Mr. Big singer Eric Martin has confirmed to the "Friday NI Rocks" show that the band is planning to make a new studio record next year. The effort will mark Mr. Big's first release since the passing of drummer Pat Torpey, who died in February at the age of 64 from complications of Parkinson's disease.

Asked whether there might be a new Mr. Big album next year and that it could very well be the last, Eric Martin replied: "Yeah I do. I'm the one getting everyone together for conference calls and e-mails and what we want to do. I really want to do it and I want to spend more than six days on it like we did with the Defying Gravity album. I want to be a little more prepared. I want to do a new record and I also want to have a couple of different drummers on it - one's that Pat really liked; maybe Mike Portnoy, Gregg Bissonette, Ray Luzier from Korn, I really like his playing. Just get some great drummers to do an ode to Pat Torpey. We don't know if we're going to do an album or an EP; it kinda depends on the songs. If we only have six songs then there's your EP, but if we have more we'll cut an album. We only have a little bit of a window of opportunity because Paul is on the road pretty much the rest of the year and then we might have an opportunity in February to cut something. But we are going to do a tour in June and July and then come home for a couple of weeks and then try to do it as much as we can for about three or four months. But yeah, that's the last hurrah, that's it. It just feels a little uncomfortable to keep going without Pat Torpey."

Source:	rockradioni.co.uk
Band profile:	Mr. Big