Interview

29 April 2000

Rock Quest Bar  Montreal

RS: What do you expect from your new album that you are working on now?

MB: I hope the best you know so I’m going to be pushing this and looking for future prospects in my project as of now.  So we are pushing really hard for the future of Messenger Boy.

RS: The market you are looking for is it especially in the U.S., or are you looking in Europe and Japan too?

MB: Oh we’re alive, we’re alive, and we’re pushing U.S.A. at the moment on the radios.  I did a tour last year in Canada: Toronto, Quebec, Ontario, and I’m hoping to broaden the horizon on this project.

RS: How was the feeling in the time you were with Steve Vai and other big groups like that?  Did you have fun?  Did you find it was a real party? 

MB: You know, when I was there it was really different then I expected.  They’re so laid back, so down to earth, you'd think that they’re so different you know when you’re seeing them onstage but when you’re right there working with them, alongside of them, and in their personal home.  They’re so …like family.  They make you feel like family.  It was really, really great!

RS: Did you have a chance to jam with them on stage??

MB: Oh sure, sure, sure.  We also went out to dinner together, we drove around together, and saw some things that I couldn’t see without them.  So it was very, very special.

RS: What do you want from your visit here in Montreal?  Do you find the city and the people interesting in general?

MB: Montreal’s very special.  I find the people very much like Americans, we’re all Americans, but they (Montrealers) are a different culture.  The French is very hospitable.  Hospitality is very important to them and they make me feel very welcome.

RS: Did you ever come to Montreal before today?

MB: Yes I have!  I did a tour last year.

RS: Which places did you play at?

MB: I played at Quebec City at the Liquor Store, I also played at the Cabaret here in Montreal.

RS: If you put out a single on the new album, what title will the new single have?

MB: Well, the single right now that is out and still staying out is “Just a little Luck” and was written by David Lee Roth. I rewrote the music for it with a great friend of mine: Dominic Blais, so we’re hoping this song kicks off in the USA. We promoted this in February (end of February) by putting it out on 60 rock stations U.S. wide. 

RS: I heard that in “Just a Little Luck” you had a gospel sound.  How did you come up with that sound in that kind of music?

MB: Well this is an arrangement with Dominic Blais, who is a very close friend of mine and writes a lot of my music with me.  He and I got together because Messenger Boy is very special (it’s a message).  Messenger boy’s lyrics are very strong. You know, they’re very subliminal.  So we have a message to say and with this in mind we use the Gospel Choir to do a new flavor to Rock'n Roll.  We used the Toronto Gospel Choir, which was great.  I use a lot of Canadian artists, which helped me along with this project.

RS: Did you record the whole album in Toronto or elsewhere also?

MB: No I recorded the album at Steve Vai’s home in his personal studio in Beverley Hills, California.  I mixed it in Toronto and then I did the mastering with Marino (studio) in New York City.

RS: In the studio of Steve Vai, was Steve there and participating with you?

MB: Steve had just got back from tour and he was on phone calls a lot with us, he offered to do a solo for the project.  We used his guitarists and he recommended that also.  One of his guitarists is named “Marcelo Gomez” who also assisted with “Dominic” in doing the mixing on it so they were fantastic guitarists.  We had Greg Bissonette on drums, and Matt Bissonette on base and they had performed with groups like WhiteSnake, and David Lee Roth (on his solo tour).  It was a real wild trip man. It was really great!

RS:  Thank you very much for your time and we hope to hear more about your album and music career.

Last update: May 05, 2000

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