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Bass player Barry Sparks is one of the hardest working musicians in music today. The energetic bass player will kick off a solo West Coast Tour commencing on April 4 in San Diego and ending April 15. After his solo tour, Barry will perform with Dokken in Mexico and in Athens, Greece on May 7 and May 8. Dokken drummer Mick Brown and Barry will then teaming up as Ted Nugent's rhythm section for an extensive European Tour in mid-May and also a North American Summer Tour.
I caught up with Busy Barry for this exclusive interview. During our discussion, Barry talks about his upcoming solo tour, Dokken, and what working with Ted Nugent has taught him as a performer.
www.barrysparks.com www.dokken.net
Hey Barry, it has been awhile since we last spoke. You are getting ready to embark on your solo tour, tell the fans about your tour and what part of the country you will be covering.
Well I am totally stoked because I am out doing my own thing and we will be doing the West Coast . We start in San Diego and we go all the way up to Long View, Washington. I am real excited , I can't wait.
Now who is in your solo band?
My brother Kevin Sparks is playing guitar, John Buzak on guitar, Matt Mesa on bass, and Roger Cardillo on drums.
Was it hard for you to make the transition of going from playing bass to fronting your own band and playing acoustic guitar and singing?
I have always been a guitar player, actually longer than I have been a bass player. So that part is easy for me. To play all night long is demanding, that is a bit hard. But ya know, we have been doing it the last couple of years and it is actually comfortable now.
How many sets do you play a night?
Some of the places it is one set, some of the place it is two sets. The cool thing is a lot of times we will jam for four hours. It is a lot of fun. It is really cool.
Do you do any special vocal warm-ups or guitar techniques?
I don't think I do anything different , with Dokken I warm-up because I do a lot of the high harmonies.
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The thing that is exciting about this tour is that you are going to be performing songs off of your latest CD, "Can't Look Back." Tell me about the production of the CD. Last time we spoke, you mentioned how a lot of the CD was recorded on the road.
Yeah! I did that actually two Ted Nugent tours ago. A lot of it was recorded on the road with Ted in hotel rooms. I had my whole studio with me on the road. Days off or during the day I would be recording. That is when I had Ted Nugent play on it, and Billy Gibbons at the same time, when we were touring with ZZ Top.
Actually my two favorite songs off of the CD is the one that Ted appears on called "Liberty", and "Breathe", the song that Billy Gibbons appears on.
Cool.
How would you describe, "Can't Look Back?” I think it has a modern pop sound. It is definitely more mellow than Dokken or Ted Nugent.
To me I think it is more Beatles influenced. It is more about songs. I have done so many records. I started getting pigeon-holed back in the 90's because I played with Yngwie. Although I am proud of that , I like the songs, and I like playing music for people who aren't musicians. I want them to like it too. Where I am at now, I think it is a natural progression.
A lot of the songs on your CD sound like they are written from the heart too. What do you think makes a good song?
For me it is from the heart, that is how I work. When I write a song, it is usually on acoustic guitar first. What usually comes out is a life experience. You have to know how to write a good song with song structure and stuff like that. The Beatles were the kings at. If you have that done, then you are halfway there.
Now you recently performed in New Mexico and Don Dokken and Jon Levin surprised you be showing up unexpectedly at your gig. Did you jam together?
Yeah, that was really great. We were setting up gear and stuff. Then I saw Don and I was not expecting to see him, it was great. They jammed with us, and we played all night. It was an awesome night.
Now your solo tour will run April 4 till April 15, and then you will heading out with Dokken to play some shows in Mexico and Greece. I heard that Dokken will be playing an electric show and an acoustic show in Athens, Greece. Dokken recently got to do an impromptu acoustic set in Colorado on the recent Dokken Winter Tour, when Mick got sick with the Flu. Tell me about that gig.
Yeah, I am not sure about the details about the Greece shows. Yeah, the Winter acoustic show wasn't planned . I am really big on the fact that I want to be able to just pick up a guitar, and make music out of it. I would hate to be in a position like , well we learned something and we can't play it because it is an acoustic show. I have to have that mentally to be able to pick up an acoustic guitar and be able to put on a show. I respect that alot.
Barry, I first saw you play with Dokken. in 2001 on New Years Eve in Portland, Maine. You took over Jeff Pilson's job. I know a lot of people were skeptical. I saw you perform that night and I was impressed how well you took over the bass parts. The rhythm section seemed to be re-born with a new found energy. How did you get the gig with Dokken?
I was good friends with John Norum. I met Mick at the Sweden Rock Festival with Uli. I wasn't nervous, actually by this point I was use to stepping into people's shoes from Yngwie to MSG. That is not something that really scares me. I have a great respect for Jeff. I understand where fans come from. I am so happy I have been excepted as well as I have.
I think it was time or a change. I loved Dokken in the 80's , early 90's. But we are in 2006 and the new members including guitarist Jon Levin are breathing new life into the band and giving it a modern sound, which can compete with music of today. How do you think Dokken has grown musically since the 80's with the latest line-up change?
It it hard to say. You are dealing with a completely different era. It is a tougher market now. I think the band is playing as well as ever. I can't speak for the original line-up, but I can imagine it is hard to be in a band for twenty years, with all of the ups and downs and still get up onstage and smile at each other. But I mean it is all good. At the end of the day, we are all musicians, we do this because we want to make good music. That is really what it is all about.
Dokken's last album, "Hell To Pay" had a really modern sound and really showcased the diversity of the band. I really enjoyed the tune you wrote "Don't Bring Me Down." Do you think you will get to contribute a song on the upcoming Dokken album, "Lightning Strikes Again"?
I hope so. One of the big problems is that I am on the road a lot with Ted, and it takes me away from that. There is not much I can do about it. We will see what happens.
Now getting back to when we were talking about stepping into other people's shoes. In 2005, I got to see you perform with UFO when you filled in for UFO bass player Pete Way, because he ran into some VISA problems. How did that gig come about?
Yeah, that was great because I had been friends with them for a long time. It is pretty cool to be friends with guys you grew up idolizing. I was really glad to be able to do that tour. I felt like I was a good choice actually, I grew up with that music. As a fan, you can kind of see it from the outside looking in and go OK we need this , it's needs that, ya know what I mean.?
Yes. You also we will be performing with Ted Nugent this summer playing over in Europe. Tell me about the European Festivals.
We are going to Europe in the middle of May we will be playing the Sweden Rock Festival, and we will touring the U.S. as well. Mick Brown will be joining us as well.
The shows are going to be a lot of fun. I am looking forward to seeing the Dokken rhythm section perform with Ted. How do the European Festivals differ from the American audiences? I know you have performed in Europe with Dokken before. Was is the concert scene like in Europe?
When I played with Dokken, it was the same vibe as The States. The rock fans are an universal kind of thing, it is kind of cool. It is hard to say where we do better at. It is really cool to be able to see different places as a musician, when you tour that is one of the great things about it to go to these different cities. You would never go there if you didn't play in a band.
What is Japan like? You played in Japan with the BZ. Was that experience exciting?
Yeah. The biggest shows by far that I ever played were in Japan with the BZ . There were 55,000 people in the Tokyo Dome. It was a great experience.
The gig with Ted Nugent came rather suddenly. How did you end up playing with the legendary Ted Nugent? Was it hard to learn all of material right away ? I saw you perform with Dokken on the Scorpions/Whitesnake tour in March on Long Island in 2003, and then next thing I knew there you were in June performing with Ted Nugent on the ZZ Top Tour at the Tweeter Center.
Marco Mendoza, who was playing bass for Ted, he wasn't able to tour with Ted, because he was in Whitesnake at the time. He recommended me , which I was really grateful for . Ted came down to a Dokken show, and I met him. I went to try out. The good thing was , I was huge Ted Nugent fan, I loved all of his stuff. I grew up with all of that stuff. I put a lot of work on the road learning songs with Dokken and stuff, so I could just hop from one thing to another. (Laughs)
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What is the most important thing that Ted Nugent has taught you about being a musician and performing?
Oh Man, there is so many great things, that I could say about Ted. One of the great things is that there has never been a night where we walk onstage and we don't out out 110 percent. I don't know if I learned this from him, or I have always been like this too. When you love to do what you do, you do it the best you can. That is how I always felt. That is one thing that Ted does for me. He is definitely a hero of mine. Another thing that I like about Ted is that he stands up for what he believes in. He doesn't care what people think.
Exactly! I was just going to mention that fact. When I saw you perform at the Mohegan in Ct., there were a lot of U.S. Military there. Ted is so proud to be a true American. He totally believes in his country, and in the U.S.Troops. Do a lot of U.S. Army members come up to you and Ted and say, Hey Man, Thank you for believing in us and for the great support that you have for the country?
Oh yeah! All the time. That is so cool. They love Ted. I am proud to be part of it because I totally support our troops and stuff.
Would you say the highlight of your career was playing with Ted, in his hometown of Detroit, and you opened for Kiss and Aerosmith ?
Definitely, that was awesome. That was a great night.
What was the highlight of performing at NAMM this year?
I played at the Carvin Booth demoing their new basses and stuff. It was great. I didn't have a whole lot of time, to do a lot of the cool stuff, because we were playing gigs every night. It was a hectic weekend.
You have been performing since the early 90's, during the past year or so would you say there is a re-resurgence of 80's metal with the Motley Crue re-union and 80's music in general? Would you say they are starting the trend all over again like back in the 80's?
I don't know whether they are starting it again , but I think it is bound to happen anyway. I think a lot of the bands that are out now, aren't really that exciting. When you see Motley Crue or somebody like that , you can't help but think wow this is pretty cool, by putting on their show. I hope it continues like that, it is hard to tell. Things come in cycles.
What are your favorite part of touring, and what do you dislike most about being on the road?
My favorite thing about touring would still be playing the shows of course. It is great to be able to go to Europe, I still get excited about that. The only part I don't like , which is tuff for me is when you fly all day. Other than that, I really love doing it. Even if I am tired on the bus, I like it, I really enjoy it.
Last time we spoke you mentioned that you were starting your own line of Sparks Guitars. How is that going?
Yeah, along with my brother Kevin actually. We designed a bass, which is on my website you can see it. To me it is the ultimate rock bass, it was cool to start it from a simple drawing and to design what I always wanted a bass to be. We are in the baby stages right now. They are custom made and they are hand made. It is great.
Will you be playing the new bass at the Dokken shows and Ted Nugent Tour?
Oh Yeah! I have been playing it with Ted. I also played it on the last Dokken tour.
Is there anything else that you would like to say to say the fans here at GlamMetal.com ?
I just think it is great, I just keep getting to do this. It is a miracle. I hope I keep getting better.
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