MGS - Tell us a little about where you are from and your start in the music biz.
NG - I am from Parma, Ohio (a suburb of Cleveland). It’s actually where the Drew Carey Show was based. I always wished they had asked me to be the guitar player in their band instead of Joe Walsh!
My mother and father wanted me to play guitar and I listened to the same music all the guys my age did – Scotty Moore’s playing with Elvis, Chuck Berry, The Beatles, Stones and the rest of the British Invasion bands.
I had an uncle that was only a few years older than me and in 1967 he took me to see The Who. He played guitar and was a huge influence on me as well. Growing up in the 60’s was great because there were bands on every block. We didn’t have PS2 or the Internet so kids played guitars!
MGS - Are you still using your BC Rich you used in the early days?
NG - No. I still have two of them. The one you are referring to is an Eagle I that I got when I was playing in Rick Derringer’s band. At the time I was young and broke and only had an SG. They built that Eagle special for me and it was done exactly like I wanted it. I played those guitars for a long time. The other one I have is a green sunburst Eagle I with a Bigsby.
MGS - When and how did you meet Pat?
NG - Mike Chapman had produced ‘Guitars and Women’, which I played keyboards and guitar on. Patty had been signed and Mike had been called to produce her record. He figured the band would need someone who could figure out arrangements and knew how to sketch out parts.
When Mike called I was in Woodstock and was planning on going back to Ohio. I figured that I would go down to NYC and meet this girl just for the heck of it. I went down and sat down with Mike and Patty and listened to the songs they were working on and started sketching out what I thought would work. The next thing I knew, we were making the record.
MGS - In recent live shows ive seen you using the GMP guitars and PodPro rackmount. Are you still using these and can you tell us about the GMP guitars? Did you use the Pod direct with it pumped back into the monitors for you or go thru a power amp / cab setup? Have you tried the new Pod xt?
NG - I really like the GMP guitars. They play great and they sound great. They give you exactly what you want. I even requested a different heel that they incorporated into my Roxie. Now that’s called “The Neil Heel” and it comes standard on a lot of their guitars – it’s not like having a bridge named after you but it’s something!
The main reason I like GMP is because they listen to their customers and they sell the same guitar to the guy on the street that they do to the rock star. It bothers me that the big brands build beautiful custom instruments for artists then sell different guitars to their loyal customers. If a guy comes to see me play and then wants a GMP he will have exactly the same guitar that I have. That’s important to me because Patty and I have an extremely loyal fan base and I want to be honest with them.
I have a bunch of Roxies done in all different finishes and pickup/bridge combinations. I should also mention that I paid for all my GMP guitars.
I have used a lot of different amplifiers over the years. I got into the Line 6 thing because they travel well and sound good. We are doing 25+ years of material so I need a lot of flexibility. They can give you just about any flavor that you want. I run them through Marshall cabinets.
I also use a couple Soldano SLO-100 heads. Soldano makes a killer rock and roll amplifier and they stand behind their product. Like GMP they are a company that has become successful by treating their customers right. Also, I’m Sicilian so playing something called Soldano feels right.
MGS - I hear you are a vintage guitar nut these days. How many guitars do you have now? If you could only keep 3 which ones and why?
NG - I am not a guitar collector. I consider my guitars tools and I like to have what I need. Right now I have a bunch of Les Paul Standards (two from 1958,three from 1959 and two from 1960) a 1958 Les Paul Special in TV Yellow, a 1970 SG Standard (from before I worked with Rick Derringer) and a 1957 Les Paul Goldtop. I have a very rare 1965 Fender Strat in Ice Blue Metallic that was a birthday present from my wife. I ruined the collectability by wearing it out. It was like new when I got it. I also have a 1964 Strat that I used for the solo on ‘Heartbreaker’ and a couple older Telecasters (1967 with Bigsby and 1973 Custom) and a 1951 Fender Nocaster, which was made between the Broadcaster and the Telecaster. I have a ’59 Gretsch 6120 and an original White Penguin as well. I have a total of about 95 guitars. If you’re readers are really interested I can have someone make a list and get it to you.
I also have a bunch of GMPs and a few custom shop Fender guitars and a Rickenbacker. I had a Gretsch reissue sparkle jet and Elliot Easton but my daughter has hijacked them!
There is a Jethro Tull DVD that was filmed when we were doing a show with them and they put a shot of all 24 of my GMP Roxies in there. I give Martin Barre (who is one of the greatest guitar players alive) a hard time about it whenever I see him.
All of my guitars get played and played hard. I don’t baby anything and I keep what I use. I get annoyed by the know it all types that can tell you what kind of knobs were original in 1903 but can’t play their way out of a paper bag. I have had great guitars and crappy guitars but I love to play guitar. I’m always interested in trying something new but buying a $100,000.00 guitar isn’t going to make you a better guitar player.
MGS - A lot of folks don’t know but that was you playing the solo on Jesse’s girl by Rick Springfield. Is it true you coached him to fake it for the video? I hope you didn’t tell him to break that mirror in the video to look like a badass cuz it didn’t work. All joking aside that was a huge album and killer solo, can you tell us stuff about that recording that stand out in your memory?
NG - I played guitar and bass on that record as well as on ‘I’ve Done Everything For You’. He has apologized to me for not having me do the video, but I don’t care. I never even thought about it. Actually, that’s the only number one song I ever played on.
I didn’t have anything to do with the video but the video we did for ‘Precious Time’ was a lot worse.
MGS - Your daughter has a band is that right?
NG - She had a band called GLO but right now they are on hiatus. I think she’s looking for some people to play with. They did a tour with my wife and I.
MGS - Do you use a pedal board? If so whats on it?
NG - I try new things all the time so it’s always changing. I have a Maxon OD-808 and a Maxon compressor. I don’t know the model number of the compressor but it looks like a black MXR Distortion +. It sounds really good. I also have a few Line 6 pedals. One is a delay and the other is a filter. I have a Way Huge Aqua Puss and a Klon overdrive. I also have an old Vox Wha.
MGS - Whets the funniest thing that has ever happened to you live?
NG - I don’t know. There have been a lot of funny things over the years. I try to get out to the side of the stage and on our last tour I was letting a little kid strum my Roxie and his mom was holding an infant who spit up all over the guitar and me. That was pretty embarrassing.
MGS - My family and I are fans, my daughter watched the summer vacation DVD over and over again and she can sing Heartbreaker, I play it and she sings it. She couldn’t believe it when I said I would be interviewing you, she’s 6. She wanted Pat to know she thought she was cool.
NG - That’s great. That is the reason we do what we do. We always like hearing that the kids who bought our records in junior high are now bringing their kids to see us live. I am a father and I know how hard it can be to have common ground with your kids. I like the diversity of the crowds at our shows.
Tell your daughter to keep singing – and teach her some chords too!
MGS - What kind of recording setup do you have at home? Are you into the vintage stuff or is it a Protools system?
NG - I am always looking for bands to produce and I also have produced all of Patty’s records. I have had a studio for a while. I also play keyboard and have been into the whole midi thing for years.
I have a combination old/new system. I have a Neve console and a Mac G5 running ProTools and I also have a smaller PC setup running Sonar. I have a clubhouse where I have all the gear setup and ready to go. I am always working on something.
MGS - If you could tour with any band past or present for a year who would it be?
NG - I’m fortunate enough to be able to tour with my wife and my kids have grown up on the road with us. I am really lucky to be in the situation I am in. I don’t get homesick for my wife and kids when we tour. These days touring is great. We bring the dogs, the kid’s friends and anyone else who wants to come.
MGS - Sounds good and thanks alot Neil we appreciate it.
