| 1. What are you currently up
to? |
I''ve been on the road a lot the recent months with WCR and VCR (Voices
of Classic Rock). I went to Asia with VCR and to Holland with WCR. That
took up most of July and August and a piece of September. Now I have
some time to get back on track with doing another CD.
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| 2. Who was/is your biggest influence on your career?
|
I don't know exactly what you mean but as far as those who have
influenced me. At a young age I would have to say "The Beatles."
The first 45 my Mom bought for me was "I Want To Hold Your Hand."
From that day forward I was a fan. The way they evolved was amazing.
From record to next record George Martin and the guys were so
innovative. You never knew what was next. There were others doing
innovative nuances but none that did it as well as "The Beatles."
Then there was the three piece bands. "Cream, The Who (not counting
Roger) "Led Zepplin" (lets not for get Robert either) and Jimmy
Hendrix. That showed how you it could be done without having two
guitars and keys and still kick ass.That made real sense to me all
though I never really went there. It showed me less is more sometimes
or that one guitarist can cover a lot if he has the feel for it.
Still, to this day, cool stuff.
Vocally, I loved a lot of singers. Robert Plant gave me the faith
that a high voice could be soulful and bluesy. Stevie Wonder showed
me what a voicecould do as an instrument and Paul Rogers put them
together and made sense of it all.
There were so many great singers then, as there are today. I have to
admit that was the time to listen to vocals. And it continued until
the middle of the 80's. You know who I'm talking about. We all love
them and some are still recording for Europe and Japan. Thank God for
that.
. |
3. Which band would you like to see reform? |
The one that comes to mind is not going to happen. But one I miss
dearly. ZZ Top. I don't know about you but when I was on the road in
the equipment truck or the band van, those guys kept you awake.
Robert Palmer would agree with that I'm sure.
. |
| 4. Toto 'Isolation' is one of my all-time favorite records. It's a
real shame you only got to sing on one Toto album. Did you enjoy your
stay in Toto? Would you ever tour/record with them again?
|
Jason, thank you. I have mentioned that my one regret is I didn't get
to do another "Toto" album. The reasons be what they are, I still
love what they do and only wish we could have done one more. The
timing wasn't right and if I know now what I knew then it may have
happened differently. Who knows??
|
| 5. You are part of the Rock Forever lineup. How is this going?
There are certainly some quality talents there - Bobby Kimball, Glenn
Hughes, etc.Are there any CD's available of the concerts?
|
There should be a CD soon. Charlie Schmitt put together a show in
Maui which was recorded and hopefully out soon. I wasn't able to make
the show but from what I've heard and listened to it will be great.
Glenn, Joe Lynn, Alex to name a few are great. What a mix of voices.
I'm proud to be invited to do gigs with these guys. We've had some good
times.
|
| 6. Which song(s) gave you the most pleasure to record?
|
Have you ever heard "The Whips"? I did that with Angel. I think a band
called "White Sister" did a cover of it in the 80's. It's about
Punkie Meadows. The same guy Frank Zappa did a song about. Raspy,
high a kick ass. With Le Roux I wrote "Lifeline and Turning Point."
These two songs were two of my best vocals of all time.
"Angel Don't Cry" is still one of my favorite songs to listen to. Two octaves plus
and a great grove. On the "Frederiksen/Phillips" CD. " Oh Diane". One
of the best written songs I ever sang. Thank you Ricky Phillps.
The last song I can name is one that I joined "Mecca" to do. "You Still
Shock Me." Jimmy Peterick teamed up with the writing duo of Symar and
Unger. What a challenge. This song made me want to do the project
when Joe asked me to. There are more. "Lion" on Isolation. Bobby
Kimball wrote that song with David. I heard the demo Bobby did. It was
great. I recorded the song but was rushing a bit. Well, to me it was
a bit but Jeff gave me a lesson in timing I'll never forget. Who
better to get a timing lesson from than Jeff.
These are the ones that come to mind this late at night.
|
| 7. The Mecca album is a great CD - one of the better releases in
many a year. How did this project come about? Will you be involved in the next CD?
|
Well, Jason, to jump ahead. No I won't be involved in the
next "Mecca" CD. How did I get involved? Well, Joe Vanna and I became
friends a few years back. I never really knew that Joe was a singer.
We corresponded via email and eventually met in Chicago when he was
kind enough to let me stay at his house when I was writing with Jimmy
Peterick. Jimmy and Joe have been friends for a long time. As time
went on, Joe played for me some songs he was involved in. He was
working with a studio at the time and cut some tracks. I finally got to
hear his voice. Needless to say I was blown away.
Then Joe had some friends that were going to invest into his dream. He
played for me a couple of songs, "You Still Shock Me" and some
others. I knew Jimmy was involved and I said Yes. I knew that Jimmy
and Larry Millas have Pro Tools down to a fine art for vocal
production and I knew I would learn and enjoy the session. Jimmy and
Larry are the best. The rest is history. I look forward to working with
Jimmy and Larry soon.
|
| 8. Who would you like to work with in the future?
|
Jason, I'm gonna pass on that one right now. I'm talking with some
friends about that very thing. I'm sure you understand.
|
| 9. The last thing that you read? |
The last book I read that really got my attention was "Monsoon" by
Wilber Smith. If you've never read his stuff you have to. He has many
more I've read.
|
| 10. Message for your
fans... |
I count my blessing every day and thank God I'm able to sing and make
a living. I tried to do without it but I was miserable. A lesson to
those to fallow there hearts and do what they love. I'm a lucky man
and I know it.
Thanks to everyone who's cared enough to hang with me thru my changes
and a special thanks to Klause my webmaster. He gives me a venue,
though sometimes I'm absent for longs periods, to express my feelings
and joy to be doing what I love. I plan to be recording soon so I
hope you'll except my next CD with open minds and hearts. With the friends I have and love, this
should be the best thing I've done to date. God Bless. |
