LIVING COLOUR’s DOUG WIMBISH: ‘We’re In The Process Of Making A New Record’

In a new interview with “The Plowzone” video show on RokuTV, LIVING COLOUR bassist Doug Wimbish was asked if he and his bandmates are working on fresh music. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “We are. It’s interesting because [when people ask], ‘Are you in the studio writing some stuff?’ Well, we’re going in the studio in a couple of weeks, and we’ve been in the studio actually creating some ideas. So, to be honest, yeah, we’re in the process of making a new record. I’d like to say we’re in the process, really, of collecting the material to get to that point where we can actually go in and have enough music or enough ideas to start to really build out songs.”He continued: “That’s how we work. We’re a band where [we work best when you] get us all in the room, turn it on and let’s all play at the same time. That’s when the magic happens. And to not overthink it. Just get in. Let’s go. Take a break. Play some more. Make sure that you can actually document the stuff. Go home. Sleep on it. Come back and do the same thing the next day. And if you can get into that kind of routine, then things start to happen. Or you can wait for that magic moment, and you’ll be waiting on Godot. So we’re in that flow vibe, and I’m looking forward to going in the studio and chopping it up.”Last May, LIVING COLOUR singer Corey Glover told Robert Cavuoto of Myglobalmind that he and his bandmates were “still in the writing stage” for the follow-up to 2017’s “Shade” album. He said at the time: “I think we’re in search of a voice at this point. I think it’s important that we have something to say that’s sort of poignant, particularly in and around this time. If everything was right, this record would have come out this year. But I think scheduling was not in our favor. But I don’t think the world is going to change significantly. And if it does, we’ll talk about it. But for the most part, we’re trying to figure out what our mission statement is for this. And we’re writing it in that regard to sort of jumpstart that process.”In September 2023, Corey expressed hope that LIVING COLOUR would have some new music ready to release soon. He told May The Rock Be With You at the time: “We really, really take our time making records, because when you have musicians of the caliber of Vernon [Reid, guitar] and Will [Calhoun, drums] and Doug — and myself, I guess — we get kind of precious about our thing. We want it to be right. We want it to be exactly the way we want it to be as it occurs, what it is and how it is. So it takes a minute.”He continued: “Making records is simpler technically, but a lot more difficult in terms of living your life. We’re a lot older. We’ve got a lot more responsibilities. We’ve got kids. We’ve got college. We’ve got high school. You’ve got all this other stuff that you gotta think about — and write a song. [Laughs] So it’s a two-sided coin in terms of having the wherewithal to make music and live the rest of your life.”Asked what the process is like writing music now compared to, say, 1988, Corey said: “Well, you can get the information out to people a lot quicker. You can say, ‘I’ve got this groove.’ Back in the day, you played it on the phone or you made a recording, and then you physically brought it to them. Now I can hum a thing on my phone and say, ‘Here. I’m sending this to you. What can you do with this?’ And then they send me something back, and we can go back and forth with that in real time as it occurs. And that makes the process that much simpler.”LIVING COLOUR disbanded in 1995 but reunited in 2000. (Original bassist Muzz Skillings left the group in 1992 and was replaced by Doug Wimbish.)In June 2020, LIVING COLOUR released a video for its classic song “This Is The Life” featuring footage of the peaceful protests that swelled across the U.S. and around the world over the death of George Floyd at the hands of police. The original version of “This Is The Life” appeared on LIVING COLOUR’s 1990 album “Time’s Up”.”Shade” was released in September 2017 via Megaforce Records.Glover and ADRENALINE MOB guitarist Mike Orlando recently launched a new project called SONIC UNIVERSE. The group, whose lineup is completed by bassist Booker King and drummer Taykwuan Jackson, released its debut album, “It Is What It Is”, in May 2024 via earMUSIC. The 10-song effort was produced, engineered, and mixed by Orlando at his Sonic Stomp Studios.Glover’s other side projects in recent years have included some acting, touring as a member of jam band GALACTIC and, more recently, forming the jazz-rock supergroup ULTRAPHONIX with legendary DOKKEN guitarist George Lynch. Reid, for his part, has released solo albums and been involved in side projects with Masque and YOHIMBE BROTHERS; collaborated with Mick Jagger, Bill Frisell, Jack Bruce and Ronald Shannon Jackson, among many others; produced albums for Salif Keita and James Blood Ulmer; and composed film scores.[embedded content]