Batttttty chats to
Chris Logan

So, there I was, sitting in the bath, minding my own business, and listening to my advance copy of the new MSG cd, and suddenly I saw this spider.... climbing..... slowly.... up the side of the bath and across the taps..... and I thought 'I need a man!!'

But who is the man to call in just such a situation.

Of course, it had to be Chris Logan - the MSG vocalist and the man behind the lyrics on Be Aware of Scorpions and the new MSG album Arachnophobiac.

Anyway, after he'd done what he had to do, I climbed out, wrapped a towel around myself, offered him a nearby seat, and started asking him a load of questions.

First of all, our readers will be interested to know how the actual recording sessions went. How was the chemistry between you all - Michael, Stu, Jeremy, and yourself. Hi there Batttttty! We all got along great. It was good to see Michael and Jeremy again. We all stayed pretty busy the entire time I was there. While I was there, we recorded drums and guitars... bass tracks were cut after I left. But I met Stu at the photo session. He seems like a really nice dude.

Were the songs pretty much studio-ready, or did they evolve quite a bit once you got into the recording sessions? "Studio ready"? Is there such a thing with MSG? Ha - No, both albums I've written with Michael have been somewhat of an evolution from start to finish. And then, with the final mixdown comes a whole new wave of evolution... some of the songs tend to take on a whole new identity they never had before.

Who engineered/produced this album? Mike Varney, Steve Fontano and Michael Schenker all share production credit on this one. Steve engineered everything but the vocals. I engineered/recorded the vocals myself in Las Vegas at Field of Dreams Studios. Steve then mixed the album back at Prairie Sun Studios.

How did you go about writing the lyrics - did you receive tapes from Michael with suggestions on what kind of lyrics he wanted? (or how?) Michael, Jeremy, Mike Varney and myself all pretty much sat down and arranged the tunes together. If I had a strong enough vocal idea, I'd throw it in and we'd arrange the music around that idea. I wrote most of the lyrics and melodies at home in Vegas after the drum and guitar tracks were recorded. A couple of the songs I actually wrote as I recorded them. The recording studio definitely has a way of inspiring ideas on the spot.

How did the title 'Arachnophobiac', come about? Heehee... that's a funny one. It is the name of one of the songs on the album, which I wrote based on a personal experience I had at a certain place... the name of which I won't disclose out of respect. You'll just have to listen to the song to see! It's pretty self explanatory.

How would you describe the feel of the songs? Similar to BAOS, or to other MSG albums, or what? Do they rawwwwwwwkkkkkkkk? Or gently sway? Oh - they DEFINITELY rawwwwwwwkkkkkkkk! I can't really describe them beyond that though, because it's really hard for me to make an objective observation regarding music with which I've been so deeply involved in creating. I can't really listen to any songs I've ever done and hear them in anywhere near the same way as I would someone else's songs. It's just impossible. Very frustrating as well, by the way. I'd give anything to hear the songs I've written the same way other people do. A lot of artists don't like to focus on what people think of their stuff. But I tend to have a keen interest in knowing the way my music affects people - what type of message people derive from the lyrics, or from the song as a whole. I find it fascinating that no two people's interpretations are ever the same. It also amazes me that sometimes, nobody interprets the lyrics of a particular song the way I meant the lyrics as I wrote them! I also like to hear people's characterizations of my singing and tones. I've always wanted to know who, if anyone, I sounded like because I can't tell myself! When I listen to myself sing, I just hear me. Funny how that works.

What were your favourite tracks on BAOS, and why? Hmmmm... ok. Well, I have to break this down into a few songs... just because I'm complicated that way. I never seem to have an "all-time favorite" of anything in life:
"My Time's Up" is a favorite, because it just rawwwwwwwkkkkkkkks! I was so psyched when Michael played me that music. I was like, "Alright... I can make a song out of this that would be a hit single if it was still 1989!" Unfortunately it's not 1989, and everyone's listening to Korn and crap like that. But it doesn't matter because I still think it totally kicks ass. I absolutely love that song. My friends and I still crank it up every now and then and rock to it!
"On Your Way" is a favorite because it was the first song I wrote for the album , and it was very personal. I felt like a major weight had been lifted from me when I completed that one, and it sort of opened the door to all of the other songs. I was really excited when I came up with the melodies for it because I think they accent the guitar so well. It was also the fist time I'd ever used that side of my voice in the studio, so it was interesting.
"Sea of Memory" would've been a total favorite, but it didn't come out at all as I'd envisioned or intended. But we didn't have a million dollar production budget either, so it unfortunately became a casualty of that. But many people seem to like it the way it is, so that's definitely cool.

Which tracks on Arachnophobiac stand out, for you? I'll give you my top 3, cuz they're all pretty good: "Rock & Roll Believer" is #1 - always will be. It just kicks ass! "Illusion is #2" - totally cool mix on it... great textures and harmonies! "Evermore" is #3 - Just because it rawwwwwwwkkkkkkkks!

Michael recently sold off some of his guitars. What guitars did he use for the studio sessions? He used that one white V he sold on eBay in March... with the drum sticks in the neck.

It must have been very frustrating to have the American tour fall apart, and the Japanese BAOS tour scuppered before it began. How did you cope with all that?Yeah - that whole deal really sucked pretty bad, not going to Japan, and not getting to play for my home crowds in California and Nevada. But oh well... no use cryin' over spilled milk, right? Do you have hopes of a tour in support of this album? I always have hopes of a tour!

"There's only one good Llama... and that's a dead one." What was all that abaaahhhhht? HAHAHA!! Oh geeezzz...... Haha.... that's for Pete Way. I love that guy. Yep, me too! He's so funny! Well, you know what they say... what happens on the road... stays on the road. Oh alright then.....

How does Michael seem now, compared with the BAOS days? Is he sober, happy, settled, positive? Michael was in very good spirits and seemed quite centered when I last saw him. All of the above I think. That's good to hear!

Many SITN members have a rabid hatred of Bee-ellazebubb, in a Yoko-esque way. I'm not asking you to break any confidences here about personal stuff (unless you want to, of course!) but how much input did she have on the BAOS album/tour, and (if any) on this new album? BAOS: I don't really know. Arachnophobiac: None. Ok!

What was it like working with Pat Travers - he's a big favourite in SITN - tell us more about that. Awww... Pat's cool, man. He is about as rock & roll as you can get (without being Pete Way, that is). He always has a story to tell. Definitely an entertainer at heart. I did a few backup vocal tracks on his new album (P.T. Power Trio - Releasing May 13, 2003 in Europe and the U.S. btw!) and I had to re-take a few times cuz I couldn't sing without breaking out into laughter mid phrase. The guy is just too funny sometimes.

Do you think there might still be a chance of getting Outlaw Circus back together in any way, shape or form? I just had a conversation with Tim Medina (Bass Guitar) the other day and he was talking about it. All we ever seem to do is talk about doing something though. Maybe we'll eventually DO something. We've at LEAST got to re-record our demo tunes... those songs were pretty amazing. I'm going to put some O.C. Mp3 files up on my site soon. (And I really am making headway on the site... I'm not lying! It's been way too long, I know - but it's finally coming together, and I should have the thing in a usable form sometime in the next few weeks.) Grrrrrrrrreat! Good luck with it!

Tell us more about the solo project you've got in the pipeline? Where do you get your inspiration for lyrics from? Do you feel you're more a 'lyricist' or a 'poet'? Actually, I don't consider myself either. I'm a musician. I do write lyrics, and there's definitely a great feeling of accomplishment that comes from completing a well-written vocal. But I am so much more interested in the entire picture. When writing vocals, I always tend to do it by jumping into the song and visualizing a sound-scape upon which that vocal can be delivered... the production end of things. I hear so much more in my head than what is really there, and I write vocals to compliment what I hear in my head. I think if I could bring forth the entire picture I envision, people would really dig it; I certainly know I would. So I would really love to produce. Anyways, that's pretty much where I get my lyrics from - from that elusive place that only I can hear. That's the only way I can put it. I rarely approach writing lyrics to a song based on some personal message I simply must communicate to others, as I'm not of the mind that anyone would actually want to hear what I have to say. My lyrics just kind of bubble up to the surface as part of that sonic landscape I develop in my mind. As for the solo project, I've got countless tapes of hundreds of musical snippets and song ideas that I've accumulated over the past 13 years. I've been starting to go over them in order to pull out a good album's worth of material. It takes a lot of time and focus though, and my focus gets shifted quite often to other things.

I see you're a big fan of Sebastian Bach's Skid Row. What is it about them that appeals to you?
Sebastian may not be the nicest guy in the world - in fact, he was a complete asshole to me when I met him - but I don't care. He simply IS a vocal God. At least he was when he was with Skid Row. There was none higher... Period! All one has to do is listen to the amazing tones he generates, along with that smooth-as-silk vibrato he throws down on Slave To The Grind, to realize that. And that nasty growl and white noise he can get out of his voice - man. Him and Geoff Tate are my all time favorite metal singers. Now the blues end of things is completely different... 'Aint no Sebastian Tate anybody who can touch Bob Seger, Joe Lynn Turner, David Coverdale, etc... It's all about the Genera.

OK, just as an experiment, I'm gonna do the word association thing with ya - just say the first thing that comes into your head when you read each of these words (and don't worry, I'm not Metal Sludge, it's just an angle on the Batttttty-chat that I'm reviving from way back when I first started interviewing rockstarrrrrs) Waaaay back then, huh? Wow!
Tattoos - Pickles
Monty Python - Outlaw Circus (You said the first thing!)
The Dixie Chicks - Ignorant fools
Your favourite food - Mexican
Character in a movie you'd most like to be - None, sorry.
Groupies - Priorities of a 23 year old rocker... heehee
Saddam Hussein's statue - HAHAHAHAHAHA! HA!

Hmmmm..... okayyyyyyyyyy... PICKLES????? Never mind, I don't want to know.

Are there any guitarists that you would love to work with? Any singers you'd like to duet with? Any professional ambitions? Personal ambitions? Oh wow... Singers I'd like to duet with. Hmmm... I don't know if a duet with her would sound any good, but I'd have to say Christina Aguillera is one incredible vocalist I wouldn't mind taking some pointers from. Guitarists - I'd like to work with George Lynch sometime. I'd also like to work with Sebastian Gillmeister sometime again, TOO (HINT! HINT!) Professional ambitions - have a million dollar production budget to produce something on the scale of Queensryche's "Empire". (Best sounding rock album I've ever heard.) Personal ambitions - I've GOT to get that Audi A-8!

Any professional or personal regrets (other than doing this interview, hahaha?) Professional or personal regrets - eeeh... not really!

That's great - and it's been great talking to you - many thanks for taking part in the interview, and for getting that spider out of my bath - top man! Thanks Battttttster! And thanks to all the fans who support MSG! I hope you all enjoy the new album, and I hope to see you on the road! Take care. You too, Chris!

For more information go to

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