Two new Rick Vito interviews

[OldTimer]

Upcoming interview -- "Night Views" Radio Thursday 2/11.....

http://nightviewsradio.com/2010/02/0...t-views-radio/

(I hope he lets us know about plans for the MFBB in 2010! )



The other is from "Australian Musician", December.
(The Mick Fleetwood Blues Band is doing an Australia/New Zealand series of shows starting next week, some with Boz Scaggs and Michael McDonald, and some by themselves.)

http://www.australianmusician.com.au/OnlineVersion.asp

RICK VITO-Mick Fleetwood Blues Band

by Greg Phillips

They call guitarist RICK VITO a journeyman. While he may not be a household name, chances are you've heard his playing on numerous recordings by those who are, such as Fleetwood Mac, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt and Bob Seger. His command of the guitar, tasteful note choices and technical ability make Vito the go-to guy for the high-profile artists requiring classic rock slide guitar. It was Rick Vito who Mick Fleetwood turned to in 1987 to join Fleetwood Mac for the 'Tango In The Night' world tour after Lindsey Buckingham had left the band. That association lasted four years. Two years ago Mick and Rick hooked up once again to form the Mick Fleetwood Blues Band, in which Rick plays guitar and takes on lead vocal duties. He'll be heading to Australia with that four piece band (including Lenny Castellanos and Mark Johnstone) next February as support act to the Michael McDonald and Boz Scaggs tour. A resplendent new live Mick Fleetwood Blues Band album and DVD "Blue Again" has just been released which showcases both Vito's own rockin' material as well as the much-loved Peter Green blues tunes from the original Fleetwood Mac days, pre-dating Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. Greg Phillips caught up with Rick for a pre tour chat.

Your mum played hawaiin lap guitar, your dad ran your grandmother's bar which had a great jukebox, was there any doubt that you'd end up in rock and roll?

I didn't know for sure that it was what I wanted to do until I was about twenty. I had one of those overnight epiphanies. I sat in with the band Delaney and Bonnie and friends who I had listened to. Here I was playing with real professionals. It was going over very well and they gave me a lot of encouragement and I just thought ...yeah ..I could do this for a living. I moved to California then.

The guitar players you grew up listening to and respecting like James Burton and Scotty Moore, Duane Eddy, it was all about the what they did with their fingers. There weren't that many effects around in those days to enhance their sound, they created it all themselves. Was that a part of the attraction to those particular guys?

If you were playing guitar back in those days, the only effects available were ... well, you could get a little reverb unit or the amplifier might have had tremelo and reverb and that what is it. So it wasn't that I was into those guys because they didn't use effects, there were no effects! We never heard of fuzz tone until 'Satisfaction'. The attraction was really more about seeing James Burton on television every night on the Ossie and Harriet show. At the end of each show Ricky Nelson would sing one of his songs and there would James be playing his guitar.

You jammed with James Burton just a couple of months ago at Summer NAMM in Nashville?

Yes I did. It was the second year in a row that James and I put together a little four piece unit and we played for the Muriel Anderson All Star guitar night at the Ryman Auditorium, the original site of the Grand Ole Opry where Hank Williams and even Elvis played. So we played some of my songs and some songs that I like James to play, older stuff like Suzie Q from Dale Hawkins, Mystery Train from the Elvis days. James and I, it's one of those relationships that started with him for me being an idol, and now I have got to know him personally he is just the sweetest, most complimentary person you'd ever want to meet.

You saw the original Fleetwood Mac back in the late sixties... what was it abut Peter Green's playing that you enjoyed?

He was a master of dynamics and his tone was impeccable. He was really tasteful, never over-played. He wasn't afraid to play very little, just make it count. It's the 'sound' you know. His approach was intelligent and very faithful to the blues and then taking it a step further with his original thing. He was a very impressive guy. He was a commanding band leader. I saw all that wrapped up in one package.

Did you spend much time in your early days trying to play his songs like Albatross?

Albratross wasn't one I really had played until quite recently. I mean, I was really into BB King before I was into Peter Green so the reason I was into Peter was that he obviously was coming from a very strong BB King influence, but injecting a bit of himself into it. It's kind of what all the white blues guys were doing at the time. Bloomfield was doing it and Clapton was doing it his way. People were all influenced by the same guys ... BB King, Freddie King, but doing their own take on it and that's what I was doing too.

A lot of the original blues guys are no longer with us, apart from loving playing the blues, is there an element of feeling like you're keeping the blues flame alight by what you're doing?

Yeah, I mean there are not a lot of acts out there that are doing it. The blues scene is a very, very small part of the music business and there's not a lot of money being made. The money that is being made is by Eric Clapton and BB King. But Mick (Fleetwood) being who he is and coming along with the legacy of his material, it affords us a way of getting a foot in the door. There are a lot of people who love that (older Fleetwood Mac) material but have not been able to hear it for 30, 40 years. So it's a good opportunity for us to play the music that we love, and for the people who love that music to come and see us. So in that sense, yes, it's keeping it alive. It has been dormant for a long time.

I imagine the show you are bringing to Australia is similar to the DVD 'Blue Again'. Is there a favourite tune you like to play every night?

I do enjoy playing Albatross because it is well thought of and I have worked out an arrangement, you know, the original has the three guitars playing harmony. With my arrangement, I'm pretty much able to cover all that by playing slide guitar. It's something I have to pay close attention to, but it goes over really well.

You use quite a few guitars on the DVD including the art deco guitar. Is that a one-off?

Yeah, I had that designed in about 1987. Actually, there's a kid in Japan who built me another one. So I have a second one in a different colour combination but I haven't taken it out on the road. I think I'll try and keep that one pretty clean.

How many guitars do you generally take out on the road?

It depends. For instance I take two for slide because one is tuned to D and the other one to A, so I don't have to do too many tuning changes with one guitar. Then I take two for standard tuning and in case I break a string, and usually a resonator or an acoustic guitar, so usually five.

You have used a 56 Les Paul for much of your career. Did you get to meet Les Paul?

No I never got to meet him but I got to see him once at his club in New York, and the older I get, the more appreciate his playing. Especially his older stuff before Mary Ford (Les Paul's wife and musical collaborator) is incredible because he was the first guy to do his own take on Django Reinhardt. His early style was a mixture of Charlie Christian and Django.

When you agreed to do the signature guitar for Reverend, what were the most important factors that had to be included?

It was a blend of my ideas and Joe Naylors, who owns Reverend. He was the one who came up with the idea of sand blasting the images (skulls and moons) of the hand painted coat that I have from the cover of one of my CDs. So he wanted that look and I wanted the pickups to sound a certain way. I wanted the bridge pickup to be wound a lot hotter. It gave it a distinctive tone. So it wasn't all my idea but it was nice to have the opportunity to have a signature model guitar.

You use a couple of Reverends in the DVD ...

Yeah I have a pink one and a white one. They are great for slide. They sustain well and are nice and light. The P90 pickups on them sound really good.

What's the weirdest thing you have ever used as a slide?

Well one time I got to a gig and realised I didn't bring my slides with me, so I had to use a salt shaker from a table. It wasn't rounded like a slide, it was kind of an octagon. I made it work somehow.

What amps are you using with the Mick Fleetwood band?

Either Fender or Peavey. Usually 40 or 50 watt ... either 2x12 or 4x10 models. Usually we hire amps on the road. I do like old vintage Fenders which I have at home. I have a range of Reverend amps, Supro, National, Danelectro, Ampeg, all kinds of little amps I use for recording.

You have a very clean tone, do you use pedals much?

I have a boost pedal I use. It's not really overdriving too heavy, just a little bit of an edge.

How much time have you spent developing your own tone, rather than copying others?

I've always tried not to be like someone else. Everyone has influences but I've always been aware of trying to have my own thing. At this point, I can't really avoid it. It doesn't matter what guitar or amp I play through, I pretty much sound like me. After playing for 30-40 years it's a connection between the brain and the fingers.

You played ukelele in the Island Rumours band. Do you enjoy getting into different kinds of fretted instruments?

I do. Recently I bought and Indian Sarod. I have ukeleles, tenor guitars, electric sitar. The sarod is difficult to play because you have to play it with a bit of the meat of your finger and a bit of your nail. I've been trying to play slide on the sarod because that's what it sounds like to me.

When you tour here, you are playing with Michael McDonald and Boz Scaggs. Have you met those guys before?

Michael McDonald lives right down the road from me. I just did a gig in San Francisco about 3 weeks ago and Boz Scaggs sat in. I've got some of your countrymen living just the other side of Michael McDonald ... Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban.

Apart from the McDonald/ Scaggs Australian tour, what's on for the rest of 2010?

Waiting for Fleetwood Mac to finish up their dates, because the blues band has been on hold. So hopefully we can get back to Australia and do even more shows.



For information on Mick Fleetwood Blues band, visit
http://www.getmusic.com.au/mickfleetwoodbluesband

Tickets for Michael McDonald/ Boz Scaggs/Mick Fleetwood Blues band tour are available through Ticketmaster 136 100 and Ticketek 132 849.

TOUR DATES
Entertainment Centre, Adelaide – Wednesday 17th February
Palais Theatre, Melbourne – Friday 19th February
Sutton Grange Winery, Victoria – Saturday 20th February + Featuring The Mick Fleetwood Blues Band
Balgownie Estate Vineyard Resort & Spa, Yarra Valley – Sunday 21st February + Featuring The Mick Fleetwood Blues Band
Royal Theatre, Canberra – Tuesday 23rd February
Harbour Theatre, Entertainment Centre, Sydney – Thursday 25th February
Wollongong, WIN Entertainment Centre – Friday 26th February + Featuring The Mick Fleetwood Blues Band
Riverstage, Brisbane – Saturday 27th February + Featuring The Mick Fleetwood Blues Band

MICK FLEETWOOD BLUES BAND ONLY
Souths Juniors, Kingsford, Sydney- Tues Feb 23
Dee Why RSL, Sydney -Wed Feb 24