You've now done two studio albums and one live album with Joe Lynn Turner as the Hughes Turner Project (HTP). How did you two decide to record together?
It started out in Japan three years ago when Joe was doing a solo tour. He was putting together a band to play with him. He really wanted me to play. Joe is a really good friend of mine and asked if I would come play some bass on this tour. I went over there, and when we did these shows we sang a couple of Deep Purple songs together and the crowds just went crazy. His record company asked me if I would put together a new band with Joe.
I thought about it, and then wrote 7 or 8 songs which I sent to Joe as ideas for an HTP project. He loved the idea of what I was doing, from the old Deep Purple sounding stuff to more modern tracks like "Fade Away." He was really impressed with the modern twist I put on the older sound. He trusted me a lot with some ideas, because I think if you've got a band with two ex-members of Deep Purple, you've got to make music for that marketplace. I think HTP is a focused, classic rock band, which is only going to get better. Joe and I are on a bit of a roll.
You used some excellent guest musicians for HTP 2 like guitarist Steve Vai and drummer Chad Smith from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Why did you decide to bring them aboard?
The Japanese market always want guest artists. They always want a famous guitar player. On the first album I got my friends Paul Gilbert and John Sykes to participate. On the second record I told Joe I don't really want to have two guest guitar players on this album because J.J. Marsh, my guitar player, plays extremely well. I said if we're going to get one guy, let's get Steve Vai, and he said yes.
How about Chad Smith?
He's my soul brother. Chad and I are pretty inseparable these days. As human beings we've connected in a lot of ways. We're very much alike and we're super fans of each other's music. John Bonham guested with me a few times in Trapeze in live shows and Chad reminds me of Bonzo in the way he plays and his character. He's always screaming and yelling and he's very over the top. To have him playing behind me is just super fucking amazing.
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