Tag: features

Admired for the iconic phase-shifter solo on Chuck Mangione’s 1978 smash “Feels So Good,” Grant Geissman can today look back on a successful career as a solo artist and sideman. His latest album, Blooz, interprets the blues idiom with a variety of styles and guests like Robben Ford, Josh Smith, Joe Bonamassa, and John Jorgenson.

You learned guitar during some of jazz’s peak years – but rock and roll was rising fast.
The first time I noticed that guitars were cool was from an older kid with a surf-music band; I distinctly remember the sun glinting off the chrome of his Fender Jaguar. Then the Beatles came, and that was it: I begged my parents for a guitar so I could somehow be a part of that incredible musical happening. Within a couple years, I had graduated to teachers who were more jazz-based, like Jerry Hahn, and started to learn jazz chords and improvisation.

How do you merge blues and jazz on Blooz?
I’m embracing the blues genre, but also defying it in some ways. For example, in a jazz-blues there are chord substitutions that move a straight-up blues into jazz, like using II-V progressions and tri-tone substitutions. I used some of that in tunes like “Stranger Danger.” As long as the tunes were bluesy in some way, I let them go where they wanted to go, harmonically.

In your jam with John Jorgenson on “Whitewalls and Big Fins,” you play more of a country blues.

The first time I heard country picking on a Telecaster was on “Tiger By the Tail” by Buck Owens, with that Bakersfield sound. And George Harrison was channeling rockabilly guitar on “Act Naturally” and “Honey Don’t,” which I also loved. I wrote the melody to “Whitewalls and Big Fins,” but John created all his own harmony parts on it, the way he used to do with the Hellecasters.

On “One G and Two J’s,” you’re going toe-to-toe with two top aces.
I met Josh Smith and Joe Bonamassa by hanging around at Norman’s Rare Guitars, which is a nexus for this album in many ways. Joe was so busy that I was wondering if it was actually going to happen, but he found a window of time and overdubbed his part at Josh’s studio.

Which guitars did you use on the album?
All vintage – a ’66 Epiphone Riviera, ’65 SG, ’58 Esquire, and a ’54 Les Paul. The cover shot is a blond ’53 ES-5, which was just a beautiful image.

What about the liner-notes picture of those tweed amps?
I brought three amps to the sessions – a ’56 Harvard, ’59 Vibrolux, and a tweed Blues Junior I got about 25 years ago. The Blues Junior ended up sounding best for this album, and I used it throughout.

Which effects do we hear?
Most of the project is straight into the amp after a volume pedal, but on “Whitewalls and Big Fins” I used an Electro-Harmonix Soul Food, and on “Carlos En Siete” and “One G and Two J’s” I used a Hermida Zendrive. My strings are all Ernie Ball Hybrid Slinkys.

Take us back to 1978, when “Feels So Good” was blowing up the pop charts. What was life like for you?
I first played with Chuck in November, 1976, and very soon after he asked me to join his band. I remember some of the earliest gigs in upstate New York, driving around in Chuck’s old brown station wagon with gear in the back. We recorded “Feels So Good” in August ’77, and soon after, the travel arrangements started getting much better, with nicer hotels. Hearing that tune as a radio hit was very exciting.

What did you use to record it?
The guitar was a ’68 Gibson L-5 direct to the board through a script-logo MXR Phase 90. Engineer Mick Guzauski added a bit of delay when mixing.

There must have been some big gigs.
That band did all the major TV shows, like Johnny Carson’s “Tonight Show” and “Midnight Special,” so we were high-profile, especially for a jazz-oriented band. It was great to get to play improvised solos every night for good-sized crowds. The downside was that we were on the road nine months a year, and there were lots of one-nighters, meaning very early trips to the airport and not knowing what city you were in half the time. But those days were a very special, magical time.

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This article originally appeared in VG’s December 2022 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

There are a lot of retro bands, but few get the sonics correct. Hailing from central Canada, The Sheepdogs conjure an authentic vintage sound right down to guitar tones once lost to history. Their latest, Outta Sight, is a time-machine ride to the days of the Doobies, Lizzy, T. Rex, and the ABB. Frontman Ewan Currie shared the guitar-grooming tips behind the Sheepdogs’ hairy sound.

“Find the Truth” has a perfect ’70s vibe. How do you nail that kind of authenticity?
I don’t really listen to much music beyond 1979; I’m firmly in love with the sonics of the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s. Not just the sounds and tones, but the style of songwriting and guitar playing. We use a lot of old guitars and amps, but also some modern equipment. A lot of that old vibe comes from the songwriting and way we play and sing.

What is the music scene like in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan?
The scene we came up in had a lot of punk and alt-rock/indie bands doing original songs, and roadhouse-blues cover bands on the other end of the spectrum. We’d spend Friday nights drinking beers and listening to Led Zeppelin and Creedence, but we couldn’t find any bar bands playing the sort of music we dug, so we just basically started the Sheepdogs to be that band. More than the sounds around us, it was the absence of what we liked that drove us.

There’s overdrive on your guitars, but not too much.
A guitar tone that’s just breaking up is a beautiful thing. We’ve gone through a lot of amps to find that perfect combo of the clean/dirty thing. I’m quite fond of little amps – Fender Champs, Princetons, even this ’50s Gibson lap-steel amp I found; just plug in and dime it. I remember reading that John Fogerty lamented his lack of a searing blues tone in his early CCR days; to me that’s crazy. His tone on those records is almost the holy grail for me.

Were guitars on “Waiting for Your Call” recorded direct?
Yes, those are DI, and we did a fair amount of that on this record. “Scarborough Street Fight” and “So Far Gone” are DI, as well. When you crank those [mixer] preamps, you just get this awesome fuzzed-out tone we describe as “’70s sci-fi guitars.” I think we got into that because we were trying to get the guitar tone that Hot Chocolate had on “Everyone’s A Winner.”

“So Far Gone” has echoes of “Lay Down Sally.” How do you get that twin-guitar Tulsa sound?
J.J. Cale is the big influence. You start with the Acetone drum machine, which is what J.J. used, and then it’s about that guitar shuffle, and not overplaying. I’ve listened to so much J.J. Cale in the last few years that playing a shuffle is my go-to almost every time I pick up the guitar.

What gear did you use on Outta Sight?
I’ve been playing two ’73 Les Paul Customs for the last few years, and I just got a brand new Custom Shop ’64 ES-335 that has become my new favorite. I have a ’74 Les Paul Deluxe with the mini-humbuckers when I want to feel like I’m in Thin Lizzy. As for amps, I’ve mostly used a pair of Silvertone 1484s. They’re cheaply made, but super rockin’. I’ve also used a Supro Big Star and an amp made by our front-of-house tech, Marc Crain. He got into amp building over the pandemic and made this ripping lil’ Princeton knockoff with a boost.

For pedals, I just have an Ibanez overdrive for a little extra juice on a solo or riff, and a tuner. My dream is to plug straight into the amp, but I’m not there yet.

How do you divide up the solos?
I take probably 20 percent of the solos. Our new guitarist is Ricky Paquette, who is a bit of a guitar hero and can really take solos that explode into the stratosphere. I’m more a change-of-pace soloist, and we do a lot of harmonies and coordinated interplay.

The Sheepdogs’ sound seems custom-made for live performance?
Live is where we shine, and I think folks are pleasantly surprised when they see us for the first time. We’ve been playing with this band for 18 years. My brother, Shamus, plays keys and the rest of these guys might as well be my brothers – it’s a real family vibe that I hope strikes the perfect mix of tight, yet loose. What sets us apart from a lot of other bands is that all five of us sing together, which is an unbeatable combination.

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This article originally appeared in VG’s December 2022 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

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Ray Edenton, acknowledged rhythm-guitar master of Nashville’s A-Team, died September 21 at his home in Goodlettsville, Tennessee. He was 95, and retired in 1991, after over 15,000 sessions.

“There was Ray playin’ rhythm, and there was everybody else,” said fellow A-Team guitarist and former Mercury Records Nashville producer Jerry Kennedy. “I hated to do a session without him. Unfortunately, he played in a situation where (rhythm guitar) was not noticed as much as everything else, but boy, was it felt!”

A native of rural Mineral, Virginia, Edenton’s family loved square dances. One brother played guitar, another played piano. Edenton learned guitar, bass, and mandolin. Music, however, was a hobby; he drove a truck and dug wells locally before joining the Army during World War II.

Edenton returned to Virginia following his 1946 discharge. After two years playing regionally with the Rodeo Rangers, he relocated to Richmond in ’48 to play upright bass with Joe Maphis’ band, the Korn Krackers, on WRVA radio.

Arriving at Knoxville’s WNOX in ’49, he became friendly with Chet Atkins, then was one of the station’s star performers before playing his first recording session, backing local singer Red Kirk.

After battling tuberculosis for more than two years, Edenton moved to Nashville in ’52 and became a Grand Ole Opry staff musician. His first studio work came in ’53; deciding to specialize in acoustic-rhythm guitar, he outfitted his archtops (including an L-5) with heavy-gauge strings.

Since not all early-’50s Nashville records included drummers, he devised a percussive snare-drum effect that enhanced the Red Foley/Kitty Wells hit “One By One,” something he’d replicate behind other artists.

At other times, he toured with Opry stars Webb Pierce and Marty Robbins; with Robbins, Edenton recorded a ’54 vocal duet as “Ray and Roy” and played the memorable amplified break on Robbins’ ’56 hit “Singing the Blues.”

Edenton did some of his most memorable work with the Everly Brothers. Playing his L-5 with a high G string (an idea he picked up from Atkins), he and Don Everly strummed the aggressive intros Don devised for “Bye, Bye Love,” “Wake Up, Little Susie” and “Bird Dog.” Other producers quickly hired him to play similar licks.

As the smoother “Nashville Sound” style took hold in the late ’50s, an A-Team guitar trifecta dominated many sessions; Hank Garland generally handled the jazzier work, Grady Martin tackled funkier solos, and Harold Bradley handled rhythm and tic-tac bass.

After the tragic 1961 car crash that ended Garland’s career, Bradley took the jazz chair. Edenton became the rhythm specialist and, at long last, a full-time session player accompanying country, pop, and even rock acts.

When a song required amplified rhythm, he played three-note “chink” chords, using only one instrument – a one-of-a-kind black Gretsch prototype given to him by Atkins. He added lighter strings and replaced the original pickups with two custom-wound by Ray Butts.

Ray Edenton Plays Uptown Country Music, his only solo LP, featured his fleet, amplified flatpicking on a set of instrumentals. He played on jazz vibraphonist Gary Burton’s 1967 Tennessee Firebird album, and on Neil Young’s 1978 album, Comes a Time.

Singer Connie Smith fondly remembered Edenton, who accompanied her on many sessions, including her earliest recordings in ’64.

“The A Team guys were kind of royal figures,” she explained. “Ray was a part of that upper echelon, but he was really just a down-to-earth guy with lots of love in his heart for the music and the people who made it. His playing was so steady and solid. That’s a pretty good description of the kind of person he was.”

Marty Stuart, Smith’s husband, met Edenton in ’73, when he was a 14-year-old member of bluegrass great Lester Flatt’s band, the Nashville Grass. At a session, Flatt asked Stuart to lead the musicians, Edenton included, into a song. Feeling nervous, he was unsure how to proceed.

“Ray must have seen the fear in my eyes, because he came over and talked to me, and told me how to do what Lester asked,” Stuart recalled. “He was so kind. From that moment on, we were friends. l loved him. Ray was so cool.

“The rhythm guys never got the attention that Grady Martin or the steel or fiddle cats got,” Stuart added. “But there’s no doubt that all of the lead (guitar) hounds would be the first to tell you that Ray Edenton’s right hand was often the glue and the heartbeat of the song.
“Go listen to The Osborne Brothers recording of ‘Son of a Sawmill Man’ and you’ll find the genius of Ray Edenton waiting on you right there in the grooves of that record. He was a treasure.”

Jerry Kennedy agrees. “Any accolades we could lay on that man, he deserves every one of ’em.”

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This article originally appeared in VG’s December 2022 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

Chicago resident Steve Knight’s first album, Persistence, takes listeners back to the days of warm jazz-guitar tones, popular tunes, group interaction, and feel. With inspired accompaniment from drummer Jeff Stitely and bassist Justin Peterson, Knight intersects hard bop, pop, and the blues. Persistence is an intimate record; more importantly, there’s joy, exquisite use of space, and alluring harmonic sophistication.

Were there specific themes you wanted to explore with Persistence?
I wanted the album to be a sample of what it sounds like to come out to see us live. There are a lot of projects out there where they’re really excited to make the music of someone else, but that’s not where you make your reputation. I wanted an album that sounded like what we sound like live – an eclectic mix of the stuff audiences like, but also what we like. A lot of jazz musicians make music for other musicians to enjoy, and that’s great, but accessibility was important to me. Pop and contemporary tunes that people know are important to me.

The idea of making original music is great, which is why I have seven original tracks on the album, but I also like to have bread crumbs for the average listener who wants to know, “How do I get into this?” It’s not that people aren’t into jazz; it’s that there’s a packaging problem. It’s not that people aren’t into the music, it’s that for new people, there’s no way in.

How was the experience to record as a trio?
We have a hidden treasure in Chicago, with Ken Christianson of Pro Musica Audio. He has an amazing biography – started off as a high-end audio guy then began to work with True Stereo Recordings. He became the engineer of choice for bassist Charlie Haden, among other people, so he and Charlie have a huge discography together. He likes the sound of instruments in the room. He’s not looking for the cleanest, most-perfect take, he’s looking for the spirit of the sound of the room. There’s a mic on the drums, amp, and bass, and we’re all sitting in the room together. You get that bleed. You hear a hint of the guitar in the background of the drum track. The sound is incredible. Ken is the modern equivalent of the Rudy Van Gelder Blue Note sound.

How did you come to jazz?
I started playing guitar because I wanted to meet girls and I was bad at sports. In high school, I was playing Clapton tunes. When I went to college in Kansas, I was a theater major, and it became known that I was a guitar player; I was the 18-year-old guy who’d bring his guitar to parties like in Animal House (laughs). Then, the theater department put me in the pit orchestra for musicals. The music department needed a big band guitarist, and I could read charts. At the time, I thought George Benson was soft. If it didn’t have distortion, what was the point? I laugh now because Benson is it for me.

The first guy I heard was Russell Malone on Jazz At The Bistro, with Benny Green. It lit me up because this guy was playing a lot of guitar. I got into Monk, and right after that, the Ken Burns Jazz documentary came out. I watched it for 10 hours straight. Ten years ago, I met a guy named Wayne Goins, who is the jazz guitar teacher at Kansas State University. I thought I was playing some stuff, and he quickly disabused me of that notion (laughs). But, like good teachers do, he set me on the real path.

You have the coolest guitar.
I feel like I’m trying to play up to my guitars every single day. If I ever get to the level that my guitars are at, it’s going to be awesome. The oldest one I’ve had for a decade is a Benedetto 16B. I wanted an instrument I would have forever, so I started talking to Howard Paul and Bob Benedetto, and they made this guitar that is unparalleled. I’ve never played another archtop that can hold a candle to it. Bob is on the Mount Rushmore of archtop guitars.

What are some important elements you impart to your guitar students?
There are values I try to pass on about music and guitar. One of the things I have on the wall in my teaching studio is, “Comparison is the thief of joy.” There’s always someone who has the gig you want or the sound you want. If you make your life about that, it can be quite sad. I’m also a strong believer in positional playing and the CAGED system. I teach, “Work smart, not hard.” I want to reveal the workings of the guitar and how to build it for yourself. You can explain Jimi Hendrix, Steely Dan, and Taylor Swift if you understand the underlying structure.

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This article originally appeared in VG’s December 2022 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

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On Mike Morgan and the Crawl’s tenth album and first new release in 15 years, 63-year-old Morgan shows maturity, command, and vision.

The singer/guitarist grew up in Hillsboro, Texas, between Dallas and Waco. “A small town doing small town stuff,” he says, “I never got serious until the late ’80s.”

Initially viewed as an understudy to fellow Texans Anson Funderburgh and Jimmie Vaughan, Morgan has more than earned his stripes as a bluesman.

Culling influences from Texas and Chicago blues stars, Morgan can lay down a shuffle or fly over the frets with the best of them, but on The Light Went Out In Dallas, he penned 10 of the 13 cuts, sometimes painting outside the lines; “Maybe” brings to mind Tom Waits, while “Please Accept My Love” mines a classic soul vein, and “The Fracas By The Pecos” is a spaghetti western set south of the border.

Blues and Americana fans will surely welcome Morgan and band back to active duty.

When did you take up guitar?
I first got one at about 10. Unfortunately, I didn’t get serious about guitar until I was in my late 20s.

Talk about your relationship with Anson Funderburgh, who co-produced the new album with you.
I’d got see him every Monday night at Poor David’s, sitting in front of him. I learned several songs by watching him play; “Oh, that’s how you do it.” He helped me get my first record the deal, turning (producer) Hammond Scott of Black Top Records on to us. Anson and I became friends in the early ’90s. I still have a reverence for him as a guitar player, but in the past few years we really got to be buddies.

And now you’re peers.
It’s kind of weird to think that, but I guess in a way. Even still, when we’re onstage together, I’m a little star-struck.

Who do you consider your biggest guitar influences?
Older guys would be all of the Kings, Albert Collins, Robert Nighthawk, Muddy Waters, Dave and Louis Myers, Hubert Sumlin, Jimmy Reed, Jimmy Rogers, Robert Lockwood, Jr., and T-Bone Walker. The most essential ones are B.B., Magic Sam, Freddie King, Luther Tucker, and Eddie Taylor.

The so-called newer guys are Jimmie Vaughan, Anson, Ronnie Earl, Junior Watson, and Hollywood Fats.

Those are all blues guitarists, yet the new CD has some originals that are far-flung from the blues.
“The Fracas By The Pecos,” I watch Westerns all the time. I had that little rhythm guitar line that, to me, almost sounded like some heavy-metal ballad (laughs). It popped into my head. “This is cool, but I’ll never be able to use it.” Then I wrote that song.

There was a review in Living Blues that said I got outside the box a little, like “Please Accept My Love,” and it just doesn’t work. It’s funny, because that’s my favorite tune. I call it my ’70s hit song.

I’ve got a real love for Al Green, Marvin Gaye, and all that soul stuff. When I’m sitting in my backyard, having a cigar and a bourbon, I’ve got a Pandora channel that’s kind of new-soul. I’ve learned about people I didn’t even know about, like a band called Rox, and James Morrison. He’s got amazing pipes.

Which guitars did you use on the CD?
I played my old ES-5 on “Ding Dong Daddy,” and for solos, Anson played my main Strat, an ’82 reissue of a ’57. On most of the rest, I played that Strat, but I used my old Epiphone Riviera on “Maybe.” For my rhythm parts on “Ding Dong Daddy” and “The Lights Went Out In Dallas,” as well as the solo on “Our Last Goodbye,” I played a new purple Road Worn Tele.

What about amps?
I used the Victoria Silver Sonic, but on “Goin’ Down To Eli’s” and the head part of “Funkafacation” I had a ’50s tweed Champ.

Funny thing about “Ding Dong Daddy,” Anson played my Strat through the Silver Sonic. Somehow, the Volume and Reverb got cranked up, I think when we moved it. And on his Super, he plays on about 3 or 4. So it was a totally different tone than he’d normally have. But it was so wicked, when we listened back, he said, “That’s pretty cool.”

You spread the guitar playing around on the album, with Shawn Pittman and Reo Casey.
Shawn and Anson and I have done Texas Blues Guitar Summit shows. On “Lazy Lester,” he plays the fills and first solo, and I play the solo going out. Reo Casey plays the solo on “A Woman” and the first solo on “Out In The Jungle.” He also plays drums and piano on the album, and I took a lot of his input to heart. He’s about 30, and he’s badass.

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This article originally appeared in VG’s December 2022 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

Fusion bassist Jeff Berlin’s new album, Jack Songs, is an all-star tribute to Jack Bruce, the trailblazing virtuoso and frontman of Cream. For the project, Berlin enlisted aces like Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Eric Johnson, Bill Frisell, Johnny Hiland, and Scott Henderson, all helping create a powerhouse homage to the icon.

Do you remember first hearing Cream?
What I remember with complete clarity was the impact of hearing “Crossroads” and “Spoonful.” I wasn’t just amazed; I was destroyed, literally transformed by those two tracks. Hearing Jack play got me onto the path of bass and eventually become a solo artist. I was such a fan that I painted “Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker, Eric Clapton” in luminescent paint on my bedroom wall. I shined a lamp on it each night, making it glow, so the last thing I would see before I fell asleep was their names.

Before Cream, many fans had already heard Jamerson, McCartney, and Entwistle. What made Jack Bruce different?
Everything! Jack’s tone had no precedent. As a player, his ability to use melody and harmony was revolutionary. He was the first electric bassist to go in and out of the key, as on “I’m So Glad” and “Sweet Wine.” He was the first person to offer rhythm via quarter- and eighth-note riffing, like on “Crossroads.” I can’t recall any bassist on a ’60s record playing this creatively until Jack opened the door.

There weren’t many musicians of the psychedelic era who could also play authentic jazz.
You’re hitting on a vital component of Jack Bruce’s skill – one that coincidentally I shared with him; we both were classically trained, and both were jazz and rock players. James Jamerson had a similar background in that he was an upright bassist playing jazz before starting on electric bass.

On “Creamed,” you cover a lot of Cream-era music. How did it come together?
Giles Martin, the son of Beatles producer George Martin, is responsible for Jack Songs in a large way, though I imagine he doesn’t know. When I heard the Beatles remix record he produced, called Love, I was amazed by the way he combined various Beatles tunes into one arrangement and made them all sound perfectly in time and in key. So, based on Giles’ idea, I wrote “Creamed” to combine “Sunshine of Your Love” with “Politician,” adding “SWLBR”, “N.S.U.,” and other Jack songs to make a mélange of his Cream music in a way that was never done before.

You have Eric Johnson, Scott Henderson, and Alex Lifeson on the album. Did you give them any prompts?
I didn’t say anything to anybody who guested on the record, which is why everyone sounded so great. The “Bass Relay” – with eight bassists, including Geddy Lee and Billy Sheehan – is an example. They all did their own thing.

What gear did you use on the album?
I only used one bass and one amp for the whole record; the Rithimic bass, from the Korean company, Cort, because they nailed it from the very first one they built for me. It’s equal in tone and feel with my ’62 Jazz Bass, and everything I play is off the assembly line. The Rithimic comes with the same Babicz bridge and Bartolini pickups I have on mine. If people buy this gear, they will be playing what I use – seems more honest to me.

Do you have a primary amp?
The Markbass JB Players School. Its tone changed my musical life from the very first moment I heard one.

If he was still with us, would you have asked Allan Holdsworth to play on this album? He would have killed it!
He sure would have! Allan offered to solo on “Theme From an Imaginary Western,” but sadly passed away before he could play. The great Eric Johnson did that solo and I can assure people Eric was not a fill-in; what he played stands with any of the greatest rock-guitar anthems of all time. Eric was brilliant! But, due to our history as colleagues and our long friendship, Allan and I playing together again would have been exciting.

You knew Jack Bruce. What was he like in person?
I was a huge fan, and Jack knew his effect on me. One day, I was performing at Music Messe, in Frankfurt, when Jack walked in and sat in the front row. I made nervous mistakes knowing he could hear each one. Every time I missed a note, Jack made a really silly face at me. The more mistakes that I made, the more faces he made and the goofier they became. Jack had me wrapped around his finger (laughs)!

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This article originally appeared in VG’s December 2022 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

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Richie Kotzen is one of today’s busiest rock guitarists. In addition to being a long-time solo artist (and possessing an awesome singing voice), he manages his time between the Winery Dogs (with Billy Sheehan on bass, Mike Portnoy on drums) and most recently, Smith/Kotzen, in which he’s teamed with Iron Maiden guitarist Adrian Smith. The duo released a self-titled debut album in ’21, and the studio/live Better Days… And Nights dropped recently.

How did you and Adrian first meet and decide to work together?
It was random. There was a bar in Los Angeles, the Whiskey Bar, in the Sunset Marquis Hotel, where a lot of musicians and actors would hang out. One night, a friend and I started talking to this lady, and my friend showed her a video of me in Brazil, singing “Remember.” She said, “My husband is in a band.” I say, “What band?” and she says, “Iron Maiden.” It was Adrian. We became friendly, and when Adrian came to town, we all got together. [Adrian’s wife] Natalie’s birthday falls around the holidays, so they always have a party, and afterward we’d go into the music room and jam. One night, she suggested, “You and Adrian should try to write something.” So, we did. He came over, and the first thing we did was “Running.”

How long have you been a fan of Adrian’s playing?
Since I was 12 years old – the first rock concert I ever saw was Iron Maiden. I used to listen to The Number of the Beast every morning before school.

How does your playing fit with Adrian’s?
I think quite well. We’ve got some common ground, obviously, because I grew up a Maiden fan. But aside from that, we both like the bluesier side of things. Adrian’s got a real strong background in the blues, and I have a background in blues – but more soul and R&B, probably because of where I grew up outside of Philadelphia – I was exposed to the Spinners, the O’Jays, and I love Curtis Mayfield. I get my bluesy element from old R&B. And we both loved Paul Rodgers from Bad Company and that era of rock.

The differences are that I’ve got a bit of a jazz-fusion thing in me, from when I played with Stanley Clarke and Lenny White [in Vertú]. And Adrian has the melodic side to his playing. I remember when we did “Scars,” I was like, “Okay, it’s done.” And he said, “I’ve got an idea.” He starts playing this melody inside the chorus, which took it to another level. I think we complement each other quite well.

Which guitar did you use most on Better Days?
I had the signature Telecaster that I’ve played since 1996, and a signature Strat that has also been made since ’96; I have a white one and a red one.

What is your current amp-and-effects setup?
I’m using a signature head from Victory, the RK50 combo, and Tech 21 makes my signature Fly Rig, which has a few effects – reverb, overdrive, boost, delay, and a Leslie simulator. I use two of those, one set up a certain way with the delay.

I run it into a Victory 4×12 cabinet, and I used to use 25-watt Celestions, but what I liked about them wasn’t the wattage, but the size of the cone – it’s smaller on that speaker than on a 70-watt. And now, they make a creamback 60-watt with a small cone. To my ear, it sounds like the 25-watt speaker. So, that’s in my 4×12 cabinet.

What’s the status of Winery Dogs?
We just mastered a new record. I can officially say the songs are done and we’re super-excited. 2023 is going to be all about the Winery Dogs – we’re going to release the album and tour. I’m over the moon about this record.

Are there future plans for Smith/Kotzen?
While I’m home, I’ll start work on ideas for the next Smith/Kotzen record. Adrian has already sent me a bunch. At some point when Maiden’s done touring, Adrian and I will get together and hopefully have enough for a new album.

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This article originally appeared in VG’s December 2022 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.