Metal, Hardcore, Indie, Rock
Eric Martin on the end of Mr. Big: “It kills me that we had to end it”
Eric Martin is an American rock singer best known as the lead vocalist of Mr. Big and as a longtime collaborator with Avantasia. With a career spanning several decades, he has left a lasting mark on both the rock and melodic metal scenes through his distinctive voice and versatile style. From chart-topping hits like ‘To Be with You’ to his extensive work across international projects, Martin has consistently demonstrated remarkable musical range and longevity.
In this exclusive interview, we explore key moments from his career, including the emotional farewell of Mr. Big and what that chapter has meant to him both personally and professionally. He also discusses his continued involvement with Avantasia, shedding light on the creative process behind the project and what keeps drawing him back. Looking back on his journey from the early days of his solo career to global success and ongoing collaborations, Eric reflects on the highs, the challenges, and the evolution of his artistry. At the same time, he offers insights into his current projects and future plans, revealing that his passion for music remains as strong as ever.
BE HERE DRAGONS AND BEING IN AVANTASIA
First of all, welcome back to Finland, Eric!
Eric Martin: Thank you Marko. It’s always great to be here.
Though you didn’t contribute vocals to the band’s recent album ‘Here Be Dragons’, you rejoined the touring lineup earlier this year—and here we are again. It must have been disappointing to miss out on the album’s creation due to your other commitments.
Eric Martin: I know, Marko—I couldn’t believe it at first. Yeah, I was super bummed. I’d been on the road with Mr. Big the whole time they were recording, and then they just kept adding more dates. I kept calling—I called Tobias Sammet, and I also called Sascha Paeth, because Sascha’s the guy who really helps Tobias put the albums together. He played some songs for me and said, “I think this would be perfect for you—I’m going to talk to Tobias about it.” I don’t even think Tobias knows that! But in this case, Sascha told me, “Well, I don’t know—everyone’s already been assigned their parts, but if you can make it here on this date, you can have it.” And I said, “I can’t, man—I just can’t.” Everyone was recording either at home or in Germany, and I hadn’t been home for almost two years.
So yeah, Tobias later gave me this kind of collector’s edition—a book with the CDs inside—and said, “Eric, I want you to have this. You’re not on it, and your picture’s not in it, but I want you to have it anyway.” And I was like, “That’s cool—I’m gonna sell it.” No, no—I didn’t say that! [Laughs.] I wouldn’t. I love these guys so much. I really wish I had been part of it, though. The last thing I did with Avantasia was the track ‘Rhyme or Reason’. That was such a strange but fun track. We were like—[vocalizes]—and then, yeah, I was just like, “Look, I’ll do anything.” [Laughs.]
You’ve been working with Avantasia since 2013, when you appeared on ‘The Mystery of Time’ album and tour. That was twelve years ago—how time flies!
Eric Martin: That’s true—I’ve been part of Avantasia for twelve years now, and I’ve loved every minute of it. The main reason is the people—I’ve made so many great friends in this band. I love everyone involved. Even the newer members like Tommy Karevik from Kamelot, Kenny Leckremo from H.E.A.T., and Chiara Tricarico—they’re all fantastic. Chiara was actually there when I had to leave to go on tour with Mr. Big. But yeah, I really love all these guys. My main man, though, is Ronnie Atkins—he’s my “toxic twin.” [Laughs.] People don’t see it, but backstage, after we’ve done a couple of songs, we might have a few drinks. Back in the day, Avantasia used to have, like, fifteen bottles of wine backstage—especially during the Jørn Lande era.
We all joined in, but these days we don’t drink as much. Well… Ronnie and I still do sometimes—we’re still the Toxic Twins, bro. Toxic Twins 2.
How does it feel to be one of many lead vocalists on stage, rather than the sole lead vocalist, as you always were with Mr. Big?
Eric Martin: Look, I have a brother, okay? I’m used to sharing my toys—no problem there. With Mr. Big, I was the lead singer—but at one point in the band’s history, when Paul Gilbert left in 1996, Richie Kotzen joined. And he was a great guitar player and a great singer. I was the one who said, “Look, we can’t stifle this guy’s talent.” I wanted to create something like two lead vocalists in one band—kind of like Hall and Oates or The Righteous Brothers—but with a hard rock edge.
I remember the guys—Billy and Pat—saying, “Dude, you’re the lead singer. He’s a guitar player.” And I said, “Look, we can’t… we can’t bridle this guy. We can’t shut him up. We have to give him a great platform.” So that’s what we did. We had two singers, and we did songs like ‘Shine’ and ‘Suffocation’—and we were killer together live. Maybe that gave him the idea to work with Adrian Smith later on—I’m sure of it. So yeah, I’m no stranger to sharing my toys or working as part of an ensemble. But honestly, I had never worked with anybody like Tobi, Sascha, and Avantasia before. Twelve years ago, I was super nervous hanging out with all these big rock stars. I didn’t know who most of them were! This was the European market, and I knew little about the European scene. I knew who Bob Catley was—of course, everyone in the world, including in the United States, knew Magnum’s progressive rock style.
Now, when you mentioned that you were not very familiar with the European metal and rock scene, I’m sure you also didn’t know much about Ronnie Atkins and his band Pretty Maids?
Eric Martin: No, I had never heard of Pretty Maids before. Ronnie and I joined the band at the same time. I remember thinking back then, “Holy shit, this guy can sing in two completely different styles.” He has a clean voice and a super gravelly voice. I was rougher—I sounded gravelly after a bunch of gigs, but I was more of a clean-voiced singer for a long time. Anyway, Ronnie Atkins was there, and Amanda Somerville was our background singer. She also sang on ‘Avantasia’ and ‘Farewell’ during our set. Amanda really helped me. She was an American, spoke my language, walked the walk, and talked the talk. She made things easier back in the day. Twelve years later, there have been all kinds of singers coming and going.
Geoff Tate—I would’ve never met him if it wasn’t for Avantasia. I remember we were at Wacken for the first time, doing promo for a TV show. He goes, “Hey, this is Geoff Tate from Queensrÿche,” and I say, “Hi, this is Eric Martin from Mr. Big.” Then I blurted out, “You’re from Queensrÿche!” He said, “Well, yeah, I played with Queensrÿche.” And I’m like, “No, you are Queensrÿche!” He just laughed and said, “Calm down, dude.” Yeah, I was a huge fan.
What about Michael Kiske? Were you aware of his history with Helloween, etc.?
Eric Martin: Michael Kiske was awesome. A gentle giant—so quiet, such a beautiful soul. An absolute genius when it comes to singing. But offstage—oh my God—all day long in the dressing room, playing ukulele and singing Elvis Presley songs. To the point where we’d go, “Michael, please, just calm down.” He’d keep singing ‘Are You Lonesome Tonight?’ I remember doing a solo gig in Hamburg and inviting him to join me. He asked, “What do you know?” I said, “I don’t know… I can play this old Foghat song, ‘I Just Want to Make Love to You’.” And he goes, “No, no—do you know any Elvis?” I just laughed, “Here we go again.”
He jumped in with “One for the Money, Two for the Show,” and the crowd freaked out. I love Michael—he’s amazing. When he first sang ‘Reach Out for the Light’, I thought, “Oh my God, this guy is brilliant.” When I first came to Japan with Mr. Big, we only had a small article inside one of the magazines. We weren’t on the covers yet—Helloween was. So I already knew who Michael was.
I’m sure you’re familiar with the story of how his participation in Avantasia marked his return to the metal scene after he departed Helloween in 1993. He took a long break from everything.
Eric Martin: Oh yeah, I know that whole story, man. Tobias always loved Michael. He couldn’t find him for the longest time, but when he finally did, he brought him back. Many of your readers probably know this, but Michael’s an interesting guy. You’ve run into him before, right? This is what Michael’s like: he’ll say, “I don’t know if I can sing tonight. My throat kind of hurts.” And then he gets out there—and it’s perfect. I can’t do it like him, folks. If I try, it sounds like a weird falsetto: ‘Reach out for the Light!’ (Way, way better than that—like 10,000 times better.)
He’s always like, “I don’t know if I can do it.” His confidence took a hit after not gigging for, what, ten years or so? But he was happy. He was living with family, loving his life. Still, people wanted him back. Maybe the mental side of it kicked in because he didn’t want to deal with the hustle and bustle of heavy metal and rock and roll anymore. And it’s tough to prepare for that kind of thing. Look, metal wasn’t originally in my blood, but now it is, thanks to Avantasia. When I first started performing with them, I knew people were looking at me like, “What the hell is this dude doing here?” I even asked Tobias, “Man, am I just some kind of mascot or something?” And he goes, “No, man. There are no rules in rock and roll—or metal.” People think there are rules in metal. But Tobias said, “You’re the soul incarnate that we need.”
I have one more point about Avantasia: it seems certain that ‘Here Be Dragons’ won’t be the band’s final album. Do you agree?
Eric Martin: I hope not. I really hope not. Every year, I wait for that phone call. This time, it came about two or three weeks before the tour. I was already on the road with Mr. Big when their tour manager, AC, contacted me and said, “I want you out here. Everybody in the band wants you out here.” But His Highness—Tobias—he’s got a lot going on. New album, tons of promo. Then he calls me and says, “Eric, are you mad at me? I’m so sorry, man. I really want you out here. I want you to sing ‘Dying for an Angel’ and this and that.” Then he asks, “Are you cool with singing ‘Twisted Mind’ again with Ronnie Atkins?” And I’m like, “Oh my God. There is a God!” I was so happy.
He also threw in ‘What’s Left of Me’—because we hadn’t done that one in a while. (sings) “I think of the days I was thrilled by this road ahead.” Man, I was thrilled he called me. Anyway—yeah.
MR.BIG TALK
One significant and undoubtedly important chapter of your life and career came to an end a couple of months ago when Mr. Big played its final shows in Japan and India.
Eric Martin: Yeah.
Those shows were kind of “extra dates” after your official farewell. It must have still been very emotional to perform those songs for the last time on stage, especially in Bangalore.
Eric Martin: Yeah, definitely. The last show was originally supposed to be in August 2024 in Romania. Then Japan requested two more shows—Osaka and Tokyo—and out of nowhere, India came in as well, so we ended up playing a couple of big festival headlining shows there. We had played India before, but this felt different. Osaka was incredible, and then Tokyo—at the Budokan—was something else. It was more packed than I’d ever seen it. Usually, it’s around 12,000 or 13,000 people, but this time they opened up the back as well, so it was closer to 14,000 or even 15,000. It was huge.
We had already toured Japan earlier in the run, but coming back for those final shows felt right. I mentioned this recently on a radio show—some people might think it was a “cash grab,” but that wasn’t the case at all. Japan was the place that really opened the door for Mr. Big in the beginning, and honestly, they’re the best audience in the world. No offense to anyone else, but it’s true.
If you’ve ever played in Japan, you know what I mean—and if you haven’t, you’re missing out. Audiences in Finland, South America, the U.S., and elsewhere in Europe are all different, but in Japan, it’s something special. They go completely quiet and listen to every word you say. At first, you might be thinking, “Are they into this?” But then you realize there are 15,000 people hanging on every word. It’s incredible. And they really do love us—I felt it strongly. When they asked us to come back, we were all excited—Billy Sheehan, Paul Gilbert, Nick, and I. It turned out to be the perfect way to end things. Still, it hurts that we had to end it at all. We could’ve kept going, but sometimes that’s just the way things go.
That’s the way it is—but you never know what might happen in the future.
Eric Martin: Yeah, exactly. I mean, I’m not going to make any promises, but I’ve heard Billy Sheehan say “never say never” in interviews, and who knows—maybe someday, after The Winery Dogs have done their thing, and if we’re still around and feeling good, maybe we’ll get together again for something. I just hope people would still want us back.
Do you feel that, after the ‘Big Finish’ tour, the band achieved all the goals that were set when Mr. Big was formed in 1988?
Eric Martin: When we started back in ’88, all I really cared about was… well, I was actually telling one of the guys this just yesterday on a flight from Spain. I was thinking about those early Mr. Big days—we were rehearsing at the Alley studio, auditioning Paul Gilbert. Billy Sheehan was there with all his amps, and Paul shows up with four or five amps, all painted in day-glow colors with Racer X logos on them. It was insanely loud. After rehearsal, I went out to the car, and Billy asked, “Hey man, are you okay?” And I said, “I can’t even feel my fingers—my head is pounding. It’s so loud.” And I told him, “We’ve got to write songs—that’s how we’re going to make it.” And Billy said, “Well, you can do that. You write the songs, and we’ll rock out.” I was like, “Okay, man. See you tomorrow.” But honestly, I needed a break after that.
Looking back, did I have some big vision or master plan? No, not really. But I do remember later, at the end of one of our first tours, when ‘Addicted to That Rush’ was out, thinking, “Maybe it’s time to show them this other song I’ve got.” That song was ‘To Be With You’, and I thought they’d say, “What are you doing? We’re a rock band.” But then Paul came up with ‘Green-Tinted Sixties Mind’, and I realized, “Okay—that’s my opening.” That was the moment I knew we could do anything as a band. And that’s been my philosophy ever since—for Mr. Big and my solo work: anything and everything.
Mr. Big released its final studio album, ‘Ten’, in July 2004. How satisfied are you with that album, and do you feel it works as a fitting conclusion to the band’s long and successful career?
Eric Martin: No—because I always feel like there’s one more album left in us. I’m never fully satisfied with the last record. ‘Ten’ is a great album, but it leans a bit toward a more melodic or polished sound. ‘Actual Size’ had a similar feel. And when I say “poppy,” I don’t mean pop in a commercial sense—it’s still heavy, but we took our time with it, and it turned out really well. I wrote all the songs with Paul. I went to Portland, where he lives, stayed with his family, and we recorded all the demos in his studio.
Paul played bass, guitar, and drums—we basically built everything from scratch. Then I had to leave for Japan to do a solo project, and the rest of the band went on to record the album. I’ve joked about this before, but I think they probably had the easiest time they ever had in the studio—because I wasn’t there. [Laughs.] Normally I’d be like, “No, no, let’s try this, I’ve got an idea, let’s change the lyrics, tweak the arrangement…” and they were probably thinking, “Thank God he’s not here.”
Maybe it was the easiest Mr. Big recording session ever for them.
Eric Martin: Yeah—rock bands, man. You know how we are.
JAPAN TALK AND TAK MATSUMOTO GROUP
We’ve already discussed Mr. Big’s popularity in Japan, and you’ve also had success there as a solo artist. In addition, you’re part of a supergroup led by Japan’s Tak Matsumoto, called Tak Matsumoto Group. The band released its debut album ‘TMG I’ in 2003 and its second album, ‘TMG II’, last year. Could you tell us more about that band?
Eric Martin: Yeah, we started it around 2002 or 2003. Tak Matsumoto was already a friend of mine—he used to come to Mr. Big shows back in the day. I knew he was a huge star in Japan because of B’z—with singer Koshi Inaba—and they’re one of the biggest bands in the country. If you check the numbers, there are only a handful of truly massive bands in Japan, and B’z is definitely one of them. They’ve sold over 90 million records—I’m not kidding. Tak got in touch with me and said, “I’m going to be in San Francisco playing with B’z—I want you to come down.” It turned out to be five sold-out nights at the Fillmore, which is a legendary venue. Then he told me he wanted to form a rock band with more of an American feel and asked if I knew any musicians. I’ve always been a big fan of Night Ranger, and I actually grew up around some of those guys, so the first person I thought of was Jack Blades. I told Tak, “Jack would be perfect—he’s a great singer and an amazing bass player, and honestly, he’s underrated.”
Look, Billy Sheehan is a rock god—a ton of notes, incredible feel—but Jack, to me, is like the rock ’n’ roll version of Paul McCartney. So I brought Jack in, and we went to see B’z together. At first, we had Brian Tichy—who was playing with Whitesnake at the time—and he played on the album. But when he couldn’t continue, we brought in Chris Frazier from Foreigner. So it ended up being the three American guys plus Tak. That first album went platinum, and we played 20 sold-out shows. Fast-forward about 20 years—we kept calling Tak, asking, “Are we going to do this again?” And in his own way, he’d say, “Oh… let me think about it.” And we’d say, “Okay—please!” Finally, two decades later, we made another album, ‘TMG II’. I think it’s a really strong record. This time we had Matt Sorum—from Guns N’ Roses, Velvet Revolver, and Billy Gibbons’ band—and we had a great time recording and touring again. There’s also a new live release from the band coming out soon, around late May—I think the 28th—with a full package including a DVD.
MR. VOCALIST
In addition to everything we’ve discussed, you’re also well known in Japan for another role—your alter ego, “Mr. Vocalist.” Could you tell us more about it?
Eric Martin: Sure. Mr. Vocalist—I’m not exactly sure when it all started, but it must have been around 20 years ago. Sony Music approached me with the idea of recording songs made famous by Japanese pop artists who had sold millions of records. They wanted a male interpretation of those songs. So I went ahead and recorded them, and they decided to call the project “Mr. Vocalist.” At first, I was like, “Oh dear God—why ‘Mr.’? Mr. Big, and now Mr. Vocalist?” I could already imagine what my peers were thinking. But then the first album sold around 300,000 copies, and after that, I thought, “Alright—you can call me Mr. Vocalist.” I wore it like a badge of honor, and it turned out to be a great experience.
In total, I ended up making about four albums under that name. Later, they released ‘Mr. Rock Vocalist’, which focused on more rock-oriented interpretations. It wasn’t quite as strong as the earlier, more ballad-driven releases, but it featured some incredible guitar players like John 5, Richie Kotzen, and Marty Friedman—serious players. I also recorded a live DVD of one of my solo shows, which is still one of my favorite performances ever. My wife and kids were there, so it meant a lot. Just last year, for the Mr. Vocalist anniversary, I performed at Billboard Live Tokyo—one of the top live venues in Japan—with shows in both Osaka and Tokyo. I’m planning to do it again in 2025. I love it.
And the funny thing is, I go out there in a suit—but I’m still wearing my Converse, my Chuck Taylors—and I’m singing these big, emotional ballads. At one point, there was even a fan contest in Japan where people voted on songs, and I ended up recording ‘My Heart Will Go On’—you know—the Celine Dion song. I also did ‘I Will Always Love You’, but in the Dolly Parton version, and I even tackled ‘Hero’ by Mariah Carey. Can you believe it? You should check it out—it’s pretty cool.
So from now on, I’m calling you Mr. Vocalist. [Laughs.]
Eric Martin: Yeah, and I’ll end up punching you right in the forehead. Alright? [Laughs.]
ACOUSTIC SHOWS AND THE FUTURE
The final question: You’ve been doing a lot of acoustic shows lately, especially in Europe. I also noticed that more are scheduled for later this year. What can fans expect from those shows?
Eric Martin: Yeah—there’s quite a lot, actually. It’s one of my all-time favorite things to do, actually. I love playing full-on rock shows, and of course I enjoy hanging out backstage with the Avantasia crew, but acoustic shows are really where I feel most at home. Right now, I’m out on the road—I just played in Spain, and next I’m heading to the UK with my buddy David Cottrell from Demon. We play a lot of Mr. Big songs, along with some of my solo songs and a few covers. But it’s definitely not a ballad-heavy set.
We’re not just doing songs like ‘Just Take My Heart’ or more traditional songs like ‘I Gave My Love a Cherry’. It’s more what I like to call “box rocking”—that’s actually a term I came up with. [Laughs.] And honestly, that’s probably my favorite thing right now. Right after that, I’m really looking forward to the Double Trouble tour with Jeff Scott Soto in South America—that’s coming up soon, and it’s going to be a blast.
Hey Eric, we made it to the end—thanks for the interview.
Eric Martin: Woohoo! Thank you, Marko.
WEBLINKS
