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| "Working with Jim Steinman was a great experience, too. They were good times and it was nice to write in that style." | |
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pidunk 08:21 pm UTC 07/21/07 |
| In reply to: | John Payne on working with Steinman, ELO, ASIA - Daniel 06:10 pm UTC 07/21/07 |
> Interview at Hotel Hankyu International, Osaka, Japan > Interviwer: Takashi Togawa(Honey FM)on April 3rd, 2007 > 2007N@43ú@åã@zeã}C^[iViÉÄ > C^r [A[F@Ëì@@(Honey FM) > > How did GPS start? > > John: In January 2006, half way through the recording of > Asia album that was to be called eArchitect Of Timef we > suddenly found that the band had fallen to pieces. Jay > Schellen, Guthrie and I unanimously decided that we were > going to start a new band. We wanted it to be different to > Asia but to still have elements that we had learned over > our time in the band. We came a cross a sound we were > comfortable with quite quickly, heavier and more > progressive and with longer songs. > > Over the previous ten years I had become frustrated with > record companies saying gWe want this song for the radio > so can you make it four minutes long and then we can edit > it down.h It always seemed that top 40 radio was > constantly changing and we were never going to be played > on top 40 radio. So, we said letfs do exactly what we > want to do, letfs make the music we love and just be > ourselves on this record. I think that decision and then > the addition of Ryo Okumoto on keyboards really cemented > the sound of GPS. > > Please tell us about the debut album eWindow To The > Soulf. > > John: The recording of the album was a lot more fun than I > expected it to be because it was obviously a surprise that > Asia finished when it did and with the previous album > eSilent Nationf we had gained a lot of popularity in > America, South America and Europe. We actually did the > most touring on that album that Asia had ever done. I > expected the recording of eWindow To The Soulf to be a > bit of a downer but it turned out the other way. We had a > lot of fun recording it and everybodyfs creative input > was equal. We wanted to record the way the classic bands > like Zeppelin and Free recorded, just to please ourselves > and if nobody bought the record then OK.We wanted to be > true to ourselves. > > Guthrie: I think itfs funny that this album sounds so > much more modern than a lot of the Asia stuff to my ears > and yet we arrived at this sound by going back to a more > Seventies feel. > > How was eWindow To The Soulf recorded? > > John: It was actually recorded in two halves. We recorded > as a band at Paramount studios in LA in a great room > called The Cave. We later found out that both Hendrix and > Frank Zappa had used this room. At the time, we had our > own studio in LA and all of the overdubs were done there. > Guthrie did all of his guitars in three weeks. The album > was recorded without keyboards whilst we looked for the > right person. We spoke to a number of people including > Rick Wakeman, who was interested in doing the record but > just too busy at that time. The head of our European label > suggested we try Ryo Okumoto out and so we set a few days > aside to lay some guide keyboards. Within two days, Ryo > had recorded all of the keyboard parts for the album. It > was pretty good experience. > > How about the albumfs songs? > > John: As usual, the songs were written on an acoustic > guitar. I worked out the theme and the melody of the songs > and then they were brought to Jay & Guthrie and we > rehearsed them and put the arrangements together. As > important as the lyrics are, they generally come later in > the song writing process. Albums should, I feel, be a > little diary of where you are in your life. It should be a > snap shot of what is happening in your life at that time. > There isnft a lyrical theme running through the album, > itfs more a collection of observations. > > The vocals on eWindow To The Soulf are a little more > powerful than your work with Asia. Why do you think this > is? > > John: I was always aware during my time in Asia that the > comparisons were there between the band and other bands of > that genre like Foreigner, Styx and so on. These bands > were known for their vocal harmonies and smooth melodies. > It was a conscious decision on this album to be more > contemporary and push my voice in higher keys. This was > too show people what my origins were and what I sounded > like before I Joined Asia. I had a band at one time with > Michael Schenkerfs keyboard player Andy Nye and ex Iron > Maiden drummer Clive Burr so I very much had hard rock > influences and I wanted those influences to show through a > little more on this record. > > How did John Kalodner come to be on the album sleeve? > > John: I had spoken to Geoff Downes about possibly having > John Kalodner appear on the front cover of the proposed > eArchitect Of Timef album. We wanted a Leonardo Da Vinci > kind of character for the front cover and I said to Geoff > that Kalodner would be perfect and, as Geoff knew him, he > should call him up and ask him to do it. > > Geoff said no because hefll never do it and it kind of > got left there. When we were putting the concept together > for the front cover we wanted a kind of svengali figure > watching a TV and taking in all of this information and I > thought that Ifd ask John Kalodner to do it. I contacted > his office and he wasnft there but eventually he got back > to us and said hefd love to do it. It was great. > > Were some of the songs on eWindow To The Soulf > originally planned as Asia songs? > > John: Yes, some of the songs were originally written for > Asia. If they had been recorded as Asia songs, they would > have been shorter with bigger harmonies and smoother > production. We decided that, with a few days rehearsal, > these songs could be made to sound very different to Asia > songs. About 50% of the songs were actually written for > eArchitect Of Timef. > > If it had been completed, how would eArchitect Of Timef > have sounded? > > John: It would have been basically in the style of > previous Asia albums but we had made an attempt to stretch > the songs a bit longer and to make the sound more retro, a > bit more seventies. The actual track eArchitect Of Timef > was completed with Ryo playing keyboards, though I donft > know if it will ever be released. Itfs a very long track, > about eight or nine minutes long. Maybe one day it will be > released. > > The album would have sounded like eSilent Nationf? > > John: No, I donft think so. The drummer on eSilent > Nationf was Chris Slade who, although a great drummer, > was very straightforward in his approach. When we came to > record with Jay Schellen drumming, he had just come out of > a band called Conspiracy with Yes members Billy Sherwood > and bassist Chris Squire and he was very keen to play in > different time signatures. Jay is very influenced by UK, > so I imagine eArchitect Of Timef would have been a > mixture of classic Asia and UK. > > Tell us about Joining Asia in 1991. > > John: I had been working with Andy Nye and Clive Burr in > the Passion and we played at the Marquee club in London. > Afterwards I was approached by David Arden, Sharon > Osbournefs brother, and asked to join ELO. Jeff Lynne had > left about a year before and I > > went over to New York for six months to work with Jim > Steinman. > > Just prior to making a new ELO album, there was a big > court case over the ELO name so I came back to London. At > this point, I was asked by Geoff Downes to join Asia as > bassist and vocalist. I was initially a little unsure as I > had never played bass and suing before but it was > something I really wanted to do so I accepted the offer > and joined Asia. > > Tell us more about ELO. > > John: It was a very interesting time. I was a huge ELO > fan. I am one of those musicians who loves the whole > studio experience and I enjoy the new technologies that > you work with in the studio environment. Jeff Lynne is one > of the studio greats so to be asked to join ELO was like > being asked to join the new Beatles. Sadly, I never got to > release anything with the band, though there is a track on > one of the eArchivaf records called eALOf which stands > for the Asiatic Light Orchestra. Working with Jim Steinman > was a great experience, too. They were good times and it > was nice to write in that style. > > Source: http://www.dingwall.jp/artist/gps/interview.html | |
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