In the early summer of 1988, I went to see my favorite band Van Halen headline the Monsters of Rock tour in Oxford Maine. I had already seen Van Halen back in 1986 for the first time but now I had a license and could go to any concert I could get tickets to. The particular show my friends and I went to was plagued by high wind, lightning and thunder. It shortened Van Halen’s set drastically and what should have been an hour and a half show was closer to 40 minutes. Thankfully Van Halen went back out on the road again after the Monsters of Rock tour ended in late July. That October I bought tickets for the Worcester Centrum show and I knew that Mother Nature wasn’t going to get in the way this time. The opening band that night was a band called Private Life and I knew nothing about them other than the fact that I heard Edward Van Halen mention in an interview how much he liked the guitar player and that he helped produce their album.
Typically, opening acts can be hit or miss but I actually really enjoyed these guys. They had a female singer with a huge range, a female keyboardist, guitar bass and drums. The band was very tight with great harmonies and the guitar player, Danny Johnson was exceptional. Fast forward to a few years ago and I am scrolling through posts on a Ludwig Facebook page as I got into a conversation about vintage Ludwig drums with a guy named Len Companaro. Len had causally mentioned how he had been in a band called Private Life and when I asked if this was the same band that opened for Van Halen, he said yes. Len and I took our conversations to private messenger and the real trip came later on when in a closing conversation, Len asked me to say hello to the bass player in my band Gene. I asked how he knew Gene and he said they were great friends when Gene was living in L.A. back in the 80’s! Small world…. Len has had a very interesting career that started long before Private Life and I wanted to shed some light on a true rock and roll warrior that has seen and done it all as well as play with some of my musical hero’s.
Len was born in Hollywood California and grew up in the San Fernando Valley. Having grown up with cousins that played guitar, Len decided that he wanted to play the guitar as well around the age of nine. It was actually his mother who noticed how he liked to bang on pots and pans that suggested he should be playing drums instead. Around the age of 10, a blue pearl Star drum set was purchased and lessons were secured with a local drum teacher named Freddie Gruber…. Yes THAT Freddie Gruber! Gruber had settled in Los Angeles after a move from New York City in the late 50’s. By the mid 60’s Gruber was teaching students at a local music store owned by vibraphonist Terry Gibbs. Len recalls that Freddie was pretty unknown then and that he was actually a terrible student that never practiced much. Len recalled that Freddie would always know when students didn’t practice and after about a year of lessons, riding a minibike seamed more interesting to him.
Around the age of 15 however, Len started playing drums again as his cousins had formed a band. It was around 1974 when Len walked into West LA Music and bought a large black Camco set, making this Len’s first real professional set of drums. The set was later painted pink as it was to match the look of a band he was playing with in the 70’s. Along his travels with bands, Len played with guitarist/bassist Roni Lee from the band Venus and the Razorblades. Roni was playing a one off gig at the Whiskey a go go with ex Spirit guitarist Randy California and invited him to play. What was supposed to be a one off gig, turned into a month long gig that put Len in the fortunate position to open for a lot of big acts that played there like the Motels and many others. One such gig was a slot playing with Van Halen headlining the gig in early 1977, a mere weeks before ted Templeton and Mo Ostin caught the band and signed them to warner Brothers Records!
Len continued to play often with anyone and anywhere a gig could be found and ultimately ended up working with a band that was recording an album that was produced by keyboardist Tony Kaye, who is a founding member of YES and later worked with the band on the massive 90125 album. Tony, a member of Badfinger had asked Len to record the next album Say No More but because of touring commitments to his current band, Len was not able to join until after the record was finished. This new version of Badfinger was led by original member Tom Evans covering bass and vocals and the band toured for a year under the Badfinger name until the untimely death of Tom halted everything in late 1983. Once again Len was playing in various bands when he was persuaded by guitarist Larry Reinhardt to join a version of Iron Butterfly that was touring with original members Doug Ingle and Lee Dorman from the famous 1968 line up that recorded In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida. Larry had also recorded the album Metamorphosis with the band in 1970 and played on the subsequent tour. Larry later left the band and was replaced with guitarist Steve Fister, who is Len’s cousin and has played with many other artists including Steppenwolf. Len played with the band for the better part of five years and toured the country with bands like Mountain and Grand Funk Railroad. Len returned to LA and was back playing in cover bands that played anywhere there was work to be found. A home demo was produced that included his cousin Steve on guitar and my bandmate Gene on bass in the hopes that Len could use it to secure more work. Ultimately that demo wound up in the hands of Edward Van Halen, as Eddie was set to produce a new band called Private Life. Len was asked to join Private Life after a successful audition and soon, Len began recording his parts for the album already in progress.
Recording was done up at Edward Van Halen’s 5150 studio located behind his house up in the hills of Coldwater Canyon. Living down the road from Edward’s house allowed Len to ride his bike to and from the sessions and other than Alex Van Halen and Wolfgang Van Halen, there are probably not many drummers that can claim to have recorded there. Len also recorded the tracks there before the big drum room for Alex was built and he used as a white Ludwig Coliseum snare as well as parts of the Camco set that by this time was painted red and black. The album was released in late 1988, an MTV video for Put out the Fire was made and the band set off on a tour opening for Van Halen from September 30th-November 26th 1988. Len also received a brand new white pearl Ludwig set for the tour with a 26” bass drum thanks to a call to Ludwig from Alex Van Halen. Van Halen crossed the Country in those few months and Len played on stages ranging from the San Diego Sports Arena, The Spectrum in Philadelphia and Madison Square Garden in New York City. Thirty seven shows opening for Van Halen were played when all was said and done.
Music was changing though and by the time Private Life was to record their second album in 1990, Len had left the band and was now jamming with Derek St Holmes who had played rhythm guitar and sang for Ted Nugent on such hits as Stranglehold, Hey Baby and Just What the Dr. Ordered. Derek had put together a new band called the Derek St. Holmes Band and hired famed producer Tom Werner to produce an upcoming album. Sadly the project came to a halt when Derek left to take care of his gravely ill wife.
Needing a change, Len moved to Colorado where he settled down and was playing the blues on a regular basis. After many years of gigs, recording, raising a family, a move, Len now resides near Reno Nevada playing in a busy working band called Arizona Jones. They play between 100-150 shows a year playing clubs, bars, casinos and outdoor shows with the aim to keep live music played by real musicians alive and moving forward. Len’s girlfriend Kat Wilson also sings and fronts the band with a powerhouse voice and great stage presence. Len also has some handyman skills and restored his first vintage set of Ludwig drums when a friend asked if he could help save a badly used 60’s Ludwig Champagne set. From there Len has restored several other sets that he has found locally as well as giving his original Camco set a proper restoration by adding a WMP wrap and polishing the hardware to like new condition. He also still owns the Ludwig coliseum snare as well as the Ludwig set used on the Private Life tour. The once WMP finish has since cracked and fallen off so Len finished the set in a stain to highlight the maple finish that was under the wrap. Len may not be a name that is well known in the drumming world but he is a guy that has played places that many of us dream about and worked with some of the greatest musicians in the world. If the definition of being successful means that you are blessed to do something you love, then I believe that Len has lead a very successful life.
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