Mr Mr

[GOD]

Kevin.
Steve Farris from Mr Mr,(who's a good friend of mine) said he enjoyed working with you. Did you have a good time with those guys?

[Kevin Killen]

God,

I did have a great time with all of them.They are all amzing players and people. It was those qualities that convinced me to work with them as I initially thought I was the wrong choice .

Tell Steve I said hi ( and where is the ping pong table?)

KK

[GOD]

the message will be ping ponged on

[Kevin Killen]

Cool.... thanks

[dasoundjunkie]

The drumming on those records was phenomenal , was it acoustic or pads or a combination of both? How was it captured? thanx!

[Musiclab]

I think that record has some really great songs on it like The Power Over Me, and The Border. Alot of the record the drums are electronic sounding, was there alot of retriggering going on?

[BoogieMotel]

Richard Page is still a huge talent
along with Pat Mastellato
I haven't Steve Farris in years but those guys were a great band in their moment in time

[Kevin Killen]

Musiclab and dasoundjunkie

The drumming on the record was a combination but with a greater emphasis on the acoustic kit. We certainly recorded most of the basic tracks with the acoustic set. Afterwards Pat would dub in some electronic elements but I do not remember a lot of triggering going on.

Maybe I need to go back and listen to it again.

One of my favorite tracks is "Dust". That was the very first track we recorded as a "trial run" over two days and Richards vocal on that song is fantastic. But then again he has a
unbelieable voice. The rest of the band ain't too shabby either.

KK

[sysexguy]

Great Record!!!! one of my last LP purchases.

Andy

[hociman]

Kevin,

I am amazed that "Dust" was a trial run. It's a 6:35 epic, and a great one too!

I will try to keep my questions in a chronological order.

In a previous thread (that I can't find now), you had mentioned that you were intially surprised that Mr. Mister wanted to work with you. Who approached you initially for "go on..."? Was it the band or their record label (RCA)? Do you recall why they wanted to work with you intially? I find that when I look at liner notes that an artist or band seems to work with the same producer(s) often. Did you find it odd that after the success of Welcome to the Real World that they came to you instead of going back to that record's producer (Phil DeVilliers)?

The liner notes for "go on..." note that the copyright on "Something Real (Inside Me/Inside You)" and "Watching the World" is 1985. Do you know if these songs were written then, or were they recorded to some degree in 1985 as well? Did the band approach you with demos of them from their Welcome to the Real World sessions?

I have a few questions about "The Tube". Whose idea was it to have sound bites of TV programs during the bridge? Was it Mr. Mister's idea or yours? How did you go about inserting those sound bites into the track? Did someone effectively foley a TV, changing the channel and just capturing whatever was on at that moment along with the channel-changing static, or were very specific bites pulled for that? Is the bass guitar track acoustic, a blend of acoustic and electronic, or all-electronic?

On "Control", there are a few vocal lines that are delayed ("my vision...my vision"). Is that accomplished with a delay line whose return level is low, or is there more to it? At the conclusion of the bridge, Pat Mastelotto's drum kit sounds as if its off in the horizon and then its rushing at you as the bridge concludes. I really like how this comes across. Is that effect accomplished by raising the faders for the kit, or is there more to it?

On "The Border", how did you capture the piano? Did you use close microphones, or distant ones, or a combination?

As far as I know from Googling the Internet, the track "Bare My Soul" was only released on the CD pressings. Is this the case, and did you have any say in that?

My final question would be did you have any involvement in the band's unreleased fourth album, which from Googling the Internet appears to have had the working title "Pull"?

Thanks for reading!

[dasoundjunkie]

Thanx for the info! By the way I seem to recall an interview with you some time ago talking about what it was like recording a John Lennon / Yoko Ono project and that you got to see how Mr Lennon got different sounds out of his vocal mic by the way he approached it( literally singing almost all around the mic )! I also seem to recall you mentioning that Mr. Lennon had a great sense of humor and some very funny things happened! If that Was you and you know where I can find the entire interview I would very much appreciate it !
Thanx!
Leo Alvarez Sound Junkie Recording
I'm out

[Kevin Killen]

Jonathan,

I will try to be concise but I may have to go back and listen to the album.

I was approached by the label and the band simultaneously. The main reason seemed to be the sound of Peter Gabriels "So" and although they were very happy with Paul DeVilliers contributions , they wanted to try something new. My reluctance was based on the fact that I did not feel I was ready to produce. So we met over a meal, instantly liked one another and decided the best way to resolve our insecurities was to record one song over a weekend. And that song was "Dust". By the end of the first day we knew it would work because I realized how talented they were musically and they really enjoyed my approach and my demeanor.

There may be been some demo sketches on some of the songs but we ended up rehearsing for a while before going into the studio and the tracks eveolved there naturally.

The Tube.... cannot remember, I might have to ask Pat that one..... stay tuned. I think we just sampled them off the TV in the lounge and placed them there. Found a sequence that worked. My memory is that the bass is a combination of acoustic and electric with a keyboard support.

On Control the delays you are talking about were triggered from the lead vocal itself. The drums in the bridge may have been an overdub as I hear the perspectives change , from a more intimate sound sent to a reverb the to the more explosive room sound which may have been a fader ride , then back to a tighter sound for the chorus. Pat really liked the idea of changing drum sounds between sections, sometimes by adding electronic elements or by literally recording a whole new kit. It certainly kept me on my toes.

The piano sound in "On the Boarder" was achieved with close mics although there is a shadow keyboard sound behind it which gives it some extra dimension.

"Bare My Soul" was originally song 6 on the album, it may have changed over the years for some unknown reason.

On the fourth album I ended up mixing the project, unfortunately it never got released. Some of the songs may have appeared in a "best of" but for all you Mr. Mister fans it was a great piece of work.

Hope that answers all your questions.....cool


Kevin

[Kevin Killen]

Leo,

I doubt that was me..... sorry.

Kevin

[hociman]

Kevin,

Thanks for taking the time to respond!

Cheers,

[Kevin Killen]

No problem

KK

[dasoundjunkie]

Thanx anyway!