MTV VMA'S: Inside 'We Will Rock You' Show Opener with Katy Perry and Joe Perry
MIDTOWN, MANHATTAN: Beyonce, Lady Gaga and Green Day were on top of the world after their strong showing at last night’s 2009 MTV Video Music Awards (VMA), held at Radio City Music Hall.
But it wasn’t just the household names that got the most out of the awards show that’s become a New York City staple. Tony Verderosa, an international recording artist and founder of NYC’s Thwak! Music, was among the local pool of elite pros that had a big impact on the globally-viewed event.
Tony Verderosa at the 2009 VMA's
Verderosa appeared in an explosive performance with Katy Perry and Aerosmith’s Joe Perry, doubling as the live drummer and Music Director for the Perry/Perry collaboration, an unforgettable cover of Queen’s classic “We Will Rock You” that opened the show. A classically trained drummer, percussionist and electronic music pioneer with a deep artistic and commercial music portfolio, Verderosa talked about his experience playing at the 2009 MTV VMA’s:
Q: What’s your connection to this show? How and why did you get the call?
A: MTV was looking to hire a musical director to work with Katy Perry and Joe Perry. They wanted an iconic opening for the VMA’s this year. When I got the call from the Executive Producer, I suggested a live remix approach with massive sounding beats and vocals, triggered live from acoustic and electronic drums. He loved the idea, I got the green light and we jumped right into remix/pre-production work at Avatar, and then rehearsals.
Q: How did you approach meeting the needs of the show’s producers?
A: As Musical Director and Drummer, my job is to make sure the two featured artists are comfortable with the grooves and the arrangement. The producers also wanted to add some other elements, so I added percussionists to play timpani and concert bass drums on stage as well.
I was a good fit for this project, because I have experience performing live on stage with drums and samplers, creating live remixes, triggering vocals, keyboards and more. I am very comfortable taking the production values from the studio and adapting those to my live drum kit. There was lot of pre-production work in terms of creating the remix loops, pitching the key up slightly, adding some cool layers and grooves to blend in with the main loop from “We Will Rock You” — then mapping it all out on the kit and rehearsing everyone to create a tight arrangement.
Q: How did you decide what to equip yourself with technically for the show?
A: This is probably the most famous beat in the world, and we wanted to bring something new to the feel. To produce a remix in the studio and then play it live, I need a Drum Triggering Module and also a sampler. Fortunately, Yamaha has created a new drum module called the DTXreme 3. It has 500Mgb of Sample memory for my loops and vocals, and the triggering speed is insane. I have the whole show saved on a small thumb drive. Preproduction was done in Cubase 5.
Q: How is this song choice going to bring out the best of what you, Joe and Katy can do?
A: “We Will Rock You” is such a great showcase for Katy Perry and Joe Perry. Katy brings something special to this song with her phrasing and ideas: She gives 150% on every performance, and I would say her interpretation of this anthem is amazing.
We transitioned from her vocals right into Joe’s solo guitar section. It was a perfect space for Joe to move in creatively. He put his signature on this song with a very distinct and personal sound. I triggered all of the beats, layers and vocal hooks live on stage, plus played acoustic drums on top. This was not a Pro Tools computer rig playing pre-recorded tracks back live, so we could extend the mix as needed. If Joe turned to me and wanted another 8 or 16 bars, we just went. It was a no-restrictions live remix.
Q: What does it mean to you to be playing with these two high-profile artists? How would you characterize their talents?
A: Katy is such an amazing singer….powerful – very confident – very individual style. She has become a household name and international superstar. Joe Perry has developed his own voice on the instrument: You just need to hear two or three notes and you know it’s Joe. His work with Aerosmith is groundbreaking. It was a huge thrill and a big honor to support such great artists on stage.
Q: How is this experience differing from other shows/productions you’ve been involved in?
A: There were estimates that 1.2 billion people worldwide would tune in live via TV, satellite, web, etc…The scale of this production was insane. MTV pulls out all of the stops. It really doesn’t get any bigger than the VMAs.