Kevin Shirley interview (excerpt)

Spirit Of Rush: You’ve moved on to producing now. Do you prefer that?

Kevin Shirley: I have always engineered and mixed stuff. There is a big difference in that engineering doesn’t have the pressure. I love mixing but I wouldn’t engineer now because I like having the input.

SOR: Do you find you have to like the music you’re working on?

KS: No, It’s a professional job. I enjoy doing Dream Theater which is awesome, however there are elements of their music I don’t like. There are times they can make music like Vikings – the overbearing parts for me. When we were doing the album it was like “lose that stuff – or that stuff......we need more chorus”. It’s fine to have a fanbase but you need to get beyond that.....more accessible. I don’t know if the fanbase likes stuff like ‘Hollow Years’ – the softer, gentler side. However, you can’t keep a career based on a small fanbase of, say 300,000.

SOR: We feel Falling Into Infinity is the best album they’ve done....both musically and the sound. Compared to Awake this flies out of the speaker.

KS: Thanks. The big thing is all the instruments are real. Mike is an incredible drummer and as for Derek, what he played on the album is what he played on tracking.

SOR: Tonight DT played some songs that didn’t make the album. As producer did you hear these and say “No, this has to go”.

KS: The only one that I think has come out really good that we didn’t do is ‘Speak To Me’. They’ve changed it. I heard it in rehearsal and said “Wow”. They said “You passed on that”. I told them “It never sounded like that”. It sounded really good now. However, the other ones still don’t work for me.

SOR: So what’s next for you?

KS: Finish DT Live and then I’m mixing for “Cold Chisel”.