ROD MORGENSTEIN - WINGER
Alright, Folks, I know well this blog is primarly about guitars, but let me make an exception. I just conducted this interview with drummer extraordinaire Rod Morgenstein regarding the brand new Winger record, which is yet another killer effort from this band of virtuosos. Despite his busy schedule, the Berklee professor kindly answered my questions - as always!
This new record is a true candy store for Winger fans - it shows
all the signature elements, from guitar heavy rockers across ballads to
progressive stuff. Was it a conscious decision from the band - giving something
to every fans?
I
think there has always been a mix of styles in Winger’s music, even as far back
as the first record. ‘Hungry’ starts with a classical string arrangement, ‘17’
has really syncopated, funky guitar riff rhythms, not to mention the 2-measure
displaced, upside down drum pattern right after the guitar solo, and ‘Headed
For A Heartbreak’ has the long extended guitar solo at the end followed by the all
drumming over the keyboard/guitar ostinato. So, even the first record took
advantage of all of our collective music backgrounds. Maybe this eclectic
approach is more obvious now than in the past. But it is precisely the bringing
together of all these elements into the music that we feel gives Winger our
identity.
As far as Winger fans, how do you see, could the female fan of
Hungry "walk hand in hand" with the much more serious music lover of
the latter Winger works?
I
think that part of what makes Winger’s music interesting is that it can be
experienced in different ways and on different levels, depending on who the
listener is. At it’s core, most of the music is straight-ahead, heavy hitting
rock. But, at the same time, there are also more intricate harmonic, melodic
and rhythmic elements happening at various times in the music, which musicians
will find intriguing and challenging. So I really think our more recent
recordings can be appreciated by the older fans including, as you say, the ‘female
fan of Hungry’.
Are US fans see the band differently than the Europeans?
I
think fans of rock music are, in many ways, very much alike around the globe.
However, as far as Europe goes, in the 50's and 60's many American jazz musicians moved
to Europe because there appeared to be more of an appreciation for jazz music
there. And so, the feeling was that Europeans were more open-minded about
improvisational music. So maybe in some ways, the European audience is more
open to rock bands like Winger, who like to mix things up a bit and not just
stay the safe course.
The new record sounds so natural. How was the recording of the
drums? How were the kit setup and the mic settings?
Normally,
drums are set up on the other side of the glass, securely away from the control
room. This time around, we set the drums up right by the mixing console in the
control room. So Kip, who produced, engineered and mixed the record, was right
there 5-10 feet away from me. It made communication and ease of operation so
easy. The mic’ing is always similar, with every drum having its own mic, and
room mikes set up a few feet away. Kip is always experimenting with different
mics, as the recording of drums is an on-going process.
Did you work out the drum tracks the same way as you used to do
during the past sessions?
With
every recording, I always get a few days in advance of the recording to get
familiar with the songs. And it is during this time that I work out some
specific groove patterns. But a lot of the drumming is left to jamming during
the recording. And so, no 2 takes of a song are ever exactly alike. There is
something fresh and creative by allowing some of the drumming to be happening
on the spot. Sometimes, some of the best stuff happens when you are cruising on
the seat of your pants.
Do you have your own method to record drum tracks in the studio?
I
like to be very familiar with a song before I go into the studio to record. It
enables me to come up with ideas that I think add to the process. But I also
enjoy getting feedback from the producer as we're recording, because another
person's perspective can trigger other interesting ideas. For example, the
weird, displaced drum groove that happens right after Reb's solo in '17' from
the first album, came about as a result of the producer suggesting I do
something that you would never hear on a rock record.
How do you feel, is it easier to do a Winger record nowadays
than in the '80s, on the peak of the band's success?
I
think recording is easier now, for one reason, because Kip is a seasoned
veteran engineer/producer. And everyone in the band has years of recording
experience. But it is still a pain-staking, long process. Technology has made
certain aspects of recording easier. But, with all of its power, it has created
so many options in the recording process, that things can actually take longer
to get completed.
So far the new songs, there are straight forward rockers, like
Rat Race, Queen Babylon, Midnight Driver, as well as the most progressive tunes
in Winger history such as Tin Soldier and Better Days Comin'. Do you enjoy
playing both way?
I
love the challenge of playing all styles of music in an authentic manner, while
throwing some of my individual drumming personality into the mix. And, whether
a song requires a straight-ahead, basic groove like ‘Can’t Get Enuff’, or a
more technically challenging song in 5/4 like ‘Tin Soldier’, the key is to take
the challenge seriously in terms of bringing the song to life by creating and
playing the appropriate parts for it. One of the most exciting parts of my
career has been having the opportunity to play and record in so many different
musical genres. The Dixie Dregs, with guitarist Steve Morse, is an instrumental
rock/jazz/classical/country fusion band, The Rudess Morgenstein Project, with
Dream Theater keyboardist Jordan Rudess, is a prog duo that experiments playing
in time signatures of every kind, Jazz Is Dead is a jam band that allows the
musicians to dig down deep and create a different performance at each gig, and
The Jelly Jam, with Dream Theater bassist John Myung, and King’s X guitarist/vocalist
Ty Tabor, is a vocal-oriented musician power trio. So, each of these bands is
very different from one another. And I love the challenge of coming up with
just the right stuff for each one. And so, in Winger, we cover a range of
styles, but the challenge is the same with each song, and it is all totally
enjoyable.
Which is more difficult - to play slow and simple stuff or
beating complicated rhythms, odd time signatures?
This
is a fantastic question, Gyorgy! This is an on-going question that musicians
debate over and over. One of the most difficult transitions I went through just
before I got involved with Winger in 1987, was learning to have respect for
simplicity. We sometimes confuse 'simplicity' with being 'simple', 'easy', that
'anybody can do it' because it’s so simple and stupid . I was a jazz-rock-fusion
musician playing complex rhythms with the DIxie Dregs
There is an exotic breakdown in So Long China, with latinesque
rhythms, congas and bongos. Did you tracked that or you guys hired a
percussionist?
I
think the latin rhythms were programmed by Kip and John. John came up with that
cool interlude section.
On Karma you got Firs Ending, an interestig piano piece played
by you. Were there any thoughts to play some keys on this new record as well?
During
the recording of Karma, I was taking a break from cutting drum tracks, jamming
on the piano, and Kip stopped me to ask what I was playing, because he really
liked it. I told him it was something I wrote, and he thought it would be cool
to put it on the album. So it wasn’t anything planned, just a spur of the
moment decision. Nothing like that happened this time around.
Though Winger was the most virtuosic "hair" band, with
larger than life hit singles at the end of the 80s, you guys could not achieve
that level of success you should have been deserved for. So can you tell me why
couldn't Winger maintain its popularity (like Bon Jovi and Def Leppard did) in
spite of sing along songs in radio and first class musicianship?
The
answer to this is easy. Def Leppard formed in the late 70’s, and Bon Jovi came
around in the early 80’s. So both bands were firmly established by the late
80’s. Winger’s first album was released in the second half of 1988. As they
say, ‘hindsight is 20/20’. Nirvana hit the scene in 1991 with ‘Smells Like Teen
Spirit’, which ushered in the grunge music scene, which signaled the end to
everything that had been happening the past few years. And so I think bands
like Winger had not been around long enough, like Def Leppard and Bon Jovi, to
have been firmly established by 1991.
As a Berklee professor at the school's drum faculty, how could
you coordinate your campus life with touring? I ask this because Mike Mangini,
for instance, had to give up teaching at Berklee for the Dream Theater gig...
In
my 17 years teaching at Berklee, I have missed as many as 5 weeks in a 15 week
semester. But most of the touring I have done since the year-long Winger tours
of the late 80's / early 90's are short one, two, or three week runs. And so,
this enables me to keep up the teaching schedule at the college. As far as Mike
Mangini's situation goes, Dream Theater will do tour runs that can sometimes
last six, seven. or eight weeks, which would make it virtually impossible
for him to meet the daily teaching requirements of Berklee or any college.
Finally, could you please tell me what's the best thing
regarding playing in Winger?
Aside from the immense respect I
have for John, Reb, and Kip’s talent, the friendships in Winger run quite deep,
and I always look forward to hanging with the guys, whether in the studio or on
tour somewhere around the world. There is something to be said about being in a
band with people whose company you enjoy. Within minutes of being together,
it’s like being a teenager all over again. And there is certainly nothing wrong
with that!
http://www.wingertheband.com
http://www.rodmorgenstein.com
http://www.berklee.edu/people/rod-morgenstein
