Mr. Big Confirms 20th Anniversary Reunion, Will Tour Japan

Mr. Big Confirms 20th Anniversary Reunion, Will Tour Japan

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Feb. 1, 2009: It is the 20th anniversary of Mr. Big’s debut release (and also the 20th anniversary of Paul Gilbert’s first PGM signature guitar, the PGM 100). What better way to celebrate this then to re-form and then tour Japan, the beloved home-away-from-home of Mr. Big for many years? It will be exciting!

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HMS interview, Jan. 31, 2009
Full Source (audio, mp3) Here
Verbatim transcript follows:

“Hello listeners of Koh Sakai, Burrn presents Heavy Metal Syndicate. Koh Sakai, who was there at the very beginning for Mr. Big, and we’re so happy to have a friend like him in Japan. And we’re very happy, and thankful, to have all of you, as our friends. So, Mr. Big’s coming back soon to play for you, we’re excited to see you all, Koh Sakai, domo arigato, for 20 great years, my brother. Take care, see ya soon, This is Billy Sheehan of Mr. Big, over and out.”

“Hello to my brothers and sisters, of Koh Sakai, Burrn presents Heavy Metal Syndicate. This is Eric Martin. You know, remember me? Right in the middle, between Billy Sheehan, Paul Gilbert, and Pat Torpey? That’s right. We’re back together again. Playing a town near you. Mr. Big is back!”

“Hello, Koh Sakai, Burrn presents Heavy Metal Syndicate. This is Pat Torpey, from Mr. Big. We’re back together, all original guys. Paul, Billy, me, and Eric. We can’t wait to come to see everybody in Japan.”

“Hello, this is Paul Gilbert, and you are listening to Koh Sakai, on Burrn presents Heavy Metal Syndicate. Mr. Big is back together. All original members, and we’re coming to Japan to play live. So, come check it out, and rock with us. Yeah!”

[snip]

“Hello listeners, of Koh Sakai’s Burrn presents Heavy Metal Syndicate. This is Paul Gilbert.”
“I’m Pat Torpey.”
“This is Eric Martin.”
“My name’s Billy Sheehan, and we are…”
(group) “Mr. Big!”
(Paul) “and we’re back together.”

Photo by William Hames

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Strong rumors began floating around the Racer X board on Jan. 29 about a possible Mr. Big reunion. Board member Retroboy (the guy who took the picture of Paul and Craig levitating :) broke the story to us.

It was not news, however. Paul Gilbert had hinted as early as October of 2008 (in print interviews, which all had to be okayed for publishing by his management team) that this was in the works and planning stages; I posted these interview hints as I found them. Paul did this hinting in his usual tantalizing, vague way. Paul also made a guest appearance on Billy Sheehan’s new CD, Holy Cow. Speculation had been running wild about whether Paul would tour with Billy because of this, and it appears as if the answer is at least partially yes.

Here is an autograph card made by the band a couple days ago… only 2 – 8 exist!

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Update, Feb. 4: Tour Dates for Japan Posted!

Update, Feb. 3: Read this interview with Billy Sheehan, at MusicRadar, where he discusses the reunion and various other things. From the interview, the key new fact I picked out is: they are going to announce the Japanese tour formally, next week, at a press conference in Japan. So they are all still there.

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Additional information:

Translated from Japanese… Mr. Big reunion.

Source Is Here

GoogleTranslate says:
“POWER ROCK TODAY’s official website “anticipate PRT” MR.BIG has been announced in the decision to reunite and perform in Japan.”

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In case you missed Mr. Big (like I did… I was listening to Testament, Slayer, Possessed, Exodus, etc.), here is some biographical info. on Billy, Pat, and Eric. I included current pictures of each member from their official sites, too.

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- Jenn

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Link:

Paul’s official website

Enjoy!