RAY DAFRICO
Speaks with Cyndi Ford
Interview By: Cyndi Ford
Punk Globe:
You recently had the premier of your Rock Doc, The Nightporters, I was lucky enough to be there. Where did the inspiration for this project come from, was it hard to put everything out there for the world to see, and please tell us about the whole process?
RAY DAFRICO:
Well, it was our 30th anniversary last year and I had just seen some old footage of us that I hadn't seen before. i thought was great so I started to interviews and putting it all together. It took over a year with most of the time being spend on editing 4 hours of footage to around 2 hours. It's very hard to tell the whole story because everyone's memory is a little different and most people that were around in the early 80's have lost a considerable amount of brain cells! It's my first full length movie. Making a film can be a lot of work but I would like to do more films in the future.
Punk Globe:
Most of us are lucky to have a photo from back in the day, who was the one that shot the video of your shows?
RAY DAFRICO:
A lot of the original footage came from James Farmer, who was a friend of ours and an artist associated with The Blue Rat Gallery, which was kind of like Atlanta's version of Andy Warhol's Factory back then. The interviews were done by Duke Korey, who I have worked with as a fellow videographer. There is also some stuff from an Echo Lounge show shot by Chris Mills, and some of the guys at Lava Post production. I also shot some myself, directed and edited the film.
Punk Globe:
The Nightporters, enjoyed a bit of success, where were some of the neat-o places that you played, and when was the one show that you thought, dang man, look at us now?
RAY DAFRICO:
We played a lot of places mostly the east coast and the south. We would go to New York, DC, and Boston a lot. Were kind of the house band at 688 notorious Atlanta punk/new wave club) at one point and used to open for a lot of people there. The one show that kind of blew us away was opening for The Clash at The Fox Theatre. I had met Joe Strummer in Nashville and given him a cassette of The Nightporters and told him we wanted to open and they called us.We also played with a lot of other people like Bo Diddlley, The Replacements, Husker Du, Richard Hell, Lords of the new Church, Peter Tork all kinds of acts...really anyone that was touring around then we probably played with them at one point.
Punk Globe:
Ray, I must say you have a cool NYC lower east side style about you, at what age did you realize that you wanted to be a R&R star?
RAY DAFRICO:
Well, I was born in the same general area as Johnny Thunders and The Ramones in Queens NY. and I'm Italian so that explains some of it but I also moved around a lot as a kid and got exposed to a lot of different cultures so I'm really kind of from nowhere or a mix of all those places. I've known I wanted to play guitar in a band since I was 8. I was a true bubblegum rocker from the get go. Loved The Partridge Family, The Monkees, Sweet, Bay City Rollers, who I actually got to see. I was the only guy there but they were great! When I discovered The Beatles and Keith Richards it was all downhill from there..lol
Punk Globe:
Do you play any other instruments than the guitar, and tell us about your favorite guitar and amp?
RAY DAFRICO:
I play guitar, bass and mess about on keys and drums. I can get by enough to play on recordings. I recently did a bunch of songs with Keith Richards roadie Pierre De Beauport, but I'm not sure they will ever see the light of day for a variety of reasons. Fave guitar is a Telecaster through a Vox amp, but also have Gibsons, Rickenbackers and Gretcsh guitars through Fender or Marshalls, Used to have a Hiwatt and Sound City but sadly sold em years ago.
Punk Globe:
Now that the film has been released, what is your next project?
RAY DAFRICO:
My next project will probably be recording some newer music and playing out some. I'm always writing so I have a whole lot of material. I also want to do more film making and maybe music for films.
Punk Globe:
Do you think there might ever be a reunion for the Nightporters?
RAY DAFRICO:
The Nightporters seem to do a reunion of some sort ever 5 years or so but we are an increadibly difficult bunch so it's always very unpredictable. We also all live in different cities so that is an added twist. I never say never but I would prefer we did new material instead of always just draging up the past. We have great songs from back then, but we are so much better writers and musicians now so I find that a lot more interesting personally. So we will see I suppose. The future is unwritten as someone once said-
Punk Globe:
You were one of the many artist that took part of my tribute show to Mick Ronson, I would like to again say thank you for being there from the beginning of that endeavor. That night is one I will always remember, what fond memories do you have of that night, and would you ever do it again?
RAY DAFRICO:
I do remember The Mick Ronson show, Thanks for inviting me to be part of it. I had a good time and remember sitting in with one of the other bands and it was really rocking and rolling! I'm always up for doing shows that support causes or artists I admire. Can suggest maybe a James Honeyman Scott show? I have one of his guitar picks somewhere...