{"id":9818,"date":"2018-07-20T20:21:29","date_gmt":"2018-07-20T11:21:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.museonmuse.jp\/?p=9818"},"modified":"2018-07-20T20:23:10","modified_gmt":"2018-07-20T11:23:10","slug":"vol-87-clif-magness-july-2018-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.museonmuse.jp\/?p=9818","title":{"rendered":"Vol.87 Clif Magness \/ July 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"

Clif Magness<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Clif Magness has released numerous classics for not only himself, but also for other producers. The tune with Quincy Jones \u201cThe Places You Find Love\u201d won Grammy wards. \u201cAll I Need\u201d in 1984 for Jack Wagner is considered to be the best tune Jack has released. He also produced the hit tune \u201cImpulsive\u201d for Wilson Phillips in 1994, the album \u201cFOR THE LOVE OF STRANGE MEDICINE\u201d for Steve” Perry from Journey, who is well known in Japan as well as worldwide, the hit album \u201cLET GO\u201d for Avril Ramona Lavigne and for countless others.<\/p>\n

His \u201cPLANET 3\u201d with Jay Graydon and Glen Ballard released in 1991 fascinated AOR\/Rock fans by its superb vocals and song writing. Clif, who is a big influence in music industry, just released his new solo album \u201cLUCKY DONG\u201d the songs are filled with his signature vocal, soothing catchy melodies, heavy chorus works, and arrangements which emphasize the power of music.
\nClif Magness took some time to talk to Muse On Muse about his new set \u201cLUCKY DOG\u201d.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Interview \/ Text\u00a0 Mamoru Moriyama
\nTranslation\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Hiroshi Takakura<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Muse On Muse : Your new set \u201cLUCKY DOG\u201d is a brilliant AOR \/ Rock album filled with your crystal-clear vocal, smooth catchy pleasant melodies, heavy choral works and arrangements enhances those elements. Why did you release this album at this time?<\/span>
\nClif Magness : Thank you for your kind and generous words! Since the advent of social media, I\u2019ve been in touch with several loyal fans of the \u201cSolo\u201d and \u201cPlanet 3\u201d albums who have been requesting a new Clif Magness LP. That combined with the desire to make music for myself brought about this decision.<\/p>\n

MM : You are known for playing many different instruments. Did you play every instruments including guitar on this album?<\/span>
\nCM : I did. My son Evan did some of the guitar work as well. My good friend Tommy Denander performed a punishing solo on \u201cShout\u201d. Josh Freese played drums on \u201cAin\u2019t No Way\u201d and Preston Howard played Uilleann pipe on \u201cNobody But You\u201d.<\/p>\n

MM : Your project with Jay Graydon and Glen Ballard, Planet 3 has a strong fan base in Japan. Didn’t you think of having Jay Graydon as a guitarist for this album?<\/span>
\nCM : With both Glen and Jay, our schedules never synced up.<\/p>\n

MM : How did you start production for tunes of this album?<\/span>
\nCM : To begin, I decided to reach out to my long time friend and collaborator Mark Mueller. He co-wrote \u201cIf We Can\u2019t Do It\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s Only Love\u201d and \u201cWhat\u2019s A Heart To Do\u201d with me on the Solo album. I wrote the opening guitar riff for \u201cAin\u2019t No Way\u201d and subsequent verse and chorus music. Then I contacted Mark to come and write the lyric together. That song set a solid tone and direction for the rest of the songs.<\/p>\n

MM : Melodies you make are catchy, impressive, beautiful and melancholy, result, it touches all of us. How do you make such brilliant melodies?<\/span>
\nCM : I was a writer\/producer for Quincy Jones\u2019 company Qwest and Quincy always said \u201cmelody is King!\u201d. I grew up listening to The Beatles and just about every song they wrote and performed touched all of those emotions in me. I want to feel those emotions when I listen to music, so I try to infuse my original writing with them so my audience has the same experience.<\/p>\n

MM : This album consists tracks with beautiful atmosphere like \u201cunbroken\u201d, \u201cRain\u201d and \u201cMy Heart\u201d in contrast to tunes with Rock feelings like \u201cAin’t No Way\u201d and Shout\u201d can impress people like Def Leppard fans. How did you contrast these different feelings?<\/span>
\nCM : I believe that listening to music, and in this case, an album, needs to emulate life which constantly is ebbing and flowing. I also believe that an album needs Yen and Yang, Live music performances are like that as well.<\/p>\n

MM : Combination between 2 vocals are impressive on \u201cLove Needs A Heart\u201d. Could you tell us about this tune?<\/span>
\nCM : I have been a fan of Robin Beck for many years and this project presented an opportunity for she and I to write and perform a duet. I contacted Robin through Facebook and wrote the song with she and the hugely talented Sherrie Adams. And with the help of technology, my vocal was recored in California and Robin\u2019s vocal was recorded in Florida.<\/p>\n

MM : The choral work with beautiful harmonies is one of your signature sound for us. Who has most influenced you?<\/span>
\nCM : Both of my parents were vocalists. My mother was a choral director and I grew up singing in her choir in church. Rock singers who have influenced me would be Chris Thompson (Manfred Mann), Paul Rogers (Free, Bad Company), Mark Farmer (Grand Funk) and of course The Beatles.<\/p>\n

MM : Rhythm guitars on your tracks on this album emphasize production and your melodic guitar solo is outstanding. In terms of producers view, what is guitar sounds for production for you?<\/span>
\nCM : In my life, I have been fortunate to have experienced many different generations of amplification, effects processors, acoustic and electric guitars, and analog and digital recording techniques. I used a Kemper Profiler for all of the electric guitars on \u201cLucky Dog\u201d. The settings are incredibly realistic and it makes the whole process of recording so much faster.<\/p>\n

MM : This album not only contains hard sounding guitar, but also clean sounds.<\/span>
\nCM : The Kemper does it all.<\/p>\n

MM : You have provided tracks for numerous artists including Steve Perry and Avril Lavigne. \u201cThe Places You Find Love\u201d which you wrote for Quincy Jones won Grammy Award. Do you have any episodes \/ side stories when you worked with those artists?<\/span>
\nCM : Writing with Steve Perry was an enormous thrill for me because I am a HUGE Journey fan. Unique to these sessions was the fact that we worked with the headphones on at all times so that Steve could hear his voice with loads of reverb. I think it was because most of his career had been performing live in large venues, so the reverb helped recreate that sound.
\nNeedless to say, every working minute with Quincy Jones was historical. The stories that Quincy would share from is many years of working with artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Count Basie among others had us all captivated. And there was always a film crew in the studio documenting everything.
\nAvril was a sweet, quiet young 16 year old when we wrote those songs. I had no idea she would become a major sensation.<\/p>\n

MM : What do you most strive for write tunes for other musicians instead of producing tunes for yourself?<\/span>
\nCM : My belief and method when writing and producing for other artists is that it is their music. The material belongs to them because they are the ones who have to take it on the road and shake the fan\u2019s hands and autograph the CDs, etc. When the production is finished, so is my job. Theirs continues for the rest of their careers.<\/p>\n

MM : Could you tell me gears you use? What kind of DAW, Interface, Keyboard, Synth, Guitar and Effector you use?<\/span>
\nCM : I am a Protools user since 1997. I can\u2019t think of a better, more successful platform to create music. My secret weapon is my Rode Classic Microphone. I\u2019ve used it on Avril Lavigne, Kelly Clarkson, Lisa Marie Presley, Katy Perry, Judith Owen, Joe Bonamassa, The Veronicas, Tyler Hilton, Mozzella, Vanessa Amorosi, Bo Bice, Clay Aiken, The Calling, Missy Higgins, Idina Menzel, Kara DioGuardi, Landon Pigg, OTown, Billy Idol, Charlotte Martin, Jessica Simpson, Hanson, Julia Michaels, Marie Digby, The Urge, GOB, Ill Scarlet and Tyler Ward. And Clif Magness of course!<\/p>\n

MM : Please tell us your upcoming plans.<\/span>
\nCM : \u201cLucky Dog\u201d with be released world wide July 13th, so I\u2019m going to see how it is received and based on that, I might schedule shows in various countries. In the meantime, I will start working on the follow up.<\/p>\n

MM : Please give a message to your fans.<\/span>
\nCM : To my fans, I would like to say that I made this record so that you could remember what it felt like the first time you heard \u201cSolo\u201d and \u201cPlanet 3\u201d. I hope it thrills you and makes you feel special. I thank you all for your support!<\/p>\n

Clif Magness official site : http:\/\/cliftonmagness.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n