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An Interview with Daryl
Stuermer
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Much has
changed since we last sat down with guitarist Daryl Stuermer roughly five
years ago. At the time, Stuermer, who was hard at work on recording his
fusion-influenced album, Retrofit, had re-established himself as more of
a contemporary jazz player than a rock guitarist, with a string of
predominantly smooth jazz orientated solo projects. Daryl had not worked
with Genesis on tour as a collective since the early '90s, and there were no
signs of any sort of reunion on the horizon.
Fast forward to 2006. Daryl Stuermer releases Rewired: The Electric
Collection, a compilation showcasing some of Stuermer's more rock-fusion
orientated solo material. This was followed with 2007's Go, a new
Daryl Stuermer solo album much more in the vein of what a Genesis fan would
salivate to hear from Daryl. Like his solo debut, Steppin' Out, and
the Rewired album, Go is loaded with progressive rock
influenced power riffs and stunning epic guitar solos - a very radical
departure from the smooth jazz sound we have become accustomed to hearing.
As if that wasn't enough, Daryl finds himself being back in Genesis for the
2007 Turn It On Again reunion tour, which features the ultra-popular late
'70s to early '90s touring line-up of Tony Banks, Phil Collins, Mike
Rutherford, Chester Thompson and, of course, Daryl Stuermer. The Genesis
tour has already played to in excess of 1.5 million people in Europe alone
and is currently working its way across North America.
On Wednesday, September 19, 2007, World of Genesis.com's own Dave Negrin was
granted a fan's dream come true - an All Access pass to go backstage at
Genesis' second of three
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania shows to talk to Daryl about his new solo album,
his change in direction as an artist and... oh yes, the first Genesis tour
with this band line-up in 15 years.
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...But
we didn't actually get together for another year after that. We got together
in New York City for two weeks, just to get together and kind of play to see
if the magic was still there. Within a couple of hours, we knew it was back.
The magic was there. They decided to continue on for the rest of the two
weeks, and just basically got the songs together that they thought we would
do for the tour. We did most of them. We only deleted about three songs from
our rehearsal. But we didn't get together for many months after that, maybe
almost a year, for the actual real rehearsal.
WOG's Dave back stage with
Daryl Sept. '07
WOG: Of the songs that were cut, were they removed because they
weren't working out or because they didn't fit in the set list?
DS: Its more
like one song did the same thing that this song can do. So, which of the two
do you think is better? Like "Hold on My Heart" or "In Too Deep" and they
picked "Hold On My Heart." They thought that maybe in gigs like
Philadelphia, where we are here for a few shows, what we would do is one
night do "Hold On My Heart" and the other night do "In Too Deep." In the
end, we decided that "Hold on My Heart" was working too well. We rehearsed
"In Too Deep" even just recently, and it sounded good, but its not as strong
as "Hold on My Heart." |
World of
Genesis: Go represents a radial change in direction from your
last several solo projects and is more reminiscent of your solo debut,
Steppin' Out. What brought about this change?
Daryl Stuermer: Well, like you said, my first record was in this vein
- sort of. I wanted to kind of go back, and I think the reason was that all
my records in between, which I like, are all across the board very
different. I mean, each song was more eclectic. Some songs were nylon
string, some were electric, some were energy, some were middle of the road,
and also I was trying to get at least some kind of airplay on some of the
contemporary jazz or smooth jazz radio stations, because that is virtually
the only place where they play instrumental music, basically. So, I took
some of that music and condensed it a little more or edited it to make it a
little more radio-friendly. Not all the songs, but just a few. Although, in
retrospect, by doing that I think sometimes I diminished some of what I
really could do.
So, I thought this time, what I wanted to do, is to make a higher energy, more
edgy record than I have done in the past and focus a little bit more on the
guitar playing. I mean, when I write a song, its mainly about the
composition and then the guitar goes on top of it. A lot of times when I put
the guitar on top [of a song] I kind of stayed away from making it too
flashy. This time out, I said, "What the heck! I'm just going to go for it."
That's why it's called Go. It's like - pull up the choke - Go!
That's basically why I did it this way, and I also wanted to return to what
I really came from, I think, with Jean Luc Ponty and my own band,
Sweetbottom. We were more rock-jazz-fusion, and I think Go is more of
a progressive rock fusion record. |
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Another one was the song "That's All." I think we're not doing it only
because were trying to put a song list together of two and a half hours and
that wasn't one of the stronger songs in rehearsal. So, we said, "Ok, let's
just not do it." It's pretty much that simple.
WOG:
You've toured Europe and part of the North American leg. Is there a
particular night of the tour so far that you felt the band was exceptionally
good?
DS: Actually, you know last night, I thought the band was really
good. It was really a powerful night. I think the fans were great. We've not
done that many shows in North America yet, but I think the first night in
Philly and, believe it or not, Buffalo, New York, was a really great night.
I think we all really felt very comfortable with the set, and we walked on
stage and we were like, "Wow!"
You know how they reacted to stuff last night? That affects us as well. It
was a great crowd last night. You know? We play well, they come back at us
well, we continue to play well. If we're playing great and the crowd just
isn't reacting, we kind of look at each other and go, "Huh?" But it's rarely
that way. The only thing that could happen sometimes is that maybe your
first row of people are a boring crowd. Maybe because they are a little
intimidated being that close to you? Like, you'll see a guy sitting there
with his arms folded. He might love it, but you don't know it. When you
get a crowd like Philadelphia last night, you know they were all loving it.
So, we were all pretty happy with last night show. |
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DARYL
ON HIS NEW ALBUM...
"A lot of times when I put the guitar on top
[of a song] I kind of stayed away from making
it too flashy. This time out, I said, "What the heck! I'm just going to go
for it." That's why it's called
Go. It's like - pull up the choke - Go! That's
basically why I did it this way, and I also wanted
to return to what I really came from..." |
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WOG: So, at the end of this tour will you be touring in support of
Go or doing the Electricoustic Duo project?
DS: A little bit of both,
I think. What I really need to do is start writing
for the next album, but at the same time, we are trying to put some kind of
touring together. Maybe even start in Canada or something like that. We're
also talking about going to Europe.
WOG: Hopefully,
you'll get some East Coast dates for the United States in there as well.
Maybe Philadelphia?
DS: Well, I'll
try. I would like to. |
WOG:
It's interesting that, even as a guitarist, you don't necessarily start
writing a song with a riff.
DS: Not always. I probably wrote half of the songs on the guitar and
half on the keyboards. I tend to write more simply on the keyboards, because
I have limited technical ability (laughs). I know what it is, but I can't
play anything fancy. So, I tend to write chord pattern first. Then, maybe
over top of that, I'll get the guitar and start working on a melody... I
might have a melody already in my head, but I'll try to make it a little
more interesting on the guitar. So, I'll usually use a keyboard and a drum
machine to start a pattern and work from there. But after that, its pretty
much the guitar at that point.
What I don't like about a lot of guitarist's records is they are great
guitar players - real flashy... but the songs aren't interesting to me. What
I am trying to do, and hopefully, I am succeeding, is writing a song first
with melody and atmosphere - and then the guitar comes on. In a sense,
almost second. Although, I didn't want to take away from the guitar
either. I thought, this time I want to, maybe, let go a little more than I
used to. I was a little more subdued on some of the earlier records, but
this time I thought, "This time, I'm going to go for it. I want people to
know that if they come to see me live, this is what they are going to
hear..." and maybe even more live, but at least this is going to give them
the sense of energy and whatever they take from it, but in a live
performance.
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Genesis live in
Philadelphia, September 19, 2007 with Stuermer (far left)
You know, when you talk about touring, it's all about logistics and about
how much money are you willing to lose (laughs)! That's what it really comes
down to. You know, if I could break even on a tour, I would be happy. So,
we're hoping to tour for the Go record along with playing some of my
older stuff, but I still need to start writing. Just because the process
itself takes so long - From the day you record it to the day its actually
coming out. |
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Daryl Stuermer on bass with
Genesis at the Wachovia Center 2007
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WOG: After you left GRP Records, everything you released as a solo
artist has been independently released until Go. What made you
consider going with a record company on this release?
DS: I left because GRP actually didn't resign me. That's really what
it came down to. I thought the first record was really good, but they really
didn't know how to sell it because they were selling contemporary jazz but
my record had a rock edge and I think they knew they couldn't do anything
with it. They put a sticker on the front that said, "Guitarist for Phil
Collins and Genesis." I mean, that's not enough! So, they didn't know how to
promote it and it wasn't an airplay type record because [jazz radio
stations] didn't play anything that was even that heavy. I mean, I didn't
think it was too heavy, but I mean I am a musician and I would love to hear
that kind of stuff on the radio. There are many records I would like to hear
on the radio. Like an Eric Johnson record. I would love to hear that on the
radio, but you're not going to. It's too good (laughs)! |
WOG: On
the Japanese CD issue of Go, there is a bonus track of your take on
"Land of Confusion" from your Another Side of Genesis album. However,
the Japanese disc says "2007 Remaster." Are you reissuing your Urban Island
albums as digital remasters?
DS: Are you talking about on the Rewired record?
WOG: Actually, no. On the Japanese pressing of Go, it has this as a
bonus track and it specifically states that it is a 2007 remaster.
DS: Oh! I forgot (Laughs)! Well, I don't know. Now that I remember we
did that... I always wanted to have that song out there. It was on the
Another Side of Genesis album, but that album was pretty subdued. It was
a little more of a jazzy album, but "Land of Confusion" was the one song
that really had a lot of energy to it. That's why we put it on there. Plus,
we wanted people to say, "Oh, where does that come from?" So, that they will
look into the back catalog and maybe check out some more things I've done.
The album before Go was called Rewired: The Electric Collection.
That was basically collecting songs from all of my previous records of this
kind of genre. This kind of edgy, progressive rock fusion. I thought it
would be a good introduction to Go, because actually I finished Go
before that record, but the record company didn't want to put out the new
album until the start of the Genesis tour, because that was sort of built-in
promotion and we're selling Go and Rewired at the venues where
[Genesis] are playing. So, I'm trying to focus attention into that genre of
music. So, that's what my goal is anyway. |
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WOG: You mentioned that you had considered doing a live album or DVD
at some point when I spoke to you last. Is that any closer to a reality?
DS: I don't know yet. A live DVD is a tough thing to do. That's a
very expensive journey, but I definitely want to do a live record, because I
really like my group. They are such
talented people, and I think we even shine more when we play live. That's
why when we play a live show, after the show, I will set up a table where
they sell CDs. I can sell so many CDs in one night after a show. People get
excited, they like what they hear, and they say, "I want to buy that!"
WOG: On this Genesis tour and on the last Phil Collins tour, you
dropped many of the songs a key or two to put the music in line with Phil's
voice. Is it difficult after playing a song a certain way for so many years
to remember to change it when you play it live now?
DS: At first, but pretty much that's gone after we've rehearsed it.
You get into a couple of weeks of rehearsal. We didn't just do it because...
Well, no matter what, as you age, your voice does lower a bit, but Phil he
can still sing a lot of these songs in the original key. But remember, when
you are doing multiple nights in a row for several weeks at a time, you want
to be sure to have a little safety valve in there.
WOG: There are a lot of instrumental sections on the 2007 Genesis
tour. In fact, there is one section in particular during the "Firth of
Fifth" solo where you are featured prominently including your image being
blasted across the massive video screen monitors above you. |
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WOG:
How did your old Phil Collins touring band mate Lee Sklar involved on Go?
DS: Well, we've known each other forever. We first worked together in
1984 on Phil's No Jacket Required album, and we've been friends ever
since. I didn't even know this at the time, but after I was working with him
for a few weeks, I said to him, "By the way, I know you live in California,
but hardly anybody I know was born in California..." and he says, "I was
born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin," which is where I was born.
So, we had this whole connection that way. Of course, I didn't know him
then, because he was only 5 years old and I wasn't even born yet (Laughs)!
Alright, maybe I was, but I didn't know him then...
WOG: You weren't gigging at the time? (laughs)
DS: (Laughs) No! No (laughs)! They moved to Pasedena, California when
he was 5 years old. Anyway, I've known him all this time, some 23 years, and
he really is one of my favorite bass players - for real. In fact, when I
play bass with Genesis, in a sense, I kind of emulate him. I think, "How
would Leland Sklar play this?" I kind of put his style into my style of bass
playing because I play bass on about half of the Genesis show. I just love
the way he plays. He is on my first record, he's on my second record, and
he's on Go as well.
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DS: I heard that (laughs)!
WOG: Do these things make the set list more appealing to you to play?
There has always been the Chester highlight moment in the show with the drum
solo with Phil, but this is kind of your first spotlight moment with Genesis
as a guitarist in a sense.
DS: Yes, it is appealing, but I also like that there is this great
mix of instrumental and vocal music. Phil also gets to play more drums on
this tour, along with Chester. I definitely get a lot more feature. A lot of
people mention that song and the middle section of "Ripples." I love those
songs.
WOG: Any plans to work with your brother or Sweetbottom again?
DS: No, nothing at the present time. No reason why not, but there are
not plans currently.
WOG: When did you start playing guitar and who influenced you as a
young player?
DS: I started out playing guitar when I was 11 years old. I started
like a lot of kids from my era. My brother was a musician before me. He is
two years older than me. He was really into Elvis Presley, so I liked Elvis
and I also like Ray Charles, but what really got me going was this band
called The Ventures. It was all instrumental guitar music, and that was what
really got me going. |
 WOG: I
was just surprised that you brought in another bass player since you've had
a fairly stable solo band for the past five years or so.
DS: Yes, that's true.
WOG: How rough was that conversation? After having Eric Hervey as a
constant bass player in your band for so many years and having to explain
that you were bringing in Leland to play on some of the new album?
DS: Not rough at all. Eric's on almost half of the record. He's on
four tracks and Leland is on six, I think. See, a lot of times on other
records, I played bass myself, too. This was the first time that I made a
conscious decision not to play bass. I thought I want to just get the
influence, kind of the vibe of the album and the atmosphere, from the bass
players.
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WOG: Have the guys in Genesis talked much about the forthcoming
double live album from the European leg of the tour? Will this title be in
surround?
DS: Yes, it will be in 5.1 surround sound. There will be a DVD in
surround as well. The live album has things from all different countries in
Europe and the DVD is all live in Rome, because there was about 500,000
people there.
WOG: Is there any chance that you and Chester Thompson will work
together on a record?
DS: There is always that chance. Especially, if I have another record
coming. I might want to have a few drummers on a different record. It
depends if he's available and how that goes, you know? We'd have to talk it
though, but I would love to.
WOG: As far as Phil Collins' hearing loss is concerned, what
precautions are being taken to ensure that he is ok on this tour? I know on
his solo tour, he mellowed some songs down for this reason, but you didn't
appear to do that with the Turn It On Again Genesis tour.
DS: Mainly, its not having amplifiers on stage and blasting so that
he does not have to fight with our volume. So, we have them under the stage,
which actually works well, and we're on in-your-ear
monitors now. It honestly works out better for us, too. That's the only, if
you want to say, precaution. Just stage volume. |
I thought, I'm going to give Eric what I think are the best songs for him
and I'm going to give Leland what I think are the best songs for him. I came
to Eric, and I said, "I hope you don't mind, but I thinking about getting
Leland Sklar on this album also," and he said, "No, I'd be honored!" Which I
thought, "Boy, did he make it easy!" I see what you're saying though, it
could have been a touchy subject. Eric knows what a good friend I am of
Leland's, and he loves his playing.
WOG: When I last interviewed you about five years ago, you mentioned
two projects you had in the works. One was your drummer John Calarco's solo
project that you were producing and a duo project with John as well. What is
the status of these albums?
DS:
We're not... That just kind of fell by the wayside. I am working on a sort
of a duo project with my keyboard player, because we are now doing gigs
together. We call it the Electricoustic Duo. We've done a few dates together
- nothing major. We did a couple of dates opening for people like Rick
Wakeman, who did an acoustic piano tour. We opened for him. We opened for
Robert... (laughs)... I can't remember his name! |
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WOG: Will your next album be remain in the progressive rock-fusion
style, similar to the Go record?
DS: Yes, it will be more in that vein. I guess I can mention this... I am even considering possibly taking some of
Genesis' instrumental songs and doing a medley. Not taking the vocals like I
did on Another Side of Genesis but taking the actual instrumentals and
putting it together in sort of my kind of medley, because I just love those
things. So, just taking an instrumental approach to an instrumental song,
but not a whole album just maybe a 15 or 20 minute thing that just all fits
together. I think the fans would like that, and I would definitely like that.
WOG: How has the added access of fans
via the Internet impacted
you? Is that added exposure a blessing or a curse?
DS: It's both,
really. On the positive side, I've sold more downloads than actual CDs recently. Its the way things are going, and I like that
people can check out different songs if they want to. Largely, its a
positive thing, but of course there are always exceptions. |
In any case, we'll open for
other people or we'll play at a jazz festival as just the two of us. When
we're a big festival with more of a rock edge, I'll use my band. I mean,
it's just a side project. We're thinking about putting out an album of all
original music and then possibly taking some of the music from my old
records and re-doing them in a sort of electricoustic setting. Just the two
of us.
WOG: When did you first hear about the Genesis reunion, and are you
surprised that the 50+ date world tour came together the way that it did?
DS: I was on tour with Phil's band at the time. So, it was about
three years ago. They were having a meeting while we were in Glasgow,
Scotland. We were having a gig the next day, but we were there for a day off
and they had a meeting. I forgot all about it, and I was sitting in the
lobby of the hotel, and all of the sudden I saw Mike (Rutherford) and Tony
(Banks) walk out of the elevator. I said hello and we started talking, but
they never mentioned anything about it.
The next day, their manager (Tony Smith) came up to me while I was in the
catering room before the gig and he said, "Mike, Tony and Phil got together
and they decided that they would like to tour again, but they want to do the
band with you and Chester." I thought, "Right..." (said with
some skepticism)
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DARYL
STUERMER DISCOGRAPHY
   
GO
REWIRED
NYLON STRING LIVE: THE
REUNION
SAMPLER
   
WAITING IN THE ANOTHER
SIDE LIVE & LEARN
STEPPIN' OUT
WINGS
OF GENESIS
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SELECTED GENESIS PROJECTS FEATURING DARYL STUERMER
LIVE AT WEMBLEY
THE WAY WE ARCHIVE #2
THE WAY WE WALK
THE WAY WE WALK
THREE SIDES LIVE
1983-1998
STADIUM (DVD)
WALK (DVD) 3 CD
BOX SET VOL. 1: THE SHORTS
VOL. 2:THE LONGS
SACD/DVD BOX
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Special thanks to Daryl and Michaela Stuermer, Gary Tanin, Urban Island
Records, Tony Smith, and Hannah Charlesworth for this interview. For more
information on Daryl Stuermer, please visit the
official Daryl
Stuermer site. This interview is © 2007 David Negrin and may not be
reproduced in whole or in part without permission.
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