Interview by Annette Valentine
Hard rockers Mr. Big are coming to the end of their six-date UK tour, supported by The Answer and Faster Pussycat, finishing up at Wolverhampton’s Wulfrun Hall on Thursday 23rd November. We had a chat with drummer Pat Torpey about the new album, funny on-stage moments and what he misses when he’s out on the road.
RC: You released your most recent album, Defying Gravity, in July this year. What was the inspiration for the title track?
The music came first, so we jammed on it and gave it to Eric (Lead Vocals). Eric takes a cue from the mood and high energy and up tempo of the song and runs with it; that’s what he does. The meaning came afterwards and I guess the whole sentiment of the song is, you can't keep us down. Keep at it whatever it is no matter what and don't let anything hold you back.
RC: So, where does your inspiration come from?
Well, the usual suspects so The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, The Stones and a million other bands and artists. I love pop music, blues…there's so many.
RC: Did you miss performing when the band split in 2002?
Oh yes, but I was always involved in music. I did tours of Europe, South America, Asia, Japan and China. I played with Mr. Big, but performing has kinda been part of my life since I was 13, so that's something that will stay with me for the rest of my life.
RC: Is there a particular song that never fails to move you emotionally when you perform live?
I really enjoy playing all of the songs that we do, but talking about our songs in particular it would be To Be With You. The crowd love it, it has a great melody and we enjoy playing it. Plus, it put us on the world map!
RC: It was number one in 15 countries, so it was obviously hugely successful; it’s a very beautiful song.
We may make it a reggae version………
RC: Your music has been described as timeless classics; would you say that’s a good description?
That's a good way of putting it, yeh. A combination of pop songs, jazz, rock, blues… you know, we love all music. We like to throw everything in the bowl and the kitchen sink as well. We do everything from ballads to aggressive rock songs. We tend to cover all things, or at least we try to.
RC: Has there ever been any funny performances?
There are always mistakes and to be honest, it's how you hide them. Paul (Guitar) and Billy (Bass) played their performance with a Makita drill at one point, and Paul ended up getting the drill bit caught in his hair! Which he refused to get cut as, you know, it was all about the hair haha. That was a classic moment in the life of Mr. Big.
RC: Each member of the band plays an instrument and sings. Eric can play the drums too, so you're very versatile….
It became a part of our show, just switching around instruments. It happened as a joke after an encore and kind of stuck.
RC: The connection you have with the audience is obvious. The happiness in the room when you come off stage - the emotion of the fans is palpable. You create a sense of belonging, a spiritual undercurrent perhaps….
I agree completely. I'm lucky to find people to work with who share the same values as I do. We all enjoy playing live, so that's the main thing and our gratitude to the fans is important so it’s great to see that comes across.
RC: If you could blink your eyes and be in a favourite place right now, where would that be?
Probably in my bed waiting for tonight's show! Or with family, my dog and a cup of tea. That's the one thing about being out on the road; it’s missing our families and children. That's what comes to mind when you ask that.
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