Exclusive Interview: Raiding The Rock Vault's Robin McAuley is Ready to 'Shake The World' with Black Swan's Debut Release

(Reb Beach, Robin McAuley, Jeff Pilson & Matt Starr- Black Swan Official)

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The last time that I spoke with Robin McAuley he was as busy as ever, performing several nights a week in Raiding The Rock Vault (a popular Vegas all-star production) while touring the world with Michael Schenker's Schenkerfest. He also teased about a (not so) little side gig with Jeff Pilson (Foreigner & Dokken) and Reb Beach (Winger & Whitesnake), plus Matt Starr on drums. That little project has morphed into a thunderous labor of love called Black Swan. 

Two singles, "Shake The World" and "Big Disaster", have already been met with critical praise, leaving rock fans anxiously awaiting the full release of Shake The World, on February 14th. Black Swan is, perhaps, one of the best supergroups to come out of the last decade or so and not even a critical bout with Ecoli Sepsis could slow their momentum. I had the pleasure of catching up with the always gracious and jovial rocker a few days ago. Check it out below!

(Robin McAuley - Black Swan Official)

Robin McAuley on the illness that could have been deadly:

"Lord. I’ll make it very brief. I didn’t see this one coming. At all. I stay pretty healthy and I was about to leave my home to catch a flight to Florida. The good Catholic boy that I am, I went to church in the morning, we came home and had a family meal, a breakfast, and about an hour before leaving, I got extremely cold. I had no other symptoms, nothing, it was a great morning, and then in about a twenty-minute window my sorry old ass got hooked up to a gurney and taken to intensive care. One of my sons really jumped on it and called 911, thank God or I may not be here talking to you now. 

Everybody was shocked and I really didn’t feel much of it, other than the fact I was really cold. I had a temperature that was over 104 and I was going into shock and had no idea what was going on.  You could have fried an egg on my butt (laughing). The diagnosis I finally got after the long week in the hospital was that I somehow had contracted the E.coli virus and it had turned into a bladder infection. That went into my bloodstream, became sepsis, and it was starting to poison me. I was put in a 12-hour critical stage. I have a lot of tattoos but I hate needles. Go figure. Right (laughing)? I’ve never had so many injections and blood and, oh god, IVs, and you know the other things they strap to you but they were able to treat me with the proper antibiotics. 

It really was a shocker, didn’t see it coming at all! I know what septic means, I’ve heard of septic, but sepsis, not until now (laughing). I was a great believer in the idea that people get sick and then you go, ‘yeah, but there has to be something underlying. you don’t just get sick and you don’t just fall down,’ but, apparently you do (laughing). Thankfully I am now feeling terrific."

Robin on getting better and returning to the stage in mere weeks:

"I was sequestered. The doctor said, ''You might think you are going somewhere, but you’re not going anywhere,’ so I spent weeks on extremely strong antibiotics and strapped to an IV, so I was pretty shitty, to say the least. Even after I got all of this stuff removed from my body, that next week was miserable because I had no strength, at all. The doctors told me that when your body goes into shock, all of these muscles suddenly start to flare up, and my legs were like lead.  

The doctors were very funny and they told me, ‘You know, you’re the youngest person in here. You need to get the hell outta here. and… you know, we have more pending cases than yours,’ I mean, they were very encouraging. They encouraged me constantly to get better and go home. Because they said that as soon as I could get home I would then have an immediate turnaround. They were right and my wife was awesome, my boys were awesome and that kept me going.  The doctors gave me an extra two weeks off and I started back just last week at Raiding the Rock Vault. Now, when you’re offstage for a whole month it’s a little like riding a bicycle, but it’s also in new venue so I had to adjust to that. Right now, this will be my fifth day in and I’m rockin’. Thank god I feel great and I’ve got my legs back, plus my voice is in great shape. Thereby the grace of God, I am very thankful and grateful."

  

(Robin McAuley- Official Facebook)

Robin on getting ready for Schenkerfest:

  
"I have so much to learn for that still (laughing). We leave for Japan the first week of March and Japan is already sold out, it’s amazing. It’s a huge undertaking because Simon Phillips will be a second drummer on this one. Ronnie Romero will be coming in and guesting on vocals. Barry Sparkson was also one of the earlier MSG bass players who will also be coming in as well so it’s a hefty lineup. Then we will leave Japan and we’ll hit the UK and the rest of Europe in April. Then US dates will maybe come at the tail end of the year. I’m waiting for those dates to be confirmed."  

Robin on Black Swan:

"My favorite band of all time, I want to tell you right out the gate, it’s my favorite. Even the artwork is part of excellence. I just love it, I absolutely love the logo. Jeff (Pilson) came to me with this idea. Frontiers had approached me maybe two years ago about wanting to work with me because I was possibly the only guy left (laughing) just kidding. I was so busy with Rock Vault and Schenker at the time. Plus they wanted to put me in with some of their in-house writers and producers, who are fantastic, but I wasn’t ready to just do a record. It wasn’t right. So anyway, Jeff called me about a year ago and we go back a very long way and he said, ‘well how would you feel to write with Reb Beach?’ Well, who wouldn’t want to write with Reb Beach? I met Reb during my Survivor days when he was with Night Ranger for a short spell, so I already knew him. 

Jeff and Reb got together at Jeff’s studio and they had sent me sort of a basic idea for a song just to get the ball rolling. I came into the studio and I had a melody and I had a lyric and it was called ‘Big Disaster’, and Reb just looks at me and goes, ‘For a new project, that is probably not the best name.’ (laughing) and that’s kind of how we started. Nobody was thinking it should be a little MSG, a little Dokken, make it White Snakey. Now, why would you ever want to do that? Why can’t we just be what we are and have what we have as Black Swan?"

Robin on the writing process with Black Swan:

"Jeff went to see Bohemian Rhapsody and sent me a short note at about midnight saying he got home and set up the piano and wrote something called "Divided". It was this amazing chorus and idea for a verse and I thought wow, people will never expect this. It’s an amazing song.  

One of my son’s almost ended up at the Borderline Grill where that massacre in Thousand Oaks took place. I was actually in Poland with Schenker, and I got this text saying he was on his way there, but he got a call to come into work instead. There was this line dancing thing he and his college friends would all do. When we were writing this record, this massacre was weighing heavily on my mind so I had this idea of writing a song around the soldier that comes home from active duty and things are not the same at home as he left. When we think of soldiers we think of men and these are kids. They are kids. Kids with guns and bombs in their hands that are not properly counseled. Unfortunately, it’s a bunch of innocent, beautiful, young kids out at a bar that gets hurt.  

Part of what we’re saying with this Black Swan record will shake the world because things are a big disaster and we are so divided. It’s not a political platform because I don’t know politics, but I know my own mind. I don’t like using music as a soapbox, you know for that purpose, but sometimes if something weighs heavily on your mind and on your heart then it just comes out in the writing. We need to shake things up, we definitely do. You know, we have a voice as we always say and we are supposed to be allowed to use it. Um… But, as long as you put up with it nothing is ever going to change."

(Robin McAuley- Official Facebook)

Robin on the name Black Swan:

"Reb came up with the name Black Swan. We were kicking names around and we had some god-awful names and they all got trashed (laughing). Then Reb says, ‘Well, I like-- I like Black Swan,’ and I’m going, ‘Well, isn’t there a movie and a book?’ (laughing).  Frontiers actually got clearance because there was a big brass school band, The Black Swan-something or other, and so they had to get clearance on the name. They obviously managed to get it, and it fits perfectly, I think. It fits the music and just sort of gels with everything else."  

Robin on how Black Swan is a unique experience for him:

"I’ve recorded a lot of stuff, my name is not a name that rolls off of people’s tongues, but I’ve recorded quite a bit. I will say that of everything I’ve ever had my name on or recorded, I think this is my favorite of everything. I just love the production. It’s real. It’s not processed. It’s exactly like it is in the studio. It’s how we wanted it. And, it was one of my big things like, I just want this to really rock and be powerful. 

Jeff did an absolutely monstrous job of it. His playing is amazing considering he didn’t want to play bass. You know, Reb and I had other ideas about that (laughs). He had all of these great bass players lined up for whatever reason, and as we were writing, he’d be laying down his bass tracks just as a guide, and I went, ‘Yeah, some guide. So, are you going to get a bass player in here and show him everything you just played?’ (laughing). Then, of course, Matt Starr came in and completely put the icing on the cake."

Robin on the possibility of live dates:

" (Laughing) It’s the million-dollar, Black Swan question. You know, of course, ideally, with every band, you want to go live. Reb’s schedule is crazy, as is Jeff’s, and then you have Matt and you’re going, ‘How the hell is this ever going to happen?’ So, we’re hoping that a window of opportunity will appear. God, I hope we get to do it. We’ve all agreed, all four of us have agreed, that we’d love to do it."

Robin's thoughts ahead of the Feb. 14th release of the full Shake The World record:

"I’m really happy. I know everybody says that about their record, but I am (laughing). I never thought that at my age, I could actually make something that I could boast about. This is just, I couldn’t be in a better place. I never in my wildest dreams thought that we’d be churning out something of this quality, it’s just great. It’s great. So I’m very happy with it. I hope the listeners are equally as happy and we have a go forward with it. It would be terrific. Not that I need more work, but I love this particular work so much." 

Follow Black Swan on Facebook for more news & updates. Grab your Black Swan merch here. Also, check our Robin's official site & Facebook page for updates on everything that he has going on. 

Exclusive Interview: Foreigner's Jeff Pilson on Reuniting with the Original Band While Working on 'Black Swan' Project with Robin McAuley & Reb Beach

(All Photos: Cate Meighan)

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Foreigner's bass guitarist, Jeff Pilson,  is undoubtedly one of the busiest guys in the business. Aside from traveling 200+ days a year with that classic rock powerhouse machine, he also juggles a few side projects at a time. If you think that supergroups are a thing of the past then you need to pay closer attention because Jeff has a knack for not only combining established rockers but also bringing them to a higher musical level. 

He is currently working on a few "side projects", The End Machine with ex-Dokken bandmates George Lynch and Mick Brown  (Warrant's Robert Mason on vocals), and another endeavor with Robin McAuley (Schenkerfest; The Rock Vault)  and Reb Beach (Winger; Whitesnake). 

His plate is always overflowing and this year has been exhausting, yet Jeff was bursting with excitement when he spoke about the great things to come in an interview that occurred about an hour before Foreigner's Double Vision Then & Now reunion show in Atlantic City. Check it out!

Jeff Pilson on Foreigner's journey this year:

"It has been so good! I've been going with the flow and we've done about 110ish dates this year so it has been really busy. We have had to cut back on some dates though because we're not just driving 50 miles to get to a show, we're all over the place (laughing).

When Mick Jones was choosing people to play in the current lineup I know that work ethic was important to him, but also important was how well you fit into the vision. There's a certain chemistry about how we all fit together and Mick is really good at finding and figuring out what works. We all have some sayso in things but Mick is the final arbiter and he understands the importance of chemistry, both in playing and personality. We spend a lot of time in this big tube together and so you have to be able to hang (laughing) and I think he has always been cognizant of that. You have to be at a certain level to be able to play in the band, but after that, it's about how well you fit in and adapt to the overall sound. It really is very much a group effort and we've got it now so that everyone really listens and pays attention. At the end of the night, it's pretty amazing to have everyone on stage and realize that we really are all listening to each other. We've all grown to be great friends and I love these guys- plus we're having so much fun."

Jeff on reuniting with the original members of Foreigner:

"This kind of night is fun, it's just so great. We're all sad that Lou (Gramm) is not here, of course, and we really do miss him. I spoke with his wife this morning and I'm really glad he's taking care of his health. He is going to be fine, it's nothing long term thank god.  We miss him though and it's not quite the same without him. Having said that, these shows are going to be great. The energy is there and the cool thing about Foreigner is that it's really about the music. We miss Lou and I'm sure the audience will too, but the music is so strong that it really has a way of overcoming adversity.

There's something about these reunion shows that connects everyone to the roots of this whole band and that's such a healthy thing for us to be able to do. The fact that we can even pull this off is incredible. No other band has ever been able to meld their past with their current and so I'm genuinely, incredibly proud that we can do it. In the process, we've gained friendships and insight, plus we've come up with a product that allows us to bring these guys in and tour a bit with them too. What an amazing thing that is."

Jeff on what's next for The End Machine, his project with George Lynch, Robert Mason, and Mick Brown:

"There is more coming! I was hoping we would be able to write during the upcoming break from touring but scheduling is difficult. There's definitely more coming but I'm just not sure when. Hopefully, we'll be able to start writing again soon, it has just been hard because there's so much going on. The reaction to The End Machine has been so positive and one of the things that has been really special to us is the depth of the band and our first record. We know not to rush it. Writing with George doesn't feel like work. It's a flowing and fun thing that we love to do.

George (Lynch) and I did a record together in 2003 called Lynch Pilson and we finally got the rights back to that record. In turn, we then sold it to Cleopatra who is going to re-release it. We just wrote a song a few weeks ago called "Top of the World" and that's going to come out soon. I'm so excited about the record being released again and having a new song to go with it."

Jeff on that other side project with Robin McAuley and Reb Beach:

"We just had conference calls about everything this morning! That's coming out in March and I think the first single will be out in December. We're filming two videos for it on Nov. 1-2 and so either sometime in December or January the first video will come out, followed by the second video. Then on Valentine's Day, we'll be releasing the third song, it's a ballad that came out incredible. I'm really excited about it and just wait until you hear Robin's voice on this project. He's such a dear friend and boy does he really shine here."

Jeff on being busier than ever:

"Well, with all of the creative stuff happening and the offers there I feel like you kind of have to strike while the iron is hot. I'm not in a rush about certain things, but who knows what's going to be there in ten years. I'm not that old, I mean I'm kind of old (laughing), but I'm not dead yet. Musically I still haven't written the greatest song of all time yet (laughing). I'll leave the term "greatest" open to interpretation, but that's still on my bucket list of things to do (laughing)."

Jeff on juggling a family while being on the road:

"Honestly, I need to take a little bit of a break. I feel like when I finally go home I need to just be able to stay home for a while. Being a father is really tough with this job and luckily we have a daughter that's just angelic (laughing). She's really smart, really into her school and she does a great job with her schoolwork. If we had a troubled kid I don't know how we would deal with it. She went to her first Foreigner show at 6 weeks old (laughing) and I've had to reconcile myself with not being home very much. It puts a real undue burden on my wife because she has to be like a single parent a lot and that's not fair. I do what I can and my wife understands but she's a human being. She gets tired and stressed out, so it's tricky. When I'm home, I'm dad and I'm all in. We're going to go away for six days on vacation in November and I'm really looking forward to that."

Jeff on what's next for Foreigner:

"More touring forever (laughing), more dates are on the books for after our Las Vegas residency. I'm sure they'll be making an announcement about it soon. We've been trying to stay out of the major American markets and doing secondary markets because we'll be doing a big 2020 shed tour in the summer. I can't say who's on that but an announcement is coming. We're also going to South America and we're headed back to Europe again to do some festivals. Musically it's very satisfying to play somewhere like Germany because those audiences really listen. We are working on some new music and it's strictly on the creative level. There is no time frame involved but it's starting to happen and there could be a new song or two coming."

I want people to know that Foreigner is a very viable, relevant band right now. Yes, we deal with the nostalgia of this great catalog, but we're out there hitting the pavement pretty damn hard and there's no sign of that letting up for the next couple of years.  We're very committed to taking Foreigner, with both its' catalog and its' fans, and making the very best of it. We want the chapter of Mick Jones' life about Foreigner to be perfect and complete. That really is our goal to do that and to make it that way for him".

Head over to Foreigner's official site to check out tour dates, band merch and more

Let The Music Play: At This Moment... with Robin McAuley

Let The Music Play: At This Moment... is a continuing series by DailyBOOM Media on Covid-19's crushing impact on the music industry as seen through the eyes of artists, musicians, promoters, venue owners, merchandisers and Save Our Stages/NIVA ambassadors.