French music site Rock Meeting has posted a new interview with Patti, discussing her recent UK tour and her own music.
Interview PATTI RUSSO 18/05/2014
by Florence Bouvrot
While touring with Meat Loaf for nearly twenty years, Patti Russo’s voice and stage performance have already seduced dozens of millions of people in the whole world. Over the years, she has also worked with numerous famous artists including Cher, Queen, Bryan Ferry, The Trans-Siberian Orchestra… Not to forget the theatre stage as she played Esmeralda in Notre Dame de Paris and Killer Queen in Las Vegas production “We Will Rock You”.
Singer-songwriter, Patti is now launching her own solo career that began with a UK Tour in April and she has also released an EP of four songs: Xo!!.
A talk with the most European singer from the States…
1/ Hello Patti, you’ve just performed the first gig of your UK Solo Tour. I’d really like you to share with us your feelings during that show.
“It was a pretty amazing moment for me, I must say. Though I’ve been on that stage before as a guest singer, this time is was me fronting a band. I should’ve done this years ago ! Seeing all those familiar faces in the audience was equally amazing and made me feel very honored that they came out to support me.“
2/ You’re really loved by all your fanbase around the world. How would you describe your relationship with your fans?
“They’re great! I’ve known some of them for years and have seen their kids grow up. They’ve been extremely supportive and kind. And they will travel the globe to see you! Very grateful to all of them.“
3/ Everybody was so looking forward to seeing you on stage by your own. Which event finally gave you the impulse to work on this tour? And why did you decide to come first to the UK?
“Waking up to an email, telling you that you no longer had a job after 20 years will get your brain scrambling pretty fast, I’ll say. Performing is my life and who I am, so given what had happened and how it happened, it was an obvious decision to go out there and finally live my childhood dream. I mean, what else can you do really? You can sink or swim and I chose to swim. I chose the UK because it has always felt like home for me. I try to get to there whenever I can.”
4/ You’re performing on stage with a Band. Could you introduce your musicians to our readers?
“These guys are like family to me and I’ve performed with them on numerous occasions. It felt right to have them onboard and I was happy that most of them were available! They’re all accomplished musicians in their own right, but have also been a part of Spike’s All-Stars (The SAS Band) and their other band, The Red Sox. We always have fun!”
5/ How would you describe the musical style of your show? Is it rather Rock and up-tempo songs or romantic ballads? A combination of both maybe?
“For this show, I chose the music that is, and has been, a part of my life. I would say it’s an antipasta selection of songs! Ha! “
6/ I know you’ve worked with a writer from Nashville in the past. How do you like to proceed when composing a new song ? Do you also have some favourite themes that you like to tackle?
“Every song is different. The music tracks for “Bible” & “One Door Opens” for instance, were already written, so it was a bit of a challenge to come up with the melodies and lyrics to music i did not have part in writing. Having said that, I am very proud of the outcome of those songs. When I’m coming up with a song idea, it might be an event in my life or a random melody that creeps into my head, that gets the ball rolling. It’s not just one thing or theme. They just “appear”.“
7/ I’d really like you to talk about one of your songs that seems so emblematic to me, “Bring Me A Bible And A Beer”…
“I love that song! I was listening to the music in a kitchen where I was staying and I had my Bible and a Corona Beer on the table, trying to come up with something. Voila! The rest is history! It practically wrote itself!”
8/ We can’t help talking about your career with Meat Loaf. You entered Meat’s Band, the Neverland Express, in 1993 and toured with him as lead female singer around the whole world in front of dozens of millions people. What are your most impressive memories?
“There are so many memories. Let’s see. I would say performing at Madison Square Garden is a big one, as well as this huge festival we did in Canada with Def Leppard. God, I know there are many more, but off the top of my head, those two stand out.”
9/ You’ve also worked with lots of famous artists over the years, including Queen. How did it happen and what did you feel when singing on stage with them?
“Queen are my favorite band and I would always warm up to their music before a Meat Loaf show. We were playing at Wembley Arena one evening and Brian May came to the show. He was extremely nice and he even gave me his email address, as I would send him songs that I was working on. I soon met Spike Edney, who is their keyboard player and Musical Director, who also has his own band, Spike’s All-Stars. I performed with Spike’s band and they were impressed at how many Queen songs I knew. Things just progressed from there. Pretty crazy!!!! I still can’t believe that I sang with them!!!”
10/ Coming back to your Solo work, do you intend to release an album soon?
“God, I hope so! I know I’m a bit late in starting my own career, but I really do want to put a proper record out there!”
11/ Do you have other plans for touring in the future? And of course, could you consider coming to France, I know you love our country…
“I’m working on putting the proper team in place at the moment. Fingers crossed, as I would love to come to France!!”
12/ 2014 is definitely an important date for you, how would you describe this year in one sentence?
“What doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger”
13 / Thanks a lot Patti for sharing this moment with us all…
“Thank you for having me!! Take Care!”