http://www.genesis-news.com/c-Interv...ring-s581.html
GNC: Whose idea was it to call the compilation „R-Kive“?
Mike: Oh, that was Peter’s idea. We were emailing around some ideas and we needed a name for the DVD as well, which became Sum Of The Parts, and both seem to be nice names.
GNC: While the R-Kive concept is something everybody understands, there has been a lot of criticicm about Sum Of The Parts as it’s an unbalanced documentary. What is your own opionion? Could it have been done better?
Mike: Well, it could always be done better, of course. You know that Steve was complaining and I agree to that. It was done by Eagle Rock and I saw the first cut which was awful and it was so boring. There was no solo stuff from nearly anybody, none from Peter and Steve was hardly in it at all. So we had a conversation and they changed the editor and the team. New guys came in and we saw a new draft way past the deadline for the BBC and actually commented on things like there were no Vari*Lites, there was no Steve on the solo stuff and so on. And then we didn’t see that one again before it was finished. We were not really in control, we got in too late really.
GNC: That is also the reason why Calling All Stations is not mentioned at all?
Mike: Well, the directors also have to make a choice, what they show and for me … I wanted the Vari*Lites story in it which is fantastic you know, since Genesis changed the world lighting and huge productions, but it wasn’t mentioned. You can’t get in everything, I suppose. But it was disappointing.
GNC: You mentioned in an interview a few weeks ago that the original plan was to produce a documentary about The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, which made perfect sense, since the album tuns 40 this November. Why didn’t you go forward with this idea and do the documentary on the band later? Will the documentary about The Lamb happen at a later date?
Mike: The trouble with The Lamb is, there is simply so little footage. But who knows, maybe we do that later. I know the guy who runs Eagle Rock, he’s a friend of mine. He wanted to do The Lamb, we talked and then thought it would be a nice documentary to be done about Genesis and the solo careers. The reason we did it - the documentary justifies the record. I wouldn’t have done the documentary without R-Kive. I mean, obviously you and all the fans know Genesis but a lot of people out there do not know much about us. They don’t know Phil ever played drums or didn’t know I’m in Mike + The Mechanics or Peter was ever in the band. they don’t know this stuff. A lot of people join the band at a different times and miss certain things. So it’s a way to remind people of our history.
Mike 2014GNC: So you would not exclude the possibility to do a Lamb documentary in the future?
Mike: No, of course not.
GNC: You also introduced a new band logo, which looks a bit strange and is, to be honest, not very pupular. Who’s idea was that?
Mike: We had a guy who came up with some ideas and we said, ok we take that one.
GNC. So you didn’t want to stick to an old logo?
Mike: No, it’s a different project and we wanted something new.
GNC: We were talking about The Lamb. If there’s one album you’ll have to pick from your Genesis career you are most proud of, what album would that be?
Mike: I can’t say that really. Having done a lot of revisiting stuff from my past with this project and also my Living Years book I kind of learned more about my music than I used to know … I am very proud of Supper’s Ready, that stands the test of time. I’m also proud of the last three albums, too - I mean the Mama-album onwards, because something happened with our writing, we just seemed to get into a flow. The albums seemed to have been written by itself, in a matter of days really, which was really great. So it’s very hard to pick the one album.
GNC: After the last Genesis tour in 2007, you and also Phil said in interviews that it might be an option to get together to record a new song, probably to be released in digital format only. Do you think there’s still a chance to do that?
Mike: I think it’s unlikely at this stage.
GNC: Which means „in the foreseeable future“?
Mike: Well, my line has always been ‚never say never‘, but there are absolutely no plans at the moment to do something like that. When it comes to the Sum Of The Parts project, the crucial thing was to get all of us together in the same room for a couple of days and chat. Without that, it would not have been worth it, I think.
GNC: In 2011, you did a new album, The Road, with the Mechanics, have been touring quite a lot with the band and now we learned that Daryl will join you on various shows in North America, how did that happen? Will Daryl also join you on stage during the main set?
Mike: We haven’t thought about that, maybe he might. And with the American tour … the promoter came to see us at the Hammersmith Apollo, enjoyed the show and he booked a tour in America. A nice tour in the North East, just four weeks. So we try that and see how it works really. Because in England we came out a few years ago with The Road and a tour and it was quite a hard work, we needed to prove ourselves again on the road. the Mechanics also never toured much ever. It was a bit like the early days, playing a lot to show yourself. So now we’re doing North America and we had a couple of ideas about support acts and then Daryl came to me and said, what about me? He’s not coming with his band, he’s on his own, and I think it’ll be great.
GNC: So he’s doing a solo show, supporting the Mechanics?
Mike: I think so, yes
GNC: The biggest success in the states happened with the first two albums for the Mechanics. Are you considering to change the setlist to meet these expectations?
Mike: A very good question, I asked myself - i don’t know the answer to it yet. We might change it a bit and at the same time, we play quite a lot from the early albums right now, like Silent Running, Seeing Is Believing, Nobody’s Perfect and so on. We will see what happens. But it’s a good question, we have to think about some options.
GNC: When you did the Living Years 25 tour, people were expection more songs from that album. In the end you played like 4 songs from that album. Did you discuss playing more, probably the whole album?
Mike: I didn’t think so, since there are songs on there which are not really good live songs. Four or five are, and I think that’s enough from that album, yes.
GNC: You are coming to Europe after the North American tour … are there specific plans for the European shows or will they follow basically the same concept?
Mike: I am actually not certain. We need to change some things, that’s for sure. I quite enjoy the little acoustic section.
GNC: Me too. About the gigs, the fans appreciate that you are indeed a great live band, but you always play a quite short set. Why don’t you just do a 2 hour set?
Mike: Well, the UK tour will be 1’50. The other thing is, Genesis does have this huge production which does help you, but The Mechanics don't have that. I was thinking about the English tour, maybe we do two sets and have a break in between. So maybe we play longer then. I thought about that and I may consider it.
GNC: You have enough material to play more songs.
Mike: We do, we have more songs we could do. But the set has to work, it shouldn’t bee too long. But with the interval, maybe we start part 2 with an acoustic set, that could work. Just an idea, we’ll see.
GNC: Speaking about new stuff, you were thinking about writing new songs and brainstorming ideas for a while now. Any chances for a new Mechanics album?
Mike: There are chances for new songs, but I am not sure what form they will take. I did some writing in the last month and we will do some more in December and maybe some recording in January. But a whole album is quite hard to justify these days. It’s a lot of work. But there will definitely be new music! We will put that out somehow, we will see.
"A new Mechanics album is unlikely, but new songs are written"
GNC: So there won’t be any major release before the tour starts.
Mike: No, i don’t think so, but maybe we get some songs to radio stations and see how that works.
GNC: James Walsh will support you during the UK tour. I got the CD and I saw there’s a „Rutherford“ credited on some songs as co-writer. Is that you or Harry?
Mike: I didn’t write anything. I was slightly involved in chosing some of the songs for the final album list. Harry produced the record.
GNC: So it must be his Harry’s writing credit then ...
Mike: Yes!
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Originally Posted by Scott Bails
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