It's like I've always said: you NEVER know when there's something GREAT in your backyard. My home state of New Jersey keeps on suprising me over and over again. This time around, allow me to introduce to you strong, passionate music....music that looks back to it's roots of the 80's and remembers when a guitar solo meant something. A vocal line was sung with power, strength, and deliverence. After a lot of hunting down, I managed to contact this band. I was given a copy of their indie released debut album by a co-worker years ago, and that was it. Little did I know this band had risen up to their potential, got signed, and.....well, read on and see. RIVERA BOMMA is the name of the band, and I had the pleasure of meeting up with them in a local New Jersey diner for an interview. Guitarist Rod Rivera and Vocalist John Bomma tell me their story........
Interview by Anthony
Thank you for taking the time to do this interview. Please introduce yourselves, and tell me a little about yourselves.
[Rod Rivera] Hi…I’m Rod Rivera from Rivera Bomma…guitar player.
How did the two of you wind up playing music together?
[J.B.] A mutual friend of ours, Don DaPallo (who I actually went to high school with), was working with Rod on a Jazz album. Rod was doing a song called “Cry of Love”; Rod had a great voice and everything, but my friend Don said to him “On this particular one, we should really bring in a singer who’s just a singer”. He put Rod and I together, and I sang the song for Rod. With that, we hit it off like brothers….and the rest, as they say, is history.
[R.R.]….Metal history.
How long has Rivera Boma been recording music?
[J.B.] We met in 2000. We did a small EP type of thing early on, and we decided to write our first CD called Invisible Force, which was released independently in 2001. It was picked up on Singapore Records a year later. We’re just about to release our next CD on Mausoleum Records out of Belgium. That will be coming out the first of February…..right Rod?
[R.R.]….February 2006.
From the point when the band started until now, what differences do you see in the music scene for Christian Metal bands?
[R.R.] To be honest with you, in the States….which is pretty good, I see a lot of 80’s metal bands coming back. One of them being the biggest 80’s band Stryper. That has kind of helped us out, because we are kind of like the new breed. It’s good….it’s definitely better than it was five years ago. You know how it goes: everything that starts out dies after some years, but hopefully it won’t. It’s been better compared to five years ago.
What other Christian Metal bands were around both then and now?
[R.R.] Let’s see…… Neon Cross, Stryper, Petra, White Cross….really, that’s about all I can think of right now.
What made you decide to use religious-based lyrics for most of your songs?
[J.B.] When Rod and I got together and started to write for the new CD, we asked God for direction and where we were going to go. We said “Well, we can do like bands such as Creed and U2 and a few other bands out there that do rock music but use innuendoes”. We asked God to direct us in which direction to go in. Both Rod and I are lyricists. What was coming out was Christian music….Christian words. So, we just ran with that.
Does your music appeal to the masses, or is it your intent to have it appeal to a select audience?
[J.B.] Anybody….anywhere…..any time.
[R.R.] It’s like you said, when we did Invisible Force, Invisible Force is so versed….we have some power metal stuff, some hard rock stuff, some power ballads, and some instrumental. It appeals to anybody; mainly the hard rock/metal fans….whoever wants to hear it. Yes, we are a Christian rock band and we’re not ashamed to say that. Would we play with Venom? Of course we would! We will play with pastors…..I don’t care, whoever. Anywhere, anytime…..you name a place, we’re there.
If you guys play with Venom, you can call it The Heaven and Hell Tour.
[Laughs]
[J.B.] That works for us!!!
[R.R.] They should bring back Black Sabbath with Ronnie James Dio.
[J.B.] That’s awesome….that’s when Black Sabbath was Black Sabbath.
What is your ultimate goal as a musician?
[R.R.] Ultimate goals…..you know, talking about Petra before: they’ve been around for almost thirty years doing it, and I believe they’re doing it for the right reasons…..not for the money; not for the fame. For us, it’s about the ministry, and definitely about the music also because God gave us that talent. For the future, I’d like to be able to keep on doing it and to work for the true love of why we’re doing it. I don’t want to loose focus on just doing it because we want to be famous or we want to be seen on TV or it’s a trend. I want to keep it going for the love of the music and for the love of God. That’s what I see, and everything is honest, and Rivera Bomma is about being honest to ourselves. We don’t follow trends; I can’t go tomorrow and write a rap-core record……I won’t be able to. I’ve got to come out with what I grew up with and what I like listening to…..that’s what we write about.
[J.B.] I think that as we evolve, the term is used “Reinventing Yourself”. Like Rod said, we’re not going to go to the local trend, but what we will do is take the philosophy of the sisters from Heart: we will improve on every single album. We will be better than we were before; we will be faster, we’ll have higher vocal ranges, lower vocal ranges, and more tasteful licks on the guitar. The bassist will be a faster shredder than Rod….our new bassist is an animal.
[R.R.] The new bassist is an animal. Don’t say too much. You’re already saying what they’re going to sound like on the next album from now. [Laughs]
[J.B.] Yeah…I’m talking about the THIRD album from now. [Laughs]
[R.R.] Oohhh….
Let’s talk a little about your album “Invisible Force”. How long did it take to write this album? What were your lyrical influences?
[J.B.] It’s got character.
[R.R.] It’s very special, and I wouldn’t change it in a million years. It’s got to be what it is, and I love it.
Would each of you please provide your personal thoughts for each song on the album?
[J.B.] first of all, “Cry of Love” is the song that bought Rod and I together. This song is very personal
[R.R.] Yeah man.
After listening to the album, I noticed that your songs could be interpreted in a non-religious way. Was this done intentionally? Which song(s) do each of you feels portray(s) the strongest message?
[R.R.] Hmmm…..[looks to John] well, you wrote most of the lyrics, so….
[Laughs]
[J.B.] There were really no intentions when we wrote. We just allowed the Holy Spirit to come out with what we came out with, and where ever it fell. Whatever emotions we stirred in other people, that’s the emotions we felt that the Holy Spirit would stir in other people. If it meant the religious thing, that’s great; if it touched their life in a personal manner that’s great. There’s song that we wrote that don’t necessarily come out and sing about Jesus Christ, but singing about life and realities…..things we’ve lived.
[R.R.] I believe the three ballads on there are about relationships. To the average ear, it doesn’t have a message on it. Take a listen to it again…..you’ll see; it’s not intended to be like that. As Christians, we’re also humans. This band is about being positive. We’ll talk about anything that’s positive. I won’t say “John….write a song about cocaine”. That’s not what we do. If we want to write a song about how we love our car…..
[J.B.] It rocks!!! [Laughs]
[R.R.] It rocks….you know. It’s the same way in saying I love my car, it’s the fastest thing, and thank God that he provided that for us. That’s what you get from this record…..positive stuff.
I enjoyed the two versions of “Cry of Love”. Why did you record two versions of this song? Which version do you like better?
[R.R.] For myself, I really dig the acoustic version. That has to be one of my favorite solos that I’ve played, and I’ve played a lot of solos in the past. Again, it came naturally: one take….just hit record
[J.B.] You know, I get a lot of responses that a lot of people like that version better than the power ballad version.
[R.R.]…Which one do you like better though?
[J.B.] I like….
[R.R.] I don’t really care which one you like……Next question! [Laughs]
[J.B.] I like power ballad version.
Which version do you perform live?
[R.R.] We actually do both….it’s a flip of the coin. It depends.
[J.B.] We don’t even know going in.
[R.R.] As a matter of fact, last week we did a patched TV show, and did “Cry of Love” with Jazz overtone to it.
[J.B.] We were doing “Jazz Cry of Love”.
[R.R.] So, it just came out like that……go figure. Maybe next time we’ll do a rap one.
[J.B.] Yeah….we’ll do a rap version of “Cry of Love”……we’ll do that.
Please don’t. Tell me about the other musicians on “Invisible Force”. Do they tour/perform live with you too?
[R.R.] God loves everybody, so I guess I should too, hugh?
[J.B.] Yeah……you should.
[R.R.] The guys were great. Some went to do other stuff. We still keep in communication with one of them. Awesome players……for the first record, we had awesome players: incredible drummer, incredible keyboard player. The bass player, I have no idea where he came out of, and I have no idea where he is now.
[J.B.] Dave Incognito…..that’s his name.
[J.B.] Actually, Sean (Faust) toured Puerto Rico with us, when we toured Puerto Rico for the first time. Actually, we had plans for Puerto Rico this year, and we were in California and were communicating with him. We asked him if he wanted to come along with us, but he had previous engagements. Sean……I bet you’re getting itchy.
Did R.B. do any shows in support of “Invisible Force” back when it first came out?
[R.R.] Well, yeah. It’s funny you ask that question, because Invisible Force came out in September, and by October 30, we were touring Puerto Rico…..headlining shows for two days. On the beach…..it was incredible. We were there for a week; we did three shows, and it was incredible. The response was ridiculous. It was magical, and people knew our songs; the record was only out a month and a half, so it was magical. Puerto Rico rocks!
[J.B.] Puerto Rico rocks……that’s our home away from home. In fact, they’re already rocking out to our new CD over there. They’ve been getting snippets of it, and they’re flipping out waiting to hear the new CD.
Am I correct in asking that you toured some part of South America or Mexico recently?
[R.R.] No……we were close. We were about an hour away from Mexico, but we just did California.
[J.B.] Anahime.
[R.R.] We did a big event with Holy Solider. We backed them up. Have you heard of Holy Soldier?
No….I’ve meddled in their stuff a little.
[R.R.] They were like the babies of Stryper. When Stryper died out, the management decided “Let’s put a clone out”. So, they got Holy Soldier. We did a tour with them. It was in support of a great cause. This was to support a church in Mexico that lost a lot of money due to another well-known band. I will not mention any names, but if you’ve ever heard of bumblebees, you know what I’m talking about.
For just Rod Rivera: Your guitar playing is outstanding on the “Invisible Force” album. Are you a self-taught musician?
[R.R.] No I’m not……no I’m not. I took……
[J.B.] I taught him everything he knows!! [Laughs]
[R.R.] You know, I hate to say that, because I would love to be proud enough to say that no one taught me, but I did. I went to a music academy in Puerto Rico and they taught me theory. That was after I was playing for four years; I grew up with music. Then, I came here to the States and started rocking away. So, I have some training, which I would recommend to some…..a lot of people to do. I’m sorry to say it, but the bands now a days are lacking knowledge.
[J.B.] They don’t even know what guitar solos are….let alone three chords.
[R.R.] Go back to school and learn something.
How long have you been playing guitar? What are your influences?
[R.R.] I’ve been playing guitar from twenty-five years….close to it. My influences rang from…….well, my biggest influence was my father. He started me off….I watched him play, so I wanted to be like my dad. As far as influences though, I love Ritchie Blackmore, Rainbow rocks, Deep Purple, and Michael Shankner. A lot of flamenco guitar players: Stranz an Ferah, I love Al Demeola, and countless others.
I hear elements of Spanish, Classical, and Rock Guitar in your playing. Can you elaborate on the styles you play? Which is your favorite to play?
[R.R.] My favorite style to play, that I wish I could play more formerly, would be Spanish Guitar – Flamenco. The reason I don’t play it as good as I want to is because originally, I’m a rock guitar player even though I grew up listening to flamenco. I thought putting make-up on, spandex, and teasing my hair was cooler than actually playing classical guitar. That’s why I’m a rock guitar player. Now that I’m older, you tend to appreciate what the guitar actually came out of, so flamenco all the way. If I could not play anything else, it would be flamenco, and that’s it. Definitely, you hear rock and jazz…..it’s pretty versatile. I thank God for that, because of the talent that He gave me.
I noticed on your MySpace page a photo of Rod at Obsessions Nightclub w/ Flotsam & Jetsam speakers on the stage. Could you please tell me about this show?
[R.R.] That was actually our first Rivera Bomma show.
[J.B.] That’s right……it was, wasn’t it?
[J.B.]….But we did.
[R.R.] We did. Will we ever play there again?? NO. It was a little costly for us to play there.
[J.B.] You know, it kinda worked out well. I hate to say this, and I don’t wanna gloat on this too much. There was this guy that was all about his hair & it looked great, and he was all about performance & it was great, but he was so cocky. He was cocky to everybody: the sound guys, the light guys, and he thought that he was the stuff. Well, he gets out on stage and has about three people that came to see him…..that was about it…..and he’s running around with his cordless battery-pack guitar. He tries to jump a five-foot hurdle from the ground to the stage to get back onto the stage, and all you hear is BOOM. He had a microphone on his face, so you then hear “UUUGGGGHHHH” (moan/whimper of pain). That was the highlight of the show. [Laughs] Anyway, what’s kind of neat for Rod and I was one or two of the bands that was touring with Flotsam and Jetsam decided not to play that night. We actually warmed up Flotsam to play that night, and that was a great honor for us. Mike Piatza was there that night.
[R.R.] Yeah Mike and Eddie Trunk were there.
[J.B.] Wasn’t Rich Serpa(?) there….did Rich come to that show?
[R.R.] A lot of people were there.
[J.B.] Where are ya, Rich? Whatever happened to you? Come On!!!
For just John: I really enjoyed your vocals on Invisible Force. You have a great range.
[J.B.] Thank you.
Have you been compared to any other vocalist? If so, who?
[J.B.] First, if anybody ever, EVER compares me to Graham Bonnet ever again, they’ll get kicked. Literally. ….And I do know tai-quan-doe very well, so be careful. I know how to use my one toe….I’ll break your leg. [Laughs] All kidding aside, the biggest complement in the world for me is if anybody was to say my voice is anywhere near similar to Ronnie James Dio. It’s the greatest compliment in the world, and it’s happened a few times. For me, that’s an awesome thing.
When you write a song, do you write the lyrics first, or go with a guitar melody and build from there?
[J.B.] On Invisible Force, Rod had a lot of things spinning in his head from some people he’s worked with in the past. So, there were some lyrics he had set, and then I took over and started writing the lyrics from what he was doing. For instance, we call “Give you my Love” the “baby song”. Susan, Rod’s wife, was pregnant with Jaseline, his beautiful daughter….God bless. He was playing this little melody at one or two in the morning, keeping his wife up (who had to be up at five in the morning), and Jaseline was moving to this melody. So, Rod said “John, I’ve got this melody that I want to play for you in our studio”, and he played this for me. I said “Stop” right after hearing one measure of it, so I’ve got the melody, and I’ve got the lyrics…..let’s do it. That’s sometimes how the magic took place. For the most part, with the new album coming up called I Am God, we wrote somewhat differently. We would rehearse live, then come up with melodies as we went on, so it was a little different with this new album.
John: have you performed in any other bands prior to RB?
[J.B.] Back in the day, I always had high school bands that got absolutely no where but thrown in jail. I’ played with Hades. I was Hades original lead singer back in the day. I played around with them for a while. I then destroyed my voice trying to sound like Rob Halford, Led Zeppelin, and all these guys. Obviously, I was young , so it destroyed my voice and I had to get an operation to remove polyps. I had to quit Hades at that point. After that point, I played with some rock bands in the 80’s, but nothing major. I then did theatre……I did a lot of theatre before I met Rod.
Invisible Force has been re-released under a record label. Could you tell me a little about this label?
[R.R.] It was picked up in 2002 on Singapore Records, out of Greece. We had to go back to the studio and do two bonus tracks. They were kind enough to make a
How did Mausoleum Records take notice to the band and sign you? Did you send them a demo?
[R.R.] It’s funny, because we had gotten about three offers from other labels. We were just finishing up the record in Mixaleany Studios, and our buddy Jack Frost from Seven Witches was also doing his solo
What are the differences between the independent release and the label-fronted release of your album, besides the additional photos?
[R.R.] It’s got two bonus tracks: Revelation and Holy One. These are not on the independent version. There’s also a song that he took out…..
[J.B.] He took out “Hold On”.
[R.R.] Yes…he took out “Hold On”.
That was a poor choice
[R.R.] Yeah, but you know…..send me the money, and do whatever you want with it. [Laughs]
[J.B.] It’s funny, because “Hold On” really hit people; they really like that ballad. For some reason, he wasn’t into that song..
Well, you’ve answered my next question: Are there any demos or unreleased songs not included on the I.F. album? So, I’m going to skip over that one…….
[R.R.] No….there IS. There is a bunch of ‘em. There’s a beautiful song that I did, and I sang on it. I really want to release it. I did a cover for a beautiful White Snake song called “Here I Go Again”. I did a cove of that, and there are also a couple of instrumental pieces that I have. We have two others that are not coming out on the new record either.
[J.B.] We’ve got two other songs that are not coming out on the new record, but we’ll keep that for bonus tracks for the next CD, or for different releases with different venues we get involved with.
I left out a few names here because I wasn’t sure. You were scheduled to play a metalfest with a bunch of other Christian bands which was canceled. Could you tell me about the metalfest that was canceled, and if you know why it was canceled?
[R.R.] The metalfest that was canceled……let me say “Canceled”…..was called “Beyond The Mountain”. Why was it canceled? I want to be honest with you and I want to tell you why it was canceled. I don’t care if they don’t like my answer, but the truth is the truth. The promoter decided to start a concert…..to promote a concert without any backing. He wanted to sell presale tickets, then use that money to fly the bands out. Obviously, a lot of people don’t like to buy presale tickets, so the sales weren’t that good and he had to cancel the show. “Beyond The Mountain” was going to be headlined by Holy Soldier and the original intention of that festival was to help out the church in Mexico & support them because they lost a lot of money from another previous band that I mentioned.
This is what you had mentioned earlier, right?
[J.B.] The bumblebees.
[R.R.] The bumblebees….
[J.B.] To hell with the devil!!! [Laughs]
I didn’t know Jacobs Dream was a white metal band.
[J.B.] Yes, kind of…..they use innuendoes.
Did you premier any new songs at “Up From The Ashes”?
[R.R.] Yes we did. We premiered three…..
[J.B.] “You’re My Child”
[R.R.] “He Died For You”…..and, what else……….
[J.B.] Did we do “Riding High”?
[R.R.] No, we didn’t.
[J.B.]…..I lost twenty pounds in that concert. [Laughs]
[R.R.] We did about three new songs…..I don’t remember.
[J.B.] I don’t remember the third one…..”Revelations”?
[R.R.] Yes….”Revelations”
Do you plan to tour for the re-release of I.F.? Will you be playing in New Jersey any time soon?
[J.B.] Well, Invisible Force was Invisible Force. Now, we’re going to support I Am God, which is coming out on Mausoleum Records. You can check that out at www.mausoleumrecords.com and you should be able to get some sound bytes….Rod, can they get sound bytes yet?
[R.R.] If I’m nice enough to do it, we’ll put it in.
[J.B.] Yes, that’s right. [Laughs]
[J.B.] Okay….so, it all depends on what kind of mood Rod is in. So, with that said, I AM GOD will be coming out in the first week of February, and we’re already planning to support that record as soon as it comes out.
[R.R.] Do I plan to play New Jersey? We would LOVE to play New Jersey. If someone would like to come out with twenty thousand dollars for us to do it, we’ll gladly do it.
[J.B.] [Laughs]
[R.R.] I can give you my cell phone number, and we’ll work on it. All kidding aside, we would love to do Jersey, but it’s got to be the right opportunity and the right situation to do it.
[J.B.] So, in other words, if the Meadowlands opens up, we’ll be more than happy to headline there…..IF it’s in our schedule. [Laughs]
[R.R.] Yes…IF it’s in our schedule.
What kind of band(s) will you look to perform or tour with? Does that even matter?
[R.R.] It doesn’t really matter. It’s really the prompters that decide. We’re not going to tour with Run DMC or Puff Daddy, but it’s got to be in the genre. We were talking about doing something with Jacobs Dream and possibly do something with White Cross, but it all depends. It’s going to be in the genre of metal/hard rock music.
For the new album: how would you compare it to Invisible Force……musically, lyrically, etc.
[R.R.] Did we tell you that it’s coming out in February of 2006 on Mausoleum Records?
No, you didn’t tell me that yet……….
[R.R.] Well, I’ll tell you again. February of 2006, you can check us out at www.riverabomma.com The differences? The songs are well rehearsed, the range is happening on the vocals, the guitars are better…..there’s some stuff there where I amaze myself, and I have to go relearn. Not to be cocky or anything, but that’s the way it is. The bass player on there is incredible; he’s a monster. The drummer is good………
[J.B.]…….[Laughs] He’s come a long way.
[R.R.] Yes, he’s come a long way. The background vocals are incredible, so everything is right where it’s supposed to be. This is a record, which Invisible Force was more like a live CD and this is like one of the bands from the 80’s, doing the big productions. We have a good crew: Eric Rachel who did the first Skid Row record. He also did Symphony X, and we have Don Dokken…..
[J.B.] We CALL him Don Dokken.
[R.R.] He’s done Seven Witches, Russell Allan, and various stuff. We have a great company.
[J.B.] We can’t forget Gene Paul…..Les Paul’s son, who did the mastering on the CD.
[R.R.] The crew on this record is incredible. It’s worth the fifty-five dollars we’re going to charge for it.
[Laughs]
…..Limited edition digi-pac with gatefold opening and bonus tracks…….
[J.B.]…..exactly. [Laughs]
[R.R.] It’s actually going to have twelve pages. It’s a nice, beautiful package that Mausoleum Records is putting together. It’s going to be a beautiful setup. He only puts out really good, quality stuff. You’re all going to be very happy with this release.
As compared from when you first started out, up until this point, how do you see yourselves progressing as musicians?
[R.R.]Let me answer this by saying that first of all, we had a really good producer on this record. His name was Neal Rinaldi. I’ll try to say politely: he really kicked our asses musically to the point where it was tiring at times.
[J.B.] Oh God!!
[R.R.] You hear it….you’ll hear the difference. We pushed ourselves to the limit, where we became better musicians. Like I said, the music right on. Johnny is singing his balls out, as far as range. This is something that I never knew he could do. He impressed me. He wrote most of the melodies on there, which is something that we did in the past where we worked together. Most of the melodies you hear are mostly Johnny. We took our time with this record, so it’s like comparing it to staying at a local motel to staying at the Marriott Marquee. Not to knock anything from the first record…..I’m just showing you how we’ve grown musically.
[J.B.] For myself, Rod and I wanted to challenge ourselves to be better. I was out of the whole music
Maybe Shannon and I can play it at our wedding………
[J.B.] Yeah….seriously, you can play that at the wedding. It’s just really romantic and beautiful. On this album, Rod is just more amazing than he’s ever been. He’s just going to blow you away.
For someone like myself who has never seen you live before, what can I expect at a Rivera Bomma show?
[J.B.] Well, we do it naked. [Laughs]
Okay………..
[J.B.] Adam and Eve.
[R.R.] Picture the stuff that you’ve seen on the videos from the 80’s. It’s a full rock ‘n roll show: leather, hair, loud guitars, vocals……everything that you can think of for the best rock ‘n roll show, that’s what we put out. We don’t care if we look ridiculous. For me, it’s about rock ‘n roll and portraying a good message. So that’s what it is: the ultimate rock ‘n roll show. It’s from a band that you might nor have heard of, that will shock you. It’s going to bring you back, and you’re going to want to see that stuff happening more often. So, that’s what it is: the ultimate rock ‘n roll party without the drugs.
[J.B.] That’s right. Speaking of the outfits: the way Rod and I see it is if we’re going to do this kid of music, then we’re going to dress the part, live the part, and do the whole part. We’re not going to come out there in jeans, which is fine if people do what
What bands are you currently listening to……..besides your own crap? [Laughs]
[J.B.] We don’t even listen to our own stuff, actually.
[R.R.] I listen to a lot of old stuff. Anything that came out of the 70’s and 80’s, I have it and I still listen to it. I treasure those CDs and records and tapes. Newer bands, I like Masterplan. I still listen to Glenn Hughes, Joe Lynn Turner, Journey…..stuff like that. Again, newer stuff I really don’t hear it. Whatever gets played on MTV or whatever America is into, I really don’t find interesting. Not to say that it’s bad……lots of that stuff my daughter listens to. I just shut the radio. Any band that was from the 80’s and has a new record out now: that’s what I’m listening to.
[J.B.] Rod hates this part of the interview because I tell him I listen to Elvis Presley all the time. I’m a huge Elvis freak…..in fact, our whole studio is all Elvis downstairs. I’m a big 80’s metal guy, and 70’s metal. I still listen to UFO, Scorpions, Judas Priest, and Ronnie James Dio as I said before is my man. His wife never returns my phone calls. When we were searching for management and a record company, I think I called Wendy Dio about fifteen times. I figured I would be such an annoyance that she’d finally call me, but it didn’t happen. I like metal a lot, but I also like jazz a lot. Jazz winds me down, but metal is what it’s all about.
What do you think about Rob Halford joining back with Judas Priest. Do you think it’s for money, or a genuine thing?
[J.B.] It has to be genuine. Judas Priest was doing fine without Rob Halford, if you look at record sales and what they were doing. As for Rob Halford, I think he was a smart enough man to take his money and invest it correctly…..I could be wrong about that. I think that they needed time away from each other. If I remember correctly from an interview with Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing, they said that they would never play with that f’ing….idiot ever again. They wouldn’t even talk to him f they ever saw him. For them to get back together……there had to be a reason for it. I think that what they did for the singer that filler Rob’s shoes…..in between I think they did the right thing by him. They took care of him financially, and Priest are a bunch of good fellows and a reflection of what they were back in the 80’s. I think they’re great people, as I have see them five times. They’re just genuine, good people.
Will you be opening a cyber store any time soon? Some merchandise I would personally like to see: t-shirts, stickers, albums, etc.
[R.R.] We should…..and you’re not the first person to ask that question. We should…it’s just a matter of priority. When you manage yourself, and this is a business, everything takes turns. Whatever plan you had takes a back seat, but we should. On another note, we have some t-shirts for you, so you don’t have to worry about going into……CYBERSPACE. [Laughs] ….or your local flee market.
[J.B.] If you guys want to get anything from us merchandise wise, you can email us at riverabomma@yahoo.com and we can take care of that. The main thing, Anthony, is we took two years to record this last CD. We wanted to make sure that this CD was equivalent to anything that any other band would put out…..production wise. That was our main concern. To do something like this is a major financial undertaking. The rest of that stuff is going to be taking place after the CDs start to sell.
Thank you so much for introducing yourselves and your music to Unstoppable Force readers. It was a pleasure to ask you all the questions I had on my mind all this time. Is there anything you wish to add, or comment on/closing words? Please also include information on where to purchase your music & website info.
[R.R.] Well, first of all, I want to thank you……honestly Anthony, and your lovely fiancé for having us here. We really, from the bottom of my heart, appreciate keeping metal alive and supporting bands like us. It’s people like you that keep us going, and I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart. Second of all, you guys could find any information about us at www.riverabomma.com . There, you can find links to purchase the first CD & the international version, and also links to join us as friends on MySpace.com. There, you’ll get everything you need to know about us………Johnny…..
[J.B.] We want thank you, Anthony, for giving us another outlet to spread God’s love. We’re honored that you would come to us and ask us to be a part of your work. As we always say in all the interviews we do: the reason we do this is because of the Lord, Jesus Christ. It is because our own experiences of failure and sorrow and things that have hurt us and us hurting others…….knowing that the Lord, Jesus Christ will love us no matter where we are. No matter how bad it is, no matter what situation you’re in…..Whether it’s drugs, alcohol, adultery, or anything……you can always turn to the Lord, Jesus Chris no matter what. He’s going to love you unconditionally. Every hair on your head has been counted before the beginning of time. No matter where you are…..it’s only one talk away. Jesus, come into my life as my Lord and Savior, and my friends, you shall have eternal life with Jesus Christ and have a life of peace on Earth. That’s all I’ve got to say……God bless.
DISCOGRAPHY
INVISIBLE FORCE (indie) (2002)
INVISIBLE FORCE (re-release - major) (2003)
I AM GOD (February 2006)
LINKS
[John Bomma] Johnny Bomma from Rivera Bomma
[R.R.] Dude…literally, this album took two days to write, because everything went so fast. To be honest, it took a couple of months; it didn’t take that long. Starting to write it and record it, everything was like BANG, BANG, BANG. It tells me that it was meant to be from the beginning. To be honest with you, it’s one of my favorite records, not because I played on it, but because I love the singing on it. The music…..we didn’t rehearse too much, so everything came out naturally. We had a really good caliber of players on there, so it really flowed naturally. Even the mistakes are on there; they’re meant to be on there.
to both of us because it’s the foundation to the beginning of our friendship. It’s not just a friendship, it’s a brotherhood. That started the whole ministry, and from there….a song like the first song off the CD, with the intro by SEAN FAUST, is “Victory”. Actually, Rod musically somewhat wrote that a while back in the day. We brought it together, and Rod had some other kind of bridge and chorus finished. We wanted to encourage people to live high on their dreams, follow their dreams, and do whatever it takes to accomplish what they feel they need to do in life as long as it’s in a positive mode. Right rod?
and fly on it. It also shows John’s vocals more detailed. There’s no drums or power guitar. I like the mellow side of that. [looks to John]…Which version do you like? …….I don’t think anyone cares, though. [Laughs]
[R.R.] He was somebody that I guess I took under my wing because I wanted to teach him how to play, and he got lucky. [laughs] It was the power of God that lead him to play….how many tracks on that record. As far as everything, we had top notch musicians.
[R.R.] It was the first Rivera Bomma show. I think it was James Rivera singing for Flotsam, which was cool because he called me his brother. We hung out; he was a really cool guy. It was a great night…we rocked the house. We actually brought in more people than they did……I’m sorry James. [Laughs]
beautiful package of it; they made a nice cover, more pictures, lyrics…..it was put together really well. This was the international version of it, and we’re really happy with it. After that came out, it opened so many doors for us. Thanks to that and definitely God, for watching over us….we’re here……we’re still here, alive and kicking.
record there. We were always hanging around, and he’d come in and chill out with us……I like to pick his brain sometimes. So I said “Jack….you know any good labels out there?” He said “Listen man, I’ve got the perfect hook up. I’m releasing my own stuff with this cat, and he’ll love your stuff”. Everything after that was great. The record company agreed on everything we were asking for after going back and forth. It’s going to be released in February of 2006…..finally. It rocks!
[R.R.] Yes. So, after that good folks in California from Roxx Productions (who used to be management of that bigger band I was talking about)…..
[R.R.] ….decided to put out a show for the right reasons called “Up From The Ashes”. This show was also headlined by Holy Soldier, Neon Cross, Rivera Bomma, and others. The turnout was beautiful. It’s funny, because when something is done with the right intention, you don’t need that much promotion & you don’t need that much money. Roxx Productions only had a month and a half to make this concert happen after the first concert. It was successful. The church in Mexico made good money for them to start over. It’s great, because now that church in Mexico is doing another festival this year with Petra headlining, Jacobs Dream, and others. So, that’s great. It goes to show that when you do something for the right reasons, God will help you no matter what.
[R.R.] It all depends on what side of the bed I wake up on.
business for a long time. I was doing theatre; I was singing opera. Getting back into the rock thing took a little time, and as we get prepared for this new CD, I did a lot of studying. Rod and I worked together on various things to broaden my vocals. Rod encouraged me…..being that I’m a trained vocalist and going back to my having an operation, I was told I would never sing again. So, I’m very careful about what I do because I never want to destroy my voice. We worked hard, and went into area I never thought I would go into, so I’ve got to thank Rod for that. My voice is now stronger and better than it’s ever been. As for the first CD, Rod’s guitar playing is phenomenal. I’m blown away; I’m his biggest fan….I’m blown away by his playing. I also would hear what he was playing when we’re not playing Invisible Force stuff, and the shredding. He HATES this, but he’s always compared to Yngwie Malmsteen. He HATES that, and I’ll probably get hit for that later. [Laughs] He always likes to be classy like Ritchie Blackmore. Ritchie would almost look down upon that because shredding is an amazing talent, but the kind of playing that Ritchie does has no comparison. I’m always telling Rod “Rod….why don’t you shred a little more? Why don’t you shred? Why don’t you shred?” With this new album coming up, Rod has shown sides that have not been shown before on CD. I think that everybody is going to be really impressed, especially with the instrumental flamenco tune that he does. When you hear this, you’re going to weep because it’s the most beautiful, beautiful song you’re ever going to hear. It’s going to be the type of song that makes you wanna get married, have kids…..
they want to do. We’re not going to come out there in jeans and t-shirts when we feel that this kind of music can ONLY be supported by the whole picture….the whole theatric of it all. Freddie Mercury would never come out with jeans. It would be one thing if we couldn’t back it up musically, but we certainly can back it up. I’m going to give you an example: my wife rides me a little bit, like “John, why do you get all dressed up with the make up and everything…..it’s getting old. That was back in the 80’s” I’m saying: you know something…..when we first toured Puerto Rico to support Invisible Force, there were twenty other bands that warmed us up that were wearing either shorts, jeans, or whatever the case may be. We went back to support another tour in Puerto Rico, and we had around five to eight bands that were playing with us. Each and every one of them were trying to out-do us costume wise, because it’s part of the whole thing. It has a lot to be said about that……..plus, I like nail polish. [Laughs]
