MICHAEL HARRIS INTERVIEW
by Neal Woodall of Detritus E-zine
-Interview w/ Michael Harris
February 7, 2007
Seems these days there is no shortage of technically adept guitarists,
young hotshots only too willing to show you how many notes they can
cram into a phrase or how cleanly they can execute arpeggios up and
down the neck; of course there is nothing wrong with technique but it
should be used as a means to an end, not the end itself. Michael
Harris is one of those increasingly rare musicians who is more than
capable of unleashing advanced fretboard dynamics but is also acutely
aware of the need to first create excellent music before seeking to
impress with virtuosity. Michael recently released what is arguably
his most realized work to date, an ambitious neoclassical offering
appropriately titled ORCHESTRATE. Currently navigating multiple
projects, Michael kindly took time out of his busy schedule to answer
some questions about ORCHESTRATE, providing some insight into his
unique approach to making music. Meet a true maestro...
1. ORCHESTRATE is filled with dramatic, classically oriented themes; when were
you first introduced to classical music and why do you feel it blends so well
with heavy metal and progressive rock?
I was first introduced to classical music by my mother, who taught piano & flute
at home as I was growing up. She’s always been a classical fan & listener, so we
still to this day have long conversations about classical music. Wagner is among
her favorites.
I feel there is something both intense and serious about classical, prog, and
metal, so I guess it’s that intensity level that fuses the 3 genres so well,
along with a technical element that allows serious musicians to stretch their
paramaters.
2. I've always thought of you as an excellent composer in addition to being a
great guitarist, as you have an effective way of combining seemingly disparate
styles like jazz, classical, flamenco and progressive metal into really
well-written pieces. How do you approach composition so that your music retains
the listener's interest?
Well first of all, much thanks for your kind words. I always try to base a piece
around several melodic themes stated in different ways. I guess my forte in
composing is patience. I’m not easily content, so I tweak stuff until it’s up to
my standards. I figure if it’s good enough for me, then hopefully other people
will like it as well and find something unique about it. I sometimes compose on
keyboards and guitar synth, as well as with no instrument at all. The guitar is
a hindrance at times to my creative process. It’s more about the music itself,
not anything visual, like fingering patterns.
3. Some of my favorites from your discography include DISTORTED VIEWS and
SKETCHES FROM THE THOUGHT CHAMBER; how do you feel ORCHESTRATE
differs from these albums?
“Orchestrate” is definitely my most cohesive instrumental record. I’ve tended to
be a little too diverse on my other records (although no one ever put diversity
limitations on a record!), so “Orchestrate” right from the start was envisoned
to be one genre (although at the end of “The Mad Composer’s Rage”, shame on me,
I strayed a bit and composed a “battle” between jazz fusion & classical, which
of course classical won handily:-)
As well as the differences, on “Orchestrate”, you’ll hear some similarities &
references to my other records. A big part of the idea of “Orchestrate” was to
go back to my roots. I’ve written some neo classical pieces on my other records
(“Mozart’s Ghost” on “Distorted Views” and “Ideosymphony” on “Sketches From the
Thought Chamber”, etc) and I also recorded my version of excerpts from both
Mozart’s 25th Symphony way back on “Defense Mechanizms” and Vivaldi’s Four
Seasons (Winter) on “Distorted Views”, so I wanted to do more of that in a
cohesive way on “Orchestrate”, while composing 100% original music.
4. How long does it take you to write a piece like "Octavian II?"
It’s really tough to say how much time I have invested in a piece, because I’ll
stop with one song and come back to it later so that I have a fresh perspective
on it again. “Octavian II” was fueled by the intro to the song. It was a riff
I’d had for a long time, which sounded like my intro to “Octavian: Heir to the
Conqueror” on “Defense Mechanizms”, so I decided to spring from that idea and
write a “sequel” to it. I took that intro, several of my existing triplet riffs,
and finished the arrangement with several more ideas.
5. What is the most difficult aspect of writing challenging music like that
found on ORCHESTRATE?
Probably the time invested and trying to come up with something truly magic &
unique, knowing that everything musically possible in the world has pretty much
already been written twice!
6. ORCHESTRATE has a great sound; what kind of gear did you use to get your
guitar tone and what was the recording setup like?
The rhythm guitars were played through both a Line 6 POD direct and a Mesa
Boogie Dual Rectifier head mic’d through a Mesa 4x12 cab, and the lead guitars
were almost all POD direct. They were all recorded at my home studio,
PsychoSound.
7. On your last two solo releases you've played all the instruments except
drums; what happened to Adam Nitti?
Adam is an incredible bassist & musician. I still talk to him occasionally.
Hopefully we’ll have a chance to work together again.
8. Will you be playing any live dates to support ORCHESTRATE? If so, what
other musicians will you be working with?
My live band, THE MICHAEL HARRIS TRANZ-FUSION (MHT)
www.myspace.com/themichaelharristranzfusion has played several selections from
“Orchestrate”. I have 2 versions of the band, one in my home state of Ohio
w/Jeff Davis on kybds, Jay Luis or Mike Brodnick on bass, and my bro, Brian
Harris on drums; and another version in Texas (where I currently reside) w/James
Martin on bass & John Gurke or Bradley Noud on drums.
9. You are involved in quite a few projects and collaborations! Bring
us up to date on Arch Rival, Surgeon, Thought Chamber, The Michael Harris Tranz-
Fusion, String Trilogy and Vitalij Kuprij...(plus any others you are currently
working on)
ARCH RIVAL was my first successful band, which I would describe as
melodic hard rock. We landed deals in Europe & Japan in the 90s with the help of
Leviathan Records. AR was my first introduction to composing serious rock music
and I was still somewhat in the experimental stage. I really thought we hit the
mark well though with songs like “Time Won’t Wait”, “Siren’s Song”, “Meadowlands
of the Mind”, “Fast Lane to a Slow Pain”, “Fly Away With Me”, and “Soul of Your
Machine”. Steve, Greg, and Gary are all great guys and musicians, and hopefully
we’ll have a chance to do yet another record.
SURGEON was a metal band I put together shortly after I transplanted to
Dallas, TX in 1994. The debut disc “Encyclopedia of the Insane” was released
worldwide in 1996 on Imminent Music Force. It was very well received and we
still get positive feedback from the metal community. Besides myself, the band
featured vocalist Len Jarrell, Matt Thompson (now drummer for King Diamond) and
James Martin (now bassist for Solitude Aeturnus). I am still very proud of that
record. It’s heavy and psychotic, and I will never cease to be amazed by Matt’s
drumming. Drummer Bradley Noud has also played a lot of live dates with the
band. “Concussion” and “Injection Overruled” are among my faves on the CD.
THOUGHT CHAMBER is my newest band, freshly signed to InsideOut Music with
the debut CD, “Angular Perceptions” coming out on April 3 (2007). The music is
somewhere between prog metal & prog rock with lots of twists and turns, a couple
of instrumentals, and truly virtuostic playing by drummer Rob Stankiewicz,
bassist Derek Blakley, and stellar vox by Ted Leonard from Enchant. Our friend,
Bobby Williamson from Outworld also added some great keyboard solos.
STRING TRILOGY eh? I see you’ve done your homework:-) ST is a live show
that I originally put together with guitarists John Inman and Matt Eaton. I feel
it’s beneficial if similar musicians / bands can work together collectively in
live performance. So we all check our egos at the door and just play our sets.
We use kind of a rotating lineup, which has also included, among others, David
Harbour, Jimmy Adcock and Bill Pohl. Mind you, this is not a shredfest. It’s
really more of a “prog-fest”, but for instrumental guitarists. Musicians are
really starting to catch on to it.
VITALIJ KUPRIJ first asked me to play on his record, “Forward and Beyond”
and I was honored to do it. I had admired his work, especially with “Ring of
Fire” and on Greg Howe’s “Ascend”. From there I also played on “Revenge” and
“Glacial Inferno”, which are being released as a double CD on LION Music this
month, and feature my musical bros Randy Coven & John Macaluso respectively on
bass & drums.
DARKOLOGY is a metal band I put together several years ago with my
amazing brother Brian Harris on drums and Mike Neal, a great metal bassist that
was in one of my very first bands years ago. The music is 100% metal, but with
melody and progressive influences. We are presently auditioning vocalists, so
after the vox are recorded, we will mix and be shopping the disc. I really feel
strongly about this band and record.
10. Your instructional course at http://www.musicdojo.com looks
excellent; will you be doing any more guitar courses like that in the future?
Thanx. I would absolutely be up for doing another course when time allows!
11. What is some advice you would give a young musician wanting to improve
their compositional skills?
Really listen to and absorb many different styles. Pay attention to song forms.
Find out what it is exactly that you like about music. Then on the flip, don’t
listen to anything for awhile and clear your mind. Throw away your first 50
songs, and just accept them as an “experiment”, because you’ll be haunted by
them forever! Prepare yourself to document your ideas. I keep little micro
cassette recorders all over the place, from my vehicle to my house. Everyone has
a creative side, but you never know when inspiration is going to hit, so you
have to be ready because next thing you know the phone rings and your memory
crashes.
12. Do you still keep in touch with David Chastain?
Absolutely. We chat from time to time. I have fond memories of the Chastain
Harris tour!
13. I know you and I share a love for Michael Schenker's music - what are
some of your favorite songs and solos by him?
Wow, you opened a can of something. Listening to Michael Schenker play lead
guitar has given me more “gooseflesh” than all the other guitarists in the
history of music combined. He’s just got it. The first time I heard Michael was
on the UFO “Force It” record, and those solos still stand up today as some of
the most amazingly perfect solos ever. And he is still incredibly underrated.
His tone & vibrato alone have influenced millions, directly or indirectly. He
was the first player to my knowledge to use a wah as a filter, which tons of
guitarists have copped, including myself.
These songs come to mind as faves: “Rock Bottom”, “Let it Roll”; “I’m a Loser”;
“Cry For the Nations”, “Bijou Pleasurette”, “On and On”; “Love to Love”, “Into
the Arena”; “Desert Song”. All those would include some of my fave MS solos,
along with the solos on “This Kid’s”, “High Flyer”, “On With the Action”, “Just
Another Suicide”, “Rock You to the Ground”, “Pushed to the Limit”, uh, I’m
running out of room here:-)
14. What will your next solo project sound like, stylistically?
More than likely it will be the jazz fusion recording that I have been
envisioning for quite some time, which is perhaps 50% finished. You could
include funk, groove, prog, and metal in the description of it, but it leans
much more toward a heavy jazz fusion than any of my previous recordings and I
intend on it being very dedicated to that style with some clean jazz as well. I
have been ‘clearing my mind” for the last year - not composing, but improving my
home studio and watching a lot of bad TV. I’m ready to get back in the studio
now and get some work done.
15. Anything you would like to add?
2 + 2 to get 5. But seriously, I thank all the fans for the support of my music
and of any kind of music that pushes the envelope!
Thanks Michael, I really appreciate your time and hope to see you live
sometime!
Cheers, Neal
Much thanx Neal!
Michael