Grammy Award-winning musician, producer, composer and songwriter, David Foster needs little introduction. The ‘hit man’ tells travel 3sixtyº how he started in the business and why he signed on to become AirAsia’s new global ambassador.
Compiled by: Chitra Santhinathan
DO YOU REMEMBER THE FIRST SONG YOU COMPOSED?
I was in the fifth grade, about 10 years old, when I wrote my first song. At the time, I was getting Bs in music at school, and when I asked my teacher what I needed to do to earn an A, she said I had to write and perform a song in front of the class. And that’s what my friend, Kalen Wood, and I did. The song was called Foz Wood Blues and it was terrible. It didn’t have lyrics, but we played it for the whole school. And I still got a B for music on my next report card!
WHEN DID YOU GET YOUR START IN THE MUSIC BUSINESS?
Officially, I guess it was when I moved to England at 16 and joined American rock and roll legend Chuck Berry’s band. That’s when I became a full-time musician. I had already been putting bands together and doing gigs on the weekends from the age of 12, but it was not until I joined Chuck Berry’s band that I went professional. I’ve never looked back since.
DID YOU EVER ENVISION THAT YOUR NAME WOULD ONE DAY BE SYNONYMOUS WITH HITS?
When I started out playing in bands at the age of 12, I had goals, but my goals then were not the goals that I have today. The great thing about any business is that if you’re good at it and ambitious enough, you can keep moving the goal line, and that’s what I did. My goal at 12 was to play piano at a nightclub in the neighbouring city of Vancouver. When I wrote my first hit, I wanted a second. When I won a Grammy, I wanted another one – that’s just the way it has been.
WHO IS YOUR INSPIRATION?
My first inspiration was my father. He was a piano player and he was very patient with me in my younger years. He taught me everything he knew, and it was very formative training for me along with my classical piano lessons. And then at 13, the Beatles came along and introduced me to pop music, which was a blessing because I wasn’t that great a classical pianist. There are also three people whose words continue to drive me: Ronnie Hawkins, a Canadian singer whose advice was to retreat and attack from another direction when things got tough; Paul Anka, who told me that good was the enemy of great; and Quincy Jones, who said that if your name’s on something, it’d better be the best you could have possibly done.
WHAT MAKES A HIT?
If I knew the answer, I’d have a hit every time. But instead, I’ve written a thousand songs, out of which 100 have been hits, while the rest have probably never been heard. There is no formula and in fact, it’s so frustrating that despite applying yourself the same way every time and trying to do your best, you may write a hit one time and you may not at another. It’s just a mystery.
WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT SONGWRITING?
Every day brings something new – a certain mood, or a different thought. Some days you feel like writing, some days you don’t. Sometimes, you sit at the piano and nothing comes, and sometimes, you can’t write fast enough. I really enjoy the process, and the challenge.
WHAT ARE YOU LIKE IN THE STUDIO?
I think it’s safe to say that I’m uncompromising. If I’m working with a singer and she wants a note to go up when I want it down, it can go either way but never in the middle because compromise breeds mediocrity. We can argue about a note, key, tempo or lyric, but there can’t be a compromise. It will either be her way or my way but it won’t be somewhere in between.
DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE SONG?
For many years, it was Love, Look What You’ve Done to Me that I co-wrote with Boz Scaggs. There’s just something about that song that still moves me and the lyrics he wrote were just so beautiful. But in the last 10 years, I’ve drifted more towards the song The Prayer that I wrote with my friend, Carole Bayer Sager, for Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli. Some people describe the song as being almost a religious experience. I’m quite proud of that song.
CAN YOU TELL IF AN ARTIST HAS WHAT IT TAKES TO MAKE IT BIG?
I’ve been right a few times and wrong so many times. If a voice moves me and it’s a sound that I just can’t live without, I imagine others may love it too. But, you just can’t be right all the time. To find a star is very, very special. When you do the math, you realise how difficult it can be to find a Michael Bublé or a Celine Dion or a Josh Groban. It doesn’t happen that often – it’s rare.
HOW DO YOU BRING OUT THE BEST IN AN ARTIST?
My job is to serve. I sort of see myself as the same way that waiters see themselves in a restaurant. My job is to get a great vocal out of an artist. And if that artist is not happy at the end of the album, then, I’ve not done my job. So I will do anything I can to bring out the best in an artist. I always go into the studio thinking I’m going to get a better vocal out of them than anybody ever has or ever will. Now, that’s obviously not true all the time but that’s what I’m thinking when I’m in the studio with an artist. And that helps me, I think, get the job done.
WHY DID YOU SIGN ON TO REPRESENT AIRASIA?
Tony Fernandes, the very charismatic and talented Group CEO of AirAsia, is such a smart guy and we both share two passions: aviation and music. I’ve known Tony since he was working with Warner Music and I could tell that there was so much more to him than that, even though he was doing a great job at Warner. I’ve loved aviation all my life, from the time my father took me flying when I was about seven and I got my pilot’s license when I was 18. I really, truly love aviation. I believe that AirAsia is a young airline that is on the move and growing rapidly. And I want to be attached to a winner. Tony Fernandes is a winner. AirAsia is a winner. And I think it’s a great fit!
WHICH ASIAN DESTINATION WOULD YOU LIKE TO EXPLORE?
I’ve travelled to Asia probably over a dozen times. I hear the beaches of Thailand and the Philippines are beautiful, and I’d love to visit them. I’ve also not been to Vietnam or Cambodia and I’d like to visit sometime. On a very personal level, I’d like to go to Bhutan. The king and queen of Bhutan attended a concert of mine, and I’d love to pay them a visit.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR LATEST ASIAN RELEASE – THE MANY SIDES OF DAVID FOSTER.
It’s inspiring to put CDs together for the Asian market and this is probably the fourth CD I’ve done. It’s a compilation of songs that I’ve written and/or produced. The Many Sides of David Foster is a nice collage of who I am. I hand-picked the songs that are on the album and I’m very happy with the selection.
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