Exclusive Interview with Loren Gold

Keying in to the Sounds of Today

Loren Gold's resumé is an impressive one that includes a stint in the 1990s as musical director for pop sensation Tiffany. He later parlayed that experience into studio work with national pop acts such as Mandy Moore and Mindi Abair culminating in his receiving the nod from Hilary Duff to become first her keyboardist then musical director too on her Still Most Wanted world tour.

Working with these artists, Loren has traveled far and wide playing concerts around the globe. He has appeared on The American Music Awards, The Today Show, The Tonight Show, and played many more plum assignments. With his burgeoning music-industry visibility Gold has become an endorser for such major gear manufacturers as Yamaha, Korg, and M-Audio and has been featured in Proview and Keyboard.

When we spoke with the artist by phone, he was in the midst of rehearsals for Hilary Duff's upcoming tour while readying his brand-new CD KEYS (Gemini Sun Records/Sony/Red) for release.

MF: Are you just getting out of a session?

LG: Actually I just got out of rehearsal.

MF: What are you rehearsing for?

LG: We were rehearsing with Hilary Duff for her upcoming 2005 Still Most Wanted summer tour.

MF: Will these shows be in the big stadiums?

LG: All arenas. We'll be going across the United States for two months straight and then the tour goes overseas to Europe, Australia, and Japan.

MF: That should be a lot of fun.

LG: Yeah, it's really fun. It's a great rush being in front of huge crowds like that.

MF: Is there more than one keyboard player?

LG: No, I'm the only keyboardist.

MF: How did you hook that gig up?

LG: It was through friends and contacts. Working in LA over a period of time you meet a lot of musicians and make tons of contacts. A guitar player friend of mine got called to do some session work with Hilary. Hilary's manager already had a bass player and drummer lined up but was still looking for a keyboard player and another guitarist, so my friend called me about the opportunity. I just auditioned one time and got the job.

MF: The decision to go with you was made by Hilary Duff's manager?

LG: Yeah. I think her manager was pretty confident about my credits and thought that I would be a good addition to the band. So it wasn't like a cattle call of players like some auditions go.

MF: Let's jump backwards in time a little. When did you start playing and how did get started?

LG: I started real young, when I was about seven and pretty much in group lessons. It was a thing called Yamaha group piano. Everybody gets a little keyboard and you sit in front of it with about 10 other kids and a teacher. I did that for awhile and then I jumped to private instruction and I went through a few different private teachers. Most everything was classically-based in the early years. I imagine this was much like what most students probably go through. I continued to take lessons in my early teens, and studied a little bit in college. But once I got the theory and the technique, I started to branch off and do my own thing. I started listening to a lot more pop stuff, and I quickly strayed from the arrangements I was given from my lessons. I didn't really get into jazz until later on.

MF: Who were some of the artists that influenced you early on?

LG: By far the Beatles had the biggest influence overall. They were such great songwriters and had such a huge impact on everyone. In terms of piano playing, I was really into rhythm and blues artists like Stevie Wonder, and also Billy Joel, Elton John, and Herbie Hancock. If there's one style I always gravitate towards it's the whole Elton -Stevie Wonder thing.

MF: Did you pick up any other instruments?

LG: No actually I didn't. I just stayed with piano. I dabble with guitar and drums now, but nothing serious. Nothing I would get on stage and play in front of 20,000 people.

MF: Well a lot of people who play guitar full time wouldn't want to do that either.

LG: Yeah, right.

MF: A studio can be sterile versus playing in front of a big crowd. Do you find it a challenge to get inspiration?

LG: I've been on the road, quite a bit in the last couple of years. When I am home, I really enjoy getting in the studio. I just did a session with Mandy Moore. I had a couple of days off and I got called to do that. It was quite a rush playing with just amazing players, Michael Bland from Prince and the Power Generation and some other great cats too. Plus we were working with a great producer, John Fields. It's great when I can maintain a nice balance between studio and live. I mean, nothing beats playing live in front of thousands of screaming people. That's just what I've always thrived on. I've always enjoyed that. The studio stuff can be challenging, but it's fun. It presents an entirely different set of challenges where all the work you've done over the years has brought you here and it's time to show what you can do.

MF: It's kind of like final exams at the end of the semester?

LG: It really is a test. It's nice to have occasions where you're forced to really shine at a moment's notice. That's your moment to shine and those are the moments really good players thrive on and look forward to. I just love moments like that.

MF: When you are in the studio do you find that you often end up doing a lot of takes or does it go pretty smooth and quick?

LG: It usually goes pretty smoothly. Especially the stuff I've been working on with John Fields recently. He's really quick. He gathers the best players that he can, and things move really fast. It's surprising how fast they move. But, he maintains a nice workflow while continually nurturing the creative spirit and capturing the great energy of all the players at the same time.

MF: How much control does the producer have in your sessions? He doesn't tell you what notes to play.

LG: Exactly. He may let you know if he thinks you should show more economy of notes or he may tell you to let it all hang out. But yeah, he doesn't dictate what notes to play.

MF: With a jam packed schedule supporting major artists how do you find time and inspiration for solo projects?

LG: I love playing in other people's bands. I give 100% to make their show the best we can. But I get tons of musical ideas of my own and have managed to compile some of my favorites onto a new CD called Keys.

MF: I see that you call it smooth jazz. Some people shy away from that term perceiving it as elevator music.

LG: I know. Because of the pop influences in the way I write I tend towards a structure where you have your verse, you have your chorus, and you have your bridge, and I tend to write with that in mind. It's very melodically driven as if there was a vocalist. I think it's really fresh sounding. I just tried to create something cool sounding, very melodic and using current elements and sounds. I was fortunate to be able to bring in really, really good musicians who brought a lot with them. We tried to maintain a live feeling to the performances as well.

MF: Do you sing at all?

LG: I do sing, yeah. I like the pop structure. I grew up on pop music. The artists I mentioned are from that background. It's nice focusing on the instrumental parts. I can have a little more freedom in my writing. I don't necessarily have to write a three-minute tune for somebody and there are times when I really want to do something different.

MF: Going back your influences, what were your favorite Beatles songs, not just favorites to listen to, but the ones that impacted you the most.

LG: "Hey Jude." That was a big one. It's one of those impossible questions -- pick your favorite Beatle song. I'm such a McCartney nut, Lennon too, I mean all of them. But "Hey Jude" is a big one. And a lot of stuff Paul did like "Blackbird," "Mother Nature's Son," "Martha My Dear." And I like a lot of the Lennon stuff. "Ticket to Ride" is one of my favorite Lennon tunes.

MF: What a great hook!

LG: You know, a lot of people just kind of forget about that one but for some reason it keeps coming back to me. There's something about that song. It... it's haunting.

MF: Yeah.

LG: I think it's one of his best songs from that early period.

MF: How about Stevie Wonder? Can you name a favorite?

LG: Oh, boy. I would have to probably go with "You Haven't Done Nothin' Lately."

MF: Yeah. Then Elton John...

LG: Elton John. Oh, God. Probably, I'd have to say "Mona Lisa" and "Mad Hatters." I got to track that with Mandy, which was fun. And I know Elton heard my performance, so it was nice to get a green light on that one. I also really love his playing on "Take Me to the Pilot."

MF: Have you met any of your heroes?

LG: I've met Ringo. I met Stevie Wonder. Paul McCartney is number-one on my list that I would like to meet.

MF: It looks like you've hooked up with a premier management outfit and that's probably beneficial to your career.

LG: Oh, yes. I have been working with Jonathan Todd of Sabre Entertainment and he has been fantastic.

MF: How important is good management/representation?

LG: It is crucial factor for success. Jonathan and the whole team at Sabre are constantly promoting me and making connections that benefit my career. I am so thankful that we crossed paths and are working together.

MF: So let's talk about your keyboards. What brands and models are you using?

LG: I work with Korg and I'm playing one of their more recent models, it's the TRITON Extreme and I also use the Yamaha Motif.

MF: Seems like everyone's gotta have the Motif nowadays.

LG: I'm telling you, that thing is amazing.

MF: What do you like that's different about each one? What is it that makes you want to have both?

LG: Well, the Motif is great. The one I have is the 88. So that's my weighted 88 note keyboard which is great for my piano stuff. That action makes it a really nice piano. And man the sounds are really clean. I use the Motif a lot for mellotrons and organs. The organs are really, really nice. The sounds are so easy to edit and tweak, especially when you're playing live. So those two are the ones I default to all the time. I also have the Kurzweil K2VX, which is my source for cello and strings sounds. I really like the string selection.

MF: Do you use any rack modules either on the road or at home?

LG: No, but I also have a Roland RD700 and have a grand piano at home as well.

MF: How do you do like to work? When you're home you can walk into your home studio and get down to business, but what about when you're on the road?

LG: It's amazing what you can do on the road. I own an Mbox which came with ProTools LE. It is so portable and convenient and just connects via USB right into my Apple laptop and the laptop powers it. And then I plug a USB M-Audio controller right into the other USB port in my laptop.

MF: Which M-Audio controller do you have?

LG: I have a Radium and an Oxygen. With the Radium 49 you can do a lot more real keyboard work. I mean, you can actually sit down and play a piano part.

MF: And how do you store all your work?

LG: I have an external hard drive so I can capture everything and then also on the hard drive I have all my soft synths. I have Propellerhead Reason and the Legacy collection that Korg provided which gives me a lot of great sounds. With this simple setup I can do a lot of stuff on the road.

MF: Sounds like a great traveling studio.

LG: Yeah I have a portable, digital workstation with me at all times and it didn't break the bank! It's pretty cool.

MF: Isn't it amazing where we've come in a few years?

LG: It really is amazing. And the quality is beyond good. It is great.

MF: The rest is in the ears and the engineering. You can produce a pretty credible product with inexpensive gear nowadays.

LG: Yeah, I did a lot of work on my CD on the road last summer. We were working on The Hilary Duff self-titled CD. We were at Willie Nelson's studio in Texas and the man just said we needed to track a new song. So I got my laptop, my controller, my hard drive, and we drove an hour out to like the middle of nowhere to this amazing ranch that he has and I fired up my sounds and those were the sounds that are on the record today.

MF: Amazing.

LG: So it's like, if I didn't have my traveling workstation my parts wouldn't be on the Hilary Duff CD.

MF: Do you use other recording gear at home?

LG: I have a Focusrite TwinTrack Pro preamp and a Mackie 1604-VLZ mixer. I've also got a Digidesign 002 recording interface and some RØde microphones. I use two RØde NTKs on my piano and also a K2. I have some Advent studio monitors and a Korg Wavestation keyboard too.

MF: How do you measure success and what is success to you?

LG: Well, I am at the point that I'm able to do what I always wanted to do. You know, I'm making music, performing live in front of huge crowds which I've always wanted to do. And I am also composing my own music and I have the avenue to get it out there to the public. Hopefully I will make a little bit of an impact.

MF: It's great to hear about artists that are grateful for what they've got, yet still striving and growing.

LG: Yeah, I am so grateful for everything. I'm just very happy how things are going.



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Visit www.lorengold.com to read more about Loren, hear streaming audio, check out his tour schedule, and buy his CD Keys. For more information about Loren, visit his page at Sabre Entertainment (his management) at http://www.sabreentertainment.net/gold.htm. Visit Loren's label at http://GeminiSunRecords.com.