HTP Supporters Club Well, we have one foot in the old sound and one in the new sound - to me it takes HTP into a direction - Glenn and I are singing in tandem using a lot of lead lines, it's very Lennon/McCartney-ish, kinda like The Beatles meet Zeppelin in a way - although I hate to use that comparision. When I listen to Losing My Head, I go well, "Jeez!" When I listen to it my mouth opens, because I just go "I haven't heard anybody do this" and that's a good thing, 'cuz I'm so bored with everything that's out there! It's new but also familiar. There's more direction and identity - I felt it when we were writing it. Glenn and JJ did just an incredible job on the tracks - there was very little arrangement changes - those two guys are just geniuses and I was just jaw dropping when I heard it. As we were designing the lyrics and the titles, I was all over it - even I'm a fan of this record!! When I stand back from it, I like it, I play it - normally I don't listen to my own records, unless it's at a party or something. It's not that I don't like them - it's just that you've done it, you're 'kinda full with it, if you know what I mean. With HTP 2 I can play it over and over again, as it always seem fresh to me - it has a magical quality about it in my opinion. This tandem harmony thing we do, more so on this album...really gives us a direction and an identity which makes this standout from the previous one. It's an in your face album - turn it up! Even from the first track....we intentionally wanted to beat you over the head with it!! We want it to say "we're here!!" Some good news for fans in the States, is that Mike Varney at Shrapnel Records is going to release it Stateside, plus my solo record, JLT and Glenn's latest, Songs In The Key Of Rock [Ed: HTP2 and SITKOR are due out October 21st, 2003 and JLT in November on Shrapnel Records in the USA]. We're really happy you'll be able to go into a Tower Records and buy these things and it's great they're coming so soon after the Import release. It's ridiculous you have to pay $30 or $40 for it, we certainly don't get any extra for it! We know both Glenn and yourself would of liked Ritchie Blackmore to appear on the debut HTP record - for the new record, was there anybody you really wanted to guest, but couldn't get for whatever reason? Joe Lynn Turner No, everyone we asked joined us. Steve Vai on Losing My Head and Jeff Kollman on guitar and Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers on the drums. We wanted Ritchie on this new one too, but the message didn't get to him as usual! So we tried to get him, we felt he'd be perfect for a track and he was welcome to pick whatever track he wanted and felt comfortable with. Maybe next time! The Hammond sound isn't quite as up front as on the debut album, was that a conscious decision or did it just work out that keyboards weren't as important this time around? Joe Lynn Turner Yes and no, because it's part of the other direction we're taking with HTP 2 - it is on Going My Way and others, but we're using Mellotron which is a 60s/70s instrument with Ed Roth on keys, instead of Vince. I think it's more guitar oriented on most of the tracks and we use the keyboards more for color. The Indian riff on Losing My Head is a synth, so we're just trying to add color to it, as the riffs are so straight ahead. It wasn't so intentional, just what the music dictated. We tried keyboards on certain songs and looked at each other saying "it just doesn't sound right - let's bring up the guitars, drums and vocals and just rock!!" But there's some really great Mellotron and moody things going on which makes up for it. Are there any songs left over from either of the HTP sessions, or do you just write what is required? Joe Lynn Turner It was a mix of new, old and unused tracks from the original HTP record. Glenn had 3 songs he had written after his solo album was released and were just 'kinda suspended, so he asked, "shall we put these on HTP?". After hearing them, I said to him, "they're so well written and such great songs - we'll just "HTP-icise" them", and we did a little arrangement here and there - Glenn was on a roll - Big Daddy was on a roll man! I said we can't leave these songs off. Alone I Breathe was one of them, and I just felt it was fantastic. Let's Talk About It Later and Goodbye Friday were two others just like that. They really fortify the direction of HTP. JJ Marsh really makes his mark on HTP 2 - how is it working with him? Joe Lynn Turner He's becoming a force to be reckoned with - he is HTP's right arm, he's as much apart of HTP as Glenn and I. He and Glenn come up with the tracks. He's a brilliant and basically an undiscovered guitarist. This guy can play and write and perform live too - I've played with some of the best guitarists in the world and JJ is right up with them - in fact, he has them smoked!! His writing is incredible; he comes up with these musical passages that make my skin standup! I remember playing some of his stuff when I was back in the hotel room at one or two in the morning during the writing process and I remember jumping up and writing the lyrics to Going My Way and a whole bunch of lyrical ideas inspired by his and Glenn's music. That one was actually a left over from the first HTP - they said, "remember this one, see what you can make out of it". That's another of those magical moments, with the lyrics ending up describing a cryptic version of my life. You know "Bad luck and trouble" and how shitty things were at one point, and how they got so much better and how I found an inner peace. And it's pretty much Glenn's story as well, as he's been through so much too - which is always why I believe we can do this project, because we come from a spiritual level that many lead singers can't even deal with. We're still in admiration and respectful of each other - we've known each other 20 years and have written songs together before, but nothing has ever happened with them, until now. There's a spiritual quality between the two of us that I don't think many people that work together have, that's what makes it work as it does. You seem to be playing more guitar recently and you played on the HTP tour. Have you contributed any guitar work to HTP 2, or do you plan to during the tours? Joe Lynn Turner No, none at all! How could I with the likes of JJ, Steve Vai and Jeff Kollman! Actually I was a guitar player first - I'm constantly playing guitar! It's funny, I was writing here for my JLT record and laying down my own guitar tracks, but then I get into the studio with the likes of Al Pitrelli and Chris Cafferty and so it was impossible for me to play with the likes of their great talents. But on tour for sure - I had so much fun last time - so will I play with HTP on the road? You bet!! I look forward to playing a couple of these new riffs with JJ on stage, it'll be a lot of fun. How do you deal with having to "sit" on releases - HTP 2 was recorded nearly 6 months ago and the tour will hit more or less on it's 1 year anniversary - from a fan perspective, it's ludicrous! What's your perspective on it and what is the reason? Joe Lynn Turner You live so long with the album - you know I've had these tracks for a long, long time. I was writing JLT when I was writing these tracks too - so you just put it out of your mind and you just move onto other things and when it's about to be released, it becomes fresh and new again. All of a sudden you're talking about the songs and about the making of it. Bottom line, you just put it out of your mind, like right now, I'm writing songs for my next record and I know Glenn has probably already finished writing for his next one!! He writes ALL THE TIME, which is terrific and disciplined, but I haven't found that approach works for me. Recently I worked with Mick Jones of Foreigner, in fact, we worked on a Folgers coffee commercial together using the song Feels Like The First Time, you've probably seen it or heard it, as it'll be on the TV all over the country. So anyway, I said to him, "What do you do?", as far as the writing process and he said, "I never write until I have to! As soon as it's time to make an album, that's when I start to get the ideas - I don't even sit down and get out the guitar". So in other words, there's so many ways to do it. Anyway, to answer your question! So what do you do? You put it out of your mind and then you finally come back to it. So now we're doing a lot of press on HTP and it's a daily reminder. You tend to stay away from it, so it stays fresh; otherwise it gets boring - "enough already" - so, just staying away from it, answers the question! Are USA live dates completely unrealistic - even if only one or two on the East & West Coast? How about part of a larger "packaged" bill of artists? Joe Lynn Turner Well, to be honest, the USA scene and excuse my French, is fucked right now! We're getting buried with all these boy bands and the like. But little by little, there is a little bit of rock coming back, so cyclically I think it's going to come right around again - we'll be the old men about it, but we'll be in fashion, because we're still doing it! But will we actually play live? I doubt it - it comes down to economics - if we could breakeven, I'd love to do it. So, do we want to? Absolutely! Are there promoters who are willing to take the chance? Not readily. We could do something, but then we need great guys to play with us, we can't have them sitting around, and we don't want just anyone, so economically, it's not happening. Having said that, we are working on ways to make it up and down the West and East Coasts and make it profitable, we'll have to see. I wouldn't mind being part of a packaged bill, but usually they all mind, because they all know they're going to get the shit blown out of them! So finding the right deal is tough, I think we're going to have to wait until we can become our own headliners. If the gods permit, things in the States might turn around a bit and there might be more interest. There were hopes from fans of a live DVD around the same time it was announced the Japanese shows last year were to be recorded. Is there any chance one will be made next time out? Joe Lynn Turner I don't know - we really didn't have any plans for a live record last time! We were there, it was recorded and we just did it! It sounded great and so decided to release it! But there's no plans for a DVD in the works right now, but we are quite sometime away from the tour, it hasn't come up until now! We fly out for rehearsals at the end of January and then start the 5-city tour shortly afterwards, so we'll see. I'd love to do one, it just hasn't been decided yet - it can happen! What press opportunities are coming down the pike for HTP? Joe Lynn Turner It's all happening now, MTM has us doing a bunch and we're getting killer reviews, which is great and people are digging it. Are there any plans for an HTP 3? Joe Lynn Turner Glenn and I have always looked at this as long term, as long as everyone likes it, fans and record companies alike! As far as we're concerned, we'd love to continue it. We feel we have something that is rare and don't really want to destroy it. We feel this is a fantastic outlet, aside from our solo albums, and they all flow into each other. It's been an incredibly inventive and magical time. What's next for Joe Lynn Turner? Joe Lynn Turner I'm doing a set of dates with the Alan Parsons Project in Anaheim, Vegas and Thousands Oaks (near LA) and then we go down to Mexico for the month of October, which is going to be very cool. We'll probably do South America too. Then after that I'm trying to do a TSO (Trans-Siberian Orchestra) gig featuring Al Pitrelli and all my friends - which goes from November through New Years Eve including a big Christmas show. It's kinda like 'Cirque du Soleil' of Christmas shows!! They play huge seaters, 4 or 5000. It's something different and something outside the box! I just got back from Bulgaria playing with Nikolo Kotzev's Brazen Abbot - the kids are rockin' over there - 18 to 50 year olds! The kids know every word, even the choruses - all I had to do was put the mike out in the crowd!! It was a really successful trip. Tomas Broman (HTP) was on drums and an English guy Wayne Banks on bass and a Swede, Lars Pollack on keys. After Glenn and I play in Japan with HTP in February, we'll be heading to Europe in the Spring for 6 weeks and hopefully longer - there's a lot more HTP material to play now - we'll have to play 'I Surrender' and 'Burn', but we'll play 8-10 songs of HTP. We don't know if they'll be a support band, but we've spoken to Doogie White (Cornerstone) who may join us, it would be great what with the Rainbow connection, but we'll have to wait and see. Is there anything else you'd like to add? Joe Lynn Turner I'd just like to thank you two for everything you do - you really went out of your way to put up this fine site and I can't thank you enough. Welcome to the family! As Glenn says, "we can't let down!!" |