Q: Tim, can you give us a background history of how you got where you are
today?
TIM: That's an interesting question with a complicated answer: I've recorded and
released many different forms of music, from ECM-style jazz and Eastern-influenced works,
to ethereal space and even heavy orchestral work. It follows that most of my solo
work from 1986 to 1994 is almost impossible to categorize. But at heart, I'm a hard rock
freak- although I never really had the opportunity to go in that direction until I did
VOICES IN THE WIND with Paul Rodgers in 1997. I must say, there's so much music inside of
me that wants to come out, and without holding allegiance to any one style, every album
ends up completely different... So I really appreciate the record labels who support
my work because it must be hard to market!
I'm often asked how and why I make
such varied music. I think it's because I have so many musical influences, my first
childhood ones being impressionist composer Claude Debussy and Jimi Hendrix.
They just knocked me out-
Debussy with his dreamy, harmonic and melodic sense, and Hendrix with the sound and
attitude of his music. It really wasn't Hendrix's guitar playing per se' that
knocked me out, it was his overall music that did it for me. Being influenced by 2 musical
extremes at an early age, I've had no musical boundaries, and have since been like a
sponge that soaks up everything I hear. Fortunately, my music comes out in my
style, which can be very complex at times.
Q: Into The Light sees a good blend of classic rock but
in a more modern way. How was this sound created and what was the inspiration?
TIM: Well, I've always listened to classic rock, so again, the influence is there.
VOICES IN THE WIND was a fusion-rock CD with a classic-rock feel, which was obviously due
to my collaboration with Paul Rodgers. But after VOICES IN THE WIND, my playing and
writing took off, to where INTO THE LIGHT quickly developed into a progressive,
melodic-metal album, without hardly any thought at all.
Q: You wrote all the music and the lyrics, what
inspires you're lyrics?
TIM: Life! Sorry, I don't mean to sound too "artsy", but that's my
honest answer. The lyrics on INTO THE LIGHT have a special meaning for me, and I
hope they speak to other people as well.
Q: How did Kelly Hansen get involved with the project?
TIM: Eddie Kramer, who produced VOICES IN THE WIND, gave me Kelly's demo tape.
Since Paul Rodgers was working on that album with me, I promised Kelly I'd call him for
the next CD. I guess I kept my promise!
Q: The biggest thing to hit me was that although it is
you playing / programming all the instruments, it sounds very live and band like, how was
this achieved?
TIM: Thank you for saying that Andy- INTO THE LIGHT took a long time to make because
I didn't actually "program" the drums samples- I played them on fretless MIDI
guitar. This was specifically done to get a more "live" feel.
I could have had someone else play the drum parts, but I wanted to play everything myself
(a personal challenge), and retain control over the album. I'm very happy with the
results, but it took a long time to make!
Q: Another unique thing is your guitar playing.
Fretless guitar is not normally an instrument that springs to mind, yet alone in the metal
genre, how did you gain your proficiency and knowledge of the instrument?
TIM: I've been playing fretless guitar for over 18 years - it's the only instrument I
play. I guess I've dedicated my career to making music on fretless guitar because it
gives me such a unique musical voice. But, I had to build and develop the
instruments myself, only because you could not go out and buy them. So a lot of my time
has been spent on building and testing fretless guitars. Again, it's been a search
for my musical voice.
By the way, I'm happy to announce my new endorsement with Vigier Guitars of
France. They are making the best fretless guitars around, and I'm glad to be able to
use them on my new album in 2001.
Q: What else did you use to get your sound?
TIM: My sound is mostly derived from my fingers, pickups and fingerboard
materials. If I'm doing a heavy rock thing, I'll also tweek in distortion from
a SANSAMP, in combination with a very finely-tuned EQ.
I'm also a big fan of subtle chorus effect and long digital delay. A delicate
combination of the above factors produces my sound. I don't use a standard guitar amp- I
prefer a straight preamp/power amp and speakers, in stereo.
Q: How was INTO THE LIGHT recorded?
TIM: Most everything was recorded on hard disc, with some 2-track analog stuff here
and there. Kelly's vocals were recorded in L.A. with Protools, and were later
transferred to my hard disc for re-mix in Japan.
Q: Any favourite tracks / performances on the album?
TIM: Gosh- that's a hard one! To me, the pieces are all so melodic, and say what I
want them to say. But when it comes to attitude, I love TIME TO RUN- from the Nixon
speech to the crazy guitar solos, and the killer vocals, TIME TO RUN just knocks me out. I
love progressive rock- and the title track INTO THE LIGHT really does it for me. I
love the Gothic intro, the lyrics, vocals, guitars, the romance, everything about that
song. INTO THE LIGHT was originally a dream I had about dying. The "LIGHT" is
the one you supposedly see when you die...SKYROCKET is about my childhood hero Air Force
pilot Gen. Chuck Yeager. I've always wanted to fly through the sound barrier, and
hopefully did it with this tune.
Ballad-wise, NO REGRETS is very dark and personal. A friend of mine
actually cried upon first hearing it, so I hope it speaks to someone out there.
Q: How does
Into The Light differ to 1997's Voices In The Wind?
TIM: Another good question- Eddie Kramer and I wanted to make VOICES IN
THE WIND as spontaneous as possible. Although I wrote out the bass/drum parts, we
were conscious NOT to over-rehearse the band. We rehearsed the basic parts for a week and
then cut the basic tracks quickly. Then we "painted" the rest of the overdubs
onto these tracks, over the course of 2 months. It was great fun and hectic, but
that's normal. On the other hand, INTO THE LIGHT was pretty much done before I even
started recording it. I heard the music inside my head and just worked and worked to
get the album to sound like what I was hearing. Any spontaneity was reserved for the
solo sections.
Q: What was it like working with Paul Rodgers and Eddie
Kramer on VOICES IN THE WIND.?
TIM: It was great because we had an enormous amount of respect for each other and for
the music. The logistics of putting V.I.T.W. together were astounding, because here
we are- Eddie from New York, Paul and Jaz Lochrie (Paul's bassist) from England, (drummer)
Toss Panos from L.A., and myself coming from Japan- we had never played together or worked
together before. It was a logistical nightmare, and it could have been a musical nightmare
as well! But again, we believed in the music and in each other, and the album turned out
great.
I especially loved working with Eddie, because he immediately had a vision of making
V.I.T.W. a spontaneous album, and he directed the production that way. Eddie has
worked with all the greats, from Hendrix to Led Zeppelin, the list goes on and
on. But he didn't come off as being lofty at all- we worked amazingly well together.
For example, in a given performance, there may be places I would want to change, and
other places Eddie wanted to change. But that's where I learned from him, how to
hear things the way he hears them. And he told me he actually learned a lot too,
from working with me and my music. I appreciated that...
Q: What other musical aspirations do you have?
TIM: Too many! There's still so much music I want to do. I've always
wanted to do a strictly acoustic album, as well as a straight orchestral album. In
order to do these, one has to dive into them, and not come up for air until they're done.
This is fine, but all the other circumstances in one's life must also be right in order to
just bury yourself in totally different musical directions. So right now, I'm heavily
involved in writing my next album called "FAREWELL TO THE SUN", a
continuation of my current musical direction (heavy & melodic prog. rock). FAREWELL TO
THE SUN is coming along so nicely- it's a long piece of music, a concept album that's even
heavier and more melodic than INTO THE LIGHT...I had to do INTO THE LIGHT before I was
musically ready to delve into such a work as FAREWELL TO THE SUN. As always,
I'm letting my natural musical progression happen, and it guides me to new places all the
time. Needless to say, I'm really inspired these days!
Q: Any interesting / funny stories to share from your
musical experiences?
TIM: Oh yeah- I could write a book! Here's an exclusive story for you Andy: I
was recording an album in 1989 at Chick Corea's Mad Hatter Studio in L.A. One night, we
came back to the studio after a pizza break. We were about to start the session
again, when the phone rang... The engineer was in a "happy" kind of mood,
so he answered the phone in a goofy way. Well, after he hung up, the backdoor
buzzer rings, and the L.A. police rush in to arrest us all!!! Apparently, the engineer forgot to disarm
the security system when we came back from the pizza break, and the police had called
on the phone to check the security- in which case the engineer should have said the
"secret" security code that will let the police know everything is alright. I
think the engineer quoted Porky Pig when he answered the phone...We really had a hard time
convincing the police that we were the clients, NOT the robbers. After that little ordeal,
we went back to try and get some work done. Again, we were about to start the session
when... a sickening smell filled the control room- OH MY GOD, it was so strong, we almost
passed out!!! Apparently, a SKUNK had crawled into the studio's air conditioning system
and DIED...It was a short session that night.
Q: What are you're interests outside of music?
TIM: I like to flirt with death on my mountain bike. I'm a hardcore cyclist- that's
why I live in the mountains.
Q: Fun Time: You have the opportunity to pick
your dream band consisting of musicians dead or alive. Who would you pick you may
include yourself.
TIM: Alan Holdsworth (g) / Jaco Pastorius (b) / Neil Peart (dr) / Chick Corea (key)
Glenn Hughes (v)
Q: Any messages for your fans?
TIM: Thank you always for listening and supporting my work!
Tim, thank you for agreeing to this interview.
TIM: My pleasure Andy! |
