The Riff Raff with Shane Theriot

My guest today is Mr. Joel Hoekstra. Joel is a fantastic guitarist who is holds down a number of high profile gigs, among them Whitesnake (of which he is a current member), Night Ranger , Cher, Trans- Siberian Orchestra, Rock of Ages and many others. As many musicians do Joel spent years paying his dues both in Chicago and later New York City where he worked gigs of all types including Broadway shows and even playing bass with the Turtles!

 Not just a sideman however Joel has many solo releases under his own name including the latest record called “Running Games” that features an all-star cast of musicians including Russell Allen (vocals), Tony Franklin (bass), Vinny Appice (drums), and Derek Sherinian (keyboards) as well as Jeff Scott Soto on background vocals.

In this interview Joel takes us into what it takes to land these high profile gigs and how networking and hard work still pay off.

LINKS

Check out “Running Games here

Joel’s Website

Joel Hoekstra Facebook

Joel’s Instagram

My guest today is Mr. KK Downing, original member, co founder and guitarist for the legendary band Judas Priest, and his own project KK’s Priest.

It goes without saying that Judas Priest are one of the most influential bands in the history of metal. It's also a fact that KK's place in the history of metal is intact and secure since he was a part of Judas Priest since the very inception of that band. But KK doesn't seem content with resting on his laurels and he continues his legacy by creating new music and forging ahead with his new project named KK’s Priest. They have a brand new record out entitled “Sermons of the Sinner.”

KK was kind enough chat with me from his home in England via Zoom and we discussed many topics including songwriting, his early years, influences, the concept of “Light and Shade”, the guitar gear used in the early Priest days, and many other things (including the time Marie Osmond got upset over the use of a bullwhip prop on a TV show!)

As a big Priest fan myself I was thrilled to chat with KK. He is a very nice guy and enjoyable to talk to. I know you will enjoy it!

Recorded Oct. 11, 2021

LINKS

KK’s Website 

BUY SERMONS OF THE SINNER HERE

My guest today is Mr. Mark Farner. Best known as the frontman guitarist/songwriter and lead singer for one of the biggest bands in 1970’s rock- Grand Funk Railroad. From the game changing Atlanta Pop Festival performance to the legendary Shea Stadium performance that they sold out in 72 hours (breaking the Beatles record many times over) Mark has seen and done it all. These days he’s still rocking with his Mark Farner’s American Band and tours constantly.

 One of his best known songs is the 1970 classic I’m your Captain (Closer to Home) which by now has reached legendary rock anthem status. In this interview he tells me about how a prayer inspired him to write the song, We also talk about his early influences, how Grand Funk blew Led Zeppelin off stage one night in Ohio, how he learned to sing by reading a newspaper upside down, his Musicraft Messenger guitar and much much more. There was so much I wanted to ask but we just ran out of time- (Hendrix, Zappa, working with Ringo etc…)but we still got a lot of good stuff in!

At 72 years of age he still plays and sings his ass off. If you need proof of this just check out the new DVD by Mark and his band- “From Chile with Love” which was released in April. Mark does a lot for Veterans and is donating 20% of all proceeds from each sale of the DVD to help Veterans. You guys all need to go and check this out! Mark is such a great guy and a class act. I hope you enjoy the interview as much as I did. 

MARK's WEBSITE- https://markfarner.com/

BUY MUSIC AND "FROM CHILE WITH LOVE" CLICK HERE

Veterans Support Foundation number- 1-800-882-1316

TO SUPPORT /DONATE TO THE RIFF RAFF PODCAST

CLICK HERE

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My guest today is Trey Gunn- solo artist, Chapman Stick and Warr guitar pioneer and virtuoso and member of the groundbreaking band King Crimson for 10 years. With at 15 solo records (and counting) under his belt Trey shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, he's only just getting going. After watching Trey's lecture on Youtube on developing your own voice (see below for link) I was inspired enough to contact him for some personal sessions.

We talk about all this and much more in this episode- thanks for listening!

Check out Trey's Music here

Here is the video I reference in the podcast- Trey Gunn on Original Voice

Trey's Website- Trey Gunn.com

My guest today is Scott Sharrard, a great singer, guitarist and songwriter who hails from Michigan but could also have easily have been raised in the Delta. Scott is probably best known for being a long time member of Gregg Allman's band but as of late has also joined the legendary Little Feat.

In this episode he tells us about how he got the gig with Greg Allman, playing Duane Allmans legendary Les Paul, joining Little Feat, songwriting, teaching and much more!

Find Scott online at his website here

Little Feat click here

True Fire Courses

My guest today is Mr. Guthrie Trapp. Guthrie is a monster Nashville “superpicker” with a wide range of credits including Jerry Douglas, Garth Brooks, Delbert McClinton, John Oates and many more. 

Guthrie is also a successful educator and has some great instructional material (Country Guitar) available from Artist Works.

His solo records Pick Peace and Life After Dark both showcase a diverse taste in styles- all of which he is able to perform with ease and with a great sense of time, taste and feel.

We’ve been friends for a while, but it was great to sit down with Guthrie in my studio in New Orleans where he was kicking back for a few weeks during the coronavirus shutdown last fall.

As always thanks for tuning in! Be sure and visit my page https://www.shanetheriot.com/ and sign up as a member on Rewards Music! It’s free and I’ll be doing a lot of cool things upcoming including Masterclasses, lessons and just overall community hangs! 

Guthrie Trapp Website https://guthrietrapp.com/

Artist Works https://artistworks.com/electric-country-guitar-lessons-guthrie-trapp

My guest today is Mr. G.E. Smith.

As one of the most seen and heard guitarists in the heyday of late 70’s - 80’s era SNL (when the show was at it's peak) you would have no doubt seen G.E. on your TV set, mugging it up for the camera and playing a variety of cool vintage guitars while rubbing shoulders with the likes of guest guitarists Eddie Van Halen, Eric Clapton and David Gilmour. What a lot of people don't realize is that during this time (and often the very same day) GE was working with Bob Dylan, flying around the world and coming in for his "day gig" on SNL. He had just departed a huge 6 year run with Daryl Hall and John Oates.

This episode of Riff Raff is particularly interesting because I get to interview the guitarist that once not only stood in my shoes but basically formed the mold-GE was the guitarist with Daryl Hall and John Oates in the era of MTV and those huge radio hits that we still hear on the radio today- Maneater, Private Eyes and Kiss is on My List just to name a few. But his resume doesn’t stop there- he also worked with Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Mick Jagger and many many others.

These days G.E. has a new album coming out with newly found collaborator and singer LeRoy Bell- Their new project is called “Stony Hill”. It’s a rootsy, raw pairing that is perfect for GE’s guitar playing and songwriting. Check out "America" and "Black is the Color of my True Love's Hair" for a taste of this great pairing.

We talk about guitars, Hall and Oates, Dylan, SNL, T-Bone Wolk, Stony Hill, guitars, why Eric Clapton took his pickup covers off of his Les Paul pickups in 1965 and all things in between.

Shout out to my manager Charles Driebe (Blind Ambition Mgmt. for connecting the Riff Raff podcast w/ G.E..

My guest today is Allen Hinds, a player that most certainly possesses what I like to call the “Three T’s of guitar playing”- Touch, Tone, and Taste. Allen is originally from Alabama but has lived in Southern California most of his life and found a home at the world famous Musicians Institute in Hollywood (where we first met when I was a student there in the early 90’s). Along the way he has also built a successful career as a sideman (Gino Vanelli, BeBe and CeCe Winans, Randy Crawford, Hiroshima, etc..) and solo artist with 5 solo records to his name - Fly South, Monkeys and Slides, Falling Up, Beyond it All, and Fact of the Matter. His new yet to be released record entitled “The Good Fight” should be available very soon.

In this interview, which took place at Allen's house in Laurel Canyon, we discuss his teaching career, legato technique, Gino Vanelli stories, playing over chord changes, how slide guitar playing has been a big part of his sound, and much more.

Allen’s website https://www.allenhinds.com/

Recorded Los Angeles, CA March 2020

My guest today is Greg Vorobiov a.k.a. “Greg V." Greg is a great guitarist with an individual voice who is proof that “tone is in your hands." To see and hear him in action, just watch any of the many videos on You Tube that he did during his time demoing amplifiers and pedals for various companies (before everybody and their brother was doing this) and you’ll get an idea of just how gifted a player Greg is. He’s one of those guys that can make everything sound great. Not long ago one of my amplifier repair guys said “you know that guy Greg V?” I said sure, for a long time now. He then said jokingly, “man I hate that guy - I bought 2 amps because of his demos!” (Add myself to that list, I just recently bought one too!)

Greg has had an amazing career playing with such legends such as Ronnie Montrose (including being on tour with Allan Holdsworth), Double Trouble, Buddy Miles and many others, and we talk about all these experiences. We also talk about his tenure as studio guitarist working on the shows “Baywatch” and playing the theme to “Max Headroom.”

His solo record “Tailgate Troubadour” is an excellent place to discover the talents of Greg V., from subtle open chords to melancholy textured drones to screaming fuzz, it’s all here and so fun to listen to. Be sure and pick up a copy of this record.

For the past 10 years Greg has put down the guitar and replaced it with the camera, channeling the same creativity and passion and swapping out ears for eyes, turning into one of the most gifted photographers that I’ve ever met. His photographs of Slash, Jimmy Vivino, George Lynch and other musicians and actors and actresses are full proof that Greg’s creative spark is more active than ever, even if he doesn’t need a guitar to express it.

Check out Greg’s record “Tailgate Troubadour” here https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/gregv

Greg V. Website - https://www.gregvorobiov.com/

Recorded Burbank, California  Nov 2019

My guest today is Mr. Dave Malone. Dave is best known as being a 30+ year veteran as one of the vocalists, guitarists and songwriters with The Radiators, one of the quintessential New Orleans party bands. For over 30 years the “Rads” have defined the sound of good times in New Orleans and many a Tulane University grad has fine memories of attending a few Radiators gigs during his/her time spent in the Crescent City.

Dave is a great singer, songwriter and, as you’ll hear, an avid guitar collector with an amazing guitar collection. In this fun chat Dave talks about the New Orleans music scene in the early days of the Radiators, how the drummer brought in a chainsaw to the gig and proceeded to chop up tables, his brother Tommy Malone from the Subdudes (also a guest on the Riff Raff- see episode 19), how his hometown of Edgard, LA still affects his music and songwriting to this day and many other things- including a lot of laughs in between!

Recorded at Dirty Power, New Orleans Oct. 2019

*In 2001 the Radiators equipment truck was stolen, it was a huge hit and the insurance screwed Dave over. The equipment was never found. I’ve reposted some of Dave’s guitars that were never recovered so if anyone out there ever sees one of these instruments you know who it belongs to.*

Melancon Telecaster- Dark green serial#9607

Fender ’57 Reissue Stratocaster blonde serial #VO11050

Fender ’62 Reissue with Tele Neck (Sea foam green) Serial #VO27861

DanElectro 12 String Blue Sparkle - Serial # 019912279

DanElectro Baritone (Robin Egg Blue) Serial #029902687

Gibson Chet Atkins (Black solid body acoustic) Serial #940197784

Fender Electric Mandolin (FM-61) Serial # KD00008172

Budda Verbmaster 30 Amplifier Serial #V3F-003

Budda Twinmaster 12 Serial #19-0174