by Rafael Nery

01-Hello Richie, how are you doing? Thank you so much for this opportunity. We are pretty much happy for having you interviewed. Please let us know, when did you get into the guitar world and who are your biggest influences and favorite bands?

I STARTED PLAYING THE GUITAR WHEN I WAS 7 YEARS OLD...I WAS ORIGINALLY INSPIRED BY A KISS POSTER... FROM THERE I GOT INTO BANDS LIKE VAN HALEN AND AC DC... EDDIE VAN HALEN WAS THE FIRST GUITAR PLAYER THAT I TRIED TO EMULATE WHEN I WAS YOUNG... FROM THERE I GOT INTO STEVIE WONDER, SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE AND OTHER R AND B ACTS SO MY INFLUENCES RANGE FROM CLASSIC ROCK TO OLD R AND B.

02-Besides being an amazing guitar player, you are an amazing singer. When did you start doing that and who are your heroes in this regard? Have you ever taken classes for the both things (singing and playing)?

I DID TAKE GUITAR LESSONS WHEN I WAS A CHILD... IN MY MID 20'S I HAD A PROBLEM WITH MY VOICE AND NEEDED SURGERY FOR NODES... AFTER THE SURGERY I WENT TO A COACH TO FIND OUT IF I WAS DOING SOMETHING WRONG... HE HELPED ME A LOT... UNFORTUNATELY I ENDED UP WITH NODES A YEAR AFTER THE FIRST SURGERY AND HAD TO DO A SECOND ONE... LUCKILY FOR ME I HAVE NOT HAD ANYMORE THROAT ISSUES SINCE THEN...

03-You still really young got signed by Shrapnel Records. Do you think this was an important thing to your musical life?

I THINK IT WAS VERY IMPORTANT... AT THAT TIME THERE WAS A HUGE INTEREST IN THE ELECTRIC GUITAR AND SHRAPNEL WAS THE MOST SIGNIFICANT LABEL DELIVERING NEW GUITAR MUSIC... THEY WERE VERY RESPONSIBLE FOR GETTING MY CAREER GOING IN THE MUSIC BUSINESS...

04-After that,you got in Poison to replace their guitarist. What was this time like? From that time on, did you start reaching more people with your music?

YES, POISON WAS A HUGE BREAK FOR ME WHEN IT HAPPENED... IT REALLY EXPOSED BOTH MY PLAYING AND SONGWRITING TO A WHOLE NEW AUDIENCE.

05-In your voice and guitar playing we can see clearly a "funk" influence in songs like "Suffocation","Sociallite". Where does it come from? GROWING UP OUTSIDE PHILADELPHIA I WAS EXPOSED TO A LOT OF THAT STYLE... THAT WAS THE SOUND AND AS A YOUNG KID IT WAS EVERYWHERE... I’M SURE THAT IS WHERE MY ROOTS COME FROM AND WHY MY STYLE IS THE WAY IT IS.

06-You also recorded an album with "Stanley Clarke" called Vertu. Do you think it was something different from what you used to do?

IN A LOT OF WAYS YES... I HAD DONE A FUSION CD A FEW YEARS BEFORE THAT WITH JEFF BERLIN AND GREGG BISSONNETTE... THE STANLEY PROJECT WAS DIFFERENT BECAUSE IT WAS MORE OF A BAND EFFORT... ALSO STANLEY IS A LEGEND IN THAT STYLE OF MUSIC SO IT WAS ALSO A GREAT EDUCATION FOR ME.

07-"Tilt" was a project which included you and Greg Howe. Greg is an amazing musician. What have you got to say about this experience?

I LOVE GREG'S WORK... BOTH GREG AND I GREW UP IN THE SAME PART OF PENNSYLVANIA... I WAS AWARE OF HIM AND HIS BAND WHEN I WAS A TEENAGER AND WE USED TO GO SEE EACH OTHER PERFORM... I THINK GREG IS ONE OF THE BEST GUITARISTS IN THE WORLD AND I DEFINETELY HAD A GREAT TIME RECORDING WITH HIM ON THE TILT CD... HE INSPIRED ME TO PLAY BETTER THAN I WOULD HAVE IF I WAS WORKING ALONE.

08-Talking about your solo career, you have lots of albums. What are the special albums and songs for you? Would you change something in the older albums?

I THINK THE OLDER ALBUMS REPRESENT ME AS A YOUNG MUSICIAN STILL SEARCHING FOR A DIRECTION... I PREFER MY LATER WORKS... “INTO THE BLACK” IS MY NEWEST CD AND BY FAR MY FAVORITE... I ALSO LIKE THE CD I DID CALLED “WHAT IS”. IT’S HARD TO JUDGE MYSELF BECAUSE ALL MY RECORDS ARE LIKE CREATIVE SNAPSHOTS OF WHERE I WAS AT THAT POINT IN MY LIFE.

10-You are a nice composer and you own nice ballads/hits. Acoustic cuts is probably a good evidence of that. When did you decide to record an acoustic album? How much time does writting songs take from you?

THE SONGWRITING PROCESS IS ALWAYS DIFFERENT... SOME SONGS HAPPEN INSTANTLY AND OTHERS TAKE MORE TIME... IT’S ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO FIGURE OUT WHY... THERE IS NO REASON TO REALLY FIGURE IT OUT... USUALLY WHEN I’VE GOT NOTHING ON MY MIND IS WHEN I’M THE MOST PROLIFIC IT’S IMPORTANT TO BE CLEAR AND EMPTY SO TO SPEAK... IN THAT CLARITY AND EMPTINESS CREATIVITY WILL COME THROUGH... AS FOR THE ACOUSTIC CD I JUST DID IT FOR MYSELF. I WANTED TO TAKE A BUNCH OF SONGS FROM DIFFERENT ERAS OF MY CAREER AND RECORD THEM WITH ONLY GUITAR AND VOICE... VERY SIMPLE AND BROKEN DOWN WITH NO PRODUCTION... I THINK AS A RESULT YOU REALLY HEAR THE SONG FOR WHAT IT IS.

11-You have two guitar signatures by Fender. Tell us about it.

I HAVE 2 SIGNATURE MODEL FENDER GUITARS. ONE STRAT AND ONE TELE... THEY HAVE BEEN IN PRODUCTION SINCE 1996 AND THEY ARE FOR THE MOST PART THE ONLY 2 ELECTRIC GUITARS I USE... DEPENDING ON MY MOOD I SWITCH FROM TELE TO STRAT... LATELY IVE BEEN PLAYING THE STRAT A LOT BOTH GUITARS ARE TOTALLY CUSTOM TO MY SPECS INCLUDING THE SPECIFIC WOOD, PICKUPS AND FRETS.

12-When did you team up Mr.Big? What was this experience like? Was it a hard work to replace Paul Gilbert?

I JOINED MR BIG IN 1999... I WAS NEVER MADE TO FEEL LIKE I WAS REPLACING ANYONE... IT WAS MORE LIKE STARTING A NEW CHAPTER OF THE BAND JUST LIKE THE POISON SITUATION... SINCE I WAS A WRITER I FELT LIKE I HAD A CHANCE TO BE MYSELF AND NOT COPY SOMEONE ELSE... PLAYING PAULS STUFF LIVE WAS TONS OF FUN. HE IS A BRILLIANT MUSICIAN AND OUR STYLES ARE SO DIFFERENT... I ENDED UP PLAYING HIS PARTS A BIT DIFFERENT TO FIT MY STYLE... LUCKILY FOR ME THE FANS IN JAPAN WHERE MR BIG IS THE MOST POPULAR ACCEPTED ME IN THE BAND. WE DID 2 STUDIO CDS AND A FEW LIVE THINGS AS WELL. IT WAS A GREAT TIME.

13-You brought to Mr.Big a nice telecaster tone and strong blues/funk vocals. What was the work of learning old songs and putting your "style" on them? For example, "Alive and Kickin","Green tinted Sixties mind” got really nice versions.

I JUST PLAY MUSIC HOW I HEAR IT... I AM NOT RIGHT FOR EVERY SITUATION... I THINK IF SOMEONE ASKS ME TO PLAY WITH THEM THEY WANT WHAT IT IS THAT I DO... I’M NOT THE GUY THAT GETS THE CALLS TO FILL IN AND BE A SIDEMAN... I COULD DO IT BUT I THINK MY REPUTATION IS SOMEONE WHO IS MORE OF A BAND MEMBER... SOMEONE WHO IS GOING TO BRING SOMETHING CREATIVE TO THE TABLE AND NOT JUST PLAY PRE WRITTEN PARTS.

14-You did two albums with Mr.Big and your song called "Shine" became a hit, mainly in Japan. What was that like?

IT WAS GREAT.THERE IS NOTHING LIKE HAVING A SONG COME OUT AND GETTING A GREAT REACTION FROM PEOPLE.IT MAKES ME FEEL GOOD TO SEE PEOPLE SINGING A LONG TO LYRICS THAT I WROTE.

15-You Guys did a Farewell tour.Do you think it would be possible to do a reunion Playing you and Paul Gilbert together?

DOUBTFUL...I THINK THAT THE MEMBERS OF MR BIG ARE CONTENT DOING WHAT THEY ARE DOING ALTHOUGH THAT WOULD BE A COOL TOUR.

16-Richie Thank you so much for this interview! Please leave a message for Guitar Clinic's Visitors.

THANKS FOR YOUR TIME AND IF YOU LIKE YOU MAY PURCHASE MY NEW CD INTO THE BLACK AT I TUNES OR DIRECTLY FROM RICHIEKOTZEN.COM.