The Bobby Bones Show - The Life and Legacy of Mick Box: An Inside Look at the iconic guitarist from Uriah Heap.

Episode Date: April 7, 2023

Uriah Heap recently released their 25th Studio album called "Chaos and Colour" and guitarist Mick Box joins us on Takin A Walk-Music History on foot. Mick is a founding member of the English heavy metal band and he shares the inside story of the collaboration for this project.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Listen to the girlfriends. Trust me, babe. On the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you. you get your podcast. In 2023, Bachelor star Clayton Eckerd was accused of fathering twins. But the pregnancy appeared to be a hoax. You doctored this particular test twice in silence, correct? I doctored the test once.

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or wherever you get your podcasts. On a recent episode of the podcast, Money and Wealth with John Hobriant, I sit down with Tiffany the budgetista Aliche to talk about what it really takes. to take control of your money. What would that look like in our families if everyone was able to pass on wealth to the people when they're no longer here? We break down budgeting, financial discipline,

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That would be really cool. Today, we speak with a founding member of a band that is celebrating five decades of work. Uriah Heep is a UK rock institution and a global institution, and they blazed a trail that intersected progressive hard rock, ultimately becoming heavy metal. And Mick Box is the distinguished lead guitarist from Yariah Heep. They've just released a new studio album called Chaos and Coff. and welcome Mick to Taking a Walk. Mick, thank you for being on Taking a Walk. How does it feel releasing a new album in 2023?

It feels fantastic, I have to say. It's our 25th album. We're 53 years young, and we're out there having the time of our lives, you know. So let's talk about this chaos and color. First of all, where does the title come from, Chaos and Color? Mick? Well, it's the title of the album that I gave the album that title simply because it was written in the chaotic times of the pandemic. And I firmly believe that, you know, through the difficult times that we all went through, I think music helps a lot of people through the color

is the music. So how long was this process of creating this new album and maybe talk about it from the standpoint of, you know, COVID and getting folks together and, you know, create it. Sure, yeah. I mean, it's one of those things that we, you know, we were in that insecure time with Cody, whether you never knew when it was going to end or if it was ever going to end, and we were, you know, habitly watching the opening up or if it would ever open up. And then when there was a hint of that, we decided as a band to start writing for the new album and do a new album. And so we all started getting ideas together. Me and the keyboard player were getting in the same room together and bounce off ideas.

but we had to send it, you know, do it by FaceTime and Zoom and all those other mediums. So it was a very long-winded way of doing it, but, you know, nevertheless we come okay, we can all be in the same room together, and we organised and record the album. What we did, we got Jay Ruston, our producer who produced our pre-angelis, he came in, and we recorded it in 17 days on the Welsh mountains called Steel. You know, the impetus of all being together, the band banter, and the fact that we're all playing together in the same room was an image. immense feeling. So when did you first know that you were hooked as a musician? I was 14 years old,

and I went to see a band called Johnny Kid and the Pirates that were an English band, and they had a hit with Shakyin. And I saw that, and I remember the guitar name. He was like the guitars at the time, if you like, and he was inspirational to me. It just, it resonated with me. the next who had Van Morrison singing with them, and they had another great guitar riff, well, they please don't go. So between those two, I was hooked, guitar onbound, as I say. Did anybody ever try to talk you out of it,

like your parents or anybody else? No, no, my father died when I was a very young lad, so my mother brought me up, and she was very supportive, being more wonderful, to be honest. Can you talk about some of the other influences that really impacted you early on? Yes, I was very into jazz because my mother could afford a few guitar lessons for me, and the guitar teacher in the East End of London, where I was living,

the second guitar is to Django Reinhardt. And we're leaning to all jazz, Barney Castle, and Tal Farlowl, and all those type players, you know. And then my love sort of out of that and into more rocky stuff with Eddie Cockran and Buddy Holly and people like that until 70s and without, you know, you're right, a blackout. I mean, you guys were at the intersection and creation of so many sounds from the sort of a progressive rock sound then to a harder rock sound, which would ultimately then sort of turn kind of metal. I mean, how does it feel to have such an influence on genres of music? I think it feels wonderful, you know, and that we had that sort of impact. because at the song we were writing the book

without knowing it, if you like, and the pioneers of classic rock music as we know it today. It's right in time, and I have to say the things that I'm missing in today with musicians is the individuality. And I can only explain that very briefly that, you know, with Deep Purple,

I never played guitar like Richard. Richard didn't play like me, we didn't play like Tony Iommi. You know, nobody played like Jimmy Page. And that went for all the musicians, the bass players, drummers, singers, keyboard players,

everyone was an individual and it was some of those parts that gave each of those bands in particular an identity. And I think that's missing a bit today because everyone seems to be sounding like, looking alike, and being alike. And that creative period

that you described there, I mean, were you guys obviously friendly but competitive with each other with all the bands, you know, deep purple and Zeppelin? Yeah, we were very friendly, very friendly with all

of them, you know. It was all a very healthy competitiveness, if you like, you know. There's nothing sinister about it. You know, everyone was just trying to, you know, make their own way in the world, you know, and getting on with life as you know it. You know, funny enough, in one of the rehearsal players we used to rehearse in London, which was called the Hamwell Community Center, and the other side of the Uriaheep. So it was a hell of a racket going on that day. How important is having a sense of humor in the business that you're in? Oh, listen, when I talk to the guys and we're going out on two, I'll say, the first thing you have to pack is your sense of humor, you know,

and we're a band that survives on that. You know, we've got a lot of ban ban banter and humor, and it does. It really, really helps you get through, you know, any difficult times that you may. So talk about evolution, especially up to this moment with, you know, the new album. Obviously,

you're right, Heep will always have as its backbone, you know, that great Hammond organ and, you know, the guitar, wah and all that.

But talk about how a band evolves and how you guys have evolved up to the present. Yeah, we went in the studio as a four piece called Spice and then we started hearing

our songs back. And I decided that, you know, maybe a keyboard might embarrass your songs and bring more out of them. And I was a big Hammond organ fan with Mark Stein of the vanilla fudge.

And so the Hammond organ seemed to be the perfect instrument to cover all the genres of music that we were playing at the time. You know, because, you know, Hammond organ could be very romantic, very jessive. You know, it could have everything that, you know, our music was saying at the time. So we got a keyboard player in called Ken Hensley. He joined us. And with that template of music changing, we decided to change our name and we chose you right because, you know, that was the...

It was 100th birthday of Charles Dickens at the time, and there was posters, radio, and everything. And I managed to take his two sons to see a novels called David's evil character, called Uripe. And he came back and suggested it to us because we're looking for a new name. And we thought, yeah, why not, you know, to take such a character from such a notable novelist's, you know, Charles Dickens was wonderful. And it stayed with ever since, my friend. I love it. That's so amazing. And I know you have a charity that's a cancer charity that's near and dear to you.

Can you talk about that one? Yes, certainly. It's Nightingale Support Charity in London, in the UK, in the east end of London, where I live, north London, in fact right now. And it started with, you know, I don't think anybody that I know hasn't been touched with that. I felt I had to do something. And I started this thing on my website called the shirt off my back. And the idea was that if I was wearing a shirt and I was on videos and, you know, and I'd auction it off at the end, you know, the highest bit of them and give the money to charity

with that kind of grew and grew. We outgrew that. It's guitars, wah-wob and everything, you know, socks, you name it, shirts, all stuff like that, you know. And it raised a lot of money for a great cause. and I'm very happy to be able to give back like that. That's so nice. So what's an average day like for you these days?

I know you've got a dog and you take the dog for a walk. So what is a typical day for Mick? Yeah, I've got an English setter called Domino, who's Scali Wag, the most beautiful dog. You know, we go out for a walk in the morning. Then I'll come back, probably have a cup of tea and a bit of breakfast. and then go out in my office, I may pick up the guitar and do some writing, or I'll have to take care of business with emails like we all do, you know,

to keep on top of things around all the social media sites to see what's going on us, you know, and hopefully getting, you know, reading all the reviews of the new album. And then back to the guitar and a bit more writing, and generally like that, and then I take the dog out again later on, and then my wife will come home from work, and we'll just have a nice family dog, dinner and that'll be the day. Sounds like a beautiful day.

Yeah, I mean, it's, you know, being home is, is wonderful, you know, because pre-COVID, we used to out, you know, tour in 62 countries around the world, so we used to get out there, you know, and so it's nice to, it's, it's, it's, the perfect thing is to have the great balance between being out and two and being home, you know, and I think when you come home, you take off your rock and roll out and you put your family out, you know, and you immerse yourself and everything that. They'll be missing, which is great, and I love doing it. So I know the band's going to go out on tour.

I want to talk about that in a second, but some of the favorite gigs and lineups at these gigs that you've played over the years. I know festivals have been a big part of Uriah Heep, but who are some of the great gigs and lineups and where? You know, that's pretty difficult to say because we've done so many, you know. I think, you know, we did a tour of America with Judas Priest.

Great guys, you know, great camaraderie between us every night when you think about it. With their being 50 years old, I'd been 100 years of stage every night, you know, so it was really cool. So many tours, I mean, back in the early days, I think there's one special lineup that I really love sighting, simply because in those days,

you didn't have the pigeonholes of Turing where, you know, promoters now put three or four classic rock bands together, three or four metal bands together, three or four blues bands together. Back in those days, it was either good or bad music, you know, and that was the only dividing line. And one of the lineups that we did, there was us headlining, and subordinate was subordinate was Earth, Wind and Fire, and underneath that was said, ZZ Top. How music has moved away from those good and bad days, and it's just, you know, each tour has his own genre, if you like, which is a shame to me because they used to like those costs over.

remember some of those lineups I used to observe at like the Fillmore East and the Fillmore West and yeah they were always like completely diverse and they put a smile on your face because it was great music right? Yeah I thought the diversity was was a winner in every regard you know because you you certainly weren't preaching to the converted were you you know you had a partial audience that you've got to come you know convinced to come on your side and I think that It was all very, very... So you guys are going to go out and do some touring, and it will include some festivals in support of the new release, chaos and color, right?

Yeah, 100%. You know, they're formulating all our festivals, summer festivals in Europe, and then we'll start the proper long touring, hopefully through Europe and through USA and Canada. Prior to that, though, me and Bernie, our singer, we're going out in April with a thing called Rock Weeks Classic. That only happens in Germany.

But it's with a 40-piece orchestra, and that's great fun. We do it three or four songs. I think that as Jerry Tempice from Europe does a few, D. Snyder's and Twitters, there's a few. And it's a great, great, great night out, you know. And so that, and then start. Well, I want to congratulate you on chaos and color. It's a great accomplishment.

It's an uplifting and motivating sound. And you are uplifting and motivating by your energy, sir. grateful that you took the time to be on taking a walk. Well, thank you very much, my friend. I much appreciate that, you know, and long may we last. Taking a walk with Buzz Night is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. When a group of women discover they've all dated the same prolific con artist, they take matters into their own hands. I vowed I will be his last target.

He is not going to get away with this. He's going to get what he deserves. We always say that trust your girlfriends. Listen to the girlfriends. Trust me, babe. On the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. In 2023, Bachelor star Clayton Eckerd was accused of fathering twins. But the pregnancy appeared to be a hoax.

You doctored this particular test twice, Ms. Ellen's, correct? I doctored the test ones. It took an army of internet detectives to uncover a disturbing pattern. Two more men who'd been through the same thing. Greg Alespian and Michael Ranjini. My mind was blown. I'm Stephanie Young. This is Love Trapped.

Laura, Scottsdale Police. As the season continues, Laura Owens finally faces consequences. Listen to Love Trapped podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, everyone? I'm Ego Vodom. My next guest, it's Will. Farrell. Woo.

Woo. My dad gave me the best advice ever. He goes, just give it a shot. But if you ever reach a point where you're banging your head against the wall and it doesn't feel fun anymore, it's okay to quit. If you saw it written down, it would not be an inspiration. It would not be on a calendar of, you know, the cat. Just hang in there.

Yeah. It would not be. Right. It wouldn't be that. There's a lot of luck. Yeah. Listen to thanks, Dad, on the eye. Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

On a recent episode of the podcast, Money and Wealth with John Hobriant, I sit down with Tiffany the budgetista Aliche to talk about what it really takes to take control of your money. What would that look like in our families if everyone was able to pass on wealth to the people when they're no longer here? We break down budgeting, financial discipline, and how to build real wealth, starting with the mindset shifts. Too many of us were never, ever taught. ever felt you didn't get the memo on money, this conversation is for you to hear more. Listen to Money and Wealth with John Hope Bryant from the Black Effect Network on the I'd Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.