{"id":33508,"date":"2017-11-28T07:00:33","date_gmt":"2017-11-27T20:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/maytherockbewithyou.com\/mtrbwy\/?p=33508"},"modified":"2017-11-27T18:20:04","modified_gmt":"2017-11-27T07:20:04","slug":"gilby-clarke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maytherockbewithyou.com\/mtrbwy\/2017\/11\/gilby-clarke\/","title":{"rendered":"Gilby Clarke"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a> \u201cI try to be honest with my music it\u2019s the only way I know how to do it, I\u2019ve never as they say chased the tail I don\u2019t go \u2018I do it for my fans\u2019 I do it for me, I think it\u2019s important as an artist to be true to yourself, write the music that turns you on.\u201d<\/p>\n

From Release: Before joining the GN\u2019R circus, the guitarist bounced from the great Candy to his own, heartbreakingly ignored, big-riff quartet Kill for Thrills. Clarke has, along the way, toured, and\/or recorded with everyone from Nancy Sinatra to Heart to Gene Simmons to Slash\u2019s Snakepit. In between touring & recording he was making videos with not only GNR, but Michael Jackson & Slash when MTV was de rigueur. Perhaps you saw him starring alongside M\u00f6tley Cr\u00fce\u2019s Tommy Lee on Rockstar: Supernova or VH1 Honors with Rob Zombie, Slash & Ace Frehely?<\/p>\n

While in his recording studio we called Gilby Clarke for a chat about his upcoming Australian shows, new music, the years between music, producing, Butch Walker, Guns N Roses memories of Australia, and much more.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re heading back to Australia to see us, what can people expect at a Gilby Clarke show circa 2017?<\/strong>
\nRock and roll alive and well in 2017 *laughs* it\u2019s rock and roll I mean it may be no fashionable to talk about rock in 2017 but it is alive and well, we\u2019re not a metal band we\u2019re a rock band, loud guitars and I\u2019m screaming over it. The songs are good, a lot of my influences come from the early 70\u2019s type of rock, the Bad Company, Zeppelin, KISS, Aerosmith, that\u2019s kind of my thing, but even English stuff like David Bowie and Marc Bolan from T-Rex, that\u2019s all the stuff that really turns me on.<\/p>\n

You were last here in 2013, what do you remember about that first solo tour?<\/strong>
\nWow, *laughs* I don\u2019t really remember much to be honest, I mean those places were smaller venues and stuff but I mean we always have fun, what I remember then actually has nothing to do with music but I had the opportunity to rent a Harley and go for a ride around town, of course on a different side of the road for me, but that was my fondest memory was taking a little time and getting out on the bike and kind of seeing things.<\/p>\n

Like you said it was a small show but it was a rock and roll show and I loved it.<\/strong>
\nThank you, I mean that\u2019s what I try to do, I try to be honest with my music it\u2019s the only way I know how to do it, I\u2019ve never as they say chased the tail I don\u2019t go \u2018I do it for my fans\u2019 I do it for me, I think it\u2019s important as an artist to be true to yourself, write the music that turns you on. If people like it then you\u2019re all in it together and you\u2019ve got a gang you know? That\u2019s the way we approach the shows, if they don\u2019t see me as an honest performer up there playing and enjoying myself then they\u2019re not gonna smile they\u2019re gonna stand around or stare at their phone and look for something else to do. When we get out there, look, I\u2019m not the best singer in the world, I\u2019m not the best guitar player, but I can be the best performer that night and I do the best I can with what I have but I truly love rock and roll music, I love the vibe I love the groove I love the feeling of being in the room with other people that enjoy it, it\u2019s just so much fun.<\/p>\n

In terms of new music you said you\u2019re in there now and it\u2019s been a while since your last solo album, so what are the plans for new material?<\/strong>
\nWell you know what, yes you\u2019re right and I didn\u2019t even know it had been that long, 2003 was my last release, time just goes by and I don\u2019t know what happened I know back that when we did the Rockstar Supernova record that was a lot of music that I had planned for a new solo record and we kind of raided my catalogue for that record, but I can\u2019t make a record unless I think it\u2019s good, I\u2019m not prolific in the sense I write thirty songs and put ten on a record, I usually only write ten or twelve songs for a record, if it doesn\u2019t feel good I just toss it, I don\u2019t finish it and it doesn\u2019t mean anything to me. So when I\u2019ve got enough good songs that\u2019s when I make a record, so that being said the record is fairly done, I\u2019ve recorded everything I\u2019m just kind of tweaking and mixing and we don\u2019t have a set date, obviously because it\u2019s towards the end of the year it will have to be next year.<\/p>\n

I saw that Kenny Aronoff is playing drums, one of the best!<\/strong>
\nOh yeah, that\u2019s the great thing about being a solo artist is you get to have all your friends *laughs* you don\u2019t have a set band, but yeah I have Kenny Aronoff on drums, I have Steven Perkins from Jane\u2019s Addiction on drums, I have Matt Starr who plays with Mr Big on drums, my friend Morgan Young. My actual solo band is EJ Curse and Troy Patrick Farrell, they\u2019re on it, I even got Nikki Sixx playing bass on it *laughs* so it\u2019s got some real fun guys on it.<\/p>\n

How if in any way has the creative process changed for you throughout the years?<\/strong>
\nYou know what\u2019s changed for me throughout the years? I would like to say that I\u2019m getting better, I\u2019m a better writer, I\u2019m a better singer, I\u2019m a better guitar player, all these things is what\u2019s changed. I mean I still write from the same place I\u2019m a guitar player first so it usually starts with a riff or a groove, but I always try to just make it the best that it can be, if I have an idea usually right from an observers point of view I very rarely and usually my songs start with a question like \u2018what do you do?\u2019 they never start by making a statement, it\u2019s almost like a sense of discovery with me with songs, but just getting better to answer your question.<\/p>\n

I recently spoke to Matt of The Bronx and saw you produced their first album, and have continued to produce and engineer bands throughout your career, what\u2019s it like putting on the producer hat compared to being an artist?<\/strong>
\n*laughs* Well you know it\u2019s funny and that\u2019s a very good question because I\u2019ve been not struggling with it but I had to make a couple of executive decisions on this one. When I do put on the producer hat and I usually say when I\u2019m producing a band my job is to give you the ideas that you didn\u2019t think of, that\u2019s my job, I want to bring in the extra ideas, things that you didn\u2019t think of as a band and try to make it as good as we can, so when I\u2019m doing my stuff it\u2019s really task driven because it\u2019s always in my head beforehand, when I write a song I\u2019ve already got the drum beat, I\u2019ve already got the guitar part the bass part, it\u2019s just the way that I\u2019m built, I\u2019m just an arrangement freak it\u2019s like I hear all the stuff so I start doing it. What\u2019s really nice is when I get the contributions of a drummer or a bass player or a background singer and they always bring these great ideas and they\u2019re always my favourite part of the song when they can bring in the ideas. I always wonder if I had more collaboration that they would be better records you know? It\u2019s just the way I am, I just get in there and I attack it.<\/p>\n

I always like to ask when people have worked with Butch Walker, and you worked with him on the Supanova project\u2026<\/strong>
\nOh Butch is the best! *laughs* Now talk about prolific *laughs* I mean Butch is just one of those greatly talented guys, not only can he write, play guitar, perform, sing, but man he sings so well so most of are restricted with what we can do, I\u2019m certainly restricted on my records by what I can sing, but someone like Butch there\u2019s nothing he can\u2019t do you know? It just blows me away, every one of his songs is good *laughs* you never hear any clunkers in there you know?<\/p>\n

Did he give you any tips as a producer that you picked up and now use?<\/strong>
\nWow, you know that\u2019s interesting, let me think about that. You know now really, I mean we definitely worked well with each other because we were on the same page a lot, we didn\u2019t really bump heads at all we were definitely on the same page. I think what was odd for him was when we were working together you know he\u2019s a guitar player but in that band I was the guitar player so he would have an idea and he said \u201cOK here\u2019s the idea\u201d and he had to wait for me to do it when I\u2019m in that position all the time *laughs* like I give somebody a guitar idea and I\u2019ve gotta wait for them to do it when you know you can just knock it out in a second. You know I\u2019ve worked in his studio too and like I said I don\u2019t know if he\u2019s really shown me any new things as much as we were really always on the same page together.<\/p>\n

Is there one piece of advice you were given when you started playing music that you\u2019ve maintained and has stuck with you throughout the years that you still go back to to this day?<\/strong>
\nInteresting, yeah, it was be yourself, very, very early on I got some good advice of just be yourself, don\u2019t try to imitate other people and stuff, make sure you carve your own niche, and when I got the call for the GnR gig, that was a real strange thing for me, because number one I was just starting my own thing we just made the \u2018Kill for Thrills\u2019 record and I was just about to start a second one and I was just starting to make my niche when that choice to join a huge band *laughs* and when I got that call, replacing Izzy was a big job to do, Izzy was an extremely important part of that band, and we all are kind of the same guy we all have that Stone influence, some people could even say we look alike and stuff but it was really important for me to be myself and I had to make that decision. Look I\u2019m gonna be myself I\u2019m a little louder than Izzy and they\u2019re either gonna like it or they don\u2019t but you know what? If I\u2019m gonna go down I\u2019m gonna go down being myself, and I went the long way around the question but that\u2019s it.<\/p>\n

Speaking of Guns N Roses, next year will be 25 years since you were in Australia with the band, now I was at the Calder Park gig in Melbourne and it was amazing, what do you remember about that tour?<\/strong>
\nWow, I mean I have a lot of great memories about that tour, I mean number one my wife got to go with me and we spent like a week up in the Cairns area and went to some wildlife habitats so I have a lot of stuff off the music thing there that I really enjoyed. I think we met some really nice people that almost had nothing to do with Guns N Roses that would show us around town and stuff like that and Bondi beach and I just got that feeling that people were genuine there, they all had like good hearts and they just wanted to have a good time and it didn\u2019t matter that we were in a famous band or not.<\/p>\n

Over your career you\u2019ve done a lot so far but is there anything that tops your list of things to do you haven\u2019t yet had the chance to do?<\/strong>
\nOh yeah there\u2019s so many thing, I really like and we\u2019ve been doing this thing with Kings of Chaos and there\u2019s another band here called Royal Machines which are kind of like all-star bands and I\u2019ve really been enjoying it because you really get to work with some great artists and you really get to be yourself and some of these guys that don\u2019t really know you, I always feel like in Kings of Chaos I\u2019m always the low guy on the ladder there which is OK but when I get to work with Billy Gibbons and get to sit down and play guitar with just Billy Gibbons and talk to him and hear his great stories about Jimi Hendrix and Jeff Beck I mean these are things I really, really enjoy doing. I never wanted to be guitar for dollars but I really like those kinds of collaborations, I mean I don\u2019t know anybody that would say they didn\u2019t want to do it *laughs* but those are things I really enjoy doing and hope to do more of.<\/p>\n

Lastly let\u2019s look ahead to the future, finish this sentence for me, in 2018 Gilby Clarke will\u2026<\/strong>
\nWow, will be back on the charts *laughs* I don\u2019t know what charts but I want to get back on the charts, I\u2019ll have a new record and I want to be back on the charts again.<\/p>\n

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Gilby Clarke Australian Tour Dates
\n<\/strong>Thursday 30th November – Crowbar –\u00a0Brisbane
\n<\/strong>Friday 1st Dec – Cherry Bar –\u00a0Melbourne
\n<\/strong>Saturday 2nd Dec \u2013 The Basement –\u00a0Canberra
\n<\/strong>Sunday 3rd Dec \u2013 Frankie\u2019s\u00a0– Sydney<\/strong><\/p>\n

With the final show at Frankie\u2019s in Sydney being a huge party in celebration of their 5th birthday.\u00a0\u2013 FREE ENTRY<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tickets on sale now via:\u00a0<\/strong>www.hardlinemedia.net<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

VIP meet and greets available
\n<\/strong>Once in a lifetime chance to get to meet an important member of from Guns N Roses history.
\nWatch soundcheck
\nMeet Gilby
\n3 personal items signed
\nVIP laminate
\nTour poster
\nOnly 20 VIP available at each show<\/p>\n

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Essential Information<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

From:<\/strong>\u00a0Los Angeles, CA, USA<\/p>\n

Website:<\/strong>\u00a0http:\/\/www.gilbyclarke.com<\/a><\/p>\n

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