My 4 questions about MK

[privinvest]

I'm writing this in Turkish and then I'll translate it to Google. Because my dictation program doesn't understand my English, unlike Turkish, and I didn't want to deal with correcting it.

I have a few general questions:

1) What is the relationship between MK and classical music? I'm not as expert as most of the people here, but I don't think I've ever seen him talking about it. Do you think he a) listens, b) enjoys and c) infleunced by clssical music. If not, I wonder if his music would be enriched by such a relationship.

2) Does an MK album have to be an album where all the compositions are made by him? How about if he brings rough ideas, get significant input from the band, and sometimes they even play songs written by people in the band? He praises the musicians in the band very much, but seems to use them mostly as session musicians. Am I wrong? Does Mark have to do everything? Of course, I am a fan of MK. He's my idol. There are advantages to knowing that almost every note played in an album is his work and under his control. I accept that too. But at the same time, I wonder if he might be too obsessive, monopolist and insistent on this issue. He's a gentleman. He's polite and so on, but is he also kind of a dictator? He wants to make all the decisions. Was it the same in DS or did people like AC have some input there? How about he does more group work in these last years, when he tends to get a little monotonous? And, for example, do those players who come from America, and indeed others, want to do things beyond keeping rhythm in the background. Am I wrong? I may b wrong in two ways, 1) maybe they already contribute to composing, b) if not, they are happy being mere performers only. "This is Mark's album, we just help him and no problem with that"? Don't they think, "why don't you give me a little more opportunity here"?" or, "Let me step forward once in a while." Otherwise, isn't there a risk that some kind of civil servant psychology will prevail?

3) What do we know about MK's relationship with religion? There is not much sign that he is religious, is there? By the way, does his father's Jewishness mean anything to him? And just to be sure, I ask, are we sure that his mother is not Jewish either? Have you seen any signs that he might be feeling Jewish? Not much, but he sometimes takes political positions occasionally, as far as I know, I remember something about the girl group in Russia, but for example, if he said something about Gaza, where 30-40,000 innocent people died, I missed it. Does he have to? Of course not, but why not?

4) Do we have any information/estimates on how much the musicians playing in the band receive for the album and while on tour?

Hope they are not too boring, or alredy diccussed

[stratmad]

Hi, that's a lot of questions!   

Re classical music: I'm sure that he is aware of a great deal of classical music, and a lot of it appears in some way or another in his own work. If you listen to the Princess Bride soundtrack, you can hear the influence of Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (the Italian symphony, I believe).
From the way he talks about Monteleone and the violin makers of Cremona (Stradivari, Amati, Guarneri), he is obviously very familiar with that kind of music.
Same thing, I think, with a lot of his guitar technique. Maybe he actively studied the classical and flamenco playing techniques and somehow adapted them to what he calls his "plumber" style, I don't know. It's also possible that he just worked it out for himself, by listening and finding his own "workarounds". Genius.
In short, I don't think the music he has created and played, songs like TR for example, would have been possible without some knowledge of classical music.

[stratmad]

2) Does an MK album have to be an album where all the compositions are made by him? How about if he brings rough ideas, get significant input from the band, and sometimes they even play songs written by people in the band? He praises the musicians in the band very much, but seems to use them mostly as session musicians. Am I wrong? Does Mark have to do everything? Of course, I am a fan of MK. He's my idol. There are advantages to knowing that almost every note played in an album is his work and under his control. I accept that too. But at the same time, I wonder if he might be too obsessive, monopolist and insistent on this issue. He's a gentleman. He's polite and so on, but is he also kind of a dictator? He wants to make all the decisions. Was it the same in DS or did people like AC have some input there? How about he does more group work in these last years, when he tends to get a little monotonous? And, for example, do those players who come from America, and indeed others, want to do things beyond keeping rhythm in the background. Am I wrong? I may b wrong in two ways, 1) maybe they already contribute to composing, b) if not, they are happy being mere performers only. "This is Mark's album, we just help him and no problem with that"? Don't they think, "why don't you give me a little more opportunity here"?" or, "Let me step forward once in a while." Otherwise, isn't there a risk that some kind of civil servant psychology will prevail?

3) What do we know about MK's relationship with religion? There is not much sign that he is religious, is there? By the way, does his father's Jewishness mean anything to him? And just to be sure, I ask, are we sure that his mother is not Jewish either? Have you seen any signs that he might be feeling Jewish? Not much, but he sometimes takes political positions occasionally, as far as I know, I remember something about the girl group in Russia, but for example, if he said something about Gaza, where 30-40,000 innocent people died, I missed it. Does he have to? Of course not, but why not?

4) Do we have any information/estimates on how much the musicians playing in the band receive for the album and while on tour?

Hope they are not too boring, or alredy diccussed

Re compositions: no idea. You'll have to ask the Master ;-)

Religion: He has referred to himself as an agnostic. His father wasn't religious either, apparently. MK said he had been inside of a synagogue only two times in his life, for his accountant's wedding or something. His mum was from a family of Scottish Geordies.

"information/estimates on how much the musicians playing in the band receive for the album and while on tour": no idea. Guy once said that Mark was "very generous".

[MagicElliott]

Money’s an interesting one.
I can’t deny I’m super intrigued about how much his band gets paid (and whether Guy gets paid more…..)
Whether they’re paid separately for recording and touring.

Every now and then, someone tries to ask Guy a question about wages but understandably, he shuts them down pretty quick. I remember him referring to a mortgage to pay off and another answer where his reply was “I’m not as wealthy as you think.”

[Fletch]

b) if not, they are happy being mere performers only. "This is Mark's album, we just help him and no problem with that"? Don't they think, "why don't you give me a little more opportunity here"?" or, "Let me step forward once in a while." Otherwise, isn't there a risk that some kind of civil servant psychology will prevail?

I think most musicians / artists would like some room to express themselves and make more decisions and so most of them have all released numerous solo albums (I'm thinking of Guy & Richard here). MK is still the goose laying the golden egg.

[hunter v2.0]

Nice questions.

1) It's not my impression that Mark is particularly interested in classical music. I'm not saying that he never listens to it, but I don't have a feeling that it inspires him. When he did Princess Bride and Last Exit to Brooklyn, he and Guy most likely listened to classical music a lot for arrangemement ideas.

2) It has always been about Mark and his songs, but from what we have learned from interviews with members of DS and his band during the solo years is that he almost never brings a finished "product" to the studio. Even in the early days there was input from the others. With time though, as he began working with better and better musicians, I think he has learned to let go much more and simply trust the musicians. He repeatedly talks about how good directors don't tell good actors what do, except for giving some context or indicate the general mood.

3) Mark said recently in an interview (German magazine?) that he doesn't believe in an afterlife. I seem to remember an old interview where he didn't totally dismiss the idea of something bigger than ourselves and the natural world, but although he didn't say it directly, it was quite clear that he didn't adhere to any particular religion. As far as I know, he has never publicly expressed any interest in his Jewish roots, neither the culture nor the religion. Then again, he reads a lot, so who knows.

4) No information about payment, but you can be sure they get paid well. First of all, they are "the best". Not only are they technically great, but they are super professional and very versatile. And after many years, they know what Mark is looking for. Second, to commit to a long tour means they have to say no to a lot of studio work, which may affect future jobs. Mark knows this. Third, not only do I think Mark is a fair man, but also a generous man. When it comes to Guy, he is probably a full-time employee or on a retainer.

[dustyvalentino]

I remember Tim O'Brien calling the job "the holy grail of sidemen jobs" so you would think they get paid OK.