THE INTERVIEW FILE

EEXCERPTS FROM THE TREVOR RABIN INTERVIEW

following interview with Trevor Rabin took place on November 2. He was just back from a vacation in South Africa and was ready to tell us about his recent projects.

Morse:A lot of people have been wondering what you've been up to. So maybe you could fill us in on your activities since you left Yes - did it start with the session work you did with Trevor Horn?

vor Rabin:Yes, I just decided that I wanted to take a break from doing anything specific. I did some stuff with Trevor Horn - the Tina Turner album.

TM: How did you feel about the way that project turned out?

TR: I think that Trevor did a great job, but I think that there is a certain way that you have to approach a Tina Turner record which puts it in a certain place that maybe he'd wouldn't go to if it was a brand new act.

TM: Because there is a certain history with her music?

TR: Yeah, I think so and he was really hired to do it; it wasn't like when he discovered a new act like Frankie or with Seal, where he was looking for a new style.

TM: How did you get started doing film scores?

TR: Well, I've always been into doing it and I've kept up with the technology. I felt I was equiped to do it and for a long time I've wanted to do it. And there was very little interest in me doing it in the intial stages, just because they figured, "This guy is in Yes and they are going to be on the road. And if the movie goes longer..." And then there are a lot of musicians in bands who have tried to do it and their sensitivity to picture isn't there. It was quite difficult. There were a lot of things when I was in Yes I just couldn't do. Robert Plant and I were going to do an album together and it fell by the wayside. Robert and I spoke together and met during the Big Generator sessions. He wanted to start the project, but Big Generator was happening. And when that was over it was the next Yes album. So there was never any time to do anything else for me, because I was always in the studio. Particularly with the Talk album, where I was producing it - which is what I didn't want to do. But Phil Carson insisted that I produce it or he wasn't going to do the deal. So I ended up producing which really took up all of my time.

TM: Well, considering the track record the band has had with producers I could understand why he wanted to have someone in the band do it.

TR: It's not necessarily a good idea though, because it can create conflicts and resentment. I don't think it did, but judging by Chris's interview it looks as though it did! I just did the best job I could.

TM: Did you ever feel like during the project that you were too close do it sometimes? Was it hard to be objective when you were working it everyday?

TR: Very often. Jon would come in every now and then and he had a nice perspective on things. He was a good bouncing board a lot of the time.

TM: I wanted to ask you about your orchestral project...

TR: I'm still working on it. This is one of the catalysts that made me think about what I really wanted to do. It finally made me think, "In order to do the stuff I want to do it would be totally unfair to the band for me to stay there." That was really the thinking. If I'm going to be in a situation, I've got to give it an honest time to commit to it. And I knew that with this project I just wouldn't be able to do it.

TM: Wasn't it called "Oklahoma" (after the bombing)?

TR: That's one of the key pieces, which lead me to think, "I've really got to do this." It's almost like you're pregnant, but you're not giving birth!

TM: That's a long gestation.

TR: And there are some very exciting people that will be involved with it. At this point Mark Mancina and myself are working on it, but at this point I'm not at liberty to say who else will be on it. It's really just a matter of doing my new film project and I think Mark's doing Speed Two.

TM: He's collaborating with you on the new film, because there's so much music required, correct?

TR: Yes, they want a 100 minute score. One guy just could not do it.

TM: I think that's an astounding amount of music in a film.

TR:It's crazy, but that's what they want. I've spoke to Mark and he's totally into it and we're going to do it.

TM: Now how much time do you have? Because with the Glimmer Man I remember that you were under the gun in getting so many minutes of music done every day.

TR: One thing I've learned from the Glimmer Man and having spent some time on the Fair Game film is that is very much a hurry up and wait business. You'll write things and get them happening and then the movie will all change. It will be recut, and recut and there'll be reshooting. And the part that everyone said was astounding and should be the absolute main theme of the thing...suddenly that's not in the movie anymore! That's kind of what happens. The main theme to the Glimmer Man was entirely different to what it turned out to be. The theme that's there now was a last minute kind of thing, because what was there when they finally cut the movie just didn't really work. It was a heavy, metal kind of thing on the bass end, but with this mad kind of atonal very fast melodic thing on top of it. But the picture changed and so the music had to change too.

TM: But having said that I really liked the opening titles. That it seemed like a real diverse collection of influences weaving through it.

TR: I'm glad that you liked it. Although I didn't have much time I really worked hard on it. But that was a great thing about doing it, I mean these days making a record everyone tends to polish it and polish it. You have the luxury of time to get it right and with a film you must get it done! It makes you have to get things done so your initial instincts are the ones that stick. You haven't got time to start polishing the thing, you've got to get it out there. So it's a very spontaneous thing in a lot of ways.

TM: Now was there a lot of politics involved with the director wants the music a certain way, the producer wants it this way, the film company wants this sort of approach to the music?

TR: Completely. There were elements that didn't see eye to eye in this thing...But the bottom line is doing 58 odd minutes of music for the Glimmer Man means you've got to write a lot more than that, because there is going to be a lot that will be changed and some of it won't be accepted. I was extremely lucky, because Steven liked just about all that he heard and wanted very a little changed. There were a couple of tender moments that he felt were too tender, he wanted them a little more obvious. I had it scored a little more, eerie and kind of avant grade and some of that had to be changed to be a little more commercial.

TM: I noticed that when he visited the crime scene that the music is very eerie and it really captures the atmosphere of the picture.

TR: I'm so glad that you liked that part, because as short as it is I spent so much time on it. That was the one area that I really spent time trying to get it to work with the picture. And I was very proud of that moment.

TM: Well, I'm glad that I noticed it!

TR: I'm very glad that you noticed it too. There are some things that Warner Bros. noticed, things like where the string orchestras and the trombones start going together - the stuff that sounds expensive. They liked that, but the stuff that is interesting to me is where you go,"What is that?" And that's what I enjoyed doing. What I really like about this genre or area is - even if you're making a record and you say I'm not going to concern myself with singles and radio play and it used to drive me nuts in Yes, but it was what was demanded of us - that with this stuff there's none of that. There are certain things you have to do, "We want big percussion on the fight scenes." Some of the scenes people don't even notice there's music in them and it doesn't matter, because you've had incredible fun creating these kind of abstract paintings.

TM: And you're making music to the pictures.

TR: There was a lot of time where I would write specifically to the picture and then there would be times where I would play the picture and listen to the dialogue and then with this thing in my mind, I'd just write music. Once I'd written this music in total darkness, then I'll come back and put it to the picture. Very often it would work very well.

TM: I was going to ask you about the Twister film. You're playing or contribution has been very vague and lots of people have been guessing as to what it was.

TR: It was something I did as a favor to Mark and the director. And obviously it was an opportunity to work with Spielberg who was in the studio some of the time.

TM: There's a good guy to hang out with!

TR: Exactly. But I provided Mark with the drum sounds and some other samples, the pallette if you like. And I was the guitarist on it. Other than that I had nothing to do with it.

TM: I was remembering when the producer of Immortal Beloved came to you and wanted you to do an electric guitar version of the fifth symphony and then you saw the rough cut of the movie and you said,"You can't have this - it wouldn't fit!"

TR: Yes, and they totally agreed. When they said George Sholti is doing the music, I said I love to work with that guy in some capacity. I'm a huge fan. There's Leonard Bernstein and there's him, you know what I mean? They are two of my idols and I thought it would be a great opportunity. But it's actually going on a Steve Morse album. It's a funny thing, Steve called me four or five months ago and said he's doing an album where he's invited various guitarists to submit classical music.

TM: What an interesting concept.

TR: He laughed at me when I said I wanted to do Beethoven's fifth on guitar. I've done with guitar, bass and drums - it's a very interesting transcription. There are little bits and pieces of traditional orchestra on it. It was an interesting exercise.

TM: Do you have any idea when it's coming out?

TR: No, but I think it's quite soon.

TM: Wasn't Steve Morse going to quit music at one time?

TR: Yes, he decided he was going to be a pilot. And I called him and said, "You can't! You have a responsibility to the people who listen to you. You can't do that!" And I feel the same, if people out there want to listen...if I can touch anyone the way I felt when I first hear the 1812 Overture, then I don't have the luxury of saying, "Oh, I don't think I'll do this anymore."

TM: I can tell you that the opening bars of "Endless Dream" are right up there for me.

TR: Thank - you.

TM: In fact I went tandem skydiving about two weeks ago...

TR: Wasn't that great?

TM: It was awesome. It was the most incredible experience and we listened to "Endless Dream" on the way up.

TR: Oh really? I've done that twice. It was the most exhilarating experience of my life. There was a sense just before I jumped of disbelief, looking out and thinking, "I'm jumping out of an airplane!" It was a little easier my second time. The second time I took Roger Hodgson and I told him, "You'll really enjoy this." Because he's a real spiritual, wonderful guy. And he never spoke until we got to my house, which is a two hour drive afterwards. He was completely freaked out about it and I said to him, "What do you think?" And he said (breathlessly), "I don't know!" That's all he said after two hours!

TM: Going back into history for a minute, is it true that in the early days of Cinema that Trevor Horn was going to be the lead singer?

TR: Oh yeah. The peculilar thing is that Trevor Horn and I have ended up really good friends. When he's in town, I go over there for dinner and he always books me for sessions...we have communication musically and I know what he talks about. There is a thing there. However, when we started in Cinema, he and I did not get on at all. The first week was really volatile, to the point where I phoned Chris and said, "I've just got to let you know, I'm not working with him. I don't think he fits what we're doing." And Trevor came and listened to us a few weeks later and loved what was happening and he said he wanted to produce it. And obviously this long before Jon was in the band.

TM: It seems so weird to think that he would consider going back to singing and performing at that stage. I guess maybe if it didn't mean Yes?

TR: He would have never done Yes again, because he had a bad experience with that. But I must say that on 90125 Trevor Horn and I had heated debates over the music.

TM: I have to tell you that my girlfriend was a huge fan of "Owner of a Lonely Heart" and in fact made a whole side of a tape with that song - back to back!

TR: For me that would have been tortorous, given that I spent so much time trying to get the damn thing right.

TM: It's obviously been a good song for you, but did you ever get tired of playing that song?

TR: When I go on the road eventually, I'll be really looking forward to playing it. Because I haven't played it for awhile and it's obviously the song that has brought the most commercial success to me and to Yes and it was a good moment for us. I had fun playing it live, but tour after tour after tour it got a little bit...listen I enjoyed playing "Roundabout" about as much! But when I do go on the road I will be playing material from 90125 and the one song that I really want to play - which Yes never properly played live - was "I'm Running." And "Shoot High, Aim Low"...those are songs I'd like to play again. I'll definitely do those on the road.

TM: I was going to ask if the opening power chords of "Owner" - if that was a jab or nod to "Heat of the Moment"?

TR: Yes, it was! It was just a tongue and cheek thing. We used to rehearse "Heat of the Moment" and have kind of a chuckle.

TM: I've been doing book signings over the last few months and at every one of them I've had at least one person come up and tell me that Talk is one of their favorite Yes albums.

TR: Really? I must say that I feel that it's best work I did with the band along with 90125. There were certain parts of it like "Walls" - which was kind of a paranoid move on the record companies part, where they said, "If we can have that on the album, we'll really put the extra push in money behind it." And so it was a business decision. And for awhile it affected my friendship with Roger. Although I wrote it, Roger got involved afterwards and he had a lot to do with the spirit of the song. The way we did the song was not a pop approach at all, it was very much a song with a lot of heart. And the way we did it with Yes was "We need a single." We need a song with a pop sensibility and to stick it on. But other than that, I think the album has a real spirit to it and I'm very proud of it.

TM: I think it has good music and it was a good definition of Yes in the 90's.

TR: Yeah and I think it was a positive last statement from that line-up. It didn't sell too many records, but it did a respectable amount.

TM: Do you have any idea where it is in total sales?

TR: Actually my accountant called me for a meeting next week, because I'm really bad with this stuff. I have no idea if I have a trillion dollars in the bank or if I have a thousand! I never know where I'm at and he's insisting that we meet...and anyway I'll find out the sales for everything next week.

TM: I was going to ask you about the appearance the band made on the Letterman show - what was that like?

TR: We were pushing the single, which really didn't reflect what the album was, but it was what they wanted. Jon saw it as a terrible thing to do and I would have much rather played "The Calling." And musically it was okay, but the soul and the vibe from the band that came accross was like there was something wrong, if you know what I mean. But it was still professional and in tune and in time. It was okay, it wasn't bad.

TM: Was it Paul that got the band on the show or was it some other reason?

TR: Letterman was driving home one day and "The Calling" came on and he stopped his car and phoned the person who does the booking. And for us not to do that song was a bad mistake. If we had done "The Calling", musically it would have been a little more challenging to do and I think the band would have enjoyed it more.

TM: Going back to "Endless Dream" for a minute - there is a part in that song after the "dreamy" middle section, where you say something before Jon says "Coming through the light." What do you say there?

TR: I can't remember the word, but it means when the natural human condition merges with computers or technology.

TM: The structure of the song seems like a REM cycle in a way. Themes do recurr, but do you know what I mean?

TR: Yes, and I don't know if anyone has caught it, but right at the end of the song I introduce two or three themes from other parts of the album. One is from "Real Love".

TM: And then it ends abruptly, just like when you wake up out of a dream...

TR: Yes, it was a fun endeavor.

TM: When you get to that part, "When the world brings you down..." that is so moving...

TR: It's lovely to hear you say that, because that's my favorite moment in the song. It lifts up and then it becomes a little more graceful.

TM: The message that the love you need you can find is inside yourself, that's such a wonderful thing to be singing about.

TR: Yes, and I hope to be doing more of that kind of thing with this next album. I mean that's what the whole lyrical thing is going to be about - real positive. Every lyric has got to be as inspired as that one felt to me.

TM: So is there any time table for when you might get the solo album out and be touring?

TR: I spoke to Mark and I want to start this project no later than June. So it will definitely be out by next Christmas at the absolute latest.

TM: I remember when I talked to in July and you told me that you wanted this to be the opposite of Talk in the recording process - playing it live and mixing it in two weeks!

TR: We'll do two weeks of shows before we go into the studio. Two weeks of clubs, I don't know what we'll call it...the Nuby-Doobies! As long as there are some people there to get some idea of how this stuff feels in front of an audience, of how it moves people. But also to get the music into our systems and get to know where things pull and push. To learn how to play it properly.

TM: What did you think of the finished "Yesstories" book?

TR: I thought it was an exceptionally great idea and you did an exceptional job on it. I think it really gives you a very good idea of who the band is and the dynamics of the personalities involved and what went on. I think it was a very good idea.

TM: Thank -you. I was going to say your whole period with Yes was a drama, but really Yes in general is a drama.

TR: One hundred percent. If someone says that they're going to the post office to send a letter..."Who's buying the stamp?," "Where's it going?,""Is it going to Rome? Could it go through Paris?" It's always like that, nothing is simple with that band.

TM: Could you tell me a little about your new movie project?

TR: I'm starting the pre-production on Monday. It's a film by Jerry Brockheimer, called Con Air. John Malkovich and Nicholas Cage are in it, it's a really good cast. It's going to be a big blockbuster. It's a big budget project, there are no compromises. I've got budget for a full orchestra and choir. It's going to be really exciting.

TM: We will all be looking forward to it, thank-you for your time.

THIS IS A TASTE OF WHAT YOU WILL GET WHEN YOU

RETURN TO THIS SITE.

______________________________________________________________________________________
Home Page | Excerpts | Interview | Cover Art | Lost Chapters | More Yesstories | About the Book

Web page design by Bennett Arts. Web page updates by SurfSpinner Last updated April 11, 1998