They embarked on a world tour to support the record and an unofficial fifth member of the band joined them on the tour: drummer Matt Starr. Starr (most notably from Ace Frehley's band,) is a talented drummer and singer, and Mr. Big recruited him to sit in for Pat Torpey, who had recently been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. While Torpey did tour with the band, he played drums on only a few songs, and typically sat on a stool and sang with the band while Starr handled the rest of the drum duties. Additional dates are planned for rock cruises and West coast dates in early 2016. On July 7, 2017, Mr. Big released Defying Gravity, its ninth studio album. The record was recorded in a matter of six days to accommodate the schedules of the band members and the producer, and was released on the Frontiers Music SRL label. It featured 11 new songs and was produced by Kevin Elson, who also produced Mr. Big's debut record in 1989. They embarked on a tour of the United States, followed by tours of Europe and southeast Asia, including a return to the Philippines on October 12, 2017. On February 7, 2018, drummer Pat Torpey died from complications of Parkinson's disease at the age of 64. His last show was at the Wulfrun Hall in Wolverhampton on 23 November 2017. A memorial show took place on 23 May 2018 at The Canyon in Agoura Hills, California, with former member Richie Kotzen as a special guest. The all-star finale of "To Be With You" included, among others, Matt Sorum, Dave Amato, Ricky Phillips, Keith St John, Prescott Niles, Kelly Keagy, Jeff Scott Soto, Ace Von Johnson and Gregg Bissonette. In October 2018, Eric Martin said in interview with Friday NI Rocks that the band is in the process of planning their next album. According to him, once the band is done with its 2019 touring commitments, they will subsequently disband: "Yeah, that's the last hurrah – that's it. It feels a little uncomfortable to keep going without Pat Torpey." Solo projects: 1998–present Solo albums While in Mr. Big, Martin was also involved in other projects on the side. In 1995, Martin was the vocalist in The Power Rangers Orchestra, which also featured Guns N' Roses member Matt Sorum. Their version of "Go Go Power Rangers" was featured in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: