IRON MAIDEN Guitarist ADRIAN SMITH On Bandmate DAVE MURRAY - "He Started Me Off Playing; I Bought My First Guitar Off Him"
September 11, 2020, 4 years ago
Iron Maiden guitarist Adrian Smith recently guested on Raised On Radio to discuss his new book, Monsters Of River & Rock: My Life As Iron Maiden's Compulsive Angler. He also discussed his career with Maiden, looking back at the early days, his departure in 1990, and his eventual return to the fold in 1999. Check out the interview below.
On growing up with Iron Maiden bandmate Dave Murray
Smith: "We were both at the same state. This is also in the book, this little story is about him and I meeting up, but he was a bit further down, he'd actually put the time in and learn to play the guitar. And I sort of... he started me off playing. I bought my first guitar off him, I think it was like five quid or something. It was something he had lying around."
On writing "Stranger In A Strande Land" for Somewhere In Time (1986)
Smith: "We got into using different amps. We started using these American Krueger amps, which I've been using. I've been jamming with friends and they said, 'You've got to try these amps out.' So we started using them and it gave us a bit more of a processed kind of guitar sound, which we were looking for at the time. As far as the riff goes, it's just a pretty straight-ahead rock riff. I actually came up with that riff from my way back from the dentist, I was in a lot of pain, I don't know why, it was in Jersey, and I couldn't wait to get back and work it up."
Monsters Of River & Rock: My Life As Iron Maiden's Compulsive Angler is the new memoir from Iron Maiden guitarist, Adrian Smith, to be released on September 3 via Virgin Books. A new trailer, titled 'Bears, Adventures And How To Get Adrian Interested In A Holiday Location', can be seen below:
“Back at the hotel, I sat back, glass of wine in hand, and studied the tour itinerary... Let’s see, Hartford, Connecticut... big carp in the Connecticut river... Montreal, smallmouth bass in the St Lawrence... Winnipeg, always fancied having a go for those big catfish in the Red river... and so on. The endless road and winding river...”
Adrian Smith, the legendary lead guitarist of 100-million-album-selling band Iron Maiden, is well known in the Maiden community as a fisherman, and a former cover star of coarse-fishing bible the Angler's Mail (biggest chub of the season, August 2009). In his first, very personal, riverside memoir, Monsters Of River & Rock, Smith takes us with him on his incredible journey, through the highs and lows of life on tour, and on the river-bank, as his fishing gear travels with him across the world.
Adrian got hooked on fishing as a child growing up in East London, plundering ponds and bomb craters on the Hackney Marshes for newts and sticklebacks and catching perch from the Grand Union Canal whilst on outings with his father. Things began to get more exotic when the young angling enthusiast grew up to become lead guitarist in one of the most successful rock bands in history, and started travelling the world playing to many millions of fans. But once a fisherman, always a fisherman. The gear went with him, the fish got bigger, the adventures more extreme.
Welcome to the world of Adrian Smith, as he clocks in to his day job furthering the geographical boundaries of hard rock, and clocks off to explore far-flung rivers, seas, waterways, lakes and pools on his fearless quest for fishing nirvana. His adventures range from his first sturgeon, a whopping 100-pounder from Canada’s swirling Fraser River that nearly wiped him out mid-Maiden tour, to a close shave with a large shark off the Virgin Islands whilst wading waist-deep for bonefish. Not to mention an enviable list of specimen coarse fish from the UK.
Charming, funny, and moving in equal measure, Monsters Of River & Rock is the ultimate fishing-fantasy armchair read, and is also the story of a rock star in a fast-moving world who seeks peace and tranquillity at the water’s edge - wherever he is.
Adrian Smith was born in Hackney, East London, on 27th February 1957. He joined Iron Maiden at the end of 1980. Adrian is the band member who has collaborated on the most side projects outside of Iron Maiden, as well as writing and recording a series of albums in the early '90s, before rejoining the band. Iron Maiden have sold 100 million albums, and tour the world playing to millions of fans. Onstage, Adrian uses Jackson and Gibson guitars. Offstage, he is an avid tennis player, however his main hobby is fishing. He takes his rod and gear out on tour with him wherever he goes. This is his first book.
A very special unboxing video can be seen below:
Adrian tells us a bit about his forthcoming book in this video:
In another trailer, Adrian offers a tale of mythical carp and Scorpions...
