Guns N’ Roses keyboardist Dizzy Reed is set to release his debut, solo album entitled ‘Rock ‘N Roll Ain’t Easy'; and he knows just how hard it can be.
In 1990 he became part of the biggest rock band in the world at the time Guns N’ Roses, a group renowned for hard partying, big shows and even bigger egos.
Back with the GNR gang for their ‘Not In This Lifetime’ world tour, Dizzy says the hardest thing about rock & roll is keeping the big picture in mind and setting aside the ego. “You’re checking your ego at the door of rehearsal, on the bus, before the show,” Dizzy says.
“If you know your place you have to accept that, add what you can, add what you need and always keep growing. If you don’t you’re going to stagnate, no matter how big you are or how much success you’ve had. You have to keep that going and that’s not easy, that’s really hard to do.”
Dizzy’s new album has come together over a period of years in between his heavy touring commitments with GNR and working on his own side project Hookers & Blow.
Dizzy says that it’s an album that he thought would never get made. “A lot of the time I just had to forget about it and move on because we were very busy with GNR and I didn’t have the time to deal with it,” he says.
“At times I was a little bit upset because I knew we had a lot of great songs, some great performances and I didn’t want to lose it but I couldn’t do anything about it.”
Yet it all worked out; with a little help from his friends. The album boasts a who’s who of ‘80s and ‘90s rock, with fellow Gunners Richard Fortus, Bumblefoot, Frank Ferrer and Tommy Stinson as well as Mike Dupke and Mike Duda from W.A.S.P. performing on lead single ‘This Don’t Look Like Vegas’.
“A lot of the guys and gals [on the album] I had played with around LA with various bands I’d worked with,” Dizzy says.
“Obviously Richard, Bumblefoot and Frank Ferrer and Tommy Stinson are on the record; they were in Guns N' Roses at one time. I’d already started doing Hookers & Blow and a lot of the guys had done that, so we were very comfortable together.”
It will be some time before Dizzy gets ‘Rock ‘N Roll Ain’t Easy’ on the road, with the GNR travelling behemoth destined for a lengthy European summer tour. “The last couple of years touring with GNR, I can’t say enough of how great it has been,” he says.
“The shows have been phenomenal, the fans have been phenomenal and everyone in that band works really hard, and it’s been just a great experience. It’s been very rewarding fun but there’s some pressure that goes along with that.”
