Questions from George
I would love to know if you have your own manager that takes care of the business side of things or do you manage yourself?

Nate - Me, Myself and I

Which is your most favourite Paul Stanley song to play drums on?

Nate - Hide Your Heart and I Was Made For Lovin’ You. I used to play to that songs as a 6 year old aspiring drummer. It’s amazing to get to do it with THE MAN now.

Brett Garsed, Nate Morton, Sasha, Paul Stanley, Rafael Moreira and Paul Mirkovich. Photo by Keith Tarrier

Question from MzMaihem
Who are your heroes in life, musically or otherwise?

Nate - My uncle Harold Morton, Jr who always followed his dreams no matter who told him he’d fail or whatever. He always kept at it. That was always inspiring to me as an up and coming musician.

Question from Starman:
You breathed new life into Paul's classic tunes and you played like an animal on the Tour, very physical. Do you have any issues recuperating from one show to another and keeping the energy up to rip those skins apart? What do you do to consistently come up with the goods!

Nate - Good question. I must admit, when I was younger, I’d get on the stage without warming up and burn from the downbeat through an entire 120 minute set. Now that I’m a little older, I gotta warm up these old joints and tendons. I spend about 20 – 30 minutes on a drum pad before the set,.. that gets the blood flowing. During the set, I don’t think about strains and muscle pulls,.. I just go for it. The first coupla shows can be exhausting, but a few shows in and I get me show lungs... and more importantly, show arms.

My hands usually get pretty callused up after show # 2. I refuse to wear gloves! When i think about wearing gloves, i picture the little old ladies at the church i attended as a child. They’d get dressed up in their Sunday best which generally included cute little white gloves. Uhhh... no thank you. Unless it’s 4 degrees, you won’t see me in gloves. LOL

Question from Kissalways:
What music do you looooooove to play and listen too?

Nate - Hmm,.. if it GROOVES i like and appreciate it. Many of my favorite bands are waaaaay off the beaten path. My all time faves include, 24-7 Spyz (BUY ‘FACE THE DAY’ IMMEDIATELY!!!), Fishbone, Jimmie’s Chicken Shack, and lately I’m diggin’ Karnivool and Wicked Wisdom. Outside of rock, I listen to a ton of gospel music. If you’re not familiar with gospel, or you think it’s lame, go to amazon.com and purchase Kim Burrell, LIVE IN MEMPHIS. It will change your life!

Question from Troy
Do you hang out with Paul Stanley socially or only for business?

Nate - Paul is the coolest cat in the world, and yes we do hang when we’re both in town. It’s amazing how down to earth he is.

Nate's kit for the Live To Win tour Photo by Keith Tarrier

Questions from Bouffe
What would be the dream gig for you?

Nate - The HOUSEBAND being signed and releasing a record of our own.

What's the coolest thing that happened to you as a musician?

Nate - Everyday of my life, I’m living the coolest thing that ever happened to me as a musician. I get to play and record with incredible musicians and that is a blessing. Everyday I’m grateful for every moment I get to spend behind the drums doing what i love.

Nate - Sting and Peter Gabriel. I just love and respect those dudes for their history and lifelong contributions to this whole “music” thing.

Questions from JMan
What is one goal you still want to add to your already impressive resume?

Nate - These days my goals revolve around my knucklehead son. I’ve been fortunate to achieve some cool things professionally, and now, i just want my boy to win a chess match at his weekly chess club meetings. LOL

What are the plans for the House Band together as a group, including and aside from the Rockstar series?

Nate - Excellent question. Without divulging too much, let’s just say, there’s some things going on and if they happen, everyone will know. I’d just as soon keep it under my hat for now, so if things DON’T happen, i don’t have to explain a hundred times why things didn’t pan out. LOL

Nate - None what-so-ever. It was literally put on there to differentiate my drum kit from the other back stage.

You’ve played in small and large venues, indoors and outdoors. Do you prefer one over another?

Nate - Clubs are awesome because you can see everybody and you’re closer to the fans. It’s hot, you’re sweating like a pig and you’re playing your arse off for 1500 of your closest friends. In arenas, you can’t see anyone, it’s sterile, and you’re thirty feet from the first row.

I really enjoy your CD “Playground Philosophy”. After backing so many artists, was it satisfying to be able to record your own music?

Nate - Absolutely. That’s was the primary impetus.

One of my favourite tracks on the record is ‘Clever’. It’s great to hear you and your son together. Is Miles about to become the next musician in the family?

Nate - Not likely. Lately his interests revolve around Harry Potter. When i was a kid, i wasn’t so cute, and i was a total nerd, so music was that one thing that made me kinda okay to the jocks, kept me from getting beat-up and enabled me to meet chicks. Miles is a fairly good lookin’ kid, so he won’t need music for any of those things. LOL

Are there any upcoming concerts with you and the House Band planned for the near future?

Nate - We’re playing in Monterey, CA on July 29. It’s the 40th anniversary of the Monterey Pop festival.

Lastly, any news on the possible House Band CD we heard about last winter?

Nate - Hmm…not exactly. Be patient and over time, we’ll all find out what the future holds.

Nate’s Official Website: www.natemorton.com
Nate’s MySpace: www.myspace.com/natemorton
Rockstar House Band MySpace: www.myspace.com/rockstarhouseband
Buy Nate’s CD ‘Playground Philosophy’: http://cdbaby.com/cd/dootybug

Nate drumming on the Live To Win tour with Paul Stanley     Photo by Keith Tarrier