Domenic Troiano
Rock Legend Produces 'Pop-Hop' Album
 
Some songs last for the proverbial 15 minutes of fame, others last an eternity, such is the case of 'We All Need Love', a hit for Domenic Troiano in the 70's. And still receiving play as a classic 'old school' track by many DJs including DJ Allan, who plays it every Friday night claiming it's his

' theme for the Italian stallions' at The Mermaid, Valhalla Inn.

Now with the release of  'My Rules' by Patria, co-produced by Domenic, which is actually quite similiar to Santana's quadruple platinum selling album 'Supernatural', in terms of feel and production, what better time for a brand new 'We All Need Love 2000 Remix', I ask you. According to Domenic, the power therein lies with EMI Canada.

Domenic has been on the road with bands ( The Guess Who, The James Gang, Mandala, Bush...) since he was 17. "You get to the point when you feel stale. I didn't want to travel anymore, but I really wasn't sure what I wanted to do. I spent some time in New York doing sessions for artists which included Steely Dan, Joe Cocker, Diana Ross and so forth, ... I was sort of in the doldrums. In 1984, after writing the theme song for a TV show called 'Night Heat', I was hired to do the music. I went on for some 11 years working non-stop on shows and living in the studio, which was quite often intense, and before I even knew it I woke up around 1995. Then I began thinking more about records, and if you're involved with music, records are the greatest thing to make because they are songs and songs are what music is. Gradually I slowed down on the film and TV stuff, outside the odd project, although I just did a movie a couple of months ago, which just aired in the States. I decided I needed to go into the production end, and so I began to look for people to work with and that led me to auditioning singers, which evolved into meeting up with Patria.
She was the first artist I really wanted to work with, in terms of doing an album. She can write and sing, and I appreciate her commitment and enthusiasm. The last two years have been spent writing with her and producing 'My Rules' with Howard Ayee. In a nutshell, since its' release, I've been more active on the business side, getting the record out. Needless to say, Canada doesn't have the numbers as the U.S has. In order to get a gold record here you need to sell 50,000 units, while in the U.S. it's 500,000. To do a record or a video costs us as much as in the U.S. You can't sell enough records in Canada to make it worth your while, so you have to look at the rest of the world. We were talking earlier about the beauty of music, how it travels and how it touches people worldwide, so why wouldn't you want your music to do the same. I'm sure most artist do as well, but it's finding a means to do it. At the moment I'm trying to move the album across - we're making a deal with in the U.S., talking to labels there as well as in Europe - it's an on-going expansion. These days if you're not hitting the big home run in the first five minutes, it can get real tough. The marketplace is one thing where you want to sell records, but in my case if I'm not selling a million records in the first few weeks does not mean I want to drop it, whereas with major labels that's exactly what happens. From the artist's position it's not very fair, although I understand the reasons why - I've been in the unique position of having my foot in both sides - I've been the artist. I know how much work you can put out and not get results and that can be very frustrating, but look, there are no guarantees. This is a business of no guarantee, but you at least want to know the people you're working with are giving you all the opportunity to get out there."

Domenic has his own label called Black Market Records. Curious, I asked him, will we expect more productions from other artists in the future. Domenic points out, "Just to produce whatever comes along just because I need the work is not what I want to do. I'm more interested in the basis of long term relationships, in people I can get involved with. I like the idea of producing, but with artists I feel comfortable with, people who I believe in and their talent. Life is too short to be involved with things you don't really believe in, but only to keep you working. Doing one thing at a time and doing it right is important and what we're doing with Patria takes time and concentration. Right now my focus is on Patria, and as she gets her career going and she's selling a lot of records, I may get around to doing other projects for people who really want to make something out of themselves. I've had people help me in different stages of my life, and you like to feel you can do the same.

"From an artist's side," Domenic continues, "I'm always interested in songs and hearing people. As a producer, I'd like to get involved with kids who want to produce, sort of take the executive producer's role; show them the ropes, steer them round but have them do what they want to do. You look at someone like Quincy Jones who's been in the business for a long time but he stayed fresh and young by working with fresh and young ideas - it all starts by being open. I know Quincy's not doing it for the money but because he likes it. I feel the same way. At one point I wanted to get out and play guitar, that was my passion, but life changes that way. I don't have that passion right now, maybe tomorrow, but I still love music and whatever I do, will always involve music."
In her credits, Patria refers to Domenic Troiano as her rock, and justifiably so.

This story is from “Club-Music” and “Indimusic.com” trade papers in 2001 by Chaz