From paperlate-owner@atom.ansto.gov.au Wed Jan 18 01:04:29 1995 From: LMDARLING@aol.com X-Ph: V4.2@atom Date: Wed, 18 Jan 1995 00:45:12 -0500 To: paperlate@ansto.gov.au Cc: AM9A4SSL@ccugrad.swan.ac.uk Subject: Mike Rutherford Billboard Interview Jan 1995 Sender: paperlate-digest-owner@ansto.gov.au Reply-To: LMDARLING@aol.com Content-Length: 4854 Status: RO X-Lines: 97 From January 21, 1995 Billboard (all typos are my own, and I hope you enjoy - Linda Darling): Mike & Mechanics Sail Smoothly Fourth Atlantic Set A Day At The 'Beach' by David Sprague New York - "The simpler things are, the better they work," says Mike Rutherford, the unassuming guitarist whose dual career - in Genesis and Mike & the Mechanics - seems about as complicated as any other juggling act. Rutherford, however, insists that the process is much simpler than it looks from the outside. "There's a lot of luck and a lot of timing involved, but there's never been any conflict," he says. "There's nothing labored about it in the least; once you've settled into the routine, things just take care of themselves." Rutherford describes the recording of the fourth Mike & the Mechanics album, "Beggar On A Beach Of Gold," which is due for a Feb. 28 release on Atlantic, in similarly smooth terms. "[Longtime writing partner] B. A. Robertston and I completed a good deal of pre-production work at my home before [lead singers] Paul Carrack and Paul Young came down," he says. "That really helped matters. Where sometimes it's a chore to get enough material, this time it was difficult to edit down to one album's worth." While certainly rich in songs (like the title track and "Web of Lies") that should appeal to fans of the lush sound that took the Mechanics to the top of the singles chart with hits like "All I Need Is A Miracle" or the emotional "Living Years," "Beggars On A Beach Of Gold" breaks new ground. Besides a cover of Stevie Wonder's "I Believe" (a custom fit for Carrack's silky voice), departures include elegiac pieces such as "Someone Always Hates Someone." "Because of the places they've had success in the past, there's a lingering perception that this is a singles band," says Atlantic director of product development Michael Krumper. "But they've always made well-considered, complete albums. I think this album, in particular, emphasizes that fact." Krumper says that the choice of a first single, "Mea Culpa," which will not be accompanied by a videoclip, reflects that shift in imaging in that "it's a very nontraditional choice - one that deserves a great deal of attention at AAA radio." Atlantic plans to follow that track with "Over My Shoulder", a more familiar-sounding love ballad. "To some extent, we have to overcome the fact that the audience for this type of music is somewhat passive," says Krumper. "We have to explore different avenues in order to make people aware that there's a new Mike & the Mechanics album and that they shouldn't just be satisfied to listen to the songs on the radio. One of the label's efforts revolves around what Krumper calls "an alternative in-store" campaign, in which 5,000 nonmusic retailers will be sent copies of "Beggar On A Beach Of Gold" for potential in-store play. "We'll be targeting coffee bars, clothing stores, that sort of thing," says Krumper. "There's a good portion of this audience that doesn't spend all that much time at record stores>" The listener-friendly sounds generated by Mike & the Mechanics over the past 10 years have, in some ways, echoed the changes within Rutherford's "other" band. While his guitar work on such progressive epics as "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway" was lauded by technical mavens, he insists, "It's not really in my nature to be flashy. "It never has been. From day one, we always thought we were making pop music," says Rutherford. "We were all influenced by Motown and the Beatles. We listened to nothing but pop music. It may seem strange, but when we sat down and started to write, what came out [in Genesis] was obviously pretty far from that. Rutherford admits there's some shoring up to be done after the commercial disappointment of the last Mechanics effort, 1991's "Word of Mouth," which failed to surpass the gold certification reached by its predecessors. Both band and label agree that the failure to tour impeded its progress. "I think it may have been too much of a departure in terms of sound," says Rutherford. "But if we'd been able to go on the road, which we weren't because of my commitment to Genesis, we'd have done much better. It's really great fun to tour with the Mechanics. I'd like to do this tour without any great big rigs, any huge showxjust go out and play." Krumper agrees that a tour - tentatively slated for a late spring kickoff - is a key component: "It's important to emphasize that this is a bonafide touring band and not just a studio creation," he says. Rutherford says, "There's enough history there now that people don't seem to use the term 'side project' any longer. I'm grateful for that, because this has always been more important than that. Even if it weren't successful, as far as I'm concerned, there would still be a Mike & the Mechanics."