2009.02.01 - Gilby Clarke Forum - Q & A with Gilby

[Blackstar]

When are we going to see a new solo cd?

I was hoping to start on it the first of the year... but i just don't have enough songs yet. I've always said "when i have 10 good songs it's time to start a new record." With that being said, there aren't 10 good ones yet.

What projects are you currently working on?

I did a lot of producing last year... Silent Rage, Crash Kelly, The Alarm & Motochrist. I also have a new band with Eric Dover, Steve Perkins & Daniel Schulman doing 70's era glam songs called "Halloween Jack". We play every Wednesday at the Dragonfly in Hollywood.

Have you heard Chinese Democracy and what do you think of it?

Yes, I listened to it on my a long drive to Phoenix, AZ... I think it's very good & very imaginative. Axl vocals sound great and there's some creative guitar playing on it also. But there was too many slow to mid- tempo songs on it for my taste and some of the solos are a lil' overdone, they don't match the song. Some of the lyrics are a lil' redundant. I expected some resolution since its taken so long.

If you could work with any 10 singers (still alive) and cover 10 of their songs - which singers and songs would you pick?

Most of the singers I like are past their prime...

What input did you have into the Greatest Hits tracklist?

It was a compromise... Ii picked some and the record company picked some. I change my opinion of my favourite songs from time to time.

Do you have any plans to perform/tour with any other bands... like you did with Heart?

Things like Heart come up every now and then, but my style is unique and I have to be very careful who I play with. That's why I prefer to do my own shows. You would think there are lots of guitar jobs open, but there aren't... especially ones that pay well.

What has kept you from realize two of your dreams, which are (a) playing with the Stones and (b) make a blues record?

The blues record is still ongoing... but the Stones have two very capable guitar players, but should one of them not be able to perform... I'm ready!

Have any fan who talked to you or anything he/she did drawn your attention to it somehow? If so, what was that?

aAll the time... Music is about making a connection and if you can't do that, you better find another gig. I've had people come up to me and talk about old songs I haven't played in awhile and it does make a difference. That's what its all about.

Do you have any special recommendations for your daughter about those who write or talk to her about you?

She's in high school now, so she can handle herself in those situations. She's her own person and has some creative ideas.

Best/Worst GNR memory?

Best was playing the Freddy Mercury Tribute concert, I really felt part of something greater than the band. Worst was when Axl came up to me at the last GNR show in Argentina and said it was nice knowing you...

Are there any songs of yours or covers you've attempted live that you felt didn't work?

Yeah, I get requests to play "Shut Up" from Pawnshop Guitars and it doesn't translate well live...

Of course you are a very kind person, but does your kindness to fans has also anything to do with that episode with Chrissie Hynde, back in the 80's?

Some of you know me too well... Absolutely, Chrissie Hynde was very rude to me when I went up and said hello to her at a bar. I wasn't trying to pick up on her or tell her how great she was... I just wanted to say hello and I liked their record. And she told me to fuck off!I swore I'd never be like that... it made me realize that you can like peoples music and not them, they are separate.

In "November rain" making of, you said you have done a lot of videos. Can you name some (beside GnR's, Cure me... Tijuana Jail, Michael Jackson's Give into me Fall out Boy's and Whatever happen... )? I'd like to find them!...

You pretty much got em all, except Kill For Thrills "Brother's Eyes & Commercial Suicide" plus in Candy we made a couple commercials too.

In "Estranged" making of, you say you guys didn't know how to act; but you did act in the Fall Out Boy video "I Don't Care", and have recently considered to act in a movie. What made you changed your mind, was is "Rockstar Supernova" show and the things you?ve learned from that?

That's nice to say, but I can't act... but I do enjoy trying... Rockstar Supernova showed me that expressing my opinions on camera wasn't so hard and whether people agreed with me or not, I had a valid opinion.

What's the story behind each tattoo of yours?

GNR tattoo was just covering up a bad tattoo I got earlier, the lion was cuz I'm a leo, the werewolf on a Harley is cuz Ii'm a werewolf on a Harley, and the Col Parker one was cuz' we all got one at the same time and I recently got my panhead engine tattoo'd in Argentina.

What upsets you (beside attorneys)

Dishonest people, people who don't say what they mean & people that don't do what they say..

What makes you cry (besides probably Frankie...)

C'mon, I dont cry I'm a rock!

And what came to be a big deception for you? (if there is anything in this world that can take the smile off of your face!...)

Lots of things make me sad... I think the world has changed for the worse. People in general just don't give a shit anymore, no one has an opinion about anything important. You need to participate in life, don't be a passenger, be the driver.

I have lots of pics of you, and in all the old ones you have black/brown eyes, but when I met you in Sao Paulo, you had blue eyes, like all the recent photos; were dark colours just an illumination thing, I mean, are your eyes real blue?

I have blue eyes, always have...

Do you believe in star signs? What's the exact hour of your birth?

It's not that I don't believe, I just don't know anything about them. I think I was born around 10pm at night.

What was the day of Daniella?s birth?

2/14. Yes, Valentine's Day

Have you ever went to Nazareth, where Daniella was born?

No, we have never been to Israel. We're planning on going next year, on Frankie's 16th birthday.

Who had the idea to leave footprints on your uncle's car after wash it: you or Dean?

Sorry, I don't remember, but i was always the naughty one.

To whom is addressed the song "shut up", and what is that "what" about?

Shut Up was to some old girlfriends, no one in peticular... back then girls always wanted commitments. The "what" at the end of Pawnshop Guitars was when Daniella told me she was pregnant. I was recording a vocal and she came in. They were still recording, she told me and I said "what." We decided to keep it on the record.

Have you ever notice how similar is a part of Supernova?s "Underdog" (from 19 to 21 sec) to a part of Nazareth's "Shanghai, Shanghai"

No, I've had that riff around for a long time... that happens every now n then. Cure Me or Kill Mme riff is also a lot like Big Eyes from Cheap Trick, purely unintentional...

(2'05'')? Are you guys from Supernova influenced by this band?

No, not at all.

You said you played a style of music that was the same Izzy played; why haven't you record anything with him?

I haven't seen or spoken with Izzy in a long time. i never thought of it.

If you could work with any 10 singers (still alive) and cover 10 of their songs - which singers and songs would you pick?

Wow, how about 3? Rod Stewart - Every Picture Tells A Story, Steven Tyler - Train Kept A Rollin, David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust.

Are you more likely to write when you are at a high point or a low point in your life? Does it matter?
It doesn't matter, but songs come out better when your at a low point. I seem to be deeper in thought when things aren't going my way. When things are going my way, I smell the roses...

The name of your dog has anything to do with the chopperdogs??

No, i wanted to name Frankie "Chopper", but Daniella didn't think it was very ladylike. Frankie always names the pets, and since Chopper is my dog, I got to name him (they will argue, who's dog it is).