2005POP MUSIC
TAPE DATED MAY 21 2005
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PETE FORNATALE INTERVIEWS GENTLE GIANT.
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| 01:04:17 257.07 |
INTERVIEW BEGINS:
Pete Fornatale 4:19 Hello again everyone and welcome to another edition of mixed bag radio. This is Pete Fornatale at the Gibson Baldwin showroom in New York City. With my guests today, Derek Shulman and Kerry Minnear of gentle giant now we'll be talking to Derek and Kerry in just a minute. But first we're gonna noodle around a bit with some gentle giant music on mixed bag radio |
| 01:04:42 282.47 |
GENTLE GIANT PERFORMS A PORTION OF "EXPERIENCE"
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| 01:06:14 374 |
INTERVIEW CONTINUES:
Pete Fornatale 6:14 Derek Schulman and Kerry Minnear of Gentle Giant. gentleman when was the last time that you to put those sounds together live Derek Shulman 6:24 25 years ago years ago, literally this is a first a first the first and like his will not believe Kerry Minnear 6:30 That you've just just done that. Pete Fornatale 6:33 Derek when the last time you sang publicly was Derek Shulman 6:36 night, last night, some saying publicly it was a 1980, at the last tour I sang to my to my kids three years ago, at a New Year's Eve crazy thing that my family had. And I was a little drunk. And that was the last time and the first time to my family but 25 years ago publicly Pete Fornatale 6:55 And we got you to do it today just on mineral water. I'm very proud of myself. Derek Shulman 6:58 It was laced though, I'm sure. Pete Fornatale 7:02 The first thing that I want to say is someone hearing that music on the radio in the 21st century might understandably be a bit confused. And think that they've time traveled back to about 1976. You know, you know what I mean by that? Derek Shulman 7:17 Yeah Sure. Pete Fornatale 7:18 It is a kind of music that has virtually disappeared from the airwaves of this country anyway, are you disappointed about that? Derek Shulman 7:30 Kerry Kerry Minnear 7:31 I don't know. I don't live here. Derek Shulman 7:33 Well, I do. Pete Fornatale 7:34 Isn't it the same way? You are, though? You know what I mean? Kerry Minnear 7:36 I suppose it is. Yeah. Yeah. But I think, you know, it's, we've always been a bit strange. So I'm not sure about, you know, air waves and things because I don't listen to radio very much. Derek Shulman 7:50 Well, as for me, I'm, you know, I think that the the group had a unique, unique sound anyway, I think we were a cocoon kind of bad anyway. And and the fact that we started like we did, wasn't sort of I don't, we're bagged under kind of progressive rock, I guess, title. And we've heard that, you know, many times over even when we were together, I think we were I don't think we were anything, I think we were just gentle giant. And the fact that we kind of bounced off each other in a kind of a cocoon that we established ourselves in. And as an entity of five or six musicians originally, and sort of pushed each other in our various capacities and our upbringing of how we learn different forms of music. We all came from different schools of music as such, Kerry was a classically trained composer. My brother Ray was a classically trained composer and also a rock and jazz musician. My father was a jazz musician, and I was the front lead singer, that was a pop star. Right? Pete Fornatale 8:59 Tell your kids that Derek Shulman 9:01 they laugh. And John weathers was was a four to the bar, great groove drummer. And Gary was a fantastic blues player. So it was it was kind of a whole potpourri of kind of musical influences coming together. Pete Fornatale 9:16 I'm getting a little bit ahead of myself here, but wasn't Gentle Giant tide with spinal tap for the number of drummers that you used over the years? Kerry Minnear 9:27 To get through a couple Yeah, that's true. Pete Fornatale 9:29 Was that the most difficult musician role to fill in the band? Would you say? Kerry Minnear 9:35 I think just just the luck of the draw, we started off with a drummer that you've got from Simon Dupre the latter years. And there were personality problems with that one. So and then we had Malcolm Mortimore, he was very young, and just kind of forming as a drummer. And he he filled a gap and then he broke his wrist so he was unable to continue and then We'd actually seen John and we've playing with loads of blue. You've seen him with blue. Yeah, I didn't see him till green bonds magic. So I'm playing with that. And he just held down to just strong beat in amongst this chaos of improvisation when I saw him. I just thought that's the kind of drumming we could do is to hold everything done. We tend to be a bit flighty with our rhythms and he was just kind of somebody who'd hack through the lot. Yeah, make sense of it. Pete Fornatale 10:26 It seems like with all within, within one song, that number of view turns that the group and the sound takes that you'd really need someone back there watching everything that goes on. Max Weinberg described his role in the E Street Band, as such, you know, never take for granted where Springsteen might go in in the next minute. I suppose that that whoever was drumming for you had to had to adhere to the same kind of rule. Derek Shulman 10:59 Well, it wasn't it wasn't ad lib. And it wasn't sort of, as you know, just sort of as calm, it was pretty. It was very, very structured music. But the fact is that we needed that one. To make it make sure that it felt like a solid rhythm as opposed to, as Kerry said, a chaotic bunch of notes. Pete Fornatale 11:08 You know what, let's, let's give our listeners an example. You began with as a favor a bare bones version of experience from the in a glass house album, why don't we play the track as it ultimately came out on the album, but before we do tell me a little bit of how it was constructed, how it was layered, how it came from that basic bare bones that we just heard to the finished product. Derek Shulman 11:46 How was that song composed? Kerry Minnear 11:50 Of generally speaking, songs did vary quite a lot in how they were conceived. That one, I think I can remember doing a fairly complete demo of at one point, there weren't many like that. Mostly I needed help. But I think that when more or less it got right through musically. And then it would have been lyrically added to by Derek, at a later stage, but it was just pretty much a piano multitrack which I've, which I would have done on. I used to bounce on a Reeboks from one track to another, which is how we used to do it and there was a and constructed that started the only reason I can still play that bit is because my children are both the two of them. Two of my children play piano, and they wanted to learn how to play it. So I was forced to relearn it, but it is a pianistic piece. I mean, you can hear how it fits under the hand. You know, it's it's kind of fun. It's very much and then I just gave the bass part the kind of the awkward part of going. All the left hand bits Derek Shulman 12:55 Kerry is always into counter rhythms and controversial stuff, which is Pete Fornatale 12:59 dissonance. Am I using that word properly with regard to your music? In some instances? Yes, Kerry Minnear 13:05 there were some very dissonant, especially on power and glory. I remember. Derek Shulman 13:08 Yeah. That was wasn't it wasn't it was deliberate. It wasn't sort of unintentional. Pete Fornatale 13:13 No, no. It almost would have to be Derek Shulman 13:16 yes, of course. No, it was it was very structured. Pete Fornatale 13:19 Well, I'll tell you what, let's play the finished version of experience as it appears on the in a glass house album. And then tell everybody the reason that you guys are here today. This is experience on mixed bag Radio. |
| 01:13:35 815.18 |
INTERVIEW BREAKS SO THE FINISHED ALBUM VERSION OF "EXPERIENCE" CAN BE EDITED INTO THE SHOW LATER.
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| 01:13:59 839.45 |
INTERVIEW CONTINUES:
Pete Fornatale 13:59 That is experience from the in a glass house album by gentle giant. My guests today on mixed bag radio Derek Schulman and Kerry Minnear of gentle giant gentlemen, tell our listeners why you're here today and what you are celebrating. Derek Shulman 14:14 Well, I guess we're here because we're celebrating the 35th anniversary of our formation. And, in fact, we were also here together. Kerry is the first time Kerry here in New York for 25 years since we disbanded and said we're going on two separate ways. The release of the capital years of our recorded recorded repertoire repertoire. And the in a glass house was never released here actually, in the US. With this, this came out this week, and also freehand came out this week. We're also releasing in June, another two albums from the same, same company, which reverted back to us. And then in August, we're putting out three more, and we're putting out an anthology and a DVD. So we're going to saturate the market with all this old stuff. People should have heard way back. Pete Fornatale 15:15 Well, you know, we will delve into all of that. But before we end this first segment, I wanted to offer another side of the group's creativity I mean, you use sound effects, you use instruments not normally associated with with rock and roll of the period of pipe organ was was a big part of gentle giant vibraphone. And, and vocal harmonies that to my ears, you know, could be put right in the beach boy, category, there in fact, is, is one track on the free hand album that I think best illustrates that. Tell me a little bit about on reflection. Derek Shulman 16:07 Do a little bit you do again, that was Kerry's. Again, this was a very scored piece. And you can hear the sort of it was it was a manuscript manuscript did for a song that we all four of us, I think it was five piece harmony or was four piece Kerry Minnear 16:25 five in places, Derek Shulman 16:26 was it five in place, I think. So. Kerry brought to the group and I think the first part and then we re may have added on something in the middle of that. And it became it came towards the end with pieces. But basically it was it was it was a very manual, manuscript or score from Kerry. Kerry Minnear 16:44 Yeah it's actually a few, a few, which is Pete Fornatale 16:47 another element that I neglected to mention earlier was I at times, for lack of a better expression, church music, almost Gregorian Chant dish. Is that true? Kerry Minnear 17:00 Well, that's interesting. What can you think of more you mean, Pete Fornatale 17:05 I wish I could single out the track and in fact, when I when I do my homework, I will but there are moments where it's almost a church choir sound or feel Derek Shulman 17:15 well, that's also I mean, Kerry compositional skills where you know, I think a bar non personally, I'll say that as a person that can be objective now as opposed to subjective, but his background is come from the church. And yeah, it did and it came through with his with his compositional skills. Kerry Minnear 17:36 I do love it. It's wonderful stuff. Pete Fornatale 17:38 There you have it, then you wouldn't even necessarily be aware of it. Because it's a part of you. It's a friend of mine used to say that nobody knows who discovered water but we know it wasn't a fish. Let's listen to on reflection from free hand on mixbag radio. |
| 01:17:55 1075.58 |
INTERVIEW PAUSES SO THAT "ON REFLECTION" CAN BE EDITED IN.
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| 01:17:57 1077.28 |
INTERVIEW CONTINUES. FORNTALE CLOSES FIRST SEGMENT AND TALKS BEHIND THE SCENES WITH GUESTS ABOUT UPCOMING SEGMENT.
Pete Fornatale 17:57 That's on reflection from free hand by Gentle Giant Pete Fornatale on mixed bag radio. More with Derek and Kerry after this. |
| 01:18:30 1110.44 |
INTERVIEW CONTINUES:
Pete Fornatale 18:29 Pete Fornatale back with you on mixed bag radio. My guests today Derek Schulman and Kerry Minnear of gentle giant celebrating the 35th anniversary of the band. And the rerelease of a good deal of their recorded work. Does it's a cliche, but does the 35 year seem like the blink of an eye Howdy, howdy. How do you view it guys? Kerry Minnear 18:57 Well, I, I feel it's closer than some of the things that have happened since since I left the band. I've done several different things and Pete Fornatale 19:08 such as Kerry Minnear 19:09 well, I went, you know, Derek mentioned I had a Christian bent. And so not long after leaving the band, I went to Cornwall to help with an evangelist. So I was playing evangelist music. And, and then after that, I went to where I am now, and I'm a teacher. But because of the RE invention, if you like or the new interest in the band, and the fact that my wife Leslie is involved on the internet and dealing with various bits of strange material from the past of the band has kept that alive far more in my mind than the things that I've just mentioned. So in terms of time passing, in fact, being with Derek now is just as natural as you know. The first done. We've met almost except for the other week for 25 years, but it just feels like nothing's happened in between, you know, has quite obviously has as you look at us, but but no it to me, it doesn't seem a great, great length of time. Pete Fornatale 20:16 What's your take on that one Derek? Derek Shulman 20:20 It's a difficult that's a difficult question because I've, I've, I've lived in the US, since the group disbanded. And I've been involved in the music and the music business side. I've run some some major companies in the entertainment business music business. And, and in some respects, it seems like a whole different different age, a different life's life, a different, different experience entirely talking about experience. But as Kerry said, since we've been doing sort of a little bit of promotion and in, in speaking about this repertoire that we put together, it does seem like it was yesterday. Even though we look at the mirror, we realize it wasn't yesterday. But the one thing that as far as I was concerned is is it. It's interesting for me, because I kind of wanted that chapter and they still do is a chapter in our lives, that when you finish it, the chapter of the book that that chapter closes, and you open another one, Kerry went on to teach and I went on to be a record executive, whatever that means. But to reflect back, which we're doing to a degree now, but but we're still going forward. It's less threatening to me. As I get older, I guess so. did the time go very quickly. Absolutely. It feels like it feels like it was yesterday, since I saw carry on the road. And so this is a bore. What are we doing in Warren, Ohio, for God's sake. Do better. Again, we've lived 25 years since and our families have grown up and left home. And so it's a very, very strange phenomenon. Pete Fornatale 22:04 Well, you have no there are no plans here to record no plans to perform live again. Is this just sort of a way of putting the legacy in order? keeping it keeping it back there on the front burner? So to speak? Derek Shulman 22:19 Yeah, yeah. Kerry I mean, yeah, it really is. It's the fact that the catalog from those Capitol years reverted back to the group. And they were sitting on a shelf. And we thought, for a couple of reasons our kids have grown. And Kerry was teaching his kids experience and they've grown and my kids are saying, What did you do when you were when you were back then and I'm gonna show them videos, and they crack up, and they look for the records in the stores and they weren't there. So we figured, let's get them in the stores. So that's what we're doing. Pete Fornatale 22:50 You certainly have done that we are going to talk about gentle giant fans past and present in just a bit. But first, I want to take it all the way back to the beginning, Derek when three brothers got together in the psychedelic 60s, so to speak, and in some fashion decided that they were going to be rock and roll stars. Was that the ambition? Derek Shulman 23:13 Absolutely. It was absolutely the ambition and and thank God we were able to fulfill some part of the dream anyway, we made a living and and a livelihood in becoming musicians. And professionally it saved saved my butt from from, from getting getting a real job. Pete Fornatale 23:35 That's a blessing for all of us. Absolutely. You did taste a bit of success with the with your previous band. Yep. Which, you know, is remembered fondly on these shores as well. Simon Dupree and the big sound, you know, tell that story if you wouldn't mind Derek Shulman 23:54 Sure, I started the group with my brother. Again, my brothers had been in. They've lived that we've been together for forever. So with my younger brother Ray, and my older brother, Phil, we went on the road, we were working and leaving school, etc. And thankfully, we were able to land a contract with EMI, we did a couple of singles, we were getting quite popular as a live group. That's one thing that was very important to us because to, to entertain, and to be a good, very good live group. We were very much a soul and r&b group. Then, when we first started and this is in the mid 60s 6067, our manager at the time and we put two or three singles out, they were fairly successful, we're not sort of top 20 They made Top 40 Top 30. And our manager at the time said you guys are gonna get a hit record and I said yes, we do. But you know, what, what can we do? Well, he came to us with a song, which he received from my publisher called kites. And he played it to us and said, This is a demo from the US. I'd like to do to try this for the new single. And we just cracked up and we said Yeah, right. We're not going to do that because it was such such antithesis of what we played live, it was a totally total diversion from what the route was. In any case, we succumbed and we, we recorded the song. And some people EMI said this could be a song which could do quite well for us. We did okay, fine. Put it that was a single. It became a big, big hit singles. It was released in about two or three weeks later, it broken the top 10 hit top 10 in England, and it was kind of a millstone. It was a great achievement to a certain degree, but it became a millstone around our necks to it and Derek Shulman 24:39 you'd be surprised how often I hear that story. Todd Rundgren was speaking recently about Hello, it's me. All right. Similar, similar situation. Let's listen to a little bit of history if you don't mind. This is in fact Simon Dupree and the big sound with kites. That's kites the first taste of success for one of my guests today, Derek Shulman in his days with Simon Dupree in the big sand, did it change your lifeDerek? Derek Shulman 26:07 Um, as far as our financial situation was concerned, not really because we would become a fairly popular live group, we were doing very well, as far as famous concerned. Yeah, I was I would begin to pop star, which was kind of a strange thing for me personally, because I didn't look like a pop star. And I am. Because I'm here. It's kind of bulky, sort of hairy guy. And, but what it did was, as I said, Before, it was a millstone because we started playing venues which were more suited to be to two bands who are a pop group, and we weren't a pop group. And it started to make the band feel very stymied. Certainly, my sleep started to make me and my brothers for a very stymied, as far as our musical horizons were concerned, we were kind of bagged into this pop area. And I think, in a certain, to a certain degree, having that big hit was the kind of the start of the downfall of that first group. And thankfully, in certain respects, thankfully, it was the downfall and the birth of gentle giant, because it became something that we couldn't get away from. Pete Fornatale 27:19 You already had those bigger, musical ambitious ideas in your head in those days. Derek Shulman 27:25 Yeah, actually, we did if you if you if anyone cares to pick up an import of some of those crazy besides, and there's, I think EMI put out the every song we ever we ever wrote and recorded. There are some, we actually spent experimented a great deal we were very lucky, because we were able to experiment at Abbey Road where the Beatles they left their Mellotron there and we picked up the Mellotron and play with all their equipment. And, and we, me and my brothers enjoyed the idea of doing different things, not just doing pop songs for the sake of it. So we started experimenting then and we realized there was a lot more to, to musical existence than just having a song on the charts. Pete Fornatale 28:09 I addressed this question to both of you give me your best shot at describing what came to be known as progressive rock, Kerry Kerry Minnear 28:21 progressive rock overall, you mean involving us a difficult one. I can Derek Shulman 28:29 Give your view Because Kerry's got very, I think very Kerry Minnear 28:33 Yeah I find the majority of progressive rock to be quite pompous, and without heart. So I didn't enjoy much of it. I'll be honest. And I know we go into that and, but I always look for an emotive content, something that leaves you as you know, you've either been touched somewhere in your emotions, you know, on the lift, lifted, or made to cry or whatever. And if something is just a bit of head music to entertain me, I do tend to not listen to it very often, if at all. So for me, as an umbrella, progressive rock was not something I would have particularly gone out of my way to look for. But it's I suppose it's just the orchestral influences coming into and jazz coming into what was fairly stifled music was fairly simple music. Pete Fornatale 29:30 In your estimation, who were the pioneers who were on the front lines of this change in rock and roll Derek Shulman 29:41 for you, as far as as far as I was concerned, I mean, I wouldn't. It wouldn't have been I did. I remember hearing the first King Crimson record when I was in 73. And I thought, that's an interesting way to go. In the court of the Crimson King was was an interesting, that was a very interesting song. I quite liked that I have to admit. I mean, I'm, it's, you know, Kerry Minnear 30:07 it was the first one that I heard it's the first rock band I've ever heard Derek Shulman 30:10 that sort of ventured out into doing something a little more extreme to for me the more sort of like some like Frank Zappa hot rats was was an album which, which was a big, big influence. Something which combined jazz, something that combined different instrumentation, different sort of time signatures. Check Korea, the bands that were bagged, and I guess, in the Progressive Era era area weren't really influenced as far as I was concerned. Pete Fornatale 30:43 Well, you know, let's name the names you are lumped in for better or worse with Genesis Derek Shulman 30:51 Sure, Genesis. Yes. King Crimson ELP we, unfortunately, or fortunately, we all know them. And for the most part we like I mean, I liked them. And we are bagged in the into that world because we weren't a strict pop band or a band that that went for hit singles. I mean, we didn't we never had a hit single Much to my disgust disgust. But but the Genesis and yes, ultimately went on to become hit single bands. We never did. We never did. Pete Fornatale 31:24 And their music is still being played today, although you use the word pompous earlier carry and that, of course, was the brick, that punk rock and new wave threw in your direction. I mean, again, I'm saying that collectively lumped in, right under under that umbrella. And from your words, there was some justification for it. But you know, where do you draw the line between what was pompous and precious and overblown? And what was experimental and artistic? Dare I use the word, you know, worthy of a young audience's ears? Kerry Minnear 32:09 Yeah. Good one. I every one was judged for themselves each track, I guess. But I suppose it's when things become more than eight for the sake of being one eight or to display skill. Anything which is ostentatious tends to offend a little. Whereas something which is perhaps simple, highly emotive mean, harmony is so emotive isn't it? As it moves, you can it can involve you. And, or else it can be just a load of abstract cording just to impress you. And the two are very different. And for my money, I mean, a lot of people enjoy it. I'm sure the head music, I'd call it. And then there's the heart music. And that's I've always been a heart man. So it's not really fair to ask me because I've always been a heart, man. But there must be loads ahead. Music. That's fantastic. Pete Fornatale 33:03 Maybe the dividing line. I mean, this might be too black and white. But you know, there was some of that music that was soulless and corporate. And there was other that was heartfelt, and genuinely artistic. One of the bands who flirted in that area was nice to you. And I, from what I've read, you admire and became friendly with Ian Anderson. Jethro Tull true. Derek Shulman 33:32 Yeah, absolutely. There were there were fantastic with us. And the fact they were, they took us out on tour in both Europe and US. And to be honest, it had it not been for them taking a liking to new music in our band. I don't think we'd have even we probably would have broken through, but we were very, they were very helpful. And I was breaking through in Europe spent especially in Italy, and Germany, and subsequently to count in Canada and various other points and even some parts of the states. And they took us on the road for six months. I mean, you know, and they were very, very open and, and very, very nice to us. They really were and we admired them. Because even though some of them I actually quite liked their music at that time, I think it was it was quite interesting. It was folk it was, but it wasn't it wasn't pretentious. He's done. It was it was actually quite nicely simply put together, but very well done. But the stage show, and the way they presented it was it was second to none. And they weren't pretentious about it. They actually lived it and they didn't. They didn't fuel themselves. As far as I was concerned as as pompous, sort of over over the heads of musicians who could run rings or anyone else. They were part of Pete Fornatale 34:46 the theatrical but with the musical chops to back it up with absolutely no question about that. Just once again to put this in the context of This time there is a song on the free hand album that begins with a sound effect an electronic sound effect that to listeners of a certain age will be immediately will strike an immediate chord. And yet to younger listeners, they might say what? What is that? You know the one I'm talking about? Derek Shulman 35:21 Sure, I think you're talking about the song Time To Kill Yes. Which starts off with a sound effect of a game called Pong. Which was the first I think was the first video game ever. Yeah, I believe it was. Yes. Atari Atari Pong. Yeah. And I think we were so enamored by the game and the sound actually, of the video game that we've we decided to put it on in a glass house was I don't wash my mouth freehand. Pete Fornatale 35:52 You know that in a in a very strange way you were ahead of the curve on predicting how subsequent generations would be spending an awful lot, maybe even too much of their free time with time to kill on mixbag radio. Pete Fornatale 36:15 That's time to kill from the free hand album by Gentle Giant just rereleased. This is Pete Fornatale, I'll have more with members of the band. In just one minute. To down one to go. I flip flopped. We're going to do do just the same in this segment, and then close with freehand on the keyboard leading into the track. Alright, okay. Okay. Let me just see where we are. Derek Shulman 36:49 No know, just just as a brain transplant. Kerry Minnear 36:52 Yeah. Just the right words to express what you're trying to say. Derek Shulman 36:59 vocabularies got my head. No shit. Pete Fornatale 37:03 See, we've seen another phrase that scared me. Someone said no, they're not seeing your moments. They're rolling blackouts. Derek Shulman 37:12 Just No, I can't believe it. Especially for the word repertoire. Kerry Minnear 37:16 But can you put my foot in it as well? I keep saying things. If I was listening to this blog, I'd be really offended. Pete Fornatale 37:27 Yeah, oh, no, but actually, we're gonna get into you said you say younger faces. We're gonna get into what you think the reasons for that are? And also, I mean, this is a pithy point. But what I've noticed, you know, we've interviewed American guests, we've interviewed European guests, British guests. You guys have such an advantage with the accent because even when, even when you're a little shaky with what you're saying, it sounds right. Literally, from the from the, from the throne. Alright, let's go back to work. Oh, gosh. |
| 01:38:03 2283.81 |
Pete Fornatale 38:04
Pete Fornatale back with you on mixed bag radio with Derek Shulman, and Kerry Minnear of gentle giants celebrating their 35th anniversary, or I guess you can say the 25th anniversary of the breakup. That's about it. That's right. What put an end to the group, guys. Kerry Minnear 38:21 Well, it was a joint effort, I think. I think really, we run the course. So we'd had 10 good years and 12 ohms. Yep, yep. And I bet the I think what really happened, we came to New York to do some press in advance of our tour for civilian the last album, and I happen to be rooming with Derek. And I think both of us had made up our minds to, to leave. And we just happened to sort of feel our way into conversation and discovered this. So we decided to confront the rest of the band with our decision at that point. And I think in my case, it was because I just had, my first child was one and I was missing chunks of a growing up. And and so that was one of the main reasons I wanted to stop being away for so much. So that was my decision. I think Derek had come to similar decision. Derek Shulman 39:15 Yeah, we both had families. We both had our first child. And we toured and also to be honest with you that the there was a realization at some point in the groups career towards like the mid late 70s that even though we'd done quite well, and we'd headlined a lot of places and play to a lot of people. Some of the bands that we played with, we just mentioned prior prior to this, the SS and Genesis had come up and come from behind and beat us to it in sort of the becoming a famous as opposed to culty and had to hit singles and we weren't able or didn't or weren't, weren't, weren't particularly wanting wanting to do that. So um It was there was a point where it was a diminishing returns time. And and I think, to a degree, a couple of the album's towards the end were were less creative and less and more sort of, even though they weren't intentional, more and more pointed towards a band wanted to be accepted in the mainstream, and in a creative, creative part of that was was was a little lacking as far as I was concerned. So that combined with with our and our family needs, were sort of said, Stop, even though we could have continued and played and probably could, could be doing it now. But there was a point in time when all these other issues came came to a head and you got to say stop or continue. We said stop. Pete Fornatale 40:47 It's funny that, you know, a decade wraps it into a nice, neat package in a way, yep, 10 years. And that that fact is being celebrated with the rerelease of many of gentle giants albums. In additional to the original recordings, there are some bonus tracks, and one of them on the free hand album is a live version of the first track from that recording. It was recorded July 3 1976, at the Calderon theater in Hempstead, New York. That was, it's long gone, but one of those suburban rock'n'roll palaces at the time. And I thought we'd give our listeners a taste of the live version of just the same. Pete Fornatale 41:36 That's just the same a previously unreleased track recorded live in New York, by my guests, gentle giant Pete for an Italian with Derek and Kerry. And we talked earlier gentleman about the fact that, you know, not only do you have your fans from that era, but there are younger listeners who have caught on to Gentle Giant music. How do you explain that? Kerry Minnear 42:06 I don't know. If I have, when, when my son was 14 at school, a 16 year old boy came up to him in the playground and said, Is your dad Kerry Minnear from gentle giant. And he was just overwhelmed. And so when I really because no idea why this person, but he must have had some sort of maniac uncle with a obscure record collection, you'd introduced him to this stuff, and, and then there was another, you know, another teacher that I knew had a husband who was a mad fanatic, and a dentist. And these are all people that were way too young to have ever seen this. And I really don't understand it, except that the music and the instrumentation is very much something which would probably attract, you know, somebody who's looking for something different. That whole era is so. So organic, if you like all the instruments, what you hear is what it was. And I think they like that, and the energy and the intrigue. Derek Shulman 43:07 I also think the the advent of the Internet was incredibly important as far as the discovery of who this band was, because I think we had a fan actually, who started a website, unbeknownst to us, who and he I don't think he's actually seen the band, but he just heard the music. I don't know how he started his website, and it became the official website. And it's one of the most, I guess, viewed websites on the on the web, or has a world's or has been, and I think young people who are surfing the web for music, or whatever, had seen this name and said, and downloaded a couple of tracks or, or heard about it and went to a record store and bought an import. And I mean, I just we were just at a in store record signing here. And they were, I would say at least half of the people weren't around when we formed and certainly weren't around, you know, weren't around when but when we finished and certainly weren't around when we formed. And I asked them, I said, you know, how old are you? And they're in their 20s and 30s. And I said, How did you hear about it? And they said, It's curious that either my mad uncle or through the internet. Pete Fornatale 44:15 That has to be gratifying? I'm sure. Derek Shulman 44:17 I guess I guess it says that this music has stood the test of time as you know Pete Fornatale 44:21 what's the web address? Derek Shulman 44:24 Good, good question is blase. blase monger.com If you just type in gentle giant on a search, you'll go right to it. Pete Fornatale 44:33 Alright, there you go. We know Kerry that you went on to teaching a music I'm sure yes. Yeah. A gratifying career for you. Kerry Minnear 44:43 Yeah, yeah, it has many points that I like about it. The thing I don't like about it is my most active time is in the evenings. So if I wanted to be creative again, that's the time when I have to do my teaching because that's when people can come. So there's always been a bit of a conflict that if ever I wanted to compose again I'd really got a Deaf some of the teaching somehow you know and get get out of the trap. But I do enjoy kids. And the little beginners I enjoy all that very much and seeing them through crumbs I've been teaching long enough now to see a few through to university and slowly, yes, lovely, nice. I can see why people enjoy it. Pete Fornatale 45:20 Derek, I would be remiss if I didn't ask you about to tell us a little bit about your second successful career as a recording executive wants you to tell us some of your greatest hits in that arena. Derek Shulman 45:36 I was I was when the group disbanded. I was I was searching around wondering what to do with my life. And I thought well, recording is certainly the only way music was the only thing I knew and have known. And I got a call from a friend of mine, who's at a company called Polygram Records. And I was living in Los Angeles at the time. He said why don't you think about joining a rec company. And to me it was it kind of felt like joining the enemy. But I figured if I can just make a little bit of difference, whatever, whatever that meant. Anyway, the bottom line is I went when I went to New York to join this company Polygram Records, but 82 81 82 and became an a&r man, and within a couple of months, I seen a couple of artists I think I thought had a good shot of making making making happen. And one was a guy called Jon Bon Jovi, who subsequently became Bon Jovi. And 23 or 24 years later, he's still Bon Jovi, and now he's about half a billion dollars richer. I had a good run at Polygram I rose to the ranks and sign some other fairly decent artists and big artists Cinderella Kingdom Come tears of fears. Bad Company and then well that was that was subsequently after that. At the end of about 90 About 98 I was on a roll I guess I was I had some some pretty big hit artists under my belt if you like. I guess I understood. I could relate to the artists that's that's something I always liked to do and wanted to do. I was that was my music. That was my musician, musician really background. I moved over from Polygram to Warner Time Warner and I ran a company called ATCO records I resurrected that that logo and label and Bad Company was on my label I signed resign ACDC Pantera Rembrandt's I can't remember how many some pretty big bands were signed during that period. And then I went on at that was about five or six years and I went on to run a company called Roadrunner, which is a little death metal label down in Soho. And I kind of shaped that into a decent size very good actually pretty good rock label and sign back or slipknot and Fear Factory and a Nickelback which has become pretty huge. And now here I am deciding at this ripe old age to think okay, I might as well do it for myself now. And I decided to go into business with a couple of partners who are less important as I am. And that's why we're putting these these repertoire repertoire of gentle giant out through my company DRT entertainment. Pete Fornatale 48:21 Well, we have always felt one of the responsibilities of this program was to save good music from falling through the cracks so I can't tell you what a pleasure it has been to join in the celebration of gentle giants 35th anniversary, I'm going to ask you to end this visit as we began it with Kerry noodling at the piano on one of the gentle giant songs in fact the title track from freehand. |
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KERRY MINNEAR PLAYS A PORTION OF THE TITLE TRACK FROM "FREEHAND" ON THE PIANO.
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INTERVEW COMES TO AN END. FORNATALE SHAKES GUESTS HANDS. CAMERA CONTINUES FILMING AS THEY CHAT (NO AUDIO).
Pete Fornatale 48:49 And that just about does it for this edition of mixed bag radio. My thanks to Derek Schulman and Kerry Minnear of gentle giant for being our guests. Thanks also to Joey Deanna Linda feta, Chris Hall and Bill cola. Special thanks this week to the Gibson Baldwin showroom in New York City. If you'd like to know more about our program or see exclusive video performances by some of our previous guests, please visit our website at mixed bag radio.com This is Pete Fornatale l thanks for listening. |
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BLANK
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