Metal bands are usually in the spotlight with their performances, personal lives, and political opinions. It’s especially inevitable for big or rising names to avoid the public eye. While some of them enjoy what comes with fame and stay at the forefront, some others prefer to remain hidden from it.
We know that some artists leave the scene of fame for different reasons. Although the desire to know what would cause a musician to disappear from the spotlight is quite enticing, sometimes, we do not get to know the reason behind a musician’s decision to seclusion. However, at times we get lucky; a sudden comeback and some answers it brings along manage to satisfy our curiosity a little.
In Vito Bratta’s case, the answers we needed came in 2007 from the White Lion guitarist himself. Bratta was one of the band’s founders, and though it had potential, White Lion could not sustain its existence for more than nine years when Bratta was still a part of it. Reportedly, the reason behind the band’s break up was the reluctance of both the producers and the members.
According to the indications of the co-founder Mike Tramp, he and his bandmates had no bond apart from the band, which led up to the separation in the long run. Additionally, the production processes were prolonged and messy because no one was willing to put in the effort. So, it was only natural for White Lion to be disbanded in 1992.
After the separation and an unsuccessful attempt to form a new band, Vito Bratta had been absent from the music industry for more than a decade. He came back with an interview with Eddie Trunk on his radio show, Friday Night Rocks, in 2007. Based on his answers on the show, Bratta was busy with responsibilities during his seclusion from the music industry.
Apparently, he had to take care of his terminally-ill father and help his mother. According to him, as he got older, Vito realized that he had obligations, and what he could achieve with the band was not enough to fulfill them. So, he refrained from his relations with White Lion.
Bratta added that he also hurt his wrist, which restrained him from playing guitar for a long time. Despite that, the guitarist also revealed in the same interview that he was open to a reunion with the others at some point but not immediately. Because he was not happy with the way Mike Tramp went out on shows with an entirely new band under the name of White Lion.
Vito Bratta explained his view with an analogy:
“I’ve never said no to a White Lion reunion. But it’s like a girlfriend that you break up with who says: ‘If you don’t get back with me, this is what I’ll keep doing.’ The more she cheats, the more you’re not going to get back to her. I have to keep watching this stuff. I wish Mike luck, but the more he does it, the less I want to be a part of it.”
In conclusion, Vito Bratta left the music industry to fulfill his responsibilities toward his family and himself. He had to take care of his parents because of his father’s medical situation. He also needed to stay away from music for a while because of a wrist injury.
In addition, Mike Tramp’s activities with White Lion’s name disinclined him from coming back and playing with the band again. Even though they started as a promising team, the band could not sustain success. So, apparently, Bratta needed something else instead of the thrill of rising as a band. It is sad that the right circumstances did not arise for them.