Supertramp Interview

INTERVIEW WITH SUPERTRAMP FROM TheCelebrityCafe.com ARCHIVES 

DM) How will your fans from Supertramp feel surprised after hearing your latest work?

MW) I am not sure if they will be surprised at all. Prior to working with Supertramp, I played on numerous albums and there was always a considerable difference in style from artist to artist. My latest work of note, that is available for the public consumption, would be my album with "YES" member Billy Sherwood called "The Key" which is available through MTM records in Germany. This project is a kind of hybrid progressive/pop thing. The other recent release of note that I played on is the new Leann Rimes album "Sitting On Top Of The World", which is a pop/country thing. So as a player, I have always been fairly diverse and I would think that the Supertramp fans probably know that.

DM) How was it playing with Leann Rimes, especially after the level of success she's recently achieved?

MW) I have known the guys in at Rosewood Studios in Texas that do her albums for about 12 years now, and we always have a good time working together. All of the work I have done so far was overdubbed and amazingly still, I have not met Leann. But I really think that album is great and I am very pleased with the way my bits turned out. We are actually going to be recording 5 more songs in a few months and this time it is going to be** recorded live with Leann and her band. So I am looking forward to that.

DM) Does it ever disappoint you that your work on the album might be overshadowed?

MW) Overshadowed in what sense? If you are asking me that my guitar work would get overshadowed by the vocalist, I think that is precisely the point. As musicians, we are here to support the singer and the song. As a matter of fact there have been many times when I have played something on a session that sounds really good, but I have been told that it "takes your ear away from the singer", which is something that you don't want to do, until your solo comes in of course. No I have never worried about being overshadowed, I have always been grateful to be able to do this for a living.

DM) Of the three musical experiences (ST, Nickelodeon and Lucias) which have the fondest memories?Oh, I have great memories of all of those things, working with Supertramp was probably the most exciting because of all of the travel, and also playing the live gigs. There is nothing like walking up on a dark stage and have the lights come on and hear the roar of the crowd. It really is a rush. Doing the TV show Roundhouse on Nickelodeon, was great because of the people involved and the challenge of writing music for a show every week. It was definitely the most painful gig to see end as we had all really become like a family. Lucias is my solo project and this was done in the studio, with very little live performance as of yet.

DM) Do you expect some live performance soon?

MW) I am doing some live gigs near the Boston area with my Blues/Soul/funk band "Peanut Funker & Jam". But as far as touring goes I am not sure what the future holds.

DM) Roger Hodgsen and Rick Davies are seemingly mentioned everywhere. Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the Supertramp experience being such a part of musical history?

MW) No not really. Being in the biz as long as I have I just enjoy it and am very grateful to have had the opportunities that I have had. Playing with Supertramp was one of the high points of my career for sure, but those guys are friends and very down to earth people, so it is easy to look at it like just another part of my work.

DM) Do you remember if there was any instance that put it in perspective and made everyone seem more human?

MW) Well, when I first met the Supertramp guys around 1981, we would jam together at Bob Siebenberg's house. Just those initial experiences were when I realized that these guys were very down to earth. Talented but down to earth also.

DM) What "non-musical" careers have you had?

MW) I have never done anything but music except when I was a kid and had a paper route, but I have been doing this since I was in my late teens.

DM) If you didn't have music in your life, what would you be doing?

MW) Wow, who knows. I can't imagine not having music in my life, and there is really nothing else that I have ever thought of doing.

DM) What did you go to school for?

MW) When I was learning how to play the guitar in High School it was all by ear. I could play pretty good but had no clue as to what the mechanics of music were all about. I knew that if I was going to do anything in music I needed as much knowledge as I could get. I knew that for every one person that made a career in music by making it with a band, there were hundreds that were trying and getting nowhere. In a sense I got a music education to "having something to fall back on" as many parents tell their music oriented children. So as time progressed I had some opportunities to do studio work which I could not have done without the music education.

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