Hard rock super group Mr. Big has returned with a brand new studio album titled Defying Gravity. This album came together rather quickly, as the band had a short six day window to work with familiar engineer Kevin Elsen, but despite the time crunch the band was able to once again capture some rock magic with their 9th studio release. This album definitely feels like more of a collaborative effort, of course each member came in with song ideas, but as drummer Pat Torpey said each idea had to go through the Mr. Big machine, and the result is 11 tracks that feel like a complete band effort. Metal Exiles had the opportunity to chat with Mr. Pat Torpey about how this new record came together, as well as what it was like to once again work with long time friend and engineer Kevin Elsen.
An interview with Pat Torpey of Mr. Big.
By Michael Knowles
Metal Exiles: For starters, it’s great to talk to you. I’m a big fan and I just think you’re a huge inspiration with what you’ve had to battle health wise and the fact that you continue to make music and tour, is just remarkable.
Pat Torpey: Well thanks for saying so, I’m a lucky guy to be able to still be out here making music with some great players and good people, so I feel pretty fortunate, thank you for that sentiment.
Metal Exiles: First question I have is how did you guys manage to write and record an album of such high quality in only 6 days?
Pat: Well, it was luck, you know obviously we draw from all our experience, I mean we’ve all been doing this for decades. There was a bit of time where, I mean there was a point when we weren’t sure we should actually jump in and try to do it. You know we thought maybe we didn’t have enough time, but then we kind of thought you know this isn’t our first rodeo so let’s jump in and see what we could come up with. And we had pretty much six or seven songs pretty much demoed and complete but you know there’s always changes, but we thought let’s just go in because we had some germs of ideas you know there’s always these little ideas floating around. We get together and kind of see what everybody thinks, and just come up with concepts and just little licks, and little lyric ideas. So, we’ve done it before so we thought let’s just go in and see what we could come up with, and I’m really excited and happy with the result, because you don’t have to spend 6 months in pre-production, and then another 6 months recording. It’s obvious that’s not the way it used to be done. So, we just drew on our experience and we’re really happy with the result, and thank you so much for your kind words about our latest appreciate it.
Metal Exiles: To me this album is a nice cross between the last record The Stories We Could Tell and the album before that, What If. How would you characterize the sound of this record, and how would you compare it to earlier Mr. Big records?
Pat: Well it’s I mean it’s Mr. Big, we’ve had good reaction from the people that are familiar with our music. And you know we didn’t make any big departure, it’s still kind of a good melody, good guitar, bass playing, and some good singing and that’s kind of what we are trying to do. I mean every record has its own kind of character and I don’t want to say theme, it’s not really a theme, it’s kind of a snapshot of where you are. You know what are you doing, what are you thinking and you know every record has a similar sound, you know all the Mr. Big records have a sound that we produce, but they also have their own character. And obviously we have Matt Star come in and he’s obviously playing some drums on there. He and I worked out the drum parts together and you know it still sounded like Mr. Big. That was what I wasn’t sure about you know obviously we were hitting new territory here, but it’s a testament to how Matt is such a great addition to what we’re doing, he fits right in and I’m really fortunate to have found him.
Metal Exiles: Speaking of you and Matt working together, was he essentially carrying out your vision for how you wanted the drums to sound and come across on this record?
Pat: Well it was mutual, I mean you know what helped us to move fast, because we had a limited amount of time to record is having both of us being there. Like he would do a take and then I would come in and say you know maybe try this, and try this, and on the kick drum pattern and he was like oh yea ok sure, but you know Matt has a lot of great ideas, and he’s very quick and from a drummers point of view, and from a bands point of view, the drums you have a little less opportunity to do overdubs or punch ins or corrections, you kind of get one shot to get is. And Matt really rose to the occasion, so we did it together to answer your question.
Metal Exiles: Of course this time around you guys tracked the album live, with everyone in the studio at the same time, what do you think that brings to the overall feel and sound of the record?
Pat: Well it’s the kind of records that I like I mean you know recording originally, recording music was about capturing a live performance, not creating this Frankenstein monster that’s impossible to reproduce live. And that’s the kind of bands we grew up listening to and I mean you know The Beatles, they created some pretty big monsters when they recorded but they also were a band that in the beginning they would go in and record a whole album in 12 hours. That appeals to me, it’s performance because you can work on a guitar riff for 6 months and make it perfect, but there’s just something about the spontaneity of getting in and capturing a performance, where these little moments happen that you couldn’t duplicate without having it live. That’s what appeals to me, that’s the kind of band we aspire to be.
Metal Exiles: Love the mix of this record, I feel like Kevin Elsen really gave this album more of a raw organic sound. Can you talk about what it was like working with him again?
Pat: Well first off I’m glad to hear you say that because that is what we were going for, just a real almost a throw-back, have a live edge to it where it sounds real and human. And Kevin is great I mean obviously we’ve known him for 30 years here you know coming up on it, and he’s been a buddy and he was there in the beginning so working with him again was really a treat for us because we tried to get him to work on the last 2 records but he was busy on other things, so we moved on to someone else. So to have him be around for this one was really fantastic. It was part of the reason why we had a deadline, because he has other things that he’s doing so we kind of had to make, you know we wanted to use him so we said all right let’s go in and do it while we can and make the best of it. And he’s not only talented, he had been on the road with us at times, he was our live mixer at a couple tours way back in the 90’s and he and I were breakfast buddies, we hung out together and just a good guy all around so it was really great to have him.
Metal Exiles: The album features a lot more vocal harmony over the choruses, which is reminiscent of earlier Mr. Big albums. Was that an idea that Kevin brought in or did that just simply fit the songs?
Pat: Well it was just kind of something that we really liked doing. And you know the vocal thing that we ended up having this background vocal thing early on with Green Tinted and To Be With You, you know just was kind of, we didn’t really, it wasn’t by design it just happened organically. And it just so happened that all of us wanted to be lead singers so we all jump in and want to sing. It’s become like a 5th instrument, this background vocal thing that we have and we really try and exploit that live because you know we’re not just musicians, like I said we all want to be singers too. It’s kind of everybody wants to be a drummer as well you know. It’s great to have, to know that we can do it live, because everybody enjoys it, not only the fans, but we enjoy doing it so it’s really great.
Metal Exiles: One of my favorite songs on the album is the title track Defying Gravity, catchy guitar intro and definitely has one of those great Mr. Big choruses that you can’t get out of your head, can you talk about the writing and recording of that song?
Pat: Well the song came from an idea that, Paul had this intro and he played that for Billy and me, and we kind of weren’t sure how to treat it so we kind of jammed a little bit and it was kind of a quiet jam on a little recording device. And Eric heard it and it immediately peaked his ear. It’s kind of like an old way that Mr. Big used to write, which is the way we would always do it in a lot of ways was come up with a song idea and send it to Eric and then he would go oh ok let’s see if I could come up with something, and that’s kind of how that song came about, so it’s a true Mr. Big song, it’s like a true band song. And it’s really kind of a little different but it’s cool it’s got that almost middle eastern melody thing to it, but I’m glad you noticed it that’s cool.
Metal Exiles: The first single you guys released is the song 1992, which is about the release of your number 1 hit song “To Be With you,” lyrics appear to be somewhat of a career retrospective as well, can you maybe elaborate on the story being told through the lyrics?
Pat: Well you are exactly right it is kind of an introspective on what we were going through, and it’s kind of like a comment and a sentiment about when a band has a hit song, the next thing that happens is the label, first they want to take credit even though they really weren’t there when it was climbing up the charts, it was done by the fans, the fans are the ones that actually made it happen. And then of course they want another To Be With You, which to us was just a song we recorded. So that’s kind of how we ended up having Wild World because we were just trying to placate the label and we thought maybe we could do a cover because you know if it’s a hit once it can be a hit again, and we wanted to hurry up and do something. Somebody came up with the idea of doing Wild World which is a great song and kind of has become one of our live go to songs, it’s a song people associate with us. So, the whole 1992 thing is about kind of that period of going through that with the label you know, first they love you and then they like throw you in the trash can, it’s like all right well who’s next, you know what have you done for me lately kind of thing. And that’s not just our label at the time which was Atlantic Records, all labels are like that, it’s just the nature of the business.
Metal Exiles: Another one of the highlights on this album for me is the ballad Forever and Back, I really like the vocal harmonies on that one, very emotionally charged chorus, can you talk about how that song came together?
Pat: Well it’s one of those songs when we were recording it, one thing I remember about it is when we were recording the music Eric and I together were doing the scratch vocals. I would sing the chorus and I could not get that out of my head, it was the biggest ear worm, it went into my ear and I could not go to sleep. And I thought I guess this is good if it won’t come out of my head, it’s going to be in other peoples as well. So yea it’s a great song you know it’s going to be great live.
Metal Exiles: What are some of the highlights for you on this record, were there certain songs where the band especially jelled while writing or recording?
Pat: Well once again I’m going to go back to “Defying Gravity” because that was kind of the first song we worked on when we went in the studio and you know we hadn’t even heard what Eric had come up with and he said it’s called Defying Gravity and I was like wow that’s a good title. And when he showed us what he had I was like man this is, we still got it you know it was kind of fun. So that was, you know you remember the first impression of something when you hear it, and I thought this is going to be good, this is going to be a good track, but other than that every song is an adventure, every song has its own kind of life and adventure about it, but I remember Defying Gravity because it was the first one.
Official Mr Big Site
BUY Defying Gravity
BUY Defying Gravity On Vinyl
An interview with Pat Torpey of Mr. Big.
By Michael Knowles
Metal Exiles: For starters, it’s great to talk to you. I’m a big fan and I just think you’re a huge inspiration with what you’ve had to battle health wise and the fact that you continue to make music and tour, is just remarkable.
Pat Torpey: Well thanks for saying so, I’m a lucky guy to be able to still be out here making music with some great players and good people, so I feel pretty fortunate, thank you for that sentiment.
Metal Exiles: First question I have is how did you guys manage to write and record an album of such high quality in only 6 days?
Pat: Well, it was luck, you know obviously we draw from all our experience, I mean we’ve all been doing this for decades. There was a bit of time where, I mean there was a point when we weren’t sure we should actually jump in and try to do it. You know we thought maybe we didn’t have enough time, but then we kind of thought you know this isn’t our first rodeo so let’s jump in and see what we could come up with. And we had pretty much six or seven songs pretty much demoed and complete but you know there’s always changes, but we thought let’s just go in because we had some germs of ideas you know there’s always these little ideas floating around. We get together and kind of see what everybody thinks, and just come up with concepts and just little licks, and little lyric ideas. So, we’ve done it before so we thought let’s just go in and see what we could come up with, and I’m really excited and happy with the result, because you don’t have to spend 6 months in pre-production, and then another 6 months recording. It’s obvious that’s not the way it used to be done. So, we just drew on our experience and we’re really happy with the result, and thank you so much for your kind words about our latest appreciate it.
Metal Exiles: To me this album is a nice cross between the last record The Stories We Could Tell and the album before that, What If. How would you characterize the sound of this record, and how would you compare it to earlier Mr. Big records?
Pat: Well it’s I mean it’s Mr. Big, we’ve had good reaction from the people that are familiar with our music. And you know we didn’t make any big departure, it’s still kind of a good melody, good guitar, bass playing, and some good singing and that’s kind of what we are trying to do. I mean every record has its own kind of character and I don’t want to say theme, it’s not really a theme, it’s kind of a snapshot of where you are. You know what are you doing, what are you thinking and you know every record has a similar sound, you know all the Mr. Big records have a sound that we produce, but they also have their own character. And obviously we have Matt Star come in and he’s obviously playing some drums on there. He and I worked out the drum parts together and you know it still sounded like Mr. Big. That was what I wasn’t sure about you know obviously we were hitting new territory here, but it’s a testament to how Matt is such a great addition to what we’re doing, he fits right in and I’m really fortunate to have found him.
Metal Exiles: Speaking of you and Matt working together, was he essentially carrying out your vision for how you wanted the drums to sound and come across on this record?
Pat: Well it was mutual, I mean you know what helped us to move fast, because we had a limited amount of time to record is having both of us being there. Like he would do a take and then I would come in and say you know maybe try this, and try this, and on the kick drum pattern and he was like oh yea ok sure, but you know Matt has a lot of great ideas, and he’s very quick and from a drummers point of view, and from a bands point of view, the drums you have a little less opportunity to do overdubs or punch ins or corrections, you kind of get one shot to get is. And Matt really rose to the occasion, so we did it together to answer your question.
Metal Exiles: Of course this time around you guys tracked the album live, with everyone in the studio at the same time, what do you think that brings to the overall feel and sound of the record?
Pat: Well it’s the kind of records that I like I mean you know recording originally, recording music was about capturing a live performance, not creating this Frankenstein monster that’s impossible to reproduce live. And that’s the kind of bands we grew up listening to and I mean you know The Beatles, they created some pretty big monsters when they recorded but they also were a band that in the beginning they would go in and record a whole album in 12 hours. That appeals to me, it’s performance because you can work on a guitar riff for 6 months and make it perfect, but there’s just something about the spontaneity of getting in and capturing a performance, where these little moments happen that you couldn’t duplicate without having it live. That’s what appeals to me, that’s the kind of band we aspire to be.
Metal Exiles: Love the mix of this record, I feel like Kevin Elsen really gave this album more of a raw organic sound. Can you talk about what it was like working with him again?
Pat: Well first off I’m glad to hear you say that because that is what we were going for, just a real almost a throw-back, have a live edge to it where it sounds real and human. And Kevin is great I mean obviously we’ve known him for 30 years here you know coming up on it, and he’s been a buddy and he was there in the beginning so working with him again was really a treat for us because we tried to get him to work on the last 2 records but he was busy on other things, so we moved on to someone else. So to have him be around for this one was really fantastic. It was part of the reason why we had a deadline, because he has other things that he’s doing so we kind of had to make, you know we wanted to use him so we said all right let’s go in and do it while we can and make the best of it. And he’s not only talented, he had been on the road with us at times, he was our live mixer at a couple tours way back in the 90’s and he and I were breakfast buddies, we hung out together and just a good guy all around so it was really great to have him.
Metal Exiles: The album features a lot more vocal harmony over the choruses, which is reminiscent of earlier Mr. Big albums. Was that an idea that Kevin brought in or did that just simply fit the songs?
Pat: Well it was just kind of something that we really liked doing. And you know the vocal thing that we ended up having this background vocal thing early on with Green Tinted and To Be With You, you know just was kind of, we didn’t really, it wasn’t by design it just happened organically. And it just so happened that all of us wanted to be lead singers so we all jump in and want to sing. It’s become like a 5th instrument, this background vocal thing that we have and we really try and exploit that live because you know we’re not just musicians, like I said we all want to be singers too. It’s kind of everybody wants to be a drummer as well you know. It’s great to have, to know that we can do it live, because everybody enjoys it, not only the fans, but we enjoy doing it so it’s really great.
Metal Exiles: One of my favorite songs on the album is the title track Defying Gravity, catchy guitar intro and definitely has one of those great Mr. Big choruses that you can’t get out of your head, can you talk about the writing and recording of that song?
Pat: Well the song came from an idea that, Paul had this intro and he played that for Billy and me, and we kind of weren’t sure how to treat it so we kind of jammed a little bit and it was kind of a quiet jam on a little recording device. And Eric heard it and it immediately peaked his ear. It’s kind of like an old way that Mr. Big used to write, which is the way we would always do it in a lot of ways was come up with a song idea and send it to Eric and then he would go oh ok let’s see if I could come up with something, and that’s kind of how that song came about, so it’s a true Mr. Big song, it’s like a true band song. And it’s really kind of a little different but it’s cool it’s got that almost middle eastern melody thing to it, but I’m glad you noticed it that’s cool.
Metal Exiles: The first single you guys released is the song 1992, which is about the release of your number 1 hit song “To Be With you,” lyrics appear to be somewhat of a career retrospective as well, can you maybe elaborate on the story being told through the lyrics?
Pat: Well you are exactly right it is kind of an introspective on what we were going through, and it’s kind of like a comment and a sentiment about when a band has a hit song, the next thing that happens is the label, first they want to take credit even though they really weren’t there when it was climbing up the charts, it was done by the fans, the fans are the ones that actually made it happen. And then of course they want another To Be With You, which to us was just a song we recorded. So that’s kind of how we ended up having Wild World because we were just trying to placate the label and we thought maybe we could do a cover because you know if it’s a hit once it can be a hit again, and we wanted to hurry up and do something. Somebody came up with the idea of doing Wild World which is a great song and kind of has become one of our live go to songs, it’s a song people associate with us. So, the whole 1992 thing is about kind of that period of going through that with the label you know, first they love you and then they like throw you in the trash can, it’s like all right well who’s next, you know what have you done for me lately kind of thing. And that’s not just our label at the time which was Atlantic Records, all labels are like that, it’s just the nature of the business.
Metal Exiles: Another one of the highlights on this album for me is the ballad Forever and Back, I really like the vocal harmonies on that one, very emotionally charged chorus, can you talk about how that song came together?
Pat: Well it’s one of those songs when we were recording it, one thing I remember about it is when we were recording the music Eric and I together were doing the scratch vocals. I would sing the chorus and I could not get that out of my head, it was the biggest ear worm, it went into my ear and I could not go to sleep. And I thought I guess this is good if it won’t come out of my head, it’s going to be in other peoples as well. So yea it’s a great song you know it’s going to be great live.
Metal Exiles: What are some of the highlights for you on this record, were there certain songs where the band especially jelled while writing or recording?
Pat: Well once again I’m going to go back to “Defying Gravity” because that was kind of the first song we worked on when we went in the studio and you know we hadn’t even heard what Eric had come up with and he said it’s called Defying Gravity and I was like wow that’s a good title. And when he showed us what he had I was like man this is, we still got it you know it was kind of fun. So that was, you know you remember the first impression of something when you hear it, and I thought this is going to be good, this is going to be a good track, but other than that every song is an adventure, every song has its own kind of life and adventure about it, but I remember Defying Gravity because it was the first one.
Official Mr Big Site
BUY Defying Gravity
BUY Defying Gravity On Vinyl