Metal Rules has issued an interview with MR. BIG drummer Pat Torpey. The following is an excerpt from the interview, conducted by Marko Syrjälä:

Q: Tell about the Mr. Big reunion. Whose idea it was to put this band back together?

A: "Well, it... I don’t think it was any one person’s idea, it was everybody’s idea. We had a lot of time pass and it seemed to be right. There was kind of a catalyst that got it going. Paul was doing a show at the House of Blues in Los Angeles; I think it was May of last year – not last May but a year ago – yeah, it was May. And I was playing drums with Richie Kotzen and Paul asked Ritchie to open. Paul didn’t know that I was playing drums for him on that show. And so Ritchie told me, 'Yeah, it’ll be great. Pat’s going to play drums.' And Paul said, 'Oh, really? Wow. I’ll invite Billy down and we’ll have him sit in for an encore – we’ll play some stuff.' So Paul sent me an email and I was like, 'Yeah, sure. You know, that’d be great.' And then it was. It was a lot of fun and Ritchie sang too – Ritchie sang a song. Eric wasn’t there; Eric lives in San Francisco. And so one thing led to another and here we are in Finland. A year and a half later we’re playing shows."

Q: So, all of the guys – Billy, Eric and Paul - they are really busy with their own things all the time. Was it hard to set this thing up because they have so many other things going on?

A: "Well, not really. I think once the, you know - where there’s a desire and a will, you make it happen. And, you know, it has taken a while to... we didn’t immediately just jump in and do it, you know, we had to make some plans and start planning. I think officially we didn’t really decide we were going to do the reunion thing until August of, like, a year ago, you know. And then we had to decide: 'Okay, well, what are we going to do? How are we going to do this?' All those things, you know, management, we had to make all those business decisions. But the good part is that everybody was of the same mind. We all wanted to do it. There wasn’t one guy going, 'Uhhh... I’m not sure, you know...' That’s what’s really the best thing about it - because we’re all kind of in the same place, to use a cliché. And that’s what makes it fun and kind of reignited the spark, you know, of wanting to play together, and it’s just been really fun. We’ve already done a Japanese tour and we did a show in Indonesia about a month ago."

Read the full interview at this location.

Frontiers Records released Mr. Big’s reunion Live CD and DVD entitled Back To Budokan on October 16th in Europe and October 27th in the USA.

In an update, the label confirmed that the DVD had landed at #10 on the Italian DVD charts in it's first week of release.

Mr. Big is a Rock super-group that formed in 1988. The band is a quartet composed of Eric Martin (vocals), Paul Gilbert (guitar), Billy Sheehan (bass), and Pat Torpey (drums). The band is noted especially for their "shred guitar" musicianship, intense live performances, and well-crafted songs.

Identified early on as a "musicians' band", Mr. Big produced numerous hit songs that ranged across a wide array of rock genres, be it ballad, heavy metal, or blues rock. Prior to the formation of the group, each of the members already had a reputation of being virtuosos as well as established song-writers/ composers. Their songs were often marked with Eric Martin’s strong lead vocals, four part band vocal harmonies, and a technical proficiency in all instruments. Their hits include 'To Be With You' (Billboard Hot 100 number one single in 15 countries for weeks, in 1991), 'Wild World', 'Green-Tinted Sixties Mind', 'Just Take My Heart', other ballads, and a host of heavy metal songs that were played mostly during their live performances, such as 'Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy', 'Addicted to that Rush', 'Colorado Bulldog' and 'Take Cover', among others.

Mr. Big's large following and reputation remained strong for over more than two decades, despite the band being challenged by internal conflict and the changing trends in mainstream music. Over the years, through the different heights of the band's career, the fan-base of the group has remained steadfast - even following the band’s break-up in 2002. Fans had continually asked for the band's reunion.

In February 2009, as a result of that fan-demand and also following several coincidences over the past couple of years where various members jammed on-stage together, all of which gradually brought the group back together again and Eric, Pat, Paul and Billy finally announced their decision to reunite in late 2008. This announcement was marked with celebration and excitement amongst fans all over the world, especially in Japan. The band members themselves are very happy to be together again as bandmates, and more importantly, friends, and to perform once more for fans all over the world. Their first tour happened in Japan in June 2009 to completely sold out audiences and this double Live CD and DVD, filmed and recorded during their standing room only concert at the Budokan in Tokyo, June 20th 2009 celebrates the welcomed return of one of Rock’s giants!!

The band also recorded two new songs, the original 'Next Time Around' and the Argent cover 'Hold Your Head Up' which found their space on the album as a special bonus, along with an acoustic version of the timeless hit song 'To Be With You'.

Back to Budokan in CD version includes (click highlighted song for MP3 sample:

CD1: 'Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy (The Electric Drill Song)', 'Take Cover', 'Green-Tinted Sixties Mind', 'Alive and Kickin’, 'Next Time Around', 'Hold Your Head Up', 'Just Take My Heart', 'Temperamental', 'It’s For You – Mars', 'Pat Torpey Drum Solo', 'Price You Gotta Pay', 'Stay Together', 'Wild World', 'Goin’ Where The Wind Blows', 'Take A Walk'.

CD2: Paul Gilbert Guitar Solo', 'Paul Gilbert and Billy Sheehan Duo', 'Double Human Capo', 'The Whole World’s Gonna Know', 'Promise Her The Moon; Rock & Roll Over', 'Billy Sheehan Bass Solo', 'Addicted To That Rush', 'To Be With You', 'Colorado Bulldog', 'Smoke On The Water', 'I Love You Japan', 'Baba O’Riley', 'Shyboy'. 'Next Time Around' (*), 'Hold Your Head Up (*)', 'To Be With You' (**)

(*) New studio tracks

(**) Exclusive bonus track – Acoustic Version

The 2DVD set includes:

Disc 1 (121 mins.):

Live at Budokan, Tokyo June 20th 2009

'Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy (The Elecrtic Drill Song)', 'Take Cover; Green-Tinted Sixties Mind', 'Alive and Kickin’', 'Next Time Around', 'Hold Your Head Up', 'Just Take My Heart', 'Temperamental', 'It’s For You – Mars', 'Pat Torpey Drum Solo', 'Price You Gotta Pay', 'tay Together', 'Wild World', 'Goin’ Where The Wind Blows', 'Take a Walk', 'Paul Gilbert Guitar Solo', 'Paul Gilbert and Billy Sheehan Duo', 'Double Human Capo; The Whole World’s Gonna Know', 'Promise Her The Moon', 'Rock & Roll Over; Billy Sheehan Bass Solo', 'Addicted To That Rush'.

Disc 2 (51 mins.):

Encores: 'To Be With You', 'Colorado Bulldog', 'Smoke On The Water', 'I Love You Japan', 'Baba O’Riley', 'Shyboy'.

Bonus footage: 'Next Time Around' (videoclip)

Bonus live footage: Acoustic Live at Hard Rock Café Tokyo – February 2009