MGS - Welcome Rick Vito to musicgearsource. Thanks so much for taking
the time to chat with us Rick.
RV- Thanks, it's my pleasure.
MGS - Looking at your bio it seems you have played with a ton of great
bands and musicians. Can you name the top 3 favorite gigs and why?
RV - I think I liked most of them on some level, but I've had some of the best nights of playing my own music with my current touring band, which has Rick Reed on drums, and Charlie Harrison on bass. I work mostly in Europe right now where I have an appreciative and growing fan base. Fleetwood Mac was probably the best, most complete professional experience I ever had. I was not a sideman there, but a member of the band. When I joined I received overnight recognition, made a great living, and got to travel all over the world with one of the greatest bands in history. In retrospect now, it all seems like a dream. Third would probably be a tie between John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Bob Seger, and Jackson Browne. All three involved significant contributions to the creation of a new recording followed by major tours. I have kept in touch with all three guys.
MGS - It had to be pretty surreal to be up onstage with the Mac in a
spot Peter Green used to occupy. That had to be a blast.
RV -Yes it was, because I had seen the band with Peter in late 1968 in Philly, and it was a turning point for me musically, in that Peter was completely inspiring to me. When I took over as lead guitarist in 1987, I was able to resurrect a few old Mac tunes from the Green/blues era in the show. The fans loved that, and it gave a well-rounded circumspective of Fleetwood Mac as a band which had gone through many stages of evolution, from a blues band all down through the pop stages.
MGS - Quite a few of your songs have appeared on national TV shows. How
does one break into that kind of work? I am assuming its the old "Its
all in who you know "
RV -I met a fellow in L.A. who is in the business of pitching songs to TV shows. I'm his official "blues guy," and he has been able to land some good spots for my songs which benefits both of us. So yes, it's a case of knowing someone who is connected. A lucky thing for me.
MGS - What are you focusing on these days career wise?
RV -I have a new finished CD, "Rattlesnake Shake," and coincidentally, it's the Peter Green song as the title track. I am currently offering it on rickvito.com only for those who keep in close touch with what I'm doing. I think I have a deal in place with a new company that will "officially" release it early in 2006. I also just completed a deal with the Hal Leonard Corporation to release my new "Slide Guitar with Rick Vito" instructional DVD. I'd like to try more slide guitar seminars along with more live band work next year. There will also be a new CD release in Europe only in spring 2006 that I'm working on now. So, I've been fairly busy.
MGS - What were a few players that were major influences for you growing
up?
RV -A big standout for me was Keith Richards on all the early Stones records. Learning from him gave me a sense of direction during the tenuous teen years. The weird thing was, as I was doing my first pro session in L.A. in 1971, who walks in but Keith Richards! The first thing he said during playback was, "Who's the guitar player?" Talk about being in heaven! I already mentioned Peter Green who was just terrific. He and Jimi were to this day the best live blues-rock guitarists I've ever seen. Mike Bloomfield was great too. From there guys I also learned about the first generation blues and swing players, Django, slide guitar, and so many things that had to do with the philosophy of one's playing.
MGS - We love to talk gear. Can you first give us a detailed overview of
your effects used live and in the studio?
RV -Well, nothing out of the ordinary stands out. I just use varying degrees of echo, reverb, compression when needed, and sometimes some tremelo and overdrive from the amps. No big deal. It's more about the right sounds for the song and the emotional impact of what you play to align with that.
MGS - I read somewhere you own a Dumble amp. For those of us that just
see them on ebay and buy pedals to emulate them, what makes them
different? Can you give us the history on yours, model, etc.?
RV -Well I have had a couple but I don't have one currently. I found that over ten years went by without my using it. I kept finding just as useful a sound with something else. I think a lot of the Dumble lore is a little hyped up by one thing or another. My main Dumble amp was really great, but I don't really think it was necessarily greater than my '59 Bassman, my '64 Deluxe Reverb, or Supro, or Reverend for that matter. I had some great success with a Dumble, but I'd choose the mind and fingers as more important tools to achieve one's sound. There are many great amps out there today that will help you get where you need to go.
MGS - Your signature guitar offered by Reverend guitars
<Reverendguitars.com> looks very cool. Can you tell us how this came
about?
RV -Thank you. Sure, it came about as a result of Joe Naylor suggesting that we do a guitar with a sort of "voodoo blues" vibe based on images I had hand-painted on a stage coat of mine. I wore the coat on the cover of my "Lucky Devils" CD, and also on the DVD release of "Rick Vito in Concert," and Joe always liked the images. So I sent them to him and he sandblasted them onto black anodized aluminum on the front and back of the basic Reverend guitar shape. I hope people will like them because they're great guitars. The pickups are wound hotter than usual, the weight is perfect, and the necks are completely easy to play. Reverend is also soon coming out with my signature guitar without the images, in just plain black.
MGS - I see you also are a fan of the Reverend Kingsnake amp. Lots of
great tones in that amp.
RV -Yes it's very versatile, fits well into recording tracks, and sounds great live. The problem is that very few people will get to know these amps because Joe Naylor has already made the decision to stick primarily to guitars and won't be making any more. Too bad, because these are fantastic amps. All you smart ebay people should snap one up if you can because they are certain to become collectible. Mark my words.
MGS - Do you have a big vintage collection? What are some of the nicer
guitars or amps that you have?
RV -I have a modest vintage collection, but it happens to include three or four "holy grails" in it. I have '59 'Burst, a '58 Flying V, a '58 Explorer, a '54 Strat, and a small assortment of Gibsons, Valco-made guitars, Fenders, Gretsch, and such. I mentioned a couple my amps, and I also have a few Nationals, Ampegs, and other Fenders. I have owned many, many guitars over the years but have let too many go. I am extremely fortunate to have what I have and so I use them all.
MGS - Have you checked out any of this amp modeling stuff out there?
RV-Yeah, I have a Line 6 Pod and have gotten some excellent sounds using it in stereo with a line to a real amp, then blending the two.
MGS - What's in your CD player right now?
RV -Dean Martin.
MGS - Any funny Fleetwood Mac or any other projects stories?
RV -Once I got a job to do the "Midnight Special" TV show and a tour with Little Richard who was also hosting the show. This was in 1974. I rehearsed all week with him and was relishing the experience of working with one of my idols. Then he pulled me aside and told me to visit his tailor to be fitted for my "stage outfit," which turned out to be a skintight bright lavender one-piece jump suit with a "Superfly" open collar, bell-bottom pants, and an accompanying gold medallion. I told him, "No way," but he said if I didn't wear it, there would be no show and no tour. I had no money, so I had to swallow my pride and wear it on national TV! During the show, and on camera, he brought me to the front of the stage to jam on "Irene, Goodnight," which we didn't even rehearse, so I was pretty completely humiliated. Next day his brother called to say, "Ah, Rick...ah, Richard can't afford to bring you with him on his tour after all, but he says thanks for doing the show." I've been told that they still occasionally air that show on cable, ha-ha!
MGS - I have your slide solo from Segers "Like a rock" burned into my
psyche. Do you remember the gear rundown for that one? Slide and all?
GREAT tone.
RV -Thank you. That was the Dumble, my '56 Les Paul TV Jr., a Sears 5/8" socket for slide and a cord. The reverb and echo was added by the engineer, David Cole. It was a first take, done in 1985. I earned TV replay royalties for over 10 years for that solo that took about 10 minutes to record!
MGS - Where did you record that song? Was Bob there?
RV -At a place called Rumbo Studios in the San Fernando valley in L.A.. Yeah, Bob was there. I met him, he put the song on and I suggested slide which he didn't want at first. I asked to just give it one pass, and that was the one, except for having to punch in the final three chords because I didn't know where it was going to end. It was just a good match of a guitar sound with the right song. It brings to mind the fact that, even though I composed that solo on the spot, a musician surrenders his creative work to the owner of the copyright when you accept payment for a recording session. If I had received even partial credit as a co- writer of the music portion of the song, I would have earned millions of dollars as a result. Something for all you guys who want to be session players to think about.
