by Alexandra Mrozowska
– Sr. Columnist —
Resurrection Kings interview part 1
Known from playing alongside Ronnie James Dio and also, from bands like Giuffria and Budgie, Craig Goldy returns under the Resurrection Kings moniker, shoulder to shoulder with Vinny Appice, Sean McNabb and Chas West. Hardrock Haven caught up with Craig to discuss the album and the super-group in detail as well as refer to his other present and future endeavors.
Hardrock Haven: To make a long story short, how did your idea for a collaboration with Chas West become Resurrection Kings? How did you hook up with Alessandro Del Vecchio and in what circumstances have you all started working on the material?
Craig Goldy: Well, actually it all started out with an e-mail that I received from Serafino. He asked me if I was interested in doing an album with some other musicians that had made names for themselves in the ‘80s, steering the overall sound of this record to have a “Whitesnake/Dio/Rainbow-ish sound”. I was more than happy to be a part of it! The entire line-up hadn’t been fully put together yet and they were accepting song submissions for this album. The first song that came to mind was a song I wrote with Chas West called “Livin’ Out Loud”. They liked it and I was invited to submit more songs. Then the singer, who also played bass that was in line for this album, fell through. So I asked Chas if he was interested and available… and fortunately for us… he was! And this made perfect sense, as the song “Livin’ Out Loud” started to grow on the powers that be over at Frontiers records… to the point where at one time, the band was going to be called “Livin’ Out Loud”! Then it dawned on me, from a while back… I saw Chas and Sean McNabb performing together and I was so impressed with the two of them, that back then we started talking about putting a band project together. So since we also now needed a bass player, I thought I would ask Sean and fortunately he too was interested and available! Then the drummer for the project fell through… Vinny Appice and I had remained friends and were doing a recording session together at that very same time, so I asked Vinny… and fortune once again had smiled upon the project that to the naked eye looked like it was falling apart at the seams! But in reality, this line-up is so very special, that this album became stronger and more powerful and impressive than it ever would’ve been had the first not become the last, and the second outshine the first!
Another fortunate piece of the puzzle was that I had indeed performed together with each one of these amazing musicians at one given point in the past … and had written and recorded with Chas… and we all know about Vinny… so I knew it would work. And the next thing we/I knew … is we really had something special here! Alessandro [Del Vecchio] was already assigned to do the production and writing and co-writing for this album by Frontiers, and he really became more like the fifth member of the band as well as producer! Once I was given the green light for the song “Livin’ Out Loud”, Alessandro and I started writing together to submit more songs that would include his attributes as a songwriter, and we just “clicked” and became great friends and a great team, both with songwriting, recording, production and mixing!
Hardrock Haven: How do you think the songs written by Alessandro and those written by you and Chas complement each other? What do you think about the album’s integrity?
Craig Goldy: Alessandro is such a professional, and Serafino had the final say so for which songs were going to be approved for the album, so Alessandro and I were able to work together via MP3s and e-mail as opposed to Chas and I being in the same room together as we wrote and recorded the demo version of “Livin’ Out Loud”. Since Alessandro has the knowledge that can only be accumulated by successful songwriting sessions while in the same room as the other co-author, he and I were able to reconstruct that same type of atmosphere by leaning on our own previously built-up compilation of experiences as songwriters and co-writers. We’ve provided one another with the same type of collaboration that would’ve been achieved while in the same room and without using Skype! In other words, you gotta know the rules, before you can break them – I think the integrity of the album speaks for itself! We all put in our own sincere effort towards making a good album, and I think it shows! There were no hidden agendas or egos that normally go hand in hand with the so-called “super-group” situations!
Hardrock Haven: Some reviewers point out to the fact the album has “raw” or “American” sound. Which bands and what kind of sound aesthetics inspired the material?
Craig Goldy: I can only speak for myself as far as what inspired me, and this was intended to have an ‘80s sound to it, so the best way I can describe the over-all sound of the album is this… I like the mixture of tough, sexy and dark rolled into one song….and this album has a lot of that! Plus and fortunately enough for me, when it came time to record my guitars, they gave me the freedom to mix together some of my favorite bands’ elements into the guitar parts of the other songs I wrote and co-wrote and the ones Alessandro wrote and co-wrote with others!
For example, even though Deep Purple is/was always my favorite band… there are a lot of sexy, nasty guitar parts in Whitesnake that do not appear in Deep Purple songs, and there are Deep Purple guitar parts that are so eclectic, avant-garde and staccato that do not appear in any Whitesnake songs… There are elements of the band Journey and the band Foreigner that are not heavy enough for me to listen to daily as my favorite, yet those bands have some of my favorite songwriting elements… So, I was able to put together all those elements into the songs for this album. And the song “Livin’ Out Loud” surely has this within! I had to keep in mind that “a new mixture of already existing entities does not constitute uniqueness.” Contributing a sincere effort on my part utilizing elements of my favorite bands that I loved and was influenced by, and making sure that it wasn’t a mere “throw and go” like some of the other ‘80s-based albums have become… Not a criticism, but just an observation on my part, and hoping that the sincerity in which I “gave” to this album will indeed be noticed by the listeners! I was also given a chance to spread my wings and still utilize my favorite elements from my favorite bands that I was influenced by in order to make these songs familiar enough to get a warm welcome on the first listen – but different enough to be new and fresh in today’s world!
Hardrock Haven: Which of the songs on Resurrection Kings album you think came out best? Which are your favorites?
Craig Goldy: I think, since the song selection process was out of my hands, and there were so many other writers involved, and I was given authority to be myself and even re-write some of the songs… that this being such a merge of strengths and such a collaborative contribution between record company, producer and band… that every song has its moment! I can draw like a photograph and paint as well, and I was able to have that side of me spill into my recording techniques that I’ve been trying to implement for the last couple of years now… and in several songs, I was able to “paint” with my guitar for the very first time since my first solo record Hidden in Plain Sight that just started to touch on that for me!!
Hardrock Haven: Similarly to some other recent acts put together by Frontiers, Resurrection Kings have this infamous super-group quality to them. Looking forward, do you think the project will be around for a few albums more?
Craig Goldy: Well, we are all so happy with the way the album came out, that we are currently in negotiations with managers and agents to put together a tour in support of this album and we all would like to do another one!
Hardrock Haven: Apart from Resurrection Kings we’ve discussed, what else are you up to these days?
Craig Goldy: Well, I have my own band, and we are working on songs right now! The manager of Giuffria is now my manager and that is something I’m quite happy and proud of! There will be a Dio Disciples original material album coming out this year. David Glenn Eisley and I are currently working on an album for Frontiers that will be likened to the first Giuffria album – but of the 21st century…
Vinny Appice and I have a touring project called “Black Knight’s Rising” where we do Deep Purple songs and I do the keyboard solo instead of just throwing in another guitar solo to fill in the gap by not having a keyboardist… and it’s become part of our charm!! We do Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio songs and so forth… we have guest singers such as Ripper Owens and Joe Lynn Turner, but we normally tour with John West who does an outstanding job!
Joe Lynn Turner and I became good friends from this, and he loved my “Blackmore” and “Jon Lord” impressions, and his contributions to Rainbow were such a big part of my life as well as the rest of the world… that he and I are in negotiations to putting together a touring project at some point as well!
And one of the things that I am the most proud of and saddest about… is… let me give you a little background first… at one point Ronnie James Dio was given a clean bill of health by his doctor, and told him he could do anything that he wanted to do, so Wendy Dio asked him “What do you want to do?” – and he replied “Write with Craig!” So there is a song that is the very last song he ever wrote and sang on, that was headed for Magica II and at some point it will be released, especially when it is the right time for it… And guard your hearts, it’s gonna hurt! Cause in some sections he wrote about what he was going through, hidden inside of a perspective of another… so you have been warned!
Visit the band online: https://www.facebook.com/ResurrectionKingsMusic/
