2021.01.13 - The SDR Show - Interview with Gilby

Excerpts from UltimateClassicRock:
----------------------------------------

Former Guns N’ Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke recalled the needlessly difficult week he spent learning the band’s set before his first show with them.

Replacing Izzy Stradlin in 1991, Clarke had seven days to prepare before his stage debut during the Use Your Illusion tour.

“They told me on a Monday that ‘you have the gig,’” Clarke told the SDR Show in the video below. “And the next week we were flying to Boston for our first show. I literally had a week – and remember, this is before YouTube. I was glued to their records with the headphones on, trying to learn the catalog.”

He worked hard but encountered a challenge over the track “Estranged,” which he described as a “really long ballad piece.” He continued, “[I]f you listen to it, it's kind of one-dimensional guitar-wise; it really just features Slash. So I was listening to it, and I really couldn't figure out what I should do in that song.”

He decided to ask keyboardist Dizzy Reed for help. “I go, ‘Hey, man, can you sit down with me, and let's work on ‘Estranged’? I just wanna kind of figure it out," he recalled.' "And he goes, ‘Oh, well, here's the music book.’ And he handed me the music book. And I went, ‘There's a music book? I just spent a week learning every note by ear when I could have just grabbed the freakin' music book!’ I mean, I read charts. It would have taken me an hour.”

He noted, “I was a little pissed off that I didn’t ask. [...] They could have offered it to me.”

Clarke was asked about his absence from Guns N’ Roses’ reunion tour, confirming that he’d only ever been asked to make a single guest appearance in 2016. “And it just happened to be the day that I was in Chicago with my daughter,” he explained. “Her band was playing Lollapalooza, and I'm actually her roadie. […] [I]t was just bad timing. I just said, ‘Look, I think it’s a great idea. I’m up for it. I just can’t do it today.’ […] And I never heard back from them after I said that.”

Interesting how he was asked to do a guest appearance. Just to get a rough timeline, I checked Lollapalooza's lineup and his daughter's band, Frankie & The Studs, played their set on the 29th of July. GNR played a gig in Orlando, Florida that same day, maybe that's the gig he was asked to do?

Shackler wrote:Interesting how he was asked to do a guest appearance.  Just to get a rough timeline, I checked Lollapalooza's lineup and his daughter's band, Frankie & The Studs, played their set on the 29th of July. GNR played a gig in Orlando, Florida that same day, maybe that's the gig he was asked to do?

If we are to take what Gilby says literally, then that the show it must have been. But extremely weird that they would reach out to him and ask him to join them in a show the very same day. That's something you do if you don't really want him there. "Oh, you can't travel from wherever you are right now to here where we are doing to show? Oh, that was unfortunate."

Soulmonster wrote:

Shackler wrote:Interesting how he was asked to do a guest appearance.  Just to get a rough timeline, I checked Lollapalooza's lineup and his daughter's band, Frankie & The Studs, played their set on the 29th of July. GNR played a gig in Orlando, Florida that same day, maybe that's the gig he was asked to do?

If we are to take what Gilby says literally, then that the show it must have been. But extremely weird that they would reach out to him and ask him to join them in a show the very same day. That's something you do if you don't really want him there. "Oh, you can't travel from wherever you are right now to here where we are doing to show? Oh, that was unfortunate."

Yeah, that's what I also thought, but what throws me off is him saying "I just can’t do it today", implying he got the call the day of the gig, and if he were to join, it'd probably only be a song or two, so he'd have enough time to go through the material on the way there and backstage, probably. It's hard to know for sure.

More excerpts from Ultimate Guitar:
-------------------------------------------

Gilby Clarke Clarifies How He Was Fired From GN'R, Says Axl Never Supported Him, Recalls His 1st NSFW Groupie Moment

During an appearance on The SDR Show, guitarist Gilby Clarke looked back on his 1991-1994 tenure in Guns N' Roses, while also touching on Sebastian Bach, his early musical days, and more.

When the interviewer said, "Axl [Rose] was the one that fired you, right?", Gilby replied (transcribed by UG):

"Well, no. Slash is the one who came to me because Slash was my friend, and he said, 'Look, Axl doesn't want you in the band anymore. Let me just see what's going on.'

"And that was the end, the last conversation we ever had about it. And the next week, my check stopped, and that was it. Axl never supported me."

What was the first time you had sex?

"First time I had sex or...? I thought it was, like, sex and rock 'n' roll moment..."

You can tell whatever comes to your mind. We'll allow it, there are no rules.

"Rock 'n' roll! The very first show that I played as a professional musician, the first time I got paid to play music, my band played a dance - it was actually at a hall. It was in Los Angeles, I think, it's like Redondo Beach or something, and we were playing three sets.

"I was never in a cover band, we were an original band that played the same set three times. We're playing Jimi Hendrix and things like that, and I just remember looking out and kind of thinking, 'Wow, either we really suck or they're not getting it.'

"But the reality - was we were too heavy. They wanted a dance band and we were playing rock 'n' roll as a three-piece. But in the first break, we went to take a break, I walked into the dressing room, and there was a girl waiting for me, and I got my first blowjob.

"And at that moment was the lights and the whole thing! Rock 'n' roll! 'Alright, I’m going to keep doing this!' I think I was like 15 or 16 or something, I was really young."

What are your feelings about Sebastian Bach?

"Sebastian? Sebastian is hilarious, man! Here's the thing about Baz - exactly what you see is exactly who he is. He's not putting on an act; everything he says comes out of his mouth, he believes. He is that dude.

"He's that young kid that's a big music fan. His idea is right or wrong, he lives it and he believes it every day. To me, that's the person that's honest with himself, and that's a rarity."

You were talking about a time which was just so foreshadowing an event, that you're in Candy, and you went to see Guns N' Roses when you were just starting here. Just such a crazy story - who the fuck would know you'd be in Guns N' Roses five years later, whatever - it was 10 years later.

"I know, isn't that odd? I saw Guns N' Roses - I think it was their first gig - I don't really remember. But I saw them so many times. I went to see Guns N' Roses because it was Izzy's band, I was friends with Izzy [Stradlin, guitar], and it was, 'Let's see Izzy's new band.'

"But we were also on the road a lot during that so I missed a lot of things. I saw Poison when they first moved to L.A., but when I came off tour it's like they were like the biggest L.A. band, they were headlining every venue, which was a very strange thing."

What was the first concert you ever saw?

"Well, the first show that I ever went to, actually, I can't say my parents dragged me, but my father did go with me - I went to see KISS. It was on the 'Destroyer' tour, it was in Ohio, Cleveland, and my father took me because I was young.

"And we went there, and right as we get to our tickets - we were in the nosebleeds - there were scalpers out front, 'Hey, tenth row!' or whatever. And my dad looked at me and he goes, "You want to sit closer?' And I'm like, 'Hell yeah!'

"So I actually sat in the 10th-row center while my dad sat in the nosebleeds and watched the show. Even though at that point I was young, I was already partying and stuff, but what I remember was the smell of weed and getting past joints like back and forth from both sides, sitting down watching the show."

Without KISS, like 80% of the bands we brought on this show probably wouldn't exist. It's amazing how many people say that's the band that got them into being musicians. Were you already playing at that point or did that get you into music?

"I was playing guitar but I wasn't obviously a professional, I was still in Ohio and just learning to play the guitar."

It's amazing how much rock they inspired from people who were musicians.

"When I was young, I had friends that were die-hard Led Zeppelin fans, and that was a big deal back then because I love Led Zeppelin, they are my second favorite band. But I had friends who said, 'If you like Led Zeppelin, you can't like KISS.'

"There was a line right there, and I was like, 'Well, I like Led Zeppelin and I like KISS.' They go, 'No, no, no, KISS sucks!' So there were guys that felt that they sucked. And I got to tell you, I hate that part of KISS because as a young kid, I loved those songs.

"Even now, you hear them in your headphones and you go, 'I still remember all the words and all the riffs!' It's ingrained in my head."

https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/gilby_clarke_clarifies_how_he_was_fired_from_gnr_says_axl_never_supported_him_recalls_his_1st_nsfw_groupie_moment.html

*

Gilby Clarke Talks Why Izzy Stradlin Quit Guns N' Roses & What the Guitarist Didn't Like About the Band
The guitarist also looks back on Axl Rose's onstage behavior.

During an appearance on The SDR Show, former Guns N' Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke talked about his predecessor Izzy Stradlin.

When the interviewer said, "Why was Izzy departing? Because Izzy still puts out raw regular music - he didn't want to be a part of a big production, right? Is that that was the main reason?", Gilby replied (transcribed by UG):

"I can't answer for Izzy but I definitely got the feeling that it had gone in a direction that he just didn't like anymore. He was just done; he was sober.

"And as you said, the band had background singers and horn players, and Axl [Rose] had a vision of how to grow the band into a modern Rolling Stones at that time. And you're right, the band guys are really down and dirty rock 'n' roll guys.

"It's funny, when we travel, even though we had our own private jet, the guy's suitcases really were like a pillowcase and a bottle of Jack Daniels. And that's how they got on the plane every day - or a guitar case or something. It really was as real and wrong as it could be."

I keep thinking and hoping that there's gonna be a band that will reset the universe but maybe rock just had its run.

"I look at it, like, I hope. I've kind of lived through it twice, I remember when bands like Guns N' Roses, and Poison, and Aerosmith’s second time around - rock was dismal at that point.

"If you remember, it was A Flock of Seagulls and it was really bad - rock was dead. And MTV was strong and it made its way back. Think about the '70s when rock music got really progressive and awful, and then punk rock came in and kind of changed things.

"So sometimes you gotta change things up a little bit. I don't know, I hope, but I gotta tell you, I live in Los Angeles, I see a lot of good young bands that have their own followings, that they're playing to a packed 300-400-seat club you've never heard of."

How did that transition happen to you from a smaller band? I mean, you had a few albums, but to go from that to Guns N' Roses, how did that happen?

"Well, I'll tell you two quick ones. One of them is - I got the gig because Slash actually called me.

"When Izzy left the band, they were really worried about finding a guitar player to fit that mold because Slash was already established as the lead guitar player, and they needed somebody that could do what Izzy did, which was hard.

"So it was a short list but it was a hard list. [The Rolling Stones guitarist] Ron Wood was on that list! So Slash called me - obviously, I said yes. I came down the next date, I jam with them, I came down a couple more days, and they didn't say a word, we just literally played a few songs.

"And this is the truest story ever - he called me on a Monday, and by the next Monday I literally was watching MTV - which was always on in our apartment, but the sound was never on - just the TV was on, and I was on the phone with my friend.

"And I looked up, and I saw my picture on MTV, which was good news. And I look up and I caught it at the end of it and stuff. It was announcing who the new guitar player of GN'R was.

"And literally, the next phone call beeping through was Slash telling me that I got the gig and that we're leaving next week."

Back then Axl would just call out songs, there was no setlist?

"No setlist, yeah. I had to learn every song in the catalog because you literally did not know what he was going to call out that night. And also, if you've ever heard Axl's speaking voice, he speaks in a very low quiet tone. Even though he sings in that high pitch, he speaks in a low tone.

"And live on stage, the amps were so loud - I mean, the hiss was unbearable, and he would walk up to whoever started the song. For me, I would start 'Don't Cry,' and so he'd walk up to me, 'Don't Cry,' and I go into it.

"But sometimes I'd go, 'Did he say 'You Could Be Mine'?' I literally couldn't hear him, I was kind of guessing which one it was, and God forbid you start the wrong song. Even though he did have a fun spirit about him, he would think it's funny if I did start the wrong song...

"For me, I was really lucky in the sense that because I had to learn that set so quickly, all I cared about was learning the songs and playing, and not having cheat sheets up there.

"I want to be able to play it, let you know how it is, with the confidence that Izzy had up there. So I really wasn't thinking about the 25,000 people in the audience, I was really thinking about making sure Slash and Axl didn't hear me playing wrong notes."

I was gonna say that an immediate upgrade in pussy quantity and quality was probably insane. But then also I'm wondering - when you're a club man, you're actually at that moment much more accessible to people that would want to fuck you. When you're in arenas, a lot of times, especially if the band, I know some of the bands get off stage and they are beeline for the bus and the party's kind of over.

"But GN'R had that great thing because they were always late on stage, so they used to do this thing and they had cameras focused on the audience, and the girls were always flipping their tops off, and it would entertain the audience.

"When GN'R was like an hour late and everything, people would go around and girls would flip their shirts up. But what was funny, and what you didn't really see, is when they did that, there was one of our crew members putting a backstage pass on it because we were backstage watching the same TV and going, 'No, the blonde one. No, not that one, that one!'"

https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/gilby_clarke_talks_why_izzy_stradlin_quit_guns_n_roses__what_the_guitarist_didnt_like_about_the_band.html

*

Gilby Clarke Explains Why He Refused Guest Appearance on Guns N' Roses Reunion Tour, Talks What Made Him 'Little Pissed Off' Upon Joining Band

Asked about the Guns reunion, the musician replied:

"They didn't ask me to join the band - they asked me to come out and do a guest appearance with the band.

"And it just happened to be the day that I was in Chicago with my daughter. Her band was playing Lollapalooza [in July 2016]. And I'm actually her roadie.

"I don't think anybody would know how to tune the guitar if I wasn't there - just kidding - but yeah, it was just bad timing.

"I just said, 'Look, I think it's a great idea. I'm up for it. I just can't do it today.' And they literally asked me that day. And I never heard back from them after I said that."

Is it true you only had a week to learn the entire GN'R catalog when you first joined the band?

"That's true. They told me on a Monday - 'You have the gig,' and the next week we were flying to Boston for our first show, and I literally had a week.

"And remember, this is before YouTube. I was glued to their records with the headphones on, trying to learn the catalog. And the last song I learned was a song called 'Estranged,' which was a really long ballad piece.

"And if you listen to it, it's kind of one-dimensional guitar-wise - it really just features Slash. So I was listening to it, and I really couldn't figure out what I should do in that song. So I went to Dizzy [Reed, keyboards].

"I go, 'Hey, man, can you sit down with me, and let's work on 'Estranged.'' I go, 'I just wanna kind of figure it out.' And he goes, 'Oh, well, here's the music book.'

"And he handed me the music book - and I went, 'There's a music book? I just spent a week learning every note by ear when I could have just grabbed the freakin' music book...'

"I mean, I read charts - it would have taken me an hour. I was a little pissed off that I didn't ask. They could have offered it to me."

https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/gilby_clarke_explains_why_he_refused_guest_appearance_on_guns_n_roses_reunion_tour_talks_what_made_him_little_pissed_off_upon_joining_band.html