Eric Martin says that he “would love to get back together” with his MR. BIG bandmates again.
The singer made the comment while discussing MR. BIG‘s decision to go on hiatus following the passing of Pat Torpey. The drummer died in February 2018 at the age of 64 from complications of Parkinson’s disease.
Speaking to Shawn Ratches of Laughingmonkeymusic, Eric said (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “After Pat‘s death, the wind came right out of the sails, and it was really difficult to play without him, and it was a grieving process for a really long time.
“I would love to get back together with MR. BIG and do another, possibly a record — maybe,” he revealed.
“When I write songs, I constantly think ‘MR. BIG‘ in my head. Even when I try to write acoustic songs, it always comes out [sounding like] MR. BIG.
“I would love to do a tour — definitely — with the band,” Eric reiterated. “But I’m okay with it…. I would love to do something again with MR. BIG. I love that band so much. I love playing live on stage with Billy [Sheehan, bass] and Paul [Gilbert, guitar] and the spirit of Pat Torpey. I love that music.”
Last May, Sheehan gave an interview to the “Music Mania” podcast in which he claimed that a “mastering problem” with MR. BIG‘s latest album, “Defying Gravity”, which came out four years ago, made the LP “unlistenable.” He went on to say that “the label ruined the record” by insisting on having the album and “putting it out when it’s not ready.” He explained: “If we had another day to get it to proper mastering and get it done right, it would have been fine. ‘Cause I was there for the final mixes — I went in there every day and listened to mixes. Pat was there with us too. We went through the mixes, and they were sounding great. And, unfortunately, we got screwed.
“I’ve seen it before in many other situations with many other bands,” he added. “We’ve got the marketing department and they’re ready to go and they’ve gotta have the record now. And then I’ve also seen other bands just say, ‘No. The record is not done. You’re out of luck.’ And I wish we would have just said that, because I just don’t think the record had the kind of life it had when I heard the final mixes.”
A short time later, Frontiers Music Srl released a statement clarifying that it wasn’t the label responsible for “ruining” “Defying Gravity”, which marked Torpey‘s final recorded appearance with MR. BIG.
“Defying Gravity” was released via Wowow Entertainment, Inc. in Japan and Frontiers Music Srl in most of the rest of the world.
After announcing his Parkinson’s diagnosis in 2014, Torpey continued to write, record and perform with MR. BIG, who also recruited Matt Starr to share drum duties.
MR. BIG, formed in 1988, produced numerous hit songs that ranged across a wide array of rock genres — be it ballads, heavy metal, or blues rock. Their hits include “Alive And Kicking”, “Just Take My Heart” and the chart-topping ballad “To Be With You”.
This past February, MR. BIG released a new live set, “Raw Like Sushi Mega Edition – Revive 2017: 2017 Japan Tour Official Bootleg Box”. A complete collection of MR. BIG‘s 2017 performances in Japan, it features all nine concerts which took place between September and October of that year.
