WEBVTT 00:00:03.640 --> 00:00:06.580 Hola amigos, this is Billy Sheehan, you're listening 00:00:06.580 --> 00:00:10.220 to me right here on My Weekly Mixtape with my 00:00:10.220 --> 00:00:24.980 dear friend Brian Colburn. Welcome to My Weekly 00:00:24.980 --> 00:00:28.059 Mixtape, a podcast that takes the classic mixtape 00:00:28.059 --> 00:00:31.149 approach. to building a modern playlist. I'm 00:00:31.149 --> 00:00:33.710 your host, Brian Colburn. Joining me once again 00:00:33.710 --> 00:00:36.810 on the show is one of my favorite bass players 00:00:36.810 --> 00:00:40.049 to ever grace the stage, and that's the one and 00:00:40.049 --> 00:00:43.310 only Mr. Billy Sheehan. Billy, thank you so much 00:00:43.310 --> 00:00:45.229 for joining me again to talk music, my friend. 00:00:45.590 --> 00:00:48.310 My pleasure. Thanks for having me. Well, the 00:00:48.310 --> 00:00:50.909 last time you were on was all the way back on 00:00:50.909 --> 00:00:53.829 episode 13, where we dove into songs from throughout 00:00:53.829 --> 00:00:56.530 your discography, including your time with David 00:00:56.530 --> 00:00:59.789 Lee Roth, niacin, the winery dogs, talus, sons 00:00:59.789 --> 00:01:03.030 of Apollo. And we also touched on a tour that 00:01:03.030 --> 00:01:06.310 at the time was still in the planning stages. 00:01:06.629 --> 00:01:10.370 That being Mr. Biggs, the big finish world tour, 00:01:10.489 --> 00:01:14.129 how quickly time flies is that tour is officially 00:01:14.129 --> 00:01:17.359 completed its run. But with that, The band is 00:01:17.359 --> 00:01:19.519 celebrating the tour with a new release, The 00:01:19.519 --> 00:01:23.019 Big Finish Live, which serves as a triumphant 00:01:23.019 --> 00:01:26.920 victory lap, if you will, for the band. Since 00:01:26.920 --> 00:01:29.459 we talked about the full spectrum of your projects 00:01:29.459 --> 00:01:32.379 on episode 13, I'd like to use tonight to really 00:01:32.379 --> 00:01:35.340 hone in on Mr. Big. So with your permission, 00:01:35.640 --> 00:01:38.140 I'd like to go all the way back to the beginning 00:01:38.140 --> 00:01:42.180 and the band's 1989 self -titled album. Right 00:01:42.180 --> 00:01:45.510 on. That was a good year. Anyone who listens 00:01:45.510 --> 00:01:48.590 to this show knows that I am a sucker for album 00:01:48.590 --> 00:01:51.450 opening tracks, and this is something that Mr. 00:01:51.650 --> 00:01:54.269 Big knocked out of the park time and time again, 00:01:54.370 --> 00:01:56.930 so we're going to get started with Addicted to 00:01:56.930 --> 00:02:29.669 That Rush. The introduction to this track is 00:02:29.669 --> 00:02:33.110 such a musical, well, for lack of a better word, 00:02:33.330 --> 00:02:37.030 rush. Could you walk me through the writing process 00:02:37.030 --> 00:02:40.270 for that song between you, Paul Gilbert, and 00:02:40.270 --> 00:02:43.810 the late, great Pat Torpey? Well, very kind of 00:02:43.810 --> 00:02:45.610 you to say all those complimentary things. Thank 00:02:45.610 --> 00:02:50.509 you very, very much. I write a lot, and in writing, 00:02:50.530 --> 00:02:54.810 I keep notes of ideas for lyrics and ideas for 00:02:54.810 --> 00:02:58.319 songs. And now I got with my iPhone in the modern 00:02:58.319 --> 00:03:01.500 day. If I have an idea, I'll set it up. Selfie 00:03:01.500 --> 00:03:04.759 video, play to the iPhone, explain. And then 00:03:04.759 --> 00:03:07.840 when the chorus comes, we do this. And it makes 00:03:07.840 --> 00:03:09.979 it easy to write with that. But back in the day, 00:03:10.039 --> 00:03:13.000 we wrote everything down on paper. And I used 00:03:13.000 --> 00:03:16.379 to just write titles. It sounds like a song title. 00:03:16.759 --> 00:03:20.219 So Addicted to That Rush was a title that I'd 00:03:20.219 --> 00:03:24.870 add for. No song, but just the idea of being 00:03:24.870 --> 00:03:28.770 addicted to a particular exciting thing. And 00:03:28.770 --> 00:03:33.550 so when Mr. Big came around, I had an idea for 00:03:33.550 --> 00:03:38.250 that to become a song. And we wanted to enhance 00:03:38.250 --> 00:03:41.729 it with a little bit of a musical intro, basically 00:03:41.729 --> 00:03:46.969 a boogie, fast boogie kind of a beat. And I did 00:03:46.969 --> 00:03:51.560 this hammer -on, this double. Right, hit it. 00:03:54.819 --> 00:03:56.860 You can get going really fast, but it's easy 00:03:56.860 --> 00:03:59.879 to do because you're using two fingers to do 00:03:59.879 --> 00:04:04.319 it, so it's not that tough. And then a little 00:04:04.319 --> 00:04:13.340 licker. It's a little bit more complicated, but... 00:04:13.530 --> 00:04:15.789 It was kind of cool because Paul Gilbert, being 00:04:15.789 --> 00:04:18.569 the guitar player, used to come see me play in 00:04:18.569 --> 00:04:20.709 Tallis when he was just starting out in the music 00:04:20.709 --> 00:04:22.529 business. So he knew my playing pretty well. 00:04:22.790 --> 00:04:25.209 So we kind of had a little bit of a parallel 00:04:25.209 --> 00:04:27.990 on how we were players and that at some point 00:04:27.990 --> 00:04:31.209 he was kind of walking next to me, if you will, 00:04:31.329 --> 00:04:34.430 musically. And then it's since gone on to greatness, 00:04:34.589 --> 00:04:38.930 in my humble opinion. And so we spoke the same 00:04:38.930 --> 00:04:41.029 language. And so when I was kind of showing him 00:04:41.029 --> 00:04:42.910 the thing, he knew exactly what I meant. When 00:04:42.910 --> 00:04:44.769 he showed me a thing, I knew what he meant. And 00:04:44.769 --> 00:04:46.790 so it came together really, really nicely. Pat 00:04:46.790 --> 00:04:50.290 Torpey, as a drummer. Pat and I had a great parallel 00:04:50.290 --> 00:04:52.649 without ever having known each other. We kind 00:04:52.649 --> 00:04:54.829 of lived the same life. You know, he came from 00:04:54.829 --> 00:04:57.329 Cleveland. I came from Buffalo. We both ended 00:04:57.329 --> 00:04:59.569 up in L .A. We both played copy bands for years 00:04:59.569 --> 00:05:02.810 and years. So if I told him, Robin Trower, Day 00:05:02.810 --> 00:05:05.910 of the Eagle, I got it. Jimi Hendrix, whatever. 00:05:06.170 --> 00:05:09.730 He knows it. Beatles, all of them. Stones, all 00:05:09.730 --> 00:05:11.910 of them. So we had a great language of that. 00:05:12.009 --> 00:05:14.209 So he just came up with the right beat at the 00:05:14.209 --> 00:05:18.300 right time. And we were off. And I did the lyrics 00:05:18.300 --> 00:05:22.560 for it. And that was Addicted to That Rush. Wow. 00:05:22.980 --> 00:05:26.319 Well, sticking with the self -titled album, I've 00:05:26.319 --> 00:05:28.759 learned over the years through my musical nerdom 00:05:28.759 --> 00:05:33.199 that the song Wind Me Up is actually a nod to 00:05:33.199 --> 00:05:36.939 Roy Orbison's Oh Pretty Woman only played backwards. 00:05:37.319 --> 00:05:57.829 Yeah. I'd love to hear the story behind that. 00:06:12.170 --> 00:06:15.110 Backwards, that's Wind Me Up. So that was Paul's 00:06:15.110 --> 00:06:19.810 idea. Paul always has an interesting way to come 00:06:19.810 --> 00:06:23.189 up with an idea, a thing, or a song, or change 00:06:23.189 --> 00:06:27.230 it. For example, not to go off the subject, Colorado 00:06:27.230 --> 00:06:30.790 Bulldog, Paul came in and he had this lick that 00:06:30.790 --> 00:06:36.410 was ascending. Wow, really going. I go, now can 00:06:36.410 --> 00:06:37.810 you do it backwards all the way down? He goes, 00:06:37.870 --> 00:06:42.529 hmm. So he comes back the next day. Okay, I got 00:06:42.529 --> 00:06:44.129 it all the way up and then all the way down. 00:06:44.370 --> 00:06:46.230 And then we just started playing a fast boogie 00:06:46.230 --> 00:06:48.050 beat and came up with a thing and that became 00:06:48.050 --> 00:07:15.980 Colorado Bulldog. so uh the uh wind me up was 00:07:15.980 --> 00:07:19.220 uh it's kind of a it's an interesting way sometimes 00:07:19.220 --> 00:07:21.500 to get an idea so i mean here here a lick or 00:07:21.500 --> 00:07:23.220 something that you know but here backwards or 00:07:23.220 --> 00:07:26.769 in an odd way or in a minor key or some way different, 00:07:26.850 --> 00:07:30.050 and it can inspire you to move around. They say, 00:07:30.129 --> 00:07:32.829 good writers write, but great writers steal. 00:07:33.069 --> 00:07:37.009 Now, this wasn't theft, but if you listen to 00:07:37.009 --> 00:07:39.949 songs now, I follow an Instagram page where a 00:07:39.949 --> 00:07:42.990 guy points to different songs on the screen, 00:07:43.089 --> 00:07:48.579 and they're the same song, modern song. There's 00:07:48.579 --> 00:07:50.639 a lot of that that has gone on through the years. 00:07:50.819 --> 00:07:53.899 And for me, I always give credit when I get inspired 00:07:53.899 --> 00:07:56.139 by a particular song. Addicted to that Rush, 00:07:56.240 --> 00:07:58.759 by the way, it was definitely ZZ Top. You know, 00:07:58.800 --> 00:08:02.139 heard it on the X, kind of a beat. Oh, yeah. 00:08:02.579 --> 00:08:05.839 Definitely. So much of Van Halen, Hopper, Teach, 00:08:05.980 --> 00:08:09.879 that was all ZZ Top. They were the influence 00:08:09.879 --> 00:08:13.420 of so many bands. So to get your influence from 00:08:13.420 --> 00:08:15.920 another band or another song or another artist 00:08:15.920 --> 00:08:18.939 is not uncommon at all. David Bowie, Life on 00:08:18.939 --> 00:08:22.759 Mars is my way. Basically the same chords. He 00:08:22.759 --> 00:08:25.579 loved those chords. And basically, if you listen 00:08:25.579 --> 00:08:28.560 to Life on Mars by David Bowie, it takes a lot 00:08:28.560 --> 00:08:30.480 from the song My Way. And it was intentional. 00:08:30.639 --> 00:08:33.379 He pays tribute to it. And I don't think he hid 00:08:33.379 --> 00:08:35.940 that as a secret or anything. So the fact that 00:08:35.940 --> 00:08:40.620 Why Me Up was a pretty woman backwards. We told 00:08:40.620 --> 00:08:42.600 people that right away. We didn't try to hide 00:08:42.600 --> 00:08:45.500 it because it's not a violation of publishing 00:08:45.500 --> 00:08:48.299 rules where we would owe them because it's backwards. 00:08:49.120 --> 00:08:51.179 So we're off the hook on that. But it's also 00:08:51.179 --> 00:08:54.779 such a great, great line. Even backwards, it's 00:08:54.779 --> 00:08:57.940 pretty cool. Oh, I absolutely love the track. 00:08:58.120 --> 00:09:00.100 And when I found that out, I had to listen to 00:09:00.100 --> 00:09:03.500 it and go, wait a minute. That's right. Unbelievable. 00:09:04.299 --> 00:09:06.940 Absolutely unbelievable. Well, you brought up 00:09:06.940 --> 00:09:09.360 Colorado Bulldog, which was the opening track. 00:09:10.080 --> 00:09:13.340 to 1993's bump ahead we talked about addicted 00:09:13.340 --> 00:09:16.340 to that rush from the 1989 self -titled album 00:09:16.340 --> 00:09:19.240 we might as well dive into the opening track 00:09:19.240 --> 00:09:23.639 on the band's 1991 smash album lean into it and 00:09:23.639 --> 00:09:27.240 that is daddy brother lover little boy the electric 00:09:27.240 --> 00:09:58.440 drill song We can't talk about this song and 00:09:58.440 --> 00:10:01.139 not get into the story behind how the electric 00:10:01.139 --> 00:10:04.759 drill came part of this song's legacy. Did that 00:10:04.759 --> 00:10:08.320 originate from Paul's Racer X days? It did, yeah. 00:10:08.440 --> 00:10:10.120 He had, I think, a singer. The singer's name 00:10:10.120 --> 00:10:12.600 was Jeff Martin. Wonderful guy. Great singer. 00:10:12.919 --> 00:10:15.220 And as a joke, he said to Paul, Paul, you're 00:10:15.220 --> 00:10:16.940 so fast. The only way to get any faster is to 00:10:16.940 --> 00:10:19.159 put picks on the end of a drill. And so he did. 00:10:19.340 --> 00:10:21.399 It turns out Paul's actually faster than that. 00:10:21.460 --> 00:10:24.139 The drill can't keep up with him. In fact, it's 00:10:24.139 --> 00:10:27.720 true. So he used it for just a little joke for 00:10:27.720 --> 00:10:30.519 a while. And we were in the studio doing the 00:10:30.519 --> 00:10:34.019 Late Into It album. And I came in with a song 00:10:34.019 --> 00:10:37.080 idea. Well, actually, before we rehearsed our 00:10:37.080 --> 00:10:38.600 songs first, before we got to the studio. But 00:10:38.600 --> 00:10:40.860 I came in with a song idea. I went to the Rainbow 00:10:40.860 --> 00:10:42.899 Bar and Grill on Sunset, which was my hangout 00:10:42.899 --> 00:10:45.840 when I lived in L .A. And the waitress, her name 00:10:45.840 --> 00:10:48.340 was Eileen, behind the bar, a wonderful young 00:10:48.340 --> 00:10:50.960 lady, a dear friend of mine. And I'd go there, 00:10:51.059 --> 00:10:52.399 and it would be early in the night, not many 00:10:52.399 --> 00:10:54.039 people, and I'd have a drink, and we're talking 00:10:54.039 --> 00:10:56.340 and hanging out there. And I said, wait, you 00:10:56.340 --> 00:10:59.039 got a pen and a napkin or something to write 00:10:59.039 --> 00:11:01.620 on? He goes, sure. So I wrote down, Daddy, Brother, 00:11:01.820 --> 00:11:04.519 Lover, Little Boy. That was the idea for it. 00:11:04.600 --> 00:11:07.159 Again, there's a song title, and then the song 00:11:07.159 --> 00:11:10.399 kind of wrote itself after that. So we got together, 00:11:10.580 --> 00:11:13.139 worked the song out. It was all ready to go, 00:11:13.279 --> 00:11:15.480 and there was some kind of a cool element to 00:11:15.480 --> 00:11:18.730 it. So we'll do the solo. And Paul said, well, 00:11:18.789 --> 00:11:21.370 I could do it on the drill. You know, I'll play 00:11:21.370 --> 00:11:25.690 the solo. Pretty easy, I could do it with a drill. 00:11:25.750 --> 00:11:27.889 That'd be hilarious. Okay, good idea. And he 00:11:27.889 --> 00:11:29.629 goes, well, as long as I'm doing it on the drill, 00:11:29.649 --> 00:11:31.350 why don't you do a harmony version with me on 00:11:31.350 --> 00:11:34.409 the bass? I said, well, okay, cool. So I used 00:11:34.409 --> 00:11:37.230 his drill and overdubbed my harmony part. I had 00:11:37.230 --> 00:11:40.629 to play a Taurus bass pedal with my feet to the 00:11:40.629 --> 00:11:43.909 uninitiated. It's a bass synthesizer that you 00:11:43.909 --> 00:11:46.470 play with your feet. You only play one note at 00:11:46.470 --> 00:11:49.279 a time. So for a big, fat, giant, low -frequency 00:11:49.279 --> 00:11:53.139 thing, that's the device to use. And so I had 00:11:53.139 --> 00:11:55.500 to hold that note because as I was doing the 00:11:55.500 --> 00:11:57.879 drill thing, there was no low note holding the 00:11:57.879 --> 00:12:00.899 song together on bass. Yeah, yeah. I used the 00:12:00.899 --> 00:12:03.019 Taurus pedal for that while I did that. Then 00:12:03.019 --> 00:12:05.980 we also used it at the beginning of the, well, 00:12:06.100 --> 00:12:08.899 a little noise because we noticed that the flaw 00:12:08.899 --> 00:12:10.820 of using the drill is when you're holding it 00:12:10.820 --> 00:12:12.840 close to these pickups, the electric pickups, 00:12:12.899 --> 00:12:15.519 and it's spinning, it makes a huge interference. 00:12:16.330 --> 00:12:19.710 Now, later on, Ed Van Halen took an electric 00:12:19.710 --> 00:12:22.789 screwdriver, put it next to his pickup. He didn't 00:12:22.789 --> 00:12:25.009 touch the string with the screwdriver, but just 00:12:25.009 --> 00:12:27.769 by playing it, we get the sound of the drill 00:12:27.769 --> 00:12:31.029 spinning because it creates a lot of electromagnetic 00:12:31.029 --> 00:12:33.730 interference and the pickup picks that up. So 00:12:33.730 --> 00:12:36.149 we used a little bit of that noise at the very 00:12:36.149 --> 00:12:38.929 beginning. And then another little innovation, 00:12:39.129 --> 00:12:42.889 we took Paul's opening guitar chord and had him 00:12:42.889 --> 00:12:46.870 hit it real hard with a big... And while he held 00:12:46.870 --> 00:12:50.409 it, two other guys grabbed the tuning pegs and 00:12:50.409 --> 00:12:53.909 tuned them all down as it's still ringing. So 00:12:53.909 --> 00:12:55.830 when you played it backwards, you hear all these 00:12:55.830 --> 00:12:59.789 things go... It adds on the chord. So it goes 00:12:59.789 --> 00:13:01.950 backwards. So I had two little innovations. So 00:13:01.950 --> 00:13:04.190 when you hear that guitar kind of coming together 00:13:04.190 --> 00:13:06.789 at the beginning of that song, that's a reverse 00:13:06.789 --> 00:13:10.049 guitar that was detuned by two or three other 00:13:10.049 --> 00:13:14.440 studio guys. After he just would have just held 00:13:14.440 --> 00:13:18.100 that note. So we got to the solo and bang, it 00:13:18.100 --> 00:13:21.039 seemed to work out really well. Now, an extra 00:13:21.039 --> 00:13:23.860 addition to that story, if you don't mind me 00:13:23.860 --> 00:13:26.039 going a little bit more depth in it. Of course. 00:13:26.059 --> 00:13:28.519 Here we were out on tour, touring behind the 00:13:28.519 --> 00:13:30.679 Lean Into It album. Now we got two albums. We 00:13:30.679 --> 00:13:32.419 have enough songs. We don't have to, we can play 00:13:32.419 --> 00:13:35.259 all our own originals and stuff. And we had an 00:13:35.259 --> 00:13:36.940 amazing manager. His name was Herbie Herbert. 00:13:37.500 --> 00:13:40.259 Without him, Mr. Big would have never happened. 00:13:40.460 --> 00:13:44.909 He was the man. He's just one of the most iconic 00:13:44.909 --> 00:13:47.789 and influential founding fathers of the music 00:13:47.789 --> 00:13:50.549 business as we know it today. He was the guy 00:13:50.549 --> 00:13:53.789 who said, why don't we sell t -shirts at the 00:13:53.789 --> 00:13:57.929 show with the band's name on them? Now, you think, 00:13:58.029 --> 00:14:00.509 whoa, merch? I guess when I went to see the Beatles, 00:14:00.590 --> 00:14:02.110 they had Beatles shirts. No, I didn't. When I 00:14:02.110 --> 00:14:04.289 went to see Hendrix, there were no Hendrix shirts. 00:14:04.590 --> 00:14:07.340 And now one of the biggest... Probably the most 00:14:07.340 --> 00:14:09.519 lucrative part of the music business at this 00:14:09.519 --> 00:14:12.120 point is merchandising. And Herbie was the guy 00:14:12.120 --> 00:14:16.799 who said that. So anyway, Herbie was quite an 00:14:16.799 --> 00:14:20.899 amazing guy. And unknown to us, he contacted 00:14:20.899 --> 00:14:24.460 the Makita Power Tool Company in Japan. And because 00:14:24.460 --> 00:14:28.039 To Be With You was becoming a hit and things 00:14:28.039 --> 00:14:29.679 were blowing up and things were looking really 00:14:29.679 --> 00:14:32.980 good. And he asked them if they have ever had 00:14:32.980 --> 00:14:35.840 anyone endorse their products. No, they're a 00:14:35.840 --> 00:14:38.019 power tool company. What would I do with that? 00:14:38.240 --> 00:14:42.200 And so he flew two executives from Makita to 00:14:42.200 --> 00:14:45.059 his office in San Francisco, brought his own 00:14:45.059 --> 00:14:48.100 translator and lawyer, explained to these gentlemen 00:14:48.100 --> 00:14:51.480 what endorsements were and how they worked and 00:14:51.480 --> 00:14:54.179 what artists did what for what companies and 00:14:54.179 --> 00:14:57.460 stuff. And quite a speech that he gave these 00:14:57.460 --> 00:15:00.639 guys. He asked the translator, are they ready 00:15:00.639 --> 00:15:03.100 for the punchline? And they go, yeah. So he said, 00:15:03.120 --> 00:15:06.480 we'd like to find out if you would like Mr. Big 00:15:06.480 --> 00:15:09.779 to endorse Nikita Power Tools. And they looked 00:15:09.779 --> 00:15:11.059 at each other and looked at him and he goes, 00:15:11.059 --> 00:15:15.559 yes. Great. Now they said, how much? And Herbie 00:15:15.559 --> 00:15:20.440 replied, $1 million. Whoa. And they say, yes. 00:15:20.879 --> 00:15:23.799 Wow. Why? This is the greatness of Herbie Herbert. 00:15:24.320 --> 00:15:29.159 And sure enough. We got an endorsement deal with 00:15:29.159 --> 00:15:32.539 the Makita Power Tool Company. So we got new 00:15:32.539 --> 00:15:37.559 drills. And they were amazing to us. It wasn't 00:15:37.559 --> 00:15:39.659 like a million in cash. It was a million -dollar 00:15:39.659 --> 00:15:43.679 deal. Half of it went to tour support. We took 00:15:43.679 --> 00:15:47.519 some profit for ourselves. And Herbie took his 00:15:47.519 --> 00:15:49.120 well -deserved commission from that as well. 00:15:49.259 --> 00:15:53.059 But they were fantastic to us. And my workshop 00:15:53.059 --> 00:15:56.580 is jammed with Makita Power Tools. I'm a loyalist 00:15:56.580 --> 00:16:01.240 to them for all time as a result. And then they 00:16:01.240 --> 00:16:03.679 re -upped the deal later on. When that deal ran 00:16:03.679 --> 00:16:06.899 out, they did it again. And our Makita Power 00:16:06.899 --> 00:16:09.559 Tools have never failed us in the song Daddy, 00:16:09.559 --> 00:16:11.539 Brother, Lover, Little Boy. They've been there 00:16:11.539 --> 00:16:14.320 for us reliably through the years. And as another 00:16:14.320 --> 00:16:17.279 side note, I apologize. At the end of the first 00:16:17.279 --> 00:16:20.200 term of our endorsement deal, they sent us the 00:16:20.200 --> 00:16:22.320 catalog and said, if you guys want anything, 00:16:22.480 --> 00:16:25.440 let us know and pick something out. So Pat Torrey 00:16:25.440 --> 00:16:27.820 got a miter saw because he was doing some crown 00:16:27.820 --> 00:16:31.159 molding. So he had a good, like some kind of 00:16:31.159 --> 00:16:33.980 miter saw thing. I think, I don't remember what 00:16:33.980 --> 00:16:35.960 Eric got, but Paul got his dad a couple of electric 00:16:35.960 --> 00:16:39.100 screwdrivers. And I felt bad about it because 00:16:39.100 --> 00:16:41.279 the doubt at the end of the catalog was their 00:16:41.279 --> 00:16:45.200 generators. Jeez, they're expensive. No stupid 00:16:45.200 --> 00:16:48.639 answer. I go, is it possible to get one of the 00:16:48.639 --> 00:16:51.299 generators? He goes, sure, sure. So everybody 00:16:51.299 --> 00:16:54.019 got their thing, and nothing showed up in my 00:16:54.019 --> 00:16:55.740 house. So now they probably say, that's cool. 00:16:56.080 --> 00:16:59.500 I was way overreaching to get that. Unknown to 00:16:59.500 --> 00:17:01.460 me, it took them longer to ship it. So sure enough, 00:17:01.539 --> 00:17:04.000 this huge crate shows up in my house, and it's 00:17:04.000 --> 00:17:07.599 a Makita generator. And so I had it in my garage. 00:17:07.779 --> 00:17:12.549 It's still in the crate for the 94 Quake. Wow. 00:17:13.210 --> 00:17:17.029 Bang. I was out of town. Went out to get something 00:17:17.029 --> 00:17:19.009 to eat late at night. Walked in my house at 4 00:17:19.009 --> 00:17:22.289 a .m. and it hit. I was airborne inside my home. 00:17:22.650 --> 00:17:25.230 And it's grabbing a smash to pieces. And I live 00:17:25.230 --> 00:17:27.490 in a building with seven units. And we're all 00:17:27.490 --> 00:17:30.210 dear friends. So we all got together. We all 00:17:30.210 --> 00:17:32.210 shut off the gas and went around the thing. And, 00:17:32.250 --> 00:17:36.109 you know, the panic. People were killed in that 00:17:36.109 --> 00:17:38.750 quake. Our building held up really well. And 00:17:38.750 --> 00:17:41.299 we got through the day. figuring things out. 00:17:42.160 --> 00:17:44.059 Nighttime's starting to come and there's no power 00:17:44.059 --> 00:17:47.720 in anywhere. And one of them goes, geez, what 00:17:47.720 --> 00:17:49.319 are we going to do? Nighttime's coming, we got 00:17:49.319 --> 00:17:52.019 no power. And I go, I got a generator in my garage. 00:17:52.680 --> 00:17:56.619 So we took a tube and siphoned gas out of a car, 00:17:56.779 --> 00:18:01.509 put it in the generator. The first poll, we're 00:18:01.509 --> 00:18:04.490 the only, in the blacked out LA, there's one 00:18:04.490 --> 00:18:07.430 little dot in Sherman Oaks, which is our condo, 00:18:07.430 --> 00:18:09.230 because we were the only people that had light 00:18:09.230 --> 00:18:11.990 for miles around. So again, thank you to the 00:18:11.990 --> 00:18:15.390 Makita Powerful for our safety and comfort. That 00:18:15.390 --> 00:18:18.369 is amazing. Now I have to stick with, lean into 00:18:18.369 --> 00:18:20.990 this and pivot a little bit away from Makita 00:18:20.990 --> 00:18:23.680 for this next question, but. Also go back to 00:18:23.680 --> 00:18:25.480 something we talked about earlier, which was 00:18:25.480 --> 00:18:28.400 Addicted to That Rush, because on the Lean Into 00:18:28.400 --> 00:18:31.039 It album, and this question actually comes from 00:18:31.039 --> 00:18:34.480 14 -year -old Brian, because I had the CD in 00:18:34.480 --> 00:18:37.460 1991 listening to it, and there's a track on 00:18:37.460 --> 00:18:42.039 the album, CDFF, Lucky This Time, which, well, 00:18:42.460 --> 00:18:47.500 is short for Compact Disc Fast Forward Speed, 00:18:47.700 --> 00:18:56.430 thus CDFF. 14 -year -old Brian would love to 00:18:56.430 --> 00:19:00.589 know whose idea that was to start Lucky This 00:19:00.589 --> 00:19:03.190 Time with that moment. Because I'll be honest, 00:19:03.289 --> 00:19:05.309 I thought my CD player was on the fritz when 00:19:05.309 --> 00:19:07.170 I'm listening to it. It took me a few listens 00:19:07.170 --> 00:19:10.450 to figure out, oh my God, that's supposed to 00:19:10.450 --> 00:19:14.250 be here. Yeah, I think that's Wind Me Up from 00:19:14.250 --> 00:19:17.009 the first record. Oh, it's Wind Me Up. That's 00:19:17.009 --> 00:19:19.109 amazing. I believe it was. I might be wrong on 00:19:19.109 --> 00:19:21.470 it. But it goes there real fast. And your CD 00:19:21.470 --> 00:19:23.910 fast forward, it just plays a little. little 00:19:23.910 --> 00:19:26.670 snippets of the song instead of speeding up like 00:19:26.670 --> 00:19:29.930 an analog record would. So I believe that was 00:19:29.930 --> 00:19:34.170 Wind Me Up, I think. Well, with that, I'll CDFF 00:19:34.170 --> 00:19:36.609 to the next question because while we're talking 00:19:36.609 --> 00:19:39.390 about Lean Into It, I don't think we could talk 00:19:39.390 --> 00:19:42.809 about Mr. Big's legacy without discussing To 00:19:42.809 --> 00:19:46.069 Be With You, the band's massive number one single 00:19:46.069 --> 00:19:48.950 that topped the charts not only in the U .S. 00:19:48.950 --> 00:20:14.809 but around the world. Is it true that the band 00:20:14.809 --> 00:20:17.549 never intended for this to even be a single? 00:20:18.529 --> 00:20:20.970 Yeah, we put it last on the record. If we would 00:20:20.970 --> 00:20:22.910 have known it was a hit, we would have led with 00:20:22.910 --> 00:20:24.170 it. It would have been the first song on the 00:20:24.170 --> 00:20:26.069 record. It would have saved us a lot of time. 00:20:26.569 --> 00:20:29.950 Because we toured forever, and we were about 00:20:29.950 --> 00:20:33.309 to end tour and go home and start thinking about 00:20:33.309 --> 00:20:36.289 the next record when To Be With You hit. So it 00:20:36.289 --> 00:20:37.849 was extra pressure on the band because we just 00:20:37.849 --> 00:20:39.849 toured the whole world. I mean, to retour the 00:20:39.849 --> 00:20:42.869 whole world again behind that hit, which meant... 00:20:43.039 --> 00:20:46.160 Some pretty grueling situations. We had a day 00:20:46.160 --> 00:20:49.900 off on the Rush Tour where we flew to Berlin 00:20:49.900 --> 00:20:55.099 to be on a TV show. It was a variety show. It 00:20:55.099 --> 00:20:57.920 wasn't just for entertainment. And they had two 00:20:57.920 --> 00:21:02.579 other guests. One was a guest who was raising 00:21:02.579 --> 00:21:06.869 money for the Afghan victims of landmines. Terrible, 00:21:06.869 --> 00:21:09.730 sad situation. People that, you know, walking 00:21:09.730 --> 00:21:11.230 through areas where there was fighting before 00:21:11.230 --> 00:21:13.450 and their legs blown off or they're killed. And 00:21:13.450 --> 00:21:16.609 so it was quite a sad situation. And then the 00:21:16.609 --> 00:21:21.289 next guest was a judge from Italy that was prosecuting 00:21:21.289 --> 00:21:26.109 the mafia. So the TV station was shut down with 00:21:26.109 --> 00:21:30.190 helicopters circling, snipers on the roof, armored 00:21:30.190 --> 00:21:33.730 personnel carriers surrounding with machine guns 00:21:33.730 --> 00:21:37.819 all over the place. big giant metal sheets in 00:21:37.819 --> 00:21:40.680 every room in case a bomb went off that they 00:21:40.680 --> 00:21:43.700 would stop the explosive. And once we got in 00:21:43.700 --> 00:21:45.279 there, we couldn't leave the building. So we 00:21:45.279 --> 00:21:46.920 couldn't go back and take a nap or anything like 00:21:46.920 --> 00:21:50.980 that. So we were in there and, you know, the 00:21:50.980 --> 00:21:55.059 Afghan war landmine victims. Okay, the next segment, 00:21:55.140 --> 00:21:57.660 the guy talking about prosecuting the mafia and 00:21:57.660 --> 00:22:00.599 it was somber and difficult and, you know, nobody 00:22:00.599 --> 00:22:02.619 could leave the building once they were in it, 00:22:02.640 --> 00:22:05.779 including the audience. machine gun guys and 00:22:05.779 --> 00:22:09.259 snipers and helicopters. Unbelievable. Okay. 00:22:09.339 --> 00:22:16.299 And now Mr. Big. So we went out and just did, 00:22:16.359 --> 00:22:19.519 I think, a lip sync version to be with you. Curtain 00:22:19.519 --> 00:22:24.059 comes down to the airport, fly back and to Atlanta 00:22:24.059 --> 00:22:28.779 to the rush tour back up. So we were zombies. 00:22:28.980 --> 00:22:32.059 And that is another aside. That's the show that 00:22:32.059 --> 00:22:35.500 Paul got the drill caught in his hair. Because 00:22:35.500 --> 00:22:38.339 he had the drill and what he meant to do to the 00:22:38.339 --> 00:22:41.339 audience is like, I can't hear you. But he still 00:22:41.339 --> 00:22:43.740 had the drill in his hand. So he held his hand 00:22:43.740 --> 00:22:47.099 up and he couldn't let go of it. And his guitar 00:22:47.099 --> 00:22:50.019 was feeding back. So I ran over to him on stage 00:22:50.019 --> 00:22:52.319 and get behind my amp. And he ran back there 00:22:52.319 --> 00:22:54.859 and I did a quick emergency bass solo while I'm 00:22:54.859 --> 00:22:57.099 looking over. He came back out. Now, when he 00:22:57.099 --> 00:22:59.619 was back there. The crew guy had scissors. He 00:22:59.619 --> 00:23:01.900 goes, no, no, don't cut my hair. Just put it 00:23:01.900 --> 00:23:04.160 in reverse. This is while the noise is going 00:23:04.160 --> 00:23:05.940 and the crowd is screaming and roaring. Put it 00:23:05.940 --> 00:23:07.960 in reverse and hit the trigger. So they did, 00:23:08.039 --> 00:23:11.740 and it went back the other way. It locked in 00:23:11.740 --> 00:23:14.019 there again. So we managed to get the bit out 00:23:14.019 --> 00:23:16.660 of the drill and get it out of there, and it 00:23:16.660 --> 00:23:19.859 came back. And the next day, Rush put power tools 00:23:19.859 --> 00:23:23.460 all over the stage. This is just a comedy. So 00:23:23.460 --> 00:23:25.339 that's a B -side. Now, how did we get here? The 00:23:25.339 --> 00:23:28.470 original question was? Oh, the original question 00:23:28.470 --> 00:23:31.210 was, was it true that the band never intended 00:23:31.210 --> 00:23:34.410 for this to be a single? How did the song get 00:23:34.410 --> 00:23:37.250 to the level it did? Number one all over the 00:23:37.250 --> 00:23:41.490 world. Another backstory. I apologize. I'll do 00:23:41.490 --> 00:23:46.210 it quickly. Atlantic Records hated Elena Noel. 00:23:46.829 --> 00:23:49.289 Really? They hated the record. They did not want 00:23:49.289 --> 00:23:51.210 to release it. They weren't going to release 00:23:51.210 --> 00:23:54.400 it. Our manager had to fly to New York. They 00:23:54.400 --> 00:23:56.980 had to talk with the president of Atlantic Records. 00:23:57.539 --> 00:24:00.140 And our manager was a powerful guy at the time, 00:24:00.180 --> 00:24:03.140 heavy, one of the most powerful guys in the biz. 00:24:03.720 --> 00:24:06.940 And they had to call security when he was in 00:24:06.940 --> 00:24:08.480 the office of the president because there was 00:24:08.480 --> 00:24:10.440 so much screaming and pounding and smashing. 00:24:10.759 --> 00:24:14.279 It wasn't a physical fight, but a bit of screaming, 00:24:14.460 --> 00:24:18.059 yelling. And so finally Atlantic agreed to release 00:24:18.059 --> 00:24:20.339 the record, but they said we're going to what 00:24:20.339 --> 00:24:22.380 they call sandbag it. In other words, they'll 00:24:22.380 --> 00:24:25.420 put it out. Screw you guys. You're on your own. 00:24:25.880 --> 00:24:28.059 We don't care what happens to it. We're not going 00:24:28.059 --> 00:24:29.720 to promote it. We're not going to do anything. 00:24:29.819 --> 00:24:31.339 We're not going to do any marketing. We're not 00:24:31.339 --> 00:24:35.119 going to do anything. GTFO. And that's the end 00:24:35.119 --> 00:24:39.519 of it. So Herbie knew a guy, I believe by the 00:24:39.519 --> 00:24:41.779 name of Jeff McCluskey. He was the most famous 00:24:41.779 --> 00:24:45.240 FM radio promotion guy in the country. He was 00:24:45.240 --> 00:24:48.119 the man. And Jeff was Herbie's friend. And so 00:24:48.119 --> 00:24:50.440 Herbie contacted Jeff and said, here's the situation. 00:24:50.700 --> 00:24:52.579 So we need some help on this record, blah, blah, 00:24:52.619 --> 00:24:55.769 blah. We had no record company backing us up, 00:24:55.829 --> 00:24:58.950 so Herbie found some guys to do it. And sure 00:24:58.950 --> 00:25:01.789 enough, the record came out. I think we did two 00:25:01.789 --> 00:25:04.289 or three singles first, and nothing quite happened. 00:25:04.470 --> 00:25:07.309 And then a guy named John Terry in Lincoln, Nebraska, 00:25:07.509 --> 00:25:10.269 began playing it, and it began to get action. 00:25:10.390 --> 00:25:11.930 It got phones. People were calling up, who is 00:25:11.930 --> 00:25:15.230 the band? And all the people were also calling 00:25:15.230 --> 00:25:18.369 in to request it all on its own. No record company 00:25:18.369 --> 00:25:20.730 help, no nothing. And then it started to act 00:25:20.730 --> 00:25:23.140 at retail. So there's three things you need. 00:25:23.579 --> 00:25:27.019 You request, retail, and response calls, people 00:25:27.019 --> 00:25:29.359 calling and asking who it is, the metrics that 00:25:29.359 --> 00:25:31.339 they judge whether a record's doing well or not. 00:25:31.440 --> 00:25:34.000 And it was doing great. It started to shoot up. 00:25:34.099 --> 00:25:36.900 Things are going, it's reacting at retail. People 00:25:36.900 --> 00:25:39.019 are requesting it. It's looking really good. 00:25:39.220 --> 00:25:41.619 So Atlantic Records didn't believe it. They thought 00:25:41.619 --> 00:25:44.720 we made it up. They thought we had friends in 00:25:44.720 --> 00:25:47.119 Lincoln, Nebraska that we paid money to go into 00:25:47.119 --> 00:25:49.160 the store and buy it. I swear to God, they thought 00:25:49.160 --> 00:25:51.299 that. So much so, they flew a guy to Lincoln, 00:25:51.319 --> 00:25:53.519 Nebraska to see if it was even true. They didn't 00:25:53.519 --> 00:25:55.599 believe it. And sure enough, it went from Lincoln 00:25:55.599 --> 00:25:57.819 to other cities, and then to Boston, and then 00:25:57.819 --> 00:26:00.819 to Miami, and Seattle, and San Diego, and all 00:26:00.819 --> 00:26:03.500 over the place. Pretty much all on its own. And 00:26:03.500 --> 00:26:06.079 if that wasn't enough to add insult to injury, 00:26:06.400 --> 00:26:09.910 radio stations will only... At the time, not 00:26:09.910 --> 00:26:11.670 always a hard and fast rule, but nevertheless 00:26:11.670 --> 00:26:15.309 generally true, they'd add an artist from CBS 00:26:15.309 --> 00:26:18.849 Records to their playlist, a new song, from Atlantic, 00:26:19.170 --> 00:26:24.130 Warner, Elektra. To give everybody a fair shot, 00:26:24.190 --> 00:26:28.829 they'd add one artist from a label. So when they 00:26:28.829 --> 00:26:31.029 added Mr. Big, Atlantic would call the radio 00:26:31.029 --> 00:26:33.009 station. No, no, no, no, no. Don't add the Mr. 00:26:33.029 --> 00:26:35.029 Big. We got a Phil Collins record. We were working 00:26:35.029 --> 00:26:37.609 it. No, no. But they said, it's working for us. 00:26:37.609 --> 00:26:40.309 We're going to add it. So Atlantic even tried 00:26:40.309 --> 00:26:45.569 to stop it as it was going. And in the end, we 00:26:45.569 --> 00:26:47.910 got up into the top 20. We thought, wow, this 00:26:47.910 --> 00:26:49.450 is as high as this is going to go. But that's 00:26:49.450 --> 00:26:52.170 amazing. Then in the top 10. And then we had 00:26:52.170 --> 00:26:55.190 Prince and Michael Jackson both had a single. 00:26:55.819 --> 00:26:58.920 that was probably going to go to number one right 00:26:58.920 --> 00:27:01.240 said fred with i'm too sexy for my shirt was 00:27:01.240 --> 00:27:05.799 the number one song and out of nowhere mr big 00:27:05.799 --> 00:27:09.359 popped into the number one for three weeks and 00:27:09.359 --> 00:27:12.240 uh our minds were completely blown and it went 00:27:12.240 --> 00:27:14.299 and the number one actually in 14 countries around 00:27:14.299 --> 00:27:16.720 the world right now it's at over 100 million 00:27:16.720 --> 00:27:20.039 views on youtube and all that was great so the 00:27:20.039 --> 00:27:22.319 addition to my story that's way too long and 00:27:22.319 --> 00:27:25.039 i apologize for it And any of you that are sleeping 00:27:25.039 --> 00:27:29.700 out there, I apologize, is we had a meeting with 00:27:29.700 --> 00:27:33.500 Atlantic Records prior to the next record. And 00:27:33.500 --> 00:27:35.400 the president of Atlantic Records was sitting 00:27:35.400 --> 00:27:38.240 there at the meeting and said, I swear to God, 00:27:38.259 --> 00:27:41.319 he said this. I got five witnesses, three band 00:27:41.319 --> 00:27:43.460 members and two other people that are still my 00:27:43.460 --> 00:27:45.279 dear friend that were sitting at the table. And 00:27:45.279 --> 00:27:47.680 he said, yeah, the moment we heard to me, we 00:27:47.680 --> 00:27:53.480 knew that was a hit. It didn't happen like that, 00:27:53.539 --> 00:27:58.339 bro. So that was the story of To Be With You. 00:27:58.440 --> 00:28:02.359 And when it was brought to us, Eric had it on, 00:28:02.440 --> 00:28:04.380 he co -wrote it with another guy, and he had 00:28:04.380 --> 00:28:06.519 it on a little cassette. And he kind of, you 00:28:06.519 --> 00:28:09.200 know, I don't think, you know, we shouldn't, 00:28:09.200 --> 00:28:11.630 we kind of had to talk him into it. Because we 00:28:11.630 --> 00:28:13.890 heard it, me, Paul, and Patty. Wow, it's a great 00:28:13.890 --> 00:28:15.349 little song. We should put it on like at the 00:28:15.349 --> 00:28:17.250 end of the album as the credits are rolling, 00:28:17.410 --> 00:28:19.910 you know, at the end of the movie. Yeah, yeah. 00:28:20.349 --> 00:28:24.269 We had to talk him into it. And I'm sure he's 00:28:24.269 --> 00:28:27.109 glad now that he went along with our suggestion 00:28:27.109 --> 00:28:31.390 because that's an extremely successful song. 00:28:31.690 --> 00:28:34.390 Pretty cool. But yeah, the little song that could. 00:28:34.880 --> 00:28:37.480 Yeah, not to dive a little deeper into this Atlantic 00:28:37.480 --> 00:28:40.299 Records thing, but there was, if I remember correctly, 00:28:40.539 --> 00:28:44.140 a very successful music video that was also airing 00:28:44.140 --> 00:28:47.680 on MTV that contributed to this song's success. 00:28:47.859 --> 00:28:51.440 I've read that this video had a quote -unquote 00:28:51.440 --> 00:28:55.259 shoestring budget. Shoestring. Yeah, less than 00:28:55.259 --> 00:28:57.480 a shoestring. What kind of shoestrings are we 00:28:57.480 --> 00:29:02.069 talking about here? About maybe an eighth. of 00:29:02.069 --> 00:29:04.769 what a normal video was going for at that time. 00:29:05.109 --> 00:29:07.970 Wow. We had a wonderful lady named Nancy Bennett 00:29:07.970 --> 00:29:11.890 who was our director for that. And we shot it 00:29:11.890 --> 00:29:15.369 in a train in Train Town, which is a little train 00:29:15.369 --> 00:29:19.049 museum off Coanga Boulevard in North Hollywood. 00:29:19.690 --> 00:29:22.190 And that's why the long shot. They shot it in 00:29:22.190 --> 00:29:23.990 a strange, because we wanted a long room to get 00:29:23.990 --> 00:29:26.990 up close and move back. And that was it. We went 00:29:26.990 --> 00:29:30.920 in and shot it in a day. And we had our fingers 00:29:30.920 --> 00:29:33.720 crossed. It went to MTV number one for a long 00:29:33.720 --> 00:29:36.759 time. And it's still playing on anything that 00:29:36.759 --> 00:29:40.200 plays videos. It's quite an amazing success. 00:29:40.460 --> 00:29:42.900 And we're so glad that it was organic. Because 00:29:42.900 --> 00:29:45.920 there's a lot of ways to play the system to get 00:29:45.920 --> 00:29:49.359 a record to number one. Now more than ever. And 00:29:49.359 --> 00:29:51.980 right around that time, they did a thing called 00:29:51.980 --> 00:29:55.640 SoundScan. Which means when you sold a record, 00:29:55.700 --> 00:29:57.920 they would scan it. And there was no fudge in 00:29:57.920 --> 00:30:00.690 the numbers. Because a record store could call 00:30:00.690 --> 00:30:02.509 and say, yeah, we just sold 100 copies. They 00:30:02.509 --> 00:30:05.730 sold two. And that's shooting up the chart. But 00:30:05.730 --> 00:30:07.210 now you couldn't get away with that anymore. 00:30:07.410 --> 00:30:10.730 Right, right. So it was a real number one for 00:30:10.730 --> 00:30:15.430 real. There's no shenanigans. People will figure 00:30:15.430 --> 00:30:18.329 out a way no matter what. There's plenty of shenanigans 00:30:18.329 --> 00:30:20.650 that replace those shenanigans. But in fact, 00:30:20.769 --> 00:30:24.970 it was a real number one, which is mind -blowing. 00:30:25.369 --> 00:30:27.910 And then from the same album, Just Take My Heart 00:30:27.910 --> 00:30:30.809 was also a top 20 hit, reaching number 16 on 00:30:30.809 --> 00:30:34.549 the US Billboard Hot 100, number 26 on the UK 00:30:34.549 --> 00:30:37.869 singles chart, and cracked the top 20 in Canada, 00:30:38.029 --> 00:30:40.789 Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. 00:31:02.480 --> 00:31:05.619 On the Big Finish Tour, the band was playing 00:31:05.619 --> 00:31:08.640 Lean Into It in its entirety. Yes. We talked 00:31:08.640 --> 00:31:10.980 about the singles. We talked about the Electric 00:31:10.980 --> 00:31:13.880 Drill song, To Be With You, Just Take My Heart. 00:31:14.200 --> 00:31:17.140 Were there any non -singles from Lean Into It 00:31:17.140 --> 00:31:20.180 that you played on this run that the band said, 00:31:20.240 --> 00:31:23.180 you know what? What a great song to be able to 00:31:23.180 --> 00:31:26.980 bring back into the Mr. Big Fold. Lucky this 00:31:26.980 --> 00:31:42.569 time. What a great song. I really love that song. 00:31:42.789 --> 00:31:44.990 And Never Say Never was another good one, too. 00:32:02.769 --> 00:32:08.430 Yeah, it's a funny thing. The music biz is unusual. 00:32:09.440 --> 00:32:11.420 set of rules and circumstances that you have 00:32:11.420 --> 00:32:14.240 to learn to play that game. And I didn't know 00:32:14.240 --> 00:32:16.019 anything about it. Fortunately, again, we had 00:32:16.019 --> 00:32:19.119 Herbie Herbert, who was a grandmaster, literally, 00:32:19.279 --> 00:32:23.660 of that game. And he was the man responsible 00:32:23.660 --> 00:32:27.000 for it all. Pretty awesome. Well, we did talk 00:32:27.000 --> 00:32:29.940 about 1993's Bump Ahead earlier when we were 00:32:29.940 --> 00:32:32.799 talking about Colorado Bulldog. While we're on 00:32:32.799 --> 00:32:35.380 that album for a brief second here, I do want 00:32:35.380 --> 00:32:37.660 to bring up the band's incredible cover of Cat 00:32:37.660 --> 00:32:40.440 Stevens' Wild World, which is also included on 00:32:40.440 --> 00:33:07.880 the Big Finish Live album. I've always been a 00:33:07.880 --> 00:33:09.940 huge fan of cover songs, and I talk about them 00:33:09.940 --> 00:33:13.480 all the time on this show. I'd love to know the 00:33:13.480 --> 00:33:17.539 mindset behind what Mr. Big as a band was thinking, 00:33:17.660 --> 00:33:20.779 putting their stamp on an already iconic song. 00:33:21.200 --> 00:33:25.019 Well, for the next record, Bump Ahead, Atlantic 00:33:25.019 --> 00:33:27.289 record, Now That We... Now that we had a hit, 00:33:27.390 --> 00:33:29.650 they wanted another should be with you. We said, 00:33:29.710 --> 00:33:31.730 yeah, but we don't want to really, you know, 00:33:31.730 --> 00:33:33.529 we had a copy because a lot of bands in the old 00:33:33.529 --> 00:33:35.970 days did that. The next single sounded like the 00:33:35.970 --> 00:33:39.549 first one. I said, nah, you know, we, and fortunately 00:33:39.549 --> 00:33:42.450 we had Herbie as our guy, so we could have an 00:33:42.450 --> 00:33:46.049 opinion. So we said, I don't know. I mean, we, 00:33:46.130 --> 00:33:48.609 you know. Doing another acoustic ballad, you 00:33:48.609 --> 00:33:51.230 know, we love it and we play it and I still love 00:33:51.230 --> 00:33:53.509 it to this day. But, you know, that was then, 00:33:53.650 --> 00:33:56.690 that was a thing. And so we're kind of at a dilemma 00:33:56.690 --> 00:34:00.410 and the label is demanding. Paul had a song that 00:34:00.410 --> 00:34:08.630 went... It didn't quite catch. We had a lot of 00:34:08.630 --> 00:34:11.730 songs that we didn't fully record. A cool thing, 00:34:11.829 --> 00:34:14.150 but for some reason it wasn't quite working in 00:34:14.150 --> 00:34:15.820 our mind. And I remember saying, wait a minute, 00:34:15.860 --> 00:34:20.880 that's Wild World by Cat Stevens. Oh, yeah, cool. 00:34:21.079 --> 00:34:24.539 So we checked out a version of it. It's in a 00:34:24.539 --> 00:34:28.300 pretty low key. So we changed the key. We bring 00:34:28.300 --> 00:34:31.000 it up for Eric's voice. And the song itself, 00:34:31.420 --> 00:34:33.679 if you listen to the original recording, it's 00:34:33.679 --> 00:34:36.699 a masterpiece. I love Cat Stevens, and I love 00:34:36.699 --> 00:34:39.360 that song. But it's not your traditional drum 00:34:39.360 --> 00:34:43.280 track, kick, hat, snare. And then the bass and 00:34:43.280 --> 00:34:45.260 then the guitar, you know, put together like 00:34:45.260 --> 00:34:47.880 so many songs. We just kind of, you know, there's 00:34:47.880 --> 00:34:53.440 a little snare hit kind of happens. It's a floating. 00:34:53.860 --> 00:34:56.619 It's not like a rock band playing a song. And 00:34:56.619 --> 00:34:59.719 so we kind of did it more of our way, a little 00:34:59.719 --> 00:35:03.420 bit more cohesive by modern standards. But I 00:35:03.420 --> 00:35:06.599 was a huge Cat Stevens fan. Cash Bullet 4, that 00:35:06.599 --> 00:35:09.260 record, Peace Train, when that single first came 00:35:09.260 --> 00:35:13.400 out, I loved it. An interesting thing happened, 00:35:13.460 --> 00:35:15.519 though. It was during the time that some of the 00:35:15.519 --> 00:35:17.900 situation in world politics with the Islamic 00:35:17.900 --> 00:35:21.679 terrorism thing was starting up, and we started 00:35:21.679 --> 00:35:25.019 to catch heat for playing a song by Cat Stevens, 00:35:25.340 --> 00:35:29.099 who had converted to Islam. So we go to radio 00:35:29.099 --> 00:35:31.019 stations in America, and they go, what about 00:35:31.019 --> 00:35:34.139 this? You're contributing to the... Well, no, 00:35:34.219 --> 00:35:36.139 we just love Cat Stevens, and it's a beautiful 00:35:36.139 --> 00:35:39.469 song, and it's everybody, you know... We're a 00:35:39.469 --> 00:35:42.769 school. There's no political agenda or support 00:35:42.769 --> 00:35:45.949 of anything bad here. Cat's a wonderful guy, 00:35:46.070 --> 00:35:48.590 and we love his music, and we don't want to get 00:35:48.590 --> 00:35:53.369 involved in that. But some stations gave us trouble 00:35:53.369 --> 00:35:57.409 for that. Unknown to us, in Indonesia, which 00:35:57.409 --> 00:36:00.349 is an Islamic country, we played there a lot. 00:36:00.550 --> 00:36:02.670 It was one of the first Western bands to play 00:36:02.670 --> 00:36:05.050 in some cities in Indonesia. It was amazing. 00:36:05.210 --> 00:36:08.699 The crowds were incredible. Thousands of people 00:36:08.699 --> 00:36:11.860 at the airport getting hurt by fans trying to 00:36:11.860 --> 00:36:15.599 get to the hotel. Total pandemonium. So unknown 00:36:15.599 --> 00:36:19.480 to us, they were watching, and we stuck up for 00:36:19.480 --> 00:36:21.780 Cat Stevens. So when we went back to Indonesia, 00:36:22.159 --> 00:36:25.079 we were the heroes. Somebody actually said something 00:36:25.079 --> 00:36:28.860 good about them and their people, which is something 00:36:28.860 --> 00:36:32.360 I believe. There's every element of political 00:36:32.360 --> 00:36:36.260 or religious groups. There's a bad element, but 00:36:36.260 --> 00:36:39.800 it's mostly good. I think not that's a generality, 00:36:39.820 --> 00:36:42.159 and there's some wonderful people down there 00:36:42.159 --> 00:36:46.519 that we love dearly. And so I get more email 00:36:46.519 --> 00:36:48.820 to this day from Indonesia than anywhere in the 00:36:48.820 --> 00:36:52.130 world. So pretty cool. Well, you're sitting there 00:36:52.130 --> 00:36:54.969 holding your bass and me being a bass player 00:36:54.969 --> 00:36:57.510 and you being one of my biggest inspirations 00:36:57.510 --> 00:37:00.769 on the instrument. I'd be remiss if I didn't 00:37:00.769 --> 00:37:03.969 bring up your bass solo from the Big Finish Live. 00:37:55.309 --> 00:37:58.929 Is this track something you composed specifically 00:37:58.929 --> 00:38:02.510 in advance for the tour? Or is your bass solo 00:38:02.510 --> 00:38:05.590 a different experience each and every evening? 00:38:05.630 --> 00:38:07.989 Because to me, it sounds like you're bringing 00:38:07.989 --> 00:38:11.650 this dynamic. I almost want to call it cinematic 00:38:11.650 --> 00:38:16.190 approach to a bass solo. And I just like to get 00:38:16.190 --> 00:38:19.190 inside your head because having seen it live, 00:38:19.349 --> 00:38:23.469 it's. I'm at a loss for words. And as a guy who 00:38:23.469 --> 00:38:25.929 talks on a podcast, that doesn't happen very 00:38:25.929 --> 00:38:29.269 often. Well, that's very, very kind of you. No, 00:38:29.349 --> 00:38:32.650 I kind of just let nature take its course. There's 00:38:32.650 --> 00:38:35.710 some parts that all do that same part, but it's 00:38:35.710 --> 00:38:38.269 never the same, really. It's a different night 00:38:38.269 --> 00:38:42.090 to night. And it came from years ago. We got 00:38:42.090 --> 00:38:45.269 the name of the band from the song Mr. Big by 00:38:45.269 --> 00:39:12.380 Free. We used to play that song in Tallis in 00:39:12.380 --> 00:39:14.400 the old, old days. So we're at the Poor House 00:39:14.400 --> 00:39:18.760 West in Hamburg, New York in the early 70s and 00:39:18.760 --> 00:39:21.630 playing that song. And there's an extended jam 00:39:21.630 --> 00:39:23.750 in the middle where the bass player for free, 00:39:23.829 --> 00:39:26.409 Andy Frazier, amazing player, does a bass solo 00:39:26.409 --> 00:39:28.789 with the band playing. And so I would always 00:39:28.789 --> 00:39:30.849 do a little thing there because I love Andy Frazier. 00:39:30.929 --> 00:39:32.969 And it was a chance for me to do my little shtick. 00:39:33.369 --> 00:39:35.869 And one night I said to the band, wait, wait, 00:39:35.969 --> 00:39:38.610 what if you guys just stop? And I'll just go 00:39:38.610 --> 00:39:41.210 off and then I'll cue you to come back in. OK, 00:39:41.349 --> 00:39:43.869 so that night they did. They just stopped. And 00:39:43.869 --> 00:39:49.809 I went. my squiggly bits and all that. And they 00:39:49.809 --> 00:39:51.869 loved it because they got a chance to go get 00:39:51.869 --> 00:39:53.789 a beer and talk to some girls while they're splitting 00:39:53.789 --> 00:39:56.449 away and come back, two, three, four, and come 00:39:56.449 --> 00:39:59.469 back into the song again. And so I started doing 00:39:59.469 --> 00:40:02.710 it on a regular basis. Then I thought, I'm getting 00:40:02.710 --> 00:40:05.690 kind of tired of it, so I'll stop. And then people 00:40:05.690 --> 00:40:07.289 say, wait, what happened to the bass solo? Where's 00:40:07.289 --> 00:40:13.389 the bass solo? They demanded in a comedy way. 00:40:14.059 --> 00:40:16.659 So I went back to doing it. And so doing a bass 00:40:16.659 --> 00:40:18.880 solo every night, even when you're not inspired 00:40:18.880 --> 00:40:22.840 or there's 10 people there, forces you to dig 00:40:22.840 --> 00:40:25.800 really deep and come up with a lot of ideas and 00:40:25.800 --> 00:40:28.960 ways to make it interesting. And we were playing 00:40:28.960 --> 00:40:35.360 clubs with people dancing and a solo thing. Generally, 00:40:35.559 --> 00:40:38.280 that would be, so I had to make it entertaining 00:40:38.280 --> 00:40:40.960 to people who normally wouldn't listen to a thing 00:40:40.960 --> 00:40:43.980 like that. And that was a great stress. on me 00:40:43.980 --> 00:40:47.739 to force me to come up with ways to make it entertaining 00:40:47.739 --> 00:40:50.699 to non -bass players and non -musicians to some 00:40:50.699 --> 00:40:55.280 degree. So doing that for a decade or more got 00:40:55.280 --> 00:41:00.780 me up to the point where I got somewhat confident 00:41:00.780 --> 00:41:02.880 at being able to put something together that 00:41:02.880 --> 00:41:06.769 is somehow interesting to most. I doubt never 00:41:06.769 --> 00:41:11.710 all, most people. And we kept it in there. So 00:41:11.710 --> 00:41:14.610 that was the evolution of that. And then by the 00:41:14.610 --> 00:41:17.789 time Mr. Big comes, unaccompanied solos were 00:41:17.789 --> 00:41:21.309 becoming common. You know, Ed Van Halen's Eruption, 00:41:21.369 --> 00:41:23.889 of course. And then everybody had a thing where 00:41:23.889 --> 00:41:27.969 they did their solo thing. But back in 1973, 00:41:28.250 --> 00:41:32.210 or maybe even earlier than that, I'm not sure 00:41:32.210 --> 00:41:35.110 when that song came out. When the song Mr. Big 00:41:35.110 --> 00:41:37.150 came out. But since I've been doing it since 00:41:37.150 --> 00:41:39.190 then, it kind of made sense that I could pull 00:41:39.190 --> 00:41:42.829 disparate parts together and create a somewhat 00:41:42.829 --> 00:41:47.210 unified thing. Amazing. Well, when you and I 00:41:47.210 --> 00:41:50.570 talked on episode 13, one of the things you said 00:41:50.570 --> 00:41:52.889 was the biggest thing you wanted to do with this 00:41:52.889 --> 00:41:56.289 final Mr. Big tour was to honor the legacy of 00:41:56.289 --> 00:41:59.269 Pat Torpey and to celebrate the band's music 00:41:59.269 --> 00:42:02.690 with one final goodbye. Looking back on this 00:42:02.690 --> 00:42:06.670 run, did it bring the band as well as the fans 00:42:06.670 --> 00:42:09.389 the honor and celebration you were hoping for 00:42:09.389 --> 00:42:12.530 when we talked all the way back when? Absolutely, 00:42:12.710 --> 00:42:15.969 and then some. It was a wonderful thing. So many 00:42:15.969 --> 00:42:19.130 friends came out to these shows. If they weren't 00:42:19.130 --> 00:42:21.130 anywhere near us, people flew in. Our shows in 00:42:21.130 --> 00:42:24.010 Germany, people flew in from Korea, Singapore, 00:42:24.389 --> 00:42:26.710 Japan, all over the USA, from South America, 00:42:26.889 --> 00:42:29.480 from all over the rest of Europe. And we were 00:42:29.480 --> 00:42:31.420 always very close with our fans. So we had so 00:42:31.420 --> 00:42:33.420 many people. The front row was jammed. We knew 00:42:33.420 --> 00:42:36.159 everybody in the front row. It was amazing. And 00:42:36.159 --> 00:42:39.980 we'd always dedicate a song to Pat. In the spirit 00:42:39.980 --> 00:42:44.280 and the love of our dear departed brother, Pat 00:42:44.280 --> 00:42:51.019 Torpey. Yeah. And the signature, an iconic beat. 00:42:51.579 --> 00:43:19.900 Check this out. All right, Nick, rip it. Take 00:43:19.900 --> 00:43:21.980 Cover, which is this great drum beat that he 00:43:21.980 --> 00:43:24.380 did, and Nick DiVergilio, and then also when 00:43:24.380 --> 00:43:28.460 he had to skip a few shows with us, Edu Comanato 00:43:28.460 --> 00:43:30.840 from Brazil came in and played. Both of them 00:43:30.840 --> 00:43:33.400 did an amazing job. Nick, amazing drummer, great 00:43:33.400 --> 00:43:36.960 singer. He was with us from the very beginning 00:43:36.960 --> 00:43:41.659 of this tour, amazing. And we'd start that song, 00:43:41.780 --> 00:43:43.940 and it would always be a dedication to the memory 00:43:43.940 --> 00:43:47.699 of Pat Torpey, and I think we did it right by 00:43:47.699 --> 00:43:52.099 him. And he was always on our minds and always 00:43:52.099 --> 00:43:55.280 within the conversation talking about Pat and 00:43:55.280 --> 00:43:58.119 what happened here and there and all the things 00:43:58.119 --> 00:44:01.900 we remembered about him. And Nick did such a 00:44:01.900 --> 00:44:05.500 great job of the finesse and nuance that was 00:44:05.500 --> 00:44:08.300 a lot of Pat's playing. It's hard to duplicate. 00:44:08.619 --> 00:44:11.440 It's like a fingerprint or DNA or the iris of 00:44:11.440 --> 00:44:13.980 your eyes. It's a unique thing for every drummer. 00:44:14.119 --> 00:44:17.019 And he was really great. He brought his own style 00:44:17.019 --> 00:44:20.119 to it as well. But still, he paid great tribute 00:44:20.119 --> 00:44:23.099 to Pat, and we pay him a great honor. And the 00:44:23.099 --> 00:44:26.420 gentleman from Brazil also, Edu, they did a great 00:44:26.420 --> 00:44:29.539 job of that. So I think we did it right to give 00:44:29.539 --> 00:44:34.000 Pat the honor that he so surely deserved for 00:44:34.000 --> 00:44:37.199 his awesomeness and how touched so many people 00:44:37.199 --> 00:44:41.139 were who knew him. Truly wonderful, great guy. 00:44:41.420 --> 00:44:46.000 And we paid the proper tribute. Well, with the 00:44:46.000 --> 00:44:49.659 Mr. Big chapter officially closed, what's next 00:44:49.659 --> 00:44:53.539 for Billy Sheehan, musically speaking? I've got 00:44:53.539 --> 00:44:55.960 about three or four configurations of players 00:44:55.960 --> 00:44:59.360 that I'm talking with and discussing a couple 00:44:59.360 --> 00:45:03.019 things with. A couple offers from some bands 00:45:03.019 --> 00:45:07.820 that I'm thinking about. But I live to play live 00:45:07.820 --> 00:45:11.039 and I play live to live. So I'm going to play. 00:45:11.559 --> 00:45:14.260 Until they wheel me out and then some. Until 00:45:14.260 --> 00:45:17.099 they roll me out on my back and I got the bass 00:45:17.099 --> 00:45:19.719 in there. I was like, keep playing forever. I 00:45:19.719 --> 00:45:21.780 always want to play. It's so essential to me. 00:45:22.019 --> 00:45:26.420 So I don't know yet, but hopefully I'll be out 00:45:26.420 --> 00:45:29.159 touring again by next summer. Well, Billy, for 00:45:29.159 --> 00:45:31.840 the second time I get to say this to you, this 00:45:31.840 --> 00:45:35.639 has been an absolute honor. I'm so glad our musical 00:45:35.639 --> 00:45:37.820 paths were able to cross again. Thank you so 00:45:37.820 --> 00:45:40.730 much for joining me on my weekly mixtape. Thank 00:45:40.730 --> 00:45:43.550 you very, very much for having me. And I hope 00:45:43.550 --> 00:45:46.329 I see you around somewhere somehow. And to all 00:45:46.329 --> 00:45:48.590 those listening today, I'd like to thank you 00:45:48.590 --> 00:45:51.449 and let you know that you can find my weekly 00:45:51.449 --> 00:45:54.070 mixtape on almost all the social media haunts 00:45:54.070 --> 00:45:58.079 at. My Weekly Mixtape. You can also head to myweeklymixtape 00:45:58.079 --> 00:46:01.019 .com to check out the full catalog of My Weekly 00:46:01.019 --> 00:46:03.400 Mixtape episodes. And if you like what you're 00:46:03.400 --> 00:46:05.119 hearing on this show, you can help me out by 00:46:05.119 --> 00:46:07.639 either telling a friend, leaving the show a five 00:46:07.639 --> 00:46:10.420 -star review wherever you're tuning in, or becoming 00:46:10.420 --> 00:46:13.679 a Patreon mixtape or at patreon .com forward 00:46:13.679 --> 00:46:17.010 slash. my weekly mixtape. There you can enjoy 00:46:17.010 --> 00:46:19.889 ad -free episodes of the show, chime in on upcoming 00:46:19.889 --> 00:46:23.250 topics, become a future guest, and so much more. 00:46:23.469 --> 00:46:25.769 That's all for this week. Thanks again for listening, 00:46:25.849 --> 00:46:28.110 and until next time, enjoy the tunes.