Bryan Adams' Mickey Curry
Power Kick Interview, Spring 92
 
Whatever "it" is...Mickey Curry has "it".
Call it finesse...perfection...groove... discipline...
whatever "it" is, he has "it"...and "its" kept him in demand as a session player for quite some time. 
"It" has also kept him on the road touring with the likes of Hall & Oates and of course Bryan Adams.

We spoke to Mickey recently and tried to analyze what "it" exactly is...

POWERKICK: Can we get a little background...where did you grow up...start playing...and so on?

Mickey Curry: Well...I grew up in Guilford, Connecticut. I started playing when I was eleven...I have six brothers...and everybody played something. (laughs) I had a band after high school called The Scratch Band, which G.E. Smith was in. That was like my first steady paying gig. We played all around New England for like four or five years. Then I started going in and out of Manhattan doing session work cause I could take the train into New York. That's when I met Tommy Matolla who was managing Hall and Oates at the time and started working with them on the "Private Eyes" album in '81. I was with them from late 1980 to early 1986...five or six years. Around the time I was recording "Private Eyes", Bob Clearmountain called and said, "I got this tape from this Canadian guy and I want you to play drums." That was Bryan's "You Want It, You Got It" album. Then I went on the road with G.E. (Smith) opening for Squeeze in the summer and started rehearsing for Hall and Oates "Private Eyes" tour in September and things developed from there.

POWERKICK: What did you contribute to "Waking Up The Neighbors"?

MC: I didn't play on it...it was "Mutt" Lange on a drum machine. What he did was take some of the stuff from the different samples, arrangements, variations and sounds that I had played. For the most part it was pretty much "Mutt" and Bryan just kind of programming all the stuff. I went in later and did cymbals, but I didn't really play on it. I played on the basic tracks months before and they pulled the fills and stuff they liked from that...but 99% of that is "Mutt" programming.

POWERKICK: Over the years you've built up a tremendous reputation as an "in demand" ace session player. What do you attribute this to?

MC: When I was with The Scratch Band we worked out of a studio in Connecticut...I was like 17 or 18 years old. I was in the studio all the time, so I got comfortable there. You know...working with click tracks and so on. I really took to it.

POWERKICK: Did the "click" come easy for you?

MC: You know what? Click tracks were really difficult for me as a kid, because they were so inhibiting. I kept thinking..."Yeah, but I can't play all that cool stuff"...and really burn. But you become disciplined and learn restraint. It's become second nature now...so maybe thats got a lot to do with why people call me. I can give them what they need to hear. I love doing the diversity, so that might be part of it too. You go in with The Cult and slam. You give them what they want to suit the musical style, you know? You keep time...you work around the vocal...and you try to give them the stuff they want to hear. You got to go in... and you're dealing with producers...and most of the time you're dealing with artists who have an identity happening already or it's a band you're trying to fit.

POWERKICK: But with all that diversity...from heavy rock like The Cult or Alice Cooper, to pop rock like Bryan Adams...to Carly Simon or Cher, what do you think keeps the sessions coming your way?

MC: I love doing it and I think that shows. I love doing the different types of..I hate using the word..."styles"...but all of it is a different style of playing. I really enjoy it all. I hate the thought of being categorized. The session guys I always liked were like that.

POWERKICK: What session guys?

MC: If I had my way...I'd play on like, Temptations records. I love R&B...that feel and giving that edge, you know? It's all pocket playing and I like that. But then again I love all the albums I played with Bryan. There's this thing in the studio between Clearmountain, Bryan and myself that's great. It's a combination of Bryan lighting a fire under everybody's ass (laughs)...Clearmountain getting that amazing drum sound...and me drinking enough coffee to stay awake and make it right (laughs). I don't think I can pick any one area, though.

POWERKICK: Were there any sessions recently where things went perfect and were really enjoyable?

MC: The Alice Cooper album ("Hey Stoopid") was like that. Every track was done in like the second take. I'd do a track and we'd all go in the control room...and we'd be sitting around and Alice is doing his best Jerry Lewis. (laughs) We had a ball, man...it was really a lot of fun. Alice kept everybody laughing and Peter Collins (producer) was great to work with. I think it is real important during a session...keep everything as positive and fun as possible. You can't let your own little ego get in the way of the project. I'd much rather keep the time than try to develop some earthshattering fill nobody's heard before. (laughs)

POWERKICK: Have you ever had the urge or the occasion to just cut loose and be a "fill monster"? (laughs)

MC: Sure, it depends on where you are and who you're working with...if the thing hits you. I feel like I'm really limited as far as that stuff goes...I'm not a solo player. I could probably do a decent one...I just don't think it would be anything new or that hasn't been heard before. I think solos...especially from a player like me...would be really boring. I'm much better and more comfortable with keeping time and finding the pocket.

POWERKICK: You mentioned earlier some session greats you really liked. Did you have any rock influences or current rock favourites?

MC: Absolutely. I love Danny Seraphine from Chicago. I used to wait for each single to come out and buy the stuff and memorize it. I started buying Chicago albums and would sit in my room working on those songs. What a great drummer...he was probably my biggest influence. I also liked Bonham, he was cool. Ginger Baker was cool too. Of the newer rock players I like Bobby Rock of Nelson. The guy that plays for Saraya...Chuck Bonfante...and Michael Cartellone (Damn Yankees). I was a jazz head too. (laughs) So I got into Buddy Rich...Max Roach...Billy Cobham...you know? A great player is a great player. It doesn't matter what type of music they play. Everybody has something that they do that is special, you know? For instance...I've always thought Bill Bruford of Yes was this amazingly technical player and that the style of playing he does is just phenomenal...pretty complex stuff. So, recently I'm on a plane home from Japan and I look over and there is Bruford. He came over and said hi and he goes, "I saw the show last night." I'm thinking, "Oh shit"...you know? (laughs) Then he says, "I really liked the way you played...the show was great." I'm like, "Really?" And he goes, "Yeah...you do some great stuff. Even though you're keeping it straight and to the point, you can tell there is so much more there to your playing." That was really nice compliment, you know? He was sort of saying that even though I was just playing pocket stuff...he could tell that there was definitely more to my playing. That made my day when a guy like that noticed. I think that shows that whether or not your playing is simple or complex...good solid playing is the most important thing...and that is what I try to do.

Source: www.bryanadams.com