Today we catch up with one of the hardest working and most underrated rock artists around, Michael T Ross.  Michael brings us up to speed with all the news on his bands Hardline, Angel and Accomplice, together with a few other projects he's currently working on.

MM - Firstly Michael can you give a brief introduction to who Michael T Ross is for those not familiar with your work.
Michael - Ok, let’s start with my style. It is a bit more on the progressive side with a classical background. I’m in a number of bands that range from a classic 70’s rock band to an 80’s melodic hard rock group. With my solo material, you’ll hear more of my progressive fusion side of my playing with lots of soloing. Living in Los Angeles, it has given me many great opportunities to record and gig with great musicians.

MM - 2007 looks to be very busy year for you with several releases due out this year, none more so than your first solo project ‘Deep Freeze’.  When can we see this album in the stores?
Michael - We are looking at a release date by this summer. With so many other projects on my plate it has been tough scheduling my solo recording but it’s finally in the works. I’m excited to be able to present these ten progressive instrumental tunes that I have because they really display my technical and melodic capabilities that I can’t get through with a vocal record.

MM - What inspired you to take up the keyboards in the first place? Michael - I was following in my older brother’s footsteps because he was already playing keys in bands and like any little bro, I wanted to be like him. It was cool because I got to use his gear for my gigs when I was too young to buy my own. I was heavily influenced by rock groups that had a lot of keyboards like Yes, Kansas, Toto, Rush, Deep Purple and Styx because my brother was taking me to the concerts and buying the albums, so I was very alert to the all the keyboards going on and enjoyed them. MM - What do you think is the more technical instrument to play the keyboards or guitar? Michael - They are both hard instruments to master. The piano seems most dominant but when I hear

someone shredding on a classical guitar, I’m like wow how do they do that! The acoustic guitar seems harder to play physically than an electric guitar just as a piano is than a keyboard. I think it’s nice to see a balanced musician like Tony MacAlpine who has mastered both.

MM - What advantages do keyboards have over guitars in your opinion?
Michael - The larger octave range is the biggest advantage especially for the arpeggios where you can play real high and low in the register covering many more octaves than a 24 fret guitar could do. Keyboards have an array of tools onboard like the sequencer, sampler, and tons of programmable functions, so no matter where I am, I’m ready to get busy. The best guitar out there doesn’t have that. And the guitar synth never really took off either. There were always problems with the real time triggering of the strings because there was that slight delay, which really made it annoying for ultra shredders. As far as an advantage for keyboardists themselves over guitarists, there are far more guitarists, so keyboardists are in much more demand.

MM - Apart from the keyboards, do you play any other instruments?
Michael - I learned to play guitar in the 90’s when I was in a UFO Tribute band for three years and got to play guitar with the keyboards live so that was fun.  

MM - At what point did you decide it was time for you to release a solo album?
Michael - I’ve been waiting for the right time to do it, which I thought was a couple years ago but realized I still had a lot more work to do in getting my name out there first. Now that I’ve been gigging & recording with some notable bands the last few years, I felt it is now the time, especially with the major popularity and acceptance of rock keyboards in the music scene today.

MM - What can your fans expect from the ‘Deep Freeze’ album?
Michael - Melodic, romantic, atmospheric, moody, cool harmonies, influences of Pink Floyd to Yngwie, a song that last one minute and one that last 10, killer drumming, not a lick of guitars instrumental hard rock with tons of shredding keyboards.

MM - Speaking of the new Hardline album, what can the fans of the band expect from this new opus?
Michael - Another kick ass record that Hardline fans would expect. Johnny is awesome as usual and it would fall into the AOR/Melodic Hard Rock category as before.  Josh really steps things up on this record with his killer song writing and playing. Adding a more progressive drummer Atma Anur brings a more dynamic sound to the record and his off beat timing over a 4/4 is unbelievable. He has parts that you can listen to over and over and find something new to hear each time. I do have to mention new bassist Jamie Browne because his playing really rounds out the world class musicianship this new line up possesses.

MM - What do you feel has been your biggest accomplishment so far as a performer?
Michael - Definitely working with Andy Johns at Cherokee Studios in Hollywood has been my highlight. He engineered Zeppelin II, III and IV. I learned so much from him and got to hear some crazy Jimmy Page stories. At the time, I was working on a project with Accomplice guitarist Sean and bassist Scott Snyder, along with Jason Bonham’s former singer Chas West who introduced us to Andy.

MM - I mentioned your new solo album and the new Hardline albums, but what else can we expect for Michael T Ross in 2007?
Michael - I’m a special guest of several new releases coming out such as Terry Ilous (XYZ),  FiFi LaRue and Italian group Markonee. You can check out the new “Slavior” live DVD of the recent Hollywood concert, which I played keys. It will be released worldwide on Inside Out in April. The band features former Fates Warning drummer Mark Zonder and guitarist Wayne Finday from the Michael Schenker Group.

MM - What are your views on the current music scene are their any of the new young guns that you think highly of?
Michael - Like many I really don’t keep up with the “todays” bands. I found myself happy running to go purchase the new Toto CD, so really you are asking the wrong person.. I honestly can’t mention one new young gun, hmmm….sorry.

MM - The whole melodic rock scene is going through a small resurgence lately do you think it will ever be as popular as it was in the 80’s?
Michael - It would be nice but I doubt it. Although some artists have come back strong and still looking good, who knows how much longer that would last.  David Coverdale still looks great but I swear it looks like he had some surgical help there. And how can Joe Lynn Turner’s hair look as good now as it did when he was 20, unless it is the same wig. Further, with most of the come back bands not having the original line-up, that also puts doubt on how long this surge will last because that’s important to the fans. Believe me, I know! Hey, as long as we all keep doing our share to support the scene, rock n’ roll will remain alive and kicking.

MM - Why do you thing Melodic Rock is still so very popular in Europe and not so much in the US now?
Michael - I think with all the success in Europe with the independent record labels and festival promoters working so closely together in orchestrating such massive events to get the product out to the fans, has helped make the scene stronger there. You rarely see massive outdoor concerts in the States like the Wacken or Bang Your Head Festival in Germany.  Most of the melodic rock bands are from the US and naturally would rather tour in Europe, so that might be another reason  why you see more of those bands on tour out there than here.

MM - Who or what has been the biggest influence on you as a musician?
Michael - Many artists have influenced my playing. I’ve always looked up to Rick Wakeman as the keyboard daddy of them all. His classical knowledge along with his rock playing is simply the most innovating. Tony MacAlpine has been a big inspiration. He was the first keyboardist that I ever heard that also played guitar just as good. Saving the best for last, Yngwie J. Malmsteen. Back to keyboardists, definitely I admire Jens Johansson and Vitalij Kupry.

MM - If you could change one thing in your life as a musician what would it be?
Michael - I wish I spent more time at the grand piano before switching to keyboards. I love classical music and although I did take lessons and learned several Mozart and Bach pieces, I would liked to of seen myself continue further with those studies.

MM - What motivates you to keep on going even when the going gets tough?
Michael - Reading emails from fans that show all their love and support. I’m grateful to be in bands that have the coolest fans. Whether they are a Hardline fan looking for memorabilia of Brunette or someone asking what ever happened to Punky Meadows, I always try to get back with them. It may be only a simple and short email back but to someone, that just might be enough to make their day.

MM - Back to the ‘Deep Freeze’ album, how did the release of your new album come about and are you happy with the finished product?
Michael - When I first started working with drummer Atma Anur, we would have these in depth conversations about my solo record and he also saw the vision with me. I continued keeping him informed along the way and sent him keyboard tracks with and without the drum programming. I’ve asked him to take on a co-producing role.  I just think back on the records Atma had done in the past like Tony MacApline’s first record and how innovative his drumming was back then, so I look forward to him helping us capture that same kind of magic on Deep Freeze.

MM - We'd like to thank Michael for taking the time out from his extremely busy schedule to chat with us today and wish him every success with his forthcoming releases.  Make sure you check out these hard rocking albums when they're released later this year!

The photo's included with this interview come courtesy and copyright of: Alex Solca, Miki Horiguchi and Michael Fishman.

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