"Everybody sets their egos aside and we do what we like to do."
With the success of last year's self-titled album release powered by the first single ‘Lock ’n’ Load’ featuring Slash, The Dead Daisies has proven to be a popular touring act throughout the USA while performing to huge crowds in excess of half a million people, and supporting KISS and Def Leppard in August, and Bad Company and Lynyrd Skynyrd during July. Early November saw them invited aboard the Norwegian Star (cruise liner) to perform as part of The KISS Kruise IV around the beautiful Bahamas.
The Dead Daisies is a star-studded and intriguing group. Chatting with Dizzy Reed - Guns N' Roses/ The Dead Daisies guitarist and keyboardist - was no exception. I wanted to know how the band came to be one of the world's coolest supergroups and what it’s like inside the recording studio when you have highly experienced musicians, each with impressive curriculum vitae.
"I came along a little bit later in the game. The band was basically started by Jon Stevens [New Zealand born, Australian adopted, vocalist] (Noiseworks/INXS) and David Lowe (Mink/Red Phoenix), guitar player, and [drummer] Charley Drayton [ex. The Dead Daisies, The Cult, current Cold Chisel, now replaced by Brian Tichy (Ozzy Osbourne/Billy Idol)] was playing drums and then decided they wanted to make a record and start doing some shows.
"Charley brought in Richard Fortus (Guns N’ Roses/Psychedelic Furs) and I'm not sure how Marco Mendoza (Thin Lizzy/Whitesnake), on bass, got involved. When Guns N' Roses were down here about a year and a half ago, we were down in Australia touring, and on the off days The Dead Daisies were opening for ZZ Top. Richard told me about it and told me who was playing. I’d met Jon Stevens some years ago and we talked about doing something together at some point, and I’d played with Marco before and thought he was amazing, so I said, 'Do you guys need a keyboard player?'.”
The Dead Daises only originated two years ago and since then have not only comprised the above big names but also accommodated: Darryl Jones, bassist for The Rolling Stones/Miles Davis; John Tempesta, drummer of The Cult; Frank Ferrer, drummer of Guns N’ Roses; and Alex Carapetis, Australian born drummer of Nine Inch Nails. If you were to sit down and create a list of all the A-list acts which each of The Dead Daisies band members - past and present - have been involved with, you would surely have a tome in your hands. It’s nothing less than impressive.
"The first record was written by Jon and David. They just sat down and hammered it out. Since then we have put out the EP [‘Face I Love’], we have some more finished songs, and we're going to do some more soon. We just got in a room and we threw up some ideas and just recorded them - that's it. It's pretty straight forward and simple for us.
Chemistry is a big part of it ...
"We have each been doing this for so long and we have all done it on different levels. Everyone knows where everything fits in. Everybody sets their egos aside and we do what we like to do. It's one of the most important things to do as a band. I always give that as advice to any young, up and coming bands. It’s one of the hardest things to do, especially when you are younger. You need to look at the big picture all of the time. You have to know when and where you can add what you can to the music, based on what you do and what you play. Chemistry is a big part of it, but with this band this is something we are doing for fun mainly. Keeping cool and keeping it fun is an important part of it."
The Dead Daises are obviously influenced by a mix of late ‘70s and early ‘80s hard rock, such as Bad Company, London Quireboys and The Black Crows with big choruses, powerful melodies and strong hooks, and even earlier blues roots guiding the way. "We never really defined or put up any boundaries with what we wanted to do. We naturally gravitated toward the blues-based sound, which we all grew up on. Jon’s got such a bluesy, soulful sounding voice. He can channel any of that sort of stuff. I’ve been lucky enough to have been around some great song writers my whole career. Obviously it's not my day job - Guns N' Roses is still my main gig - and I'll be doing that as long as I can. And I've been lucky enough to do it and just play music for so long and able to do it for a living, so I'm very, very fortunate. Without Guns N' Roses I wouldn't have been able to do any of this."
Having a career as a rock'n'roller can have it’s plus points, but history writes that the fame and glory can be arduous at times. As an interviewer I often ask how the artist copes with the touring aspect of the business: "It's part of the deal. I think over the years you figure out how to do it 'cause on tour you could drive yourself nuts, really. That's one thing I'll say to you about The Dead Daisies, I've known everyone in the band through some way or the other, and they are all great cats. All the guys don't mind spending time on a bus or a plane or hanging out at an airport. You just find your little niche, you find the little things you like to do and keep you from going crazy. As you get older the travel gets harder - there's no question about that - the actual travel is the hardest; sitting on a bus, sitting on a plane, getting up at six in the morning to catch a flight. But, when you get on a stage in another city with a club full of people, then it's all worth it.”
No matter which Australian or New Zealand city you live in you can rest assured that with quality talent like this, it is going to be one hell of a professional performance. If you are fortunate enough to live in Brisbane, you will also experience an all-new live venue, opened recently by Powerfinger’s JC (John Collins), called "The Triffid".
THE DEAD DAISIES AUSTRALIA & NZ TOUR DATES
Tue 25 Nov Hamilton - Claudelands Arena with Jimmy BarnesWed 26 Nov Auckland - ASB Theatre with Jimmy Barnes
Fri 28 Nov Christchurch - Horncastle Arena with Jimmy Barnes
Sat 29 Nov Dunedin - Town Hall with Jimmy Barnes
Sun 30 Nov Melbourne - The Corner
Wed 3 Dec Adelaide - Governor Hindmarsh
Thu 4 Dec Perth - Rosemount Hotel
Fri 5 Dec Brisbane - The Triffid
Sun 7 Dec Sydney - Oxford Art Factory
