During
my late teens, one of my favorite songs at the time was Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad by Meat Loaf. That
song seemed to dominate the air waves as it should have. Like many of you who listened to the songs of
our rock idols, I wondered what Meat Loaf was like in “real life”. What did he do in his spare time?
Where did he live and did he have a family? Fast
forward over thirty years to today. I finally had the privilege of having some of those questions answered
during an interview with his lovely and incredibly talented daughter, Pearl Aday. Pearl, whose biological
father was the drummer for Janis Joplin’s band, Full Tilt Boogie, was adopted by Meat Loaf after he married her mom.
In my book, this is the epitome of being a father. My hat is off to you, Mr. Aday.
If there’s anything to pre-natal learning, and
I do believe there is, then Pearl had her musical Masters by the time she was born. While Pearl was forming
in her mother’s, Leslie, womb, she had to be hearing some of classic rock’s greatest music being recorded or performed
back in the day. Add to that the fact that, after she was born, she was surrounded by great music and the
musicians who played it as well as getting used to huge crowds as she took on various roles as part of her dad’s act.
She started as a toddler, running out on stage in a gold lame jump suit to bring her father a new scarf after every song.
As Pearl got older, she was a back-up vocalist in her
dad’s band for nine years as well as working with Motley Crue, even contributing lyrics to their song, Man of Steel.
As if all of that isn’t enough, she caps it all off by being married to Anthrax guitarist, Scott Ian.
With all of that fire
power in her DNA and in her life, it’s no wonder why Pearl’s debut release, Little Immaculate White Fox,
has classic rock screaming from every note and syllable. Whether on that CD or in her performances, she exemplifies a naturalness
and ease in delivery that gives the most seasoned entertainer a run for their money.
With all of that as a back drop, I asked Pearl if her performance is innately
easy as it she makes it seem.
“You
know, I’m still learning every time I go up on stage. I mean, I sang back up for my dad for nine
years and also he’s my dad so my entire life I’ve been able to watch him perform. I really
do think he’s – as far as performers go - he’s at the top of the list because he gives it his all every
single show no matter what. One of the things he taught me, actually, and I’ve always agreed with
him is, having an audience to perform to and a stage to stand on is a privilege, it’s not a right. The audience is there
to see you. They’ve paid their money and taken their time. They’ve travelled.
They’ve driven, whatever the story is, they’re there to see you and you are an entertainer. You’re a performer.
It’s your job to entertain. It doesn’t matter if it’s five people or five million people in the audience,
you always give your all – a thousand percent. That’s what I learned from and I always take that into account
every time I step on stage.
“Coming
from being in the background – a backup singer to actually moving to the front, it’s a hard job. I don’t
think people realize, if you haven’t done it before, what it actually takes to keep energy moving and to be the main
focus on stage. It’s a tough job and it takes a lot from your guts, which it should. People want
to see your guts when you’re up on stage. That’s one of the main things that’s so compelling, in my opinion.
