Sounds about right.
Chris F “Typical musicians”? I don’t think so.
Sure there’s lots of lazy musicians riding someone else’s coattails to the bank, but they’re few compared to all the hard working musicians in the world giving everything they have for a little recognition.
What I think you meant is “stereotypical musicians, lol.
To be that good, maybe you have to do nothing else but play guitar in the basement all day!! Lol
@Chris F • Yes, as have I. But you can’t judge the entire collective of a group because one part attracts all the lazy minded musicians, that’s why the people you’re talking about are your stereotypical musicians, wannabe rocks stars who won’t get a job.
Lazy wannabe rock stars are only a small part of the collective that makes up the group of hardworking musicians, I understand the point you’re making but you can’t throw everyone under the tour (lol) bus because rock musicians have a bad reputation.
That’s all I’m pointing out, “typical musician” means us all, “stereotypical musicians” means the specific group you’re referring to.
@Chris F • Haha, fair enough.
@Chris F • It’s all good, you’re right; I should probably lighten up with the grammar lessons.
I hear Ya mate, I’ve got a garage full of gear that I bought for some friends (who I thought were friends) on credit (because they already ruined theirs) and didn’t pay for the stuff after they quit the band.
Obviously it’s my fault, I knew better than to trust them but for the good of the band and keeping the ‘dream’ alive I did it anyway.
Now I have a garage that I completely converted into a jam space full of gear and nobody to jam with because all my friends are mad at me because they ripped me off and I collected all the gear when they didn’t pay their monthly bill.
So I know the exact kind of musician you’re talking about, lol.
Vito Bratta needs to come back. Even if it's just in uploading a video on TH-cam once a week of him just noodling on guitar in his house. That would be enough to satisfy us.
I always wondered about him wearing sunglasses every time I saw him and thought "pothead"? (which might explain why he never does anything these days. Apparently not though
He has a legit FB page, but he barely posts anything other than a few pictures.
@@UnblockedOne2 I've only seen FB pages that were either tributes or imposters.
@@JoeR203 I found it before. I found it by tracking down one of his immediate relatives' FB. He has several family members on FB. If I find it, I may link it here.
@@UnblockedOne2 I've always wanted to track him down to see if he'll give me a lesson. My biggest inspiration. Bet there's a few thousand others who share the sentiment though
Mikes a cool cat knew him when he lived in Melbourne Australia plenty of long road trips and great stories.
Vito Bratta still my favorite guitarist of all time.
I really loved hearing Vito play. All his stuff sounded great to me. Perhaps my favorite guitarist.
White Lion was one of my favorites back in the day. We used 2 songs off of Mane Attraction in our wedding. Beautiful Music
Good job! One of the most forgotten bands in history. Vito was/is (?) one of the greatest players of all time. People recognize him for his EVH style. But he had hints of Randy Rhoads and many others in his playing. I love me some Vito guitar work.
So true. Well said. 👍👍
Mike Tramp may be representing his country in the Eurovision song contest
I got white lion album pride on cassette tape and wait is a excellent song from white lion. 😀👍🤘🎸🦁
Those Mabel album covers alone deserve a video.
Vito Bratta created tapping phrases that were unique from Van Halen. I’d argue Vito (and Nuno Bettencourt) added the most originality to tapping, post Eddie Van Halen & Randy Rhoads.
I've been waiting for this band to be featured
Vito is one of my lifelong heroes. His style was so unconventionally melodic. He may have started with Eddie's technique, but he took it placed Eddie either couldn't or wouldn't go. His work on Little Fighter in particular never fails to bring a smile to my face.
If you analyze the solo on Little Fighter you'll find it goes up and down to mimic a ship sailing high waves. Give it a listen!
@@curbowman See, I'm too dense to notice stuff like that, but I did notice how he would basically play lead throughout an entire song with only short moments of power chords, mainly at intros and at the beginning of choruses.
Absolutely Love Little Fighter. 🤘🤘
Vito sounds like Eddie but with more knowledge of melody
going home tonight is such a fantastic solo as well. I'm learning it now :D !
Living in Brooklyn , I saw them at L'Amour at least 5 times. I was into more HEAVY METAL like MOTORHEAD, METALLICA, BIOHAZARD, ANTHRAX, OVERKILL, AC/DC, but when WHITE LION played at L'Amour, the place was PACKED to the BRIM with SUPER HOT ROCK CHICKS, so we all went to the shows. WHITE LION on the RECORD and their LIVE SHOW were 2 different things. LIVE , the band was well practiced and REAL GOOD. So overall, we were not disappointed to have a GREAT TIME, plus Vito was a KICK ASS Guitarist to watch live, and easily recognized as HIGHLY SKILLED,
There's a video on TH-cam of them with other bands (including Vito and Nuno on stage jamming) at some benefit show at L'Amour.
At least they didn't get roasted into oblivion by Beavis & Butthead like Winger & Cinderella.
They did Winger wrong
They did Winger so dirty, they are still all excellent musicians
@@philipkarovski281 Although they were a Chick band too. You didn’t see too many guys loving Winger. And 17, even in 1989 didn’t help them
Winger is the only one still kicking. Check out some of their new stuff, it is really awesome.
That’s how parody goes.
The Eddie Trunk interview with Vito wasn’t “recent.” It was 2007, 14 years ago...!!
it's good to hear he agreed to be interviewed, but Eddie was so insufferable on that one with him not letting Vito talk longer ffs
Mike is a workaholic. If Vito shared the same passion this band would have likely rediscovered themselves kind of like Def Leppard did.
rediscovered is not the word for it
completely changing your genre to sell pop records to little girls for the money
is pathetic I cant call them what they turned into due to youtubes community guidlines, but another name for a cat for
a cat comes to mind they are a bunch of them
@@buzzedalldrink9131 I was referring to mainly Def Leppard releasing Euphoria and continuing to embrace the side of their music that fans wanted. The horrible albums during the grunge era could have easily destroy the band, but they fought through it.
@@bstar777777 sorry they sold out jumped the shark whatever you want to call it Im old enough to remember when the first two albums - yes albums- came out they were hungry and they rocked after that forget about it
Little Fighter, Broken Heart, Love Don't Come Easy, You're All I Need, Till Death Do U Part and When The Children Cry.. Those are my favorites from White Lion..
This band was a lot better than many of the “hair bands “ they are lumped in with. It’s just too bad they didn’t really have that connection. bands need to survive the tough times. They made their money then it all fell apart. They had Plenty of good tunes the casual listener never bothered to listen to.
Lady of the valley is still one of my favorites to this day 🌺
Yeah, Lady of the Valley is a great song, ahead of its time, nowadays melodic metal bands do that kind of song on nearly every album. White Lion came more out of that European tradition of songwriting where song construction and melody are more important, whereas American bands come from a tradition of groove and attitude and turning clever phrases within the lyrics. So White Lion really stood out, much like Europe did.
No they weren't, they used Dr. Suess lyrics. That whole hair band/make up era was terrible. The only decent bands in that era were G&R and Pantera.
@@garys1266 Yes the lyrics were lame, but the songs had good melodies. That’s what carried them along
Mike tried to keep the hair band era alive, but the record label betrayal we've all heard about was quite literal. Mike put together a band, called his connections in the industry. He said as soon as they mentioned they were White Lion they would hang up on him.
Wait was one of my favorite songs in high school.
“wait....WAIT!”
"Farewell to You" was the class song at my high school graduation.
Thats so much cooler, I graduated in 99 and it was Dave Matthews...yick.
I actually supported Mike Tramp when he was touring the UK on his acoustic tour a bunch of years back. He was an incredibly nice fella.
James Lomenzo (bass-White Lion) did the graphics on my old bands last album and Steve Jones (guitar-Sex Pistols) played on it..."The Nothings-Lovely"...we had like a Sex lion/White Pistol combo !
"When the Children Cry" is still an incredible song. But then, good music always stands the test of time.
Their 80s stuff is awesome but their 1991 album "Mane Attraction" is great as well and full of hits. "You're all I need", "Love don't come easy", "Out with the Boys", "It's over" "Till Death do us part" or "Farewell to you" are brilliant songs.
Wow. Such an awesome band from the 80's. Never knew the behind the scenes troubles they were going through, till now. I guess it was the same for a lot of those bands trying to make themselves known. There was a lot of competition in the 80's.
Wait... how many times did they record “Pride”.. seems I heard him say 3 times “the band was back in the studio to record Pride”.. 🤔
I saw them in 1988 - opened for AC/DC...I really thought highly of Vito Bretta's playing...
Living on the Edge is probably my favorite White Lion song. On the B side of Big Game. Many nights cruising with that cranked up!
Mike did a couple of acoustic shows near me. I went and saw him twice. He's an incredibly nice man. Unfortunately, there weren't many people at the shows, but he took the time to talk, take pictures, and sign autographs. It was obvious he was at peace with how things turned with the band and he was now legitimately enjoying life. He was saying he lives part time in Malaysia where "Til Death Do Us Part" is a popular wedding song and he makes a killing performing it at receptions.
Broken heart is still a jam that I listen to daily
I love both versions of that song
honest tune. Love it :D !
Glad people are digging this video. Have a request for future topics? Fill out our google form! Correction: I had dates of appetite and pride wrong they were released a month apart
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScCQjTcPGrzUbG7H7t4toQehliwBS_Fcp78JeY_js4zZbX2jA/viewform
How about a video on the band CONTRABAND ? Tracii Guns (LA GUNS) SHARE PEDERSON (VIXEN) were in it for a album w/2 other members. Had a minor hit song in late 80's
Thanks for posting
@@sstaners1234 more white zombie coming later this year
QUEENSRYCHE! My fav hair band like group
Would love to see a mini doc featuring Loudness!
I really loved this band. Mike tramps stuff is good too.
Back in the early 90s I went to see them at a place called L'Amour in Brooklyn, New York. There was a bar there and Vito was drinking it up. I said what's up to him and he waved and that was it. I saw Yngwie there on another night. Great memories!
They Always played Lamours Thanksgiving eve with Tyketto opening up in late 80s Vito killed it
That was a great club
I had seen White Lion and Stryper in concert, it was GREAT!! Most of the "gang" I hung around in high school, were more into Metallica, Megadeth and Anthrax. It was kinda like White Lion was my go to and be relaxed band.
Mike Tramp still tours as an acoustic artist. I opened for him many times. He still is great and can sing and play guitar very well. This is what he grew up on and it shows. Great performer and singer/song writer. Nice fucking guy too.
My favorites from the band are “Lady of the Valley,” “Broken Heart,” “Little Fighter,” and their cover of “Radar Love.” And plenty of others, but those stand out to me.
I saw Mike Tramp a few years ago play a solo, acoustic show in Belgium. He was really great! He played all their songs, except for Wait. Hilarious!
Didn't realize Shawn Michaels sang in White Lion
Very sad. I loved their music and still
do. Vitto is a killer guitarist and Mike Tramp wrote fantastic lyrics.
Mike Tramp sure was a cute looking Dane. I will always credit “When the children cry” with being the one song that comforted me in 1989. Great album! I actually had that poster of Vito Bratto and Mike Tramp on my wall
White Lion wasn’t a real band, in the sense that there wasn’t camaraderie and was more of a label band
I'd argue more of a Mike Tramp band. Most bands from that era got together to play clubs and have good times and some made it big. Tramp was chasing commercial success from the moment he started making music and has continued to try to adjust his sound to the times ever since.
@@adaher Well, at least he had more drive than that Vito Bratta, wouldn’t wouldn’t even life a finger to make some money
Yeah, they were both too much in one direction, Tramp with the single minded focus on commercial success and Bratta just not caring. It was bad chemistry. They were certainly no Bon Jovi/Sambora or Meine/Schenker. The tension has to be positive for the art and it just wasn't. Bon Jovi and the Scorpions have lasted forever because they were able to find balance between the desire to make hits and the art. In White Lion, one guy wanted hits and the other guy, I'm not really sure why he even joined the band in the first place.
We need a supergroup of reclusive types, hey @FrontiersRecords, any chance of a Steve Perry/Vito Bratta project?
@@adaher What about Chris DeGarmo?
I remember finding the cassette of Pride in '87 hidden in the dishwasher with my Easter basket. Now I have the Rock Candy records remastered and reloaded Pride CD. Epic audio experience!
That's why it's called The Music BUSINESS ....not music friends
ok RuPaul.
I was introduced to White Lion via Sirius XM Hair Nation and I love all of their songs.
Vito is a genius! Chose to be with his parents away from fame. Great musician! Best son!
Saw them open for AC/DC at the Shoreline Amphitheatre , they were very good live.
Mike Tramp went on to form Freak of Nature, their first album is a real hidden gem. The second is pretty good too. Well worth looking them up if you’re a White Lion fan
I absolutely love Freak of Nature, great albums and the musicianship on those albums is so great, I have the 2 albums on CD and I also bought the “3rd album,” which were more songs that didn’t make it onto the 2 first 2 albums and a few songs from their first albums but in acoustic versions, pretty solid, but not on par with the first album or the second album...
If you can find it, Mike Tramp's solo album "Capricorn" is amazing.
Saw these guys open for Motley Crue in 1989. They were great live.
@Eddie V I feel for you. Ive never seen any of those guys but not really a fan. A lot of people didnt like White Lion because they werent considered heavy enough. But they were a good live band and it was loud and sounded a lot like rock music to me.
I think on that Eddie Trunk interview, Vito talks about how when he met Eddie Van Halen a fan came up to him, while he was with Ed, and after a while it appeared this fan got the pair mixed up and thought Vito was Eddie. Eddie went along with it... quite a funny story. I thought with Ed passing we'd have heard something from Vito about it but as far as I know, he's not popped up anywhere to comment.
Look up White Lion: Escape from Brooklyn. There's a scene where a fan comes up to Vito, askes for an autograph and then realizes Vito is not Eddie Van Halen. That might be what you're remembering. Vito was sitting outside and told the fan that Eddie was in the building.
@@JoeR203 Correct! That is almost certainly the story Vito was referring to, but he recalled it somewhat incorrectly.
@@kospandx Yeah because Eddie wasn't near Vito when the fan came for an autograph.
White Lion’s rhythm section went on to back Zakk Wylde in a PHENOMENAL one-off band called “Pride and Glory”. Fucking AWESOME CD.
White Lion, has always been one of my favorite 80s bands. Whenever I listen to them, it brings back great memories. Awesome video! Thank you so much sharing it. Be well and stay safe. ❤
Mike Tramp is still touring and playing White Lion songs.
These guys musicianship was above and beyond most of their peers, thanks mostly to Vito. They wrote some really great music, this video makes me very sad and nostalgic.
Two reasons: 1) Atlantic was terrible at promoting their acts. Vito said they basically had to promote each record like it was their first. 2) Vito damaged his arm by playing for like 12 hours a day. As far as I know, he's never fully recovered from that injury. And the injury wasn't recent, it's been almost 30 years since it happened.
I read about these things too. 👍👍
I saw them opening for AC/DC is 1988 and they were boring. Unremarkable.
I saw them in Allentown pa ...they were smokin'
Yeah I was born in 1969, so hair bands were part of my era, and White Lion was at the bottom of the barrel of all of those groups musically. I thought this video was a joke! lol
to me two major things held this band back from even being bigger than what they were. 1) TIMING. if Pride had been recorded and released in late 85 or by early 86, that would have given them more time to ride the wave of popularity that this type of music was enjoying. (or if "wait" hadn't taken 7 months to break open), 2) Mike Tramp. yes, he had the pretty boy blonde looks and hair. But he was a marginal singer at best, and his melody writing was suspect. The music that Vito provided was flat out incredible and his guitar playing was literally top 5 of the 80's. Look at the comments below......look at how many people are praising Vito. I had many friends that forced themselves to listen at least a little to this band because of the music and Vito's playing, but they could not truly get into them or stick around on them because of Tramp's voice and melodies. He may be the greatest guy in the world and he may be telling the truth that he was "the engine that drove Vito".......but Vito was the reason that most people listened to that band.....and in some cases, he was the only reason some people did.
I saw these guys warm up for Aerosmith in the late 80s. It was a great show. I didn’t know who they were but became a fan from that show.
Little Fighter was a great song!
White lion were talented and sounded good but , their "safe " sound couldn't compete with the dangerous sound and wreckless attitudes of Guns and Roses .
Yeah gnr was like a breath of fresh air against all these other glam bands
@@rnrtruestories they were!
how anyone can stay objective and appreciate GNR after having sweet child o mine or paradise city shoved in their ears for 30 years straight is beyond me.. LOL
And just a short time later, no one from the label would come out of their office for Sebastian Bach.
Neato Vito! That guy was the best. I binge-listen to his Little Fighter solo at least a couple of times every year.
It will never be White Lion without these two essential elements.
Vito Bratta, and Mike Tramp.
In that order.
Vito Bratta is an outstanding guitar player. I got the chance to meet Mike Tramp a few years back.
So crazy how quickly people can get unfamous!
Vito still is missed! He is a master & virtuoso! Still waiting for him to return.... now, after Eddie‘s passing even more...
VITO BRATTA IS AN ABSOLUTE GUITAR GOD HE IS MY GUITAR HERO.
Absolutely loved and wore out my Pride cassette. Wait was such a beautiful yet emotional song for me personally, my song to my late husband whom passed just before this hit. But one of my all time favorite song and still relevant today was When the children cry 💗🕊️
You should listen to Eddie Trunk, he would tell you what l will tell you...it's NOT HAIR METAL!!!! it's 80's rock/metal. .it was a generation of music and time, Nirvana isn't referred to as Flanel shirt music? Or flat depressing music..come on people, stop condemning 80's rock and identifying it with Hair ,,it had some of the best music in history!!!!
One of my favs. Happy to see them here
Speaking from personal experience, there is always something that comes in and destroys a great band that doesn't have a good enough connection (and understanding) between band-mates. Something ends up throwing it all out of balance: Money, significant others or relationships/breakups, substances, and manipulators. One, or a combination, of those often wreck a band who isn't a strong enough team.
For one of the BEST bands I was in (a 3-piece), it was manipulators convincing the bass player that he didn't need our band (or myself and the drummer) because we were holding him back (despite having MANY gigs lined up steadily and growing in popularity). We nearly got signed by 2 labels. But, the band had broken up because of the manipulators. The new band the bass player dumped us for fell flat and he enlisted in the Army. Today, he's a devout religious cult member. Go figure!
The music world has never been the same without Vito.
great guitarist.. very melodic.
Dear narrator, the amateur upward inflection in your speech is at the expense of great info/footage.
Good work NOT reporting on James or Greg! Like they didn’t even exist. Lame
yeah whole thing seems plagiarised from Mike Tramp interviews. Might be easier of course if Vito had a mouth but James is pretty approachable and Greg pops up every now and again