Welcome Ron to Everything Fabulous.
Q: How long has PASSION been together and can you please describe the type of music you perform?
A: Hello Gina. Thank you for asking. PASSION has been together a long time. How’s that for an answer. We are energetic musician/entertainers performing a wide variety of popular music in a wide variety of musical genres dating as far back as the 1920’s to today’s current hits. We also do a number of our own songs. Even though we are now a four piece group instead of six, we perform our music “live” as we always have and don’t use backing tracks or computer sequencing as do most of today’s working bands. We have to work a little bit harder but it gives us more pride in craftsmanship if you know what I mean.
I had the opportunity of being a member in the band back in 1991 -1992 and at that time there were ad six members, 3 male musicians and 3 female singers, and the band was considered a show band performing covers and some originals six nights a week on the Marriott circuit.
Q: What kind of band is PASSION today?
A: PASSION is still a high energy act but much more diversified musically. By the way, if you are performing a song you didn’t personally write yourself you are “covering” it and that goes for musicians in all original bands too. There’s too much concern about that in my opinion. Music is music. Play it. Enjoy it. Write new stuff. Play old stuff. People shouldn’t be assholes or snobbish about it. It’s meant to be shared. Back to your question; because of the state of the industry and the budget constraints that go along with it, we can no longer afford to carry the “extra” personnel for the “look and show” that extra bodies contribute. We’ve pared down the group to the most talented and cohesive four members available that have that important ability to “connect” with the audience. In other words, because of budget constraints we are now able to concern ourselves only with quality of product for our buyers and not have to worry about the quantity of bodies on stage. The great thing is that the buyers understand this now. Back in the day most buyers just wanted more bodies on stage; especially female bodies. They should have just opened up strip clubs back then. That’s why there are so many “high end” strip clubs now. LOL.
Back in the Mid 90s Clubs started replacing live bands with Djs.
A: Actually, the move to DJ’s really started coming hard and strong during and after the disco era of the late seventies. You probably saw it more in the nineties because a lot of the venues we performed at together with you at that time finally went that route. You know it all comes down to how good the product is that you as a musician/entertainer are selling and the value it is providing to your buyer. When most of the bands started becoming “canned” acts and their entertainment value started getting lower the buyers started to realize that if they were going to pay for “canned” music they might as well go all the way and buy DJ’s because the cost was more attractive than paying for and housing a whole band and the amount and variety of songs DJ’s provided was immense and easily changeable and or expandable. Any visual stimulation that the customers needed was provided by adding music videos and dancing bartenders/servers/employees. The other wonderful thing buyers discovered was that they didn’t have to deal with asshole musicians anymore. LOL.
In order for PASSION to survive and for us to make a steady living we simply looked for venues that were prioritizing their entertainment needs by hiring "live" musical acts. At first it made us have to return to our original home of Las Vegas, Nevada, for consistent work because casinos seemed to have always understood the value of "live" musical performers. Unfortunately, every working band facing unemployment in America started moving to Las Vegas as well. Fortunately for us the casino boom outside of Nevada began and more casino based performance venues started to pop up everywhere in the USA. It was good and it was bad. The old nightclub/hotel circuits were month long gigs but the casinos, though many in number were limiting gigs to one week and no more than two week stands. We had to get used to the travel and pack every week routine and fuel costs skyrocketed.
Q: Are you involved in other music projects outside of PASSION?
A: PASSION has been the constant in my musical life. After a long period of time off from songwriting and recording I’ll be doing more of that again as well as keeping my group PASSION active and working (hopefully). LOL.
Q: What is a typical day like for Ron Rillera while touring on the road?
A: Well, my typical day is probably a lot like every other normal guy’s day. Work, sleep, wake, eat, exercise, practice, play golf, eat and then perform again, all while looking for interesting and attractive women to spend quality time with. I guess you can say I pretty much do what I want to do. That’s true because I’m single not because I’m a musician. Married guys can’t do that. They’re not allowed any personal freedom unless they get permission. LOL.
Q: What is a typical day like for Ron Rillera when you are off the road?
A: My typical day when off the road is probably the same as it is on the road except there is more time for doing everything I want to do.
Q: With the intranet and sites such as MySpace, CD Baby, Reverb Nation and You Tube, Indie artists are able record and distribute their music online by themselves. How has the intranet been beneficial to PASSION and your music?
A: As for actually obtaining work via the internet; NO, not a real big winner there. You get work via word of mouth, cold calling, use of Booking Agents, etc. The Internet is a big tool that provides ACCESS. Access is the key. You have to use it the best way you can or are able or willing. The Internet allows a band to have a web site(s) for advertising or for whatever other purposes they want their web site(s) to have. As you said they are able to distribute their music online without having to get signed by a major or minor record label. The Internet allows the use of social sites, video sites, etc., and email to advertise, keep in touch with fans, find new ones, pass the word, spread the news, do business, send and receive contracts, etc. It saves money on sending out hard copy “packages” via regular mail to prospective buyers. It gives musicians another stage/platform to do their shows on and access to anyone that stumbles upon that venue for viewing, selling, buying or whatever it is they are trying to do. It’s good and it’s bad, eh? Because of technology everyone is a musician/record company now even when they aren't. The bad thing is that you have to take the time to maintain your web site, etc. Even if you are paying others to do that job you still have to check on things to be sure it’s all being done correctly. Time is the most valuable thing you have and it’s running out with each tick of the clock. Do you really want to spend so much time on maintenance?
Q: How often are you on the road vs. being home? Do you feel there is anything you missed out on by traveling for years?
A: By traveling all of these years I missed out on being divorced. LOL. My dad was a career military man so moving and traveling was normal for our family. Being a road musician and traveling only helped me to keep moving. Moss doesn't grow on a rolling stone, right? We do spend a lot of time at “home” because a lot of our gigs are no longer the six nights per week gigs that were once prevalent in the industry for working musicians. MADD mothers, technology and MTV have changed all of that.
Thank you for the questions Gina, and for allowing me to answer them freely. With all of this being said I will add that in my opinion the worst thing that happened to musicians in the music industry (long term, mind you) has been the music video and MTV. This moved the primary focus of a person’s senses, as it pertains to music, from strictly aural stimulation to a mix of visual/aural stimulation (visual being the primary) making the music and the musician less important. It’s been downhill ever since for the career working musician and even for potential future music stars. There are a lot of other things that I can add to qualify this statement and I also have other personal views, insight and facts about the regular working musicians' plight in this industry but due to time constraints (LOL) I've got to go for now. Ask me again later and I’ll tell you about it. Hey, I've got to go set up and do a sound check in a few. Our music, photos, and booking info can be found at http://passionmusicgroup.com.
