Regarding the song selection approach for their new album, Curless said, “Everyone in the group as well as producer, Mervyn Warren, suggested songs and we discussed the list of songs in a few stages finally cutting the list down to the 10 we recorded.”
His future plans with The Manhattan Transfer are to perform for as many people in as many places as possible.
Their new PBS special The Summit starts on April 26. “It’s a show capturing the amazing experience or performing a special show we have put together with Take 6, featuring a taste of what each group is about, and some special things we sing together,” he said.
Digital transformation of music business
On the impact of technology in the music scene, Curless said, “It has changed almost every facet of it at every level.”
Curless continued, “I use my iPad to learn my music by downloading the sheet music along with recordings into an app called ForScore that is a well-designed pdf reader for music. I also use a variety of programs and electronics to record and arrange my ideas.”
For Curless, the key to longevity in the music business is to “keep going.” “That is really it,” he said. “Sure there are a number of things that will try to get in your way, but the key to longevity is to figure out how not to allow those things to succeed in doing so.”
For the fans of The Manhattan Transfer, he concluded, “I would tell them we are excited to share the music on the album as I feel it maintains many elements they’d expect from the group, while striving to find it’s new and ever-evolving identity.”
The Junction is available for pre-order on iTunes.
