Orianthi

Published Jan 30, 2025, 11:00 AM

Michael Jackson's last guitarist, Australian Orianthi has a new album, and tales of how she got from Down Under to the international radar screen.

Welcome, Welcome, Welcome back to the Bob Left Steps Podcast. My guest today is Ori Anty, guitarist artist songwriter orianthy Good to have you on the podcast.

Thank you so much for having me on. I really appreciate it.

Okay, I read in a recent interview with you, but you said you love music, but you hate the music industry. Can you tell me more about that?

It's forever changing? Is that the wild West? Right?

Right?

I think you know, once streaming began, it kind of all lost its value, you know, because I grew up kind of in a time walk, you know, my dad's record collections and the value of like going you know, lining up at a record store and waiting for your favorite record to come out and opening it and reading the liner notes, and you know, there was just so much more gravity to that to now where everything's like instant gratification, which is cool and all right, because we all love that. But I think kids that are now born with iPhones in their hands, essentially, you know, they don't know what it was like to sort of experience music the other way where you go to a store and you buy a jacket, and you pay for the jacket. You know what I mean, and it's like now it's like music's so free, but everything you know, costs the same. And then the business side of things as well, it's very different just how people operate. And when I first got signed to now it's like I think everyone's sort of famous, right, like so many which is great. I mean, having the platform of TikTok and Instagram and all that to be able to self promote, right, but the mystique I think is kind of gone because you kind of know what everyone's had for breakfast these days.

You know, so okay, but your experiences in the industry. You had to deal with Geffen, you had a hit record, you dealt with managers, you dealt with agins. Did that leave a bad taste in your mouth?

Oh yeah, absolutely yeah, if you don't have a good lawyer to begin with. Yeah, yeah, you know, I came off a boat from Australia, you know what I mean, So I didn't know what I was getting into. I signed within just go Jimmy Ivan, who's amazing. I have utmost respect for him and Ron Fair and everybody. But then you get this circus that surrounds you, right, so you don't know where all your money is going. You don't know what you're doing is essentially a very big loan. You don't realize that when you're a kid and you just see all the flashing lights. We've got multi platinum record here, I'm traveling you know, the world on this single, and and you know, just there's tons of money being thrown at you. You're making tons of money. You're getting all these different sponsorships and whatnot, and from Colgate Commercial Commercialist to Panasonic to Hayundai to whatever, you know, clothing lines, all that kind of stuff, and you sort of lose your mind. And I was probably the most unhappiest back then as a kid, you know, to what I am now, I feel I feel like I'm finding balanced as I'm getting older. You know, it's just like really, you know, being more present. I think that's the key, you know, to being like creating and being in the moment and going back to what I was like as a kid in my living room or in my bedroom with my Keishar and creating because that's what it's all about, you know, It's all about that joy and reaching people and serving people. And yeah, the spiritual aspect of music and creation is where my head and heart and spirit lays better than the business aspect of things.

So okay, in that go round, you had it interscope. To what degree did they tell you what music to make or want to change what you wanted to do personally?

You know, It's funny. When I first moved over here, I self produced a record when I was like, i'll say fifteen or sixteen, and I learned how to engineer. I learned how to produce, I learned how to play drums, bass keys, everything, and I did this record called Violet Journey I was in. It was actually off Universal Records in Australia, and then I got I sent it to everyone over here in the US, and I got a deal from Jimmy Ivy. You know, He's like, I love what you're doing, you know, come over here and perform for me. So I came over and I performed at the NAM Show. Then I went to Jimmy's home in bel Air and performed for him in the basement, and he was sitting on a bean bag in his kid's basement and he was like, perform for me with a backing track. It was the craziest thing. And his kids were having a party everyone's dressed and I remember dinosaur gear and I don't know what's going on, and I was playing my songs and he's like, I want to sign you. And then then Ron Fair was like I want to sign you to then went back to Australia, came back and moved over. I was like eighteen nineteen, so you know, that was pretty It was a pretty wild sort of time. And then you know, I learned kind of how to do everything myself. So I knew how to write songs, and you how to produce. And then when you get put into that big sort of machine, you know, of a major label, they all want to put you with different riders, rightly, so so you can get hit songs. But then you feel like you can't do it yourself. You feel like you're not good enough to write by yourself, you know what I mean. You sort of lose this thing like you always need somebody to help. So I had to get out of that mentality. That was one thing that was like, yeah, sometimes it does call for another songwriter. But this new record I've just done, I've predominantly written every song myself, you know, lyrically and musically, and I'm really proud of it too.

So yeah, okay, we'll get into your new work. But since we started on this experience, this whirlwind, they forced you to write with people. When the record was recorded, were you happy with the music that was made, both the songs in the way the recording and production ultimately came.

Out, some of them, not all, you know. I think, according to turned out really well because that song had a really strong message. It was very empowering for women and men. And I think putting a is about self worth, you know, you know what I mean, It's like just standing up for yourself. I thought the message was really strong. When the songwriters came in and showed me the song and then I contributed to it and we finished it up together in the studio. I'm like, I'm putting a guitar solo on this, like you know, it could be like a like an eighties guitar solo on a pop song. And everyone at first I was like, I'm not doing something. I play that on the radio and I'm like, well, that's the point of difference, you know what I mean for me, because I'm a guitar player and it'd be really cool to do that and to inspire girls, you know, because it wasn't that many female guitar players back then, you know, when it first came out to pick up the guitar and and just you know, my whole thing was just to inspire and uplift, and I thought that that song really embodied both things, you know, really did.

How then with the major label, well it.

Was actually really sad. My A and R guy Tao Hertzberg, he passed away from cancer and he was one of my main guys there with Runfair and then Ron Fair, i think went to a different position, and it's sort of everyone sort of got different, you know. That's sort of what things changed, vastly, right, who's in control? Who signed you? Everything sort of slightly not falls apart, but sort of does, like people take on different things. And then we just sort of parted ways. There wasn't anything crazy. It just sort of happened where it was like, you know, off the label now. So yeah, and then I went straight in and made a record with Dave Stewart in Nashville, so they went to Blackbird.

Okay, this is you know something people talk about a lot today. People say, oh, the business is screwed. You can't get signed to a major label. Since you've been up both sides of the fence, Yes, did you end up making any money from the major label?

I did in the sense of what they brought to the tap. I mean, they really promote you in such a massive way, right, So you reach so many people people with how much money they put behind you. So you make money from endorsements and sponsorships and all that kind of stuff. So for me, I was making money from like commercials and you know, clothing lines and shows and all that kind of stuff. So absolutely, and I did definitely make a lot of money, but a lot of money got, you know, it sent out because you're paying all these people. You have like the circus, you have hair and makeup, you're flying the business class, you've got parties going on. Honestly, I didn't know where half my money was going. Now I do, thank god, but back then I did not know. But you can make money.

Absolutely, you're talking about the the number of the other opportunities that came. Did you make any record royalties and you get any royalties today?

Right now? I do receive, Yes, money I did every month. I don't know the exact amount, but it changes all the time. I can't say that it's an incredible amount of money. No, No, it isn't, even though I've had a lot of success, especially in Japan predominantly it was my biggest market. I have a best stuff record over there, and we streamed I don't know, according to you stream that for a song. I don't even know how many millions you had, like on even TikTok and all these different things at like one hundred something million hits and all this stuff. So yeah, I mean, it really doesn't amount to much. No, I can't. I can't say. And nowadays it's even worse because I had, as I said, hard copies back then too.

So okay, the amount of money you make from royalties, can it pay your mortgage or rent in a month? No?

Probably not. No.

No, Oh, okay, you're an attractive woman play guitar in a world where that's a rarity. To what degree did you feel pressure to trade on your sexuality? Were people forced you to tread it on your sexuality? Oh?

I never really felt forced to do anything, you know. I mean people can say and say to me what. I hate it when actually people tell me what to do, because then I do the opposite. It's my personality, so I guess being this sort of hard headed six year old I was as soon as I picked up the guitar, I'm like, this is what I want to do. And I told my parents this is what I'm doing, and I'm going to go and live in America. I'm buying myself a Cadillac and I have a number one song and travel the world. And I was like, so sad on that like kind of manifested. But I also put, you know, like you have to put like inspired like action behind your like thoughts. Of course, you know, so I work my ass off, but I think that you know, I don't like of course, when I was first signed, I did listen to a lot of people, and it hurt my brain and spirit, you know, because everyone has an opinion, and even now, everyone has an opinion about what, you know, I should be wearing, doing everything, and it's because they and sometimes I mean really well, and sometimes I just want to be part of the you know, I don't know just to say something I don't really know anymore as ego or whatever. But the people that I love and trust I listened to, I'm like, hey, what do you think about this song. Yeah, I dig that like eel one better at whatever, right, you know, And I'm totally cool with that. But you know, ultimately, as I said before, I'm pretty strong, like kind of minded. So I mean some things like, yes, I listened to a lot of people and did some weird things in the beginning. Absolutely, I mean my second video clip was weird. It was very weird. It's like I didn't even want to watch it. That second single was bizarre. But anyway, you know, I had my thoughts about that. I thought that there could have been a stronger second single off the record, belief, but the label went with what they went with. So you know, you can't do much sometimes with you know, you don't really have even though you have success with the first single, you don't really have much of a voice when you know, the powers that be have their opinion.

To what degree. And we've lived through the me too era? Was this something you experienced in your time in the mainstream up to today?

No, there's some weird people. Honestly, whenever I have a gut feeling, and my parents really instill this to me as a kid, whenever you feel like something's weird, just just leave you know, just go there's a door. There's always a door.

You know.

And I always feel that, you know what I mean, if you feel anything weird or anything strange or like with anybody you know and that you know goes with anyone in this business or whatever in life. It's like, if you feel weird about something or uncomfortable, I think, just you know, have the strength just walk out. And you know, even if it's you know, egos are bruised or whatever happens, just get out of there. You know. That's why I look at it. As I said, I'm a pretty strong sort of personality. I should say I always have been.

So yeah, Okay, where are you from in Australia.

I'm from Adelaide, South Australia. I'm a Southerner.

Okay, I've been a couple of times. I've not been to Adelaide. How far is Adelaide from Sydney or Melbourne.

It's about an hour thirty plane trip. And Adelaide is beautiful. I got to tell you, growing up there it was wonderful. I had kind of the best sort of childhood. My parents allowed me to have many animals, so I essentially grew up on a farm and my studio and just having my cousins. I'm half Greek, so is that my big fat Greek wedding? The way I grew up with my parents home, my auntie's home, my grandma's home, all in a row, and we're playing sports in the street, jamming. My cousin's are guitar players as well. My dad's a guitar player. And I used to you know, I quit school when I was fourteen to play in the pubs. So I used to pretend I was older than what I was. You know, I put on more makeup than I'm wearing now, and I used to tease my hair up and wear crazy stuff and pretend I was like, you know, eighteen to get into the clubs. And the worst was when they're like fourteen year old guitar player. I'm like, ah damn, and then that body girl's like you're out. So, you know, but I used to play three nights a week in Australia, so that was I made a pretty good living, I must say. As a kid.

Okay, let's go back to the beginning. How many kids in the.

Family, just me and my sister.

Since you're older, younger, she's.

Younger, but she definitely acts older, that's for sure.

And what is she up to teach days?

She's an art teacher. She's an incredible artist. She is so amazing. She actually designed my oth symbol that I use on everything, my signature guitars, I see nature amplifiers, my signature vodka which I have about now too many things.

You know.

She's just incredible, and she's very much no, she's very centered kind of being like, she's very calming energy, she's very she can work on an art piece for like ten to twelve hours or not move, whereas I can sit with my for six hours and and be, you know, completely content. So we were definitely very artsy sort of kids, and having parents that supported that. It was wonderful, truly.

What did your parents do for a living?

My father was in finance. He's actually retired now so he's he's very happy. And my mom, she has had many jobs. She was for a model. My mom's also a romance writer from Mills and Boone. She's a bestseller. And she also works for the government in this really sort of a position of working with Aboriginal employment and many different things and financing businesses and everything. So she's uh, she she works her butt off like my mum. I don't even know how she funds time for herself, but you know she's a I guess I get being a workaholic from her too. Am I am my dad too.

But you know, are your parents still together?

They are?

Yep. Okay, let's back up a little bit. You're a little kid. You're just starting to go to school. What kind of kid are you? Are you a tomboy? You talk about playing in the street. Are you someone who's a nerd. Are you someone who is isolated, someone with a million friends? What kind of kid do you like?

Kind of all of that, I'm going to tell you I was really weird. I was completely artzy, into the music down on the flip side. I was obsessed with sports. I was a tomboy. I was on a winning basketball team. I love basketball. I love playing. I was a football team as well. I played baseball, and you know, I used to do everything. I just I thought I was like one of the one of the guys when I was a kid, because I was so many like you know, I all like cousins and friends that picking up the guitar because my dad, I wanted to like bond with him. And when I saw him playing like Hendrix's one day in the living room, I'm like, what's that? Like that's cool, you know, like I want to be able to do that. And then he played me like the Santana records. So it became obsessed with playing guitar. So, you know, wearing Jimmy Hendrix's Tired Eye T shirts and Santana kind of inspired crocheted sort of hats and all that kind of stuff to school doesn't win you many friends, you know, definitely not. And then putting out posters on you know, wolves going I want to start a band, you know, inspired by BB King, Jimmy Hendrix, DV Ray, Santana. People like what is going on?

You know?

So I definitely grew up in a time what There's no question about that.

So when did you pick up the guitar?

I was six years old and I remember my dad taught me like three chords and I was like, this is awesome. I'm going to write songs now. So I was after the Racis and the first thing that I was obsessed with was actually songwriting because of Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Roy Orbison, you know, John Lennon, just listening to Bob Dylan, listening to you know, just a lyric and the storytelling of it all. I really got into that first, and then Jimmy Hendrix and Santana and then you know, I studied classical guitar. I played in an Orchestra Oklahoma production as a ten year old. I went to university when I was ten and studied classical. So I studied theory. I yeah, I just always had to kind of keep on like learning things. You know, for me, I just had to always be a busy body and do stuff. But for me, classical guitar and learning theory was like going to school. And I hated school because I hated like people telling me what to do, and so it became like very confined. So I got out of there. I got past level two with a credit and I passed really well. But that was enough for me. And my teacher was a bit of an ass as well. He was just a real hard ass on me. So out of there. Then listened to Santana records and my dad took me to a Santana show. Danced the Rainbow Dance of the Rainbow Serpent Concert, and I remember were sitting in sort of like the back area and he went into Europa and those opening notes were so beautiful, and I'm going, man, like that is so amazing, Like it's like heavenlyless tone and just everything. I want to be able to do that, you know. And so I quit classical, became obsessed with playing electric and just learned every Santana song basically, and then bb King and CEV Ray and all that. But it just kind of put me on this sort of tangent of just exploring an adventure and just a calling. I think more than anything, it was like a calling and purpose and I wanted to be able to do that for the rest of my life because I think i'd be five from anything else, you know.

So, Okay, can you read music at this point?

Yes, yes I can. Yeah, that was part of the studying. I mean, I haven't done it for a minute. And it's funny you kind of want to unlearn all of that because when I'm soloing now, especially making records and two records right now or completing two then really done. But when you're in the studio and I'm playing a solo or coming up with stuff, I don't want to think about theory. I don't think about thinking about, oh, I'm playing this kind of mode or I'm doing whatever. But sometimes when it came in handy. When I was working actually with A. R. Rahman, he did some dog Millionaire and we did the soundtrack for it was a number one movie in India, a rock star, and I played the guitar and on that, and he called me in to do Sata Hark which was actually a big anthem in India. It was number one for a very long time. So I played all the guitar parts for that, so the actor had to come in and learn them. But it was all Indian scale, So learning that was a whole situation, you know, for a couple of days. And then you know, yeah, and then recently doing some stuff with a Colombian artist who's a major pop star, Carol g and she had some stuff in her music too which was all these different scales and whatnot, which was really interesting. We played rock and rio together. It was like two hundred thousand people. That was a couple of months ago. But you know, that kind of stuff comes in handy for I don't know, just knowing the scales, I guess, so yeah.

Okay, there's a strong Australian music scene, a lot of legendary rock acts, also some pop acts. You're talking about acts from an earlier era Santana, BB King Hendrix to what deg Weed. Were you paying attention to the Australian music market or pop market or were you paying attention to the classics?

You know, I loved, obviously listening to quite a few Australian bands like growing Up. My mom is a massive to me Barnes fans, so you know, I loved listening to Coltrees or my dad as well, and then Tommy Emmanuel who's an amazing guitar player, so I used to go to his shows, and yeah, I mean Savage Garden as well. I used to listen to them because I thought they were like really cool. It had some really good pop songs, and you know, playing out a cover band too, I had to learn a lot of pop songs and learning how to put like a guitar solo in a Kylie Minogue song or like, you know, stuff like that, because you're playing until three am and you've got to play you know, songs off the radio. So that's when I actually started listening to the radio when I was in a cover band.

Okay, you pick up the guitar, you're a songwriter. Does your father have a slow of equipment you could just use or when do you get a guitar.

My dad's left handed, so I learned left handed first, and then he was like, I think you should learn right handed because you're going to have more choice and guitars because you get to a guitar store and there's like two crappy lets in your left handed ones in the corner. The rest are all you know, right handed. So he was right about that, but absolutely he converted a couple of guitars for me to use as a kid. I must say I was pretty spoiled. When I was six years old. I had one two five Gibson to use and it was red, and I loved it so much. And my dad's like, just be really careful with this, okay, just use it at home. And I would sneak it and take it to school and play assemblies and with the songs I've written, because I thought the songs were so great. I had backup dancers and I would take his amp, his nineteen seventy something Bendor ramp with me with that you know, old one two five and put it in the back of the car and my mum was like, what's going on. I was a Dad's that's cool with that. Sorry. And then one time my dad saw me coming home, He's like, what are you doing. I'm like, nothing, nothing to see here, you know, carrying my guitar, carrying his guitar and app but he actually gave it to me and he was very supportive. And then after you know, seeing Santana, I really wanted a Pori smith and for my Christmas and Birthday and I don't even know what, my dad got me a PRS. It was very very generous and they were very supportive, and then I just saved up for my own gear from then on, you know, because you just we're working three nights a week, so I definitely contributed.

Oko. How did you actually learn how to play?

My dad taught me first a few chords, then I studied classical. I did have one teacher at the rock shop. His name was Rath, remember him. He was great. He was so he was so excited about music and I used to love just jamming with him and bringing songs to him and he would teach me in different things and I'd be like, I want to learn this, and he would give me assignments and then after that it was mostly I would say I learned the most from just listening to records, from putting them on and learning all videos VHS and I would want I would wear out VHS my favorite ever. And I say this to people to always check out Sacred Fire live in Mexico, Santana.

Okay, you know, supposedly Dwayne Allman took the guitar to the bathroom. You know, how much did you practice? How devoted were you five.

To six hours a day or more? And you know I used to do things like not all kind of bad things that my parents are like, don't do this or exam and I would do it purposely. Started get sent to my room. That means perfect, I can go sit with my guitar, you know, for hours, because if I was just in there for hours, my parents were like, sometimes you should come out, you know, it's not healthy for you'd be in your room for like, you know, six seven hours, and so yeah, I think that, you know, for me, I was just obsessed with it. Like you can't force anyone to really do anything, but as a kid, when you find something to be really like just intriguing. And the guitar for me was and it was like powerful and still now and a look at it's a pretty intimidating instrument. Like it's not like I play it the same every day. I don't, and I have I have about fifty guitars in my living room right now, which is kind of excessive, but you know, it makes me feel comfortable. I sort of feel like they will have different personalities and I sit with them and they bring out different songs, and yeah, I mean I'm obsessed with I'm obsessed with with music and guitar, and I I don't think anyone could ever, you know, I don't know like like distract me from that, either if I'm stuck, if I'm in a writing mode, or if I'm rehearsing that I'm going to be joining Alice Cooper for ten shows coming up, so I'm learning like twenty five of his songs right now. I'm definitely like, turn everything off, leave me alone. Think you know, I'm not gonna be pretty OCD like that.

If you are not writing a song or not preparing for a tour, are you playing the guitar every day or just when you know you have work coming up.

Some days I take a rest because if I've been playing shows back to back or whatever it is, my hands are pretty cut up, you know. And even in the studio too. I've been working on two records. I've been working with Eddie Kramer, who is a legend, you know, and that's been a true honor. And by the end of I think I did five or six hours of guitar parts with him the other day, and I had the indentse of like all the strings on my hands. I'm like, I left the guitar alone for like a day or so after that, because you know, it was painful. You know, you can't. I don't want to cut my hands open. So but other than that, no, I love playing, you know, and that's the thing that's the most important thing, like what you do it for. I get to do what I love for a living, and sometimes that what I get paiper is like they're traveling and everything else, because that's crazy sometimes, but I'm very grateful. Having gratitude is everything, you know.

Okay, are you a gear head?

Somewhat? Not as much as some people. My dad is far more than I am. He collects a lot of pedals like my mom collects shoes. He has the pedal situation. I collect some pedals and I get given some and I use them like I have like a I wouldn't say it's a crazy looking pedal board. It just has like some really special pedals on there. That makes sense to me right now, and I'll change things up later too, you know. I think that, you know, it's the thing where whatever sort of fits the set, you know, And right now I'm kind of going for some pretty wild sort of tones and working with different producers too, especially Eddie and Kevin Shirley too, who produced my producer this new record with me, because I've self produced half of it and he did the rest. Working with him. He's like, try this pedal or try that. So I'm taking suggestions, you know. I'm always open hard and open minded with that. I don't like too much stuff though. I like the connection, but I always use the distortion from the amp. And I have my own amplifier now, which is very awesome to be able to have created my own signature model with Orange, which is such a you know, incredible legendary like AMP company coming out of England, working with Cliff over there and Pat Foley, and it took about a couple of years to make this amp, and I sent back a lot of them and now it's it turned out perfect and we sold out. We sold out of them, so that was really cool.

Okay, were you an orange person before you made Rowning.

Up for a moment? Yes, I didn't.

Like.

I tried them out for like about a year or two or maybe more, maybe three years. I was using Marshall Evh before that. I went through I have a whole like amp graveyard of things because I go through them and I'm like, this worked for this tour. I didn't even know what I used for the Alice Kuper tour. I kind of remember, but really high gain ants and whatnot, and they'll be out of control, you know. And I wanted something that was sort of beastly but not too beastly and then had the you know sound that's super big and kind of powerful but not thin sounding. And and then I went over to Alexander dumbles home he's a very prestigious like ant maker, and spent some time with him and when I got listened to his amp, It's like whoa. That sound is like godly like, you know, and then listen to vintage amps and you go, it's about that the way it just sounds. You just plug your guitar straight in and you don't need anything, you know. It's that connection. And I wanted to create something like that. And I knew that Orange had the power, you know, and I love Marshall too, but the Marshals are newer ones. I was using sounds a bit too thin, and I don't know if it's just the ones I got, but I just wasn't completely content at that point with them. So when Orange came along, I was like, this has power. It's kind of glorified Marshals that have found but that British blues sound. And then we sort of modified it and modified it more and more, and then they were like, oh, we want to come out with your signature ramp. And I'm like, well, I love I love reverb. Reverb is one of my favorite things. So they were like, okay, cool and it. So we called it the the Ori verb. So there's a lot of reverb going on and it's it's really I love the amp. I really do. My neighbors I don't think they really like the ant, but you know it's loud.

So you say it's sold out. Do you have any idea how many they made.

A lot of them. I got to get the right, I've got to get the number. But we sold a lot. And now we've come out with a crush version which is half the price, well actually a quarter the price, so kids can afford it because the other one was a little more expensive. And we always do that, like with Gibson. I'm coming out with my epiphone, you know, because we my my acoustic, my J two hundred, which I did the red one. It was incredible. We created it and it was a third biggest seller next to Elvis and Bob Dylan for a J two hundred artist. It was crazy that that happened. But they allowed me to run wild in the battery and I'm like, I want crystals, I want lotus flowers, I want right red. I want to make it with a three forty five neck on it. So it was an electric neck on an acoustic body, and you know, I just really changed stuff up. So it was I think it's the first hybrid acoustic. So it's the playability of it. You can play leads on it, right, so you can play whatever you want. And the pickup too. I really sat with LR bags and modified the pickup immensely too.

Okay, these guitars and amps that are selling so well, are they selling purely on the fact that they're that good or to what degree are you marketing them? Personally?

I just think they're just really good. They're quality, they're not crappy. So I think that if they were like marketed, because you know, there's been a lot of marketing behind it. Of course, the companies have done an incredible job and having a support of a lot of different outlets too. But I think if someone bought it and I was like, oh my god, this is a piece of crap that I don't think it would have sold out, you know. And plus I wouldn't put my name to it either, because I would feel really bad about that, you know. I don't just put out stuff for the sake of it.

Okay, you have a signature amp, we're in the studio. Are you using other brands or only your own app?

Oh?

I'm using other stuff too. I'm using a vintage Champ as well, which I I turn up to breaking point and that sounds great with my klon And then I used to dumble in the studio as well, and then I also used what else did I use? That's probably that's probably three amps, but mostly most of my leaves were done with my orange.

You can say that, okay, yeah, unlike boast orange, APS is not orange. So can you tell me about that?

It is not orange. It's an orange champ, but it's not orange. That's all I can say. I mean, look, I just wanted to make a cool looking amp and I love the white with the you know, the design on with the flowers and the black, and it just looked very striking to me. With the gold, yeah, I mean, I just wanted to change it up a bit. You know, Glenn Hughes has a purple orange, so I wanted to have a white and black and gold orange. There's nothing really more to it than that.

So tell me about the fifty guitars.

They're in my living room right now. That's not including my storage in it, or my closets or Australia my studio there. But I have quite a few going on here. This is my beautiful purple PRS, which I've had for a very long time. This is number one, and this is my this is my number one guitar. I love it so much, and it's one solid piece of like Brazilian rosewood, and the pickups in it are the Paul By Smith's magical pickups that I have no idea what he put in them, but they're magical and I love them. And I have like tons of the guitars over here. This one here is made for the Alice Cooper shows coming up, so I'm actually going to be auctioning this off and Alice and I are going to sign the guitars I'll be using for the tour, and I'm raising money for the Children's Hospital, So I feel really good about that because every night knowing that, you know I'm going to be putting a lot of money towards that foundation makes me feel good. So we've got three of those, pretty gnarly looking and this one here was given to me by one of my very very dear friends. This is number two ever made of the Jimi Hendrix love Drops guitars, so very very amazing, and I'll be using that I don't know, a special performance so I'm waiting for. And there's all these other guitars too, and more of it the other side.

But yes, you know, I read you have a DS three thirty five. You know certain people like Les Pauls a certain vintage, certain stratocasters. Are you someone who collects that stuff?

Yes, I have quite a few vintage guitars right now which I love. My sixty two three thirty five is an Argentina gray Burst, very rare. I've been looking for a three thirty five for a very long time and this one is just amazing. It's my one of my favorite guitars ever. I gotta say, it's kind of like a fifty nine less poll, but it's like, no, you know, so.

How did you find the ES three thirty five?

You know what? This one came out of a private collection and it just appeared one day, so you know I and I honestly I was like wow, like this when I've actually played quite a few three thirty five and I've been looking for the right one for a really long time, and then when this one was put in my hand, it was like, Okay, this is this is the right one. And the same with the the Telly I got in Japan. It's the nineteen seventy two. I believe it. Yeah, it's incredible. This blue Telly, and I loved it so much. Had to get that sixty three strat as well. I had a fifty nine strat which I loved for a minute. Then I got rid of it because it wouldn't stay in shune. But you know, it depends, you know what I mean. It's like sometimes guitars, you need them for a minute and then and then I will trade them all or change, you know, because it's like I need to be able to play them live, you know, if they can't stay in tune or they're just for studio use only, and then they're not. I don't think I should be workhorses because I've already been workhorses, you know, like they're vintage for a reason. You don't. I couldn't. Plus I would feel a bit weird taking out in the road. Have had like six guitars solen so fast, so I don't want anymore. No taken.

So you know, some people get a guitar and they tear it apart, they change the pickups, et cetera. Are you that type of person?

No? No, I don't like to change things up on a guitar. If I'm going to get a gitar, I don't and there's something is awful about it, and if that awful thing was fixed it would be perfect. Then yes, but I haven't. I don't think that's really happened with a guitar. Yeah, I can really think of unless the guitar, unless the tech of mine has done that. But I don't. I don't recall anything being drastically changed to guitars i've purchased.

No, Okay, you have a deal with PRS, but you made an epiphone. What's going on?

Yes, I have a deal with Gibson, have a deal with pory Smith, and I have a deal with Orange and yeah, I mean, but the thing is with with the pory Smith situation, that's electric and with Gibson it's acoustic. So I you know, yes, that's the situation there. So I'm yeah, which is which is awesome because I was with I was with Martin prior to being with you know, Gibson. Then I was with Taylor Acoustics before that as well, and I had my own Maiden sorry Martin, which was an eco friendly Martin. Then I was promoting this Taylor Acoustic which they were all great. But when I had the opportunity on says A, the owner of Gibson approached me and we had dinner with him and his wife. It's like, I want to tell Gibson with you. I'm like, okay, well, i've been so lord a PRS for twenty something plus years. I can't do electric, but we could do a hybrid acoustic that would be really cool. And he was like, yeah, that'll be awesome. And then went to the factory in Montana and I was going to go with a white one, but apparently white guitars are very hard to put in production, so everyone was steering me away from white. They're like, whatever you do, tell Veron to do a white one. Unlet's what we're doing doing a white guitar. Of course, it's suppressing. I wanted them. Then I saw the red. They had this red colored guitar. It's like a one went off or something in the corner. I'm like, oh no, we're gonna go with red. So everyone was really happy when I said I changed my mind. And then I was like, I want to change a pit guard. I want to put lotus flowers all over it, and I puts the train and amethyst crystals on there and and make it like a guitar that like no one's really seen before. So you know, when it's on a when it's next to other guitars, that stands out and people want to buy it. You know, like when you're a kid, you want to see a red fire engine, you know, it's like or a red car race car. It's like for me, I just kind of went with that, and I sort of thought like the kid and me, like I I would want to buy that guitar.

So, okay, you've mentioned a couple of times being a kid playing Three Nights Out, Tell me about that.

Yeah, that was pretty wild. My mom would pick me up sometimes at three am, bless her, and it was a great group of guys that I would be much older than me playing, you know, when I was playing those cover of gigs and they were long evening three sets, you know, and you play in front of drunken, rowdy Australian pub scene of craziness. And yeah, that's why I quit school because you know I would show up West very West wil Weare the next morning at school, you know, and what's wrong with you? And like I just you know, played night before and I'd still have like, you know, bright blue eyeshadow on and glitter all over me still and tried to scrub it off and be sent to the detention room because I'd be unruly or something, because I'd be always getting into it with the teachers like oh, you don't why are you looking so weird? Like I don't know, man, like you know, it was always weird for me. So I just I had enough of that kind of authority situation at school. It was just I don't know, at one point, I just felt like they're just picking our meat. It It wasn't just the kids, because I got bullied at school, but it was it was kind of the teachers too, that went very nice. Some of them were, but some of them weren't. They were very conservative, and I guess they were thinking, oh, this is a very strange, strange child. You know. So I had enough of that.

How did you join that behind? What was the trajectory in terms of playing out and then finding these gentlemen that you were playing with continuously?

I don't know. I just sort of I don't actually know how it really happened through a friend. I guess I met this songwriter friend when I saw my first management deal when I was like fourteen, and then he got me into playing acoustic shows. Actually yeah, his name was Roger, I remember this. So we started writing songs together and then he was like, we should do an acoustic duo thing and pubs, and then that sort of sprout into doing cover band stuff. So yeah, it was a friend. He was much older and a songwriter in our lat Australia.

So okay, So you continued to play with the same band, the same guys pretty much.

Yeah, there's a couple of different sort of lineups. I should say it because we had like three nights a week with different bands and one was Cooled Drop D which is a cover band and I would share vocals, and then the other one was with another friend of mine that I'll do the acoustic duo thing as well with my friend.

How much money could you make?

God, I think it was quite a bit. I think for a kid. I don't know. It was like three p fifty a night to four hundred. Yeah, so I was making a lot more than other fourteen year olds, so you know.

Okay, So at what age do you start making your own record?

Fourteen? First record?

And what do you do for equipment? How do you learn how to use it? How do you do it.

So my dad he learned how to use recording gear. He had a task can so he cleared out the living room, which is called the rumpus room at the time, and we got some musicians, the best ones in Auvlade and my dad he was like, let's do a record and I was like, hey, cool, and so we did some covers on there, like Eric Clapton covers covered Santana and then I had a couple originals on there and it was called Under the Influence and I did that at fourteen, and you know, it's just kind of weird to name it that, but it was because it was under the influence of these amazing, you know, guitar players, and I covered their songs. So we got the band in the living room and blessed my mother because it looked like terrible, like we've destroyed the whole kitchen living room area, and my dad miked everything up and he recorded it. So I recorded that with my dad. Yeah, my first first ever EP.

Okay, was this the record that was signed to Universal Australia or is this before that?

No, that was way before that. We're not way I shouldn't say.

So.

I was about sixteen seventeen when I actually learned how to engineer and produce myself. So my dad's like he took me to a studio, one of the top studios in Adelaide, Australia, and I sat with the people there and I learned how to mic things properly, how to you know, learn how to use this role In twenty four eighty so I had two of those and I lined them up together. So I had two twenty four track recorders digital workstations, and I would hook them up to these NS tens and learn how to you know, mic everything correctly. Find the right A vocal microphone was really important too, which I used E Rhodes, which is Australian brand, and then just different you know, compressors and different things, and then how to play the drums and how to mic drums. And I would spend hours sitting at the studio with the guys there at I think it was Cooled Fat Tracks Recording studio in Adelaide, and then some friends would come over and show me as well. My dad would help me a lot as well, so I kind of just absorbed all of that also reading about it, got books on it, and then I was like, Okay, I'm going to learn how to play all these instruments. I'm going to do everything myself. Prince was a big influence on me because Prince would do everything himself. So I was like, I'm going to do that too.

Say okay, the original EP. Did you sell it to people or just make it?

We just sent it out to everyone. I think my dad, my mom. We sent it out too different. I don't even know who I got signed to. Sorry, a management team in Australia, so different different labels in Australia, and I got a lot of rejection letters going, we don't know what to do with a young fourteen year old girl who just plays instrumental music. You know that's not really going to work. And then I got that's when I send it to Pori Smith Guitars and Santana management. I got a message back from actually Santana's brother, you're Agay Santana and then hey, you say in yeah, and so he would. He wrote me back and said we've been listening to it in the office and Carlos absolutely loves it. And that was a huge honor. In the email back from him, and then from Poris Smith guitars. He wanted me to come over to the Nam Show, but I was way too young. And then I finally did go over there and I was a bit older, but getting the support of you know, Pori Smith Guitars and Santana Management. I got like a review in Classic Rock magazine or Classic Guitar Magazine in the UK. They did a review on it, which was awesome. And then yeah, I mean, I guess I just got to I got to management sort of deal out of that too. In Australia, so I got to open for Zizi Top when I was like fifteen sixteen, and then opening for Steve Via, playing Adelaide, five hundred car Race, Suzi Quatro, like tons of things, and I think that Coca Cola Festival. I did a lot of like things in Australia before coming over here. Yeah, it was a wild ride for sure. And so you know, knowing Billy Gibbons since I was like sixteen, I'm playing his birthday party tomorrow at the Tributor, So that's going to be cool.

Okay, So the record that you made that you made a deal with Universal, did you play all the instruments.

Are the one in Australia. Yeah, that's the one. I yes, So I did everything myself and then we distributed, got to deal with Universal after it was done.

Yeah, and your experience with management at that time good or bad?

Interesting? Yeah. It was three people and they all had different opinions and they were all pretty connected in Australia and Adelaide, and it was it was interesting. Let me leave it at that.

So yeah, okay, So what year do you ultimately come to America.

God, I think it was two thousand and three, less than two, but I got it. I don't even know, to be honest with you, it was really Yeah, it was early on.

Okay, how did you make it to the point where ended up being in Michael Jackson's band.

Well, I was signed with Interscope, I was making my record. I was in the studio with the legendary Diane Warren. I was cutting a song with her, and I had my Space going on. I think everyone had my Space that are going at that point, and I was checking my messages and we had a break. I needed a vocal break or something, and I was checking messages and whatnot, and message came up. Michael Jackson saw you at the Grammy Awards with Carrie Underwood. You're exactly what he's looking for? Or can you learn his songs and come in tomorrow? You know he wants to hire you. I'm going this is crazy. So I went over to Diana. I said, do you think this is real? Do you think this is some I think it's crazy. She was like, it looks kind of real to me. I was like, Okay, call my manager. I was signed to nineteen Entertainment. I was the first non idol to be signed to Simon Fuller and so my manager at the time, I said, hey, could you respond to this presson because I think this is real? Because this looks pretty cool. I'm like, yeah, I know, I'm kind of making an album with like Interoscope, but like this would be kind of cool to play guitar for, you know, Michael Jackson. So he wrote him and he was legit and Michael called me that night and it was from Michael Bearden, who was a dear friend of mine and Michael Jackson. They both called me and they were like, could you come in tomorrow learn beat it want to be starting something and Dory Diana and then we're going to start like rehearsals. So I was like, okay, that sounds amazing and oh my god, okay, so got home cranked up my amplifier. I was living at the Plaza at the time, which is a crazy building in West Hollywood, and I just was up all night trying to learn to beat it solo. And that was quite something. And I think my neighbors were like, oh my god, we've moved in next to a crazy Michael Jackson back and I had a Pomrangeum dog barking. It was pretty insane. And next morning, next afternoon, she say went down to Center staging, Michael Jackson walks in the room. I want to hear beat it. I'm like, oh my god, I'm so nervous. I was like crazy. And then afterwards he's like, okay, you're hired. I'm like, oh my god, I don't even know. It was wild. It was a crazy time. So that's how that came about. And then I signed a non disclosure form or whatever, you know, and I couldn't tell anybody that I got the gig, so the label found out later.

Yeah, okay, so you're working with Michael Jackson. One has to ask up close and personal what's Michael Jackson?

Like, Wow, his energy was was wild, Like he walked into a room and it's like, oh my god, that's Michael Jackson. Like being a kid and watching his shows on TV, you know, larger than life. He comes in. He's just freaking star, I mean, you know. And he was so sweet. It was very very sweet. And he was very obsessed with making everything perfect. He was a perfectionist. So I learned so much from him. Attention to detail was very important, just taking things even more seriously than I did, I think, you know. And and just when he honed it on tones, he was very particular about everything when it came down to, you know, guitar tones, it just drum sounds. Everything. He would tell me, you know what, I don't like that amp could he change the ampower tomorrow. I'm like, okay, all right, I don't like the guitar, or I like that guitar. Keep that one, you know. And so he would be listening to everything, which I found to be quite amazing, and he's like, just don't be don't be scared, like step out like into people like give you all, like really be what you're meant to be, what you're born to do. He gave me a lot of confidence. A lot of people don't I think. I think the media really tore him apart, which was not cool in a lot of ways because he was very eccentric, very eccentric man, of course, but he cared about a lot of people, and the way that he treated everyone was very kind. So I have enough. I don't have any bad things to say about him or weird things to say, aside from towards the end, he just seemed really worn out, very tired, and I was concerned about him for sure.

How did you find out that he died?

Mourning of We were rehearsing until twelve or one am, and he was excited. He said, I can't wait to see you guys tomorrow. Were days away from leaving for London. We had our apartments and everything, and he said, I remember him coming up to me giving a big hard gooing. I'm so excited about doing this, you can't imagine. I can't wait for my kids to see this, to see me perform again. You know, I can't wait for the fans, he said. I'm a bit nervous, he said about you know how you know the reviews will be I know, I know he was nervous about it because he was coming back out again and this was a big thing. But he said, you know, this show is going to be incredible like no one else has ever seen before. And it was. It was wild, all the stuff that's being added. But he was very excited. And that's what the craziest thing was. I think he just he couldn't sleep and he was stressed out, and there's a lot of pressure on him. There's a lot of money put into it. There was, you know, I mean I feel the pressure, you know, on a much smaller scale. He had like hundreds of millions of dollars put into this situation. He couldn't sleep, and he wore himself down everyone, I mean around. It was like this pressure cooker, you know, and he really just spent too so much time. I don't think he took time for himself. I really don't. I think he as a lot of artists, you know, we are quite obsessive about things, so you want things to be perfect. And I think he was such an extreme artist like that that, you know, it was a lot on his shoulders and he just wanted to be incredible. So I feel ardored that I spent that time with him truly.

So how did you find out and how did you cope thereafter?

Found out? For my manager, he called that morning because I was getting ready to go to rehearsal. He goes, did you hear the news? And I'm like, no, what's going on? He goes, Michael's past and I'm like what, Like I was like no, like no way, Like are you joking, dude? Like, what's going on? He goes? And then I literally was like in shock. Like everyone was just completely I don't even know how to plain it right, like with someone that evening to one am nothing wrong. Get there to the rehearsal, Everyone's like crying and I'm going, what happened? And then there was just no one really told, no one really said anything. You know, it was weird. It was really weird. Can't I can't explain to you the amount of weirdness and sadness and disbelief and shock that that still stays with I think everyone that was a part of that, you know, because we became family. We were together for like four months or something like that, three or four months like rehearsing, and you know, it was intense. So yeah, it was like we're losing a friend, you know, someone that you saw every day, like your fast friend. Then you know a legend as well, and and then you're just like wow. So it was pretty pretty crazy.

So how soon after that did you go back to work doing whatever?

Well, my album was done with Interscope, so that was ready to go, and I had to fulfill that obligation of putting out my record, you know, with into Scope so they, to be honest with you, I didn't have enough time to really and kind of stick with my emotions really, so it wasn't healthy. I'm not going to say it was, because it was like, okay, he passed away. I'm on the news everywhere. You know, It's like that clip was played everywhere. You know, it was wild and everyone. I was hounded, like I'd never seen anything quite like quite like it, you know, even going to rehearsals. We have paparazzi rehearsal following us everywhere. Once I found out who was part of the band, everything, and I want to know a lot about it. Once he passed, I was hounded. I couldn't even walk down the street, arrived at an airport without you know, like people with things for me to sign, or cameras on me asking about him or what had happened and all this stuff, and it was insane. And then on top of that, the labels like, okay, we're putting out your record. So having the record, you know, come out according to you, come out without doing very well, but then you have on the flip side this darkness which I hadn't dealt with emotionally from him passing it. I wasn't happy, to be honest with you, like I had a lot of success, but I wasn't happy because I didn't know how to feel. You know. It's weird to process, you know.

So originally you were going to go for months in England to play with Michael Jackson. Was the record going to be delayed until you were done? And then they moved it up after Michael passed.

I don't know the plan. I don't know what the plan was, to be honest with you. Maybe it was going to be put out as I was out there in between, right so I would I would put out a single, I'll still be playing the shows and I'll be promoting over there. I don't know what the whole plan was, to be honest, with you. I don't know, but probably.

Okay, if you come to LA at two thousand and three, when is that meeting with Jimmy I being at his house?

Gosh, I don't even know. It was a wild time. I kind of remember.

I guess what I'm asking is this, you come to LA, what's your personal plan? What work do you get after you come?

Okay, So when I first came to LA, I was playing in the nam Booth with PRS guitars, right, so I would play in the Nambooth and then so twenty other three four five. Yeah, then I got a deal. So around then so came here, coming back and forth all the time. Then I actually moved when I got the deal. So when I got signed to Jimmy and he was like, okay, we're making the record. That took a while, of course, back and forth to you know, get the deal done. And then I made the move for I don't know the exact time, to be honest with you. It was such a craziness, like going back and forth. But after playing for Jimmy, playing for Ron Fair, they decided they gave me actually a really good deal. I've got a great publishing deal too, with Universal and it was all kind of happening at once and then and then it was just straight into writing.

Okay, you mentioned that you played with Kirie Underwood. Had you been going on the road with other racks or was this just a one off with Kirie under.

No, we had the same manager, someone Fuller. So she was, you know, in the offices walking around and she's like, I'm going to do the Grammy Awards because I heard your hard playing girl. Would you join me? That'd be awesome. I'm like, the Grammys. That sounds amazing. So I was like totally blown away that she would ask me. And she's so sweet, I mean incredible. I just saw her the other day at her Vegas residency and what an incredible talent she is and such a down to earth person, you know, and it was so kind of her to invite me. And I remember walking up on stage with her, and you know, BB King was sitting there in the green room eating a bunch of crawfish and I don't even know he had this bib on eating and I was like, oh my god, BB King And I said, hey, like, I'm such a massive ban I don't want to annoy you by anything. She goes, hey, young, young lady, what can I do for I'm like, can I have a photo with you? I know you're eating and stuff. He's like, He's like absolutely, he said, what are you doing here? I said, I want I played tonight. He goes, will you go right there? A new rocket? Okay? And I was like all right, And I remember him saying that it was so sweet as he was eating and he's like, took a photo with me. And then I went out there and I rehearsed and then we played and Paul McCartney was in the audience, Keith Urban, all these people Bono, Like, you know, you look out there and you go, what the hell is going on here?

You know?

So I'm very thankful to carry Underwood because after doing that, that sparked, like, you know, Michael Jackson saw me and I got, you know, that opportunity and and yeah, I can't. I mean, Simon Fuller was an incredible manager too, and and that whole team nineteen were great when I was with them for a while. And then then I made the record with Howard Benson and he was awesome to work with. Desmond Child was one of the first songwriters I worked with which was insane. Yeah, Desmond and I became very fast friends. He was awesome.

Okay, you talk about meeting bb K, what were the two best experiences of meeting an idol?

Gosh, just say meeting meeting Santana for the first time, you know, that was awesome. He's like my other dad, he really is. I met him and he was so gracious, and he was like, okay, you play my guitar and I'll play yours, and let's jam backstage. And in Australian Adelaide Memorial Drive fifteen thousand people, twenty thousand people was playing too, and we jammed and he's like, okay, you're joining me tonight on stage and I'm like, oh my god, okay, and well songs are be playing. It didn't tell me, so I was like, I followed him on stage, plug me in. I stayed up for like most of the show. I think it was like fifty minutes of the show, and he would turn to me, Okay, you solo now, you slo now, and thank god, I've learned his entire catalog, so I knew what you know. But it was definitely throwing me into the ocean to see if I could swim and do it. And I guess you know, they had that happened to them and when they were younger, you know, they had to, you know, at a very young age, get up on stage in front of a lot of people and see if they could do it. And they did the same thing. You know, Carlos believed in me enough to have me on the stage, to throw me into that situation to go, okay, girl, can you can you bring it? You know, and in a very loving way. But I was just like, man, after that, I was like, oh I can do this. I got never really nervous, but I can do it. And you know, sometimes you got to do that. It's very zero to one hundred. But that's that's life. It's like, you know, it's not it's not normal.

Can you tell me about meeting another idol?

Another idol? Gosh, I've met so many. Paul McCartney I met. He came to the studio when I was working out in Vancouver and I actually went to his Auntie's ninety ninth birthday party. That was really it was crazy. But anyway, he came past the studio on his bike and I was making a record there with Bob Rock, and Richie Sambora, and he came in and I was playing acoustic guitar in the control room. Didn't know it was I didn't know it was Paul because he was dressed in the tracks and a hat, and I thought he was one of the I was very embarrassed, mind you, this very embarrassing because he's one of my favorite songwriters. And I turned to him and I had this guitar I was playing, but it wasn't quite right. So I turned him with a guitar and said, hey, can you get me another guitar? And I was like, I was like, I'm not sure about this one. It's kind of not really doing it for me. And he's like, oh hi, and he had this accident. I was like, oh my god, it's Paul. Oh my god, I'm sorry. This is so bad. I was like, oh my god, what an honor to meet you. And and and then he's like, can you play something for me? And someone actually filmed I have on my iPhone somewhere me playing for Poul. He said can you play me some things? And I was playing his fingerpick stuff. He goes, I love that, it sounds great. And then that evening we all went to his auntie's birthday party and she was eating this chocolate mudcake at like twelve am, and we all had martiniz me and you know, and we'll actually not Bob Rocks sober, but Abe Laboria was there, the drummer and his band and everybody, and we all just hung out and yeah, it was awesome and Paul was super super sweet, like such an awesome person and so m again, not too long ago at the Sphere, I went to the opening night of the Sphere to see YouTube that was really cool. So yeah, he's definitely an idol of mind the Beatles, I mean incredible.

Okay, how did it end with nineteen and Simon Fuller?

Well, Simon he sold the company, right, so it changed and that's when, yeah, things sort of I left. I just left out that happened.

You know.

I guess people had allocated like managers there within the company, but I decided to leave the whole thing, you know, and the manager that I had assigned to me, the day to day person and whatnot. But then I went through a barrage of managers. I'm not going to say how many managers I've been through, because that just sounds bad, but a healthy amount of managers I have been through, and all I can say is this, if a manager understands exactly where you want to go, and they walk beside you and you work together in harmony, and things can really Like Alice Cooper and Chep Gordon were amazing and together and you know, or it's like Joe Bonamaster and his manager, and there's quite a few others too as examples, but you know, Share and her manager, Roger Davies. Then you understand each other and it works. But if it doesn't, if the manager doesn't have quite the same vision, or they don't bring anything to the table and they just have their hands out and they take twenty percent or fifteen percent of what you're making and your everything in and they're just telling you what to do, not going to work. So and my experience with managers has been kind of that, to be honest with you, since Salm and Fuller. I mean a lot of them tried but didn't really understand exactly where I wanted to go or what I wanted to do, you know, or they wouldn't listen to me as much. You know, they had their own idea and that's not that's not cool. They should you should be able to work together as a proper team. And look, I still am friends with most of my ex managers, but some of them were distracted with other artists that were massive and they were dealing with things with them, and they didn't have the time as well. So you've got to choose wisely, you know. That's all I can say.

Okay, but your self managed now I am.

I have an incredible team though. I have an amazing attorney and a whole team there. I have a great tour manager he does my day to day as well, and then I have incredible business management and I have a lot of manager friends that will step in when I need them to, so they're on call and I'm very grateful for that.

How much time in a day do you spend on business?

Five hours? Maybe that's a lot of time off and on. Yes, my phone sometimes will attack me if I wake up late because I'm working on a song. I'm like, oh my god, I got to deal with this. So a lot many things. And now that I've launched my own you know, vodka as well, that's I'm really excited about that. My amplifiers we're doing some more stuff for that for press, I'm you know, doing a lot of interviews and stuff for Australian tour coming up. And then yeah, I literally go to Australia, come home here for a day, that I leave for Saudi Arabia, then I come back here for a week, then I leave for Alice Cooper and I come back here and I'm gonna take a short break because I need it so don't combust. And then then we're going to Europe. Then we're going to Brazil. Then we're going to Japan, and then we released the two albums. So I'm doing the three piece, which is you know, the band.

That's all for that second we're going to get there. So are you self managed because you're burned out on all the experiences or if the right person came along, would you try again?

If the right person came along, I'll definitely try again one d percent. It has to be an energy thing though, that would have to be very very driven, have a very clear path as to what they saw they could bring to the table. For me, I couldn't do myself. And yeah, I just have a real understanding of who I am as an artist and person too. They've got to be your friend, you know, but definitely be bringing stuff to the table. Have that gravity because and be alpha two because I'm quite alpha myself. So if someone's not sure, they're sort of like, yeah, let's do this or that. I don't like that, and I can't work with producers like that either. I've got to work with someone who's very sure of themselves, very sure about what they want to do, and that to me is very important. So I'm not ruling it out. If the right manager comes along, I am totally open, hard and open minded to that for sure.

So tell me about after the Interscope experience making a record with Dave Stewart, how does that happen?

Well, I was invited by Dave to do the Stand Up to Cancer event which is televised and many people are part of that, Joss Stone and Heart and I actually played with Heart. We played Barracouta together, Ceebee Wonder, so many people, just Stone, just tons of people, and then Dave and I and jos and everyone. We all had a dinner afterwards. And I had been sober for quite some time. I stopped drinking for about five years, I should say five six years because I definitely did my dash in a cover band, you know what I mean. So the lever was sort of bent out at a younger age, and so Day put a Martini in front of me, and that was I was like, okay, cool. Had that Martini was very strong, and we all just got into chat and we came like really fast friends meet, you know, Dave and Martina McBride and John McBride who had Blackbird Studios, and Johnson and then Dave and I actually wrote this whole movie that evening, an animated film, which I think should come out one day because we had a we had an even green a green light from DreamWorks to make this film, you know, together animated under the Water Blues film. It was very cool, and so we wrote this entire film together that evening. At the dinner table, Abra Martini, a couple of Martini's baby, and then he's like, we should make a record together. I'm like that sounds awesome. So I'm just out, you know, get out of my deal whatever, and that's kind of what happened. Went over to a studio when he had a studio on West Hollywood Bine Street, and it was always wild over there. I would show up and then I should say meeting another idol of mine, Mick Jagger was working with him. So one day he invited me over to the studio and didn't tell me that Mick Jagger was laying down a vocal for like a super heavy so much he was doing this project. And I brought my mother with me, and she she went actually to the door and I went to the bathroom and he opened the door and my mom was like, oh my god, it's big Jagger and uh and he's like, come on in and he offered her. He offered her like cookies and a tea and he's like what was you like you need anything? Like he was so sweet. Like that was wild. And then working with working with day was a trip, Like there's always people coming in and out of the studio that he never never knew who was going to be. Like there like Andy Garcia playing piano one day, I remember, and then like Justine coming in and then he's working with you two. He's working with all these different people. But we managed to make a record together in Nashville and that was really fun. It was a great record happened in as hell.

Okay, the record comes out in an independent label? What's that like compared to being on Interscope that was.

Actually through Universal, So that one came out through Universal. But it was as soon as I finished that record. The day I remember the day we finished it in Nashville, I get a call from Alicekeeper because I'd just done the American Idol finale with him. We played Schools out and he called me. He goes, Hi, my guitar player left within Lizzie, will you will you be my lead guitar player for the tour coming up? And going yeah, that sounds awesome. You know that sounds amazing. So I just finished a record. I was supposed to go out and promote that, and then I decided I'm going to go off with Alice Cooper. So yeah, that's that's kind of what happened.

So, oh, okay, you don't make another studio album for seven years. What are you doing in that period of time?

I am touring with Alice for about five six about five years with Alice Keeper. Then I join Richie Sambora and we meet in Hawaii and I was, you know, Richie said to me, he goes. He came up to me and I don't know if he was showing up. Actually that day, I was like Sammy Hagar and DeBie Brothers and Stephen Tyler and you know, we're just it's a New Year's Eve thing we do for Sheep, Gordon over and Maui and Richie came. Last minute. He's like, we're gonna jam together. I was like, okay, cool, awesome. So we ended up jamming together, and then afterwards he's like, have your number, like, let's let's write some stuff. Girl, Like you know, I love your playing and my daughter, you know, you know she's she's a fan of you or she saw you when this is It film and all of that. I was like, okay, cool, Yeah, sounds great. And then he called me when I got home and I went over to his place. We ended up writing songs and hanging out, and I thought this is cool, Like he's an amazing singer, songwriter, you know, a guitar player. So we just wrote tons of songs and then he's like, hey, like you know, he had Bob Rock come over one time. He goes, how about you and I do a record together or something that'd be really cool and go on tour. And I was like that sounds great, but I'm still with Alice, so I can't like, you know, so I had to go I meet with Alice. It was kind of tough, you know, to walk in there and say, hey, you know, I really want to focus on this raport I'm doing with Ritchie and and leave the band. But I said, look, I'm not going to leave you on the If you need me, I'm going to be here until you find a replacement. Thank god, he found Nita Strauss. He's amazing. She's a dear friend of mine. And then Richie and I spent years on a record with Barb Rock and we played some shows together. We you know, we toured quite a bit. We played Australia, we went to Brazil, we opened the Bad Company, we you know. So yeah, we made the RSO record during that time, which was wild.

Okay, in this inter realm, say say you work with Alice Cooper. The dream of being successful solo artists? Does that extinguished? Is that always in the back of your head?

Yeah? Absolutely. I needed to take a break, i think, from being the captain of the ship. So, you know, it was a nice sort of thing to be just a guitar player. I had a blast. We got to celebrate Halloween every night, party every night, you know what I mean. But the show, very seriously, the show was perfect. Then after the show, I'd be drinking tons and partying with everybody. And I can't say I was a healthiest on that tour, no, so you know, but I had so much fun. I got to tell you, it was just a blast. And the guys are like my brothers, and yeah, I was. I was in my twenties and I was having fun. I just I needed a break. I think. I think being out on that tour and not being the boss was something that I needed for a minute, you know.

Okay, you talk about being sober for five years then having the martini. Where are you with alcohol and substances today?

Oh, in a good place. Yeah, I don't abuse anything. No. You know, you learn as you get older there's only so much body can take, you know what I mean, And you want to be clear minded. There's too much stuff to do. When you're young and you're in your twenties or your teenager and you're partying with your friends, you're definitely like you can andle it more right. And as you get older, you go, oh, man, I don't feel so good. So you know, I'm all about I promote, you know, health and a healthy lifestyle and eating right, working out. I run six miles a day, which is probably not healthy but excessive, but I love the endorphins from it. And then you know, I eat very healthy, and I'm all about just like self care and mindfulness. I have spiritual healers. I'm very much about. Your mind is very important. It's the most like whatever the way you program your mind and your thoughts and the most important thing. And speaking of truth and being authentic. I think that, you know, when I was younger, if people put stuff in front of me, you know, you're going to just do anything, but kind of you know what I mean. And so it was I definitely had my party days, for sure. I'm not going to say I didn't. But I learned from that, and I've learned from watching other people that have taken a very bad road because it's very easy and being a musician, everything zero zero to one hundred, so it's never like this, never a straight line. It's always like extremes like from in the studio, then sixty thousand people, then TV. Then you know it's like there's a lot of pressure too, not only from other people but on yourself.

Okay, you make a couple of records for Frontiers, what is that experience? Like?

That was interesting?

You know.

They were very very enthusiastic about signing me and everything, and then once they got working with them, they wanted a certain they wanted everything to be very heavy. So that's where we kind of butted heads with them, you know, and that's why I left them, because you know, I didn't want to just make heavy records. I mean, rock Candy I was very proud of and everything, but it was a heavy pop record because it had to be you know, we had some you know definitely when I sent them through songs, oh like, it's got to be this way, got to be this way. So yeah, that's that's the reason why I left that label is because they they would tell me what kind of record they wanted, you know, and that's fine, that's fine if you're a heavy band. But I wanted to branch out a bit more.

Okay, So tell me about signing with your new label and making two records.

I'm only making one record with this new label, would Avenue. I met Mark Nordam a while ago and through Norm Rare Guitars, and he just was a really enthusiastic guy that really believed in my music. And he was like, I'm giving you free rein so sort of he has a jazz label actually anything, but he's like, I'm giving you free range to do whatever you want. I'm like, cool. The deal was really straightforward, and that's kind of it. He just believed in me as and believes in me as a as an artist and gives me a free rain to do what I want. And I think that's the most awesome thing, you.

Know, So tell me about making that record.

Working at Robbie Kriege Studio has been awesome because it's such a great vibe there and working with my band and just going in and writing all the songs my and just you know, just capturing that energy and it's very organic. It's kind of like how old records were made, I guess ages ago. We're just doing it that way. And then Kevin Shirley came on board and he's been producing and that's been awesome because I love Kevin. He is a total legend and just awesome producer. He brings out like great guitar tones and he knows how to get the band rocking too, and you know, I trust him, so we can't I can't wait to finish the record with him too.

So how did Kevin get involved?

We had a dinner at the Marquee Sunset Marquee. He came over here and we just hang out, actually his friends, prior to anything. And I think I met Kevin through Joe but a Master because we've been friends for a long time. So yeah, and then Kevin was like, I want to work with you, and I've wanted to work with you since like twenty fourteen. I'm like, hey, cool, So he finally got to working together and I'm really I'm really proud of of the first well not the first single, the newest single that's out now, of Feeling. He did a great job on that. It's kind of got the most sound, sort of organic sound to it, like pop rock blues, but he really just brings it. He knows how to mic everything and he's incredible. And same with Eddie Kramer. I'm doing this side project with him.

Okay, let's talk about the Kevin Shirley record. So when will the album be finished?

I'm planning on finishing it early March. Now, so the last two songs we done early March and then the record will come out April.

And what are your expectations of the album?

I hope people just like hear like a kind of a different side to me, like more of a singer songwriter sort of thing. Like it's not like heavy heavy, Like some of the songs are heavy, but they're not like it's more like, I don't know, it's got like more motown soul in there. There's it's more about the storytelling, you know. I think, you know, I've written every lyric myself, and I think that it's freedom. I hope they find freedom in the music that can hear it. It makes people feel good. That's kind of my intention. I don't have expectations, you know, at all. I want people to like it and I hate it, of course, but you know that's kind of it really, But.

To what degree will you promote it? Market it?

I've been doing a lot of press for it. It's just one classic rock track of the week, which is awesome. There's some great artists on that list too, and it's been doing really well, and so I feel like I'm going to be touring Australia with the new record. We're doing a bunch of press now for that. In Australia. All the shows inly sold out over there, which is awesome. To the UK with it, to Japan with it, all that stuff, and yeah, just by the big festivals. We've got a lot of festivals lined up for the UK, so I can't wait to do that.

So you have a band, regular group of musician I do.

I do, yes, I do have a like my main band, I actually play more like a three piece. I actually enjoy it a lot. But when I play some hometown shows here in LA I have percussion, I've got keys, I've got three background singers, I've got I just go all out, you know, background, guitar, play everything. So it's like a big band sound, which is great. But on the road I do it three piece because I'm a huge Hendrick C. B Ray fan, and I just think that it sounds bigger sometimes just going three piece, I can. I love playing all the guitar parts myself. I do like the freedom in that, and we've dialed it in. I'm really happy with that. So we've got Justin Andreas on bass. You've got Elias Marlin on drums. He's amazing. Demi and Ariaga sometimes plays drums with me sometimes as well, but Justin's my main bass player and he also plays guitar with me as well.

So yeah, so tell me about this Eddie Kreamer record.

I'm super excited about this. It's a it's it's an all girl sort of band, a Gypsy's vibe thing, and you know, it came together quite some time ago. And yeah, I mean, I don't even know. Cindy has been a Cindy Santana has been a dear friend of mine for many years. And I never wanted to be an all girl band, like never, Like it's been suggested a few times. I'm like, oh hell no. But with her, I was like absolutely, you know, I felt like this is going to be something really special and I and I don't, you know, I want to. And then when Eddie, I called Eddie about it and we found Rhonda Smith was available too. It just came together really organically and it was wonderful. So we're nearly done with that record and I can't wait for people to hear it. It's something totally different from what I'm putting out. It's got a lot of fire behind it. And we're playing our first show in about five days at the halftime for the Raiders, So no pressure, just sixty thousand people. You know.

How did you connect with Eddie.

I've known Eddie for a long time. Actually, I met him at Capitol Records and he was mixing some you know, Hendrix stuff there and I walked in one day and he was like mixing is you got to hear this unreleased Hendrix stuff. I'm like, okay, it's wild. And then we became friends. And then Janie Hendrix has been a good friend of mine for many years, and I would go and jam down at the at Paul Allen when he was around. He was a good friend of mine. He had the Jimmy Hendrix Museum. So i'd go jam down there, and Janie and I were friends, and I'm sorry, we're we're still friends. And we would, you know, just jam a lot. And I got to play with Billy Cox down there. I got to hold you know, the Hendrix strat and everything, and Eddie I think he came down there once as well. But yeah, it was just it's been an amazing workingd with Eddie in the studio, Like watching him dial in tones like the old school way and compressors and all that kind of stuff. It's pretty pretty intense and mod a legend. I feel very honored, very honored now.

Eddie Kramer, Kevin Sure, we are both from South Africa. They are, so what is special about the South Africans?

I don't know. I think you know what. I think my great great grandfather is from South Africa too. I don't know. So, yeah, I'm kind of a bit of a European mutt and I have some I could ask my mother exactly, but I don't know. They're cool. They're very cool people. I've never been there, but both Eddie and Kevin just have a way about them that's kind of differently the same, but they're just both very sure of themselves. They know exactly what they're going for, and it's an honor to work with both of them. Love it.

Okay, how did the SCIRL group come together?

It was kind of it came together in this like kind of haphazard way. We're going to tell the story one down. I can't. I've been told not to give out too much information about the situation right now, So.

Well, let me ask you this. How long have you been working on the girl band?

About a year?

And what came first? The band the Idea or.

Eddie Kramer the Idea?

Okay and the Idea, and then Eddie Kreamer, and then the band.

The Idea, Cindy Blackman, Santana. Then I think we found Ronda or Eddie. Yeah, Eddie and Ronda sort of came at the same time. And then yeah, so.

Yeah, okay, you're going to play at the Raiders game. How has that even come to pass?

Got invited? I played actually play the national anthem in Oakland for the Raiders. I've been a Raiders fan since I was eleven, I believe it not in Australia because I thought that was so cool. And I used to go to the Royal show and they had the Pirate hat and all the swag, and I was just into American culture anyway, so I was like, yeah, go Raiders, and I was always wearing like different Chicago Bulls hats, Raiders swag. And then when I got invited to do the halftime so the national anthem back in twenty fourteen, I met Mark Davis. He's an owner and he's been a very dear friend of mine. For many years. So yeah, that was really cool.

Okay, you're going out with Alice Cooper. To what degree do you have to work to pay the bills? Or with all these endorsements and guitars, et cetera, there's enough money coming in that you're comfortable.

Yeah, there's enough money coming in. I'm definitely very comfortable for sure. I mean, you know, it's funny. It's like in this industry, you make a lot, you lose a lot. You go through a lot of stuff that people don't even know about, and you know, paying people off and managers and the next amount of and things and lawyers. Yeah, things are expensive, that's for sure. So you can make a lot of money, lose a lot of money, make it again, lose it. It's up and down all the time, for sure.

Well, if you stop playing guitar today, which I know you don't want to do, do you have enough money to continue to live or you got to work?

Oh no, I'm still working. There's there's many things I want to I want to do and buy, So you know, for sure.

You want to buy? What do you want to buy?

A couple of houses that I'm looking at right now, So.

Yeah, how many houses do you have now?

Well, the one I'm I'm I've got it quite a few in Australia, and then I've got my place here in LA and I would love to have a home in I think I want to own a home in Vegas. I think I do. And I also want to own a place by the beach in Australia as well, So and maybe maybe also maybe now sure but I'm not sure, you know, yeah.

Okay, So how many homes do you own in Australia.

Well, personally with my family, we have quite a quite a few homes. I don't know exactly that before.

But I just want to understand are you buying homes as an investment or you're buying homes because you want to have a house and live there yourself when you're in that town.

It's honestly, if I buy a home in Vegas or Nashville or out here in LA because I'm in this condo right now, it would be because I want to live here. So it's finding the right place where I would it would be my sanctuary. So I've been searching for years to find the right place out here in America that I feel like this is the place I want to be my main residence, you know what I mean. So because I'm always touring, I'm always on the road, so it's like it's convenient for me to have a bunch of storage units here and condo, so you know that's convenient.

So do you live in a house or a condo?

A condo here?

Yeah, okay, so you can just there's a door person you can leave for months and you don't have to worry about it.

Exactly. I was in a house before with my partner. But then you know, I'm oveed this condo and it's very secure and there's security everywhere, like it's Fort Knox basically. Here. You know, you've got cameras and then if anyone was to come into my place, immediately, you know, goes to the police. I got like, it's pretty crazy their security I have here for sure.

Now you talk about a partner, you've never been married, right.

No, I have not, but I have kind of it's been like, you know, almost like a marriage. My longest relationship. I've got her here, so I'd call it kind of like a marriage. You know, we live together for.

A long time, but you're not with someone.

Now, No, I am I'm yeah, I'm dating around right now, so it's all good.

And do you have a desire for children? Don't care about children?

No? I don't. I don't think I want children. No, I don't, because the thing is, you know, before I was thinking about it, but now I'm like, No, if I was going to be have a child, I would want to be the best mother. Ever. I don't think that I could be with what I'm doing, and you know what I mean. And by the time I've accomplished what I want to do with my life like and everything, I don't think a child would fit into that. And I don't want to be one of those parents that, like you know, brings up an asshole child.

So you know, okay, if you're in LA, are you the type of person who's connecting with friends all the time and going out? Are you the type of person staying home working on your stuff watching TV? Who knows both?

Yeah? I like to hit the Sunset Marquee a lot with my friends and my other places around here or MOUs strows or wherever I go. You know, it's like Craigs, you know, I do go out. I do. I have gatherings with my friends, my very dear friends who I love and I have like sometimes like just dinners, organize it once once a week or once every you know, or just girls night out and or girls and boys night out and we just go and we you know, have a few drinks and it's wonderful to catch up with friends. You know, it's hard sometimes because we're all on tour, so it's just bying the moment where everyone's in town. You know, your friends are all together.

So most of your friends are musicians, not civilians.

No, I have a couple that are not musicians, but you know, it's like most of them are or agents or they work in different industries or you know, just in different fields. But they're mostly like in the entertainment field for sure.

Okay, so you're a guitar player. Who's the greatest rock guitarist.

I don't know what who the Everyone's so different, they're so great, you know, I'm saying that I can't. I said that Jimmy Hendrix was great, and he was one of the best, and he was an innovator. But then there's Steve I, who's incredibly great technically and beautiful the way he plays and got Santana who's one of the greatest in my eyes, and then you go, you know, I don't know, there's too many. I can't like, they're all incredible. But for me though, inspiration wise, Santana is definitely the reason why I wanted to play electric guitar. So I would say Tantana if I had to.

If you listen to Santana, what album do you play?

You know what? I think that my favorite would be Sacred Fire Live in Mexico. It's a live record, but I would suggest to anyone to put that on and it's so inspiring.

And if you're listening to Hendrix, what are you listening to?

Banner Gypsies or probably live with Buddy Miles at the film All that was really awesome too. It's like a three vinyl kind of set. Yeah, I don't know, there's so many. There's so many with Hendrix, I kind of love them all. That's the thing. So hard to pick one.

And what degree do you keep up on contemporary music?

I check in, you know. I mean, I really like Teddy Swims. I think he's core. I really like country music too. Yeah, but I would say right now like Teddy Swims. For some reason, he has an old school sound. His voice is so good that yeah, it's my favorite new artists.

Okay, Australia certainly is not as big as the United States. Is it like an Australian mafia where all the Australian musicians know each other?

Kind of kind of?

Yeah.

I mean I haven't been back there for five years. I'm going back for the first time.

But I mean in the US.

On the US, no, I mean no, I don't know that many Australians out here, to be honest. One of my guitar actually, my guitar player, Nick Mayberry, he's Australian. But and then Vanessa Morosi, she's Australian, one of my best friends. She's a great singer. But other than that, not that many Australians know.

Okay, so you've accomplished so much, but what are the dreams in the future.

To reach more people with the music I make? To better myself as a singer songwriter? It is how play everything you know? You never stop learning, you never stop searching, creating. There's so much more to do, you know. I feel like I've just gotten started. So that's the truth. I just want to reach a lot of people and continue to evolve and not bore myself and bore others. So that's a plan.

Okay, Rimpi. I want to thank you for taking this time to speak with me and my audience.

Thank you so much for having me so I appreciate you. A good time.

Thank you you bet Till next time. This is Bob Left Sex sh

The Bob Lefsetz Podcast

Bob Lefsetz is the author of “The Lefsetz Letter.” Listen to his new podcast where he'll address the 
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