interview with THE PLEASURE SEEKERS & CRADLE
What´s the name of your band? THE PLEASURE SEEKERS & CRADLE
How was the band formed? CLUB OWNER DAVE LEONE DARED US
Can you tell about your band? READ HISTORY ON WEBSITE WWW.QUATROROCK.COM
Where are all band members from?/Who does what in the band?
ALL THE GIRLS WERE FROM DETROIT, MICHIGAN, U.S.
SUZI QUATRO WAS BASS/VOCALS, PATTI QUATRO-LEAD GUITAR
ARLENE QUATRO-KEYS, NANCY QUATRO-KEYS, BASS, VOCALS
DARLINE ARNONE AND NANCY ROGERS-DRUMS, PAM BENFORD-
GUITAR, LEE SERRIDGE-DRUMS, LYNN SERRIDGE-BASS (CRADLE)
What was the ambitions of the band when you started? TO MAKE A CAREER IN ROCK MUSIC
Where was your first gig? DAVE LEONE’S HIDEOUT TEEN CLUB
Who writes your songs?/Who writes the music who writes lyrics? MOST WRITING WAS BY THE QUATRO SISTERS, LYRICS AND MUSIC
Who has the best since of humor in the band? SUZI AND DARLINE
What's good/bad with the band?/What genre do you feel you are? HEAVY ROCK. MANY DIFFERENT TASTES BETWEEN MEMBERS=HARD THAT WAS THE GOOD ALSO AS WE HAD A VARIETY OF MUSIC WE ALL ENJOYED
Why did you pick that particular style?/What are your songs about? SONGS WERE ABOUT THE TIMES WE LIVED IN…..HIPPIE ERA, VIETNAM,SEXUALITY
Do you write your own material or mainly covers? BOTH
Have you made any albums?/If yes what are they? CRADLE “THE HISTORY”, AND PLEASURE SEEKERS “WHAT A WAY TO DIE”
Do you have any clips on YouTube? QUATROROCK ON YOU TUBE
How old are you?/What got you started in music? I AM 65. STARTED IN MUSIC AT 16 WITH FIRST SINGLE HIT OUT I STARTED THE BAND AFTER SEEING THE BEATLES IN DETROIT
At what age did you start playing? 1964
How old were you guys when you first stood on stage? 1964
What year was the band started? 1964 – 2 WEEKS, LEARNED 2 SONGS THEN PLAYED FIRST APPEARANCE ON STAGE, ON A DARE FROM THE CLUB OWNER
Best/worst gig you've played?
BEST—GUAM PLAYING FOR TROOPS
JUST OFF BATTLEFIELD—VERY HARD AND VERY EMOTIONAL.
WORST—LONG ASS CLUB GIGS IN THE BEGINNING OF OUR CAREER.
What places will you be playing in in the imidate future? BAND IS DONE
Where have you played from then till now? WE’VE ALL DONE ONE OFF GIGS OR APPEARANCES AT TIMES. THE QUATROS HAVE DONE THINGS WITH SUZI IN ENGLAND, TV SHOWS, SOME CONCERTS ETC.
Is it always the same songs live? WE MIXED UP OUR SETS AS WE WROTE NEW STUFF
How big crowds do you usually play for? DID CONCERTS AND FESTIVALS FOR THOUSANDS. PLAYED WITH MANY LEGENDS OF OUR ERA.
What are the plans for the rest of the year? GOING TO SEE SISTER SUZI’S FINAL TOUR OF AUSTRALIA
Where do you usually play? ONLY SPECIAL APPEARANCES NOW
How do you get psyched up for a gig? NEVER HAD TO PSYCH MYSELF
What are your goals with your music? GOALS WERE MET—ROCK TILL I DROPPED….ENJOYED MY CAREER, LEFT TO BRING UP KIDS.
When did you decide to go all in for the music? AT 16 YEARS OLD
Is it easier to get your inspiration from older bands or from bands more modern? I LOVE MANY GENRES SO MUCH INSPIRATION FROM A VARIETY OF PLACES
What are your sources of inspiration? I’M A ROCKER, I DON’T DO SOFT STUFF.
What's the first step when making a new song? FINDING A HOOK, A RIFF
How do you feel about the downloading of music instead of buying albums? IT SUCKS, HARD ON ARTISTS
What would be your dreams for the band? WANTED TO BE THE FIRST ALL GIRL BAND TO CRACK THE MUSIC INDUSTRY WIDE OPEN FOR WOMEN MUSICIANS
Besides your own music, what genres and bands do you listen to? HEAVY ROCK, SOME ALTERNATIVE, SOME METAL, BLUES
What do you hold most dear? IT’S ALL ABOUT THE MUSIC AND HOW IT MAKES YOU FEEL WHEN YOU ARE PLAYING IT.
When you are on stage, what do you fear most then? NO FEAR….ENJOY THE RIDE
What songs and what years were they released? REFER TO WEBSITE
Have you been part of any other projects? DID LOTS OF STUDIO WORK WITH PEOPLE LIKE KEITH MOON, HARRI NILSSON, ELO, ETC.
Have you been in any other bands? YES MIKE QUATRO JAM BAND, AND FANNY, AND HARLOW.
What do you work with outside of the band and the music? WE HAVE A TRAVEL AGENCY FOR ROCK TRAVEL—DO THE ITINERARIES, THE HOTELS, THE LIMOS, ETC…MOVE BANDS FROM POINT A TO POINT Be.
What would you do if there was no music? PAINT
What's the funniest/most memorable thing a fan has done for you? POETRY
How often do you rehearse? IN THE DAY, OFTEN
Where do you rehearse? WE USED HALLS, BASEMENTS, WHEREVER WE COULD
Name 2 of your own songs you like at the moment? TED, SOOTHSAYER
What do you feel is the best live band you've seen? LED ZEPPELIN BACK IN THEIR DAY
What drives a band that isn't all that famous and renowned to try to make a living on their music and to keep playing? THE LOVE OF THE ARTISTRY AND CREATION OF THEIR OWN MUSIC
Do you have any webpages? WWW.QUATROROCK.COM
Any pearls of wisdom for all other bands out there? DEVELOP THE HIDE OF A RHINOCEROUS TO BE IN THIS BIZ, AND CHECK YOUR EGO AT THE DOOR. GROUPS ARE TOUGH AS HELL, EACH ONE WITH AN EGO AND WANTING TO BE HEARD.
Describe your show, visually and musically WAS AMAZING. WE DID UNUSUAL MAKEUP (A LA KISS) BEFORE THEM, WE DID CHANGING OF INSTRUMENTS, A COMPLETE SHOW, VARIED AND INTERESTING. WE HAD ONE OF THE EARLIEST LIGHT SHOWS BEFORE THEY WERE EVEN DEVLOPED…..A PSYCHEDELIC LIGHT SHOW BUILT FOR US.
How do you view the musicindurty of today? IT’S COME A LONG WAY….
THE ARTISTRY AND MUSICIANSHIP. DRUM SOUNDS ARE SO MUCH BETTER NOW, AS WELL AS THE TECHNIQUES FOR RECORDING ETC.
What advice would you like to give other bands? IN TODAY’S WORLD, I THINK YOU HAVE TO DO IT FOR THE SHEER JOY OF PLAYING MUSIC CUZ IT IS A ROUGH ASS BIZ NOW, AND FEW MAKE IT OR ABLE TO MAKE A LIVING AT IT. BEWARE OF RECORD LABELS!!!
What are the biggest obstacles for a band? THE “SUITS” THAT CONTROL YOUR CAREER.
What is best/worst with playing the clubs? THE HOURS. WE USED TO DO 5 SETS A NIGHT…..GRUELING WORK. IT WAS HARD TO BE UP ALL NIGHT, SLEEP ALL DAY…….COMPLETE TURN AROUND OF HOURS.
Tell us about upcomming gigs and why we should be at them? Not applicable
How would you describe your sound in one sentence HEAVY ROCK
What is your favorite crappy instrument? COWBELL OR CONGA
What was one of the most quarrelsome times for you in the band? ARGUING OVER MONEY OR DIRECTION OF A SONG….CREATIVEDIFFERENCES. AS I SAID, GROUPS ARE HARD.
Whats your Pre-show ritual? ARTISTS WERE NOT SO SELF INDULGENT BACK IN MY DAY, AS TO HAVING A “RITUAL”. WE HUNG BACKSTAGE WITH EACH OTHER, TALKED, JAMMED, ATE, GOT READY NO BIGGIE!!!!
Do you have anything to add? You can read much much more and get all the pics you want at the Website. Contact me if you need help with pics. www.quatrorock.comrecords and t-shirts are also available there. Both the Pleasure Seekers and Cradle are in the Michigan/Detroit Hall of Fame, as well as Suzi Quatro also as a solo artist later years. We are pretty much recognized as being the heaviest all female, and Earliest pioneers of women playing very heavy music in a male Dominated music world in the 60’s. We pretty much set a standard And inspired many young women to forge their path in music. One of the most well known girls who were inspired by us was Joan Jett, among others.