WRIF Virtual Rock Room with Joe Bonamassa
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00:01Rock, metal, prog, and everything in between.
00:04If you're into rock, you've come to the right place.
00:07Welcome to this episode of Talkin' Rock with Meltdown.
00:11Don't forget to follow the audio-only Talkin' Rock podcast on all podcast platforms.
00:15And now, it's time for today's conversation.
00:18Here's Meltdown.
00:20Yo, good to see you. I've talked to you a few times on the phone,
00:22but I've never had a chance to actually talk to you like this, so good to see you.
00:25Yeah, man. Look at the technology.
00:28I used to use a calling card to call WRIF.
00:32The label used to give you the calling cards from the hotel,
00:35and then inevitably, they'd run out in the middle of the interview
00:40and be like, this call is now costing you $150 an hour.
00:44I never knew that. That's something I've never heard before.
00:47No kidding. I didn't realize that.
00:49No, that was the thing.
00:50I mean, that was the thing about hotels back in the 90s
00:53was they made a lot of money on long-distance calls.
00:56That's right.
00:57And if you just started dialing,
00:59your bill would be in the hundreds of dollars almost immediately.
01:02Then they started charging for internet.
01:04Now everything's free.
01:06But now we've got Zoom.
01:07We could do this virtually in person.
01:10That's right.
01:11And you just mentioned we're here in Detroit,
01:13and you're going to be here at the Fox Theater.
01:15Last time I talked to you,
01:16you talked about how much you really enjoy the Fox Theater.
01:19That's really, truly...
01:20I've been here since 1995 I moved here,
01:22and that is truly a gem within this city.
01:25It's a gem in the world.
01:27I mean, I play my fair share of really nice theaters.
01:31And I always say,
01:32and it's not just because I'm on the radio in Detroit,
01:34is the Fox Theater in Detroit is the nicest theater in the country.
01:38It's just the level of detail that was,
01:41and the craftsmanship that was used to restore it to its original glory.
01:48I mean, it's overwhelming.
01:50It's like when you first walk into it,
01:52you're like, oh my God, what a beautiful place.
01:55And the other thing is,
01:57to me it's right up there with the Albert Hall in London
02:00and the Vienna Opera House
02:02and Carnegie Hall and stuff like that.
02:05And, you know, it's great that it was saved from the wrecking ball
02:09because, I mean, you know,
02:10the city of Detroit is, you know,
02:13it benefits greatly from having a cultural site like that
02:17that's preserved and active and, you know,
02:20and hell, you can even see where Elvis played in the lobby.
02:23Elvis played the lobby, you know?
02:25Yeah.
02:26Yeah, you just mentioned all those great venues.
02:28Of course, Tales of Time was recorded at Red Rocks.
02:31That's a place I, is on my list,
02:33as with a lot of people, but talk about that album.
02:37Well, you know, I always say we've done Red Rocks like 12 times
02:40and you can experience all four seasons
02:44in a single afternoon.
02:46And we did, Tales of Time was recorded over two nights.
02:50The first night being,
02:52we experienced all four seasons
02:54and a two-hour rain delay.
02:57The second night was beautiful.
02:5870 degrees and sunny.
03:00So that's most of where the footage came from
03:03because it rained hard.
03:06And there was a thunderstorm.
03:08Now, I don't mind playing in the rain.
03:10Is there was a thunderstorm about a mile and a half out
03:12and it just sat there.
03:14And they won't let you play
03:15unless the storm is three miles out.
03:17And I'm like, you know,
03:18and the crowd was going like,
03:19come on, just play in the rain.
03:20Like, I, I, you know, me,
03:22we, we would have been on eight o'clock,
03:24but it's just, it's because it's a city run facility.
03:28And, and, you know,
03:29obviously you don't want anybody to get hurt.
03:31You know, we're just, we're just going to come on,
03:33just, just move out a little bit further.
03:34And finally, at the very last minute
03:37where we were just about to call it,
03:38they, they, they, okay,
03:39it's now three miles out.
03:40Now you can, I can,
03:41so we did maybe 75 minutes before curfew
03:44and, and that was it.
03:46But the second night was really good.
03:47And, and that's predominantly
03:49where the thing came from.
03:50Now you already have another live recorded album
03:53in the can?
03:54Hollywood Bowl.
03:55We just did Hollywood Bowl
03:56with the orchestra in August.
03:58And that'll be out next year,
04:00which is completely different.
04:01I mean, that's, that's a,
04:03playing with an orchestra and a rock band.
04:05It's, you know, you know,
04:07Beethoven and Mozart did not,
04:10did not anticipate electrified guitars.
04:14And we, we, you know,
04:15I'm, I'm a guitar player
04:17and my other guitar player, Josh Smith,
04:19we really felt like out of place
04:22because they pushed our guitar rigs
04:24like in another County.
04:26And I'm like, you know,
04:27this is a guitar show, you know,
04:29like, but, but we made,
04:30we made the best of it
04:31and, and it came out really, really good.
04:33I mean, you know,
04:34really proud moment for me
04:35to play at Hollywood Bowl.
04:36I mean, I've been an Angeleno for 22 years
04:38and I live close to the Hollywood Bowl.
04:41And, and, you know,
04:42so that, that to me has been,
04:44you know, a very,
04:45it was a big moment for me
04:48to actually cause the traffic
04:50on the one-on-one in Highland Boulevard,
04:53as opposed to not knowing there's a bowl show
04:55and then you get stuck in it
04:56for like two hours.
04:57Yeah.
04:58Yeah.
04:58All that was me on August 9th.
05:01Now there's a lot of bands
05:02that have famously recorded
05:03with, with symphonies
05:04and orchestras like Metallica
05:06and the Scorpions.
05:06Even Kid Rock did a show
05:08at the Fox Theater for charity.
05:10Right.
05:11So did, did you contact
05:12any of these other camps
05:13to talk about that?
05:15Well, you know,
05:15I, I asked Warren Haynes
05:17a couple of days before,
05:19what, what, what's it like?
05:20Cause he's done
05:20the Jerry Garcia orchestra shows
05:22and, you know,
05:23cause it's improvisational music,
05:25you know, by and large,
05:26you know, like what we do
05:27and, you know,
05:29the orchestra is very structured.
05:30So you have to count bars.
05:31You mean like,
05:32we have a 16 bar solo,
05:33not 17 or not 20.
05:35You gotta, you gotta like,
05:36you gotta kind of like
05:37make the marks,
05:39you know, I mean,
05:39it goes back.
05:40I mean, like deep purple
05:41did it at the Albert Hall
05:42in like 69.
05:43I got pictures,
05:45no audio yet,
05:45but I'm going down
05:46the rabbit hole.
05:48Albert King did it,
05:49I think in Des Moines, Iowa,
05:51like in the seventies.
05:53And there he is
05:53with the flying V
05:54and the, you know,
05:55behind a whole bunch
05:56of violence.
05:57So it's been done
05:58and it's when it works,
06:01it's awesome
06:02because it's like,
06:02you're just in this,
06:03you're engulfed
06:04in this, like this,
06:05this music,
06:06you know,
06:07and it's,
06:07and it's,
06:07you know,
06:08with the band
06:09and the orchestra,
06:10I think we were like 55 pieces,
06:12you know,
06:13and I,
06:14and I,
06:14you know,
06:14it's,
06:15it's one,
06:16one,
06:16one case,
06:17it was like really cool
06:17to just look around
06:18and I'm like,
06:19wow,
06:19this is just the coolest thing ever
06:21and listen to the way it sounds.
06:23And then the business guy
06:24in me is looking around
06:24going,
06:25hell,
06:26I gotta pay everybody tonight.
06:28Yeah.
06:29That's right.
06:30Do you,
06:30do you feel like
06:31it breathes new life
06:32into some of your songs
06:33that you may have played
06:34for years and years?
06:35Absolutely.
06:37It makes them completely different.
06:39Yeah.
06:40Completely different
06:40because,
06:41you know,
06:41we had to choose versions
06:43of the songs
06:44to be orchestrated,
06:45you know,
06:46you know,
06:47it took years
06:48to get the book written,
06:49you know,
06:49it's not just,
06:50they don't show up
06:51and just improv everything.
06:52It's like everything
06:53is written
06:53and David Campbell,
06:55Trevor Raven
06:56did some of the,
06:57the orchestrations,
06:58you know,
06:58him from the band.
06:59Yes.
07:00But,
07:00you know,
07:01most recently,
07:02like pretty much
07:02every Jeffrey Bruckheimer movie.
07:05And when he orchestrated
07:07some of this stuff,
07:07I'm like,
07:08wow,
07:08that sounds like a,
07:09you know,
07:10Jerry Bruckheimer gig.
07:12And,
07:12you know,
07:13Jeff Boba
07:14and he did some
07:16of the orchestrations
07:17and he actually toured
07:18with us
07:19before we did
07:20the orchestra show
07:20to make sure
07:21that we were sticking
07:22within the bars.
07:24And,
07:24you know,
07:24David Campbell
07:25wrote a lot of the charts
07:26and conducted it
07:27and it was just a nice,
07:29it was a nice evening
07:30out at the Hollywood Bowl
07:31and we opened
07:31for ourselves.
07:32The bowl said
07:33you got to have
07:33an opening act.
07:34We're like,
07:34well,
07:34we're cutting a DVD
07:35and I said,
07:36I'll do it.
07:36So we went out there
07:37and played 45 minutes
07:38of sludgy blues rock
07:39to most of the audience
07:41that thought
07:41we were the opening act.
07:43And then,
07:43and then we go on
07:44and I'm like,
07:45no,
07:45it's just us.
07:47So,
07:47yeah.
07:47Funny evening.
07:48Funny evening.
07:49For the main event,
07:50for sure.
07:50And Blue,
07:51Blue Deluxe,
07:52Blue Deluxe Volume 2
07:54is a pretty catchy title
07:55right there.
07:56Yeah.
07:57Well,
07:57there was,
07:57the reason why
07:58it's called Volume 2
07:59is because
07:59when we did the first one
08:0020 years ago,
08:02it was called
08:02Blue Deluxe.
08:02There was no guarantee
08:03there was going to be
08:04another album.
08:05That was the album
08:05that saved my career.
08:06Yeah,
08:06that was a turning point,
08:08wasn't it?
08:08Oh,
08:09for sure.
08:09And if it didn't work out,
08:10it was over.
08:12And,
08:12you know,
08:13I would have been
08:13washed up at 25.
08:15And,
08:16you know,
08:17so that's why
08:18it wasn't like,
08:19I didn't have this forethought
08:2020 years ago
08:21going,
08:21oh,
08:21I'm just going to,
08:22I'm just going to,
08:23you know,
08:23I'm going to name it
08:24Blues Deluxe Volume 1
08:26because,
08:27you know,
08:27in 20 years,
08:28when I'm successful,
08:30I'm going to,
08:30I'm going to put out two.
08:31No,
08:32I mean,
08:32it was like,
08:33there was no bonus tracks.
08:35The hard drives
08:36that we recorded on
08:3720 years ago,
08:38it didn't even work.
08:39So we couldn't even remix it.
08:40So we remastered it
08:42off the original master tape
08:43and,
08:44you know,
08:45and then
08:45was like,
08:46okay,
08:46well,
08:46that's kind of a non-event.
08:48And so then what we did
08:50was we recorded
08:50a second group of songs
08:52and called it
08:53Blues Deluxe Volume 2
08:54and,
08:54you know,
08:55I'm proud of it.
08:56It's out,
08:57you know,
08:57it's out now
08:58and it's doing really well.
09:00It's actually
09:00the album that's gotten
09:01the most attention
09:02in the last four or five.
09:05So you just said,
09:07you know,
09:07obviously you made
09:07Blues Deluxe
09:0820 years ago.
09:09Do you still have the fire?
09:11Do you still have the passion
09:12of a young Joe Bonamassa?
09:15Yeah.
09:15You know,
09:16that was part of the question
09:17I asked myself.
09:17Am I a better singer?
09:19Am I a better guitar player?
09:20Am I a better artist?
09:20You know,
09:22and yeah,
09:22the only thing I don't have
09:24is the two chips
09:25on my shoulders.
09:25Before I was the most
09:26balanced guy in rock and roll.
09:28I had chips on both,
09:29you know,
09:29but now it's like
09:30I'm a little bit more calm
09:32and more pragmatic
09:33about the approach.
09:35And yeah,
09:36I mean,
09:36the minute the fire
09:37and the fury goes away
09:38is the minute
09:39you got to hang it up,
09:40you know,
09:40because then it's just
09:41step and repeat
09:43legacy stuff.
09:44And it's like,
09:45I'm not there yet,
09:47you know,
09:47I'm not saying
09:48I won't get there,
09:49but we're not there yet.
09:50I still love what I do.
09:52I still love playing
09:53and singing
09:53and playing live
09:54and, you know,
09:55getting to play
09:56these great old theaters
09:56that, you know,
09:58I've been blessed
09:58to have graduated into,
10:01you know,
10:01I've graduated from
10:02opening up for BB King
10:03and Buddy Guy
10:04and Peter Frampton
10:05and Therogood
10:06and all these cats,
10:07you know,
10:07back in the day
10:08to playing them
10:09and headlining them
10:10now myself.
10:11So, you know,
10:11dreams do come true,
10:13kids,
10:13I will say that.
10:14So, you just mentioned
10:15a bunch of guys
10:16that you had played with
10:17throughout the years.
10:19Who's still on your list
10:20that you haven't played with?
10:21Oh, you know,
10:22there's a new crop
10:24of artists
10:25that have come out.
10:25They're so talented.
10:27You know,
10:27but, you know,
10:28there's a list
10:29of collaborations
10:29that we're trying
10:30to get done
10:31in the next year
10:31and, you know,
10:33I don't really have one
10:34that's like,
10:34oh, I got to do,
10:35you know,
10:36I mean,
10:36I've been on stage
10:37with Clapton,
10:38been on stage
10:38with Jeff Beck,
10:39been on stage
10:40with like a lot of people.
10:42I was on stage
10:43with Ringo Starr
10:44five, six weeks ago.
10:46Wow.
10:47You know,
10:47you know,
10:47and I'm like,
10:48my guitar position
10:49is right behind him,
10:50you know,
10:50where he's standing.
10:51I'm like,
10:51you know,
10:52and everybody's filming.
10:53I'm like,
10:53I'm like,
10:54send me those videos.
10:55You know,
10:55I'll send it to my parents.
10:57Yeah.
10:57Yeah.
10:58Yeah, no doubt.
10:59You've had a chance
11:00to share the stage,
11:01of course,
11:02with legends.
11:03And I'm sure
11:03that the 20-year-old Joe
11:05wouldn't have thought that.
11:06No, I mean,
11:07you know,
11:08when you meet your heroes
11:09and your heroes
11:09become your friends,
11:10it's a different,
11:11it's a totally different vibe.
11:13You know,
11:13I mean,
11:13it's like,
11:14you know,
11:15I find that the most talented people
11:17I've met in this business
11:17are the nicest.
11:19And because they have,
11:20they exude that quiet confidence.
11:22They just,
11:23they know they're good.
11:24You know,
11:24it's not an ego thing.
11:25They just know
11:26they have a special skill
11:27that makes them a star.
11:30And whether that's
11:31being an entertainer,
11:32being a songwriter,
11:35a guitarist,
11:36an instrumentalist,
11:37whatever.
11:38I mean,
11:38there's a special skill
11:40that's involved
11:41in getting out there
11:42in front of thousands of people
11:44and entertaining them
11:44for two hours.
11:45Yeah.
11:46Yeah.
11:46Mark Kendall from Great White
11:47told me the,
11:48just about the same exact thing
11:50that the bigger the band,
11:51the nicer the people were.
11:53Yeah.
11:53And they're not interested
11:57in like,
11:57well,
11:57who,
11:58if anybody played over,
12:00they're just going to go
12:01play their hits
12:01and it's over.
12:02You know what I mean?
12:02It's like,
12:03that's that quiet confidence.
12:05Right.
12:06Well,
12:06I'm running out of time here,
12:07but in this story,
12:08I'll talk about your
12:08keeping the Blues Alive Foundation,
12:10also the Journeyman LLC.
12:11I'll link to that as well.
12:12But you just mentioned Jeff Beck.
12:14Tell us,
12:14tell us a little something
12:15about Jeff Beck
12:16that maybe somebody
12:17may not have heard about before.
12:19Well,
12:19you know,
12:19I mean,
12:20you know,
12:21the thing about Jeff was like,
12:23I'd done a bunch of shows
12:24with him in Europe,
12:25festivals.
12:26We did these bills with him
12:28and his show was always amazing.
12:31You know,
12:31he was,
12:32to me,
12:32he was the greatest rock guitar player
12:33of all time
12:34because he just,
12:35for six decades,
12:36he would reinvent himself
12:38every decade
12:39and come up with something that
12:41I go,
12:43oh man,
12:43I wish I thought of that.
12:44I wish I thought of that.
12:45He was just so creative
12:46and so influential.
12:48I mean,
12:49like when Gilmore says
12:49Beck is his favorite,
12:51you know,
12:51Beck's at the top
12:53of everybody's list.
12:53It's either Eddie
12:54or Jeff
12:56and sadly,
12:58they're both gone.
12:59You know,
12:59I mean,
13:00it's crazy,
13:01this world now
13:01but I will say this
13:03about Jeff Beck,
13:04the most entertaining
13:05and the most incredible
13:07guitar player I've ever heard
13:08was when Jeff
13:10was just sitting
13:10in his dressing room.
13:12He had a little guitar amp
13:13and he had his guitar
13:14and he was just playing
13:15to kill time
13:16before the show
13:17and you just hear
13:18everything from Cliff Gallop
13:20to these insane
13:21phrases and melodies
13:23and you're like,
13:24guy's not human.
13:25He's not human
13:26and it would just be improv
13:28and he would call me in
13:29every once in a while
13:30and I'm like,
13:30hey,
13:31check this thing out
13:31and I,
13:32you know,
13:32he'd hand me his guitar
13:33and it played high action
13:35and it was set up for him
13:37and he'd just go,
13:39this guy has,
13:40he lives in rarefied air
13:42talent-wise
13:43that not a lot of people
13:45will experience,
13:49you know,
13:49in their life.
13:51Well,
13:51that's great.
13:52Well,
13:52Joe,
13:52great to talk to you
13:53and see you in person.
13:54Like I said,
13:54the 11,
13:55I'm sorry,
13:55the 18th of November
13:57at the Fox Theater.
13:58New records are out
13:59and everything
13:59and good luck
14:00with everything.
14:01Safe travels.
14:02We'll see you here
14:02in the Motor City.
14:03We appreciate your time.
14:04Looking forward to it,
14:05man,
14:05as always.
14:06Thanks for doing this.
14:07We'll talk to you soon.
14:08All right.
14:09Thank you,
14:09sir.
14:09All right.
14:10Bye.