Doug Aldrich
Since his debut with the hard rock band LION, Doug Aldrich has continuously succeeded in impressing the listeners with his impressive rock guitar performances. Doug has taken part in numerous bands such as BAD MOON RISING, BURNING RAIN, Ronnie James Dio’s DIO, and David Coverdale’s WHITESNAKE, as well as releasing his own solo material. Doug has just released a BURNING RAIN album titled “Epic Obsession”, which turns out to be BURNING RAIN’s brand new studio effort in 13 years. This great hard rock album features Doug Aldrich’s guitar performance in full throttle. Doug took time to talk to MUSE ON MUSE about the new album “Epic Obsession”, as well as some insight to his aspects on playing guitar.
Interview / Text Mamoru Moriyama
Translation Louis Sesto (EAGLETAIL MUSIC)
Muse On Muse : How and why did you decide to record a new album with BURNING RAIN after a 13-year absence? Tell us how “Epic Obsessions” came to be.
Doug Aldrich : IT WAS TIME… HAHA, I HAD SIGNED A RECORDING CONTRACT FOR EUROPE AND THE US IN 2004. WHEN DAVID DECIDED HE WAS GOING TO TAKE A COUPLE MONTHS OFF, I IMMEADIATLY GOT BUSY FINISHING SOME NEW AND OLDER SONG IDEAS WITH KEITH ST JOHN. I HAD BEEN 100 PERCENT WHITESNAKE FOR 10 YEARS BUT I HAD THIS RECORD HANING AROUND MY NECK AND I WANTED TO GET SOME NEW MUSIC OUT.
MM : What was your concept for this new album? What is the meaning behind the album title “Epic Obsessions”?
DA : THE RECORD AND THE ENTIRE PROJECT WAS AN OBSESSION FOR ME AND KEITH. WE HAD WRITTEN A FEW TIMES OVER THE YEARS BUT EVERYTIME WE WOULD GET SIDETRACKED BECAUSE OF MY SCHEDULE WITH WHITESNAKE OR HIS TIME WITH MONTROSE. FINALLY WHEN WE REALLY DECIDED TO GO FOR IT, IT WAS A HUGE COMMITMENT IN TIME BECAUSE I HAD TO GET BACK TO WORK ON THE WHITESNAKE MADE IN JAPAN DVD AND OTHER PROJECTS. I WOULD RECORD BURNING RAIN ON THE WEEKENDS AFTER I PUT MY BOY TO BED. I WAS OBSESSED WITH FINISHING THIS TIME. I SACRIFICED MY LIFE AND IT HAS COST ME SOME THINGS THAT I DIDN’T WANT TO LOSE. BUT I AM A MUSICIAN AND I GET CRAZY INTO MY MUSIC. IT IS AN EPIC OBSESSION.
MM : How do you separate working with BURNING RAIN and working with WHITESNAKE? Do you take a different approach when you’re making an album for BURNING RAIN and for WHITESNAKE?
DA : IT’S PRETTY NATURAL NOW. I DON’T THINK ABOUT THAT TOO MUCH ANYMORE. I HAD SOME SONG IDEAS THAT MAYBE COULD HAVE BEEN WS SONGS, BUT WS DIDN’T NEED THEM. I HAVE A BUNCH OF NEW SONG IDEAS FOR WS ANYWAY. WORKING WITH KEITH IS FUNNY CAUSE WE ARE LIKE BROTHERS FIGHTING EACH OTHER ALL THE WAY. ME AND DAVID IS DIFFERENT. HE’S TAUGHT ME SO MUCH AND I HAVE A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT WRITING STYLE WITH HIM. HE TRUSTS ME AND KNOWS THAT I HAVE HIS BEST INTEREST AT HEART. WITH KEITH, WE WOULD GET INTO FIGHTS EVERYDAY…. NOT BIG ONES , BUT BROTHERLY STUFF. IT WAS FUN IN A WEIRD WAY.
MM : You have Sean McNabb on bass and Matt Starr on drums for this album. Can you tell us how they joined BURNING RAIN? How is it working with Sean and Matt as the rhythm section?
DA : KEITH AND I ASKED SEAN TO PLAY ON SOME DEMOS AND HE WAS REALLY GREAT WITH IT. HE’S A TOP PLAYER AND HE WAS REALLY ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT THE SONGS. HE SANG TOO. HE’S GREAT. WE WANTED TO DO SOME GIGS IN LA TO TRY SOME OF THE NEW SONGS, AND HE SUGGESTED MATT STARR. MATT IS THE PERFECT GUY. THEY BOTH ARE. THEY ARE VERY SUPPORTIVE AND MELLOW AND THEY JUST GET ON WITH THE JOB AT HAND WHEN KEITH AND I WOULD BE FIGHTING!! HAHA
MM : How long did it take you to record the album? Tell us how you recorded the album.
DA : WE STARTED IN AUGUST OR SOMETHING AND IT TOOK A WHILE CAUSE I WAS BACK WITH WHITESNAKE MONDAY THRU FRIDAY IN LAKE TAHOE. I THINK MAYBE SIX MONTHS TO RECORD AND 13 YEARS TO WRITE!! HAHA
MM : What are the differences when writing songs for David Coverdale of WHITESNAKE and writing songs for Ketih St. John of BURNING RAIN? Do you take a different approach, different method, etc. when writing for the 2 different bands/singers?
DA : AS I SAID, IT’S VERY DIFFERENT. DAVID LETS ME RUN WITH THINGS AND EVEN THOUGH HE IS THE BOSS, HE KNOWS THAT I HAVE HIS ORGINAL VISION FOR WS ON MY AGENDA. WITH KEITH, I’M MORE EVEN WITH HIM SO WE WOULD DO EVEYTHING TOGETHER MOSTLY. I’M KINDA THE BOSS BUT I WANTED HIM TO HELP ME MORE ON THIS RECORD WHICH HE DID.
MM : How complete are the demos you make before going into recording, and/or when you present it to the band? What do you use to write songs and make demos?
DA : PRETTY COMPLETE SOMETIMES. FOR EXAMPLE WHEN WE SEND SOME ORIGINAL SONGS TO WARNER JAPAN, WE MADE THE DEMOS PRETTY GOOD. THEN AS WE WERE WRITING, WE HAD TO RUSH AND THE DEMOS GOT MORE ROUGH. I WRITE IN EVERY WAY POSSIBLE FROM HUMMING AND IDEA INTO MY PHONE TO JAMMING IN REHEARSAL WITH THE GUYS. NO RULES…. THAT’S WHAT DAVID TAUGHT ME.
MM : Please tell us about your approach to songwriting and band ensemble when working with BURNING RAIN, where you are the only guitar player, in comparison to WHITESNAKE, where there are 2 guitar players.
DA : DAVID AND I CAN EXPERIMENT WITH MORE GUITAR PARTS/ LAYERS WITH WS BECAUSE WE HAVE REB. WITH BURNING RAIN, I TREAT IT MORE LIKE JIMMY PAGE IN ZEPPELIN. I ENJOY BOTH SITUATIONS FOR DIFFERENT REASONS BUT IN BURNING RAIN I DO LIKE TO KEEP IT MORE SIMPLE AND RAW.
MM : Songs such as “Sweet Little Baby Thing” and “Till You Die” seem to have a nice drive to the sound with aggressive guitar riffs and flashy guitar solos. Throughout the album, you seem to be in full throttle in terms of guitar performance, and it definitely gives a very refreshing feeling to the listener.
DA : THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THE RECORD HAS SOME ROUGH EDGES IN COMPARISON TO WHITESNAKE, BUT I GUESS THAT’S OK. MOST OF THE SOLOS WERE LEFT MORE RAW TOO. SPECIALLY ON THE FIRST FEW SONGS. I WANTED TO REDO A COUPLE OF THEM BUT JUST RAN OUT OF TIME. IN THE END, I THINK IT SERVES THE RECORD TO BE ROUGH IN SOME SPOTS.
MM : “Our Time Is Gonna Come” and “Out In The Cold Again” have a very dramatic progression and sound epic. Very impressive indeed.
DA : THANK YOU.I THINK ITS IMPORTANT TO HAVE A BALANCE OF SONG TYPES ON A RECORD SO THAT YOU DON’T GET BORED. THOSE TWO SONGS ALSO HAVE A BIT OF ZEP/SNAKE INFLUENCE.
MM : Songs such as “Heaven Gets Me By”, “Too Hard To Break”, and “Made For Your Heart” have a melancholic feel, and would definitely appeal to not only the hard rock fans, but to a wider range of listeners.
DA : I HOPE SO. THAT WOULD BE THE GOAL.
MM : Were the guitar solos on “Too Hard To Break” and “Made For Your Heart” improvised? Or did you have them thought out beforehand?
DA : TOO HARD WAS A BIT DIFFERENT BEFORE ON THE DEMO. I HAD SOMETHING THAT I WAS HAPPY WITH, BUT WHEN I WAS DOING IT FOR REAL I GOT CONFUSED WHAT MELODY WOULD BE BEST. KEITH WAS THERE AND HELPED ME WORK IT OUT. THEN I PLAYED IT. MADE FOR YOUR HEART WAS JUST RIGHT FROM MY HEART. I JUST JAMMED OUT THE MELODY IN MY HEAD. IT HAS A FEW MISTAKES BUT IT HAD A GOOD VIBE.
MM : The intro guitar riff on “Ride The Monkey” sounds very impressive and really catches your ears.
DA : THANK YOU. IT IS A PULL OFF RIFF THAT I WAS MESSING AROUND WITH. IT IS FUN TO PLAY.
MM : The piano leaves a great impression on “When Can I Believe In Love”. Definitely, a very touching song to close the album.
DA : YEAH, I AGREE. I LOVED THAT SOME RECORDS END WITH A BALLAD. KEITH HAD THE ORIGINAL SONG AND WE REWORKED IT AND FINISHED IT OFF. I LOVE THE PIANO. IT’S THE ONE FROM THE DEMO.
MM : Please tell us about each song on the album. How the song came to be, what you feel about each song, and/or any special meaning behind the song, etc.
DA :
“Sweet Little Baby Thing”
IT WAS WRITTEN AROUND 2004 I THINK. WE REWORKED IT FOR THE RECORD. I LIKE THAT IT HAS A SIMPLE FAST RIFF. WHEN WE MADE THE LATEST DEMO, I STUCK A LOOP ON THE FRONT AND THAT KINDA SEALED IT AS THE OPENER.
“The Cure”
ONE OF THE LAST ONES WE WROTE. SIMPLE BASIC GROOVE THAT SEEMED TO ADD A NICE BALANCE TO THE RECORD.
“‘Till You Die”
THIS WAS AN OLD SONG THAT WE TOTALLY REWORKED. KEITH HELPED ME WITH THE RIFF AND I HELPED HIM WITH THE MELODY AND LYRICS. ONCE THE RIFF CHANGED, I HAD A DEFINITE IDEA FOR THE VOCAL THAT I WANTED.
“Heaven Gets Me By”
WE DID THIS ONE IN JAN 2012. I THINK WE WROTE IT IN JUST A FEW HOURS. KEITH DID A GREAT LYRIC.
“Pray Out Loud”
THIS IS A SLIDE TUNING AND ONE OF MY FAVES ON THE RECORD. I REALLY LIKE THE TITLE.
“Our Time Is Gonna Come”
THIS IS AN OLD TRACK THAT I HAD FOR SOME TIME. I WROTE IT FOR DAVID, BUT WE NEVER NEEDED IT SO I NEVER PLAYED IT TO HIM. BURNING RAIN NEEDED SOME KEYSTONE TRACKS AND WHEN I PLAYED IT FOR KEITH, WE RECORD HIS FIRST IDEAS WHICH BECAME THE VOCAL MELODY.
“Too Hard To Break”
WE WANTED A STRAIGHT POP GROOVE AND I LIKED THE CHORDS. I REWROTE THEM SEVERAL DIFFERENT WAYS BEFORE I COULD FIGURE IT OUT. I LOVED THE VOCAL AND LYRIC. I WAS GOING THROUGH A BREAK UP DURING THIS TIME AND DIDN’T EVEN KNOW IT. TURNS OUT THE SONG IS HARD TO LISTEN TO.
“My Lust Your Fate”
THIS WAS THE LAST SONG WE DID. IT WAS A HEAVY SIMPLE RIFF AND GROOVE. THE LYRIC IS PRETTY DARK AND SEXUAL BUT STILL SEEMS CATCHY WHICH IS WHY WE LIKED IT FOR THE FIRST VIDEO.
“Made For Your Heart”
THIS WAS A SONG WE WROTE IN THE JAN 2012 SESSIONS. IT CAME TOGETHER NICE AND IS ONE OF MY FAVORIES.
“Ride The Monkey”
I LOVE THIS SONG. KINDA TYPICAL BURNING RAIN. IT WAS MAYBE ONE OF THE FIRST WE WROTE IN 2004. I REWROTE THE RIFF SEVERAL TIMES. IT WAS LIKE RIDING A BULL. I KEPT FALLING OFF BUT IN THE END, IT CAME TOGETHER. KEITH AND I BUTTED HEADS A LOT ON THIS TOO. WE HAD SEVERAL FIGHTS ABOUT HOW IT WOULD GO. I’M GLAD WE WORKED IT OUT.
“Out In The Cold Again”
THIS WAS ONE OF THE FIRST WE WROTE TOO. ZEP INFLUENCED. I WASN’T TOO SURE THAT WOULD MAKE THE RECORD. A LOT OF PEOLPLE SEEM TO LIKE IT THOUGH SO I’M GLAD IT DID.
“When Can I Believe In Love”
KEITH TOLD ME HE HAD A BALLAD IDEA. HE SAID IT WAS ROUGH. IT WAS THE FIRST TIME HE BROUGHT ME A SONG IDEA. I HELPED HIM WITH THE CHORUS CHORDS AND I WROTE A SOLO SECTION. THE REST WAS HIS. THE LYRIC WAS GREAT.
MM : Please tell us about your gear. What guitars, amps, effectors, foot pedals did you use for this recording?
DA : MOSTLY GIBSON LES PAULS THROUGH MARSHALL AMPS AND CABS. I HAVE MY LES PAULS CUSTOMIZED WITH SPECIAL FRETS AND SUHR/ALDRICH SIGNATURE PICKUPS BY JS TECHNALOGIES. I HAVE A CUSTOM DISTORTION OVERDRIVE BOX THAT I LOVE. IT’S CALLED A ROCKET FUEL PEDAL BY MAGIK BOX. I USED SOME GIBSON AND MARTIN ACOUSTIC GUITARS. A HUMMINGBIRD, A J200 AND AN OLD D28.
MM : Guitar riffs are a very important aspect of hard rock music. You have delivered many amazing riffs throughout your career with many different bands and albums. What’s the secret behind continuously being able to come up with great guitar riffs?
DA : THANKS SO MUCH. I JUST LOVE EXPRERIMENTING WITH RIFFS AND GROOVES. I’M TRYING TO KEEP THEM FUN AND SIMPLE NOW. I’M MORE IMPRESSED WITH SIMPLE BIG RIFFS AT THE MOMENT.
MM : Your guitar solos have also been amazing on the numerous albums you have taken part in. During your career, have you ever had any struggles where you would fall into a groove or slump in creating/playing guitar solos? What would be your advice to guitar players out there experiencing a slump with solos?
DA : LISTEN TO OTHER PLAYERS TO GET INSPIRED. WATCH YOUTUBE AND SEARCH SOME GUITARIST LESSONS. I WILL HELP FOR SURE. SOMETIMES IT’S GOOD TO JUST TAKE A BREAK AND WALK AWAY. COME BACK THE NEXT DAY OR EVEN A FEW HOURS LATER AND IT WILL BE EASIER.
MM : What do you have coming up next? Tell us about your upcoming schedule. Will you be working with both BURNING RAIN and WHITESNAKE simultaneously?
DA : I’M CURRENTLY ON TOUR WITH WS TILL OCT BUT I DEFINITELY WANT TO BRING BURNING RAIN ON TOUR. WE HAVE HAD SOME OFFERS ALREADY FOR JAPAN AND ENGLAND. I HOPE TO HAVE DATES SOON.
MM : Please give a message to the Japanese fans.
DA : THANK YOU FROM MY HEART FOR ALL YOU HAVE DONE FOR ME OVER MY CAREER. I LOVE JAPAN AND CANT WAIT TIL MY NEXT VISIT.
Doug Aldrich official site : http://www.dougaldrich.com/
BURNING RAIN official site : http://www.burningrain.net/
EPIC OBSESSION / BURNING RAIN
WPCR-14729 ¥2,500 WARNER MUSIC JAPAN
1.Sweet Little Baby Thing
2.The Cure
3.’Till You Die
4.Heaven Gets Me By
5.Pray Out Loud
6.Our Time Is Gonna Come
7.Too Hard To Break
8.My Lust Your Fate
9.Made For Your Heart
10.Ride The Monkey
11.Out In The Cold Again
12.When Can I Believe In Love
13.Fell Outa Love(Demo Unreleased Track) <Bonus Track>
14.Made For Your Heart(Candlelight Version) <Bonus Track>
15.When Can I Believe In Love(Acoustic Version) <Bonus Track>
Epic Obsession -Special Limited Edition
WPZR-30485/6 ¥3,200 WARNER MUSIC JAPAN
Disc1
1.Sweet Little Baby Thing
2.The Cure
3.’Till You Die
4.Heaven Gets Me By
5.Pray Out Loud
6.Our Time Is Gonna Come
7.Too Hard To Break
8.My Lust Your Fate
9.Made For Your Heart
10.Ride The Monkey
11.Out In The Cold Again
12.When Can I Believe In Love
13.Fell Outa Love(Demo Unreleased Track) <Bonus Track>
14.Made For Your Heart(Candlelight Version) <Bonus Track>
15.When Can I Believe In Love(Acoustic Version) <Bonus Track>
Disc2 (DVD)
1.MAKING – BEHIND THE SCENES
2.Bonus Scenes
