SOUND COVER ADVICE STORY
“ Take the Money and Run ” is an example of how you are a master of doing an introduction before the songs actually start . And that intro may or may not have anything to do with the rest of it .
Right ( laughs ). Part of the test of all this stuff is to make a single that would be played on the radio . I grew up knowing Les Paul , so from the age of five I knew that he was always trying to get hit singles on the radio . I look at singles as compressed , compact , very quick , and fresh . They have to catch people right away . So one of the things we would always do is come up with an intro . We were always trying to get the intro to be no more than 10 seconds , which is enough to establish that something was going to happen . You had to establish the listener ’ s interest immediately and then move right into something else . Do you remember back to what top 40 was like ? It was a real fast-paced and moving kind of thing . You had to hit it and get right with it . So there were always intros .
In this case it was a drum hook .
Right . I would work with Gary Mallaber and say , “ I ’ ve got this song and I want you to do the drum intro .” I would know that I would want it to be a drum intro . I was real specific about everything on the tunes – exact bass lines and stuff – because I had played with all these tunes a lot on my multi-track at home . I had them just the way I wanted them . I went into the studio with the guys and we cut all the tracks for Fly Like An Eagle and Book of Dreams in 11 days . Then I took them home and worked on them for two years .
AUG / SEPT DIGITAL EDITION 31
Steve Miller by Baron Wolman Iconic Images