10. Personally I’m glad the keyboards and especially the Moogs on The Muse still sound like keyboards, while a lot of well-known players like Jordan Rudess and Derek Sherinian choose for a sound that seems to imitate the guitar. What do you think of this development, now that there seems to be a kind of revival of the Moog (like a movie and a book, describing the history of this intriguing instrument)?
Frank: David has that really rare ability to use the moog much like a voice is used, adding subtle bends and inflections to well built sound structures. That was, in my opinion, what made Kit’s moog playing so unique and special as well. With so much electronic manipulation and reproduction of instrumentation today, it is really the exception to hear the pure original in anything, and we all wanted to keep the moog sounding like it did in the original HTM music. It is a very big part of our “sound”.
Stan: Yeah, leave the guitar playing to us guitarists: :-)! Certainly the way Kit and Dave play mini-moog with the bends and the vibrato is very similar to the guitar and voice and is certainly influenced by Jan Hammer’s mini-moog tone from the Mahavishnu Orchestra days but it still retains that classic mini-moog tone which you can only get from a real mini-moog.
11. Speaking of the keyboards, in my review of Kit Watkins’ Flying Petals I suggested that it would be a nice idea if Kit would have a small guest-part on The Muse, since his album was a kind of return to the progressive music. Did you ever consider this, especially because I understood the relationship between you all is still very good?
Stan: Early on in the reunion we did consider it, but since Dave’s been with us almost five years now and has invested much energy and love into these songs developing his parts it would’ve been tough to do. We all love Kit though and wish him all the best.
12. The Muse was produced by HTM, while the mixing was done by Latin-pop specialist Eric Schilling. Did you ever consider to ask Ken Scott or someone else to do that first job?
Stan: We did consider Ken Scott and a few others including our live sound man Bill Plummer but because of scheduling difficulties and a few other logistical nightmares we went with Eric who we feel did a great job.
13. Shortly after the band had reunited Peter Hellberg (a.k.a. Befrost) started a message-forum for the fans of the band, called Happy The Fans Online (http://htfo.proboards10.com/index.cgi). What do you think of this initiative, which of course had some trouble keeping alive during the period in which there wasn’t a new recording?
(I noticed Frank participates sometimes, while Bill Plummer gives a lot of interesting inside information.)
Frank: I visit Peter’s forum often and leave posts there on occasion as well. It is so gratifying to see such interest in the band, and it is also a wonderful opportunity to see what our fans are thinking of what we are doing. We really do want to relate to our fans. The energy that comes from them is what makes the live performances so much fun, and reading their comments online offers up that kind of feedback for us as well.
THE FUTURE
14. At the moment this interview will be published you have done a small tour in the U.S.A. What other live-plans do you have and will that include some shows in Europe as well?
Frank: We certainly hope to visit Europe. It has always been one of our greatest ambitions, because we feel that our music is more appreciated in Europe than in the United States. My personal motto for playing live is “Anytime, anywhere...”
Stan: I graduated from high school in Germany in 1972 and became ‘musically aware’ while living there so I can’t wait to get back to Europe! European audiences have always been better listeners from my experience. Thankfully, our HTM fans in this country show the same respect. Our first round of gigs went really well! We have some very loyal, longtime fans in the Washington/Baltimore area so these first shows were a lot of fun and very satisfying!
15. I heard there are plans to record a couple of shows for a live-album and even a DVD. What can you tell us about that?
(Will it become a 5.1 SACD and will Bill Plummer be involved to take up the edit-duties? And what will happen to the recording which was made at NEARfest – the progressive rock-festival who is releasing live-recordings from their concerts them-self?
Stan: Bill is recording all of our shows and will definitely be mixing a 5.1 live cd of the band. When we’re happy with what we’ve got, we’ll release it. We’ll also be filming some of the shows once we have a few more under our belts. We definitely plan on releasing a live cd and a dvd.
16. Peter Hellberg asked me to direct a couple of questions to you about the coming live-gigs. He’s a great lover of the debut-album and that’s why he wonders if you will ever play New York Dream Suite live? Other favourites he seems to miss on the last couple of gigs were Upon The Rainbow and things from Death’s Crown? If you don’t play them anymore, why is that?
Frank: We have quite a large catalogue of music now. It comes down to what can we keep in the set rather than what we put into it. For these first shows coming up, it has been a great challenge to decide what we cut from the play list we have already worked up. There is a balance of old and new material to be considered, and there just isn’t enough time to play everything. Another consideration is the time it takes to learn (or re-learn) and rehearse a song to the point that it is ready for live performance. We have severe limits to the time we can all be together, and we want to keep moving forward with new material also. It is our hope to release the next album in something less than two decades<g>.
17. What do you consider the hardest track to play live? Why is that and would that be a reason to keep it away from the play list?
Frank: Probably each of us has different tracks that would fit that description. For me it is Maui Sunset, performing the piano part that David wrote, which is quite difficult for me. It is not a reason to keep it from the play list however. I don’t think we would ever keep a track off the live play list because it was a challenge.
Stan: Probably Stumpy and Knee Nymphs are the hardest for me (even tho’ I wrote ‘em!) but we’ll never take them off of the set list. They’re our ‘hits’:-)! New York Dream Suite is probably the next in line to work up from the old stuff but we already do 9 of the ‘cream of the crop’ of the old toons so we’re ready to move on and continue evolving as a band.
18. What plans do you have with the demo-LP Better Late?
(Bill Plummer has done some re-mastering for the website, so a re-master of this album would be possible, but what about a complete re-recording?)
Frank: I never considered that a demo. We recorded the LP in our basement and released it. I think it is done.
19. What can you tell us about the Frank Wyatt-Stanley Whitaker duo-project Pedal Giant Animals?
Frank: Pedal Giant Animals is the title of a CD project Stan and I have recently finished. Peter Priciotto from However, and Chris Mack from Iluvatar perform on several of the tracks, and Bill Plummer is mixing it as I write this. It is a collection of eleven tracks that Stan and I have written that we either felt were not appropriate for HTM, or felt HTM would not have time to arrange and record. The songs cover a really wide range of styles from the obscure experimental “The Leaf Clings...Quivers” to the rocker “Stumpy Shuffle”. Some of the arrangements did end up sounding like HTM tunes... it was inevitable! We think the project will be well received by not only HTM fans, but moves us into some new territory by showing some of our other musical interests.
20. Finally, what are your thoughts about the (progressive rock) music-scene today, compared to the late seventies? What was and is the role and importance of HTM and where would you place the music from HTM, on the progressive side or more on the jazz-rock-site?
Frank: Progressive rock today has certainly become more available thanks in part to the internet and the other advances in global communications. There are some really awesome bands out there, and I am a great fan of the genre and look forward to hearing more and more from the new musicians. We have been told in some interviews recently that HTM has been an influence on the progressive music scene, and that is such a flattering thing to hear. I don’t think we ever considered ourselves in that light though, and when we were playing before I had never heard of the term Progressive Rock. Finding a genre that we fit into was always something of a challenge, and I am happy we have been perceived to fit into the Prog description. We were, and are, simply writing, playing and loving the music and will continue to do just that.
Frank: David has that really rare ability to use the moog much like a voice is used, adding subtle bends and inflections to well built sound structures. That was, in my opinion, what made Kit’s moog playing so unique and special as well. With so much electronic manipulation and reproduction of instrumentation today, it is really the exception to hear the pure original in anything, and we all wanted to keep the moog sounding like it did in the original HTM music. It is a very big part of our “sound”.
Stan: Yeah, leave the guitar playing to us guitarists: :-)! Certainly the way Kit and Dave play mini-moog with the bends and the vibrato is very similar to the guitar and voice and is certainly influenced by Jan Hammer’s mini-moog tone from the Mahavishnu Orchestra days but it still retains that classic mini-moog tone which you can only get from a real mini-moog.
11. Speaking of the keyboards, in my review of Kit Watkins’ Flying Petals I suggested that it would be a nice idea if Kit would have a small guest-part on The Muse, since his album was a kind of return to the progressive music. Did you ever consider this, especially because I understood the relationship between you all is still very good?
Stan: Early on in the reunion we did consider it, but since Dave’s been with us almost five years now and has invested much energy and love into these songs developing his parts it would’ve been tough to do. We all love Kit though and wish him all the best.
12. The Muse was produced by HTM, while the mixing was done by Latin-pop specialist Eric Schilling. Did you ever consider to ask Ken Scott or someone else to do that first job?
Stan: We did consider Ken Scott and a few others including our live sound man Bill Plummer but because of scheduling difficulties and a few other logistical nightmares we went with Eric who we feel did a great job.
13. Shortly after the band had reunited Peter Hellberg (a.k.a. Befrost) started a message-forum for the fans of the band, called Happy The Fans Online (http://htfo.proboards10.com/index.cgi). What do you think of this initiative, which of course had some trouble keeping alive during the period in which there wasn’t a new recording?
(I noticed Frank participates sometimes, while Bill Plummer gives a lot of interesting inside information.)
Frank: I visit Peter’s forum often and leave posts there on occasion as well. It is so gratifying to see such interest in the band, and it is also a wonderful opportunity to see what our fans are thinking of what we are doing. We really do want to relate to our fans. The energy that comes from them is what makes the live performances so much fun, and reading their comments online offers up that kind of feedback for us as well.
THE FUTURE
14. At the moment this interview will be published you have done a small tour in the U.S.A. What other live-plans do you have and will that include some shows in Europe as well?
Frank: We certainly hope to visit Europe. It has always been one of our greatest ambitions, because we feel that our music is more appreciated in Europe than in the United States. My personal motto for playing live is “Anytime, anywhere...”
Stan: I graduated from high school in Germany in 1972 and became ‘musically aware’ while living there so I can’t wait to get back to Europe! European audiences have always been better listeners from my experience. Thankfully, our HTM fans in this country show the same respect. Our first round of gigs went really well! We have some very loyal, longtime fans in the Washington/Baltimore area so these first shows were a lot of fun and very satisfying!
15. I heard there are plans to record a couple of shows for a live-album and even a DVD. What can you tell us about that?
(Will it become a 5.1 SACD and will Bill Plummer be involved to take up the edit-duties? And what will happen to the recording which was made at NEARfest – the progressive rock-festival who is releasing live-recordings from their concerts them-self?
Stan: Bill is recording all of our shows and will definitely be mixing a 5.1 live cd of the band. When we’re happy with what we’ve got, we’ll release it. We’ll also be filming some of the shows once we have a few more under our belts. We definitely plan on releasing a live cd and a dvd.
16. Peter Hellberg asked me to direct a couple of questions to you about the coming live-gigs. He’s a great lover of the debut-album and that’s why he wonders if you will ever play New York Dream Suite live? Other favourites he seems to miss on the last couple of gigs were Upon The Rainbow and things from Death’s Crown? If you don’t play them anymore, why is that?
Frank: We have quite a large catalogue of music now. It comes down to what can we keep in the set rather than what we put into it. For these first shows coming up, it has been a great challenge to decide what we cut from the play list we have already worked up. There is a balance of old and new material to be considered, and there just isn’t enough time to play everything. Another consideration is the time it takes to learn (or re-learn) and rehearse a song to the point that it is ready for live performance. We have severe limits to the time we can all be together, and we want to keep moving forward with new material also. It is our hope to release the next album in something less than two decades<g>.
17. What do you consider the hardest track to play live? Why is that and would that be a reason to keep it away from the play list?
Frank: Probably each of us has different tracks that would fit that description. For me it is Maui Sunset, performing the piano part that David wrote, which is quite difficult for me. It is not a reason to keep it from the play list however. I don’t think we would ever keep a track off the live play list because it was a challenge.
Stan: Probably Stumpy and Knee Nymphs are the hardest for me (even tho’ I wrote ‘em!) but we’ll never take them off of the set list. They’re our ‘hits’:-)! New York Dream Suite is probably the next in line to work up from the old stuff but we already do 9 of the ‘cream of the crop’ of the old toons so we’re ready to move on and continue evolving as a band.
18. What plans do you have with the demo-LP Better Late?
(Bill Plummer has done some re-mastering for the website, so a re-master of this album would be possible, but what about a complete re-recording?)
Frank: I never considered that a demo. We recorded the LP in our basement and released it. I think it is done.
19. What can you tell us about the Frank Wyatt-Stanley Whitaker duo-project Pedal Giant Animals?
Frank: Pedal Giant Animals is the title of a CD project Stan and I have recently finished. Peter Priciotto from However, and Chris Mack from Iluvatar perform on several of the tracks, and Bill Plummer is mixing it as I write this. It is a collection of eleven tracks that Stan and I have written that we either felt were not appropriate for HTM, or felt HTM would not have time to arrange and record. The songs cover a really wide range of styles from the obscure experimental “The Leaf Clings...Quivers” to the rocker “Stumpy Shuffle”. Some of the arrangements did end up sounding like HTM tunes... it was inevitable! We think the project will be well received by not only HTM fans, but moves us into some new territory by showing some of our other musical interests.
20. Finally, what are your thoughts about the (progressive rock) music-scene today, compared to the late seventies? What was and is the role and importance of HTM and where would you place the music from HTM, on the progressive side or more on the jazz-rock-site?
Frank: Progressive rock today has certainly become more available thanks in part to the internet and the other advances in global communications. There are some really awesome bands out there, and I am a great fan of the genre and look forward to hearing more and more from the new musicians. We have been told in some interviews recently that HTM has been an influence on the progressive music scene, and that is such a flattering thing to hear. I don’t think we ever considered ourselves in that light though, and when we were playing before I had never heard of the term Progressive Rock. Finding a genre that we fit into was always something of a challenge, and I am happy we have been perceived to fit into the Prog description. We were, and are, simply writing, playing and loving the music and will continue to do just that.