Richie Kotzen discusses 50 For 50, MORC X, Slow, MHFR and MORE!

Richie Kotzen has earned a reputation for being an exceptional songwriter and vocalist & a master of the guitar in his 31 years as a professional musician but I don’t think people realize just how prolific he is.

I’ve lost count after amassing over one hundred (100) compact discs showcasing his talents. This includes his solo output, stints in Poison, Mr. Big, Vertú, Forty Deuce, Wilson Hawk, The Winery Dogs, his albums with Greg Howe, various guest appearances and tribute albums.

Not since Prince has there been an artist who releases the volume of quality material. Richie Kotzen IS the exception to that fact! Richie just celebrated his 50th birthday on February 3rd by adding to his impressive resume with a triple album of all-new original material simply titled “50 For 50” that he played every instrument on with the exception of four songs.

I had the pleasure of catching up with Richie while he vacationed in Turks & Caicos where he discussed his recent shows aboard the Monsters of Rock Cruise, his stellar new album and much more.

LegendaryRockInterviews: Hey Richie, it’s Crash..

Richie Kotzen: How you doing?

LRI: I’m good. Yourself?

Richie: Pretty good. I’m down here in the Caribbean for another couple of days, just chilling out, doing some relaxing.

LRI: I was wondering if you were still down in Turks and Caicos or if you were back up in Pennsylvania visiting your parents.

Richie: We’re here until Saturday and we fly home back to LA.

LRI: All right. I wanted to thank you again for the video that you and Michelle sent me last year when I was going through health issues yet again. And also dealing with the death of… He was my fourth and fifth grade teacher and like a father figure and a mentor and he’s the one that got me into writing and my love of music actually when I was a kid. Mr Zeiner was his name.

Richie: I see.

LRI: Actually, I got to turn him on to your music, but he had passed away… Today is actually the one year anniversary of his death.

Richie: I’m really sorry about that man. Sorry for that.

LRI: He was a cool cat, you would have liked him. He dug your music. I wanted to thank you for that video, because it helped a lot.

Richie: Oh right on man, you got it.

LRI: All right. First off, you just finished up at the Monsters of Rock Cruise and I was wondering… Start off on a funny note. What did you think of Izzy Presley’s, from Another Fucking Podcast, intro, when he introed you for the show?

Richie: I got to be honest. I don’t really remember because first of all there was some kind of weird time problem with our clocks and everything was off. There was boat time and then there was time where we were docked and I think I came in there an hour late, not because I was late, but because I was looking at my phone. So when I got up there it seemed like there was some heavy drinking that might’ve been going on, especially with Izzy’s sidekick. So I don’t even remember. Then there was a lot of people there, like an audience. It was kind of like a weird blur and then everything seemed to go sideways at one point because his sidekick was just blurting out crazy shit and putting up really insane photographs on a video screen and I’m not really sure of what was said or what happened, it’s kind of a blur. Maybe I deliberately put it out of my mind.

 

LRI: I thought that was a great introduction that Izzy did.

Richie: What did he say?

LRI: He said you’re his favorite artist and then he said that you were the soundtrack to his depression and his alcoholism and it was fucking beautiful.

Richie: Oh, okay. Okay.

LRI: And then he said the crowd was in for a treat and without further ado and Richie Kotzen.

Richie: Now I remember. Yeah, I remember now. That’s right. No, that was funny.

LRI: Absolutely. That’s pure Izzy.

Richie: That’s right.

LRI: I noticed that, Mike Bennett wasn’t behind the kit for you. Was that just a one off thing?

Richie: Mike had a scheduling conflict so I called my buddy Tal, who, I don’t know if you know who Tal Bergman is?

LRI: Oh yeah.

Richie: He and I have known each other since I was 26 years old. And obviously he’s played with Billy idol, Terence Trent D’Arby, Rod Stewart, on and on. And so we toured together when I did the Rolling Stones, he was over there with me in 2006 and so I called him and he was, yeah I’d love to go play the cruise.

LRI: Awesome.

Richie: Yeah. So we were excited about that. And we have a great relationship as friends and sometimes it’s nice to have a new perspective. So it’s all good. That’s life.

LRI: Okay. Tal did the Rolling Stones tour with you there in Japan in 2006 so it was cool to see him again. I hadn’t seen him since Rock Candy Funk Party with Joe Bonamassa.

Richie: It was 2006, that’s right he did play with Joe.

LRI: And then, for having such short notice, and I think I heard you say on stage that he’d only done one rehearsal at your house and then that show was his first show.

Richie: That’s right.

LRI: He killed it. He absolutely killed it and there was an amazing chemistry with Dylan, Tal and you.

Richie: There you go. It was fun!

LRI: Tal’s a powerhouse.

Richie: Absolutely.

LRI: Hmmm….on your Instagram you posted a video of you trying to catch footage of a shark and you were able to get it yesterday. You need to take a video of a shark with you singing the Baby Shark theme on it.

Richie: Yeah, but what’s the Baby Shark thing?

LRI: Baby, Shark, Shark, shark, da doo da doo doo. Baby Shark. It’s really annoying. It’s like a kid’s song. It was a big viral craze last year.

Richie: Oh, okay. I miss all that stuff.

LRI: Yeah. Matter of fact I messaged Julia earlier and I said, Richie needs to sing the Baby Shark song over footage of that and she just replied, “ha, ha, ha, ha.”

Richie: I have a question. Where are you based at? Are you in Nashville or where are you?

LRI: No, I’m in Kansas. We met in Nashville in 2010 during the “Peace Sign” tour.

Richie: Kansas, that’s right.

LRI: Yeah, were up to our asses in snow right now. Probably about four or five inches of snow overnight.

Richie: Wow. All right.

LRI: It’s not too bad. It really hasn’t been that bad this winter, but we got it last night. Oh, well. That’s what you get for living in the Midwest.

Richie: That’s right.

LRI: With 50 For 50 coming out, which was 50 songs put out on your birthday. I’ve heard you discuss, talking about didn’t think other artists had put out that much material at one shot. The only person I can think of was Prince with the Emancipation record. But that was only 36 songs and four of those were covers. When did you decide that you were going to do the 50 For 50? Did you get to a certain point and then go, hmmmm and then go from there? How did that come to be?

Richie: I had about 12 or 13 songs that were pretty much ready, that would’ve been a new record. And while I was on tour in Europe with my band, I had a hard drive with me that was a mirror image of my studio drive back home and I started going through and looking at some of these ideas that I had and I started thinking, man, it’d be really cool to finish this stuff. Some of the songs were almost done. Some songs were just a click track and a Wurlitzer piano or a bass. So when I got home I started going through and trying to finish some of the stuff and I started getting a little bit of a roll and then as I was finishing various compositions, I suddenly would have ideas for new stuff.

Richie: So you can imagine I’m down there finishing up Mad Bazaar, for example, and then suddenly I go upstairs to take a break and I pick up the acoustic and I start playing the riffs that became Innocuous. It snowballed into this process. And the only person I told that I was going to do it was my tour manager while I was on the road. I said, man, I’ve got a crazy idea. And he’s, what? I said, what if I did a new record with 50 songs that no one’s heard, all my originals, 50 new songs and released it on my 50th birthday? And Gene [tour manager] was, oh man, that’d be crazy. That’d be so cool. Blah, blah blah. And so then I just started working at it and when I got to 32 or 35, I don’t know what the number was, I put something on my Instagram alluding to the fact that I was doing this, because at that point I figured I had enough time to pull it off.

Richie: And then the other thing was initially when I had the idea I was going to do it digital only because I thought, well if I have all the way up to January, then I can easily get there. To have a physical release I would have had to had it done by November and then, I think it was my booking agent or somebody said, no, no, you got to have physical. Because I was going to stagger the release, maybe do physical later. So I just got on that roll and by the time November came around, I had already given it to the mastering engineer and product was being printed.

Richie: And the biggest thing for me, I was just worried that everything was going to come out and not have any problems. It’s one thing to service a 10 song record to your distributor and get it going. But 50 songs is another animal. And there’s things that get overlooked and sadly, I might as well say it, because I just found out. One of the things that got overlooked was the registration with SoundScan and Nielsen. I could see how many sales I have and how many spins I have on Spotify through the back end of the system. And we were expecting to have a nice chart position and there was nothing. And so I realized somewhere along the line somebody dropped the ball and it never got registered. So it’s like a phantom record.

Richie: It’s selling very well and I’ve got over 500 000 spins already on Spotify. Over the course of 10 days or something we hit 500 000. But the record is phantom in the sense that it’s not showing up on any of the charts. I’m still getting paid on it, which is obviously important, but sadly we’re trying to fix that. You can’t unring a bell, we’re never going to have that first initial week. So, that’s kind of a disappointment. But the music’s out, people are hearing it and the response has been strong.

LRI: Yeah. The thing I like about it and maybe they’re… Actually I did two different reviews on it. I did a three part podcast with The Hook Rocks where we reviewed each disc as a separate episode. Then I did a print review of it for my website, Legendary Rock Interviews, where I reviewed it track by track, all 50 tracks. It was a lot to digest. But the thing I like about it is each individual disc could stand alone on its own, as it’s own release and it’s cohesive, it’s not ADD, all over the place.

Richie: Thanks.

LRI: And together it makes sense.

Richie: That was the hardest thing to do is, believe it or not, making the music is relatively easy because that’s instinct, that’s what I do. But getting it sorted, I mean literally getting it mastered, having it proofed and mastered was torturous for me. Because after I write something and record it I usually get away from it and you got to listen and make sure nothing’s corrupt and what have you and that process. But then the other process of sequencing it. That was a real fiasco for me.

Richie: Initially I thought, I’m not even going to bother sequencing this, it’s too much. And then I did a sequence that I really liked and then there was 10 minutes of empty space on Disc One and not enough space on Disc Two. And then it was like a little bit of a math equation, but finally I figured it out and I actually think it was worth it because you can listen to this thing, like you said, as three separate records or you can go from top to bottom and it will make sense. So in the end I’m happy I put the time in to get a proper sequence for it.

LRI: You did a hell of a job there. I wouldn’t want to have had to done that. Yikes, I couldn’t imagine, I’d have been pulling my hair out. One of the songs, I don’t even know if you realize this, but the song, “Play the Field” you played back in November of 2003 at the Whitstable [UK] gigs with Steve Salas.

Richie: I played that song live?

LRI: Yeah. I’ve got DVD of it. You introduced it saying you wrote it on the plane on the way over to the UK.

Richie: That’s interesting. That’s crazy. I wrote that song with my friend Tony DiNero and he is a successful hip hop producer. We met back then when I had a recording studio called Headroom in the San Fernando Valley and there was a young R&B singer that I was hanging out with and my management introduced me to this kid & we were going to maybe work together. Then he introduced me to Tony. Tony and I hit it off and we wrote a song together called “Wide Open” and then also “Play the Field.” I’m trying to remember which one came first, I think “Wide Open” was the first one we wrote. And I never released the songs.

Richie: I don’t know why, they just sat there. And then we had a group together called C.A.S.H. that we used to play around town. It was really cool. It was a mashup of Rock, Hip Hop, Rap, R&B. And we were being courted for awhile from Universal Music and you know how the business is, things go this way or that way. But Tony and I remained friends and those two tracks, I always loved the songs, and not sure why I never put them on a record, but now it seems like the timing made sense. So there they are.

LRI: Isn’t C.A.S.H the project that you had the single “Lavish Life” back in the day?

Richie: Yeah, that’s right. “Lavish Life.” There’s a song that those guys wrote called “My, My, My.” There were a lot of people involved in the process back then. I remember they had a house that they were renting right by my house, right up the hill from me. I used to go up there and record until the wee hours in the morning. They turned it into the magic that it was. Sadly, I don’t think it ever got picked up but fun times for sure.

LRI: Cool. I was listening to “Play The Field” on “50 For 50” and it struck me as familiar then it dawn on me. I went and got my Whitstable DVD and put it in and I’m, holy shit!

Richie: That’s crazy.

LRI: Okay. I could edit that out and I’ll email you a copy of it so you can see it. That was about 17 years ago. Anyways. Nickel Hustler, the story behind that with Julia’s, broken English, I guess is how you’d put it. Not understanding, she was trying to think of the words gold digger. Have you ever played her your song “Gold Digger” from “Slow?”

Richie: I don’t know if she’s heard that. Yeah, I think I did play it for her. That was a cool track. I remember when I did it back then. The funny thing about that Slow record was that, that was right when I got rid of my analog tape machine and I got into Pro Tools and I got real crazy with all the editing. If you listen to that record, there’s a lot of crazy sounds on there. That was my first swing with Pro Tools and so it’s a very unique sounding record. And the track of course is very unique. But when Julia said Nickel Hustle, I’m, man, I know it’s a similar subject matter but it’s been a long time and it’s time to have a book end to the original “Gold Digger” song that I wrote. So I had to write “Nickel Hustler” and thanks to Julia that’s where I got the title from.

LRI: Did, did she slap you? Making fun of her so to speak.

Richie: [laughs] No! She’s got a great sense of humor.

LRI: Yeah, I’ve noticed. I really enjoy her Instagram posts and stories. I remember you originally put the song “Slow” up for a free download on your website way back in 2001 before the album came out in Japan. I was at work so I called my buddy and I said, you need to download the song, burn it and bring me a copy of it at work.

Richie: Oh, wow.

LRI: He brought it up to my work. I remember putting it in and it starts with that staticky intro, that [mimicks staticky/scratchy sound] and I thought, “what in the hell?” And then the song kicked in and I’m… Because before, like you said, you were always analog and you didn’t use a lot of effects in your songs. I remember just sitting there thinking “what in the hell? What did you do, Richie?” But of course, Slow’s one of my favorite records. At first, I was, confused but intrigued? It was kind of cool and is in my top 5 favorite albums of yours. But when I heard the “Nickel Hustler,” title, I thought of “Gold Digger.”

Richie: Of course.

LRI: Back to “50 For 50.” Then there is the song “Dogs,” the lyrical concept about that about how the dog treats you better than the woman then you leave the woman but take the dog. Is there a chance of maybe doing a video of that and how’d that song come about?

Richie: That’s the next thing I’m thinking about, videos. And that’s an obvious one for a video. But I think after having done “Devil’s Hand,” it’s such a depressing video. I don’t want to come with another one, I think people will start to worry about me. So I think I might come with something a little more upbeat. But yeah, down the line, I think that would be a good one for a video.

Richie: That’s one of those songs that kind of wrote itself. There’s different ways that I write, but sometimes I’ll get a beat going and a keyboard pattern and that song I believe started with the piano and a drum loop and then I just free styled the lyrics. It just kind of came to me and then I went back and then replaced the drums with a proper… Once I had the lead vocal on there, I went back and replayed the drums to the lead vocal and then built the track from that. But some songs come together really easily lyrically and then others take a long time.

Richie: There’s a song in the record called “Mountains” and it has been in my head for a very long time and I just never was able to connect it all together lyrically. It was one of those things that I had the concept, I had a couple of lines and then I’d get in there and it would just always fall short and then somehow along the line it came together and it’s one of my favorite songs on the record. They all come differently. Everybody asks, how do you write? And I really don’t know how to answer that because everything is different. I mean really, you know?

LRI: I’ve read a lot of reviews for “50 For 50” & in talking to a lot of your fans that I’m friends with and chat with on internet message boards like your old forum that MANY wish would return! Anyways, everyone really likes “Warrior.” It would be more of an upbeat video for a tune that your [cue really spirital worship music] audience [cue really spirital worship music] is really raving about.

Richie: Really? That’s interesting.

LRI: Yeah. A lot of people, that one has really caught on with them, made an impact you could say. I love the tune.

Richie: I’m going to have to look at that. I know which song you mean. Yeah. And that song is a new one. That’s one of the songs, when I talk about the process of the record, about finishing ideas that I’ve had for many years, Warrior is something that came out of nowhere one night. I just had the chorus. And that just wrote itself too. That’s a newer song. It’s one of the newer ones, like that one, “Black Mark,” “Innocuous,” there’s a couple more that I’m probably forgetting. They just kind of came out of nowhere..

LRI: Oh, that’s cool. You ended each disc with, I don’t want to say a slower, like ballad or whatever, but it’s a lot different than the other material that proceeds it on each disc.

I was wondering is there a thread or a common lyrical theme that connects all three of the songs from “Innocuous” to “I am the Clown” to “This House” together like a story? It feels that way to me like there’s some story that’s spaced out over three disks.

Richie: It’s not intentional, but I’m looking at the song titles and if you think of the song “Innocuous,” it’s almost like, if I remember correctly, almost like an infatuation with someone that you don’t really know. And then if you go to “I am the Clown” it’s almost like you are failing inside the relationship then if you go to “This House,” you’ve lost it and you’re alone. So I could see how you would make that thread connection. But I never thought of that until you said it. So the answer would be no, I did not deliberately make that connection. I knew that I was going to open the 50 song thing with “Stick the Knife” and I knew that I was going to close it with “This House” once those songs existed. But anything that happened in between, I really didn’t know.

LRI: Just a happy accident.

Richie: The only other thing I did in looking at this, is that Disc One, Two and Three, they all start in a very similar way. What I mean is you have the one-two rocker scenario with “Stick the Knife” and “As You Are” and then Disc Two, it’s the same thing, “Radar” and “Freeze” & Disc Three, “Play the Field” & “Wide Open.” Each disc opened with a one-two punch of more of a Richie Kotzen style rock, guitar driven thing and then go off into the other sides of what it is that I do.

LRI: “This House,” that song is just very haunting. I don’t know if that would be the appropriate.

Richie: Yes, yes. That’s a good way to put it.

LRI: I really digg that tune. The haunting vibe and dark lyrics. I was going to say the first time I heard it I put it on repeat five times in a row and I’m just, wow! Chills!

Richie: That song was actually a whole verse and chorus longer. I ended up shortening it.

LRI: Oh!

Richie: Because when I first wrote it it just went on and on and on and I thought, I already said my piece here. I’m going to condense it.

LRI: Hmm, interesting.

Richie: Yeah.

LRI: All right. Finishing off, because I think we’re running short on time. I heard in an interview I think you did at NAMM that there’s talk of new signature model guitars coming out. Is it going to be a Tele and a Start? Is there any chance you’re going to release a Red Strat like what you played during the “Mother Head’s Family Reunion” era, the bright vibrant red?

Richie: Yes. Well, so basically the way it is now is my Fender Telecaster is a global instrument in a sense that it’s so worldwide. Fender sells it everywhere. United States, Europe, Japan. For whatever reason, the white Strat and the Red Strat are only sold in Japan. And so what Fender is… At least what they’ve told me is that in 2021 they’re going to bring in the White and Red Strat and go global with that as well. So that’s great news for people that want that guitar, because as it is now, you technically can get it, but you have to order it as an import from Japan and this can be kind of a hassle. I’ve never done it, but I would imagine it’s not nearly as simple as walking down to Sam Ash and pulling it off the rack and trying it out.

Richie: So, as of next year people will be able to do that. And so as far as the colors there’s the white one and then there’s the red one.

LRI: Now is it going to be the dark blood red that you’ve got or is it going to be the vibrant red from the Mother Head’s era that you played?

Richie: I see what you’re asking. Right. It is the blood red.

LRI: Okay.

Richie: Initially when that guitar went into production, the color, we spent… And because it’s produced in Japan, so we’re going back and forth it’s not as easy as someone coming to your house. And I refuse to send off the Mother Head guitar because that’s a one-off custom shop built guitar that for me would be irreplaceable.

LRI: Right.

Richie: So we tried to match the color but you’re right, the production model is a little deeper red. If you see the guitars next to each other in person, they’re not really that far off.

LRI: Oh, okay.

Richie: Yeah. But they are different. The signature model version of it is a deeper, more of a blood red color, but it’s not as far off as it photographs.

LRI: I always thought it was a, I don’t want to say drastic, but a drastic difference.

Richie: Yeah. I wanted it to be the same as the Mother Head guitar but for whatever reason. We went back and forth a few times and then they sent that color to me and I actually liked it. I said no, this is great. So we just went with it.

LRI: Oh, okay, cool. Finally, last year was the 25th anniversary of Mother Head.

Richie: Yes.

LRI: Do you own the masters for that? Would there be a chance of a re-release, physical product?

Richie: I believe that I do because when a record like that goes out of production there’s a sell off period and it’s out of print. So, that’s definitely something worth looking at and at the very least it should be up streaming. So I think that’s something that we’re going to look into.

LRI: Cool. Yeah, that’s my all time favorite record so I had to ask.

Richie: Thanks.

LRI: All right, well. Is there anything else you wanted to announce or talk about touring, anything?

Richie: There’s going to be a tour. We’re starting in the Northeast. There are dates on my website, but not all the dates are up. We’re still putting that tour together. And so the idea is start in the Northeast, work our way down and across the country. And then at that point it’s finished probably in July and take a few months off or maybe take one month off rather and then go to Europe in September. And the European dates I believe are all locked in.

LRI: Are you going to be offering VIP Meet & Greets during your US tour?

Richie: Yes!

    

LRI: Cool. I’ve been pestering the booking guy from the Cotillion there in Wichita to get after you, but I don’t know if he has?

Richie: Well, TKO is the agency and all they got to do is reach out to Jim Lenz at TKO and he books me, so there you go.

LRI: Yeah, because last time you were at the Cotillion was on the Mother Head’s tour and I was locked up in a detention center.

Richie: Oh wow! That sucks.

LRI: I was a 16 year old punk so I deserved it and didn’t get to go to that show.

Richie: Oh, man!

LRI: I was so pissed.

Richie: That sucks.

LRI: Actually when the Mother Head’s DVD came out, 10, 15 years ago, there’s footage from that show in there because it’s one of those old band shells but indoors.

Richie: Yeah, yeah.

LRI: I was, whoa at least I get to see some of the footage. All right, I’m going to let you get back to your other interviews and enjoying your vacation. It was good talking to you again.

Richie: Excellent! All right. Well, thank you very much. Always a pleasure!

LRI: All right, you take care.

Richie: Okay, bye.

_______________________________________________

All photos except where noted by Larry DiMarzio.

Thank you to Joe Schaeffer Photography, Larry DiMarzio and Amanda at ABC Public Relations.

Visit Richie Kotzen on the net:
https://www.richiekotzen.com

Buy ’50 For 50′ on AMAZON:

 

Tags: #50for50, 50 For 50, ABC Public Relations, ABC-PR, Adrian Smith, Another FN Podcast, dylan wilson, Forty Deuce, full-image, funk, Greg Howe, Iron Maiden, Izzy Presley, Joe Bonamassa, Joe Schaeffer, Joe Schaeffer Photography, Julia Lage, Larry DiMarzio, MHFR, Monsters of Rock Cruise, MORC X, Mother Head's Family Reunion, Mr. Big, poison, Primal Rock Rebellion, Prince, r&b, Richie Kotzen, RK3, rock, Rock Candy Funk Party, Shrapnal Records, shred, shredding, Slow, soul, Tal Bergman, The Winery Dogs, Turks & Caicos, Vertú, Wilson Hawk

Category: Interviews