Richard Fortus, guitarist with Guns 'N Roses, takes a break from composing to chat with OWC RADiO host, Cirina Catania, gives us a tour of his amazing gear, reminisces about life as a gifted and passionate musician, his most recent hit, "Made of Rain," the collaboration on "Tower of Strength," and studio life in quarantine. Richard offers good advice to others who want to succeed in the music business and warms our hearts when he talks about his family. Listen in to a candid and inspiring conversation with one of the great musicians of our time.

In This Episode

00:03 - Cirina Introduces Richard Fortus, guitarist with Guns ‘N Roses.05:09 - Richard and Cirina talk about how the people in Mexico City are lovely and exceptionally resilient.10:16 - Richard talks about creating sessions at his home studio using Pro Tools.15:07 - Richard shares the numerous equipment, gear, and instruments he has in his studio.19:40 - How young was Richard when he knew he wanted to become a musician? What was the first instrument he learned how to play?24:39 - Richard gives some encouraging words to aspiring musicians and creatives.30:06 - What is Richard's approach in preparing for a recording session?35:45 - Richard describes how OWC's customer support has helped walk him through situations where he needed a solution.39:38 - Richard talks about The Psychedelic Furs' album that he produced, Made of Rain.44:16 - Visit Richard Fortus' website at richardfortus.com to learn more about his life, work, and gear.

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Transcript

You know Richard Fortus as the guitarist for Guns N' Roses, but he also has a long history with The Psychedelic Furs and was in Thin Lizzy, Love Spit Love, The Dead Daisies, and Honky Toast. He toured with The Crystal Method, BT, Enrique Iglesias, Nena, and many others. But after talking with him today, I keep picturing him as a little five-year-old playing his violin. No wonder he has such a prolific music career. I spoke to him about making music in the time of COVID. His recent hit with the Psychedelic Furs called Made of Rain, the collaboration on a Tower of Strength, and his masterclass at Sweetwater, a place we both loved. He also offers some great advice to those who want to get into the music business. And he gives us a tour of his gear collection and so much more. This is a Richard Fortus that we rarely get to see. So stay tuned. It's time for another OWC Radio.

This is Cirina Catania with OWC Radio. I am speaking with Richard Fortus in the middle of a crazy schedule that he has. He's taking a little bit of time off to talk to you guys. So we're just gonna dive right in here and say, hi, Richard, how are you today?

I'm well, thank you, and thanks for your time. 

That's great. So it's COVID. We're all under some kind of wrap. Where are you at the moment and who's quarantining with you?

I'm actually at home in St. Louis, Missouri, with my family. 

Nice. 

And fortunately, I have a studio in my house. So I'm able to work, as we were just talking about it. A lot of my friends are not in that position and have not been able to work. I'm fortunate that I have an engineering background, so I'm able to engineer my own sessions, and I've had a studio for the last 25 years. So it's been great for me, and I'm fortunate enough to have the work coming in. A lot of my friends are touring musicians or are studio musicians that don't do their own sessions. They go to recording studios. And so I'm very lucky in that regard.

When was the last time you were on tour?

Our last show was in March, as the world was closing down. I think we probably did the last stadium show in the world. We were in Mexico City, and it was the first show of a South American tour that we were doing. And that was going to be about six weeks, and then we went to Europe for a couple of months, and then we went straight to the US and started the US. And I would have finished that tour of the US ye...