Interview and photos by Aaron Small

Just prior to leaving Hollywood for New York City, where he’ll take part in Wayne Kramer’s Road To Recovery Benefit at the Nokia Theatre on Friday, May 1st, Gilby Clarke spoke exclusively with BraveWords.com. “New York is going to be awesome! Wayne Kramer (MC5) is one of my favourite human beings in the whole world. I enjoy hanging out with him. I enjoy playing with him. Everything that you get into music for is fun around him. He’s a great guy and a great musician. I think this is a great event, it’ll be fun.”

The Road To Recovery charity event Gilby is referring to “is actually for juveniles more than anything, for younger kids - people that have got off on the wrong foot and are trying to make a better life for themselves. What they’re trying to do more than anything; is get them involved with music. As we all know, there’s not a lot of music in schools nowadays. So there needs to be outside sources for it. This is a way for someone who’s gone through a recovery program to have an opportunity. There’s ways of getting instruments and lessons, things like that. People like Wayne Kramer, Jerry Cantrell (Alice In Chains), Evan Seinfeld (Biohazard); all these guys have been through all this stuff, so they’re very, very supportive of this. Wayne is actually being honoured, which is a great thing. I have a lot of praise for Wayne. He’s done a lot in his life. Just like most people, he’s had his ups and downs, but he’s made a positive out of some negatives that have happened in his life.”

In addition to raising money for a worthwhile cause, Gilby is getting into the winemaking business with his own signature vintage. “It’s a very interesting thing. It’s fairly simple. Wine is huge in California (where Gilby lives). It’s become extremely popular everywhere from Paso Robles to Palo Alto; it’s all over the place. There’s a part called Temecula, which is the southeast part of California, and they have 30+ wineries out there. But they’re having a real hard time getting some attention. So they’ve done a couple ‘celebrity lines.’ I went down there and I went to all the different wineries and I tried a bunch of different wines. I’m not a big wine drinker, but I actually do know my wine pretty well. So I picked out my blend and I’m actually doing the artwork for it right now. For me, basically it’s like another piece of merchandise. Rather than a t-shirt, it’s wine. But I actually am involved. It’s not one of those things where you just slap your name on it and collect the cheque. My blend is in the barrels right now, so it’ll be ready at the end of August. It’s just something different. We’re going to do cigars and a couple other different things.”

Rather than take the traditional route of bottling one red and one white, Gilby is opting solely for a red. “I’m doing a syrah, which is kind of like a cabernet-sauvignon – actually I’ve got a little bit of that in there. It’s kind of potent; it’s pretty cool. Syrah is what’s popular right now. Wine is like most things; there are trends. I’d actually never tried it and when I did, I loved it!” The retail cost for a bottle of Gilby’s syrah still needs to be finalized. “That’s the thing that we haven’t decided yet. It’ll probably be anywhere from $35 to $65. We haven’t actually priced it. We’re going to wait a little bit. There’s a big show for the Temecula area at the end of August which I’m a part of; that’s when we’re going to release it. It will be a limited run. It’s not going to be like Mondavi; it won’t be everywhere. The company I’m doing it through is called Wiens. It’ll go out to most liquor stores and they’ll see how it runs; just like a record.”

Celebrity wine runs the gamut from athletes to actors, but more and more musicians are getting into the game, namely Vince Neil from Mötley Crüe, Geoff Tate of Queensrÿche and Maynard James Keenan from Tool. Could ‘rock star red’ become over-diluted? “Yes and no, of course. More than anything, at this point in time, us musicians can’t really make a living at being a musician any more. What we used to be able to do, which is basically perform and record music for a living, has become extremely, extremely difficult. Basically, this is just an expansion of merchandise. I do drink wine. I do smoke cigars. I try to only do things that I actually do. It’s the same thing with guitar endorsements. When you’re a little bit more recognizable, everybody’s giving you a guitar. But I don’t take ‘em all. It’s like, I’m sure that’s a great design for somebody, but I play a Les Paul and a Tele. I try to be as selective as I possibly can.”

Switching from wine and cigars to poker, Gilby has a couple of Jacks in his hand – Halloween Jack and LadyJack. “Halloween Jack is really for fun more than anything. We’re certainly not making a living off it. Daniel Schulman (ex-Garbage) and Steve Perkins (Jane’s Addiction) actually put it together. They wanted to play some of the ‘70s glam stuff and they called me. I’d just done the Supernova tour with Steve and Dave Navarro’s band The Panic Channel. So we spent a lot of time together. I brought in Eric Dover (who Gilby played with in Slash’s Snakepit). We were basically looking for a weekly gig, like a residency, just to play more than anything. We’ve always loved that kind of material. We did a little run at The Dragonfly (in Los Angeles). It was going pretty good, but one day The Dragonfly pulled the plug. I think this economy thing has hit everybody at this point. Now we have a couple more gigs. Unfortunately, Perkins is going out with Jane’s for a couple months. So we’ll be using John Dolmayan from System Of A Down, he’s going to sit in. I also like it ‘cause it’s getting out of my comfort zone. I could have went with all the regular guys we do The Starfuckers with, but it was nice to do something different.”

Ladyjack is an up and coming, currently unsigned band that Gilby is producing. “Dude, these guys are really good, and they’re getting better! What’s funny is, we were doing a Halloween Jack gig and these guys came up and gave me a CD. Most musicians when they’re out playing gigs get CDs. I do my best to try to listen to it. I popped it in and the first thing I said was, oh my god! Great singer, good guitar player – that’s the two most important things in a band. So I went down to a couple rehearsals and we started working together. We’ve recorded a couple songs; we’re still working on that. They’re a young band. They’re still, I think, trying to find their sound. But what’s really nice is, everybody’s good. They all can play and the singer’s got a phenomenal voice! So we’re working on some stuff. It’s very early right now, but they’re a really, really good young band.”

Gilby’s other current production credits include “the second The Alarm record. I finished the Motorchrist record finally, which actually doesn’t have a place to go yet. Right now I’m working with Halloween Jack doing a song for a Love And Rockets tribute record. I didn’t even know the song, but Perkins is a big Love And Rockets fan. I’m trying to finish all this other stuff, so I can start writing again (for his next solo album). Muddy and Dennis – who are my live band – we played a couple gigs a month ago and got together to start working on some new songs. Everything’s coming along really well. I’m just always waiting for that one song, the one that’s really going to nail it down. So we’re still in the writing process now.”

Wrapping things up is the topic of Gilby’s former Guns N’ Roses bandmate, Duff McKagan and his new Loaded album, Sick. “I think it’s awesome! I think it’s incredible! It’s so amazing. I actually played a couple gigs with him. They played a Viper Room gig – Matt (Sorum, ex GN’R/VR drummer) and I went down and ended up sitting in. Then around the holidays, they did a big radio show up in Seattle and Duff flew me up to play with them. I think this band is amazing. It really is just simple rock ‘n’ roll, but it’s got a nice twist to it. I’ve always liked Duff’s singing. I understand why he wouldn’t be the singer of Velvet Revolver, but I really love his voice. Even the GN’R stuff he does, are always some of my most favourite songs.”