COVER STORY: 

"Neil Geraldo Talks About Pat, People Magazine and Even Himself"
-Raj Bahadur
Cleveland Scene, April 22, 1982

 The distance between Cleveland and Los Angeles is 2349 miles.  It takes four hours, forty-five minutes to get there by air;  several days by bus or train;  even longer by car.   If you happen to choose music as your mode of transportation, it could take an eternity, or even longer.  Needless to say, precious few have made it.

 An exception to the rule is, of course, Cleveland’s Neil Geraldo.  In a nutshell, he got a guitar, he got a gig, he got the girl.  Seven years ago, Neil was playing the Picadilly Penthouse on 28^th and Euclid as part of Lover’s Lane (along with another LA resident A.J. Robey, Al Retay, Tommy Amato and Mark Serio).  Today, he can say he’s been on the cover of Rolling Stone.  Married Pat, what’s ‘er name, Benatar, who sells a lotta records or something.  And when he’s not fulfilling lead guitar duties in that band, and even when he is for that matter, he’s busy producing.

 So is it luck or is it Memorex?

 Who knows, but I’ll bet there isn’t a guitarist reading this who isn’t saying to himself, “Hey, I could do all that.”  Well, why arencha?

 Competition, for one thing.   No matter where you reside these days, the number of opportunities seems to be in inverse proportion to the number of talented musicians walking the streets.  Firmly ensconced with his betrothed in the heart of Southern California, Geraldo reflects on the geography of making it.

 “The competition in L.A. is comparable to the competition in Cleveland, except that it’s easier to do original material out here.  The people are more accepting and you can draw larger crowds.  I just came back from New York where things are considerably tougher.  There, they can get pretty artsy and chances don’t come too easy.”

 On the other hand, Los Angeles is mighty trendy.  Whatever trend you’re into, there’s a club for it.  Heavy metal is really big right now.  The other night I went to see a band called Motley Crew.  Lots of hype going around about them.  They turned out to be nothing more than heavy metal headbangers.  There are so many groups in the Motorhead/Def Leppard mold.  But you can get away with whatever you want to get away with.”

 “The chief drawback is that people just aren’t as friendly out here as they are back home.  It can get kinda weird.”

 What’s this?  Do I detect a touch of homesickness?  That’s understandable.  Palms trees can get awfully boring if you’ve been raised among smokestacks.   Just like poodles don’t quite make it if all you’ve ever known are trusty German shepherds.  But when life amidst alien lifeforms gets too trying, Neil can always occupy his time with the rigors of record production, yet another aspect of a still unfolding career.

 “I get every satisfaction I want from being a musician,” he speculates.  “But production adds to that satisfaction.  It mainly came about as a result of my work on Patty’s (his wife) last couple of records.  I produce for Chrysalis right now, and I’m free to produce for other labels.”

 “There are so many different ways to approach production.  With Patty, I’m much more in charge, but I don’t dictate what people should play.  I basically set up what I think might be nice.  Then from there, the musicians go on and get other ideas.   Like with “Tyrone” (his nickname for another transplanted Clevelander, drummer Myron Grombacher).  He comes in and I’ll say, ‘What if we try a really different beat.’  He’ll do it and say, ‘And let’s try this.’  The whole process just grows like that.”

 “At present, I’m producing John Waite’s (formerly of The Babys) debut album.  After bringing in musicians, I let ‘em go crazy.  I’m just there to guide them along.  So every case is a little different.”

 At press time, the Waite album was due to be released sometime after May1.  Other bands, yet to be announced, await Neil’s production talents immediately afterward.

 So much for the musical side of Neil Geraldo.  Now for the dirt, which is probably the only reason you’ve read this far.  Well, surprise.  There is none.  What do I look like, Rona Barrett?

 A few months back, People Magazine put Pat Benatar on the cover and printed this whole song-and-dance about how Neil and Pat are no longer an item, about her new independence, etc.  The next thing you knew, they were off in Hawaii tying the knot.  So what gave?  (Not that it’s anyone’s business.)

 “I was in New York,” he volunteers, “John’s record was almost done.  I was getting’ crazy.  Actually, I had told some people a long time ago I was planning on being married without having a date set.  All of a sudden, I decided, ‘Let’s go.  Now’s the time!’  So we flew to Hawaii and got married.”

 “I thought the People article was funny.  We were seeing each other at the time, cool and casual.  Then People got a hold of things and wanted to build matters into something they weren’t.   I mean, they even put false quotes in that article.”

 Once in the limelight, mindless gossip is part of the terrain, a roadblock to life in the fast lane.  You either learn the detours or look for the nearest exit ramp.   Geraldo has apparently adapted quite well.   “Most of the stuff that’s written really doesn’t bother me.  I don’t take it to heart that much.  Unless it’s in the form of a personal attack, not about music or anything, but a personal attack.  I don’t think that’s too fair, so once in a while I might get a little nuts.  But only on those rare occasions when it’s personal.”

And now, for the most important question:  In a profession where the divorce rate is rising faster than inflation, what’s married life like?

 States Neil without equivocation, “It’s wonderful.”

 Considering his track record thus far, so it should be.