Back in 1999 Simon answered some questions regarding the release of his live album "Out of the blue".
What's the motivation of releasing a live album to you? Do you see it
as a special treat for the fans or is it something that's important to
you personally?
Both. I think it is a shame that some of the best playing is only heard by
the few hundred people at a gig and not by a wider audience. Also, as we play
the music every night, the band gets tighter and we play the songs better and
better. It is almost as though the studio record is the blue print of the
song and the live version is the finished result. Musicians play better in
front of an audience anyway.
How did you decide which songs were going to make it on this record?
That was hard but mostly it was based upon what wasn't on my previous live CD
"Force Majeure" and then down to the individual performance. I had ten shows
to pick each song from - the first requirement being audio quality. Sometimes
you just get a show that sounded awful due to the acoustics of the venue.
From there it is down to the performance as a whole and a fine balance
between that and good audio quality.
Wasn't it difficult with all the TOTO commitments to find time to
work on the live album? Did you have to edit many things or is it pretty
much the material as you recorded it?
As it turned out it was difficult schedule wise as Mindfields took longer
than we had anticipated - I just worked long hours. I did a couple of edits
but for the most part the take is as it was recorded with a few repairs.
Again it is finding a fine balance between mistakes and vibe. I probably
worked too hard on it - but that's just me!
The album runs approximately 60 minutes, so there would have been
space for some more songs. Is there a special reason why you didn't use
up the space? Was it ever an option to you to even release a double CD
with a complete concert?
That is more of a request by the record company but I have to say I think
records are too long these days - I think an hour is quite enough. Also it
would have taken much longer to have more material and therefore the cost of
the production goes up etc. etc. There is a limit - and I am not working with
Toto style budgets here. I would have liked to have put on a couple of other
songs but I ran out of time.
When will the fans have a chance to see you on stage again as a solo
artist?
I am writing material for a new album now and will hopefully record it end of
this year/beginning of next. I would like to release it in spring 2000 and
tour in the summer and fall.
Do you have any plans for a new studio album yet?
If so, when will it
happen and will it be with the same band that you've been working with
for the past few years?
I answered that already without looking at this question - should be the same
band with Melvin Lee Davis on Bass - if everyone is available!
© www.toto99.com 1999