Publications
Partners
Cape Town – We recently had the amazing opportunity to chat to US guitarist and record producer, Gilby Clarke, who is heading to South Africa in December as part of the rock supergroup, Kings of Chaos.
Gilby, 52, who is best known for his 3-year tenure as the rhythm guitarist of Guns N' Roses, has been to SA before when Kings of Chaos hit our shores in 2013. But this year, the band – consisting of Matt Sorum and Duff McKagan from Guns n Roses, Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top, Robin Zander from Cheap Trick and Nuno Bettencourt from Extreme – will be joined by Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler.
We got to ask Gilby a few personal questions ahead of their show.
Check it out here:
Channel24:
You were here last year for Kings of Chaos. Is there anything you’d like to see this time around that you didn’t get to see the previous time?
Gilby:
Well, when we were here the first time, I actually did a lot. When we were in Cape Town, I did a lot of tourist things and got around for a few days. But in Johannesburg, we didn’t really spend a lot of time. We were just in Sun City, so I’m actually interested in spending more time in Joburg to see some sites.
Channel24:
You guys are bringing Steven Tyler with you this year, what’s it like working with him?
Gilby:
Well, Steven Tyler in my opinion is probably the greatest rock ‘n roll frontman there is. I mean he still sings as great as he ever has, he still performs as great as he ever has. We always said that if we had to pick the perfect frontman for this band, it would probably be Steven Tyler.
Channel24:
You guys are so used to playing and probably so rehearsed – do you still rehearse and what can people expect from your set?
Gilby:
Uhm, we put some thought into it you know; we try to pick the most popular songs from everybody’s projects. We want it to be what the fans expect, we want to do the most popular songs and we want it to be fun. At this point in our lives and at this point in our careers, you know, this is the reward, having fun, playing with friends, and playing with good musicians. We are fans of music too, we buy records ourselves, so we want to put together a show that we would want to see, that’s what’s important to us.
Channel24:
After years of touring, how does touring then (when you were younger) compare to touring now?
Gilby:
What’s different now is, well for me personally, is that I’m a lot choosier about how I tour. You know, when we were younger, we’d get every tour possible and now we’re more pickier about the tours we take. The travel is the hard part when we tour, so we just do it a little bit nicer now. Before we would just jump on a bus and go on tour. There was a time in my life when I was on tour for 5 years straight, so as I get older you get to a point where you do things smarter, it’s about being more comfortable, making the travel a little easier.
Channel24:
Do you work out and keep fit on tour?
Gilby:
Of course, we have to now! As you’re getting older you have to you know. I don’t think there’s anyone in this band that isn’t in the gym at least three times a week. I mean, our job is physical, we’re not athletes, but it is a physical job, and also our physical appearance is important as we get older, and that’s part of what we have to take into consideration.
Channel24:
Do you still get a thrill every time you go on stage in front of thousands of people, and can you describe what it feels like?
Gilby:
Well, for me, I still feel like a kid, and I think all of us still feel the same way. At this point in our lives it’s important to us to feel good while on stage performing. I always said that when I put on my guitar and still get that excitement and, you know, that feeling that I had when I was younger, then I’ll keep doing it, and that’s where I am right now. I do still feel like a kid, and actually when we do shows like this, it even feels better, like I said, to have the opportunity to play with Steven Tyler, and Gibbons, this is exciting, this is the icing on the cake after all these years.
Channel24:
What would you say is the recipe for writing a good song?
Gilby:
Well, I have a little saying that I always say, ‘A good song is a good song’, and it doesn’t matter if it’s on acoustic guitar or a piano or actually just singing it without any instruments, the best songs that were ever written in the world are just good songs and you can’t tear them apart, and you can’t re-write them, they just are. So, to me that’s one of the things that keeps us all going after all these years. I don’t think anybody is ever satisfied with what they’ve done in their career, you know, we’re all still trying to write that next great song. So for me, my recipe is, I always start with guitar, cos I’m a guitar player, so I always go for a guitar riff first until I find something I think is special, and when I have that, that’s when I start going. I’m a little bit different than other people, I don’t start with the vocal, melody or lyrics, I go for the guitar first.
Channel24:
Do you have any advice for up-and-coming musicians trying to make it?
Gilby:
That’s simple, be original. I think it’s very important as a new young artist, you know, to be creative, be original. Do something that hasn’t been done before. Uhm, I mean I realise there’s only 12 notes, but it seems like a lot of young artists are sort of regurgitating old stuff, so to me originality is very important.
Channel24:
Do you have any rituals before you go on stage?
Gilby:
Yeah, I may have one now, I actually stretch! So, yeah I do a bit of stretching and I have a couple of cocktails before I go on stage; those are my two rituals.
Channel24:
We usually call these short interviews quickies, so I just want to know, if you had a choice, would you have a quickie with Steven Tyler or Matt Sorum?
Gilby:
I know Matt better, so Matt!
*Catch Kings of Chaos at the Sun City Superbowl on 29 and 30 November, and in Cape Town at the Grand Arena on 3 December. Tickets are available through Computicket.
