Joe Bonamassa and Derek Sherinian – Black Country Communion – Interview Exclusive
Written by Tazz Stander
Saturday, 16 October 2010 05:00
Black Country Communion is possibly THE name to be dropping right now in classic rock circles. Bringing Glenn Hughes, Joe Bonamassa, Derek Sherinian and Jason Bonham together is a masterstroke of musical genius. Especially as they’ve just released one of the most talked about and hotly anticipated debut albums in decades, and within the twenty-four hours preceding this very interview they’ve played their debut show on UK soil. The intimate surroundings for this show was John Henry’s Rehearsal Studios in London and I along with a handful of other fans was lucky enough to have witnessed this life changing live event (in fact you can read my review here).
So, when I got the chance to catch up with Joe Bonamassa and Derek Sherinian the following day, I literally jumped at the chance. I mean who wouldn’t have? This has the chance of being pure interview gold you know? However being the last interviewer on any band’s schedule, especially the day after they have played a storming gig can be difficult. So on entering the room to face two incredibly talented musicians drinking red wine the day after playing a storming gig I’m suddenly thinking this has the potential of turning into a bloody nightmare. Especially when midway through my first question, Derek grabs my notebook off me and suddenly turns the inquisitor on me, grilling me about my handwriting, which he claims, “to be the neatest he’s ever seen.” Suddenly I can sense this is actually going to be a whole heap of fun with two guys I have enormous respect for as musicians, so what the heck if I ask them for a bold statement regarding the chances of Mike Portnoy one day rejoining Dream Theatre? Hell we’re all friends here aren’t we? It’s just I’ve got the neatest handwriting.
And what better way to start the interview properly than with this beauty of a question?
So guys amidst all the rave reviews and a storming set last night at the aptly named John Henry’s, what guarantee are you offering fans of BCC’s longevity?
Derek: None. There are no guarantees whatsoever but based on the response of the record’s release and journalists … we enjoyed last night and we enjoyed making the record so more than likely we will be coming back out and make another record and follow on with a tour. We don’t know when and as soon as we know, you will know.
Joe: You don’t want to guarantee something because things change daily and we’ve already had a lot of success with this particular band, taking it one day at a time and truth be told, it’s the only way you can really do something like this. It can’t be in broad strips, it’s got to be one day at a time and today has been great. I’m really blown away with the response to the record; I never thought it would do so good.
Not even 24 hours after the release and you’re on the charts at number 4 I believe.
Joe: Yeah, it’s insane.
I was just curious as Planet US never succeeded really and Derek, you missed John Vavarto’s 10th Anniversary due to other commitments. How do you fit it all in?
Joe: We’re trying to get everything sorted out where everyone can be here all the time. Derek has commitments with Billy Idol so he had to miss a rehearsal before we did the show last night but he’s the kind of guy, and not because he’s sitting here, just walks in and says, “Yeah, I got it”. That is like the kind of group we have here. Anybody could miss a rehearsal and then just walk in. We all just pull our own weight.
With BCC being the brainchild of Kevin Shirley, it’s even more apparent now that his is not just a phenomenal producer but also a man of exquisite musical foresight. If you could give him one tangible object by way of thanks for what this foresight and uber-tastic production skills have been thus far, what would you give him?
Joe: I think Kevin … my assessment of Kevin is always, whether it be recording this thing or something else that he’s involved in, he’s always the best musician in the room. He sees the whole album before note 1 is even recorded. He goes, “I need to get this and this and this” to achieve the whole picture. The only other guy that I’ve ever worked with that has had that kind of talent and ability is Tom Dowd. Kevin was there with a harness, a lot of strong personalities to get it going in the right direction.
So if you had to give him one tangible item, what would you give him? [Derek Laughing so much that I can’t actually make out what he’s said but him and Joe high five each other]
Derek: (Laughing) He’s got his royalties, that is the highest form that he could get, everything else is just a slap really.
Joe: (Laughing) And we gave him a Parker pen.
[Much joking and laughing ensues after this with Joe saying he got a Derek Sherinian Korg signature model keyboard and a Joe Bonamassa signature guitar]
Joe: This has been taught by my own personal experience. How do you quantify Kevin Shirley’s influence on my own career? When he came to that show in 2004 when I was playing to 250 people and now in some places I’m playing to 6000 people: That’s Kevin Shirley in a nutshell, it’s what it is.
The ‘fusing of generations’ added to the collective pedigree of BCC was always going to cause a stir in the music industry. Are you reclaiming some of that magic of just starting out?
Derek: Pedigree is more of a term used for dog breeding.
It’s not really. You’re a bunch of guys at the top of your game. You’re the king of keys, you’ve got a virtuoso guitar player in Joe, you’ve got the voice of rock and you’ve got Jason ….
Joe: No, I like the word pedigree – it’s a good word musically. It looks good on paper.
And it works live and on a CD.
Joe: At the end of the day the most important thing about any band that comes out, whether they’ve had reputations prior to getting in that band are if the songs are any good. I think the only reason we’re having this conversation with you right now is that on the Black Country Communion record, the songs are good and people are realising that the songs are better than they thought they were going to be. Not just good players playing mediocre songs. That is the only element that makes or breaks a band like us.
Would there have been a difference if you guys had spent longer in the studio?
Joe: I don’t think it would have been better or worse. (Laughing) We weren’t going to make a Steely Dan record.
By including the reworked Trapeze track, ‘Medusa’ on your new album, is it possible that critics will associate you more with Blind Faith than with Them Crooked Vultures or Chickenfoot?
Joe: I would rather be associated with Blind Faith – no knock against Them Crooked Vultures or Chickenfoot.
Derek: Who’s Blind Faith?
Joe: It was Clapton and Winward.
The association I’m making is that Blind Faith played some of their previous group songs and reworked them whereas Chickenfoot and Them Crooked Vultures are original.
Derek: ‘Medusa’ was more of an olive branch track. Who the branch went to, we’re not quite sure.
Joe: It was the only completed idea. It was the only song that had a beginning and an end when we first walked into the studio.
Derek: Forget that it’s there, we don’t want it to detract from the new music.
Joe: The thing was that we put it on the list to record because we didn’t have any completed songs. We just needed to get a song completed and finished to get the ball rolling. I don’t think Glenn was really that keen on doing it but I think he did it because I love the song. It went down great last night.
Derek: Honestly, we don’t want to get lumped with any of those other bands.
Joe: We’re a new band and whatever has come before us … I actually like Them Crooked Vultures record and I thought Chickenfoot’s record was very good as well but I don’t think any of the stuff we do now has anything to do with any of them. It’s its own deal.
(Laughing) It’s just coincidence that you’re all famous?
Derek: Or Infamous.
How much do personalities have to do with a band like Black Country Communion?
Joe: I think it has all to do with personalities.
Derek: It’s great. There is a nice dichotomy, if you will – there is the British half and the American half. There is a good creative tension …
Joe: There is a good creative tension. Everyone comes to the table knowing that they’re good at their instrument: That confidence yet the willingness to listen and react is a really great combo.
It seems as though you’re steaming far ahead of anyone’s expectations with new songs and talk of your 2nd album within 24 hours of your first one’s release. Can you clear any questions on more details?
Joe: No. It’s one day at a time really. You can’t speculate on what’s going to happen a year from now, 2 years from now. It would be extraordinarily difficult to speculate what the 2nd record will sound like.
In terms of your previous musical careers, how challenging do you find Black Country Communion?
Joe: I find it very challenging and also exhilarating to play with the rest of the guys. It requires you to really focus and listen more so than with any other set of musicians I’ve ever played with. Even with Jason playing on my solo album in 2005, I find his drumming now to be more varied and challenging. It’s great, I love it.
Derek: For me physically it’s not so challenging. I used to play in Dream Theatre which is the sickest music you can get. For me though, the challenge is blending and playing tastefully and contributing to the sound.
Mike Portnoy leaving Dream Theatre – what are your thoughts?
Derek: I think everything will work out good for that band and I think he will eventually come back.
If they let him?
Derek: Oh they’ll let him. Going to see Dream Theatre without Portnoy is like going to see the circus without the lions. It’s like seeing a meerkat instead.
Joe: (Laughing) did you just say meerkat? I know a meerkat dressed as a lion right?
Finally, is rock really the ‘rebel’ and is metal really the ‘devil’?
Joe: It depends; I could play you some very metal music that scares me. Man, that’s badass and dark and deep but there’s shit metal like Goatwhore …
Derek: We drank with them one night.
Joe: Where?
Derek: Goatheart?
Joe: No, Goatwhore.
Derek: Let’s not even debate it. There is so much bad rock music out there and then there is some great stuff and then there is some bad metal and some great.
Joe: I don’t think there is any absolution in it.
Joe, Derek, thank you so much.
Derek: Thank you
Joe: That polka, I tell you, that’s the devil (laughing).
And on that note I made my way out into the relative safety of London’s busy streets, safe in the knowledge that I’d just squeezed a few nice exclusives for Uber Rock, just because I had the neatest handwriting ever encountered by Derek Sherinian.
If you’ve just read this interview and happen to be the ‘one last soul’ left who has not actually heard the magic these guys help produce as part of Black Country Communion, do yourself a favour and click on one of the links below. It’ll certainly bring out the revolution in you.
http://www.myspace.com/bccommunion
Live Photo Kudos to Christie Goodwin