"She Was The Japanese Devil" An Interview With DAVE CRIGGER of FOGHAT, THE WORLD XXI

May 2018 (e-mail)

You likely haven't heard of rock bassist Dave Crigger, though he's considered an innovator of the slap & tap bass style which fused the famed R&B playing technique with the hard rock repertoire. His resume has included playing & touring with Wild Horses, The World XXI, progressive instrumental guitarist Michael Fath & the unsigned Broken Silence with Megadeth guitarist Jeff Young. He also toured with Foghat until 1993, when the original line-up would reunite for the 1st time since 1975. Foghat is today primarily known for their hit "Slow Ride", though at the time of their 1971 formation they were one of the few rock bands that used an electric slide guitar, something that was only found in blues bands. Crigger toured alongside founding member / drummer Roger Earl, long-term guitarist Erik Cartwright & vocalist Billy Davis, though he never recorded with the band. Today he performs locally in Virginia, while working as an electrician & raising his family.

For some years I've been working on /off on the 1st bio of the one-off 1996 industrial metal trio Vertex. Vertex is not so much known for its one CD or only single "One Like A Son", falling forgotten during grunge's musical make-over, but because it's line-up included famed vocalist Stephen Pearcy of Ratt & hot guitarist Al Pitrelli of numerous bands including Megadeth, Asia, Alice Cooper & Trans-Siberian Orchestra. The band was formed to boost the career of Japanese drummer Hiro Kuritani, though neither the band nor Hiro would go on to bigger things. It would be the only industrial metal outing for any member, thus having a unique place in their discographies. I've been a fan of Pitrelli for years & wanted to know more about this under-appreciated musical moment, something that got only a paragraph in Pearcy's autobio. Before Vertex Kuritani was in the prog-metal band The World XXI, named after the tarot card, & it was while with this band that he met Pearcy. In my research I listened to Pearcy's post-Ratt & pre-Vertex bands Arcade & Vicious Delite & hunted up The World XXI. Before ordering the album from Japan I found some youtube videos put up by Crigger, which led to finding him on facebook on a night when he was available to chat. This is an all too short interview, but we got too busy to continue with it. The fact I also briefly confused him with drummer David Crigger, known for playing with Burt Bacharach, likely didn't help.

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DAVE: I will give you a brief history of THE WORLD XXI. I was in the band FOGHAT when I got the call in 1993 from Hiro & [guitarist] Mac's [Mizunuma] management to join their project. I flew to LA to meet & jam. Jean Violet, the singer, fly from NY to audition. We jammed about an hour & made plans to write songs in Japan. Jean & I went to Japan for about 6 months & rehearsed 15 or 16 songs that were mostly written by Mac & Hiro. We applied our parts & came out with what you hear [on our CD]. The idea was to have 2 Americans & 2 Japanese just killing some great prog-rock songs. We were put on a salary & worked full time at this project. Jean & I lived in a very small apt & hung together because we didn't know anyone.

AJ: When did you record the CD?

DAVE: We then went back to LA & recorded at American Studios [one of the 1st independent recording studios in California] with Bill Cooper. Everything was going great so far. After the CD was complete we did about 7 or 8 shows in Japan. We did some shows with BLUE MURDER. After those shows things were falling apart. Here's the real inside story. Everything the Japanese management company did was wrong. We were not getting air play. We were not getting paid. The first pressing of the CD didn't list Fender, Ibanez, Hipshot, SIT Strings or Ampeg on the credits, which I had endorsement contracts with. I was the only one established & already had 6 or 7 CD's out. These endorsements were required to be listed on anything I recorded. We then went home for a short break, but I wasn't getting paid, so I didn't go back. Jean did go back, but only for a short while. This is when Hiro joined with Stephen Pearcy.

AJ: What was it like working with Hiro?

DAVE: Hiro spoke a little English & Mac spoke no English. We had a translator when needed. Our manager was a lady named Yasumi. She was the Japanese Devil. Hiro & her were a pair. I mean, she was there for Hiro. Anything Hiro said she would do. Hiro had the least experience as a professional & that's why there were so many mistakes.

AJ: What did you & Jean do after the band was over?

DAVE: Jean went back to NY & started his LED ZEPPELIN tribute band [imitating Robert Plant in KASHMIR: THE ULTIMATE LED ZEPPELIN TRIBUTE]. I came back to VA & started my family with Rika. This is the best part. While we were rehearsing in Japan I needed money because they weren't paying us. I went to the studio & did session work for $300 a song. Rika was one of the singers that I did sessions for. She was a gorgeous Japanese teen idol that became a awesome singer. When I saw her after my session I fell in love . We now have 3 kids.

AJ: How do you feel about the music you made with Hiro & co.?

DAVE: I loved the band. I think the songs were just great. We would have been huge if the manager & Hiro hadn't controlled everything.

AJ: What's your music background?

DAVE: I started playing bass in high school. I was featured in Guitar Player mag in the Spotlight section. That's when I moved to LA. I was playing Sunset Strip with MOTLEY CRUE, RATT, WARRANT, POISON & all the '80's bands just before they all broke out. I was in a band called BROKEN SILENCE with [guitarist] Jeff Young of MEGADETH & one of the best singers in the world Mark Delpapa. We were managed by Barry Levine of KISS. But, just like most bands, things fall apart just as we were being signed. I came back home to VA 2 yrs later & started playing with another local hero [progressive rock guitarist] Michael Fath. We recorded & toured for 6 CD's as a 3 piece fusion instrumental band. We toured with several rock instrumental bands like Joe Satriani, Tony McAlpine, Eric Johnson & more. During this time I accepted some auditions with great bands like George Lynch, Lita Ford, [German metal band] KINGDOM COME & even METALLICA when Cliff Burton died. I didn't go for some of them because I was always touring in my own band. I did accept one band called WILD HORSES, a new heavy soulful band managed by Keith Olsen of DOKKEN. I was only in L.A. a couple weeks to record. That band just came to late. Grunge started getting popular & the money was tight. I went back home & recorded more with Fath.

AJ: When did you join FOGHAT?

DAVE: A couple years later I joined FOGHAT. I toured with them for 4 yrs & that's when THE WORLD XXI came about.

AJ: Dave, you have blown me away with your generosity of information. It's completely unexpected.

DAVE: Anytime & thanks for writing. I like reminiscing about the old days. Don't get me wrong on the negativity. I really did enjoy the few years with Hiro & Mac, but the business side crushed us all. I still talk to Jean about once or twice a month. He's attempting to sue the record company now, trying to get the money they didn't pay us. I let the dog lie comfortably, I wasn't doing it for the money.