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This
months interview brings you an exclusive interview with Mark Robertson:
Keyboard player from Cairo
 Prog4you:
Take us back in history and give us a brief history of the band.
Mark: I was in a
group here in San Francisco called Cinema with Mike Varney and Pilsen and several
other guys, this was kind of towards the end of the progressive rock scene, as we
know it from the seventies. But my original inspiration was Yes, Emerson Lake and
Palmer, Genesis, and Gentle Giant; groups like that back in the early seventies. And
then in the eighties I just didn’t play any progressive rock. I was out doing mainly
classical piano. At that time I had gone out and back to my classical stuff and
performed with orchestras and played classical recitals. I did that kind of thing
until Mike Varney, who I have been out of touch with for years, got me in touch with
Tony MacAlpine and that’s back when I started playing keyboards again. That was
1988, and the eighties were kind of dead for progressive rock, it was all LA glam
bands: Remember!
Prog4you:
It was all LA Glam bands. Didn’t you have the big hair?
Mark: Well when
I got into the MacAlpine band we did our hair it was pretty funny.
Prog4you: Lots of
spray. Mark: We looked like a bunch of girls. That was the next time I got back to
playing rock and role. Then I played with David Patterson who was the lead singer of
Gamma a Rhythm and Blue’s band. He had been on the road for about six years with
Robin Trower then he got off the road. We formed a group and we went out and played
some shows. We went out and played with Motley Crue and a bunch of different bands
like that on tour. The next band I got into with was the MacAlpine band and we
toured for 18 weeks. I got back home and Mike Varney introduced me to Jeff Brockman
and that’s kind of how we got going. But at that time I was mainly into my classical
roots and rock and roll and you mix those two things up and it’s going to sound like
progressive rock. Emerson was certainly my hero back when I was a young kid but he
hadn’t done anything in about ten or fifteen years.
 Prog4you:
We noticed one big thing you guys are down to 3 members?
Mark: Three guys
was always the nucleus of Cairo from the beginning I had been out on tour with Tony
MacAlpine touring Canada, your area, the whole east coast we toured around for 18
wks then Mike Varney introduced me to Jeff Brockman. Then I knew of Brett and that’s
how we started this band. So it was always the three of us we went and found Alec
Fuhrman. He was the guitar player on the first 2 albums Alec brought to the table
that spacey Steve Hackett, Genesis style playing, which was a great thing. It made
that early sound for us but the nucleus of the band has always been Jeff, Bret and
myself.
 Prog4you:
That was back in 1994 right?
Mark: Right that
was the first record. Then we brought Rob into the band. Rob came in and all the
songs were all written for the first album. In between the first and the second
album, he was in a fusion band and wanted to get back to his band they were going on
tour so we parted ways. Then we got Jamie and he came in as bass player all the
songs were written so it’s just this process we kept having to show bass players the
way we write songs, so basically Jeff might bring me an idea or two or three then
I’ll sit down and write songs around it then Bret and I will get together and come
up with the vocal lines and he will do all the lyrics.
 Prog4you:
So you write all the music?
Mark: I write
all the music except when Jeff comes up with an idea, he will throw it on a
sequencer put some drums behind it and give it to me and being respective of the
fact that he‘s in the band I’ll try to write a song around those ideas. Some times
we’re always at that stage of showing other guy’s the stuff, I’ll put it down on
piano, I’ll lay in a bass line, then Bret will do the scratch vocal and that’s how
we show Rob how to play to it. That’s also how Jamie got to play bass on it. So we
never had a bass player that was truly in the band even though it seems like it
because of how the records are. Now Alec was definitely in the band, he also brought
ideas to the table but never really wrote whole songs. After the 2nd album you know
everything was fine it’s just that Alec had his own studio and he decided to pursue
things on his own.
Prog4you:
He plays a pretty good guitar.
Mark: Great
guitar you know it’s a totally different thing, I had been thinking that by the time
we did the 3rd record. I was going to sit down and have a discussion with him of how
I was hoping to get a little heavier guitar on the 3rd record, a little more crunch.
Alec isn’t a lick-oriented guy. Remember I had just come off a tour with Tony
MacAlpine. Now, here’s a guy that can play his ass off chops wise which is great,
but Alec wasn’t that kind of player. Tony is out playing with Derek Sherinian of
Planet X right now and they are touring. I get together with Tony and we are still
great friends. He lives down in LA and I live up here and I was thinking, I really
miss those days of being able to play sparing solos with a guitar player kind of
trade off stuff. Alec wasn’t really that kind of guy, he was really a mood type
player. Great effects set the stage for some great music his long sustaining chords
a big single note passages were really what made those first two records, they were
distinct in the guitar category. But on the third album, I was hoping Alec could
play some riffs. Well as it turned to be, he was going out on his own anyway.
Prog4you: Was this an amicable split?
Mark: Yes it was
an amicable split. There’s not a lot of huge money in this thing and he was getting
pressure from his wife, spending all this time recording these records and not
getting paid that much and you know a lot of it is royalties. You get paid a couple
of years after you do the record. So he was getting pressure on that end, and he
wanted to go in his own direction. It really worked out, I didn’t have to have that
talk, it’s such a sensitive thing like, Alec you’re a great player, but I want you
to play in a different way. It just doesn’t go over very well.
Prog4you:
But you filled the spaces.
Mark: I filled
the spaces in the bass player category with John Evan. He just came off tour with
Tori Amos, he’s played on her last few records and he tours with her, so he’s a hot
session guy. John is a top pro. I gave him an outline of the songs, two weeks later
he had it all charted out, sat down and pretty much blasted everything out in one
day. I recorded all the bass lines with the keyboard and said you know how to play
bass, I don’t, so here’s the notes I will donate chords, anything else do what you
want that’s your deal. As far as the guitars for the new album Luis Maldonado was
going out in two weeks on tour with Mike Shankar, I played him this out line and he
came over my studio and he said I’m into it lets do it. As things go in studios,
nothing is ever on time. So he got there about a week and a half before he had to go
on tour and he hadn’t really learned the songs. They weren’t done because we were
recording bass so he and I woodsheded for a week and a half with Jeff Brockman in
the studio till 3 or 4 in the morning. Basically, he didn’t get to the songs till he
knew what the songs were like. I would just say here’s this area, lets do this here,
and let’s solo this there. So remember, we’re fast-forwarding and rewinding, were
jumping from song to song. He left on tour. The last night I saw him it was 4:30 in
the morning, our eyes were propped open with match sticks, he’s leaving the next day
to go on tour and he hadn’t seen his wife in a week and a half, you know it was
ugly. So he left thinking I have done a horrible job, because remember he’s never
heard the songs from beginning to end. We were just flying through recording this
here and this there and that I am telling him basically what to play, so he didn’t
even have that as a reference. I said here’s the idea lets do this, so he did it.
One of my good friends Brian Hutchinson from Seattle, who I went to high school
with, is a top musician, producer, engineer, and a great guitarist. Brian came down
for a couple of days, played a few solos, played some more guitar, and really filled
out what Luis didn’t finish up. That’s how we got two guitar players on the album.
 Prog4you:
That’s where those credits for two guitar players came from.
Mark: Exactly,
it’s hard to explain but I hope I took a good stab at it. Then Brian came in, all
said and done when Luis came back from tour had a big party at the record company
and I said come on out in the car pal I got a couple records for you and at first he
didn’t want to hear them cause he thought he did such a shitty job on them. When he
heard them, he grinned from ear to ear. Remember he didn’t know what he was doing
playing as a great artist and had no idea of the arrangements. What was going were,
how it was all going to flow together; so he was extremely happy by the end of it.
So it’s really the three of us as the nucleus and for now bass and guitar are a
revolving door.
Prog4you:
So if you guys did decide to tour you would have to decide who would play
guitars?
Mark: I think we
could get one guy. We already talked about it with Brian. He said he would be up for
it he really loves the music. Luis, he has his own thing going.
Prog4you:
How long did it take you to get this album recorded?
Mark: Once we
actually started recording in the studio, about 6 months You know we are only
working 4 or 5 hours a day. Because we all do other things during the day were all
busy working.
Prog4you:
When you did the recording sessions, was it done separately or was it done
together as a band?
Mark: No it was
done all separate. The only members that were ever there for all the sessions were
Jeff, engineering for the background vocals. In addition to that, I was the other
guy that was always there. I was there for the entire guitar, all the bass, and all
the drums. Because when Jeff was playing drums I was pretty much helping engineering
his drum stuff. I had ideas about the drumming too.
Prog4you: So you’re pretty much the leader of the band?
Mark: Yeah
pretty much.
Prog4you:
I guess every band has to have its leader.
Mark: Yeah you
can’t have too many guys wanting to go their own way because nothing ever gets done.
But we are a collective, anything that anybody is concerned about or says its not
like mine is the final word and don’t even bother asking me. The direction is mainly
mine.
Prog4you: When did you release the album?
Mark: June 19th
it came out.
Prog4you:
What direction is the new Cairo album going in?
Mark: More like
this last album, I was just talking to Tim Morse about that and he said he
appreciates that we didn’t lose sight of songwriting and you know he was comparing
it to other groups. I won’t mention any names, the current bunch of guys out there
doing prog rock, there so self indulgent and they just go crazy and all they care
about is doing a million licks at once. I did a little bit on the first record less
on the second and on the third I have my moments. I just didn’t want to blanket the
whole record with nothing but riffs. If you look back at any of the great prog bands
that were ever around ELP, Yes, Genesis before they sold out totally, what do you
have there? You got bands that can play their butt’s off but every single one of
them had a huge hit starting with ELP. That was the biggest prog band that’s ever
been out there. Now some people didn’t like them but they sold more records than any
body else. They sold 15 million records Lucky Man, Still You Turn Me On; all were
billboard top ten hits. They could go out and sell out a soccer stadium so they
would draw not just the prog heads but also these 18, and 19 year old girls who
wanted to hear these love songs and all of a sudden they get hit with Karn Evil 9
and there going what the hell is this, but it turned all these people into fans. So
I didn’t want to get so far self-indulgent. Just run with the ball, show people look
at my talent if you want to, go hear that, pick up some of the classical albums I’ve
done that‘s were its time to show off your chops because your playing other peoples
music. Your playing Chopin or Bach or Lutz or whatever your doing I really wanted to
reach the prog heads and those that want to hear some content.
Prog4you: How would you describe your new music now?
Mark: I would
describe it as rock and roll with classical overtones, with a bit of jazz. When we
write songs, I go down and try to put together whole arrangements of songs. My
number one focus is to make sure there is always a song in there unless there is an
instrumental tune where people can come back to it and sing the lyrics to it.
Prog4you: What other projects are you guys currently involved in?
Mark: Jeff does
some things on his own; myself, I just finished Explorers Club 2 with Trent Gardner
and Terry Bozio and the bass player for Dream Theater John Myung and Steve Walsh is
singing on it. We just wrapped that up a couple of weeks ago.
Prog4you: Great, we will be looking forward to getting that! We loved the last Explorers
Club.
Mark: It’s going
to be a hot record.
Prog4you:
What’s the biggest difference between Time Of Legends and Past Cairo albums?
Mark: Well what
I wanted to do is get guitars to be heavier. The songs are more concise. I’m getting
to the point where I’m getting better at song writing because now I can say the same
thing in a shorter amount of time. You know the first record and the second record
we were really under pressure to produce what our fans wanted to hear. The record
company had its ideas of what we should sound like, they thought we should be
another ELP and I said look screw that shit. Fine I like Emerson, I’ve done a record
with him he’s a really a neat guy. He was my idol when I was a kid. I’ve been
privileged to play with the man but I don’t want to be him for God’s sake. I don’t
want to have a band that sounds that way.
Prog4you: So you guys are really looking to create your own identity with a heavier sound?
Mark: By the
third record we are really starting to pretty much sound like our own thing. Not a
bunch of contrived bands.
Prog4you:
The Cairo sound now.
Mark: Remember that first record the first self-titled debut; there’s a song on
there, Ruins at Avalon’s Gate, everyone says it sounds like Tarkus. Ok fine, so be
it. Sounds like Tarkus, at least I can write something like that. That’s the thing
you get tagged at lot, especially on your first album. And everybody is trying to
say he sounds too much like Emerson, too much like ELP. Well that’s fine.
 Prog4you:
Is there a meaning from the new cover Time Of Legends?
Mark: To be
honest with you, the meaning is just that we didn’t want to have another one of
those cartoon type album covers. An art company in New York came up with about 20
different ideas and we picked one out. And part of the thing was that the first two
album covers Jeff Brockman, our drummer did, and he did a fine job on them. But that
look was getting old in my book and not only that; it took away from his drumming
and his performances on the record. So frankly he is sitting there trying to do the
artwork for the record, which takes hours and hours and hours. And I wanted him to
get his butt in there and play.
Prog4you:
Yeah it’s a beautiful cover.
Mark: Yeah and
they did a good job.
Prog4you:
What’s your favorite track off the new album?
Mark: I like
them all, I really do.
Prog4you:
We agree it’s a great album, we like them all too.
Prog4you:
Do you think the group has progressed over the years, and in retrospect, which
albums do you see as the most successful album?
Mark: I think
our new album will be the most successful album because of its ability to reach the
masses over the other two records. You know people don’t really have a lot of
patience in the world.
Prog4you: They want instant gratification.
Mark: Nothing
over six or seven minutes unless you’re a diehard fan and stoned out of your mind on
some good cannabis with a pair of head phones on and listening to the music. Most
people want to hear a four or five min song. Hell I know where I was at when I was
an 18 year old. I would throw on Trilogy or Tarkus sit there and I could listen
forever. People just don’t have that anymore these days. By default, whether good or
bad, or whatever the music and the songs that were written on this record, I get
tired of having to write big long solos just because someone says oh its progressive
rock. It needs to sound like this, that’s bullshit to me. That was the pressure that
we use to get in the very beginning. I finally said hey this is a song and I don’t
feel like doing a huge long keyboard solo in here. Its got the cords and the versus
and everything that I want to hear. The pressure of having to elongate songs and
make them longer just so they fit under that quote on quote idiom of progressive
rock.
Prog4you: If you guys do decide to go out on tour, does Magna Carta help support you at
all?
Mark: Oh no not
at all. They are a record label and our distributor is Sony Relativity and that’s
all they do. They have the distribution. They give up the advances to the bands,
which of course like any other band has to be paid back through record sales. But
you’re on your own touring. It’s a totally separate thing it has to do with the band
and the management of the band. We have been asked to play several concerts next
year and we have had to decline because they’re just not feasible.
Prog4you: Will Cairo ever tour to support the new album?
Mark: You know
if it becomes more realistic. We were asked to play the Baja festival down in a
March in Mexically, which is in southern California. But for us to rehearse a whole
record and to do one show that’s only an hour and a half worth of music and to get
all the people together to put a deal like that on the road. It’s hardly worth it.
Prog4you: Word of mouth suggests that this should be the best selling Cairo album. Would
you agree that?
Mark: I do,
just for the reasons I already stated.
Prog4you:
Where are your strongest sales?
Mark: Back in
the old days it use to be in Europe and Japan but America is picking up a lot. Since
the last time I talked to you guys I have done probably over 30 interviews and live
radio interviews all in the states. Including, live radio interviews where they are
playing our music on the radio, which happens to be a great thing. Then on top of it
in January I have a feature article in Keyboard Magazine on myself.
Prog4you:
Will there be another Cairo album in
the works?
Mark: No it’s
not in the works yet. There are some record company negotiations we have work out.
Prog4you:
Mark, Emerson was asked in Musician’s Magazine which are your favorite bands
these days and what are you listening to. He stated the top of the list for his
favorite band was “Cairo” and his favorite song was “Ruins at Avalon’s Gate”. So we
would like to be the first to ask you of the current keyboard players, besides
Emerson who is not really current, who is your favorite keyboard player now?
Mark: I
like the keyboard player from Niacin
John Novello who plays a great Hammond B3 organ. I also
like the playing of
Jordan Rudess from Dream Theater.
Prog4you:
So what’s in your CD player right now?
Mark: The truth is its
Beethoven piano concerto #2 played by
Murray Perahia
Prog4you: To end this interview, is there anything you like to say to all your fans out
there?
Mark: Well just
simply that I hope we do come out and play live and we love to see everybody come
out and check out our show. Thanks to everybody and especially you two guys for
taking the time to interview us and help all of us get off the launching pad and
into space here a little bit. You guys are a big help here.
Prog4you:
Thank you very much for letting us interview you.
Thanks and cheers!
Your friends at prog4you.com
George Roldan & Thomas Connolly
Official band web site
You can purchase
Cairo CD's and merchandise
at the Magna Carta 's website
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