| Mr. Big | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | USA |
| Genres | hard rock, heavy metal, power pop |
| Years active | 1988–2002 2009 (reunion) |
| Labels | Warner/Atlantic |
| Associated acts | Racer X, Poison, Steve Vai, G3, David Lee Roth, Tak Matsumoto Group |
| Website | www.mrbigsite.com |
| Members | |
| Eric Martin Pat Torpey Billy Sheehan Paul Gilbert | |
| Former members | |
| Richie Kotzen | |
Mr. Big is a hard rock group that formed in 1988. The band is a quartet composed of Eric Martin (vocals), Paul Gilbert (guitar), Billy Sheehan (bass), and Pat Torpey (drums); Mr Big also included Richie Kotzen, a reputable blues-based guitarist who replaced Gilbert in 1999. The band is noted especially for their musicianship, and scored a number of hits.[1] Their songs were often marked by strong vocals and vocal harmonies. Their hits include "To Be With You" (Billboard Hot 100 number one single in 15 countries for weeks, in 1991) and "Green-Tinted Sixties Mind".
Mr Big have remained active and popular for over two decades, despite internal conflicts and changing music trends. They broke up in 2002, but after requests from fans reunited in 2009; their first tour was in Japan, in June 2009.[2]
History
Formation
After bass player Billy Sheehan left David Lee Roth in 1988,[3] he began piecing together a new band with the help of Mike Varney from Shrapnel Records, a label specialized in the shredding genre. He recruited Eric Martin, of the rock-oriented Eric Martin Band and also soul-leaning solo artist, and soon thereafter added guitarist Gilbert and drummer Torpey. Gilbert was already a well-respected guitarist who had released two albums with his Los Angeles-based band Racer X. Torpey came to California from Arizona, and toured with a number of high-profile artists, most notably Robert Plant.[4]
Breakthrough
The newly formed band hired Herbie Herbert, the former manager of Journey, Europe, and Santana, to be their manager. By 1989, they signed with Atlantic Records and released their self-titled debut the same year. The record did not gain the band a mainstream rock audience stateside, but was a success in Japan.[citation needed] In June 1990, the group toured in America opening for Rush.
Mr Big's second album, 1991's Lean Into It, was a major commercial breakthrough, especially two ballads, "To Be with You" (number one song in fifteen countries) and "Just Take My Heart", and "Green-Tinted Sixties Mind". They toured the UK in April and May 1991 and again in 1992, releasing a live album, Mr. Big Live, in 1992. For three nights, they opened for Aerosmith at London's Wembley Arena.
In 1993, another ballad, a cover of Cat Stevens' "Wild World", (from their third album, Bump Ahead) peaked at #27 on the Billboard Hot 100[5]. The band also contributed the soundtrack to the Sega Mega CD release of The Amazing Spider-Man vs. The Kingpin.
They released Hey Man in 1995. The song "Take Cover" was included on the soundtrack to the cartoon series Mega Man.
Although the band never replicated its earlier success in the US market, their popularity continued to soar in Japan; they also gained a stabler following in newer Southeast Asian markets such as Thailand and South Korea.[citation needed] In Japan and in the rest of Asia, on the other hand, they continued to sell out tours, resulting in a number of live releases for the Japanese market.
Live At Budokan was one of those live release intended for the Japanese market only. By the time that album appeared the group had been put on ice as the individual band members became more engrossed in other projects; the band temporarily broke up in 1997.
Return in 1999
Gilbert left the band in 1997, and eventually reformed Racer X. Richie Kotzen, another Shrapnel artist and former guitarist for Poison, was brought in as a guitar player. Two studio albums were released by this lineup: Get Over It in 2000, and Actual Size in 2001. Get Over It was released on September 1999, in Japan, and yielded "Superfantastic," a multi-platinum number one hit in Japan. Mr Big performed a twenty-date tour of Japan followed by a New Year's Eve 1999 show with Aerosmith at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo. Get Over It' was released in the US in March 2000, followed by a short club stint at "Roxy", California.
In 2001, Mr Big released Actual Size in Asia. The CD sat on the charts in the number three spot and "Shine", the first single, was number one. The song was also used as the ending theme for the animation series Hellsing.
However, tension had developed between Billy Sheehan and the other members, and the band broke up in 2002.
Mr. Big 1988–2002
In 1988 Eric would team up with Billy Sheehan, Pat Torpey, and Paul Gilbert to form Mr. Big – one of the few much-vaunted supergroups to actually combine chart success with longevity. Mr. Big forged its place in hard rock history by combining trademark "shredding" musicianship with awesome vocal harmonies.[20] The reputations of the players generated immediate interest particularly amongst fellow musicians, and the band was signed to Atlantic Records in 1989. At the same year, they released a self-titled album, Mr. Big, which received critical and commercial success in the US and Japan. In June 1990, the group went on tour through America with the Canadian band Rush.
It was Mr. Big's second album in 1991, Lean Into It, that provided a major breakthrough for the band. The album featured two ballads that established them as a commercial success: "To Be with You” (number one song in 15 countries) and "Just Take My Heart".[21] The album propelled Mr. Big to huge international record sales in the multi-millions. It also contained rock songs that would remain popular for years to come. The release of Lean Into It was followed by a British tour in April and May of the same year, supported by bands The Throbs and Heartland.
Another British tour ensued before the quartet opted to release the Mr. Big Live album in 1992 and set to work on a third album to be released in 1993. As live headliners across the U.K. in December with Forgodsake as support, the band notably broke away from this run to play as support act for Aerosmith’s three-night, sold-out stand at London's Wembley Arena.
In 1993, another ballad from Mr. Big's new album Bump Ahead rose to the top 10 of the charts – a cover of Cat Steven’s "Wild World". Although the band was unable to sustain commercial success in the US, their popularity in Japan continued to soar (resulting in countless sold-out tours and such Japan-only live albums as Raw Like Sushi I, Raw Like Sushi II, Japandemonium, Mr. Big in Japan, etc.).[22]
While in Mr. Big, Eric Martin was also involved in other projects on the side. In 1995, Martin was the vocalist in The Power Rangers Orchestra, which also featured Guns 'N' Roses member, Matt Sorum. Their version of "Go Go Power Rangers" was featured in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie.
In 1996, by the time another album of Mr. Big emerged (entitled Hey Man), the group was able to gain a stable following in newer markets such as Thailand and South Korea. However, the change in attitudes towards Hard Rock and the media treatment of so called "80s' Hair bands" meant that sales were poor in America and Europe, causing the group to drop any plans they may have had to tour anywhere other than the Far East.
The group's album, Live At Budokan, was another live release intended for the Japanese market only. By the time Live At Budokan appeared the group had been put on ice as the individual band members became more engrossed in other projects. After several years of continuous recording and touring, the band took a much needed break.
Eric’s third solo album, Somewhere in the Middle was written during the two-year hiatus from Mr. Big. The CD was completed in 1998 and released in Japan, Southeast Asia and Europe. Strong Japanese sales prompted a Fall 1998 tour. Eric thought it would be fun to get some of the guys from his old band, 415, back together and re-experience some of the chemistry from those early days. A fresh EMB toured Japan and a newly energized Eric graced the stage at numerous hometown clubs in the San Francisco Bay Area. Amazingly dedicated fans flew in from Japan, Europe, and the East coast to watch Eric perform.
Upon regrouping to record a fifth studio album, Paul Gilbert announced his decision to leave the band and new guitarist, Richie Kotzen was added to the lineup. In 1998, Eric also recorded the song "I Love the Way You Love Me" under Atlantic Records, and was released as a solo track.
The new line-up of Mr. Big released Get Over It on September 1999 in Japan. Get Over It yielded "Superfantastic", a number one hit in Japan that went multi-platinum. It proved to be Atlantic's biggest selling release in that territory. Mr. Big put in a 20-date tour of Japan followed by a rousing New Year's Eve 1999 show with Aerosmith at the Osaka Dome in Tokyo. Get Over It was released in the U.S. on March 21, 2000, followed by a short club stint at "Roxy", California.
Forward to the summer of 2001, Eric and the rest of the Mr. Big guys released their next effort Actual Size in Japan and the rest of Asia. The CD sat on the charts in the number three spot and "Shine" the first single off the album was number one. The song was also used as the ending theme for the animation series, Hellsing.
Although fans welcomed the new album, other news would come as a shock. A lot of tension had recently developed between Billy Sheehan and the other members, and this led to a breakup of the band. Despite being a multi-million record-selling band, the members of Mr. Big gritted their teeth for a farewell tour of Japan and Asia in 2002 as part of a contract they were obliged to comply with.
The career of Eric Martin as part of Mr. Big spanned for more than a decade. The band had enjoyed enormous success with the release of six studio albums, numerous hit singles and six top-selling live CDs. All combined, worldwide sales topped the seven million mark.
Solo Albums and Projects After Mr. Big 2002–2004
In between promoting and preparing for Mr. Big’s 2002 "Farewell Tour", Eric continued to record songs for his fourth solo album. He promised a return to his "rawk roots" and he definitely did so with "I’m Goin’ Sane" which was released in Asia, Europe and US in late 2002. After the success of a Japan tour, an appearance at the European "Gods Festival" and a 23-city US tour, Eric decided to go back to the studio to record Pure, a EP that covers his hits in an unplugged and stripped acoustic form.
In 2002, during the demise of Mr. Big, Eric married Denise, the sometime-drummer of the Eric Martin Band.
In 2003, Eric contributed his version of "Cheer Up" to the Japanese release Sincerely 2 - Mariya Takeuchi Song Book album. He also came to attention outside of his priority solo activities, portraying the character "Mr. Niko" for a 2004 "Genius" outing In Search of The Little Prince.[23]
Later on, Eric would record another album entitled Destroy All Monsters, which would then be released in Japan, Europe, US and South America in 2004. The album's sound is something Eric calls “distorted pop” with a focus on his rock roots. That same year Eric was unable to promote the album as much as he wanted, due to a call from the biggest guitar star in Japan, Tak Matsumoto.[24]
Tak Matsumoto Group 2004
Tak’s band, B’z have sold over 80 million records and held onto success for over 12 years in Japan. Tak decided to put together a rock band called Tak Matsumoto Group, or TMG, with his favorite players; this would include Eric on vocals, Jack Blades (Night Ranger/Damn Yankees) on bass, and Chris Frasier (Steve Vai/Edgar Winter/Eddie Money) on drums, and, of course, Tak on guitar. They spent four months writing and recording an album in Los Angeles, did a 10-day promotional tour in Japan quickly followed by a Platinum album, and a 20-city sold-out tour from July to September, ending in Japan’s famous 15,000-seat arena, Budokan.[25] The Japanese tour for TMG saw the inclusion of Mr. Big's "To Be With You" in the set list.
TMG was among the top five bands on melodicrock.com during that time, but the band no longer pursued tours beyond Japan.[26]
During the same year TMG was in the works, Eric and Denise were also expecting twin boys by December. In lieu of this, Eric decided to lie low for the next couple of years.[27]
Projects Between 2004–2007
From 2004 to 2007, Eric was involved in numerous projects while remaining near home. A more comprehensive collection of his works are available on Eric Martin's Official Site. His projects included singing tracks on albums of different composers/artists, singing for karaoke games, video games and TV commercials, and joining benefit concerts all year round.[28]
Eric wrote and recorded the theme song for the hit pay-per-view television show Pride Fighting Championships, which is a major ultimate fighting program. The song, "The Last Man Standing" debuted New Year’s Eve 2006 on pay-per-view to millions of viewers.
Eric also wrote and recorded a song for guitar legend Ronnie Montrose’s CD, 10x10. He sings along with nine other singers including Sammy Hagar, Edgar Winter, Davey Pattison, and Mark Farner. The 10x10 album sparked interest in Eric’s vocal performance and he was asked to sing the classic song, "Guitar Man", with Ronnie Montrose, Denny Carmasi, and Ricky Phillips to take to the Sundance Film Festival.[29]
Eric also composed and performed a song called "Fly" for the commercial of Asahi Super Dry Beer in Japan. It is accompanied by a music video which is available at Youtube.com
International Tours in 2007–2009
From 2007 to 2009, Eric toured all over Europe, South America, and India, with different local bands backing him up at each tour.
It all started as an idea a few years before; Eric and Denise were figuring out how to make tours overseas cost effective and fresh per performance. They would call promoters all around the world and book shows 5 months in advance, find the best rock musicians or the most popular bands in the big cities and have them learn 18 to 20 of Eric's tunes, send mp3's back and forth (and pray for the best). Eric performed all over the world with bands such as The Road Vultures from Argentina, Hayseed from Norway, Raw Like Sushi (a Mr. Big tribute band) from Italy, and John McNamara's band from Australia.
The tour in India came as a surprise for Eric, as he never expected to perform in front of more than 20,000 people. Eric was invited by the King of Tripura, Kirit Pradyot Deb Burman, to perform Mr. Big songs during the Rock Festival at Shillong. Shillong is well-known in India as a place for avid music-lovers, especially rock. Eric and the band members (the Road Vultures) were graciously treated as state guests and were escorted upon arrival in India and during the concert. Amit Paul, a popular singer from the show "Indian Idol", together with other Indian celebrities, joined the show and sang part of "To Be With You" with Eric. The gig in India was meant to be only a seven-to-ten thousand seat show; but, as people started to break into the barricades, the crowd got larger (to about 20,800 people). The situation was handled, nevertheless, and the show was an amazing success. The whole festival in general was phenomenal.[31]
Eric also toured with Richie Kotzen in South America, a former bandmate from Mr. Big. The two found themselves performing 15,000-seat shows and playing the songs of Mr. Big together again.
In 2008 and 2009, Eric performed an acoustic set, at the annual Concerts Under The Stars in King of Prussia Pennsylvania, featuring members of Mid Atlantic 80's Tribute Band, "The Reagan Years" and Mid Atlantic Classic Rock band "Never Never" (which also features David Bell, guitarist formerly of "The Ravyns"), as his backing band. Clips of these performances can be seen on You Tube
Scrap Metal 2007
While taking his family on a stroll along the Marin County Fair, Eric was able to watch a performance by the Nelson Brothers and was later introduced to them by a common friend. The Nelson Brothers, Matthew and Gunnar, invited Eric to join them in the new 80s all-star band they were forming called "Scrap Metal". Generally, Scrap Metal would be a band dedicated to performing classic heavy metal and rock n' roll hits from the 80s and 90s.[32]
On February 3, 2007, Eric Martin, together with Matthew and Gunnar Nelson of "Nelson", Mark Slaughter of "Slaughter", Jani Lane of "Warrant", and Kelly Keagy of "Night Ranger", performed under the "Scrap Metal" banner for an MTV filmed concert at the Mohegan Sun Hotel & Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut. They would compose the core of the band.
Scrap Metal would tour around the US all year round. In most performances, they would often have different guests who were likewise players from other 80's bands.
Reunion
On February 1, 2009, a radio announcement for "Koh Sakai’s Burrn Presents: Heavy Metal Syndicate" contained a short message from Mr Big announcing the reunion in Japan to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of their debut album. A press conference in Japan in February generated much excitement,[6] and a tour of the country starting in June was announced, with shows in ten locations (including the Budokan). They held their first reunion concert outside Japan at Tallinn (Rock Cafe), Estonia on September 2009 continuing their tour.[7]
Warner Music Japan released remastered copies of their four studio albums, as well as a greatest hits CD and DVD. There are two new songs on the album, "Next Time Around", and "Hold Your Head Up".
Band members
- Eric Martin – lead vocals (1988–2002, 2009)
- Pat Torpey – drums, percussion (1988–2002, 2009)
- Billy Sheehan – bass guitar (1988–2002, 2009)
- Paul Gilbert – guitar (1988–1997, 2009)
Discography
Studio albums
- Mr. Big (1989) (The Billboard 200 #46, Japan Oricon Album Chart #22, JPN – Gold, UK #60[8])
- Lean Into It (1991) (The Billboard 200 #15, Japan Oricon Album Chart #6, US – Platinum, JPN – Platinum, UK #28[8])
- Bump Ahead (1993) (The Billboard 200 #82, Japan Oricon Album Chart #4, JPN – Platinum, UK #61[8])
- Hey Man (1996) (Japan Oricon Album Chart #1, JPN – 2x Platinum)
- Get Over It (2000) (Japan Oricon Album Chart #5, JPN – Gold)
- Actual Size (2001) (Japan Oricon Album Chart #5)
Live albums
- Raw Like Sushi (1990) (Japan Oricon Album Chart #32)
- Mr. Big Live (Live in San Francisco) (1992) (Japan Oricon Album Chart #45)
- Raw Like Sushi II (1992) (Japan Oricon Album Chart #8, JPN – Gold)
- Japandemonium: Raw Like Sushi 3 (1994) (Japan Oricon Album Chart #11, JPN – Platinum)
- Channel V at the Hard Rock Live (1996) (Japan Oricon Album Chart #32)
- Live at Budokan (1997) (Japan Oricon Album Chart #20)
- In Japan (2002) (Japan Oricon Album Chart #12)
- Back To Budokan (2009)
Singles
- "Addicted to That Rush" (1989) (Mainstream Rock Tracks #39)
- "Wind Me Up" (1989)
- "Green-Tinted Sixties Mind" (1991) (Mainstream Rock Tracks #33, UK #72[8])
- "To Be With You" (1991) (The Billboard Hot 100 #1 (3 weeks), Mainstream Rock Tracks #19, Adult Contemporary #11, UK #3[8])
- "Just Take My Heart" (1992) (The Billboard Hot 100 #16, Mainstream Rock Tracks #18, Japan Oricon Single Chart #68, UK #26[8])
- "Wild World" (1993) (The Billboard Hot 100 #27, Mainstream Rock Tracks #33, Top 40 Mainstream #12, Japan Oricon Single Chart #40, UK #59[8])
- "Ain't Seen Love Like That" (1994) (The Billboard Hot 100 #83)
- "Take Cover" (1996) (Japan Oricon Single Chart #1)
- "Not One Night" (1997)
- "Superfantastic" (2000) (Japan Oricon Single Chart #97)
- "Static" (2000) (Japan Oricon Single Chart #66)
- "Where Are They Now" (2000) (Japan Oricon Single Chart #47)
- "Shine" (2001) (Japan Oricon Single Chart #1)
- "Arrow" (2001) (Japan Oricon Single Chart #42)
Compilations
- Big Bigger Biggest: Greatest Hits (1996) (Japan Oricon Album Chart #2, JPN – 4x Platinum)
- Deep Cuts (2000) (Japan Oricon Album Chart #12)
- Greatest Hits (2004) (Japan Oricon Album Chart #70)
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