Gilby Clarke
Gilby Clarke has been one busy guy since the original Guns N' Roses fell apart. Of course we know about the Rockstar: Supernova project and the new record but in the time between, he's put out six solo records (not counting his short lived group Col. Parker). Cut from a very traditional rock & roll path like Keith Richards, Gilby's records earned him a sizeable following. Along the way, he's played guitar for a number of people like Heart and the MC5. He's also produced records for a variety of artists including Canada's Crash Kelly. He recently released a retrospective record, simply called Gilby Clarke and I got to speak with recently to talk about it.
antiMUSIC: Hi Gilby. How are you doing?
Gilby: Good Morley. I'm doing good actually
antiMUSIC: It's a real pleasure to speak with you. It was fun to watch you on Rock Star Supernova and obviously I've been a fan since GNR and pawnshop guitars, so it's a real thrill for me.
Gilby: Oh right on.
antiMUSIC: You've got a retrospective record out now and with all you've been over the years, it seems weird that you've also been a solo artist for over 12 years. After GNR, did you think that you would maintain the solo route for as long as this or were you just biding your time before planning on being part of another group?
Gilby: Well I gotta tell you, I became a solo artist, you know, kinda by default, you know. In the beginning it was just to bide time in between GNR records, you know...at that point we'd just gotten off the road and I had a bunch of songs, you know, that I was working on before I joined the band and while I was in the band. And they didn't really fit in what GNR was doing at the time. So I made my first record just to kinda bide time while we were in between tours and records and then when the band just kinda fell apart, that was just my natural progression of what I was doing. And you know, one led to another into another, into another (laughs). Time just kept going by, it was a good thing to do.
antiMUSIC: Ever think you'd ever be in another band or were you just content to go the solo route?
Gilby: Well that's kinda what happened. As time goes by you write songs, but I always wanted to be part of a group. I mean, I think my strength is playing guitar in a group. But you know, it was hard, after coming from GNR. It was a really good band. I mean everybody did their part and did it well and it was just really hard. I hadn't really found anything else that I wanted to be a part of and that's why I kinda took the road of doing it on my own. It's like a liked the music that I was creating but I never really found a group of people that I wanted to make music with. Up until this new project came around with Tommy and Jason. I mean to me that was the perfect opportunity and some really talented people to work with.
antiMUSIC: You've always struck me as a guy who is just interested in putting out records and making music and not really too concerned with how many units you're selling or what magazines you're appearing in. Have you ever had a blue print for your career at any point?
Gilby: (laughs) No actually, I'm not that organized.
antiMUSIC: (laughs)
Gilby: I mean the first part is true. I mean, I've always looked at myself as a musician, you know. And musicians have to do certain things to make a living. You know. And sometimes I'll take a guitar job. You know, sometimes I'll go play guitar with a band like Heart or something for a tour. You know, gotta earn a living that summer, you know? And other times I'll go play guitar with the MC5. So sometimes, you know, I'll take guitar gigs. But I try to, for me, what's important is I play guitar a certain way and I'm not the kind of guy that can adapt to certain styles. The music has pretty much be based around the way I play. And that's why I never really fit in with a lot of the current metal bands, back in the eighties and nineties. I was more of a bluesier, rock player. So it was hard, just kinda hard finding the right gigs. And you know, when I'm writing and performing my own music, it's right up my style, you know. That's what I like to play. I always had that: if there wasn't a guitar gig out there, I could always go out and do some dates on my own. I always had some pretty decent audiences out there, and could always make a record that I thought was good.
antiMUSIC: The collection record seems to put you into perspective as a true rock & roller, a Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood kind of guy. Is it safe to say that you're pretty rooted in '60s and '70s rock? Aside from growing up with it, what is it about that kind of music that appeals to you?
Gilby: Well to me it's just the best way that I can express myself with a guitar. It is. That is the music that I grew up with, but it's also the music that I like. You know I've heard a lot of music over the past 40-something years. And still, to this day, I can still put on a great Stones record, or you know, one of the later Beatles records and that's what I like. You know. I listen to a lot of new current music, and there's some real creative things going on out there. People have really stretched music a long ways. And have brought in a lot of different elements but I still think my strength is playing a bluesier type guitar, you know. I think I've expanded, even with the Supernova project. I've really expanded myself. I did a lot of different things on the guitar that I wouldn't have normally gone to, but I had other people, pushing me. Tommy saying 'Try this, try this' and you try it, you know. And I'm not afraid to try new things. And every time I do that, you know, I do find other things I like, but I think my strength is what I've been doing.
antiMUSIC: What are some of the highlights of your solo career? Despite a recording artist previous to that, getting Pawnshop Guitars out must have been a thrill for you?
Gilby: It was great, I mean I was working with a really great label at that time. I was on Virgin Records and that was? most of the highlights were with that record. I mean I was really proud of that record. To me it encompassed all the music that I like, you know. I kinda got some hard rock edge in there, I got some bluesier stuff in there, some rootsy things, and then I also got some pop elements, like Beatles stuff that I like. It really encompassed everything that I like about music within one record. I had a lot of guest people that came in and helped out on the record and that was really important to me. And "Cure Me or Kill Me" did fairly well on radio, which was good, and I was happy about it because at least everybody else gets it. Not everybody gets your music. You don't always make music that was popular at the time. And what was cool when that record came out which was it was definitely at the end of hard rock music and when grunge was coming in. But the song was still doing well on radio even though radio was Soundgarden, Nirvana and Pearl Jam at that time, that song was still out there doing well. So I was happy. I also opened up a lot of dates with Aerosmith in South America. That was a big, big thrill for me. I mean those were some of the greatest shows I've ever played in my life, doing my solo band opening for Aerosmith.
antiMUSIC: Who was in the band?
Gilby: I had one of my good friends Ryan Roxie playing guitar, Marc Danzeisen playing drums and Will Effertz was playing bass.
antiMUSIC: Waddy Watchel has been involved with a lot of your records. How did you first link up with him and what elements about him make for a great working relationship?
Gilby: Waddy?when I was going to make my first record, Pawnshop for Virgin. Virgin, one thing was very insistent that I work with a producer and so they came out with the usual list of people that produced the records and I didn't want to work with anybody, I really wanted to do it myself. And then when Waddy's name came up. One of the records that I listen to a lot was Keith Richards solo records. And Waddy produced those. As soon as Waddy's name came up I said, oh, I'll meet with him. (laughs) And so I met with him and we just sort of hit it off the bat and I just thought it was a good pairing. He's a great guitarist first of all. He understands what I'm trying to do and it was just a really good pairing. And then even later on, in records like The Hangover, he didn't produce, he ended up coming over playing on it. So we definitely, you know, there was something that really worked out well together.
antiMUSIC: You have a new version of "Black" on there with Dilana doing vocals. That came out really amazing. It's quite excellent. Why did you think of having her on there and was it the only song that you tried her out on vocals or were there others?
Gilby: No, we were trying to do something new, you know, with the record. I mean, I didn't have enough time to really rerecord anything or put anything new on this. It kinda came up pretty quick to try and get it out in time for the Supernova tour. So at that time is when I was working with Dilana, when we were working on her album and one of the songs I was talking to her about was "Black" about putting it on her record. So when this came up it just kinda seemed natural to say, 'Hey Dilana, let's cut this tune, but let's put it out on my record.' (laughs) And it just worked out really good. I mean, it was a song that she really clicked with, I always thought it was a good tune. You know, I'm not the best of singers. And it's really nice to hear a really good singer sing one of your songs.
The rest of the interview here:
http://www.rocknworld.com/morley/07/GilbyClarke.shtml
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