“I Wanna Rock: The 80′s Metal Dream” is a 3-part series currently streaming on Paramount +. Winger Bassist, Front Man and the guy who gave the band it’s name, Kip Winger, appears in the series. The series is done in a documentary format. It doesn’t just stick to speaking with artists, though there are plenty that show up in the series, they also speak to managers, agents, journalists and more.
I feel one of the most interesting questions was asking “What’s it like to be a goddamn Rock Star?” When we spoke with Kip I made sure we repeated that question. Kip seems to be very happy with the experience. He said, “It’s everything you ever imagined it would be, and more.” Although he also added “That’s really funny, actually I never thought of myself as a Rock star, I always was such a student of music.” He will admit to indulging in being a Rock star in some behaviors.
Kip spoke some about his work in Classical music. He has tasted success in both the Rock and Classical genres. Kip also supports local musicians. When playing shows he always likes to give a shout out to any musicians in the crowd. That’s when he spoke about how doing music isn’t about “making it.” Kip admitted it may sound cliche’, but he spoke about music being the universal language.
The series bounces back and forth between New York and Los Angeles and what was happening in those scenes simultaneously. Kip and I spoke about how New York was more gritty and Los Angeles more glam. That is easy to see in the series. We also spoke about Skid Row whose guitarist Dave “Snake” Sabo also appears in the series. Kip also mentioned having a band that opened for Twisted Sister in New York before they got their record deal. Twisted Sister singer Dee Snider also appears in the series.
Part of the conversation also revolved around how when Grunge came along it really took out those 80′s hair metal bands. Kip spoke about not being able to get a gig for a long time. At the time he was ready to re-invent himself. That is when he turned to orchestral music.
We also touched on Winger’s hit “17″ and how it was pointed out in the series that there is only one line in the song that he didn’t write. We spoke about who did write and where Paul McCartney fits in with the discussion. We got into the relatability of the series. So many of the artists were a part of people’s lives. A few other people who appear that we haven’t mentioned yet, Janet Gardner of Vixen, John Corabi who spent some time singing for Motley Crue and many more people. Of course there is the visual to talk about, especially the use of very recognizable cassettes to truly bring you to the time period. Kip even said he had hundreds of cassettes of he and Reb Beach, Winger guitarist, working on song ideas.
Watch our conversation at the top of the page. You can watch the trailer below and don’t forget to watch the 3 part series “I Wanna Rock: The 80′s Metal Dream” currently streaming on Paramount +.
