DizzyReed

Dizzy up the Girl
Interview with Guns n’ Roses Keyboardist Dizzy Reed
By Debbie Rao
May 9, 2004

Dizzy Reed is one of rock’s premier keyboard players and has been a member of Guns n’Roses for 14 years. He joined the band in 1990 and played his first concert with the Guns in 1991 at the Rock in Rio concert. Dizzy got started in music at a very early age. By sixth grade, Dizzy formed his first band and was taught by his grandmother how to play the organ. In 1985, Dizzy moved to L.A. and formed a band called The Wild. The band had a rehearsal hall right next to the original Guns n' Roses and Axl Rose and Dizzy soon became friends. Dizzy says,” From early on Axl said, I want to add a keyboard player and you are one”. The rest is history. Dizzy’s side project Dizzy Reed and Hookers-N-Blow were formed in early 2004 by New England natives Alex Grossi, and Matt Starr. The band was formed when Dizzy was asked to appear on the upcoming Beautiful Creatures album. Grossi says” I have always been a GnR fan. Having Dizzy play on the record was great. So we decided to take it a step further and put it on the road. The response has been great. You forget just how big GnR is and Dizzy has been a member for 14 years. On our last tour, we would show up at clubs and there would be a stack of fan mail from all over the world for Dizzy.” Dizzy Reed and Hookers-N-Blow will be embarking on an East Coast tour on June 3. They will be playing some GnR tunes, some classic rock standards, plus some new original tunes. I had the chance to do a phone interview with Dizzy to help promote the tour. The interview gives some insight on Dizzy’s latest solo project and his musical influences leading up to the days before he joined the greatest Rock n' Roll band in the word Guns N’Roses.

Hi Dizzy- I hear you are getting ready to embark on an East Coast tour, where will you be playing? I think we start in New York on June 3, and then we head up to Boston to play the Hard Rock Café June 4, and then the Webster Theater in Hartford on June 6. Tickets for the Hard Rock show are available online at www.harpersferryboston.com. Alex and Matt from Beautiful Creatures, Troy Patrick Farrell, and Curtis Longfellow are in the band, it is called Hookers-N-Blow.
Cool, are you playing any original tunes this time around? I think we will be. The plan is to go into the studio soon. I don’t think we will have it finished by the time we play the East Coast though. But our goal is to have it finished by summer.
That is great! Now you played a few shows in L.A. Last weekend, how did that go?
It went great. It was fine. L.A. is always a little bit different than playing on the East Coast and the Mid-west. I think people appreciate music a little more in the Mid-west.

They appreciate music a little more on the East Coast too. It seems like we are sill stuck in the 80’s here. I think L.A. is stuck in the Nirvana/grunge age out there. What do you think? Some people are!! I think there are a lot more musicians and people out here trying to be famous. For the most part if you are doing something good and you have a good band, it is cool. People have their own special way in L.A. The music scene doesn’t involve energy or clapping, but if you do good people will talk about it.

Now last time I saw you, you played a lot of Rolling Stones tunes. Tell me some of your favorite artists that inspired you to become a musician. Well as you figured out, the Stones, definitely. I particularly like the early Stones from the 1970’s, the Mick Taylor era. That is the music I grew up on and Kiss a lot, a lot of the seventies bands

How did you get started in music? I formed my first band in 6th grade in Colorado, where I grew up. I never really took any lessons. My grandmother taught me how to play organ. I kind of picked it up on my own from there.

I was impressed by your keyboard players and vocals, when I saw you perform at the Lucky Dog. When did you start singing? I always played Keyboard or piano on the side and I thought there would be more opportunity if I sang. It kind of paid off.

When did you move to L.A.? I moved to L.A. in 1988. I was in a band called the Wild for about 5 years. We met the guys from Guns and Roses early on.

How did you meet Axl Rose? When I first moved to Hollywood with the rest of the band we hit it off. It was Axl’s plan from early on to add a keyboard player and he told me that I would be it.

When did you join Guns n’Roses? In 1990, I came on to play on the “Use Your Illusion” record. The Wild had a rehearsal studio in Hollywood and GnR moved in next store. It was kind of like a live-in 24 hour studio. We all lived there. Axl always said, we are eventually going to add a keyboard player and it will be you. By that time, they had become huge.

Wow! That is great story, you were perfect for the gig! The first concert I played with them was Rock IN Rio in 1991.

How many people were there? There were about 100.000 to 120,000 people there.

What is your favorite country to play in Europe? We went to Dublin, Ireland, that was fantastic, there a lot of cool places there.

How do European audiences differ from American audiences? I think that European audiences are a little more respectful. They are like a little bit more fanatical about it. Japan is great! It is kind of hard to hide there.

That is true. Tell me about your upcoming solo album? What kind of sound are you aiming for? I think it will be something like you hear from our influences. A lot of it is going to be hard and heavy with a modern sound. I will be playing a little bit of everything!

What can the fans expect see to on your upcoming East Coast tour? We will mix the music up. Some of the older standards and some original stuff too. Definitely a good time to get drunk and have a good time too.

Sounds like a great night of live music, I look forward to hearing your new tunes at the Hard Rock in Boston June 4, and the fan can get tickets at www.Harpersferryboston.com. Thank you Dizzy Tell everyone to come and see Hookers-N-Blow and you will have a good time!

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