My Reading Interview with Rich Hattery New Drummer For Ohio Kiss Tribute Band Mr.Speed

Intro: Hi everyone welcome to another episode of WeWillBlogYou am your host Hannah and joining me today is Rich Hattery who is the new drummer for Ohio Kiss tribute band Mr.Speed.

Question1:Rich how are you today?

Rich Hattery: I’m doing fantastic! Still a little tired from playing Sat AND Sun night last weekend with Ripper Owens and then having to be up for work on Monday morning. But it was a blast…so I’ll catch up on sleep next weekend!

Question2: Rich can you tell us a little bit about yourself like where you grew up just a friendly introduction?

Rich Hattery: I was born and raised in Canton, OH. Both of my parents were from the Canton area, and most of my extended family are still there as well. For the last 15 or so years, since meeting my wife, I’ve lived in Alliance, OH…which is only 20-30 mins east of Canton.

Question3:When did you start playing drums?

Rich Hattery: As a baby and toddler, I use to get my Mom’s Tupperware and pots/pans out of the cupboards and beat on them with spoons and spatulas. When I was 5, they bought me a department store “Muppets” drums set for Christmas. It had paper drum heads, which broke fairly soon after, and flimsy metal saucers for cymbals, which got bent up like crinkled pop can! I think they bought me one more of those…maybe a Sesame Street version or something like that. Finally, at the age of 8 years old, I got a real drum set for Christmas. It was a small 4-pc jazz kit with blue sparkle shells.

Question 4: When did you get into music and who were your music influencers?

Rich Hattery: My parents claim I used to sing along with “Barbara Ann” by the Beach Boys when I was still in diapers. I would sing “Ba-ba Ann”, and they figured I must have thought the song was about my baby bottle, because of course I called it my BA-BA! When I was around 6 yrs old, my sister’s boyfriend at the time (they were in HS), gave me an old beat up copy of KISS ALIVE II. I wore that out, and got some more KISS albums in the years to follow. So Peter Criss is definitely my first big drumming influence. Then I got into more 70s bands like Journey and Styx, 80s hair bands like RATT (who are my fav of that time), and later on heavier stuff like Metallica, Slayer, and Slipknot. My musical tastes are basically all across the board as long as it’s ROCK. But KISS is and always will be, my ultimate fav band ever!

Question 5: How did you discover Kiss?

Rich Hattery: I guess I covered this in Question #4 above. It was receiving a beat up copy of ALIVE II at a very young age!

Question 6: Have you ever seen Kiss live, if so do u have a most memorable show?

Rich Hattery: I’ve seen KISS live many times….I’m not sure of the exact count, but I would guess it’s near 15. The most memorable would definitely be the Hot In The Shade tour, on June 9th, 1990 at the Richfield Coliseum in Richfield, OH. Not only was that my very first time seeing KISS live, but I also got to see Eric Carr. I didn’t realize that would be the first and last time I’d get to see him.

Question 7: Who is your favorite member of Kiss and Why?

Rich Hattery: That’s a tough one, but I guess I’d have to go with Ace. When I was little, Ace was my favorite because he was a space man. So, I would play with my Ace doll right along side my Star Wars toys. Plus, I just always thought he was very cool and laid back. Plus, I’ve always loved his 78 solo album, and my favorite color happens to be blue!

Question 8: What inspired you to learn to play the drums Eric Carr style?

Rich Hattery: As I got older and started to play a double bass drum set, I became even more a fan of Eric and his drumming style. I started noticing how he played the older material differently than Peter when I would listen to bootleg recordings from KISS concerts of the 80s. I liked how he wasn’t afraid to smile, and he was a hard hitter with cool chops!

Question 9: Rich can you tell us your journey of you became the new drummer for Mr.Speed?

Rich Hattery: Well, that part was pretty easy! Rich Kosak told a friend of his that Mr. Speed would need a drummer in 2023. His friend checked with another friend, and that guy recommended me for the job. Shortly after, Rich K contacted me, and asked me to send videos of myself playing Strutter and Deuce if I was interested. So I sent the vids, then we met over dinner to discuss how things work in Mr. Speed, and then he offered me the job!

Question 10: How do you feel being in Ohio Kiss tribute band Mr.Speed and do you feel about the popularity you are getting by their fans?

Rich Hattery: It’s very cool for me because I myself have been a fan of Mr. Speed for many years. If you are a KISS fan…how can you not LOVE Mr. Speed? They are hands down the best tribute to KISS. I’ve seen them many times over the years…I even use to paint my kids’ faces and take them to their outdoor shows. So when this opportunity came about, I was pretty excited. The people that follow Mr. Speed have been extremely cool and welcoming to me and to the Eric Carr persona. I know they love Eric as much as I do, so we are sharing in the excitement of seeing “The Fox” make-up on stage again!

Question 11: How hard is it to try to portray Eric Carr The Fox?

Rich Hattery: Honestly, the playing part wasn’t that hard for me. Eric’s playing is more my style than Peter, even though I’ve always loved Peter. Of course, working with a seamstress to create Eric’s outfit was a bit of a challenge. But, the hardest and most labor intensive part for me was trying to re-create Eric’s massive drum kit and gong stand. The kit you see me playing with Mr Speed is made up of 3 different drum kits…some of the toms came from the Netherlands, some from Ebay, and the bass drums and floor tom are from a blue drum kit I’ve had for over 10 years. I had to take apart and paint every single drum silver so they would all match. It took many months, but I’m pretty happy with the results!

End of interview: Thank you Rich Hattery for joining me today.

I hope all of you enjoyed reading my interview with Rich Hattery from Mr.Speed. I want to give a big thank you to Rich Hattery for taking his time answering my interview questions & for wanting to be apart of my blog website I really appreciate it. Thank you Rich Hattery it really means losts to me 🙂

Here’s a promo video of Mr.Speed’s introducing Rich Hattery as The Fox.

Here’s the link to Mr.Speed’s website so you can check out their tour dates and see if they are coming to a city or state near you. MR.SPEED: World’s Best KISS Tribute (mrspeedonline.com)

Also here is Mr.Speed’s Facebook page so you can go follow them Mr. Speed | Facebook.

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