By Jeff Maisey
When the Virginia Arts Festival presents “Music of Queen — A Rock Symphony” May 15 at Sandler Center for the Performing Arts, much of the stage will be filled with members of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra with a rock band positioned front and center featuring Virginia Beach’s own Powell Randolph on drums and bassist Dan Clemens.
As longtime touring members of Windborne Music Clemens and Randolph fly around the country when concerts are scheduled with various orchestras for thematic symphonic celebration shows featuring the music of classic rock greats.
Dan Clemens and Powell Randolph also perform regularly in the Virginia Beach cover band Airliner.
This year’s Queen show will feature Filipino-Australians vocalist MiG Ayesa in the role of the late Freddie Mercury. Ayesa has appeared in stage productions of “Thriller Live,” “We Will Rock You” (in London), and was a finalist in the reality TV show “Rock Star: INXS.”
I recently caught up with Clemens to discuss the Music of Queen.
VEER: How long have you been performing in the Music of Queen production?
Dan Clemens: Windborne Music started in 1995. The first show was The Music of Led Zeppelin with the Virginia Symphony. I have been with Brent Havens (owner, arranger, conductor) since the beginning. The first Queen show was in 2009.
VEER: What has your experience been like when performing in markets outside of Hampton Roads?
Dan Clemens: I love what I do. We have played all over the United States and Canada. We have also performed several times in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Sometimes the flights are long, but performing music in so many different places is a blast. Music has a way of bringing everyone together.
VEER: How does our Virginia Symphony stack up compared to other symphonies?
Dan Clemens: The Virginia Symphony is incredible. We have been lucky to perform with some of the most well-known symphonies in the world and Virginia is fortunate to have such top-notch musicians right here. I believe that The Virginia Arts Festival is helping the symphony get more notoriety. Rob Cross has put many shows on that bring national attention to our area. Last year Powell Randolph (drummer) and I were able to perform with the Virginia Symphony and the Birmingham Royal Ballet’s performance of the Black Sabbath Ballet. It was the debut in the United States. Great opportunity for the Virginia Symphony to get recognition.
VEER: Were you a fan of Queen growing up?
Dan Clemens: I was a huge fan of Queen growing up. Was always listening to them and The Beatles.
VEER: Do you recall what your favorite Queen tunes were then? What qualities did those songs have that appealed to you?
Dan Clemens: I was always a fan of “Under Pressure,” “Somebody to Love” and, of course, “Bohemian Rhapsody.” But I also liked the heavier songs -such as “Tie Your Mother Down,” and “Stone Cold Crazy.” I enjoy thought-out chord changes and good melodies. All four of Queens members wrote songs. That is why they’re so great. Different styles and feels throughout their music catalog. Their songs grab people. I can remember as a kid our middle school decided to put a juke box in the cafeteria. It was loud and I remember “We Will Rock You” getting played over and over for the entire lunch. Five hundred kids stomping and clapping that beat. What power that song had! They removed the juke box after a week or so!
VEER: As a seasoned musician today, what aspects of Queen compositions impress you the most?
Dan Clemens: I respect their song writing so much. They created such great melodies, and they didn’t take any shortcuts with chord changes. You can tell how hard they worked to make sure the songs were as close to perfect as they could get. All of them were incredible musicians and Freddy must be one of the greatest rock singers of all time. John Deacon to me never quite gets his due. His bass lines are so well thought out. He wrote “You’re My Best Friend” and his bass part in that song is probably one of the toughest I have ever had to learn for any show. Fantastic bass playing!
VEER: The bass guitar shines from note one on “Another One Bites The Dust.” That said is it a fun song for you to play, or are you more excited about others?
Dan Clemens: I love playing “Another Bites the Dust.” It is not a hard song, but man does it groove. As soon as I begin that song the crowd goes nuts and people start to dance. Again, Queen has that kind of power. Brent’s chart with “Who Wants to Live Forever” really features the symphony. It is cool to be in the middle of the stage and be surrounded by such sound.
VEER: Vocal harmonies are essential to pulling off many of the band’s songs. How do you folks approach “Bohemian Rhapsody”?
Dan Clemens: “Bohemian Rhapsody” was a challenge. MiG Ayesa does an unreal job fronting this show. You are correct though about the harmonies. They must be there. Fortunately, we have three other guys in this band that can sing lead. We worked hard on getting all the harmonies for “Bohemian.” Combine that with Brent’s arrangement and it is a full sound. The a cappella at the beginning and then the opera part were the biggest challenges. I love how it all comes together.
VEER: I imagine you stick primarily with the hits such as “Killer Queen,” “We Are the Champions” and “Best Friend.” What deep cuts do you perform and how were those tunes selected for the show?
Dan Clemens: We do play a lot of the hits. They had so many! Now and then, there are spots to branch out. “Show Must Go On” and “Who Wants to Live Forever” are great to feature the Symphony. Brent did find a deep cut called “My Melancholy Blues.” It is off the “News of the World Album.” He did a wonderful arrangement. I always picture Freddy on piano at an old smoke-filled Bistro playing and singing the song.
VEER: Which specific Queen songs tend to get the greatest reaction from audiences?
Dan Clemens: They all get a lot of reaction. Everybody in the audience has a favorite at some point. But the biggest response is probably from “Somebody to Love,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” and, of course, “We Are the Champions.” We play this show all over and it is an incredible feeling watching thousands of people singing along and enjoying the moment. That is what great music can do. Best feeling in the world!