BRYAN ADAMS isn’t the most accessible rock star, especially not since he scored that 
big hit all over the world in 1991.
We failed to get him for an interview. 
After some struggles we found the driving force behind Bryan, 
drummer MICKEY CURRY, ready to talk with us. 
They had to perform later that evening (in the German Hanover), 
otherwise the conversation had lasted even longer than the 1,5 hours it already did. 
To start: when did Mickey want to start drumming ?

Mickey: I was around 10 years old and I was still in school, of course. I got drumming lessons from my teacher, half an hour per week. My parents bought a drum kit for me, a Gretsch - still my favorite drum, I still have it. I played at home and at school, and at school I was playing in bands. The music teacher taught us all to play an instrument, for example saxophone, piano, violin and drums. He learned me simple things such as holding the drumsticks.

So you can also read notes?
Mickey: Definitely, just not as quick as I should, but I can read notes. You just need that at a session, producers have everything on paper and then you can’t just make up things; you have to do in the first place what they asked you for. I do exactly what they ask from me, and if the artist and producer are happy, that’s the point. Of course, I try to put my feeling into it.

What do you mostly think of the result afterwards?
Mickey: I love most things when they are done. I listen to the work of the technician, the mixer, the producer and the other musicians. Of course I want to hear what they’ve done with the drums. Sometimes I’m content with it and sometimes I’m not. You can’t change anything about it. But I’m glad to do be able to do these things. It’s nice and flattering for me that people want to hear my drumming!

Bryan is Canadian and lives in Vancouver. You are American and live in Connecticut, nearby New York, on the other side of America. How did you two meet?
Mickey: I was working in New York when Bryan called me up in 1981. At that time I was working with Hall & Oates on “Private Eyes”. A couple of months before that I had been working with Bob Clearmountain. He called me up and said he had demo tapes of a Canadian guy and he said: “I want you to play the drums”. I said: “Who is he then?” “Bryan Adams”, said Bob. “Never heard of him before”, I said. But anyway, two weeks later I was with Bryan in the studio to record “You Want It You Got It”. From that moment I’ve been with Bryan, although due to some other obligations I’ve not always been with Bryan.

What was your first impression of Bryan?
Mickey: He seemed so young, but he’s still only 3 years younger than I am. He had a lot of energy and fine songs. He played the songs for me and they sounded so good…
He’s still that way, some new songs remind me of those old times. Has Bryan changed because of the success? No, he has not, actually. He’s very happy to experience this all.
The success is good and he is the singer, the composer and the performer. It’s for me also fantastic to be a part of this all.

Is it Bryan Adams or Bryan Adams and Band?
Mickey: I don’t know actually. We are there for him. He calls me up and then I come, he is my first priority. It’s become more complicated for me because I haven’t played on “Waking Up The Neighbours”. It’s all computer drums on the new album. The last three years I had a lot of free time because I didn’t work with Bryan. Why computers? That is because of Mutt Lange. He works with a computer, that’s the way he makes records. Live it sounds completely different, of course. I try to match or improve the computer sound, but it sounds different and it feels different. I try to find the balance between the computer drums and the real drums. We keep on trying, even if it was just for the fun of it. The people in Europe love to come and see us, all concerts are sold out in no time. In the States we’re doing not bad, but in general not a lot of people go to concerts.

In 1991 you toured with ZZ Top in Europe. We saw the concert in Cologne. After 15 minutes of ZZ Top we already had seen the whole show, you know what I mean?
Mickey: And you were right! I heard that a lot. I think ZZ Top is not bad or anything, but it became a bit too bombastic. They only have a few good songs, in my opinion.

You just told us that you don’t play on “Waking Up The Neighbours”. Your name, however, is still mentioned in the booklet. Do you get the royalties of the songs as well?
Mickey: No, unfortunately not. I tried to be diplomatic. My name is on it, because I played on all records. My name was and is still associated with Bryan’s work. He thought that if he would put my name on it, the people would see us more as a band. Very nice of course, but the people shouldn’t get a wrong impression of me. I don’t want to lie, because then you get such a Milli Vanilli effect. I am a drummer and I don’t want credits for something I didn’t play.

Did you meet Mutt Lange?
Mickey: Yes, I’ve played the cymbals for the album, over the drum computer. The drum computer cannot produce a good cymbal sound, so I had to come over and play the cymbals; he sampled that sound and saved it on his computer. He is a big expert in that area. But well you’ve got to like that eh? I like real drums more.

What’s the difference between Bob Clearmountain and Mutt Lange as producer?
Mickey: Bob is more performance orientated and he likes a live sound, he enjoys more the moment when something happens when you play. He wants to get the best out of you.
Mutt Lange however is very methodic and very precise; every note must be exactly perfect. I haven’t worked that long with Mutt actually to know it exactly. But we can agree on one thing: he sure takes his time!

Do you also write songs?
Mickey: At home I write songs for myself, not as much as I’d like or can. I enjoy writing and singing, too. I don’t have any plans with that, it’s just a hobby for me. Maybe Keith (Scott, guitarist of Bryan Adams and a good friend of Mickey) and I will do something in the future. Besides, a friend of mine has a studio in New York, so when I have the time I will go there to record songs, with Keith on guitar, Dave (Taylor) on bass and Tommy (Mandel) on keyboards.

And the singer will wear a white t-shirt and blue jeans?
Mickey: Yes that’s possible, because that’s what I wear a lot myself too. But for this project I probably won’t approach Bryan, if that’s what you mean.

Before you go on tour, you practice a lot of course?
Mickey: For about one week we practice the whole set of songs and the songs we do from time to time. We usually have a steady repertoire of songs we play every night, but we put in different songs sometimes to keep it exciting. The order of songs is almost every night different, but of course we have some songs that don’t leave the set.
This time we’ve been practicing the new songs more, because we didn’t play them together, and the old songs are still branded in our brains! After that we hired a big room and we played with lights and sound, so in total we’ve been busy for two weeks with the preparations. After the tour with ZZ top we had exactly two weeks of rest and then we started again.

What does Bryan think about the fact that you give interviews? Does he care about that?
Mickey: He thinks that’s fine, also because a lot of fans are interested in drumming. I’ve given some interviews in Europe for drumming magazines and also in the States for “Modern Drummers Magazine”. Bryan thinks it’s OK and I think it’s nice to do, especially when you’re getting some other questions, like now, than those standard questions. I don’t say this to suck up or anything, I really mean it! (Thanks!)

If a band wants to use your qualities, how does that work? Do they call your manager?
Mickey: Yes, they call my manager or me personally. I usually say yes, because I like drumming a lot and every time it’s a challenge to work with another band or artist. And besides, it’s my profession and it’s a great honor for me if I get asked. I try to do as many sessions as possible.

You played i.e. on “Hey Stupid” from Alice Cooper and on the latest album of The Cult.
Mickey: Yes, and on the latest album of Cher, Keith by the way played guitar on her album as well. And on the CDs of David Mullen and Mitch Malloy (a Bon Jovi clone) I also played. I have to try to keep myself busy, of course.

Didn’t The Cult want you to tour with them?
Mickey: Yes, they really wanted me to tour with them, but I’m stuck on Bryan. I’ve done the last two albums with them and I think they’re great to work with but as I said earlier, Bryan is my first priority. We heard that you were too expensive….Mickey: That’s what Keith said probably. Bryan pays more than The Cult ever could, but that’s not the reason.
It’s not primarily about the money for me. Michael Lee is now the new drummer of The Cult, and he’s very good. I’ve seen him and talked with him during the ZZ Top tour and I made The Cult aware of him, because I think he’s a real talent. He did an audition in L.A. and got hired. Little Angles fired him immediately once they found out that he went on an audition. Who cares, he’s good for The Cult and Little Angels will find a new drummer soon anyway. I love playing with Bryan too much probably. I also wanted to go on tour with Alice Cooper.

Since the success of “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You” they show the video and the videos of the singles that were released afterwards a lot. Do you get recognized in the supermarket and such?
Mickey: No, thankfully not. Bryan is the target. I hate videos; you get so recognizable, I just want to play the drums and nothing else. That’s why I have such a huge drum kit in that clip, so that I can hide myself behind it. Nobody knows me from that video.

Can you play a lot of different styles of music?
Mickey: Yes, I mostly play rock ‘n roll but during sessions you have got to play anything. I’ve worked with Los Lobos on “La Bamba”, that was very Latin like. Carly Simon’s “Let The Rivers Run” of the movie “Working Girl” was something totally different and then again The Cult, then you have to hit as hard as you can. I haven’t done Trash metal, but I’d like to do that sometime. I’d also like to do fusion and country, I want to be able to do everything actually.

Do you practice a lot?
Mickey: No, I don’t. I do play a lot and that’s a form of practice too. You have to control the techniques and play at least for one hour a day, that’s really necessary. But that’s no problem for me most of the time, especially when I do sessions or when I’m touring.

What are your favorite songs?
Mickey: Keith Moon is one of my heroes; the same goes for John Bonham, Gene Krupa,
Buddy Rich and Max Roach. I also like a lot of studio drummers from the 60s and 70s, like Benny Benjamin's from Motown, Al Jackson from Otis Redding, Booker T and the MG’s, Jim Gordon, Jim Keltner and Jeff Porcaro. Do you learn from these people? Oh yes, always. I watch as much as possible. I recently saw Max Roach, great was that.
During the recordings of The Cult album we went to a club and there we saw Elvis Jones playing, old but very good. I think that Billy Cobham is great and Danny Seraphine from Chicago is incredibly good. I used to have LPs from them, he was my biggest example at that time.

A lot of famous artists have an endorsement with a music firm. Do you also have that?
Mickey: I have an endorsement with Yamaha drums; Zildjian cymbals, Remo drumpads and Colado drumsticks. I haven’t been able to do drum clinics. I have done exactly two drum clinics for Yamaha the last year.

Your reaction on the name Keith Scott:
Mickey: Idiot, asshole, fool, long-haired hippy with cucumber fingers, a non-guitarist! No seriously. I love him; he’s one of my best friends and a fine guitarist. He plays with a lot of feeling. We make a lot of fun while we’re on tour, like you’ve noticed. When one of us gives an interview, we try to get the interviewers to ask us silly things. After the interviews we ask each other how they reacted.

We assume that you have a family life, is it possible to combine it with a job such as yours?
Mickey: I am married and my wife also works, so she’s not boring herself when I’m away from home. I come from a big family, I have 6 brothers. The family of my wife is also big, we have a lot of family in Connecticut, so a lot of anniversaries. And while we are on tour I call home every day, so that’s a lot of high phone bills.

How do you travel from concert to concert?
Mickey: In Germany we have our own cars, because here you can drive fast and as an American I like that, because at home you can’t drive that fast. Today we flew from Frankfurt to Hanover and after the gig we’re going back with a private jet, which we use to travel through Europe. But if the distance isn’t too big between two venues, we’re going by a fast car! My wife usually comes over for a week, so that’s always nice. Because she also works, she usually can’t stay longer. Because we tour for a long time, that’s the only way to see each other regularly. After Europe, Canada, Australia and Japan in 1991, the first part of the American tour, and then the European summer tour and then the second part of the American tour. I don’t like touring in the winter that much, because I don’t like the cold and it can be quite cold in Canada in the winter.
My favorite country is The Netherlands, and I’m not saying that because you guys come from there. I like all of Europe, it’s different all of the time, sometimes even in one country such as Germany. I also like Italy but the politicians are a mess there, however the food is nice!

How would Bryan react if you would do a drum solo?
Mickey: He would like it, but I don’t do a solo. I hate playing drum solos. I don’t play interesting enough to do a drum solo, I think. I’m more a song-orientated drummer, I play on my instinct. I leave the drumsolos to people such as Steve Gadd or real solo drummers
such as Buddy Rich (R.I.P). If I play any other instruments? I play a little bit of piano and guitar. I am unfortunately left-handed, even though I play drums right-handed. Further more I have a synthesizer at home where I play on occasionally. I also write lyrics, mostly they are love songs, about relationships but also about the environment or war or ordinary things. I have written a lot of songs, but none of them is finished!