Paul considers live brass section on tour

Paul had a Q & A on twitter today where he answered questions asked by fans about the new album and the concert he gave last Friday, september 7th. Here an overview with the most interesting ones.


About last week’s performance at New York’s Grand Central Station:

Are you considering to take a brass section with you on the road sometime in the future, like you did in the seventies?

Yes we are! I'm not sure when or where *wink wink* but they're great and I think it would be a nice idea...

Why did you sing "My Valentine" in a megaphone (at the concert at Grand Central Station)?

The Director of the show had the idea to sing something through a megaphone. Well, i've seen Bono do it, but it's more on louder songs or like an announcement. I thought it would be great to bring it down and use it very intimately, and that made me think of the song 'My Valentine', which we were originally going to do just how we usually do, on the piano with the band. But we thought of this new way to do it. But it was originally his idea, Arturo Perez, who had some nice ideas for the show and that was one of them!

About the new album:
You talk about a lot of social issues on the album, such as bullying and global warming. What was your goal or your reasoning for these songs? 

Oh thanks! They're subjects that interest me & the nice thing about being a songwriter is you can sometimes make a difference with a song. If you don't lay it on too thick and become preachy then I think it can influence people's thoughts in a good way. That's what I hope anyway!

What techniques did you use to create the high pitched background voice on Fuh You and what are you saying?

I was working with Ryan Tedder and his co producer Zach and they were playing around with a device which sped up vocals so you could sing in one octave and it would play it back the octave above. These days it's a lot of fun to do that so we use modern tech in the same way The Beatles used the technology of the day when we were recording.

"Caesar Rock" has a very different vibe and is very engaging. What has inspired that sound?

That was one that I made up in my own studio, with just me and my engineer, Steve. It has some kind of slightly experimental ideas on it. I wasn't doing it for anything in particular, but then I liked the vibe and made it into a song. The original version was much longer!

Since it's a concept album what was your idea behind the track sequencing? Do each of these tracks suggest one station?

I wanted to do what I would call an 'album' album, rather than a collection of singles. So once we thought that and the title Egypt Station we then thought  we could go on a train journey from the opening station through all the stops on the way, until we reached the destination!

You mentioned that Prince inspired the song "Hunt You Down" on the new album. I also recall you saying he inspired the song "If You Wanna" on Flaming Pie. Has Prince inspired other songs and were you a big fan?

I can't think of other songs he has inspired, but those two definitely. I was always a big fan. I went to see him in concert a few times and wrote to him saying how much I enjoyed his guitar playing particularly. I met him a few times. The last time was a couple of New Year's ago, when he played a New Year's gig. I've always been a big fan.

Did you have any other titles in mind for this album?

Yeah I did actually! The track ‘Caesar Rock’ ends with 'she's got matching teeth', so it was nearly called 'Matching Teeth'. I just thought that was hilarious! I'm not quite sure how that came about - maybe i'd seen something I misread which often happens! Anyway, 'Matching Teeth'. I still think it's a pretty good album title!

Can you tell the difference between working in your own private studio compared to working in Abbey Road and compared to another studio (ie Henson studios)?

Yeah it is different. Working in my own studio I tend to be a little bit more experimental. 'Caesar Rock' was done in my home studio originally and then finished in Henson in LA. So I think that's the difference, I sometimes feel a bit more free in my own studio.

Recent posts:

McCartney Rocks Grand Central Station – Horns Section Added To Live Band?
Egypt Station: Review Overview
Egypt Station Quiz

André Homan

André Homan is a Dutch writer and journalist.

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