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AOL chat on Aug-19-2002
HOST EMC Wasp:HW
- WH: Hey!
- Hello you all!!!
- WH: Ready guys!?
Get those questions for Doug in! Can't have enough! :)
Welcome everyone!! - Hello all I am so glad to be here!!
- WH: Tonight we're proud to have with us guitarist extraordinaire Doug Aldrich!!
Doug is currently enjoying the lead guitarist role in Ronnie James Dio's band but you also may remember Doug from his work with House of Lords, Hurricane and his own band Burning Rain. Doug recently spent the summer on tour with Deep Purple and the Scorpions and is gearing up for a trip to Europe with Dio that will be starting next week. You can keep up with the latest on Doug by checking out www.DougAldrich.com. Now without further delay, please welcome Doug Aldrich!
(Q) Hey Doug, very happy to see you in Dio. I like your Burning Rain releases, particularly Pleasure To Burn. Stone Cold n Crazy! How do you see a third release from this group effecting your time in the band Dio and THEIR next album? - Thanks for checking that stuff out.....it is pretty much on hold for a while just because of scheduling problems and at this point Dio takes preference with me. Some point next spring as soon as my commitments with Dio are fulfilled I am hoping next year to have a Burning Rain ready but Dio has the priority.
- WH: (Q) Hi, this is the question from Yuki. How do you feel to be here?
- it is great to be here it got me out of rehersal and I am very excited to be here this is my first one
- WH: (Q) What can you tell us about the first time you almost hooked up with the band Dio? Any regrets for not taking it? Or do you feel you had a chance to grow as an artist and a person in that time?
- I was very excited about it at the time and that was in 1990 but I was in a band called Lion and I just felt and I felt I was on the verge of something really cool and I thought my loyalty should stay with Lion....
there was a lot of regret after that point and I felt that I had made the wrong choice but I felt it was the right thing to do ....I was a lot younger at that point and made a choice to be loyal to the band.
That is the good thing about not taking that job at that time it gave me a chance to mature as a musician and a guitar player. GA - WH: (Q) Doug, you have worked with a lot of great musicians. How does it compare working with the guys in Dio (many have been around for a VERY long time) and what do you think you might glean from their experience?
- It is great working with Dio it is like family. It is the first time in maybe 5 or 6 yrs that it has really felt like 100%.. you know where your band members are like family members. Everybody in Dio has been very supportive especially Ronny and Jimmy and even now they are giving me an opportunity to be a better musician thank I have ever been GA
- WH: (Q) Dio's tour is the biggest one for you? What is different from Burning Rain, BMR, or Lion?
- Yes this is the biggest tour that I have ever done and it is soooo cool to play that many shows in a row....it really gives a band the chance to be very tight on stage and to be able to read each other. The difference with those bands is that we were limited to very short tours of two weeks or a month here or there and just when the band is getting together on all cylindars and you can get to read each others playing without looking at each other and the tour ends.....with Dio it is to the point where we are just tight, and can relax and enjoy and put on a great show.
- WH: (Q) Since you have had a good measure of popularity and experience in Japan with your other bands, how would you say metal (or rock and roll in general) in America compares on a fan passion level?
- I think in Japan the fans are very similar to Dio fans. What I mean is, with my bands that I have had success with in Japan such as Burning Rain the fans have been very very dedicated to that band and the interesting and really cool thing is that Dio fans are the same all over the place. They are very passionate about Ronny and I think that is so great.
- WH: (Q) Doug, I am really looking forward to seeing you craft on some of the earlier Dio material with seeing how well you have handled what has been in the set thus far!
Any chance Ronnie permited you to leak out a bit of what the set list for the Euro tour will be? - Ronnie is still making final decisions about that and we are in rehersals and we speak. We are trying out various songs from Dio, Blask Sabbath and Rainbow and we haven't quite commited to an actual set at this point yet.
- WH: (Q) Doug, I have enjoyed your music with Dio on KTD and the summer tour. What are some of your musical influences.
- I am more old school than a modern efficianado as far as guitar players go...that would include in my opinion the great 4 which is Jimmy Page, Jimmy Hendrix, Eric Clapton and especially Jeff Beck. Later I was influenced by Richie Blackmore, Tony Immoni, Michael Schenker, Gary Moore, and later after that, Eddie Van Halen, Randy Rhodes, and the list goes on...............and Pat Travers I have always loved his guitar playing
- WH: (Q) Was it more difficult stepping into a project (KTD) that most of the songs/music were already written. In other words, how versatile are you and was it more difficult to put that wonderful Doug Aldrich flavor into the songs that weren't originally started with your input?
Thanks for coming tonight and for adding a VERY EXCITING new spark to an already legendary, great band!
Looking forward to much more from you. - It was difficult because I was in the recording studio 4 days after joining the band and most importantly I wanted to maintain the integrity that Ronnie, Jimmy and Craig had started with. Then slowly infuse what I could into their songs.
- WH: (Q) I have followed you career since Lion. Where do you find your motivation for your solos?
- I try to play what is right for each individual song and sometimes I can rattle off an idea that just after listening to a song or playing it seems to fit. There are other times when I really need to experiment with my options for a solo. For example, on the song KTD I experimented with spots on the guitar neck that would sound good to start the solo. Once I figured out where I wanted to start from or basically the opening lick I was able to then build on it from there. At that point, I would experiment with different endings with ohow the solo would end. It's kind of like a jigsaw puzzle sometimes in that you find a couple of pieces that feel really good and then you keep trying different ideas around those parts that fit already.
- WH: (Q) Doug, how was the tour with Dio for you this summer? Was it what you had expected?
- It was great. It was a really really big family on the road. All of the band members in Deep Purple and Scorpions are close with the guys in Dio especially Ronnie and Jimmy since they have worked together many times before and everybody was super cool to me! watching Steve Morris and Roger Glover as well as the Scorps kick ass every night inspired me to work harder. GA
- WH: (Q) Doug, your guitar tone and style seems to fit so well into Ronnie's vocals and writing--seems so 80ish, if you will--what do you attribute this to? Was it a natural chemistry fit or did you change your style to fit Ronnie's writing?
- Yes thank you, it is pretty much an easy fit, my guitar sound in the band Dio. I did not really change anything in particular although my guitar playing is more on the aggressive edge with Dio
- WH: (Q) As I mentioned Iike the Burning Rain releases, particularly the second. But I was wondering how did you come up with such an unusual name for the band? Sort of a dichotomy!
- well that is how I came up with it....it is just a name that means something to me...Burning Rain encompasses the heavy fiery side as well as the moody delicate side. I just thought I had a nice ring to it.
- WH: (Q) When did you start playing the guitar doug
- at age 11
- WH: (Q) What's the biggest thing you've learned about music or the industry since working with Ronnie?
- That is a great question....I am stumped there are so many things......I am thinking hold on I think one of the most important things Ronnie has taught me is where the best Indian Restaurants are in the country...Ronnie loves Indian food and many times after each show we will order out for Indian food for our dinner.....but seriously, there have been many things that Ronnie has helped me with nd it is hard to pinpoint just one but he is definitely making me in to a much better musician by being around him
- WH: (Q) Prior to joining DIO, were you more of a Dio-era Sabbath fan or a Dio-era Rainbow fan? Which songs do you enjoy playing live most(aside from the DIO songs, of course)--the Rainbow or Sabbath songs?
- That is tough I love playing both for different reasons. I think my style lends itself more naturally to the Black Sabbath but I love both eras and I think being able to play both styles is a good learning experience for a guitar player one being with Rainbow absolutely very musical and melodic and on the other end with Black Sabbath and Ronnie it was a sheer heaviness that has influenced many of todays current heavy rock bands I would like to add take Creed for example I know that may seem a bit lighter but I still hear influences of certain Sabbath tunes in their music. GA
- WH: (Q) What do you think you would have done if you hadn't become a guitarist?
- I can't imagine that!!! I only can say that I love sports and I played sports a lot growing up so I would have loved to have been a baseball player or a football player but really I feel that this is the best thing for me to do is be a musician. adding again...
if I can get my jump shot together and if the Lakers can use my skills then I might decide to quit music! - WH: **We've got time for one more question for Doug tonight but we hope to do this again with Doug when Dio comes back to the US this coming fall!
(Q) What does the future look like for you with Dio? After this European tour will you be back in the US again and do you plan on working with Ronnie for a long time to come? - yes we will be back in November there is headline dates. I completely plan on working with Ronnie in the future. The cool thing is that Ronnie knows about other commitments that I may have put on hold in joining Dio so abruptly and I think he is supportive of me continuing to pursue any of those projects such as solo records and a third Burning Rain record and I value his input and direction regarding my career. Lastly I would love to work with Ronnie as long as he will have me. He is in most peoples opinion one of if not THE greatest hard rock heavy metal singers that has ever worked and I very much enjoy working with him
- WH: That just about wraps things up for tonight. Thanks to everyone for coming out tonight and being so cool!
A very special thanks to Doug for taking the time away from rehearsal tonight!
Any last comments Doug? - You know there are many things and many situations in the music business that either deter or promote the longevity of a band these are things that are unaware to the fans and sometimes it makes it apparent that a band member may be replaced or that a popular band need to take a hiatus or break up entirely. This has nothing to do specifically with Dio or any other band I just wanted to say that when people get disappointed if there are changes to their favorite band or line up that sometimes for whatever private reason those thing need to happen. I wouldn't be here in Dio right now if it wasn't for one of those situations.GA
- WH: Once again, thanks to everyone for coming out!!
Keep up with the latest on Doug at www.DougAldrich.com! - I want to say thank you to everybody who came to the chat tonight
- WH: Goodnight, see you all next time!
Thanks Doug!! - I really appreciate all the support from fans of mine as well as all the great Dio fans. It has been a really fun time for me after joining Dio. I have made many new friends and I want to say thanks to those new friends who have supported me as well......Goodnight
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