When you think about a rock & roll band, the keyboard player is not exactly the first musician that comes to mind. But Michael T. Ross is ready for that to change. He is calling out his fellow brothers-in-arms to make a move, get excited, slam the keys and rock out just as hard as that guitar player standing on the other side of the stage getting all the attention. Just because you’re stuck behind a gazillion gadgets doesn’t mean you have to be a dormouse. Leading by example, Ross does not fade into the scenery when Raiding The Rock Vault comes to life six nights a week at the Tropicana on the Strip in Las Vegas. He comes on with a bang and keeps the adrenalin pumping till the last note, pushing the likes of Howard Leese, Doug Aldrich and Paul Shortino to stay on their A-game every night.
An Air Force brat born in Biloxi during Hurricane Camille, raised in California, schooled in Chopin and inspired by Deep Purple’s Jon Lord, Ross is an amalgamation of everything he has been through up to this point in his life. Classical training on piano gave him the foundation while Rick Wakeman and Keith Emerson gave him a kaleidoscopic freedom to explore his creativity. He started to find his way at the tail end of the LA Strip metal heyday, played with Angel and Hardline and a great gig with Lita Ford once she came out of retirement. In 2012, he was added to the original roster of Rock Vault and hasn’t missed a show since. Although, later this month he will hand over his spot to Kevin Krohn so he can travel to Singapore to perform with the Black Eyed Tease. It is something he is looking forward to yet hates to be away from his home band. But no one ever said stretching your legs and seeking new adventures was bad for you.
In this interview with Glide last week, Ross sat down and chatted about what it’s like to be onstage with some powerhouse musicians night after night, working with Lita Ford, his love for Hello Kitty and why it irks him to no end that keyboard players tend to hang in the background, content to be unnoticed.
I understand you have a strange connection to Hurricane Camille.
I was born in Hurricane Camille, in the middle of it. I was born August 29, 1969, on Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi. Channel 13, the TV channel out here, every year they have a little hour special on it. I’ve been watching it my whole life and every year it’s the same video and they show for a quick second the hospital that I was in at that time. My father was a doctor in the Air Force there and we got wiped out and that’s why we had to move to California. That’s how I ended up out here. And my mom had always told me that if it wasn’t for Hurricane Camille, we’d probably have been raised in Mississippi, in Jackson. Because the whole Gulf got ripped apart, we had to go up to Jackson to where it was a little bit better. Then we got out of there and moved to southern California.
Why did you move to California?
My dad got transferred to a base just right outside of LA. And right at that time, the music scene was really taking off and I had LA an hour away from me. So by the time I was seventeen, I was playing in the clubs. I was playing at the Whisky and the Roxy and I just caught the tail end of it during that era of the late eighties/early nineties. And it was just enough time to build a fan base that I have today. But I’m proud of being born in Hurricane Camille. It shaped my life cause I came out to southern California and I had Hollywood right there so who wouldn’t pursue music, you know. My father was a doctor and I’m the baby so it was perfect for me to do music. My mom bought my brother and I a piano when I was eight and we took Classical lessons for ten years and I’ve been playing music my whole life. That’s all I know. I really have sheltered my life in many ways, sacrificing. Like, I don’t know how to swim. I’ve never been on a motorcycle. I haven’t done a lot of things.
But later in life, my career was starting to give back to me and I realized then that it was worth it. I kept believing in myself. People act like they believe in you and they do their best to care as much as they can for you but really we are on our own when it comes to accomplishing our own goals. I had to keep believing in myself. It was quite a selfish route. I’ve never been married and no children. I’m completely married to my music and I was happy to be able to travel and to see the world and know that this whole pursuit with my goals was real. It really happened. I opened up for Motley Crue in Monza, Italy, in front of about 25,000 people with Bumblefoot on guitar with Lita, we were playing with Lita. It wasn’t my first show I had done but it took a thousand shows to lead up to that type of a show, to realize that I am fulfilling my dreams, this is really happening. Because once it happens, you are almost in denial of your own success because I was raised with an environment that didn’t believe in me. They told me to cut my hair and go be in the medical field, and I had to go against the grain growing up. It was difficult. At eighteen, I had to move out and move toward the beach in Orange County, California. I was there ten years and then I moved to LA and pursued my career. And I’m happy I did it. But I started in Biloxi, Mississippi, on Keesler Air Force Base and ended up in Hollywood, swinging away at the Sunset Strip.
One of the earliest bands you joined was Angel, which included Steve Blaze from Lillian Axe. What was it like working with him?
I joined Angel in 2003 and Steve Blaze was on guitar and we went to Europe, supporting Sebastian Bach. It was his first solo tour. And Steve Blaze is the funniest guy I have ever met in my life. I could not stop laughing during the entire tour. He could say anything to me and I’d just start giggling. I love this guy, inside and out. And what an amazing guitar player he is. I got lucky and he asked me to play on a song on Sad Day On Planet Earth, one of their releases a few years back. I wanted to be in the band actually. I was thinking about moving from LA about ten years ago, when it was drying up out there, and being able to play in a band like Lillian Axe would have been really cool for me. God bless their former guitar player [Jon Ster] who just passed away. Isn’t that sad? But Steve Blaze is the only original member, I believe, and he’s been very loyal to the name and the band. I thanked him for that cause I know there’s a lot of fans out there that still go see him and buy his CDs and love his music. He’s got solo albums out that are great. I got to play with Steve from 2003 to 2008 with Angel. He used to fly out to my apartment in Hollywood and stay with me and I just had a great time working with him. I played live with Steve for many years and he showed me the way. He was a mentor. I was new in the business and he took me under his wing. I will always appreciate him for that.
So what made you want to become a rock & roll keyboard player?
I grew up playing Classical piano and I enjoyed that but I switched to synthesizers when I was in high school. I loved guitar and have been playing guitar for years and been transferring the guitar notes onto the keyboard so when I work with guitar players, I can talk their language. I found myself frustrated with keyboardists. I thought they were lame, most of them. A lot of them sat on a chair while the rest of their bands were rocking out and running around. Keyboardists are inherently pencil necks, in my opinion. I wanted to be a keyboardist but be looked at respectfully as if I was a singer or a guitar player. I didn’t want to be the fifth wheel instrument. And I could not understand why keyboardists around the world were allowing guitar players and singers and other instruments to overshadow us when I know how important our role is.
It frustrated me when I did my own survey years ago, just around my circle, asking everybody do they know the keyboardist’s name for Bon Jovi. Not one person that I had asked knew the name. I was like, this keyboardist, David Bryan, is a great keyboardist and in one of the biggest rock bands of all time. But he could put out a solo album and it wouldn’t sell. It was frustrating me so I felt that I had a duty as a keyboardist to help support my field. I didn’t completely want to do it, I felt I had to. I can’t say no one else was but at least around me, it wasn’t really happening.
In 1994, I auditioned for Dream Theater and met Derek Sherinian. He got the gig. In 1998, when Derek got out of Dream Theater, I worked with him, from 1999 to 2004, and in 2004, I co-engineered his Mythology album. Derek was the only keyboardist out there, I felt, that had some balls, that had an edge. He was working with Zakk Wylde and he was like a guitar player/keyboardist. That’s what I wanted to do and I learned off him.
Have you always had that kind of personality?
I think everybody possesses a little bit of that, and I don’t want to use that word ego, but that drive in them to excel and to stand out amongst the crowd. I don’t think we’d be onstage doing this every night if we didn’t feel like we were ready to ham it up in front of a camera or an audience. We just love to perform. We love to express ourselves. We’re artists. I don’t think it’s a personal thing. I’m not playing every night to try to prove to anybody in that room that I can do this. I already know what I can do. I don’t need to go out every night and try to prove it to everybody. I’m doing this for myself. I just appreciate that other people enjoy it and that’s why I’m lucky. I mean, I play with Doug Aldrich every night, six nights a week. This guy is a maniac. He’s the king of showboating and shredding at the same time. I love playing with Doug. And Robin McAuley on vocals makes it even more special to me. I’m in a band with an all-star lineup so I have a blast every night. I can’t help it. We have Hugh McDonald on bass from Bon Jovi so being a Bon Jovi fan and playing with him on “Living On A Prayer” is very special and I appreciate every night that I get to do that.
And you’ve been with Rock Vault from the beginning, right?
Yeah, I’ve been in the band from the start, since our first show, November 2012. We played at the Mayan Theatre in Los Angeles and then we got a residency at LVH [in Las Vegas] and we were there a year and a half. And recently, last month, we got a year contract at the Tropicana. We’re dark on Thursdays. We run six nights a week. And I have not missed a show.
I saw that but you are fixing to miss a couple of shows.
I am. It’s time to step out for a moment and do a couple things. Howard Leese is in Bad Company and Paul Rodgers so he steps out once in a while and has a sub; each of us has a sub. Paul went to Spain, Andrew[Freeman] went to Japan. So it’s my turn to travel outside of Vegas and I’m really excited about playing with the Black Eyed Tease. We’re playing in Singapore on New Year’s and we’re headlining Universal Studios, so that will be my first time leaving the Vault. I’m nervous but I’m excited. I have a really great sub. His name is Kevin Krohn and he is going to be filling in for me while I am out. I wouldn’t leave the Vault for anything but I have to tell you, I’m playing with the Black Eyed Tease in Singapore and I couldn’t pass that up. My girlfriend Amy is the Fergie impersonator in the band, so I have a personal attraction there in this project (laughs).
You also just played with Lita there in Vegas.
I did, I played with Lita Ford last night at the Hard Rock Hotel. I play with her every time she comes to Vegas. I played with her at her birthday party this year and I also played with her at the Hard Rock earlier in the year.
You’ve played with her for a while.
I have. When she came back in the business after fourteen years, I joined her group in June of 2008 and I ran until January 2012. My last show was at the Mohegan Sun in the Wolf Den in Connecticut in January of 2012. Then she started the Def Leppard tour and I left to Rock Vault. But she’s wonderful. Playing with her last night on “Close My Eyes Forever” just brought back memories of the last five years and it’s been so special. I miss her, I miss playing in her band.
What makes her a great performer, in your opinion?
I’m bias. She’s been so good to me and she spoiled me. I’ve seen many bandmates come and go in this group since 2008 and I’ve stayed in the band most of the time. We’ve had Bumblefoot, Gary Hoey, Mitch Perry, Stet Howland. We’ve had some great, great players and I was always happy that Lita kept me as long as she did. And last night our magic onstage was just undeniable. She comes over to me with her big pretty smile and with her leather outfit and her amazing guitar that I remember from her Ozzy video and stuff (laughs). I just have to shake my head at how cool she is. Because she is such a cool person off the stage, I already know that we’re going to have a great show that night because when I get on the stage, we’re just continuing that relationship and I think that the fans appreciate seeing that going down as we’re performing. I’ve done hundreds of shows with her and I know her every move up there. I can tell when I’m going to start or if I’m going to wait a minute before we start, cause she’s talking with the audience. I’m always paying attention to her and Lita is so professional. She is on cue every time. I can count on her when I’m up there with her to take that crowd of 25,000 people and she takes her double neck and she shoves it up their ass. And I’m standing next to her and I’m like, wow, she is a rock god. There are so many reasons why I think she’s amazing. She’s so natural up there. She’s not worried about the little things. If a guitar string goes a little out of tune or something, she’ll keep going; she gets through anything and comes out at the end of the song with the crowd roaring for her. She’s a true legend.
You’ve mentioned Rick Wakeman in the past and playing Chopin through your youth. How have you taken those influences and made them a part of you?
Being classically-based, I found myself sounding more like Rick Wakeman than other keyboardists. I’m actually not blues-based at all. Growing up, I had to practice the blues and I felt I shouldn’t have had to practice the blues. That’s natural. But playing Chopin most of my childhood, it shaped my style and I found myself playing keyboards in bands that sounded like Styx or Kansas or Toto. So I started to specialize in that area, and Yes and ELP, and I don’t have to use all those chops and Theory that I learned but it definitely was an important part of my package that I can offer a band. And playing with high caliber players, it does come in handy. I do think back to the basics at times.
When you’re creating your own music, which is all instrumental, where does most of your inspiration come from? Is it mostly personal?
It’s true, music is therapy and I use the piano as a tool to express things that are going on in my head. The piano is my best friend and I tell it all my secrets. It never denies me. The piano is always right there ready for me and whether I’m sad or I’m angry, I’m being influenced by the piano at all times in my mind; the progressions, the melodies, they are always ticking in my head. I find myself being influenced emotionally with the piano when I’m sad so I have a lot of ballads. I lost my mother a couple of years ago to diabetes. I have diabetes and I struggle every day with it, every two hours I struggle with it, but I lean on the piano during my rough times and these melodies and ideas physically appear through the piano and it comes out with noise, with sounds. And it’s kind of scary because I’ll sit down at the piano and I will be crying, thinking of my mom, and I will write a piece and I’ll record it and I won’t pick it up till a month later and listen to it. And it’s me that I’m listening to but it’s not. It’s like it’s the universe speaking to me, talking to me back, and it’s very powerful.
When you go back and play what you’ve written, even months later, does it still affect you like when you first wrote it?
Yes, I get chills listening to my own music let alone someone else’s music. It changes my day. When I wake up and sit down at the piano and express myself versus waking up and not playing the piano and not expressing myself, my character during the day is different. I feel so blessed that I have this piece of furniture sitting in front of me and it’s like a doctor, like the piano is my counselor. So I’m a patient and I sit there and even Michael Jackson couldn’t explain it. It was just natural, it just happens, takes over and helps you through it and creates something magical. When I’m angry, I don’t find myself getting on the piano and pounding on it and writing some crazy Frank Zappa-like tune. No, when I’m angry, I go for a walk, take a breather. But when I’m sad, I run to the piano and embrace it.
Do you hear words?
No, I don’t. I’m a non-lyricist. I don’t even pay attention to lyrics. Thin Lizzy is my favorite band and I could probably F’up the lyrics to “Boys Are Back In Town.” It’s all melody to me.
So that’s what you hear in your head?
Yes, I hear Chopin in my head. There’re no vocals.
When you’re at home do you listen to predominately classical?
I listen to Michael Jackson probably most of my time here. When you first called me, “Dangerous” was playing in the background. I love Michael Jackson so much.
What was it like going into a recording studio for the first time and what surprised you the most about the recording process?
I had my first album in 2002 with Hardline and I was surprised how 80% of my keys were cut out. But later I realized that 20% was plenty. I was overplaying and could not understand why the producer was not using all the tracks.
Did you voice your opinion?
No, because I was green and new and didn’t know what I was doing. I left it up to them and I thought I had some other great parts to add and the producer said, “We don’t need it.” Then the album came out and I loved the keys. He made me sound the best I ever sounded and I learned off that: not to overplay and only play every note that is justified.
Who was the producer?
Bob Burch. He produced the Hardline II album and that was the first album I did at a professional studio. I was just surprised how I went in playing all this stuff and not understanding why it wasn’t all being used, and understanding later that that was correct and to play all this extra stuff wasn’t necessary.
What did you work with Andy Johns on?
I worked with Andy Johns in 2001 for about six months with a band that I was in at that time called Accomplice, with Chas West on vocals. He produced our band and we recorded at Cherokee Studios. He was very old school and liked to physically turn knobs instead of running through a computer software system. I got to learn from him how recordings were done originally and that was an experience I’ll never get again.
Do you prefer old school or new school?
I’m an old school analog keyboard guy. I still have my Roland Juno 106. I’m not a gear junkie. It sucks being a keyboardist because I’m required to be one but I refuse. I like cranking knobs and I find myself playing my keyboards that are twenty-five years old versus the brand new keyboards that I have.
Who was the first real rock star you ever met?
That’s a hard one (laughs). I was in Hardline in 2002 and it was Bobby Rock on drums and he was in Nelson and he was like a rock star to me … Oh I know who, it was Lou Ferrigno, the Incredible Hulk guy (laughs). That was like the first celebrity I ever met. My parents took me to Sea World, I think it was Sea World, when I was a kid and I got to meet Lou Ferrigno. He was a rock star to me (laughs). I’ve been going to the NAMM show every year for over fifteen years and there are rock stars everywhere every year. The first year I went there I met like a hundred of them. But I would kind of have to say probably Jeff Scott Soto, cause he was in Yngwie. It was when Jeff Scott Soto started singing in the band Boogie Knights and I met him and he was already in Yngwie, and I love Yngwie, so I’d have to say Jeff Scott Soto was my first rock star. I got to start a friendship with him and I tried to be in his band. In 2001, I asked to play with him and was like, “Come on, Jeff, let me play with you (laughs).” And he said, “I’m getting signed to this label called Frontiers. I’m doing a solo album.” But he didn’t want keys or something or it didn’t work out. Then that year I joined Hardline and like ten years later, after “Hot Cherie” came out, I was in the band with Johnny Gioeli. It was awesome. So Jeff is proud of me. He saw my career grow and we crossed paths many times. He is the best, I love Jeff. I’m a big fan.
What is your all-time favorite album and what makes it so special to you?
My favorite album would be Thin Lizzy’s Fighting because I think it’s Thin Lizzy at their best. My biggest influence of all time is Gary Moore. Even though I‘m a keyboardist, my biggest influence is a guitarist. He was great. I got to see him when I was seventeen. And I have a YouTube video where I redid “Still Got The Blues” on the keys. I did a tribute to him on keyboards and that video means the most to me. I’m the only one on YouTube that has done that.
When you started having some money come in from being a professional musician, what was your first big splurge?
A nice big fish tank. I bought a nice big fish tank and fixed it up. They’re expensive to have. I couldn’t afford one before. And by the way, during our entire interview, about 75% of the time I’ve been staring at my fish tank.
Is that the same fish tank?
No, you make money, you lose money. I couldn’t be a good papa to the fish anymore. I couldn’t afford them eventually and then I had to get rid of them and got another one and a new gig, new tank, new life. I have a twenty gallon now. I have to keep it simple cause I don’t have a whole lot of time to mess with them. They’re goldfish so they’re on their own. I paid an extra dollar and got the warranty so they’d live a lot longer (laughs)
What still excites you about playing music?
New gear. I just got another new keyboard yesterday. I have a house full of keys. The technology keeps me on my toes. It’s exciting with all the new sounds that are out.
And you have a Korg?
I’m a Korg guy, right
What makes it better than the other brands?
They give me the best deal (laughs). And their equipment is awesome.
Who do you think has been the greatest innovator in terms of keyboards and synthesizers in today’s era?
Like who is the Keith Emerson of today? I think the most innovative keyboardist today is Jordan Rudess from Dream Theater. He’s the electric Mozart of our time, he really is. He’s number one and he’s boring as shit.
Why do you say that?
Well, the band is boring. They’re one of my favorite bands but I dread sitting through their shows. I’m an asshole when it comes to keyboards. That’s my thing, these guys, these keyboardists, the ones that are so great, they lose sight of the entertainment show factor and a lot of them lose their audience too quick in the show. So many times I hear a keyboardist in a rock band when he has a moment, a spot, and they go right to the piano. It’s like, buddy, it’s a rock show, not a high school talent show and not your fifth grade recital. No one cares about your little Mozart invention. The band kicks ass through an entire show and has the audience at a high level energy and they pass it to the keyboardist and what do they do? They bring it right back down and I think it’s a buzz kill. People don’t like drum solos but at least drummers understand to keep that energy going and to pound the crap out of your instrument.
So I love seeing keyboardists, the ones out there that really slam it hard. I think it’s important to show that keyboardists are high energy, showboat-y type players too. It’s rare to find any of them out there today that I get that excited about that has all of that and more. Like the keyboard for Symphony X [Michael Pinella], he has great keyboard playing. There are a lot of great rock keys playing out there today. I mean, they get it now in a big way more than the last ten years when I’ve been touring. Like Children Of Bodom, the keyboardist [Janne Warman] is very aggressive and slams his board and solos. It’s awesome. That European rock is very open to that stuff. But I’m talking about on a commercial US market level and having a keyboardist act that way? It’s nonexistent. The keyboardists are in the back, they’re very mature and they don’t get to let loose and get wild.
People who see me live multiple times have told me that they’ve never seen keys at that high energy level and I want to deliver like I would if I was a guitar player. Like Doug Aldrich, he’s right next to me throwing his guitar like two stories in the air. He’s amazing. So now it’s my turn and what am I going to do? Put on a piano sound and play a Chopin piece that I played in tenth grade? No way! I’m going to put on my distortion too, louder than Doug’s, one notch louder, and give it back to him, battle it out. It’s a war zone up there on stage. It’s all friendly and we’re smiling but we’re each responsible for our own sound up there and we’re team players but we have to watch out for our own ass at all times. We all have to be as best as we can so when they pass the ball to one player for a solo spot or something, they understand to keep the crowd going and deliver. But time and time again, these keyboardists go into these preludes and go into la-la land, and I just feel that people just don’t give a crap. Keep it short and keep it entertaining. Keyboardists don’t always have to throw in these stupid cartoon riffs.
I was deep into Deep Purple when I was a kid. I was into Ian Gillan and Ritchie Blackmore and into bands like Accept and Krokus. I was all into that stuff. When I was in high school, I switched from piano to keyboards cause I was mesmerized by Jon Lord and how he made the organ sound and that changed everything for me. It changed the game.
Who has been one of your favorite guest performers to come in to the Rock Vault?
My favorite was definitely Jon Anderson because I’m a big Yes fan and his music has a lot of keyboards in it. It gives me a moment to really dig in and shine. I got to do the Rick Wakeman solo on “Roundabout.”
The Rock Vault takes the audience through different musical eras. Do you have a favorite time period in musical history?
I do, the seventies. We play “More Than A Feeling” by Boston and my favorite Supertramp song, “Breakfast In America.” I get to do the solo. And Howard Leese plays keyboards with me on that song. Both of us are up there playing. He played keys in Heart so he’s just as competent of a keyboardist as he is a guitar player. He runs up on my podium and plays “Breakfast In America” with us and that’s my favorite part of the show. But you know, I got to tell you, I think the most special one to me in the show is Robin McAuley. He is so amazing and just getting to work with him on a daily basis has been very, very pleasing, on and off stage.
And Hello Kitty keeps you company as well up there.
(laughs) I have a Hello Kitty doll up on stage with me. Fans bring me Hello Kitty dolls every week from around the world. The other day I got two Japanese Hello Kitty dolls from this lady from Okinawa, a fan. The fans from like ten years ago, they know I love Hello Kitty dolls and I have a big collection of Hello Kitty, over two hundred dolls.
I’m on the cover of What’s On magazine this week and in the interview they asked each guy a question: What’s something about you that might surprise people? Howard says, “When I’m not playing in the Rock Vault, I play guitar in Bad Company;” Robin McAuley says, “I’m a qualified cabinet maker and I also served in the Irish National Guard.” Here’s mine: I collect Hello Kitty dolls and snow globes. I don’t know how to swim and I probably drive slower than your grandma (laughs). That’s just me being myself. I’m not trying to ham up anything, I’m just a little goofy. I’m the only one in the band that wears pink. I have Hello Kitty stuff (laughs). I don’t have any children but I love cats. I’m a huge cat lover and I have a hairless sphinx. You might have heard her. She growled at me. I was embarrassed cause she went rrrrrrrr and kind of attacked my leg cause I’m not paying attention to her right now. When I’m on the phone she wants to kill me (laughs)
Besides going to Singapore, do you have anything else special happening?
I still perform on and off with Missing Persons and I have a show on the 20th of this month here in Vegas. I still play with almost every band that I’ve been with and this month I have played with Lita and Missing Persons, and I still play Angel songs with Frank Dimino. I play with Frank all the time and with Oz Fox on guitar and we play Angel songs. So even though I’m in Rock Vault six days a week, I still sneak out and get to play with others.
What goals do you still have for yourself as a musician?
To be on the cover of Keyboard Magazine one day. At least before the magazine tanks. It’s getting thinner and thinner and it’s going to go under so I got to get in there soon (laughs).
Live photographs by Jo Anna Jackson
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