Meet Lee Ottman

An Interview with Lee Ottman - Vocals / Guitar / Keyboards

Hi Lee, how many years have you been playing?
I've been playing professionally since I was 18, so that's a little over 40 years.

How old were you when you started playing?
Well, I graduated from High School in 1975 and started playing in clubs later that year.

What musicians influenced you?
Like nearly all musicians, I was first influenced (and still am) by the Beatles.  Along the way my influences ranged from Stevie Wonder to Grand Funk Railroad, Paul Rodgers to Deep Purple, Edgar Winter to Boz Scaggs, ELO to the Allman Brothers, all over the place really...even current musicians like Gavin DeGraw, Dawes and Jackie Greene are big heroes of mine.

How many bands have you been in?
My first band (in high school) was called Savage Rose and we did mostly high school dances.  From there I was in a band called Morningstar, then Heroes, Matriarch, The Passion, Strutter, NRG, Boyz N Heat, and then back to NRG.  So to answer your question, eight or nine bands.

What's it like to gig?
There is nothing like doing a gig.  Of course, it's great when there are lots of people there, either dancing or just digging the music.  But if you're in a band that is tight musically, and also tight as a unit, the club could be empty and you still feel fulfilled.  I remember back in 77-78, I was in a band that played up in Hunter Mountain, ski country.  We were booked there in the dead of summer.  Even if only five people were in the club, you still had to do four sets and play till 2:00am.  I loved the band I was in so it was ok and we had a great time.  NRG played for two weeks in Georgia back in the early 80's and though the club was filled, the people weren't ready for spandex wearing, hairspray using new wavers like us.  We went at it with a sense of humor (and some nerves) and actually won them over.

How often do you practice?
Well my trio, Acoustic NRG, rehearses at least once a month getting together new material to play.  Since we do 75-80 gigs (mostly private) each year with the trio, we always like to be adding new songs to our list.  The full five-piece NRG band that for the most part has been around since 1981, rehearses once a month also, usually right before we have a band gig.  The NRG band just plays once every four to six weeks, so we get together to tighten up the sets for the upcoming show.  Personally, I am usually working on new songs daily, as well as keeping my chops up on my guitar and piano.

What was one of your accomplishments as a musician?
I felt so accomplished when I had to hand in some original songs I had written or co-written over the years and gone into the studio to record.  Breaks are few and far between, but I had Frankie Blue, who used to be the program director at Z-100 interested in one of my projects, as well as David Bowie's production company's interest way back in 78.  I also feel that way when I am entertaining people and I can see that they are truly touched and connected to where I (and the band) are at that moment.  That is something special.


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