This is another one of those times where I had the chance to talk with one of my music heroes. Kane Roberts played the local music scene in a band called: Criminal Justice and then suddenly, he was thrust into celebrity status as a result of being hand picked to play lead guitar by the legendary Alice Cooper. Together Kane and Alice took the world by storm during Alice’s comeback in the 80s with Cooper’s “Constrictor” release. After a monstrous world tour, they went right back into creative mode to record and then tour again in support for the follow up “Raise Your Fist And Yell” release.

During this time, Kane began thinking about the songs that he had previously written pre-Alice, working on his own project and in what direction he wanted to take it. His self titled release on MCA proved that he was here to stay with the hit “Rock Doll.” Not one to stay idle, he then was a featured guest on Alice’s “Trash” release and then he put forth his critically acclaimed “Saints And Sinners” on Geffen Records from which the hits: “Does Anybody Really Fall In Love Anymore?” and “Twisted” both received heavy rotation on MTV. Still in heavy demand, he worked on various projects with artists like KISS, Steve Vai, Berlin, Desmond Child, Bob Ezrin and Beau Hill…offering up his talents wherever needed.

Then like a vapor he was gone. It was if he never existed in the public’s eye at all. As the years rolled by and rumors began to circulate that he had passed away because of his absence, Kane worked on his other interests including programming video games…a graphic arts designer (designing the packaging for Alice’s “Brutal Planet” release) and still writing and recording his music which can be found on the “Under A Wild Sky” release by his project: Phoenix Down. Now like that phoenix rising again from the ashes, Kane has begun putting on the finishing touches of his long awaited release “Touched” and he phoned in to catch everybody up on where he’s been…what he’s been doing all of these years and what working with an old friend again means to him.

The Entertainment Nexus- Hi Kane, how are you this morning?
Kane Roberts- I’m doing great!

TEN- So tell me what have you been doing with yourself lately?
KR- Most recently the stuff that is mainly focused on music is that I went to hang out with Alice the other day. He was at Universal Studios and he was doing a commercial I think for some German company. It was a pretty funny commercial where he was at an alien bar kinda like the Star Wars bar. So I went to say hello to him and we hung out in the “Honey Wagon” you know…the dressing room trailer. We started talking about stuff you know, kind of going down memory lane. Every time that we hang out we have the same set of a maybe 10 stories that we tell each other that are pretty funny. We started talking about writing again and we have actually started writing music together again which is unusual. I mean I hope something good comes out of it. We have a good start on some stuff. I think that he went to Budapest and then to England so he’s going to come back and were going to try to finish up a couple of things. I have an album that’s almost completed and I’d love to do something like that because I think a lot of fans and people that are into Alice or myself or together would be interested to hear what we came up with today and stuff like that. Let’s see what else. I have these scripts that I’ve written…some film scripts. I don’t know if you know this but I produced and wrote a short film and now we’re trying to move in to get a feature done. That sort of occupies a lot of my time. You know I pick a wall in my house and I stare at it maybe two or three days at a shot. (Laughs)

TEN- Are you looking for directors for the film?
KR- Well the road you go on in any Hollywood production is you start out with a plan and it just keeps shifting. The circuitous route by which films get made…there’s no pattern to it. You would think that “Yeah, you write a script…you get it placed…somebody finances it and blah…blah…blah” but the situation is you know you have to have a director or talent attached to a script…unless you’re a well-known script writer. Then you try to attract money be it independent or a studio. Both of those are two entirely different animals. Even with the large studio say like Warner Bros. for example if they want to take on a project, They’ll buy the script…they’ll buy the project to whatever extent they want to purchase it. Then they have to go out and hunt down money. They don’t have a bank account necessarily that they put at risk in order to finance a film. They’ll go to these different firms or sources. There’s a few guys in particular that if you go there with names like Tom Cruise and directors like Ron Howard…people like that…well known people then these guys will balance the risk and pretty much finance some of the bigger budget films. Ya know, 50 million…hundred million dollar films or whatever. But, independent, ya know money can come from a company…it can come from a friend…it can come from your mom …not that I’m doing that. (Laughs) Those production credits as you see them go past at the end of the film, they may be people who just made a phone call to get a name act or name director and they may have made a call and said; “Hey, I have a friend who has a script or project or has a production company that has a project would you take a look at it?” If they ever called back and get involved they’re one of the producers on the film. So the real estate is money, the real estate is residuals; you know box office sales and sometimes just a credit. My point is that there are a lot of plates that you have to get spinning to get a film finally landed in a theater.

TEN- Are you ever planning on releasing your cd “Touched?”
KR- I know, it’s kinda pathetic the way that it’s been sitting around for so long. That’s one of the reasons why I’m writing with Alice. There’s a certain balance in terms of like what you really want to do…what’s going to be the most fun…what’s going to be the most viable for a company to risk any equity in terms of getting the project out there. For me the rule of thumb with “Touched” has been “What cd would I go out and buy? I don’t care who it’s by. What’s going to make me get up and go by a cd?” Today with all the downloading and stuff like that and iTunes and the different ways that you can listen to music-even YouTube…it’s a different process. You have to think about different things. You want to create something that is important first to you and then resonates with other people. Ya know, make them go out and buy it. So I’ve been recording stuff and we get almost to the finish line of the song and then we decide maybe that one’s not going to be right for the album. We’re some over-dubs and some mixes away from having it complete and now with Alice and I sort of working on some of the material, it’s gonna put us back in the studio a little bit. But ya know that’s fine. I’m trying to get it out soon and we’ve made our first inquiries to record companies and were trying to get it so that it’s gonna be available to more than a couple of people. I could just sell it to my parents or something like that. (Laughs)

TEN- Do you think that you may join Alice for a tour?
KR- Ya know, that would be incredibly funny but I…I…I don’t know. I can’t say whether or not we would do that but when we hang out we don’t talk about that. The thing about Alice and I is we were such incredible friends through the time that we were working together in trying to create the event of the tours and the albums that when we hang out…I think it was like five years ago maybe we talked about that a little bit. Right now it’s basically our creative relationship is focused around the songs. We’re both excited about doing it so it’s a good sign.

TEN- So anything may happen.
KR- Yeah, it can happen but I don’t know. Right now I’m not planning on it…I do weigh 500 pounds now (laughs) no…no…no. I’m not planning on doing that again. We wouldn’t do that the same way anyway but we’re not talkin about that right now, we’re talking about music.

TEN- During your days with Alice, what was the most that you weighed?
KR- The most that I weighed I think was 225 give or take.
TEN- What was the most you could bench press or squat?
KR- I wasn’t a “numbers guy” when I lifted. I would do more reps like 30 reps with 315 pounds on the squat. Bench was around 225 pounds for 20 reps.
TEN- Did you ever use any kind of supplements or strength enhancers?
KR- As far as chemical help…I stayed away from it for the most part. I tried a few things but training clean has more of a “natural result.”

TEN- One your web site you have a five-part series called “Kane On Alice” where you talk about your times with Alice. What was it like for you to revisit all of those memories?
KR- Just thinking about the shows…the visuals are like these surround sound, 3-D movies that sorta flash through your head ya know. I was talking to a friend of mine and he asked me; “Do you wanna go to this club or do you feel like doing this?” and I was like “Nah, I don’t think so.” He was saying that I really don’t go out much and I thought in my head “I don’t think this person has gone out yet.” In other words, to have to do some of the stuff that we’ve done it’s kinda like if you take a flight to Mars…driving down the street to the 7-11 isn’t quite the same experience. It’s a different thing. What I’m sayin is that it doesn’t place me in an “elite class” or I don’t think I’m better in any way but you sorta “shoot your load” in terms of going out if you have the experience like playing at Wembley or the Reading Festival or traveling all over the world in the conditions that we were in. Then on top of that it’s an Alice Cooper show. One of the things that I mentioned in the interview is that what Alice and I wanted to do is to make the show supremely high-energy. There was nothing that we kinda said ‘No.” if we thought it was cool. We ended up creating this insane amount of activity and props and scripting in sort of terms of the action on stage then underneath it all was this thunderous sound that we created. Alice was always able to sorta gobble it up and rise above it and it didn’t matter to what extent the guys in the band and I were pumping the music out and how intense it was…Alice was still the focus of attention. He’s got this insane energy about him and those were some of the things that crossed my mind. If I look at a video on YouTube, I’m just amazed at all of the stuff that was happening and the cool stuff and Alice is still the “Ringmaster” everybody’s watching him. That’s pretty funny and that’s one of the main things that cross my mind.

TEN- In your third installment you talk about putting the band together for the tour and you brought Kip Winger into the “Alice Cooper Family.” How did you know Kip?
KR- We went to New York to record the “Constrictor” record with Beau Hill who had done RATT and other stuff. I think Beau had some sort of business relationship and a friendship with Kip and he saw Kip’s talent and wanted to manage him or be his agent in some way. One other thing he (Beau) did was he mentioned that he knew this really good bass player. I met Kip and immediately we hit it off as friends. When you go into the studio, there are different types of musicians that you need. Certain guys can listen to a song once…that guy Devlin 7 is like that. He can listen to a song one or two times and he knows it. So, when you’re in a studio there’s a clock ticking because cash is going out the window with every minute that goes by. Usually the producer and everybody has the thing “block booked” and the whole project in terms of chronology, is booked for a month or six weeks in terms of the recording and to get the mixes done. You need guys that can come in and understand what is necessary and get things done quickly. Kip is one of those guys and stylistically and in terms of his energy as a person…he was one of those people who came in and just nailed the stuff as we were playing it. And ya know that doesn’t always happen. Somebody will come in and maybe they’re good at reading music or maybe they’re good as a different style or their voice doesn’t match up or whatever. Kip was one of those guys vocally and playing wise and energy wise…he hooked up really well. Then when it came time to play live, we gave him a call and fortunately he wanted to do it. The good thing is when you know that a good percentage of what’s gonna happen live on stage is taken care of immediately, because of his background vocal chops and his playing and ability to perform. So that’s how the Kip thing happened. His records were so good and the stuff he’s doing now is so impressive. He’s just completed a symphony and actually had it performed. That’s the key. People write symphonies…they write pieces for classical music but to actually have a symphony written and then to have somebody play it is a big achievement. He’s a pretty kickin kinda guy.

TEN- I remember when I met you and Kip on the “Constrictor” tour and you guys took the time out for a picture. You both look like you’re choking me to death.
KR- (Laughs)

TEN- What most have you retained from your time during your Alice days?
KR- Um…I got some sexually transmitted diseases…NO. (Laughs) I’m kidding. I didn’t actually. I made it through clean…I don’t know how. Those are “real life” experiences. One of them is when I look back at some of the stuff I did and at some of the interviews I did…they’re unwatchable for me. Now that I think of the things that I’ve experienced…we end up being a sum total of what we’ve done and what we’ve seen and how we handled it on the mistakes that we’ve made. The thing about any band that tours on that level or bigger…the jet stream of information coming at you everyday is insane! It either wears you down or it adds to who you are. Hopefully I’m able to use those experiences with how I deal with stuff in business and in life now. The other thing is that my friendship with Alice is one of the most lasting things. He really is a great guy. His whole family is pretty cool!

TEN- You also designed the packaging for the cd “Brutal Planet” as well.
KR- That was fun. We did a bunch of designs and they kinda wanted that one. That was just so much fun to do. I try to do a good job.
TEN- You have the artwork on your web site including the rejected version.
KR- That was our favorite! Brian Nelson and I looked at that one and Brian really liked that one. We both liked that one but it was to depressing.

Editor’s note; Brian “Renfield” Nelson was Alice’s personal assistant for decades and has recently passed.)

TEN- What is your fondest memory of Brian?
KR- The thing is our relationship grew on tour. When he was on tour with Alice he took his job 100 percent seriously but, once the touring was over and we were just hanging out are sort of my strongest memories. If he wasn’t on tour, we would speak to each other at least once a week. We didn’t hang out every day but we were on the phone with each other talkin about stuff. He would call me from the road once a while or when they were in the limo going to a gig. We just became really good friends. He was a very honest guy.

TEN- When you left playing with Alice, was that your decision or more of a mutual agreement?
KR- What happened was I started thinking about doing another record…the MCA record. Those were songs that I had written a while before. During the time that I was playing with Alice, the desire to do another record started to grow inside of me and in order to do that…you have to commit to that 100 percent. In terms of our relationship and where Alice wanted to go with his band and how I was developing at the same time…one of the things about the two of us is that we are very sensitive about the energy in terms of how things are happening. You can’t really create or write with people that you don’t have the proper relationship with in terms of that. I started to move away to want to do the Geffen record and of course Alice is going to keep trudging forward in whatever direction he wanted. We had done two albums and two tours and it was time for a change up for both of us. We actually talk about that all the time. When he and I are hanging out, people even ask like “How come you guys stopped working together?” cause ya know, we’re good friends. It’s really funny. It wasn’t a big event…we just sorta stopped. We noticed that we stopped and we talked about it but it was never in the light of like: “What should we do?” or “I got a pink slip from the management…that you’re no longer welcome.” It wasn’t one of those things. What we were doing up to the point of working together on the next record like I said, when we were on tour, when we were on the bus I would hang out in the back of the bus because one of the reasons I did that was because I was too big for the bunks at that time because I weighed so much. It’s really true. I really couldn’t get comfortable in there. When we were off of the tour and we were writing and stuff, he would stay at my house in L.A. He had sold his house in Beverly Hills and he was living in Phoenix so we were just together all the time. It just sorta happened in terms of a kind of a “conversational thing.” That’s really how it took place, there wasn’t a big shift. I just knew too that if I was going to do “Saints And Sinners” and I was going to have people like Desmond Child and other people like the musicians that were on it and everything…I kinda had to do that 24/7. There was no question about that as far as I was concerned. There was NEVER a moment where I was sick of playing with him. I was one of those guys that didn’t wanna get off tour. Most people, usually after six or seven months have had it. I just think in terms of a life for a guy. It’s just the best life you can have! I mean you stay in hotels…I LOVE hotels, I LOVE room service. It’s the greatest thing in the world. And, ya know, they tell you where you’re supposed to be, I don’t have to think too much. It’s like at 4 o’clock go downstairs for the bus to go to sound check…at 6 o’clock go back to the bus and go back to the hotel and then later go back to the show. Then tomorrow morning…you’re gonna be in this state or the city…it’s just a great way to function. Everything, your schedule and where you’re gonna stay and all of these different people that your meeting every 10 minutes…I never wanted that aspect of that to end.

TEN- So how come you have never toured as a solo artist?
KR- The thing that happened for me was that I did the Geffen record and then I just walked away. It’s a strange thing; I was told a long time ago that you can have a number of different lives in the time that you’re alive. In other words, if I decided that I wanted to be an attorney at 20 and I did that until I was 70 or until I dropped dead, that’s one way to go about things. I think that if you can re-write yourself and do different things then there is no real danger to that. There is nothing wrong with that. I was talking to Bob Ezrin…he was a guy who called me initially to work with Alice…and he was talking about what he’s done. He’s done a lot of different things. He went into video games like I did and we were talking that all of these things aren’t necessarily economic decisions. If you want to be on the creative aspect of life and depending on how much you love it and how much you commit to it, you find that your decisions aren’t so rationally based. They are not done completely in terms of what the economy is or how you define yourself in terms of at the beginning of what ever your career is. In terms of music that’s what I always wanted to do. Although I wasn’t satisfied with what I had accomplished, I felt myself changing in terms of what I wanted to do. Ezrin was sayin; “If you’re creative…that thing always stays here…the same creativity but it can move and shift into different things.” I have always drawn and have always done stuff in terms of art so I started concentrating on that and it found its way into computer design and things like that and now it’s starting to exert itself in terms of film scripts. I would love it if I was able to do that because it would be fun it would feed that creative animal that I feel. It’s funny it’s just if people ask me to explain that and I think it’s basically the only difference between me and Mozart! No, no…I’m kidding! (Laughs) I just think at one point I just walked away to do something else. There was nothing bad going on. I mean I just did a record that I thought was kinda cool. You’re never satisfied…I wanted to go into the next one to make it a more “honest reflection” of  who I’ve become as a musician and all that stuff  but something happened inside and I just started stepping away from it. It wasn’t gut-wrenching in any way for me. It was just something that had evolved in terms of the last year that I was working on stuff.

TEN- You have to follow your heart to a certain extent.
KR- Yeah, it’s what got me into the music industry and it’s what got me out…the same exact rules.

TEN- You have also designed video games and are a graphic artist and have done a multitude of things.
KR- Yeah, I’ve been lucky that I have been able to have some sort of financial situation as a result of all the stuff I’ve done. To me that’s lucky…it represents hard work and all that stuff. In terms of the reason why, like I said: “It’s just what you feel at the time.” You’re right… “Follow your heart or follow your bliss.” I was reading this book and its suggestion is that if you work in a job that is all economy based and the only reason that you’re doing it is because you’re trying to make money which is a noble effort for a family or food or whatever it is. Somewhere in your work environment you should have something to look at that is a “higher spiritual message” you know what I mean? Whether it’s a picture of a waterfall or a picture of Alice Cooper or whatever that it is for you and you should have that there for you to feed that animal that’s inside of everybody…a higher way of thinking. It’s kinda a good rule of thumb to follow that sort of a feeling.

TEN- You were gone out of the spotlight for such a long time that you were rumored to have died. How did that make you feel?
KR- It made me look in the mirror and go “Did I die?” how would I know? (Laughs) This interview may not really be happening…I don’t know. (Laughs)

TEN- It could all be a figment of your imagination!
KR- Yeah, you’re not really on the phone. There is no Troy Neff… (Laughs)

TEN- One of your biggest hits to date is “Does Anybody Really Fall In Love Anymore?” that was written by Bon Jovi. What made you decide to cover that song so close to when Cher released it?
KR- I didn’t even know that she had done it until after I had heard it. Desmond played it for me on the piano and he sang it. I thought “Geez, what a great song!” Then I sang the song and for some reason…if something…be it the lyrics or the melody or ya know…the style of music sometimes things don’t match up and you have to really work to capture at least an approach. That particular song for some reason it was easy for me to sing and it felt right immediately. So then we start getting ready to record it and everything and then I found out that Cher did it and I was thinking; “I don’t think anybody is gonna make that connection.” I mean I’m not that bright…I never knew anybody would think I looked like Rambo. I didn’t even think that. Now that I look at the pictures it’s ridiculous that I didn’t think that…you know what I mean? (Laughs) I didn’t even know that she had a hit with it. I hadn’t heard the song before.

TEN- It seems like everything Jon Bon Jovi writes turns into a hit.
KR- I met him when that song came out. I remember that I was on a cover of an industry magazine. When you record a song and you release it…it doesn’t matter who you are or what band it is…you have to go to these industry events. They’re almost like trade shows and every knucklehead radio guy…record company guy…promo guy…they’re all walking around shaking hands and handing out cards. You’ll see your idols there. You’ll see Rod Stewart walk by or Bon Jovi or whoever it is and so I met him there. He was a really nice guy and I’ve heard his version of the song…the demo of it. It was really good. I don’t know why he didn’t record it. I was happy with how it came out. I still think it was cool. When you look back at your old material…the rule of thumb is that you’re suppose to say; “You love everything you did.” I love a lot of the stuff that I did but I’m one of those guys who always look back and wonder; “How it would’ve been different if I had approached things a little differently.” But, when I look back at that song I still like it.

TEN- It gets a lot of plays on YouTube. It’s one of your signature songs during that time.
KR- Yeah…for that time. The new stuff that I’m recording now sounds a little bit different than that stuff. I’ve always had a tendency to write stuff with a certain melodic approach so a lot of that is still there. Some of my guitar playing has changed a little bit and the new stuff has a different sound and feel in terms of how it would be approached “mix wise.” I have been recording again with Michael Wagner. His ability to understand sound and everything…I just don’t think there are very many people who are as good or better! When we’ve talked about mixing the new stuff, his approach is a little different as well. We’re really excited about the message that comes out from each song and the way my voice sounds.

TEN- Taking a look at your songs like “Rain” or “Alive And Well” it seems like you have progressed and you write songs that come from a more “deeper relationship” inspiration rather than a “just sex relationship” like the songs you wrote during your time with Alice and even your first self titled MCA release.
KR- Yeah…yeah it’s really funny a lot of people think that I had kind of a “sex thing” going on in terms of the lyrics an all that stuff. I think that I am a little bit numb in terms of exactly what I’m thinking or feeling in terms of expressing it or rationalizing it or describing it. What I’m experiencing now is just a slightly different approach. It’s some of the relationships but it’s maybe a “darker side” of the way relationships can get. To me there is a darker version of life that is somehow appealing or it attracts me in terms of how people deal with each other. One of the changes in culture if you look at the messages of songs…let’s say really old songs from the ‘50s they are all about “How Much Is That Doggie In The Window?” and then you listen to the era of Hendrix and Alice and the different influences that have come along the way. Now people are talking about a more fearless way of looking at relationships and knowing that there is a dark side that we all have that finds its way into our relationships and how we do with each other. These things, whether they’re good or bad they’re not things that we should look away from. One of the things that I get from the Internet and the way the news cycle is now is that we are just bombarded with information. We’ve learned how human everybody is. Whether it’s a process of forgiving people’s problems and mistakes we’re just realizing that we all have it and there’s a certain appeal to kinda doing the wrong thing every now and then. That’s some of the messages that are woven into the lyrics and the sound where I’m at right now.

TEN- Kinda like your song “Alive And Well.”
KR- That song was about somebody….because relationships come and go so that one to me is about someone leaving for another person. It happens all the time and we can’t believe it sometimes when it happens to us or we’ve all gone through slightly crippling relationships. See that’s another thing that I’m talking about. It’s part of it…ya know? It’s part of the system of getting through life. In that interview that you mentioned on my web site, the thing about Alice is some artists get eaten up or worn down by the type of experiences they have. In Alice’s instance he became more of a person because of his experiences. You take things as they come and they become part of you or become part of the lexicon or your language in terms of how to deal with the future. The rock world has its own brand of ups and downs. Some people get eaten up by it…Alice ended up just becoming a bigger person the more that he saw and learned from it and that’s what I’m saying…the good times and the hardships that we go through just become part of our lexicon…our language of how to operate through life as we go on. I don’t know how that connected to what we were talking about! (Laughs)

TEN- Other than Alice you have worked with a lot of big-name people as well. Tell me some of the other people that you’ve worked with.
KR- Well there was Rod Stewart. Bob Ezrin was doing one of his albums and he called me to play on some of it. So, I came in and met Rod Stewart…who’s an idol of mine. His voice is crazy. I didn’t know this but he got on the phone and said; “I don’t know what Ezrin is doing…he just brought Arnold Schwarzenegger in here to play on my record!’ I didn’t know that and I’m sitting in the studio going like; “Hey, this is going to be fun. I think he likes me!” Ya know…one of those! (Laughs) I figured that I was just going to play on a track and instead of doing that, Rod went into a vocal booth and I ended up playing live with him which was insane for me because I suddenly hear that voice coming through the monitors in the studio room and I’m looking at him and I’m going “This is insane!” Things like that to me make life worth while. That voice has something about it. It’s just so original. We started playing and he ended up really liking what we did together and he had me back and play on some other stuff as well, so that was a big moment for me. I also ended up writing with Paul Stanley. I wrote a song with him and Gene Simmons called: “Take It Off.” To me, that’s one of the great things is that you meet people that have a huge depth of experiences. I didn’t know this but I was doing something in New York and I ended up in a studio…this is before I met Alice or anything…kind of the kid in New York and I went to a recording studio and I remember getting into an elevator with KISS. It was just really intense…this was back in the day. Paul ended up being a really cool guy. We went to some movies together and hung out a little bit. There are a lot of opinions that go around about Paul and Gene and they’re definitely “high octane personalities” but they were always really great to hang out with and really nice guys.

TEN- Didn’t you work with Paul on the “Shocker” movie soundtrack?
KR- I worked with Paul on that one and there is a whole bunch of guys on that one. It was fun singing and playing on that one. I was in the “Shocker” movie! There’s a construction worker that comes running over to save a girl and he touches her and the spirit of Horace Pinker, the killer, comes into me. And then you know…I do a great acting job of turning into this evil guy and then I try to kill Peter Berg. It’s pretty funny. To this day, Mitch Pileggi…the guy that played Pinker is my friend. He’s in “Sons Of Anarchy” now and he was in “X Files.” I see him all the time.

TEN- So how do you go from hanging out with KISS to working with Berlin?
KR- That was another “Ezrin thing.” That’s one of the other things if anybody’s tryin to make it in music is that you have to realize that “You’re gonna hear the word “No” until you hear the word “Yes.” The people that say “yes” are people that you spiritually hook up with. They like your music. They like the way you operate. They like the way you do things and Ezrin is one of those guys. He’s an incredibly intelligent guy so when I first went down to meet him, Alice and Shep (Gordon) I talked to Ezrin and then I ended up writing with Alice and then Alice, Ezrin and I got together and started planning out the “Constrictor” record. We didn’t match immediately. Bob Ezrin is a very intense guy so if you’re not tough enough to deal with his personality then you’re not gonna survive the system. Once you get through that, we became incredible friends. As a result of that, he knew what I could do so if he needed something on a recording and he was producing the Berlin record he said: “I know a guy that can come in and nail this stuff!” That’s not an “ego thing” I’m just saying that’s what he felt. So, he would bring me in on different projects and that’s how I met Rod Stewart.

TEN- You also did work with Quo didn’t you?
KR- Yeah, how do you know about them? That’s unbelievable! Mariah Carey’s brother Morgan is a good friend of mine. He does things in the music business now and then and he did Quo and he had me come in and play on some stuff. One of the things about me that people don’t know is that I really like Rap. I’m one of those guys. I mean I like a lot of music…ya know? My pants aren’t sagging but there are certain parts of Rap in terms of the attitude that I’ve found in some of the best Hard Rock or Metal or whatever. It’s got that same “low hanging attitude” and that’s one of the things that I respond to. And also when I was doing the “Constrictor” record there was a guy there named Smoothie J Nice. We hit it off and he gave me all of his Rap stuff at that time…which was a long time ago. I started listening to it and I really dug it and I was sorta there on the ground floor in terms of listening to stuff. I watched Rap evolve into the nightmare that it is today! (Laughs)

TEN- What was it like working with Steve Vai?
KR- Ah…Steve Vai. Once again it falls into the category of meeting somebody that you are amazed by. The two words that I would used to describe him is that he is a genuine person…ya know? He’s very easy to get along with and he is also very meticulous about how he operates. He knows what he wants in a studio. He knows what he wants when he’s recording and he doesn’t stop until he gets it. This is a funny story. The record that I did…was one that I think he ended up wishing that he hadn’t done a record with a vocalist and move into that sort of “kind of a band atmosphere.” He just asked me to come in and maybe work on some stuff and do some singing on it and you know….we played each other some guitar stuff…it was that sort of a thing. It was kinda casual but I remember there is a thing where…the bass player, a massive bass player and he and I and the lead singer…Steve wanted us to come in on the intro of the song and it was kinda “Jungle Beat” and he wanted us to say; “He’s a Zulu” over and over again with almost like this chorus of tribesmen. And then when we finished doing it…he said; “Okay, that’s good!” and just as a joke I said: “He’s a Zulu” with this really ridiculous voice and it ended up on the record! (Laughs) I remember looking over and I watched Steve fall off of his chair! He disappeared from the studio…he was just laughing so hard! (Laughs) He’s just kinda one of those national treasures on guitar.

TEN- You’ve also worked with Desmond Child over the years.
KR- Desmond…I always say this: “He’s blindingly prolific and his work ethic I’ve never seen anything like it in any business that I’ve been involved with!” If you have 45 minutes to work on something…you’ll come out at the end of the 45 minutes with the song. Whether it’s done or not is another issue but you use every minute to create that completed shell of the song. He would never just write a little bit of a verse and say “Ok, well I’ll see you tomorrow!” That’s not the type of guy he is.

TEN- It’s time to shift gears on you. Tell me something disturbing about yourself that you’ve never revealed before in an interview.
KR- Disturbing…hmmm?

Editor’s note: (the phone disconnects on Kane’s end. He then calls back laughing)

TEN- What happened?
KR- I was thinking “What a time for the battery in the phone to go dead!” (Laughs)

TEN- I thought “Damn, I’ve pissed him off!”
KR- (Laughing even harder) Let’s see disturbing about myself. I think basically I’m willing to throw everything away to try something new.

TEN- Is there anything else that you want to add or say?
KR- I know that I’ve said it before but we are planning on having the record come out and I’m really excited about writing music with Alice Cooper again. We’re sorta punching our way towards the finishing line and were gonna get it done!

I want to thank Kane for taking the extra long time to share from his super-charged life and career and especially for answering his Myspace messages personally.

For more information on Kane, please visit www.kaneroberts.com and www.myspace.com/kaneroberts and www.pfxmedia.com/index6.htm

For an exclusive photo of Kane please visit the “SHOWING SOME LOVE FOR TEN” link