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SPOTLIGHT


Rage: That’s a great principle for a performer to have. Tell me about some of your recent endeavors with those “young new artists.” MB: I was writing with the new hot guns in the music business, and


a few of them are artists themselves. One of them being Ne-Yo, who was incredible to work with and I had already been a fan of. He started turning in these songs that felt fresh and young, but very comfortable for me vocally. So, that became the theme. And then, I got a phone call from the person who was working with


me on the project, Jolene Cherry, and my manager. We were working some pretty late hours and I just took off and took a break a few hours from Los Angeles. They said that they have a new artist who is a great songwriter and she writes songs for other artists and she’s a big fan of yours and would like to write with you for this album. And I said, “Okay,” but I knew there was a reason that I was on the phone with them about it and it wasn’t a little e-mail communication; they wanted to get my attention on this. And they knew I was taking a break as well, but this apparently had a sense of urgency to it. And it turned out that they were talking about an artist named Lady GaGa, who I hadn’t heard of at the time because her record didn’t come out for about another three or four months. But, they were really excited about this news that she wanted to work with me. I asked them to send me MP3s and I went out and played some golf,


got back to my room, opened up my laptop, and in my email were three songs from Lady GaGa and I thought they were amazing. So I called back and I said, “What does she do? Does she write lyrics? Does she play an instrument? Does she just do music?” They said, “She does it all and she’s involved in production as well. She’s kind of pretty much in every part of it.” So I said, “Well, I’d love to write with her. When is she available?” And they said, “Tonight at 8:00.” So, I drove up to L.A. and met her and really hit it off and she was singing to me, she was singing some ideas she had, she knew my range, she knew my records, so she started singing in the range that I had recorded those records. And that was great because I was looking at a real artist standing in front of me, and I was looking at a young new about-to-be released artist who really could sing and really loved what she was doing.


“I drove up to L.A. and met [Lady GaGa] and really hit it off...she knew my range, she knew my records, so she started singing in the range that I had recorded those records...I was looking at a


real artist standing in front of me...a young new about-to- be released artist who really could sing and really loved what she was doing.”


Rage: What were your sessions like together? MB: You never know with new records whether artists are created in a studio, in a


laboratory environment where we have so many tools and so many kinds of different technologies, whether it’s Pro Tools or Logic. We have all these digital gadgets so a lot of artists that you’re hearing can’t necessarily carry it off live. They can’t really do it live; they need the studio. In this case, I was hearing GaGa singing to me with a great voice, perfectly in tune


right in front of me and I was really impressed. And we just then got straight into writ- ing. I realized she had this whole look and this kind of very provocative presence about herself and I said, “If we’re going to write something together, we’ve got to slay people with this.” And she said, “Well, I like the idea because I have a title. I have an idea for the title and it’s called ‘Murder My Heart.’” And that’s how it began. And of course, three or four months later she became the biggest artist in the world.


During any interview, the question would always come up, “What was GaGa wearing in the studio?” And I’m not used to that being the center of interview, but I got used to it.”


Rage: So your schedule has been crazier than ever. MB: There’ll be 110 shows that we’ll have done in 2010. That’s a demanding schedule.


Rage: And you’ve still got the energy to make it sound contemporary on One World One Love. MB: When you walk into a room and you notice that you’re definitely the oldest person in that room…and you’ve got a 25-year old and a 26-year old as your songwrit- ing and production team…We built up tracks and sometimes they were perfect and everything made sense—finally it all fit. And sometimes I would just say, “I can’t get used to this particular drum loop. I’d rather have live drums on this song,” or whatever it was. It’s a constant open dialogue and a lot of mutual respect. And that’s how we went about the project to achieve something that sounds and


feels contemporary, but that is vocally for me right in my sweet spot…in a zone that is comfortable for me. And that feels good for me, because it has to speak to your core audience and the people who have all of your greatest hits and every record of yours. You don’t want them scratching their heads and saying, “What’s he doing here,” or “What’s going on with his voice?” It’s got to feel good…well, feel fresh and new.


Michael Bolton is scheduled to perform at the DreamCatcher Theatre at Viejas Casino on Sunday, September 12, the Performing Arts Center in Cerritos, CA on Tuesday, September 14 and at Lancaster Performing Arts Center on Thursday, September 16. To catch the latest news, tour dates or to purchase tickets and CDs, log on to michaelbolton.com.


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RAGE monthly | SEPTEMBER 2010


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