Steel Notes Magazine
things. Anyone can dissect anyone of my records or our records
and say that sounds like Mark Knopler, and that sounds like
Jimmy Page you know, that came from a Genesis idea. All those
things, they're all in there. I'm trying to get away from anything,
there all tips of the hat and that’s the kind of music that I like.
Then again I would think to some
degree most musicians are
doing that, you are what you
eat.
Rick - Who are your biggest
influences?
Ian - Well all the ones I just
mentioned, I would have
to say Genesis, Pink Floyd,
The Who, Dire Straits, Led
Zeppelin, The Police are big
for me, the list goes on. I have
a long list of influences. Any-
thing can move me, anything
can inspire me it doesn't mat-
ter the style of music. Good is
good and bad is bad. I never
listen to Country, but I love
Hank Williams, I love Bruce
Springsteen as much as I love
Eric Johnson or Steve Morse of the Dixie Dregs. I love ABBA, you
know good is good.
Rick - Do you listen to new music nowadays?
Ian - Not really no... I hear the computer programs not the peo-
ple. We made an effort to
put a record
where you can hear the
human beings making the
noises.
Rick - You're right every-
thing sounds mechanical
nowadays. I believe we’ve
lost that organic feel of
simply making the music
breath.
Ian- Yes like a human
being. No everything goes
on the grid and you get
everything chopped up,
that's not music, music
is supposed to breath it's
supposed to go up and
down and in and out,
side to side and that's the
kind of record we wanted
to make. All the basic tracks for I'd say 95% of the songs on the
record were all done live off the floor. David, Chucky and myself
just banged it until we got it right and that was the take, there you
go. Well you got this verse and you got this chorus and you just
chop it and put it together...no! That happens too much in Rock n'
Roll these days and that to me is not Rock n' Roll, that's a comput-
er game.
104
Steel Notes Magazine
www.steelnotesmagazine.com
Spring 2017
Rick - As a young band starting out today, what would you say is
the most important thing they need to focus on?
Ian - Practice...practice and continually refine ways to inspire
yourself. The more inspired you are the more you’re going to
practice, the more you practice the better you're going to get. The
easier it will be for things
to come. If it's a songwrit-
er you want to be than
work at song writing, you
got to practice and the
way you do that is you
write. If it's a player that
you want to be, a session
player or a wicked guitar
player than what do you
do, you play you practice.
You have to have that
deep routed passion for it
to want to get that good,
and I don't mean good
enough. There has to be
a part of you that wants
to be like your heroes or
better. You may never
achieve that but I think
it's worth it to try.
Rick - What should someone experiencing a “Big Wreck” show
for the 1st time expect?
Ian - I don't know...hopefully a great Rock n' Roll show you know.
Ups and downs. I tend to sort of wear my heart on my sleeve a
bit when things are going right, when the shows are really
cookin' and things are really
happening and sounding
great and feeling great and
the crowd is great, I tend to
get pretty emotional, all of us
do, I think I speak for all of
us. It's a very raw emotional
thing and I kind of hope
that the audience feels that
to. There's no guarantees but
hopefully you'd like to come
to the show for the first time
and hopefully experience
something.
Rick - If you could bring back
any artist from the dead,
to compose and/or perform
with, which would you
choose?
Ian - Ouff...I don't know...If I can bring them back I wouldn't
want to compose or perform with them I would just want to
listen to them, and listen to where they'd go. I would want to hear
where Hendrix would be 10 years after he passed away and where
was he headed musically and creatively. John Lennon where was
he headed, I mean the list goes on. Jaco Pastorius could have he
gotten his act together and gotten back into it. Where would a guy
like that gone. The list goes, I'd love to jam with John Bonham I
wonder what hat would feel like, but I couldn't pick one, it's too
hard.