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And what about the other instruments? Do you practice
a lot? Do you take lessons?
NO LESSONS... I HAVE BEEN PLAYING THE GUITAR SINCE I WAS 7... THE LESSON
THING ENDED A LONG TIME AGO... AS FOR OTHER INSTRUMENTS THE ONLY OTHER
THINGS I PLAY ARE BASS, A LITTLE PIANO(NOT MUCH), AND DRUMS...
You also produce your albums. Isn't
it difficult to do everything yourself? Don't you sometimes miss the advice
of other people?
HELL NO.... I HATE UNSOLICITED ADVICE... THATS THE WORST.... NOTHING WORSE
THAN BEING INSPIRED AND FEELING CREATIVE AND THEN HAVING SOME DUMB ASS
BEHIND YOU THROW OUT SOME LAME IDEA AND THEN START TO ARGUE WITH YOU ABOUT
WHY YOU NEED TO LISTEN TO IT.... I HAVE FRIENDS LIKE THAT... USUALLY I
DONT TELL THEM WHEN IM GOING TO THE STUDIO
Do you plan on touring for supporting
this new album?
YES, I LEAVE ON THE 28TH OF SEPT FOR SOUTH AMERICA, THEN ITS JAPAN, THEN
SPAIN, THEN THE UK, THEN ITALY
If so, do you already have a band?
THIS TIME IM GOING OUT WITH PAT TORPEY ON DRUMS AND PHIL SOUSSAN ON BASS
Do you plan to tour Europe? Any chance
to see you live in France?
WE HAVE DATES IN SPAIN (SEE RICHIE KOTZEN.COM), THERE
WILL BE SOMETHING IN ITALY...NO PLAN FOR FRANCE AS WE SPEAK BUT THAT MAY
CHANGE AS WELL
Your solo discography is pretty impressive.
How did you find the time to record all these discs? Do you record at
home?
I STARTED MAKING RECORDS WHEN I WAS 18 AND I AVERAGED A CD A YEAR... SOMETIMES
MORE THAN ONE IN A YEAR... I DO NOT RECORD AT HOME ANYMORE...
IN 2002 I BOUGHT A COMMERCIAL BUILDING IN LOS ANGELES CALIFORNIA. I REMODELED
THE LOCATION AND IT IS NOW MY RECORDING STUDIO. ITS CALLED HEADROOM-INC...
THAT IS WHERE I DO ALL MY NEW RECORDINGS
What kind of guitar do you use? Do
you have a favorite one? Or do you just have plenty of them?
I HAVE MY OWN SIGNATURE MODEL GUITAR WITH FENDER
IT IS SOLD IN THE UK AND JAPAN... THIS IS THE GUITAR I USE WHEN I GO OUT
ON TOUR AND WHEN IM IN THE STUDIO.... IT IS A TELECASTER STYLE GUITAR
WITH SOME CUSTOM CHANGES
You played with major hard rock bands
in the past; do you have any plans of joining another great famous band?
NO PLANS BUT YOU NEVER KNOW...
You are associated with the hard
rock scene, but when we listen to your music, we can feel very strong
blues influences. This feature appears once again on your last album.
Which style do you prefer?
THATS A STRANGE ONE... I AGREE WITH YOU... MY SOLO RECORDS ARE NOT WHAT
I CONSIDER HARD ROCK... I DONT THINK ANY OF MY RECORDS ARE HARD ROCK....
I GUESS BECAUSE I HAVE LONG HAIR AND PLAYED IN HARD ROCK BANDS PEOPLE
LUMP ME IN WITH THAT CROWD BUT MY AUDIENCE KNOWS WHAT IM ABOUT SO IT DOESNT
MATTER TO ME
Do you consider yourself as a shredder?
I know you don't really show off when playing the guitar, like Yngwie
does, but do you nonetheless like when guitars go fast?
IT DOESNT MATTER TO ME... FAST SLOW.... WHAT EVER... IT REALLY DEPENDS
ON WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THE MUSIC IF A FAST GUITAR SOUNDS GOOD OVER THE
CHANGES THEN COOL IF IT SOUNDS OUT OF PLACE THEN ITS WRONG... I KNOW I
ALSO GET THE SHREDDER LABEL AS WELL.... I GUESS IF SOMEONE LISTENED TO
GET UP AND WALKED AWAY THINKING I WAS A SHREDDER THEN THATS WHAT THEY
THINK.... I THINK THEY WOULD BE WRONG BUT REALLY WHO GIVES A FUCK...SHREDDER,
SLOW HAND,THERE ALL JUST SILLY LABELS
Many people praise your qualities
as a songwriter. This is really obvious when we listen to your solo albums.
They are never boring, just good songs with cool solos, no never ending
15 minutes songs with blazing solos. Where do you get your inspiration?
Do you listen to a lot of music?
THANKS FOR THE COMPLIMENT ABOUT MY SONGS... THATS VERY NICE OF YOU...
ITS JUST MUSIC... I LOVE THE CREATIVE PROCESS.... WRITING A SONG, GOING
IN TO THE STUDIO, PLAYING IT LIVE, ALL THAT STUFF... I AM INSPIRED TO
WRITE SONGS BY LIFE AND THINGS I GO THROUGH OR THINGS PEOPLE I KNOW GO
THROUGH
AS FOR MUSIC I LISTEN TO.... USUALLY ITS SOMETHING OLD.... LATELY IVE
BEEN INTO CURTIS MAYFIELD A LOT.... I GO THROUGH FAZES
Though I like your songwriter side,
I truly appreciate the instrumental track 'Chype fluxx', that appears
on the disc 'Guitars That Rule The World'. Do you remember that song?
What are your memories in the writing and recording of it?
LONG TIME AGO... I DID THAT ON MY OLD 8 TRACK RECORDER.... I HAVENT HEARD
IT IN A WHILE.... I THINK THERE WAS A LOT OF WANG BAR STUFFF ON THAT TRACK....
I STOPPED USING THE WANG BAR IN 1992
Who are the guitarists that you appreciate?
Do you listen to other guitarists' records?
NOT REALLY IM NOT A FAN OF THE WHOLE INSTRUMENTAL GUITAR THING.... I APPRECIATE
IF SOMEONE IS A GOOD PLAYER BUT I CANT GET THROUGH MORE THAN TWO OR THREE
SONGS ON A RECORD... MOST OF THOSE RECORDS SOUND LIKE THE SAME THING OVER
AND OVER AFTER A WHILE AND SOUNDS MADDENING.... AS FOR GUITAR PLAYERS
OBVIOUSLY I LIKE THE GUYS THAT INFLUENCED ME AS A KID... VAN HALEN, HENDRIX,
CLAPTON.... AS FOR NEW GUYS..... NO.... I DONT REALY KNOW OF ANY GUTARISTS
IN MODERN MUSIC... THERE ARE NO SOLOS IN THE ROCK SONGS THEY PLAY HERRE
IN LOS ANGELES.... SUCH A SHAME
I'm always interested in knowing
about the opinion of good musicians about the music nowadays. Are there
some current bands that you dig? What are the last CD's that you bought?
DONT KNOW ABOUT ANY GOOD MUSICIANS.... IF THEY EXIST THEY ARE HIDING THEM
SELVES UNDER A PILE OF MESA BOOGIE FUZZ.... AT LEAST THATS HOW I FEEL
ABOUT THE ROCK SIDE OF THINGS... OBVIOUSLY THEYRE ARE GREAT NEW MUSICIANS
IN OTHER STYLES.... AS FOR BANDS I DIG.... I LIKE THE WHITE STRIPES...
THERE IS A REALLY GOOD GUITAR PLAYER VERY GOOD PLAYER.... I LIKE THE DARKNESS
A LOT
Are you still in touch with your
fellow musicians of older bands? Do you listen to their solo release?
If so, what do you think of them?
THE ONLY PERSON I AM IN TOUCH WITH FROM MY OTHER BANDS IS PAT TORPEY AND
ONCE IN A WHILE BILLY AND I WILL TALK ON THE PHONE... I HEARD A SMALL
BIT OF BILLYS RECORD AND I WAS IMPRESSED....PAT MADE A FEW SOLO RECORDS
AS WELL... HE IS REALLY INTO THE WHOLE SONGWRITING THING AND NOT JUST
BEATING ON THE DRUMS
What do you think of bands reunions?
Did you see Poison live these last years?
FUCK POISON
Apart music, do you have other occupation?
Reading, going to the movies, sports...?
NO I ONLY PLAY MUSIC... MY ONLY OTHER HOBBY IS BASKETBALL... I PLAY ALL
THE TIME WITH THESE GUYS I KNOW AND ITS FUNNY BECAUSE I AM THE WORST OUT
OF THE GROUP .... I NEVER KNOW WHAT IM DOING AND THEN SOMEHOW ILL MAKE
SOME SHOT THAT NO BODY EXPECTED... SLEEPING DRAGON
Your job as a musician made you travel
a lot. Do you have good memories from the countries that you visited?
Which are your favorites?
I LIKE JAPAN A LOT... I HAVE BEEN GOING THERE FOR 10 YEARS SO I FEEL LIKE
I KNOW IT BETTER THAN OTHER PLACES... I LIKE THE UK A GREAT DEAL AS WELL...
I HAVE MADE SOME NICE FRIENDS THERE
Do you speak any foreign language?
ENGLISH
I keep on sending e-mail to Paul
Gilbert in order to do an interview with him, but I get no answers. Could
you give me a hand and tell him to answer me?!?
I DONT KNOW HOW TO GET A HOLD OF HIM....IF HE IS NOT ANSWERING YOU THEN
EITHER HE IS NOT INTERESTED IN THE INTERVIEW OR MAYBE YOU DONT HAVE HIS
E MAIL ADDRESS.... I DONT HAVE IT EITHER SORRY I CANT HELP
Alright, thanx a lot for answering
these few questions, good luck with everything!
THANKS!!!!!SEE YA!!!!!!!!!
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