SLASH, RICHIE SAMBORA, BILLY GIBBONS Talk LES PAUL Guitars
December 13, 2008, 15 years ago
Rollingstone.com's Rock Daily caught up with Slash (VELVET REVOLVER, EX-GUNS N' ROSES), Richie Sambora (BON JOVI) and Billy Gibbons (ZZ TOP) at the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame’s tribute to Les Paul in November, the trio of guitarists chatted about the influence the legendary guitarist had on their work; they also talked about their first Les Pauls and some of their favorite riffs. Excerpts follow:
Slash:
On his first Les Paul:
“The first guitar I ever got was a Les Paul copy. Guitar players I liked played it, and I liked the way it looked. And I figured if that guy sounds like that, and that’s the guitar he used, it’s common sense. The Les Paul is really an extension of me.”On the 'Sweet Child O’ Mine' riff:
“There was not a lot of forethought to ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine', that riff. It was just something I was messing around, and stumbled across this interesting pattern. I’ve got to give credit to Axl (Rose) and the other guys in the band for really turning it into a song.”Richie Sambora:
On his first Les Paul:
“I had a Univox Les Paul because I couldn’t afford a real one. My first Les Paul, I worked as a janitor at a hospital. I worked there for six weeks, and I finally made enough money — like 500 bucks — to buy my first Les Paul. And I went down to a place called Lou Rose Music in Edison, New Jersey, and got him to sell me my first Les Paul. And I had it from the time I was 17 all the way until I was 23. I was in Bon Jovi. And we were rehearsing, and we didn’t have a lot of money. And we were rehearsing in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, and it got stolen. It was my first professional guitar.”Billy Gibbons:
On his guitar collection:
“How many guitars do I own? That are in tune? I’d be hazarding a guess at this point? [Ballpark?] Oh, it’d fill a ballpark.”His favorite solo:
“My personal, all-time favorite guitar solo is found on Bobby Bland’s recording of ‘Stormy Monday Blues,’ recorded by the late, great Wayne Bennett. To this day, there’s a certain passage that I’m still trying to learn to play.”Read more here.
