DOUG ALDRICH, PILLAR Of a KING OF ROCK' ROLL Interview carried out by ARAGORN 30/09/2002
Doug Aldrich, new guitarist of Ronnie James Dio, joined one of the most famous singer of hard rock.  Soon at the end of a tour in Europe, the band played the 30rd of September in Paris.  A few hours before going on stage, he was kind enough to answer to our questions.

I love this tour, it's great for me to be there.  But the travel really sucks.  It is rather tiring.  In general, we play about 9:00 in the evening.  The concert finishes around 11 :00, for example.  But then you have to wait for the tour bus.  It happens to be late.  You drink some glasses, you leave at two o'clock in the morning without being able to sleep really well.  You arrive in a new hotel at nine, you have to awake and try to get some sleep before the next show.  That's tiring.  But, anyway, the tour is really cool.

Absolutely.  Guitarists like Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix or Jeff Beck had a great influence in my life.  As a guitarist, one is not always influenced by a singer.  However, Ronnie has a great sense of the composition and always gives good ideas.  When he tells you something about your playing, it's like Jimmy Page talking to you.  And he knows Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple, Rainbow) very well, a great guitarist too.

I created the two songs which were missing to finish the album (guitariste.com : the previous guitarist, Craig Goldie had left the band).  In fact, with the bass player, Jimmy Bain, we created eight songs without lyrics in three days.  We burned a CD and gave it to Ronnie, who chose two titles.  It was rather easy, finally.  I listened to the albums of Black Sabbath, to see what kind of ideas I could use.

Do you prefer technical chops played very fast, or slow licks that give more place to some feeling?

I try to play what's better  suited for each song.  If it is aggressive, I will play faster, more extremely.  On the other hand, if the title is very melodic, with harmonious changes, I adapt my play.  It is necessary to know how to adapt.

Yes. People say to me that they appreciate my work.  Sometimes, they want details on my gear.  I regret I can't update it more often.  I'll add some news after the end of the tour, when I'm back to the United States in mid-October.