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| The Band: Interviews: 3rd chat with Ian McDonald | 01.29.02 |
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This is a chat with Ian McDonald by The Artist Shop / Talk City, which was done on Wednesday, October 27th, 1999. The original version of this document is located at http://www.artist-shop.com/irc/mcdon2.htm, but you'll enjoy more the next format. Index (Introduction) Moderator: Many will remember Ian as the main composer keyboardist / wind instrumentalist for the original King Crimson. Ian is here tonight to talk to us about his days with King Crimson, the recently remastered "In The Court Of The Crimson King", and his new solo effort "Drivers Eyes". Guests on this album include Steve Hackett, John Wetton, Lou Gramm, Gary Brooker, John Waite, Mike Giles, Peter Frampton, a co-write with Pete Sinfield (the first since King Crimson and McDonald And Giles days). One track is purely a McDonald And Giles track. This is Ian's third visit with us here at Talk City. Ian, we appreciate you taking the time out to come back and speak with us today. Welcome to ªMusic and Talk City! Ian McDonald: Thank you very much, it's good to be back. I look
forward to speaking with the audience, cyberspace audience. (1) Moderator: Are you happy with the 30th anniversary reissue of "In The Court Of The Crimson King"? Is there anything you would change? Ian McDonald: Although I recently got a copy, I haven't had a
chance to listen to it yet. I've been told it's very good and that it's like hearing it for the
first time. I think the packaging is great and it's a pity it can't be done indefinitely like
that (it's a limited edition, the packaging). When I get a spare hour, I'll give it a listen. I
look forward to hearing it. Wotan, what do you think of it? (2) dougm_phi78: Will Ian be doing any mellotron work on his upcoming album? Ian McDonald: Looks like Wotan got disconnected, so
we'll go to the next one till he gets back. Actually there are no mellotrons on the
"Drivers Eyes" album. I wasn't able to get my hands on a Mark II, but I did
use the next best thing, which is a real orchestra. Or at least a small one - a ten piece string
section. (3) DanKirkd: Ian, a pleasure to have you here for the chat. I am curious if you've ever considered becoming a DGM artist, and if not, why not? Ian McDonald: Well, I am a DGM artist indirectly, or even
directly if you consider the early Crimson material I'm involved in, as it's all on
DGM. It was obviously one of my considerations. It just happened that my deal with Camino,
Steve Hackett's label, just fell into place very naturally. So that's where I made my
home. (4) Ian McDonald: Hi, Wotan, welcome back. So tell me, what did you think of the "Court" remaster? Moderator: I'm still waiting for my copy. I've ordered it but haven't got it yet. I don't have your connections. B-{)} Ian McDonald: Then get one from Gary ;-) Moderator: (poking Gary in the side...) (5) Rajaz: Have your heard of a Prog Fest in the works for 2000, how true is this? Ian McDonald: I've heard of something in Panama City if I'm
correct in thinking that, that's about all that I know about. (6) veldhuid: Any plans to work again with Hackett. BTW I loved "The Tokyo Tapes". Ian McDonald: Thank you, yes, "The Tokyo
Tapes" concert was a lot of fun! Steve does appear on "Drivers
Eyes, and also I will be appearing on Steve's next album. I am on his current
album "Darktown" too. (7) Bravos10: What was it like to play with Robert Fripp? Ian McDonald: It's been a while now, but I have nothing but
fond memories of the live shows that we did with the original King Crimson. They were
quite "out there", and because the musicians in the original band had such confidence and trust
in one another, in short, it was great playing with Robert. (8) CaptainBeyond: How has your taste and approach to music changed over the course of your career? Ian McDonald: Hmmm. My approach hasn't changed really. Other
than trying to become more and more accomplished as a musician. But my taste has always been
quite broad, eclectic, and I try to bring in different elements into my writing style. But as I
said before, my approach hasn't really changed. I've always just tried to serve the song or the
particular piece of music as best I can. (9) DanKirkd: Have you considered buying one of Robert Fripp's mellotrons? Ian McDonald: I did make an attempt to try and secure the
original "In The Court" mellotron, but I think Robert was looking
for the highest bidder. But it would have been nice to have that particular machine. (10) dayat: Which period of your musical career satisfies you most? Ian McDonald: I think whenever I'm working and whenever I'm
playing I get great satisfaction and enjoyment, but I must say I'm very happy to be releasing
my first solo album in the US at this point in time. So I'm deriving a lot of satisfaction from
that. It's great to be able to offer an album of my music to the American listener. (11) veldhuid: What are you're future plans? Ian McDonald: I'm thinking about touring perhaps in the near
future. But I also intend to produce other artists. In fact, I've just completed
production on an album by a jazz harpist by the name of Park Stickney, which with any
luck will be available from The Artist Shop. Of course I'm enjoying the release of
"Drivers Eyes". But I'm also thinking about the next album. And I'm very eager
to continue to record and release albums. (12) Rajaz: Ian, will the Wetton / Hackett group ever tour again? Ian McDonald: I'm not sure. That was kind of a one off event. It
was a lot of fun. It was a really short tour, however. I think the group was just getting good
when we had to pack up and go home. It would be great to do more shows with that particular line
up. But there is nothing definite as yet. (13) CelestialWays: Hi Ian, I'm a Foreigner and a new King Crimson fan, many of us remember you with Foreigner and even when you had only a little participation there I always remember you with the band, "Starrider" will always be one of my favorites, you recorded great flute parts on the studio version and on several live versions, well, I won't ask about M. Jones, but what is your relationship with Lou? Ian McDonald: Well, my relationship with Lou is very
good. In fact, he was kind enough to give me a vocal on my new album. He sounds great on that!
I must say that my involvement or participation in Foreigner might be a little larger
than you may seem to perceive. I had quite a bit to do with arrangements and production that you
may not be aware of. But thank you for noticing my flute playing. I had a great time in
Foreigner and I'm glad you appreciate the group. (14) dayat: Probably a stupid question :-) but what instrument do you find most comfy with to play? Ian McDonald: It's not a stupid question. But it's hard to
answer, because I enjoy playing whatever I happen to be playing at the time. I very much enjoy
the wind instruments. I feel that I can be more expressive on these instruments. But I do enjoy
playing piano and guitar. Because they're polytonal and therefore much more useful for writing,
etc. And more physical in a way as well as rhythmic. So in short I tend to use the single note
instruments for more lyrical work, and the other instruments for more chordal work although
there is crossover between the two. (15) DanKirkd: Is there a plan for a tour? Who would the musicians be this time? Ian McDonald: Nothing has been formally planned. But I don't
know if you're aware of the players on "Drivers Eyes", but Steve
Holly on drums and Kenny Aaronson on bass would definitely be there. As far as
G.E. Smith and some of the other players, I'm not sure. It depends on their
availability. And, of course, with so many well known vocalists, it might be a little tricky to
take everyone on the road. ;-) But if I can figure that one out, I'll let you know! (16) Rajaz: Ian, what would you say was your main input on the "Court" album? Did you get enough credit? Ian McDonald: Well, we didn't specifically credit ourselves with
anything in particular but I had a great deal to do with the production. We all contributed to
that album. I think that during that album I began to realize my aptitude towards production.
It's hard for me to state my contribution compared to anyone else in the band. I think anyone
can hear the part that I played. But I must again stress that it was a group effort. And I'm not
counting percentages of who contributed what. We all gave 100%. (17) dougm_phi725: Why is it that you never did a follow up album with Michael Giles? Ian McDonald: It was never "our intention" to be a permanent
group. There's still maybe a follow up. After the release of the first "McDonald
And Giles" album, I think I needed to do other things. But Mike and I reunited
recently for a track on my album, and I will be playing on some tracks of his that he is
recording! So in a sense there is a kind of a follow up going on right now. (18) DanKirkd: Ian, how did you and Steve Hackett first hook up? What is it about your musical relationship that you think makes it work so well? Ian McDonald: I, in fact, met Steve before he even
hooked up with Genesis. And although we didn't work together until fairly recently
we've always been good friends. I'm glad you think we work well together. And we are still
developing that working relationship. "The Tokyo Tapes" came about with
John Wetton suggesting to Steve that he ask me if I would like to participate.
And, of course, I was more than happy to do that. It was great to at last have the opportunity
to play with such a good guitarist as Steve. (19) Moderator: To what do you attribute the break up of the original Crimso? It seemed like such a quick rise and demise. Ian McDonald: Well, there were a number of reasons. I take full
responsibility. I think what it comes down to is that I wasn't really emotionally mature enough
at the time to really be able to handle what was going on. It was becoming quite overwhelming
without me quite realizing it. And so one day I just made a rather impetuous decision. In
hindsight, it might have been better to have not been hasty, but I can't do much about that now.
I must say it was really good for me when a couple of years ago the band was reunited at least,
if not musically, but physically for the release of the "Epitaph" box. That
was a wonderful opportunity for the five of us to be in the same room at the same time after
goodness knows how many years! And also having new material released on the
"Epitaph" box. It was almost like having a second album from the first
group. (20) veldhuid: Do you have an offical web page? Ian McDonald: Not yet, this is something I need to do. I don't
even have an official computer yet! But I will take care of this as soon as I can. (21) CelestialWays: What's the meaning of your new album to you, why was important to you to release this album? Ian McDonald: I've always wanted to be recognized as an artist
in my own right. Not that I've a tremendous amount of ego involved in the album, because to me
the album itself and the music come first. (22) Rajaz: What progressive rock groups do you listen and like nowdays? Moderator: Thanks Rajaz! Good timing. B-{)} Ian McDonald: At the risk of alienating my listeners, I've never really listened to so called "progressive" music. I've always listened to a lot of classical music and jazz, but in terms of rock music, at the time of the so called progressive movement I think I was more interested in groups such as The Beatles and Cream, etc., and writers such as Neil Young and music of this ilk. I've never particularly, believe it or not, identified with the "progressive rock" scene. Although I have come to accept that King Crimson is seen as part of that genre, we were just making music that we felt we wanted to at the time, and we were fortunate enough to come along at a time when groups such as ours were given creative freedom in the studio. Thanks to The Beatles! And "Sgt. Pepper"! So I know there are a number of excellent bands in the progressive style, but I do think that sometimes these progressive groups might even limit themselves to a somewhat formulaic mode of composition. To me progressive means including different influences and expanding the basic rock
combination of drums, guitar, bass, etc. When one tries to play in a particular style with
lyrics that tend to have a medieval atmosphere to them, I think it might be a little bit
regressive rather than progressive if anything. But having said that, I do think that there are
many terrific players that are dedicated to the progressive movement. And I applaud anyone who
tries to do things a little differently. Or to make music that has their own identity. (23) Moderator: Is there anything else you would like to mention before we conclude today? Ian McDonald: I've probably mentioned it too many times already. But I hope that as many of your listeners as possible enjoy the "Drivers Eyes" album. I've put a lot into it and I'm very proud of it. I look forward to your listener's comments next time we speak. Thank you once again for giving me this opportunity to talk to your audience. It's been a lot of fun. Moderator: Very cool. That sounds good. Maybe we'll get the karma thing together next time too. Looks like our time is up. I'd like to thank everyone for joining us tonight. Ian, we appreciate your taking the time to come and chat with us. We all hope you'll come back to Talk City again soon! Ian McDonald: It would be my pleasure, thank you very much. Moderator: Finally, thanks to The Artist Shop for working with us on this conference. We especially appreciate the efforts of Gary Davis in giving us the opportunity to speak with Ian McDonald. Ian McDonald: And thanks for all the questions. |
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| The Band: Interviews: 3rd chat with Ian McDonald | 01.29.02 |
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