Erik Norlander is known most prominently in the prog-rock underground as
the keyboardist for Lana Lane, but currently he has so much more on his plate.
Late last year Erik released a DVD celebrating his extensive solo career;
Live in St. Petersburg (read DVD
review). And to ring in the new year, Norlander
followed up with three new CD releases.
His latest solo album, Hommage
Symphonique, explores some of the progressive rock classics that influenced
Norlander growing up. Erik also reunited with his former Rocket Scientists
band mates to release a new
double
CD Revolution Road (Read
CD review). And of course
Erik's wife Lana Lane couldn't be left out of the mix. She released a covers
album of her own
with
the help
of Erik
entitled Gemini (Read CD review).
Where does one start the questioning with a musical pallet so full?
RIL: If I knew absolutely nothing about Erik Norlander, how would
you describe your solo music to me? EN: I play
progressive rock in what I believe to be the truest sense of the word "progressive". I take elements and influences from
great music from all genres, classic rock, heavy metal, classical, folk,
jazz, electronic, even vintage 70s "progressive rock" and combine
them into my own musical style. It allows me to paint with many different
brushes and not get stuck in one particular style, or worse, get sucked into
following whatever is popular at the moment. My music is rich with keyboards
vintage and contemporary, and I make it a point to work with the best musicians
I can find. Often I consider those musicians to be superior talents to myself,
and that really motivates and inspires me in my own playing.
RIL: To coincide with the theme and release of Lana Lane’s
Gemini covers album, you released a covers album of your own. How did you
decide
on the
song selection for Hommage Symphonique? EN:
I grew up with all the songs on Hommage
Symphonique.
They are songs I've been wanting to cover literally for years. But they
are all fairly difficult
songs -- they're not just songs you call out to the band in a jam and say, "Hey,
let's play "Turn of the Century" by Yes!". And because of
the music and vocal parts in the songs, it wasn't really practical to cover
them with Lana Lane. Lana would sound a little bit funny singing "Pirates",
for example. So I had this collection of songs filed away in the wish list
of my mind, and when the opportunity was given to me to make this album,
I jumped at it!
RIL: Was it a conscious effort to go with more
obscure and not so recognizable tracks by the likes of ELP, ELO, Yes, King
Crimson, Etc..or have you always
been a fan of those “deep” album tracks. EN:
I love the term "deep tracks". Originally of course this
referred to vinyl LPs, and the less commercial songs would happen later on
side one and side two ... "deeper" into the album! But what's also
great about that term is the double entendre. Deep also often means "less
shallow" in this case! The songs I chose for Hommage Symphonique really
do have a lot of depth to them, and most of them were not commercially popular.
In fact, maybe "Conquistador" is the only song that was ever regarded
as a hit. Also "Children of Sanchez" was also fairly popular in
the jazz / pop world. But in the end, it was the songs themselves that called
to me. Whether they were famous or obscure, I just loved these songs and
was really eager to record them.
RIL: Hommage Symphonique is rich with layers of instruments and music. Is this
something that takes a long time to put together? EN:
I wrote charts for the drums, bass, strings, brass and woodwinds for all
of the songs. That was a bit time consuming
just because of the sheer
volume of material. There must have been over 200 pages of music for these
sessions. But as far as the actual recording, it came together very quickly.
When you're as familiar with these songs as I am, there was little time spent
pondering "What shall do in THIS section?" I knew exactly where
I was going from start to finish, even down to the mixing. Of course these
are all brilliant songs to begin with, so I'm not such a genius, of course!
The material I had to work with was already so excellent that adding my own
arrangement and production elements was really pretty easy.
RIL: I have to be honest, you’re probably
the only rock artist I’ve
heard of that covered Chuck Mangione, and I’m sure most people have
only heard of him from the King of the Hill cartoon program. Why
him? EN: I like King
of the Hill, too. Sometimes my
wife will have it on the TV and I'll be in another room and can only hear
the sound and not see the
picture. I think it's even funnier that way -- the voices are really amazing.
But as far as Chuck Mangione, I was really more focused on covering his song
rather than him as an artist. That is true for the whole album. I picked
the songs and ultimately not the artists. In that way I guess it's not so
much of a so-called "tribute album". Of course the original artists,
Chuck Mangione included, area all brilliant. No doubt about it.
But in the
end the songs were what I was after. For Chuck's "Children of Sanchez",
I had always loved this song and really felt a spiritual power behind it.
I had heard a lot of versions of this song including even marching band versions.
But I always imagined it arranged slightly different, and that's how I did
it on Hommage Symphonique. However, I did include a flugelhorn solo on my
version -- that's definitely a nod to Chuck. I think it would have been almost
sacrilege to play that song without at least a little flugelhorn. Whether
they will carry my album at Megalomart, that remains to be seen!
RIL:
Have you had the chance to meet or hear feedback from the artists you cover
on the album? EN: I have sent it to the
artists I know, but I haven't heard anything back yet. Although Kelly
Keeling did a couple of
shows with Jon Anderson
when he toured with Trans Siberian Orchestra, and Kelly gave Jon a copy.
According to Kelly, Jon really loved our version of "Turn of the Century".
I'm hoping to meet up with some of the other artists in the coming months,
so I'm sure I'll get some kind of a reaction -- good or bad! What's also
interesting is that a couple of the musicians on my album actually played
with the original artists. Gregg Bissonette has recorded and toured with
Jeff Lynne and ELO, and Jon Papenbrook played trumpet with Chuck Mangione's
band on tour and notably at his famous Hollywood Bowl concert that was recorded
and released. I think Gregg played with Chuck as well at one time.
RIL: Does working on your solo material have an affect on your duties with Lana
Lane? EN: My time is definitely a valuable
commodity these days. Between Lana, Rocket Scientists and my solo projects,
there is seldom a time when I'm sitting
around wondering what to do. But we have gotten pretty good at scheduling
projects, and when I'm working on a particular project, that project really
gets my full and undivided attention. For example, when we did Lana's Lady
Macbeth album and 10th Anniversary Tour, there was really nothing but Lana
Lane from the end of 2004 all the way through 2005. In 2006, it was more
about Rocket Scientists and finally completing the Revolution Road album.
RIL: Will you tour in support of Hommage Symphonique? EN:
We're touring in the spring as "Rocket Scientists and Lana Lane".
Vocalist Kelly Keeling will also be on board, and we're going to play music
from as many of our albums as possible, including of course a few tracks
from the new covers albums. I've been working up a live arrangement of "Conquistador",
and I think that will come off really well on the tour.
RIL: You have a number of projects that you’ve worked on over the years;
Lana Lane, Rocket Scientists, and you solo material. Have you even gone into
the studio and forgotten which project you’re working on? EN:
Ha, no! It's always very clear what the project is. Let me get a bit older,
though, and maybe this will start to happen!
RIL: You released your first solo DVD last year, Live in St.
Petersburg. Was
it difficult coming up with a set list for such a momentous offering? EN:
It was quite an adventurous set, and there were even a few other songs
that we played at the concert that didn't go
onto the DVD. I think
it was only possible because this concert was the very last show at the end
of a 3-month tour. We started in the USA as "The Erik Norlander Trio" with
me, Kelly on vocals and bass, and Vinny Appice on drums.
After the US leg,
Vinny had to leave our tour to go do another tour with The Lizards that
he had committed to previously. So when we went to Europe, we added Ernst
Van
Ee on drums, Peer Verschuren on guitar and of course Lana on vocals. We
took our Erik Norlander Trio set and then added a bunch of Lana Lane music
to
it. As the tour progressed, we added a few more songs. So by the time we
reached Russia, we had quite a set. That's why it was so fortuitous that
the recording was made in St. Petersburg. There's really nothing like capturing
the last show of a long tour.
RIL: Why did you choose Russia over Japan? Japan seems to be your home away from
home with the Lana Lane band. EN:
Well, you are quite right, and that's exactly the reason why we
didn't record it in Japan. This was an "Erik Norlander" DVD, and if I
had done it in Japan, it would been more in the shadow of "Lana Lane".
Even though I'm of course the Lana Lane keyboardist, producer and perhaps
even primary composer, it's really about Lana ultimately. We had already
planned the Lana Lane 10th Anniversary Concert for 2005, so it made sense
to make the Erik Norlander DVD from another place.
The stage in St. Petersburg
was a beautiful one, too. It was really different from a conventional rock
stage. The lighting and effects were minimal, but they had these beautiful
white curtains and banners throughout the whole building. The building
was apparently a Russian naval academy in previous years, and it had a
real classic
architectural feel to it. It was a great environment for a symphonic rock
concert. And perhaps the biggest compliment I ever received was when the
host DJ from the radio station said that my music really suited the architecture
of the city of St. Petersburg.
RIL: If that wasn’t enough, you recently reunited
with Rocket Scientists after an eight year hiatus. If I knew absolutely
nothing about them, how
would you describe their music to me? EN:
Rocket Scientists is a progressive rock band that puts strong songwriting
and memorable melodies as its priority. It's a collaboration between myself
and guitarist / vocalist Mark McCrite along with NS/Stick artist Don Schiff.
Mark and I have had a great collaborative relationship for over 20 years.
Mark and I both love classic prog music, Yes, ELP, Pink Floyd, those kinds
of bands. But after that our influences kind of separate. I generally go
for more heavy music and avant garde music, and Mark goes for more pop music.
Melodic pop, that is. So when you combine our two personalities, that's the
sound of Rocket Scientists. I've played a lot of the older Rocket Scientists
solo with my own band, and while they are still great, they have a very different
feel without Mark. When Mark, Don and I all get together, there is a real
convergence that happens. Revolution Road is perhaps the best example of
that convergence.
RIL: How would you say Rocket Scientist’s music
differs from your solo work? EN: It's really
the collaboration between Mark McCrite and me as composers that "marks" the
difference, so to speak! It's our musical tastes and influences pushing
against each other
that creates the sound of Rocket
Scientists. For my solo work, it's much more of a singular vision. In Rocket
Scientists, you of course also have Mark's voice as a very identifying element.
In my solo work, I use different vocalists, although happily recently I've
been working fairly consistently with vocalist Kelly Keeling who I think
is just astounding. We're touring in the spring with Mark and Kelly both,
along with Lana, so that will quite an impressive lineup of singers! I'm
used to hearing the three of them together in the studio, but to bring it
to the stage will be a lot of fun.
RIL: Was Revolution Road in the works for eight years or was it something that
came about recently? EN: Our last album,
Oblivion Days, was recorded in 1998 and was released in 1999. So there
was an 8-year gap between Oblivion Days and Revolution
Road. We actually started the demos for what would become Revolution Road
in 2002. After we lost our drummer, Shawn, in 2003, we took a break from
the project until the beginning of 2006 when we reunited along with drummer
Gregg Bissonette and turned on the project full steam.
RIL: What kept the band apart for so long? EN:
We played some concerts in 2000, then we took 2001 off when I toured with
Lana and my solo band and also recorded the
Lana Lane - Project Shangri
- La album. Of course both Mark McCrite and Don Schiff played on Project
Shangri-La, so we were all still working together, just not as "Rocket
Scientists". We got Rocket Scientists together again in 2002 and started
writing, demoing and even playing some concerts. But our drummer, Shawn,
passed away shortly after, and we didn't want to simply replace him with
another drummer and go in to record the album. It didn't feel right.
So I
went off and did my Music Machine concept album, Don Schiff did his Peering
Over Clouds solo album, and we did more tours with my solo band, including
of course the long 2004 tour that ended with the St. Petersburg concert.
We did continue to work together, though, during this time. Lana's Winter
Sessions album from 2004 again has me, Mark and Don throughout, and they
also play on Lana's Lady Macbeth album from 2005. Mark joined us on the
Lana Lane 10th Anniversary Tour, and then after that in 2006 we officially
reunited
as "Rocket Scientists" as completed the Revolution Road album
which we had begun in 2002.
RIL: What brought you back together? EN:
I think it was simply a matter of time. We never really "split
up", we only took on different projects outside of the band. We all
worked together on these different projects outside of Rocket Scientists,
and since the three of us are all good friends, we would see each other socially
often as well. But we didn't want to just cobble an album together and call
it "Rocket Scientists". Between our solo albums and Lana's albums,
it would have been easy to do that. But I think there would have been a lack
of sincerity in that. We really wanted the "band" to make the album
and not just have this detached studio construct. So we worked through our
outside obligations and waited until the time was right to make such a band
album. That finally happened in 2006.
RIL: Will you be touring with Rocket Scientists? EN:
Yes. Rocket Scientists is going to Europe at the end of March and then
concluding the tour at the Rites of Spring festival (aka RoSFest) at
the end of April.
RIL: When you do tour with one of your side-projects, do you open for Lana Lane,
or does the particular project go on a headlining tour? EN:
We've never really approached it that way. The music all gets mixed together
when we tour as "Lana Lane and Erik Norlander", and when
Rocket Scientists toured with Lana the one time back in 1997, Lana was billed
as a "special guest vocalist". We're going to do that again at
RoSFest in April, sort of an anniversary of that first 1997 tour of Rocket
Scientists.
RIL: Think Tank Media is your own record label. Is it easier releasing material
on your own than it is through other labels? EN:
It's both a blessing and a curse. It's a blessing because I have the artistic
freedom create the albums I want to create and not have to contend
with too many opinions about what will sell and what will make us all rich
and famous. I've never wanted to be a pop star; I've always wanted to play
great, artistic music. But having my own label is also a curse because of
the sheer amount of work involved. I have a lot of great people who help
me, of course, but it still is a lot to stay on top of. Anyway, I do truly
love to work, so it's my choice, and I remain grateful for the opportunities
to do what I do. I wouldn't change a thing.
RIL: Think Tank is based in California and your fan base
is overseas. Won’t
this become a problem in distributing your material to the areas that it
is in most demand? EN: Well, I mentioned
above that I have a lot of help with my company. A big part of that help
comes from international distributors and PR people
that manage our releases overseas, particularly in Europe and Japan. I certainly
could not do that on my own. It's taken me many years to assemble the right
team for all of this overseas work, but I'm really happy with all of the
people we're working with today. It's really a great team.
RIL: What is a typical day like for you when it doesn’t
involve your music career? EN: Ha! Well,
if it doesn't involve my music career, then it's not a typical day! Okay,
so maybe I am on vacation. I like to get up in the morning
and sit out on a balcony or porch with a nice cup of coffee and then either
read the paper or watch something like CNN on TV. If it's in a place like
Hawaii, I'll watch the ocean instead of TV. During the day, maybe I'll walk
around a bit and visit a museum, an aquarium or some kind of interesting
local place with some good history. Have a light lunch with tea or coffee.
In the evening, have a cocktail of some kind, then go out to a nice dinner
somewhere. That's a pretty typical vacation day for me. When I'm not on vacation,
I'm pretty much working all the time, either in the studio or on the road.
RIL: What the heck is an NS/Stick? EN:
The NS/Stick is an 8-string fretted instrument that combines the concept
of the original Chapman Stick touchboard instrument,
created by inventor
Emmett Chapman, and an extended range bass similar to the 5- and 6-string
Steinberger basses created by Ned Steinberger. You can play the instrument
like a traditional bass guitar, sort of like a 5-string bass with 3 more
high strings, or you can play guitar - like leads, arpeggios and strumming
patterns with it. And of course you can tap it like an original Chapman Stick.
It's 8 strings tuned in 4ths starting on a low B and going up a high Bb.
It doesn't have the one major third interval that
a 6-string guitar has, just straight 4ths all the way up. So it's more
familiar to bass players
than guitar players as far as technique goes. But with the extended range,
you can play very high melodies on it like you can on a guitar. About half
of the "guitar" solos on Revolution Road were done on the NS/Stick,
and of course you can also hear a whole album's worth of NS/Stick solos on
Don Schiff's "Peering Over Clouds" CD which I produced a couple
of years ago.
RIL: Is it frustrating that the United States is so closed minded when it comes
to your style of music? EN: You know, I never
had any desire to be a pop star. I only wanted to be able to earn a decent
living playing honest music with integrity. We
sell enough albums for me to do that, so I feel fulfilled. I would be nice
to sell a million albums, but I don't need it. We have a lot of fans and
friend of our music in the US -- enough for me, anyway. For those that want
to hear it and get into it ... it's there for them. But we won't be touring
stadiums any time soon. ;-)
RIL: What do you think can be done to change this? EN:
I think that music education and cultural education in general would bring
more people to progressive music, to jazz music,
to classical music,
to more intelligent music in general. But when CNN spends half of its news
days for two weeks talking about Anna Nicole Smith, it's hard to imagine
any kind of cultural enlightenment coming any time soon. I think that a lot
of the low brow sitcoms also contribute to that kind of intellectual numbness.
Although HBO is putting out a lot of quality programming with some pretty
seriously great writing. I would point to the shows "Rome" and "Deadwood" in
particular as bright shining lights of hope for the media.
RIL: You produced your solo material, Rocket Scientists, and Lana Lane
over the years, as well as played on the albums. Which to you prefer more
producing,
playing, or composing?
EN: That's a hard question because each of
them have their appeal. I think that I enjoy composing the most. It's the
most creative, the most intense,
and the most challenging of all the experiences. I enjoy playing songs
I have created, and I enjoy playing other peoples' songs when I can bring
something creative of my own to them. But just playing cover songs or covering
someone else's parts is not too appealing to me. As far as producing, I
enjoy it, but it's really a means to and end. I know how I want the album
to sound, so I have to go through Step A to Step Z to get to that final
sound. It's more functionally oriented than creative. But that can be fun
and satisfying, too.
ERIK
NORLANDER
