Cinderella shocked when dropped by Mercury Records after earning them 100s of millions of $
Cinderella shocked when dropped by Mercury Records after earning them 100s of millions of $
Cinderella frontman Tom Keifer was recently interviewed by Mitch Lafon on the Rock Talk With Mitch Lafon podcast. The singer spoke about Cinderella‘s legacy and the decision not to continue the band at this time.
With respect to Cinderella’s legacy, Keifer stated (as transcribed by Blabbermouth with slight edits): “I’ve always been a believer in quality over quantity. I don’t think there’s any right or wrong way to create music, or to make a record. I think if you can record a song in 10 minutes for $100 and it’s amazing, great, but if it takes two months and $100,000 and it’s great, either way, there’s no right or wrong. We put a lot of time into the Cinderella records. We had the benefit of a major label behind us, who did really not interfere with the creative process. We had free reign to do what we wanted, and I’m very proud of those records. Should’ve, would’ve, could’ve — yeah, it would have been great if we could have made some more records, but it didn’t happen that way. I’ve tried not to have any regrets when I look in the rearview mirror — as a matter of fact, I really try not to ever look in the rearview mirror. I keep my eyes forward, and I’m proud of the records that we made, and I’m proud of ‘The Way Life Goes‘. That took a long time and was very unconventional, but the creative process, it is what it is. Sometimes life gets in the way too, because there was the whole issue with my vocal paralysis that certainly caused some setbacks for me. That was out of my hands. Life throws things at you that you’re not expecting. We certainly weren’t expecting to be dropped by Mercury Records after earning them hundreds of millions of dollars. That was a bit of a shocker. I think John Lennon said it best — ‘Life’s what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.’ It is what it is.”
In terms of why Cinderella haven’t toured without guitarist Jeff LaBar, who has previously mentioned battling alcoholism, Keifer stated (as transcribed by Blabbermouth with slight edits): “I don’t want to speak on the internal workings of the band and what’s going on. I’ll leave it at what I’ve said before — there have been issues within the band that date back decades, and the wheels have come off. That’s all I’m going to say about that, because I’m not going to say anything else that goes on between us — but it’s been covered by not only me in the press, but other members have done interviews. Speaking on the name issue, I just don’t think it’s credible many times, at least for me in my heart and the way I feel. I own the name, but I would never call my new band Cinderella. It’s not Cinderella. I’m building something new, and it hasn’t been easy. It’s like starting over, but I’m riding on a bus with a group of people who are extremely talented, and extremely committed to what we’re doing. A lot of people say, ‘Why are you still touring?’ When the record first came out in 2013, because I chose not to use the name Cinderella, I was starting over. We’ve been building this band on the road from very small clubs to now where we’re headlining or direct support on major festivals and fairs, and it’s been a punching match. I’m proud of what we’ve done, and it’s been really fun to build this with this band. It’s actually more gratifying to have built it as something new. I would never just get a bunch of new people and call it Cinderella. That’s just not… it’s just not me.”
You can read more excerpts of the Rock Talk With Mitch Lafon podcast interview with Keifer at Blabbermouth.