From small town Long Island dreams to worldwide fame. A kid and his guitar to a man and his championships. From seemingly out of nowhere, the lightning bolt of energy and charisma that is known to the world as “Loverboy” Vinnie Lane took the stage like a maestro, and has had a stranglehold on the magazine covers, wrestling rings and rock n’ roll arenas ever since. Whether it be wailing along to the cock rock lyrics of what most would consider to be a time gone by with his band Casanova, or pinning the X-treme Wrestling Federation’s best competitors week in and week out, Loverboy is always the center of attention. The rise to the top is far from over for this week’s subject, but we start where it all began.

Ladies and gentlemen, I’m Jim Forbes, and this is what happens… Behind the Music.


((“Loverboy” Vinnie Lane is sitting alone against a black backdrop, his wild blond hair contained only by a bright pink bandanna, a dangling earing hanging from one ear, and a smile across his handsome face. As the narration goes on, Loverboy focuses on his thoughts.))



“Loverboy” Vinnie Lane wasn’t born in Hollywood. He wasn’t even born in Tampa, Florida, where he is currently billed from. In January of 1985, the future megastar was brought into the world in suburban Long Island, New York.

Loverboy: My folks we just, like, regular people you know? Mom was a housewife, dad tended bar or worked odd labor jobs. We lived in an apartment in Huntington over a barber shop ‘til I was seven, dude. That’s why I never wanted to cut my hair! My pops hated it, man, but I would walk by there and see all those dudes go in and sit down, and see the floor covered with hair… I was like, no way man! Not me! It just stuck, man.

Loverboy’s first experience with music came from his father and an acoustic guitar. Loverboy’s dad, Joe, would play Elvis and Johnny Cash records every day, and taught his young son how to play along.

((The footage of Loverboy as a little kid plays as Loverboy’s voice talks over the tape.))



Loverboy: Man, dad was so rad for that, you know? Here’s this guy, working himself to death every day to provide, you know? I’m talking long hours, man. Down at the train station during the day and at Mugsy’s bar at night, I’d go days without seeing the old man sometimes, dude. But he made it count. He taught me how to sing, how to play, and how to wiggle my hips like the King!

((Going back to the shot of Loverboy, he seems wistful as he talks about his father.))

Loverboy: I lost the old man in 2012 to cancer, you know? I miss him every day. I really wish he could have been there when I had my hand raised for the first time in XWF, she he could see that I really made it. I really wish I’d have made more time for him near the end, but it’s hard, man. You see the guy you looked at like he was a god for your whole life start coming apart like an old car, and his memory’s fading, and he can’t remember a G chord or a D. And then just like that, man, just like that – the guy’s gone. My daddy died, and I didn’t really say goodbye. If there’s something in my life I could change, it would be that, you know? It’s too late.

It wasn’t long before Loverboy discovered a second passion aside from music – professional wrestling. The great Rock n’ Wrestling Connection era of the mid-80s was in full effect the first time Loverboy saw the greats of the squared circle compete on national television.

Loverboy: I remember it was a Saturday Night’s Main Event, back in the old WWF, man. I was four years old, I think, and I remember turning the channel and seeing Jesse “The Body” Ventura on there, and he was such a rock star, dude! He looked so cool! And the first match they had was Andre the Giant against the Ultimate Warrior!





Loverboy: I was hooked, man. Hooked. I had to be in front of the TV every time wrestling came on. I begged by dad to take me to the shows, and he did when he could afford it. I got to see all my heroes up close and personal, man. Randy Savage, Jake Roberts, Warrior… those guys were like super heroes to me. They were more than human. I wanted to be that when I grew up, you know? I wanted to be like my heroes. That’s part of the reason I laugh when I hear some of the guys talk about how I’m a joke or I’m a fake, or that I don’t love the wrestling industry. They see a guy who looks flashy and dresses cool, who goes out and gets a lot of chicks, and they think that guy is here for the wrong reasons, you know? But not me. This kid is here for the right reasons. This kid is here to climb to the top of the mountain, and to be some other little kid’s hero. You think a guy like LH Harrison is as “inspirational” as he claims to be? You think kids are turning on Madness or Warfare and looking up to a guy throwing himself out of a battle royal? When I was that four year old kid idolizing Ultimate Warrior on Main Event, I was idolizing a champion, man. I saw a guy that was a beast. He was unstoppable. THAT's what's inspirational, man. THAT's what I am.

((The scene switches to a similar close up of Alex Braun, Loverboy’s longtime friend and bandmate in Casanova. Just like Loverboy, Alex is seated before a plain black backdrop.))

Alex: Ever since I met Vinnie, all he ever talked about was making it as far as he could in the wrestling business. He always wanted to know what he could do better. When I met him down in Tampa, he needed to do EVERYTHING better. And eventually he did.

((Shift back to Loverboy.))

Loverboy: I’m pretty sure Alex Braun kicked my ass over a hundred times when I first got into the business back in the old TCW. Alex was one of the top dogs, man, a main eventer, and here’s this scrappy, green jerk who keeps getting in his face. I’d have kicked my ass too, dude! But that’s what you do in the wrestling industry, you know? You pay your dues. And I paid. And paid. And paid. And that’s why I’m here today. That’s why I carry championship gold with me everywhere I go. That’s what LH Harrison is doing right now, man. When you see him on TV getting his ass handed to him week after week, but always getting up and asking for more? It’s because he’s paying his dues. He’s not on my level yet, man, but he might be someday. Who knows, he might be sitting in this chair talking about the time he got to fight “Loverboy” Vinnie Lane in a fatal fourway match with two other great wrestlers like Gator and Luca Arzegotti. It could happen. I paid my dues already though, man, and it’s my time to shine, you know? This is my peak. My summit. This is what I came to do, the journey I started on as a preschool kid watching Andre versus Warrior in 1989. I’m giving others their dues now.

It wouldn’t be long before “Loverboy” Vinnie Lane would embark on a personal sojourn that would set his course for life in both the world of rock music and professional wrestling. Before finishing High School, Loverboy looked south to the Sunshine State to find his way.

All of that and more during the next installment of “Loverboy” Vinnie Lane – Behind the Music!