If Elvis Presley played swamp rock he’d be Tony Joe White –Interview

By Ray Shasho

-An Interview with Tony Joe White “Polk Salad Annie” legendary singer and songwriter:

Raised on a cotton farm in Goodwill, Louisiana and sneaking his daddy’s guitar at night to play the blues, Tony Joe White is a true America icon. White’s passion for the blues became apparent at the age of fifteen after hearing an album by legendary country blues guitarist, singer and songwriter Lightnin’ Hopkins.
Raised on a cotton farm in Goodwill, Louisiana and sneaking his daddy’s guitar at night to play the blues, Tony Joe White is a true America icon. White’s passion for the blues became apparent at the age of fifteen after hearing an album by legendary country blues guitarist, singer and songwriter Lightnin’ Hopkins.

Tony Joe performed onstage playing mainly Elvis Presley and John Lee Hooker cover tunes. After hearing “Ode to Billie Joe” by Bobbie Gentry on the radio, White had an epiphany and realized that he should be writing songs about things he knew. His first big hit “Polk Salad Annie” was released from his debut album entitled Black and White on the Monument Records label. The 1969 single peaked at #8 on Billboards’ Hot 100 and was successfully covered by Elvis Presley and Tom Jones.

In 1970, a song Tony Joe White had penned entitled “Rainy Night in Georgia” was covered by R&B singer Brook Benton. The song reached #4 on the Billboard charts.
Tony Joe White toured worldwide in the 70’s supporting legendary rock heavyweights Steppenwolf, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and Sly & the Family Stone to name just a few.

White also composed various tracks on Tina Turner’s Foreign Affair (1989) album including “Undercover Agent for the Blues” (1989) co-penned with his wife Leann White and “Steamy Windows.” White also played guitar, harmonica and synthesizer on the album. Turner’s manager Roger Davies also became Tony Joe White’s manager while signing with Polydor Records.

White’s popularity soared in the 90’s with the release of the critically-acclaimed and commercially successful Closer to the Truth album. White attained additional success with subsequent releases … The Path of a Decent Groove and Lake Placid Blues. Tony Joe White toured Europe with Joe Cocker and Eric Clapton. He also opened for Roger Waters in 2006.

His Uncovered (2006) album on Swamp Records featured guest appearances by Eric Clapton, J.J. Cale, Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits), Michael McDonald (Steely Dan, The Doobie Brothers) and Waylon Jennings.

Tony Joe White’s most recent release is entitled Hoodoo (2013). The album spawns a brilliant array of swamp rock, blues and boogie with a hint of psychedelic overtones. I gave Hoodoo (5) stars. My favorite tracks are … “Who You Gonna Hoodoo Now?”… “Holed Up” a tune about the gratification of solitude, “Alligator Mississippi,” and a mystical track co-penned with wife Leann entitled “Gypsy Epilogue.” The album is superbly produced by his son Jody White.

Tony Joe White is a rare gem in today’s ambiguous music world. He’s an original and could easily be described as a cult hero. White will be performing various southern dates beginning February 12th in Birmingham, Alabama.
I had the rare pleasure of chatting with Tony Joe White recently about Hoodoo his latest album, The inception of “Polk Salad Annie” and “Rainy Night in Georgia,” his friendship with Elvis Presley, and of course my notorious ‘Field of Dreams’ question.

Here’s my interview with legendary singer, songwriter, guitarist and swamp rock and blues icon… TONY JOE WHITE.

Ray Shasho: Tony Joe …how’s it going man?
Tony Joe White: “Good man, how are you doing this morning?”
Ray Shasho: Are you in Nashville?
Tony Joe White: “I live by the river in a little town about forty miles out called Leipers Fork.”
Ray Shasho: Did you grow up in Oak Grove or Goodwill, Louisiana?
Tony Joe White: “I grew up in Goodwill, Louisiana. It really wasn’t even a town; it was a church, a cotton gin, a grocery store, and then farms all around there down to the swamp. Oak Grove was about fifteen miles away.”
Ray Shasho: What was it like growing up in Goodwill?
Tony Joe White: “Well, we really never did see any town at all because there was the cotton fields, the swamp, the river, and we worked to pick cotton and worked the fields back in there. If you wanted to go to town you waited till Saturday and rode with somebody fifteen –twenty miles.”
Ray Shasho: Is that part of Louisiana considered Cajun country?
Tony Joe White: “Goodwill is up in the northeast end of Louisiana about twelve miles from Arkansas. When you head on down south like Baton Rouge or Lafayette, right there is where the line changes, and the food, the language, and the music is totally different.”
Ray Shasho: Who were some of the influences that triggered you into becoming a professional musician?
Tony Joe White: “Down on the cotton farm there was my mom and dad, my older brother, and then there was five sisters in between us, and I was the youngest. Everybody played guitar or piano and sang. But I would just listen back in those days. Then one day I was about fifteen and my brother brought home an album by Lightnin’ Hopkins. I heard that and boom, turned it around man. I started sneaking my dad’s guitar into my bedroom at night and learned the blues licks. I was into Lightnin’, John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, and then all of a sudden Elvis pops up about that time. We had house parties with all the kids from the Bayou and the blues is all we played.”
Ray Shasho: Did you get to play with some of the early blues legends like John Lee Hooker?
Tony Joe White: “John Lee a little bit back in the dressing room, but I did a whole album with Lightnin’ Hopkins. I played guitar and harmonica on an album called California Mudslide. It was just me and him … he was always a hero.”
Ray Shasho: You’ve been fortunate to play with some distinguished players and artists over the years like …Eric Clapton, Joe Cocker and J.J. Cale to name just a few.
Tony Joe White: “Through the writing and my songs over the years and I’d get to go with them into the studio and play guitar or harp… from Elvis to Joe and artists all over the world, I was really lucky with the songs.”
Ray Shasho: You got to know Elvis Presley?
Tony Joe White: “Yea. His producer was a friend of mine here in Nashville and also my publisher. He called us and said hey we’re getting ready to do “Polk Salad Annie” live in Las Vegas and we want to send a plane down to Memphis and pick you and your wife up and bring you to Vegas and watch us record it. So we sat out there for a week and listened to the show every night and hung out in the dressing room. It was so cool man; it was just like me and you talkin’ right now. Later on at Stax Records in Memphis they did a couple more of my songs down there. So we got to hang out a few times. Elvis always treated me really good.”
Ray Shasho: If Elvis only sang the blues, he would be Tony Joe White. There were definite similarities between you and him.
(All Laughing)
Tony Joe White: “Back in that dressing room in Las Vegas, Elvis had an old acoustic guitar. Every night he’d get it and say okay show me another lick. So I’d show him a couple of blues runs and I thought by the end of the week he was going to have it down where he’d know a few licks but he’d forget them each night. But he didn’t have to play.”
Ray Shasho: I always wondered how proficient Elvis was on the guitar.
Tony Joe White: “He only knew a few chords and hung it around his neck because it looked good. He could make a few chords but he really loved the blues licks.”
Ray Shasho: Your first album entitled Black and White had several musicians that had also played with Elvis?
Tony Joe White: “I think the drummer had played with Elvis and the keyboard player played some with him. Most of the boys were living in Nashville and trying to make a living playing country music. So when I came into town and had a little bit of blues hangin’ off of me, it gave them the chance to really go at it in the studio. We had some really good first takes …everything.”
Ray Shasho: Tony Joe, I’m going to include a review of your latest album entitled Hoodoo with this interview in my column. It’s a very original and refreshing sound and I’m giving it (5) stars. Just a great album!
Tony Joe White: “It’s funny, across the world …England, Australia and everywhere, I’ve seen more excitement and good reviews on this album since “Polk Salad Annie” and Closer to the Truth. People are really jumping on this album for some reason. People from the press and magazines say the sound on the album is like you guys just walked in, plugged up and started playing, and didn’t think much about it. And I said that’s exactly the way it went down.”
Ray Shasho: A lot of blues albums, especially today, are comprised of classic cover tracks … but you’re an original.
Tony Joe White: “Swamp rock is what most called it in the early days, which is blues that you can dance to. I never really went in for …My baby left me Monday morning…I always liked to try and write something that would make you want to boogie a little bit. We left so much breathing room in the album. Jody my son who produced the album has been listening to me since he was five, so he knew exactly where to leave stuff out and just let it breathe. ”
Ray Shasho: My very favorite tracks on Hoodoo are “ Who You Gonna Hoodoo Now?” and “Holed Up.”
Tony Joe White: “Holed Up” is the catalyst on how we all want to get sometimes man. Get yourself a little trailer house and back it up to a river and stay there. J.J. Cale used to do that. They had an airstream and he was kind of a hermit type guy anyway. J.J. stayed holed up a lot of times.”
Ray Shasho: I sensed several psychedelic riffs on certain tracks on the album.
Tony Joe White: “I’m still using the original Wah peddle which I call a ‘Whomper’ that I did on “Polk Salad Annie.” I bought a Tone Bender back in 1968 which is kind of an old fuzz box made in England. So I’m still using those two pieces and that’s where you’re getting that psychedelic feel like the hippie days.”
Ray Shasho: The track “Alligator Mississippi” had an interesting story behind it.
Tony Joe White: “Highway 61 out of Memphis, which is according to everybody the old blues road, which the people we’ve been talking about all played up and down that road. “Alligator Mississippi” is just outside Clarksdale and is nothing but a big ole grocery store on the side of the road where a lot of people just hang out in the parking lot, drink, smoke, gamble and everything. It’s just a meeting place in a totally black community. But if you needed to stop there late at night you’d better do your business and get on out.”
Ray Shasho: You collaborated on the track “Gypsy Epilogue"a sort of mystical tune with your wife Leann?
Tony Joe White: “Leann and I write about two or three songs a year together and they’re usually really powerful songs. She did “Undercover Agent for the Blues” (Tina Turner) and Leann wrote most of all that and I put music to it. To me “Gypsy Epilogue” was one of the most mysterious songs on the album. I told her when I first saw the first verse written down … “A gathering of spirits, a scattering of souls …we all are born naked and some will grow old” … I said man where are you headed with this? So we worked on it for awhile and I got the guitar, got the chorus going and then she finished the last part … “No one can see but they hear the dogs bark.” Dogs can see spirits, so anyway she ended it with chill bumps.”

“As a matter of fact, I’m getting ready to go into the studio as soon as we’re done talking and mix two songs that Leann and I just finished. So we’ll keep our fingers crossed.”
Ray Shasho: Will those songs be part of the next album?
Tony Joe White: “Yes probably so, I hadn’t really planned on a next one or anything, songs just pop up with us and I’m lucky enough to have a studio that I can just go in anytime I want and call my drummer or bass player and have freedom with it. We do most of the songs on a first take and sometimes I would just sing and play to my drummer or bass player, maybe thirty seconds of the song, and then I’d say okay we’re going to hit record so just play what comes out of your heart.”
Ray Shasho: Both Elvis Presley and Tom Jones recorded your song “Polk Salad Annie.” Which version do you like best?
(All Laughing)
Tony Joe White: “I’ve got to say, I love Elvis’ version of it because watching him do it live every night …it really shook him up. Man, he would catch fire. He told me that he felt like he wrote the song. I said… well, you probably ate a lot of Polk growing up. But it set him on fire man.”
Ray Shasho: When you think of Elvis’ musical repertoire, “Polk Salad Annie” was always an important song on his setlist.
Tony Joe White: “I know … it was the first song that I got cut by someday else from my first album. Brook Benton did “Rainy Night in Georgia” and they sent me a copy in the mail on a 45rpm and I played it around fifty times in a row. I couldn’t quit listening to it and how someone else could grab your words, interpret it, and just make you feel the whole thing. So after hearing Brook I learned how to sing it myself.”
Ray Shasho: “Rainy Night in Georgia” is such a beautiful song, what’s the origin behind it?
Tony Joe White: “When I got out of high school I went to Marietta, Georgia, I had a sister living there. I went down there to get a job and I was playing guitar too at the house and stuff. I drove a dump truck for the highway department and when it would rain you didn’t have to go to work. You could stay home and play your guitar and hangout all night. So those thoughts came back to me when I moved on to Texas about three months later. I heard “Ode to Billie Joe” on the radio and I thought, man, how real, because I am Billie Joe, I know that life. I’ve been in the cotton fields. So I thought if I ever tried to write, I’m going to write about something I know about. At that time I was doing a lot of Elvis and John Lee Hooker onstage with my drummer. No original songs and I hadn’t really thought about it. But after I heard Bobbie Gentry I sat down and thought … well I know about Polk because I had ate a bunch of it and I knew about rainy nights because I spent a lot of rainy nights in Marietta, Georgia. So I was real lucky with my first tries to write something that was not only real but hit pretty close to the bone, and lasted that long. So it was kind of a guide for me then on through life to always try to write what I know about.”
Ray Shasho: Tony Joe, my favorite version of “Polk Salad Annie” is yours. It’s one of those classic late 60’s hits that helped define the decade.
Tony Joe White: “They’re still playing it somewhere and when I hear it I always turn it up like it’s the first time. All of a sudden in the midst of what was happening music wise on the radio, ole “Polk” stuck out like a sore thumb. But then it stuck out in the right way.”
Ray Shasho: Tony Joe, here’s a question that I ask everyone that I interview. If you had a ‘Field of Dreams’ wish like the movie, to play, sing or collaborate with anyone from the past or present, who would that be?
Tony Joe White: “Man, I’ve just about covered them all. But I’d say Sade. I’ve loved her music for so long and we’ve had the same manager. Roger Davies managed Tina Turner, Sade, me, Joe Cocker …and so we’ve seen each other a good bit. I’ve told her that we’ve got to hook up one day and she said that she loved my guitar and we’ve got to do it. We’ve talked about it for about seven years and so far we haven’t done it yet … but still maybe.”
Ray Shasho: Any tour dates coming up?
Tony Joe White: “We’ll be going out in February but I think most of the dates are in the south. I’m sure we’ll be back in Europe or Australia in April. I always like to go back to Australia especially because the people over there remind me of early Louisiana or Texas days on a Saturday night. Either way it’s good to play in America for awhile.”
Ray Shasho: Tony Joe, thank you for being on the call today but more importantly for all the incredible music you’ve given us and continue to bring.
Tony Joe White: “Thank you for calling Ray …take care man!”

Tony Joe White official website www.tonyjoewhite.com
Tony Joe White tour dates
Purchase Tony Joe White’s latest release Hoodoo at amazon.com
Tony Joe White on Facebook
Tony Joe White on Twitter
Tony Joe White on Myspace

Very special thanks to Jody White

Coming up NEXT…My interview with Geoff Downes legendary keyboardist and songwriter for The Buggles, Asia and YES

Contact classic rock music journalist Ray Shasho at rockraymond.shasho@gmail.com


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Carmine Appice Interview: The Legendary Drummer Keeps ‘Rock’ Hangin’ On

By Ray Shasho

Brooklyn native Carmine Appice has attained one of the most illustrious rock resumes in music history. The accomplished drummer, singer, and songwriter continues to tour as a key member with classic rock legends Vanilla Fudge and Cactus. Appice will also be touring in 2014 with The Rod Experience, a historical tribute to Rod Stewart and his band featuring original members Phil Chen, Jimmy Crespo, and Danny Johnson. The band also features Rick St. James and Alan St. John. Carmine Appice joined Rod Stewart’s band in 1977 and co-wrote the mega hit “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy” and “Young Turks.”

Appice is also a member of the new supergroup Legacy X which features Joe Lynn Turner (Rainbow, Deep Purple) on lead vocals, Jeff Watson (Night Ranger) on guitar and Tony Franklin (The Firm, Blue Murder) on bass. A debut album is planned for release sometime in the spring this year.

Before John Bonham and Ian Paice …there was Carmine Appice. Since the mid 60’s, Carmine Appice has been respected as one of the greatest rock drummers in the world, and it’s not to ask what legendary musicians has Appice collaborated with over the years … it’s more like, what legendary musicians hasn’t Appice collaborated with over the years. The list would definitely be minuscule.
In 1972, Appice joined forces with guitar legend Jeff Beck (The Yardbirds) and Tim Bogert (Vanilla Fudge, Cactus) to form the internationally renowned Beck, Bogert & Appice.

In 1975, Appice joined KGB featuring Mike Bloomfield (Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Electric Flag) and Ric Grech (Family, Blind Faith, Traffic).

In 1983, he toured with Ozzy Osbourne to promote the Bark at the Moon release. After his stint with Ozzy, Appice formed the hard rock group King Kobra.

In 1988, Appice became a member of Blue Murder. The group featured various group members including John Sykes (Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake) and Tony Franklin (Roy Harper, The Firm).
Appice has also collaborated with the likes of … Pink Floyd, Ted Nugent, Pat Travers, Stanley Clarke and Michael Schenker … to name just a few.

Carmine’s younger brother is drummer Vinny Appice (Dio, Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell, Rick Derringer). The brothers occasionally tour together billed as Drum Wars -The World’s Premiere Rock Drum Show!

Carmine Appice recently launched a new record label called Rocker Records. The labels first four digital offerings included two releases from Cactus, Live in Japan and Live in the USA, Bogert/Appice & Friends, and TNA featuring Appice with guitar hero Pat Travers live in Europe. Visit Rocker Records at www.rocker-records.com

Carmine also has an exciting new book project, his autobiography entitled Stick It! -Encounters with Rock Legends that should be released sometime this year.

I had the great pleasure of chatting with Carmine Appice recently about Vanilla Fudge, Cactus, The Rod Experience, Legacy X, Rocker Records, the new book, playing with Pink Floyd, and the inception of “You Keep Me Hangin’ On.”

Here’s my interview with legendary drummer, singer, songwriter, and music pioneer … CARMINE APPICE.
Ray Shasho: Hello Carmine, how’s it going man?
Carmine Appice: “Hi Ray! It’s cold up here around the New York area but besides that it’s going pretty good.”
Ray Shasho: You know most of my family was from Bensonhurst.
Carmine Appice: “Oh really… that’s not too far from where I grew up.”
Ray Shasho: We’ve all seen the music industry deteriorate over the last twenty years or so. And just when I was about to give up all hope … legendary musician Carmine Appice creates his own record label?
Carmine Appice: “It’s a funny time to start a label …what people have been telling me. I know where the business is, we’re not out to sell millions of records, we’re just out to put out some cool product.”
Ray Shasho: Will the new label (Rocker Records) be actively searching for new talent to sign?
Carmine Appice: “A little of both. We’ve got these four releases including two releases from Cactus Live in Japan and Live in the USA, then there’s Bogert/Appice & Friends, TNA featuring Pat Travers live in Europe, and then the next batch is going to be a new Cactus record, Vanilla Fudge Live at B.B. Kings, a Cactus Live DVD from Japan, a group called The Lizards with the harmonica player from Cactus… and his band includes Bobby Rondinelli and they have Glen Hughes and Frank Marino as guests. Then my brother has a band with Carlos Cavazo and different members like Jimmy Bain of Dio … so we’re going to release that I think. Then also we have this new guitar player that is going on tour and opening up for Michael Schenker. So it depends … if we’re going to do new artists they have to be on the road, otherwise you can never sell anything.”
Ray Shasho: Carmine, you still continue to tour with both Vanilla Fudge and Cactus?
Carmine Appice: “Yes and I’m also doing a couple of new things …“The Rod Experience” which is going to be a historical show about Rod Stewart and the band from 1976 to 82. And then as a new band with Joe Lynn Turner, Tony Franklin, and Jeff Watson from Night Ranger called Legacy X. That’s on Frontier Records and they actually put it together. It’s like a supergroup for them and supposedly put a lot of money behind it. Joe and I actually started putting it together and originally it was going to be Rudy Sarzo or Pat Travers and we had Bruce Kulick from Kiss in there for a minute. But we were all looking for a little more commitment which was hard for me to give too. I have a Vanilla Fudge summer tour that may be happening and I just turned down a Cactus gig to go to Brazil because I have Rod Stewart show dates at the same time. It’s going to be a little juggling of itinerary. I’m thinking maybe I’ll get someone to fill in for me in Cactus for the Brazil date so they can still go. We still have the original guitar player and the singer and bass player have been with us for years.”
Ray Shasho: Carmine, you really got a lot going on these days.
Carmine Appice: “It’s funny because all these things I’ve been working on for a couple of years or so are all coming into play. Like the Joe Lynn Turner band we’ve been working on a year ago last summer. I’ve been working on the Rod Stewart show for about three years.”
Ray Shasho: “The Rod Experience” actually has some of the original band members from The Rod Stewart Group?
Carmine Appice: “That’s right; I’ve got every member from the group except the keyboard player and the singer. They all played with Rod. Phil Chen the bass player played with Rod when I played with Rod. Phil was on all the big hits that we did together. Danny Johnson played with Rod in 1980-81 and Jimmy Crespo not only played with Aerosmith but also played with Rod from 1993-96. So we all have our Rod Stewart stories and it’s going to be much like a historical trip. They’ll also be a video screen with tidbits of information. People will be able to watch the screen and listen to the music and see the show that was just like the show we did back then. It’s a party atmosphere, kicking out soccer balls and just having a good time.”
Ray Shasho: How extensive will “The Rod Experience” tour be … are you taking it worldwide?
Carmine Appice: “We’ll probably go worldwide because Jimmy Crespo’s wife works at The Venetian Hotel and they have properties over in Malaysia, Singapore …and all that and are already showing interest for us to bring it over there.”
Ray Shasho: Also in 2014 … you mentioned that Vanilla Fudge may be hitting the road?
Carmine Appice: “Yes, we have a European tour so far in March and may have a two week tour or so in August. I may do a few dates with Cactus, last year we did a lot of shows. We’ll lay back a little with Cactus and do a little more Vanilla Fudge. We didn’t do enough Vanilla Fudge last year. I’ll also be concentrating on Joe Lynn Turner’s Legacy X and “The Rod Experience.””
Ray Shasho: Carmine, you also have a book coming out sometime in 2014?
Carmine Appice: “I do, we’re about three quarters of the way through with that. That’s going to be called Stick It! -Encounters with Rock Legends. I got the writer who wrote Nikki Sixx’s book The Heroin Diaries and it’s on VH1 books. It’s been a fun ride and that’s why the book is going to be interesting. It’s not about one guy talking about one band. It’s also all the bands that opened up for Vanilla Fudge .Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Frank Zappa, Alice Cooper … all these guys opened up for us. Then going on to Cactus and our first gig with Hendrix, and our second gig was with The Who. Then playing with Jeff Beck and doing the Beck, Bogert & Appice thing. Groups like Tower of Power and Foghat opened up for us. Then there are all the stories that go along with it … sex-crazed and hotel-wrecking things that we did. Then with Mike Bloomfield and KGB… what a crazy guy he was. Then seven years of Rod Stewart and Ozzy. During Rod Stewart we ran into all of Hollywood elite … Gregory Peck, Fred Astaire, Tony Curtis, and all those types of people we used to hang out with. So it goes all over the place … then Ted Nugent and King Cobra, on tour with Kiss, and meeting my idol Buddy Rich.”
Ray Shasho: You played on A Momentary Lapse of Reason one of my favorite Pink Floyd albums. What was it like playing with Pink Floyd?
Carmine Appice: “It was fun! When I got the call from Bob Ezrin my first question was where’s Nick? He said Nick has been racing his Ferrari’s and his calluses are soft and quite honestly they wanted some new blood in there to give it a little bit of energy. So I said okay. When I went in they had the song on the four track, I played all day and kept playing the song and filled up two twenty four track machines of tape, thirty minutes each. So I probably had about two hours worth of performance. Then Bob edited it all together somehow.”

“When I called him to ask how it sounded he said in one word …“Daring!” Then when I called him back in a week or so I asked him again how it sounded and he said “Fabulous!” When I finally heard it, I was up in Canada doing a heavy metal movie called Black Roses in 1988, and I had to go downstairs into a record shop. I heard the Pink Floyd album when it came out and I bought a cassette. So I listened to it there alone in my room on my walkman and I was blown away. Then I got a gold and platinum record.”
Ray Shasho: Were you in the studio at the same time with David Gilmour?
Carmine Appice: “Oh yea, David was there, Richard Wright, Tony Levin was there and I did see Nick Mason. The weird thing about it was when I saw Pink Floyd touring for that album, I watched Nick basically playing my parts.”
Ray Shasho: How many tracks did Nick Mason play on A Momentary Lapse of Reason?
Carmine Appice: “I don’t think he played any. It was me and Jim Keltner. I only did “The Dog’s of War” and I think Keltner did the rest.”
Ray Shasho: It’s funny I used to play “The Dog’s of War” track for my daughter when she was little and she loved it. It scared the crap out of her but she still loved it.
(All Laughing)
Carmine Appice: “I know it is a little scary, when the drums came in, they came in like King Kong … and that’s what Bob wanted, the big monster drumming.”
Ray Shasho: Vanilla Fudge was such a huge influence on so many legendary rock groups. I remember Ritchie Blackmore saying that basically Deep Purple was Vanilla Fudge.
Carmine Appice: “It’s cool… we took them on tour back in those days too. So that was interesting also. We took them on tour, they did songs that tried to be like us and we all just became good friends. We played Radio City Music Hall with them a few years ago and that was awesome. It was great having our original band playing with those guys again.”

“But you’re right …Vanilla Fudge influenced so many bands and it’s amazing how we’re not even a peep mentioned in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They don’t even have our song in the playlist for hall of fame kind of songs. All these musicians … Clapton, Pete Townshend, Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant … they all remembered where they were when they first heard, “You Keep Me Hangin’ On.” It made such an impression on everybody. George Harrison used to carry around the album to parties. I personally confirmed that with Paul McCartney.”
Ray Shasho: There are so many legendary rock bands from the 70’s that are having more success overseas these days … especially in Japan.
Carmine Appice: “Japan has their own domestic artists that are huge. It used to be that Japan didn’t have any domestic artists until the mid 90’s. All of a sudden they started getting their own artists. So all the American and UK artists who used to go there and play the Budokan are now playing smaller venues. But their artists are playing stadiums. There’s a group over there called B’z and they can play three stadium nights in every major city in Japan. We’re talking 150,000 people. It’s a singer and a guitar player. I went to see them in Japan as a guest, they’re friends of mine, and I think it was the night before or night after I saw Kiss over there. Kiss was playing at the stadium too. The B’z production was bigger than the Kiss production. It was ridiculous…it was so big. Over there they don’t travel around in big semis, they travel around in these sixteen to twenty foot trucks … so they must have had about a hundred trucks going from city to city … it was crazy. But there just huge over there.”

“There’s this guy Char who is the Jeff Beck of Japan. He was a big name. Me and Tim Bogert went over there and normally did like three thousand people. We played the Budokan with Char and did about twelve thousand people in Tokyo because of the combination. Beck, Bogert & Appice were really big in Japan. We had an offer to do one gig over there for a million dollars but Jeff was doing other stuff with Clapton and couldn’t do it.”
Ray Shasho: Carmine, in Vanilla Fudge, whose idea was it to cover The Supremes “You Keep Me Hangin’ On?
Carmine Appice: “That was Mark and Timmy. We used to slow songs down and listen to the lyrics and try to emulate what the lyrics were dictating. That one was a hurtin’song; it had a lot of emotion in it. “People Get Ready” was like a Gospel thing. “Eleanor Rigby” was sort of eerie and churchlike …like a horror movie kind of thing. If you listen to “Hangin’ On” fast… by The Supremes, it sounds very happy, but the lyrics aren’t happy at all. If you lived through that situation, the lyrics are definitely not happy.”
Ray Shasho: I think that’s ingenious how the band did that.
Carmine Appice: “Because we weren’t writing songs, we were writing music. On the final episode of The Sopranos they used “You Keep Me Hangin’ On.” It opened up with the organ and the buildup part and that music was ours. We wrote that, it wasn’t in the song. The only part of the song … when one of the heads of the family was getting killed … that’s when they used the bridge part and the singing. The other two parts was our music and we should’ve copywrote those interludes, so we would get paid as writers. So we didn’t get paid a dime for that. We got paid the performance royalty or the artist royalty as they say.”

“Same thing in the movie Zodiac, I went to see the movie with my girlfriend and we were sitting there watching it and there’s a scene where he’s killing someone in a taxi cab, I’m looking at it and the music comes on and I say… I know this music what is it? It was a Vanilla Fudge piece that we used as the introduction to the song “Bang Bang” on the first album. So again, we got paid for the artist royalty and they paid Sonny Bono for the writing. Not a quarter note of his melody or lyric was in that piece of music. It was our music. Now we title all our interludes and sort of gave them to our publishers and said … okay, if anybody uses this we want to get paid for it.”
Ray Shasho: Carmine, you co-wrote a tune that became a mega hit during the disco era. Talk about you and Rod’s hit … “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy.”
Carmine Appice: “Huge… still huge! Rod used to listen to the charts and say… “I want a song like that.” At the time he pointed to “Miss You” by The Rolling Stones. So I went back and had a keyboard in my house. I had this drum machine and this drum groove and put these chords to it and everything. Then I went to my buddy Duane Hitchings house and he had a regular studio. So we put it down and he played keyboard and made it sound better. Then we gave it to Rod. Originally when we cut it… it had three guitars, one keyboard, drums, and I think we had percussion. So it sounded very rock and roll. Then we found out that the producer wanted to make it more commercial, so he put strings on it. We had David Foster as the keyboard player on it … how about that?”
Ray Shasho: Are you playing drums on the original track?
Carmine Appice: “I’m playing drums on it; Phil Chen on bass, all the guitar players from Rod’s band … Gary Grainger, Jim Cregan, Billy Peek, and David Foster on keyboards. It originally sounded pretty rock and roll, but once they put a full orchestra on there and had another girl singing two octaves higher… then everything thinned out. So it ended up not being a heavy rock disco- type of thing like “Miss You” but ended up being more commercial. But you know what … it went to number one in every country around the world. And it still makes a fortune. When you add up all the percentages that different entities have, the song is probably making around three or four hundred thousand dollars a year. It’s unbelievable!”
Ray Shasho: You also co-wrote another huge Rod Stewart hit “Young Turks?”
Carmine Appice: “Young Turks” was the very first pop song to have a drum machine that sounded like drums. There’s an all behind drum machine and I put a Hi-hat and cymbals on it and programmed the drum machine. Me and Duane Hitchings put that track together in his studio. We used the same sound for that song in the title track Tonight I’m Yours. It has the same kind of sound.”
Ray Shasho: Carmine, here’s a question that I ask everyone that I interview. If you had a ‘Field of Dreams’ wish like the movie, to play, sing or collaborate with anyone from the past or present, who would that be?
Carmine Appice: “I’d probably say Led Zeppelin. I always liked their music and style. John Bonham played very close to my style. I think I would be a good fit.”
Ray Shasho: Carmine, thank you for being on the call today but more importantly for all the incredible music you’ve given us and continue to bring.
Carmine Appice: “Thanks for diggin’ it … take care Ray.”

Carmine Appice official website
Rocker Records official website
‘The Rod Experience’ official website
Vanilla Fudge official website
Cactus official website
Carmine Appice on Facebook
Carmine Appice on Myspace
Carmine Appice on Twitter

Very special thanks to Chip Ruggieri of Chipster PR

Contact classic rock music journalist Ray Shasho at rockraymond.shasho@gmail.com


Purchase Ray’s very special memoir called ‘Check the Gs’ -The True Story of an Eclectic American Family and Their Wacky Family Business … You’ll LIVE IT! Also available for download on NOOK or KINDLE edition for JUST .99 CENTS at amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com - Please support Ray by purchasing his book so he can continue to bring you quality classic rock music reporting.
“Check the Gs is just a really cool story ... and it’s real. I’d like to see the kid on the front cover telling his story in a motion picture, TV sitcom or animated series. The characters in the story definitely jump out of the book and come to life. Very funny and scary moments throughout the story and I just love the way Ray timeline’s historical events during his lifetime. Ray’s love of rock music was evident throughout the book and it generates extra enthusiasm when I read his on-line classic rock music column on examiner.com. It’s a wonderful read for everyone!” …stillerb47@gmail.com


© Copyright rayshasho.com. All Rights Reserved

2013 Year in Review: Classic Rock Music Journalist Ray Shasho Rates ‘Best of the Best’

2013 YEAR IN REVIEW

It’s time to rank the most popular classic rock music articles for 2013 based on readership page views. In 2013 …Music Journalist Ray Shasho conducted (31) in-depth interviews with some of the greatest music legends of our time and reviewed numerous concerts and events around the Tampa Bay area.

Since joining examiner.com in December of 2010 … Shasho has solely orchestrated and conducted nearly 100 in-depth interviews with rock & roll folklore. Ray’s only motivation is a bona fide respect for the artist and his never-ending compassion for the music.

2013 was another awesome year for classic rock music. The legends continue to sell-out local venues, draw huge crowds at outdoor music events, and perform on packed cruise liners sailing the seven seas.

We also say goodbye to these music artists and pioneers in 2013
…Their spirit and music will live-on forever!

Alan Myers, Alan O’ Day, Allen Lanier, Alvin Lee, Andy Johns, Annette Funicello, Bobby Bland, Bobby Rogers, Chi Cheng, Chris Kelly, Chrissy Amphlett, Claude Nobs, Cleotha Staples, Clive Burr, Cowboy Jack Clement, Damon Harris, Dan Toler, Dani Crivelli, Darryl Read, Dean Barlow, Deke Richards, Dick Dodd, Donald Byrd, Ed Shaughnessy, Eydie Gorme, George Duke, George Jackson, George Jones, Gordon Stoker, Hugh C. McCracken, Jack Stokes, Jackie Lomax, Jeff Hanneman, Jerry Steinholtz, Jimmy Dawkins, Jimmy O’Neill, JJ Cale, Joe Kelley, Joey Covington, John Wilkinson, Kevin Ayers, Lee Crystal, Leroy Bonner, Lou Reed, Magic Slim, Mike Shipley, Mindy McCready, Neil Smith, Noel Harrison, Patti Page, Patty Andrews, Pete Haycock, Peter Banks, Phil Ramone, Ray Dolby, Ray Manzarek, Ray Price, Reg Presley, Richard Street, Rick Huxley, Ritchie Havens, Roger Pope, Ronnie Splinter, Shadow Morton, Sid Bernstein, Slim Whitman, Stanley Knight, Storm Thorgerson, Tony Sheridan, Trevor Bolder.

There was many more music industry professionals that have left us in 2013 that are not mentioned here … Thank you all for everlasting music!

Now we count down the Top 20 rankings for the Most Popular Interviews/Article of the year based on readership page views. (Click on each link to read the interview/article)

1 - Robin Trower Interview: The guitar supremacy of Trower continues to spellbound
2 - Burton Cummings: The Guess Who legend reveals true origin of “American Woman"
3 - 'Roger Hodgson' interview: The legendary voice and lyricist of 'Supertramp'
4 – Tom Johnston Interview: Doobie Brothers timelessly rockin’ down the highway
5 - Alvin Lee legendary British blues guitarist dead at 68
6 - Pete Best Interview: The Beatles Conspiracy?
7 - Julian Lennon Interview: New Release ‘Everything Changes’ is Masterful!
8 - Mick Box of Uriah Heep “When we were onstage, we were untouched and unbeatable."
9 - Billy Cobham Interview: ‘Before Jeff Beck there was Billy Cobham'
10 - Lita Ford Interview: A ‘Runaway’ who became the electric queen of rock and metal
11- John Mayall Dazzles Sarasota Audience on his 80th Birthday
12-“Renaissance: Grandine il Vento” album review: Fantastico!
13- Exclusive Interview with Ian Gillan of Deep Purple: Now What?!
14-Marky Ramone Interview: Ramones drummer talks ‘Dust to Punk’ Saga
15- Billy J. Kramer outraged over Brian Epstein’s absence from Rock Hall of Fame
16- Exclusive: John Kay of Steppenwolf returns to protect wildlife and human rights
17- Steve Hackett: An intimate chat with the prodigious guitarist of 'Genesis'
18- ‘Melanie’ Safka Exclusive: "My Mother Drove Me To Woodstock" (Part 1)
19- ‘Melanie’ Safka Exclusive: “My Mother Drove Me To Woodstock” (Part 2)
20- Dr. John interview: Musically he’s been in the Right Place at the Right Time

(Honorable Mentions)

Billy Gibbons: “We fired up the tempo, cranked up the volume, and let it rip!"
Dave Davies interview: ‘Kinks’ guitar legend releases brilliant new music
Chuck Negron of Three Dog Night Interview: Happy Together Tour 2013
Roger Earl 'Foghat' Legend talks about Willie Dixon and Honoring the Blues
KANSAS: American Progressive Rock Heroes
Corky Laing: Mountain Legendary Drummer talks about Brilliant Rock Opera Release
Ted Nugent Interview: Our First American Rock and Roll President?
Slide guitarist Roy Rogers talks ‘Twisted Tales’ final album with Ray Manzarek
Mike Love Interview: Beach Boys headed for Seminole Hard Rock in Tampa.
Joey Molland Interview: The Legacy of ‘Badfinger’ Rocks On!
Cherie Currie Exclusive: “Kenny do the right thing and give me my record!”

As always, I want to thank all the public relation firms, artist management, concert promoters, and venue staffers that I’ve worked with throughout the year, but especially to the Examiner.com readers who have graciously surfed their way to my column.


Coming up to start 2014 … An interview with legendary drummer Carmine Appice (Vanilla Fudge, Cactus, Beck, Bogert &Appice)

Contact classic rock music journalist Ray Shasho at rockraymond.shasho@gmail.com


GREAT HOLIDAY GIFT! Purchase Ray’s very special memoir called ‘Check the Gs’ -The True Story of an Eclectic American Family and Their Wacky Family Business … You’ll LIVE IT! Also available for download on NOOK or KINDLE edition for JUST .99 CENTS at amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com -Please support Ray so he can continue to bring you quality classic rock music reporting.
“Check the Gs is just a really cool story ... and it’s real. I’d like to see the kid on the front cover telling his story in a motion picture, TV sitcom or animated series. The characters in the story definitely jump out of the book and come to life. Very funny and scary moments throughout the story and I just love the way Ray timeline’s historical events during his lifetime. Ray’s love of rock music was evident throughout the book and it generates extra enthusiasm when I read his on-line classic rock music column on examiner.com. It’s a wonderful read for everyone!” …stillerb47@gmail.com


© Copyright rayshasho.com. All Rights Reserved

John Mayall Dazzles Sarasota Audience on his 80th Birthday

                           

                                                    Photo by Mark Javer & Ray Shasho
By Ray Shasho

John Mayall concert review in Sarasota 

John Mayall the “Godfather of British Blues” astounded and mesmerized a packed Municipal Auditorium in downtown Sarasota on Friday night. Mayall celebrated his 80th birthday with a dynamic and flawless onstage blues performance.

The doors opened at 6 pm and the evening immediately launched with John Mayall making an unanticipated preshow appearance to sign autographs and sell a few CD’s from his never before released Historic Live Shows series. There was also a terrific snack bar at the back of the hall selling beer and Chicago-style hotdogs.

OPENING ACTS: The lights went dim around 7 pm with Magnolia Recording Artists & Sarasota’s own Tucci taking the stage while opening with “High Roller Baby.” Originally hailed as the Toler-Tucci Band and widely known for spotlighting famed guitarist and local hero “Dangerous Dan Toler” (formerly of The Allman Brothers Band, Gregg Allman Band, Dickey Betts & Great Southern) who passed away in February of 2013. Tucci undoubtedly rocked the house with an incredible musical mix of Allman Brothers -styled Southern Rock, jazz, and blues. The band brought out surprise guest and local singing sensation Schascle (aka Twinkle) who performed a phenomenal soulful rendition of “Stormy Monday.” Tucci also performed a powerful cover version of “Whipping Post.” The group announced since the passing of their bandmate and mentor Dan Toler … a new mentor emerges with guitarist Larry McCray as he joined them onstage for several songs before his set.
Tucci’s latest CD is entitled Toler Tucci Band – Doc’s Hideaway
Tucci official Facebook page
Toler -Tucci official website

Larry McCray and his incredible band smoked a Sarasota crowd brimming with blues enthusiasts. McCray has all the necessary ingredients needed to become a legendary performer. McCray’s phenomenal soulful vocalizations were equally matched by his proficient guitar playing and songwriting expertise. McCray’s setlist included the discerning crowd-pleasers … “Last 4 Nickels,” “Don’t Need No Woman,” “Smooth Sailing,” “Never Hurt So Bad,” “Sugar Coated Love,” and “Soul Shine.” “Broken Promises” was a personal favorite; it had sort of a Van Morrison aura about it. Larry McCray is a Magnolia Records recording artist and was honored as the Orville Gibson 2000 Male Blues Guitarist of the Year. Watch for great things from Larry McCray in the near future including a brand new studio release.
Larry McCray official website http://larrymccrayband.com/
Larry McCray on Facebook
Larry McCray on Twitter
Larry McCray on Myspace

JOHN MAYALL the legendary British Blues trailblazer began his setlist around 9:30 pm. Mayall nonchalantly helped to setup his equipment onstage before beginning his set. Mayall is a perfect exemplification on how to live and act when you hit 80. His performance and intenseness on Friday night couldn’t be better. Mayall opened with “Checkin’ Up on My Baby” a Sonny Williamson II penned tune and a classic cover from The Bluesbreakers Crusade album which featured Mick Taylor. John Mayall and his incredible band of virtuoso musicians followed with “Oh, Pretty Woman” another Crusade track. The band proceeded with “Dirty Water” a song performed at John’s 70th birthday concert in 2003 which featured Eric Clapton, Mick Taylor and others. “Parchman Farm”a Mose Allison composition about the Mississippi State Penitentiary was performed next followed by “Gimme One More Day.” Mayall resumed his remarkable setlist with the Sonny Landreth penned “Congo Square” and ensued with “Natures’ Disappearing” from the USA Union album in 1970. Mayall announced to the audience that he wrote the tune because of deteriorating environmental conditions on the planet …and now look at it? “All My Life” from the 1990 A Sense of Place release was performed next.

As the evening wound down… the audience left their chairs and enthusiastically crowded in front of the stage. Mayall concluded his set with a rousing rendition of “Room to Move.” Mayall returned after a roaring encore and commented that maybe he should come back to Sarasota more often. Then bass player Greg Rzab initiated the audience to sing a chorus of “Happy Birthday” to his favorite bandleader.

Mayall finished the evening with one of the most recognized Bluesbreakers hits, the Otis Rush penned “All Your Love,” from the 1966 Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton classic album.

John Mayall’s proficient skills for playing keyboard and harp while singing in-between was incredible, and if you add the fact that he’s just turned ‘80’into the equation …it’s almost unimaginable. But John Mayall is an original and a truly remarkable man. Mayall’s voice and guitar playing were also in supreme form. Guitarist Rocky Athas’ added an exceptional and awe-inspiring performance, while Greg Rzab’s accomplished bass playing and Jay Davenport’s proficient drumming completed an unprecedented musical evening of the blues.

Music promoter Paul Koch (Owner of Magnolia Entertainment) told me that more shows like this will be coming to Sarasota in the near future.

Both John Mayall and Pete Seeger are living music icons that have had immeasurable impacts for trendsetting and intensifying their musical genres. Both artists are similarly revered by their peers. The evening was historic and musically impeccable. The only thing that may have made the evening of greater significance would have been a surprise appearance by some of John’s legendary friends from his 70th birthday concert. But that’s okay, because John will probably be onstage for his 90th birthday too.

John Mayall's Setlist at the Municipal Auditorium in Sarasota on 11/29/2013
Checkin’ Up On My Baby
Oh Pretty Woman
Dirty Water
Sum of Something
Parchman Farm
Gimme One More Day
Congo Square
Natures’ Disappearing
All My Life
Room to Move
Encore
All Your Love

John Mayall official website www.johnmayall.com
John Mayall tour schedule
John Mayall on Facebook
John Mayall on Myspace

Very special thanks to Jane Ebdon and Claude Taylor

Contact classic rock music journalist Ray Shasho at rockraymond.shasho@gmail.com


Purchase Ray’s very special memoir called ‘Check the Gs’ -The True Story of an Eclectic American Family and Their Wacky Family Business … You’ll LIVE IT! Also available for download on NOOK or KINDLE edition for JUST .99 CENTS at amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com - Please support Ray by purchasing his book so he can continue to bring you quality classic rock music reporting.
“Check the Gs is just a really cool story ... and it’s real. I’d like to see the kid on the front cover telling his story in a motion picture, TV sitcom or animated series. The characters in the story definitely jump out of the book and come to life. Very funny and scary moments throughout the story and I just love the way Ray timeline’s historical events during his lifetime. Ray’s love of rock music was evident throughout the book and it generates extra enthusiasm when I read his on-line classic rock music column on examiner.com. It’s a wonderful read for everyone!” …stillerb47@gmail.com

© Copyright rayshasho.com. All Rights Reserved

Steve Hackett Interview: An intimate chat with the prodigious guitarist of ‘Genesis’

By Ray Shasho
Steve Hackett Interview:

British virtuoso guitarist, singer and songwriter Steve Hackett is a musician’s musician. While Hackett’s musical realm is limitless, he is widely renowned for his intricate progressive and classical rock guitar stylings and composition with Genesis. But over the years, Steve Hackett has affectionately embraced numerous musical genres while brilliantly composing, arranging, and recording track after track of pristine musical enchantment.
Steve Hackett’s Genesis Revisited-Genesis Extended will be performing at the newly renovated Capitol Theatre in Clearwater, Florida on Thursday April 3rd 2014 at 7:30 p.m. For tickets visit  www.rutheckerdhall.com or call 727-791-7400 for more information. Steve Hackett’s Genesis Revisited-Genesis Extended will also be playing on Friday April 4th at Plaza Live in Orlando and on Saturday April 5th at Parker Playhouse in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Born in Pimlico, London, England, Steve Hackett initially developed a fondness for classical music. Hackett’s father Peter was a multi-instrumentalist. Hackett’s earliest band associations were with Canterbury Glass and Sarabande. His first recording experience transpired as a member of Quiet World. The group also featured flautist/guitarist John Hackett, his younger brother.

In 1971, Steve Hackett made his studio debut with Genesis on the album Nursery Cryme. The classic lineup became Peter Gabriel (Lead singer), Steve Hackett (Guitarist), Tony Banks (Keyboardist), Mike Rutherford (Bass guitar), and Phil Collins (Drums). Genesis became touted for their intricate musical arrangements and instrumentation along with frontman Peter Gabriel’s raconteur theatrical stage antics. During this time Hackett became an early pioneer for an electric guitar technique called “tapping” which is more commonly used on instruments like the Chapman Stick.

The Peter Gabriel Genesis era released albums…From Genesis to Revelation (1969), Trespass (1970), Nursery Cryme (1971), Foxtrot (1972), Selling England by the Pound (1973), The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974).

In 1975, Peter Gabriel left Genesis to pursue a solo career. After auditioning hundreds of singers to replace Gabriel, it was decided to promote Phil Collins to the new lead singer role. Genesis had been perceived as Peter Gabriel’s band by many of their fans until the release of the critically-acclaimed … A Trick of the Tail album in 1976. The release featured an incredible musical accord between bandmates and became a masterpiece. Later that year … A Trick of the Tail was succeeded by the Wind & Wuthering album, another exceptional effort by Genesis.

In this interview … Hackett revealed that Disney had a huge influence on Genesis throughout the 70’s. After the Hackett penned “Entangled” lyrics were introduced to Phil Collins, Collins said the song had a Mary Poppins feel to it.
After the Wind &Wuthering album Steve Hackett departed Genesis. Some of Steve Hackett’s magical and memorable moments with Genesis include legendary performances on the tracks… “Horizons,” “Blood on the Rooftops,” “Firth of Fifth” and “Fountain of Salmacis.”

The Phil Collins Genesis era with Steve Hackett released albums…A Trick of the Tail (1976), Wind & Wuthering (1976), Genesis -Spot the Pigeon (EP) (1977).

Genesis Live released albums … Genesis Live (1973), Seconds Out (1977), Three Sides Live (1982).

In 1985, Steve Hackett and Steve Howe (Yes, Asia) united to form GTR. The band released their self-titled debut album in 1986 produced by Geoff Downes. The release spawned the hit “When the Heart Rules the Mind” reaching #14 on Billboards’ Hot 100 Singles Chart. GTR disbanded in 1987.

GTR released albums …GTR (1986), GTR Live (1997).

Since 1975, Steve Hackett has expeditiously released (25) inspired solo studio albums …

Voyage of the Acolyte (1975), Please Don’t Touch (1978),Spectral Mornings (1979), Defector (1980),Cured (1981), Highly Strung (1982), Bay of Kings (1983),Till We Have Faces (1984), Momentum (1988), The Unauthorized Biography (1992),Guitar Noir (1993), Blues with a Feeling (1995),Genesis Revisited (1996), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1997), Darktown (1999),Sketches of Satie (2000), Feedback 86 (2000),Genesis Files (2002), To Watch the Storms (2003), Metamorpheus (2005), Wild Orchids (2006),Tribute (2008), Out of the Tunnels Mouth (2009), Beyond the Shrouded Horizon (2011), Genesis Revisited II (2012).

On March 15th of 2010, Steve Hackett was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Genesis. He joined Phil Collins, Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford onstage but did not perform.

In 2011, Phil Collins announced his retirement from music and possibly diminished any chance for a full- fledged Genesis reunion.

In 2012, Steve Hackett joined forces with Chris Squire (Yes) and formed Squackett. Their debut release entitled … A Life Within a Day received rave reviews.

Recently, I had the rare pleasure of chatting with Steve Hackett from his home near London, England. Steve and I chatted about the Genesis Revisited tour, those incredible Genesis days, Squackett with Chris Squire, solo material, the history behind “Entangled,” and of course my infamous “Field of Dreams” question. Here’s my interview with legendary guitarist, singer, songwriter, member of Genesis, GTR, Squackett, and an incredible solo career … STEVE HACKETT.

Ray Shasho: Hello Steve! Where am I calling you in the UK?
Steve Hackett: “Hello Ray, I’m in the outskirts of London. The weather is quite mild for this time of the year and there was a nice sunset this evening, so it’s been okay.”
Ray Shasho: Steve, you’ve got several ‘Genesis Revisited’ Florida dates coming up in April … including an appearance at the Capitol Theatre in Clearwater, Plaza Live in Orlando and Parker Playhouse in Ft Lauderdale. Hopefully you and the band will get to enjoy the beach and some Florida sunshine during that time.
Steve Hackett: “I’m sure we will. I hope we will get a moment to enjoy the beaches because often it’s all work.”
Ray Shasho: ‘Genesis Revisited’ is a fairly large production so I can understand why it takes away from the bands R&R time.
Steve Hackett: It is a big production; we carry a bigger production in Europe but it’s more pared down when we’re in the states and tend to rely on the light show more. Where over here it’s a light show and LED screens, so it’s slightly different, but at the end of the day, the music is the star of the show and that’s how I kind of see it.”
Ray Shasho: Do you add an orchestra to the show when you’re doing the European dates?
Steve Hackett: “No we don’t have an orchestra on this one. I was playing with an orchestra the other night, but not with Genesis material. So, I do get to work with orchestras from time to time. In Hungary, I was working with some string players. But for my own stuff …it’s a six piece band.”
Ray Shasho: Steve, who is the lead singer for Genesis Revisited?
Steve Hackett: “The lead singer with these particular shows is Nad Sylvan. He’s from Sweden and is one of several Swedes that I have been working with over the past year. I worked a little bit with Roine Stolt of The Flower Kings who did a gig guest spot with us at Royal Albert Hall and he was also a guest on Genesis Revisited II. Plus there’s Mikael Akerfeldt who was also on the same album. So that’s gone very well, an awful lot of people were involved in the studio version of that album. But on the live one, the core band sometimes gets joined by special guests in different parts of the world.”
Ray Shasho: Have you had anyone from the original Genesis lineup join you onstage?
Steve Hackett: “I think the nearest has been Ray Wilson. Ray worked with Genesis on Calling All Stations and he’s joined us onstage for three or four shows. So that’s getting to be a regular thing. Its lovely working with him, he’s got a great voice. So we have a number of guests who seem to be wandering through. The reinterpretation of this material is somewhat flexible by now. We’re able to do it as a band and I’ve got two singers within the band … Nad Sylvan and Gary O’Toole who plays drums with us. So it works out very well that a number of us sing harmonies and what have you. On my solo stuff, apart from the Genesis material, I sing the lead vocals myself, so it’s a kind of shared responsibility.”
Ray Shasho: I chatted with Chris Squire after the release of A life Within A Day the debut album by ‘Squackett,’ an incredible collaboration between you and Chris. Chris told me … “I have to be honest going into this project at the beginning; I didn’t really know that Steve sang, so that was a big plus for me.”
Steve Hackett: “Right… we had a good time doing that and what we decided to do was to be our own lead singers on that. I sung lead on a number of albums and I know Chris has as well. At times people might think its Jon Anderson but it’s actually Chris at times. He has a similarity in a way because they always had a great harmony vocal sound. Although I know Jon hasn’t worked with them officially for awhile. Who’s to say how that goes in the future?”
Ray Shasho: I had a short discussion with Chris about Jon being booted out of ‘Yes,’ and I did let him know that I was both surprised and upset when he was let go.
Steve Hackett: “Well who knows … I don’t know what actually went down. I know that Jon was ill for awhile and I think he’s doing gigs now for what I’ve gathered. I wouldn’t want to get into that for whatever issues they have between them. But obviously from a fans point of view I would say that ‘Yes’ obviously has an extraordinary history and Jon’s voice was part of that. They’ve had a couple of singers since then … Benoit David and Jon Davison.”
Ray Shasho: The absolute ‘Yes’ aficionado will probably never watch another ‘Yes’ performance again until Jon Anderson’s return to the group.
Steve Hackett: “I understand that and people often feel the same way about Genesis. But it could be a very long time waiting for Peter Gabriel to come back on lead vocals. It’s highly unlikely that team will ever be put back together again… and with Phil singing vocals, highly unlikely, not impossible, but extremely improvable. As much as it would be great to work with either of those guys, again, I think at the end of the day, the star is the music. When I’m doing these Genesis shows, which is the emphasis for me over this period, the response was so great in the rest of Europe and other parts of the world including Japan that instead of doing that for just a year, I decided to do it for another year. But I am going to do some solo material as well to balance that out, because otherwise it is very easy to become part of a museum. But I’m very proud of all those songs, it’s just that I feel the need to also write new material.”
Ray Shasho: Going back to Squackett’s A life Within A Day … I gave the album (5) Stars before the official release in late May 2012.
Steve Hackett: “It was very much put together in piecemeal as oppose to all in one go. It really took shape over a couple of years. At times we took things that were potentially going to be solo material of mine and Chris and combined and altered them. But it was a very easy writing process with Chris. Out of all the people that I’ve ever written with, I would say the easiest writing partner I ever had was Chris. He tends to have the attitude if somebody’s got an idea with a song; the song just expands in order to incorporate that idea. So the song gets longer with a new variation. That may sound like a very simple equation but to me it’s a very good one. Where I find with most bands and writing partners it will be … my idea is better than yours and we should do this instead of that and I could see how ‘Yes’ worked in a way to encompass lots and lots of different ideas and it’s a very good way of working.”
Ray Shasho: I think if you’re having fun during the recording process than you can expect great music.
Steve Hackett: “I think enjoying it is part of the process. Very often just building the cake can take a very long time. By the time you come to do the icing on the cake, sometimes you can end up splitting yourself a little bit thin. It’s important to go in fresh. I think if I did guitar on something for instance, I like to go in fresh. That’ll be the first thing I do on that particular day. I don’t like to be building the track all day and then come six o’clock it’s time for me to finally start putting some guitar on. I like to have both guns blazing at the beginning of the day.”
Ray Shasho: Steve, do you think some of the greatest albums and individual tracks were recorded rather quickly and easily?
Steve Hackett: “Absolutely. But it can often be the case that if you have a band and you’re all playing live together… that’s one thing. Your level of investment will be very high if you’re having a band standing around while you’re working out the arrangements. What tends to make more sense is what we used to call a demo … but now it’s an updatable piece of software. You update things having gotten the bones of it down to show people. Often I’ll be showing people things that have got a finished guitar part on them or finished vocal plot, but the drums might be the last thing we put on because we may find what holes we’ve got left is the drum breaks. So I tend to work that way and tend to record one instrument at a time with a computer sketch, most of the time I don’t use amplifiers and I just play into the computer. It’s a more flexible system.”

“As much as I love amplifiers and using them for live albums all the time, I’ve used Marshall, Roland, Roland Cube, Hiwatt, HH, Fender …and I’ve been through quite a few.”
Ray Shasho: The conventional ways of recording in a studio and the technology has changed immensely.
Steve Hackett: “It certainly has. I’ll tell you what I find interesting is using an amp within a computer. I’m very fond of my pedals but sometimes we’ll just use something if I want to get a very distant thin buzzy sound or use something that’s in the computer and it’s amazingly good. I do have my treasured pedals mind you that do wonderful things and my Fernandes Burny model guitar which looks like a Les Paul and has a Floyd Rose tremolo. It’s a really extraordinary sounding instrument with sustain that goes on forever without the need of being volume dependent. The Tierney of volume is no longer an issue for me in getting guitar sounds.”
Ray Shasho: Steve, do you alter the electronics of your amplifiers or guitars, or ever build your own equipment?
Steve Hackett: “I’ve been involved with guitar manufacturers from time to time with building guitars to specific specifications. I just acquired a Jack Dent guitar with P-90 pickup which is very good. I also acquired a Farida 12 String which was built to my specifications. In terms of amplifiers I have not been involved with a signature amp so far, but I interact more and more with people who seem to want the association. I’m from a world where anyone who owned a Les Paul or a Marshall Stack had already made it. So from the teenage view point, that’s how it seemed to me. Maybe it’s the fact that Everest was there and needed to be climbed. The fact that you already had the equipment meant you were automatically going to make the assent. You already made it once you had the equipment.”

“In reality it didn’t quite work out like that because nobody walks into immediate fame on the world stage. There’s a tremendous benefit for being the new face on the block. The thing that moves me most is the passion for music, the challenge is still there and as greater as it ever was. There’s this thing that I have to face, absolute desire to want to excel and out do myself and the fear that I might not each time. Somewhere between the two there’s some kind of chain reaction that gets setup and if I spend enough time doing it I can disappoint myself from time to time.”
Ray Shasho: You’ve made so many incredible solo albums … I could spend hours discussing each one, but I think Out of the Tunnels Mouth (2009) is one of my favorites. It’s an eclectic musical mix of sheer heaven! Chris Squire was also on that album?
Steve Hackett: “I had a good time doing that one. Chris, Anthony Phillips, Nick Beggs and a number of interesting people and they all did a wonderful job. I’m actually very proud of that album. It was a very difficult album to do. I was going through a number of personal things that made it very difficult to pull off. I was in the middle of a divorce and a very difficult court case. But in a sense, I think that’s what made it all the stronger and the fact that there was so much to fight against. In a way, I went with songs that I knew that were going to work because the form of those songs were probably less experimental than I’ve done before. I knew where each of the songs ought to be heading. I was stockpiling material that I couldn’t release at the time because it was my right to be able to release albums that were being challenged in court. In a way it made it more concentrated. Of course it had something to do with the album title; it all relates to that … Out of the Tunnels Mouth… out of harm’s way and out of the lion’s mouth. In many ways it was a miracle that it got done and got finished. I do think that it is a strong album.”
Ray Shasho: So many great tracks on Out of the Tunnels Mouth. A few of my favorite tunes were “Emerald & Ash” and especially “Last Train to Istanbul.”
Steve Hackett: “Interesting … I was playing that one with the Hungarians recently. We play it with the same violinist and his daughter is playing flute on it. And I was doing some live backwards guitar stuff. I’ve got a Line 6 device that does backwards guitar almost in real time. But I work with these reverse repeat echoes and that’s a very interesting sound. Whenever I play like that it immediately starts sounding like The Beatles circa Revolver. But then I use fourth octaves on that and sometimes use either Micro Pog or another device like Digitech Whammy Pedal II to play an octave higher than what the guitar plays naturally, then when you play in a faster type of way and you end up sounding a little bit like the sound on “Baby You’re a Rich Man.” It’s a very odd sound but a very good one and something I like very-very much.”
Ray Shasho: Steve, did you receive formal musical training growing up?
Steve Hackett: “No, I didn’t have any formal training. My father was able to play a number of musical instruments and I fell in love with classical music in my teens and I allowed it to influence me. I like to think I took and still do from classical music and various techniques, I have made classical albums and recorded seven different pieces of Bach on different albums and its all music too me. There’s no need to be either one thing or another. I think you can operate in all those areas, provided that you love it enough. You don’t really need someone to grade you and say you’re not doing that properly. The idea of the mixture of genres has appealed to me greatly, the mixture of sounds and instruments, two instruments making up a third, and so on and so forth. There are so many schools of thought and if you can allow yourself to be totally immersed in each of those schools at various times, and I think the main thing is to listen which is the best lesson of all … and to love it. Then you don’t need to judge or be judged.”
Ray Shasho: I believe artists like you are also very gifted because so many musicians can’t play like you …I play a little guitar and get very frustrated because I feel there’s always something missing.
Steve Hackett: “I think all of us think there’s something missing with our playing. Approaching it every day to try and do something that you didn’t do the previous day. I think we all inch our way forward and imagine other people operate like Gods but I think it’s much more like worms inching their way forward occasionally out of the darkness and into the light.”
Ray Shasho: I chatted with drummer Jim McCarty of TheYardbirds back in 2011 and he said you were a big Yardbirds fan. Jim also mentioned that your favorite album was the Roger the Engineer album.
Steve Hackett: “Yes, Roger the Engineer is a great album. I love the guitar work on it and sonically the world owes a tremendous amount to Jeff Beck for having blazed a trail and having used effects on the guitar as well… like the effect of echoes and the way guitar production owes so much to him with a great lesson to us all. There’s no doubt that he’s one of the greats and I’ll always love him for that.”
“But Jim’s a lovely guy and I enjoyed working with the reformed Yardbirds when they became Box of Frogs. I played on their second album and I’ve done things occasionally with Jim and played on his album Sitting On the Top of Time a couple of years back and also jammed with him live on one show with TheYardbirds. So yea, that was great fun.”
Ray Shasho: One of my favorite Genesis albums is …A Trick of the Tail (1976) which was the first release without original frontman Peter Gabriel. I had surgery and a two week stint in the hospital a few years back and a song that came into my mind during that time was “Entangled.” Was being in the hospital the premises of the song?
Steve Hackett: “It was really the psychiatrist couch. Whether you place it in a hospital or somewhere else, it was the idea of drifting in and out of consciousness. I remember when I first had the lyric ready and I showed it to Phil who was going to sing it and he said this has got a Mary Poppins feel to it … Over the Rooftops and Houses. Indeed, the whole world of Disney cartoons and the attendant music was a huge influence on Genesis. Certainly throughout the 70’s, beyond that … possibly less so for them, but then I really shouldn’t comment on what they did post Gabriel and post me.”

“I loved my time with Genesis and I was a huge fan of what the rest of the guys came up with. I think they were all very clever writers and very individual and unique players. It was a great school to be part of. And to quote Phil, I remember him saying on the very first day that I met him and we were going to be working together he said we’re bound to influence each other. I thought it really hadn’t occurred to me because I’d never worked in a band context before. It was a very different proposition working with a band that is often very competitive with each other. But we managed to cooperate sufficiently to come up with a great bunch of songs between us all which is why I’m still doing this stuff live, and it’s because I think so much of this group’s written material which is so damned good. When I first joined the band it was on the premises that if you wrote a guitar part you were already part of the writing team, so I joined as a full writer from the word ‘go’ and I think it was a very healthy way to run a band. You keep everyone happy and everyone is going to end up being on an economic equilibrium. That struck me as a very good way to keep a band together and get the best out of everybody. If you just feel like you’re a hired gun you’re not necessarily going to give the best of yourself.”
Ray Shasho: What was the spark that got you to write “Entangled?”
Steve Hackett: “I was thinking on the lines of Crosby, Stills and Nash and I was thinking of Graham Nash’s voice. Funny enough, I’ve run into Graham a few times in recent years and very often in the same place in New York. When I think of harmony I often think of the sound of his very sweet high voice. I think if a band that has three part harmony and can have the sweet voice on the top then the sunshine can really come out of those harmonies. So I was thinking of that … working a song that was less dependent on the lead singer and more on a harmony sound. I often still take that approach myself. “Entangled” is a song that I’m really proud of.”
Ray Shasho: Did the lyric or the music come first on “Entangled?”
Steve Hackett: “Actually, I think the music came first and the lyric followed.”
Ray Shasho: You left the group after the Wind & Wuthering album. Many of the Genesis die-hard fans became disenchanted with the group when they became a Pop or Top 40 band. Did you have any idea that the band was headed in that direction before your departure?
Steve Hackett: “It’s difficult to say. Some people were more pop orientated. I think Tony was starting to head that way. To my mind it was more important to have the occasional hit single rather than to have a whole succession of hit singles. I think there’s a certain price …you end up playing the game where as for instance I had a hit single with Genesis with “I Know What I Like” and then the next hit I had was “Cell 151” off my own album Highly Strung and then the next hit single was “When the Heart Rules the Mind” with GTR. But since then, I never really have taken the singles market seriously. I make albums … I’m that kind of animal. I like the musical journey on an album.”
Ray Shasho: Phil Collins made some Disheartening remarks several years ago saying that there was no longer a place for him in today’s music.
In an interview he stated, “I'm much happier just to write myself out of the script entirely. I'll go on a mysterious biking holiday and never return. That would be a great way to end the story, wouldn't it?" It stirred a huge outpouring of concern from all of his fans around the world and later Phil responded back saying that he wasn’t really a basket case. Have you spoken with Phil Collins lately and is he okay?
Steve Hackett: “I think he has some health issues. To be honest I tend to bump into Phil at the occasional function. He had become extremely withdrawn so I think he attends those functions less, as far as I know. All I would say as a musician, I’ve always loved him and he’s a great all rounder. The great thing is we encouraged each other. I hope he recovers in every sense of the word. He’s given us a lot of different music over the years and is one of the greats. I’m just wishing him a lot of luck and love frankly. The drums have been difficult for him to manage because of his hands. But there may be some other past there. We have to be adaptable and flexible. To be a conceptual thinker is terribly important, to think outside the box.”
Ray Shasho: Is there a certain period during the day that is better for you to write music?
Steve Hackett: “Occasionally I’ve managed to dream melodies. That always seems like the greatest gift, to wake up with a song that you remember, or a tune, a riff, a line …anything. It’s a great thing. I’ve awoken in the middle of the night to write things down or record them on tape. I’ll gladly give up sleep any night of the week to come up with something extraordinary like that. It’s the reason I tend to write first thing in the morning. I tend to get up quite early, usually by 6 a.m. That’s when I get the pen out, in that first hour when all around is quiet and before the sun is up … it’s important to me. I find first thing in the morning that I’m in a semi-dream state.”
Ray Shasho: Steve, here’s a question that I ask everyone that I interview. If you had a ‘Field of Dreams’ wish like the movie, to play, sing or collaborate with anyone from the past or present, who would that be?
Steve Hackett: “Let’s hope they would all like to collaborate and teach. I’d love to find out what Tchaikovsky and Paul Butterfield might come up with between the two of them. Of course there’s Bach. I think really it’s the meeting point between opposites that engages me the most. Those contradictions that get resolved in music are the genuine breakthroughs. I’d just let every one of them flood through me, the idea that all music is really one cell of opportunity. If you were to become all of those things at once, that would be something wouldn’t it? It would be incredible.”
Ray Shasho: Steve, thank you so much for being on the call today … but more importantly for all the great music you’ve given us and continue to bring. We’ll see you in Florida in April!
Steve Hackett: “It’s been great talking with you Ray. Good luck with your endeavors and I’ll see you in Clearwater, Florida soon … all the best.”

Steve Hackett’s Genesis Revisited-Genesis Extended will be performing at the newly renovated Capitol Theatre in Clearwater, Florida on Thursday April 3rd 2014 at 7:30 p.m. For tickets visit www.rutheckerdhall.com or call 727-791-7400 for more information. Steve Hackett’s Genesis Revisited-Genesis Extended will also be playing on Friday April 4th at Plaza Live in Orlando and on Saturday April 5th at Parker Playhouse in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Purchase Steve Hackett’s Genesis Revisited I & II CD’s at amazon.com
Purchase Steve Hackett’s Beyond the Shrouded Horizon at amazon.com
Steve Hackett Official Website at www.hackettsongs.com
Genesis Revisited Tour dates
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Steve Hackett on Twitter
Very special thanks to Jo Hackett.

Contact classic rock music journalist Ray Shasho at rockraymond.shasho@gmail.com
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