Richard Fortus - Plays Great Guitar, Will Travel - The Rock Guitar Daily Interview

"Uh, well, I don't work with him in the real world, I work with him in our world!" ~ Richard Fortus on working with Axl Rose for the last ten years.

Richard Fortus' world is that of the guitar for hire - whether it's his long standing position in Guns N' Roses, his stints with Thin Lizzy or The Psychedelic Furs, as session star, or in his new gig as lead player/songwriter for The Dead Daisies, you can be certain that it's never long between calls to duty.

I first came across Richard in 2011 when he was touring with Thin Lizzy as Scott Gorham's co-guitarist. At the time I wrote:

"I was completely unprepared and shocked when I heard him with the band at this summer's Hellfest in France. Actually that performance may have ruined me for any version of the band in which Fortus does not play. His is simply the most recognizable guitar voice to hit the band since Gary Moore. This isn't a knock on Sykes, either - John is a magnificent player, but I always felt him a bit too metal for Thin Lizzy, and better utilized in Whitesnake, Blue Murder, and his solo career. However, Richard Fortus sounded incredible and very in-context with the Lizzies. His playing was exuberant, filled with passion, mad chops, and his tone....well, his tone may actually be as good as any hard rock tone I've ever heard."

He's currently enmeshed with The Dead Daisies, an up and coming band from Australia - formed by ex-INXS frontman Jon Stevens, the group toured through the summer in their homeland with Aerosmith and ZZ Top, and more recently across America as part of the Rockstar Energy Uproar Festival. Fortus is emerging as lead guitarist/co-writer for the band for their second album, and with the rhythm section of Charlie Drayton and Darryl Jones coming on board, this will be one to watch.

I recently caught up with Richard at the Shoreline Amphitheater outside of San Francisco, and I started there, asking about the festival appearances:

Richard Fortus: "It's been going really well - it's being received very well, which is great!

"We're getting a great response, we're selling a lot of CDs and merchandise. Unfortunately, I didn't have a chance to have anything to do with the first record, but we've been writing and recording, and that's been going great!"

The Dead Daisies debut album is chock full of great tunes, written by singer Jon Stevens and guitarist David Lowy, and the promise of some superior instrumental assistance should make this band a can't miss - I asked Richard how he came to join the band:

Richard Fortus: "Actually, it was through drummer Charlie Drayton - Charlie had been working with Jon and David, they're the ones that did the first record together. Charlie got involved, and he called me. 

"The new stuff is super great - we did three songs on our days off that we recorded in New York, and we'll be finishing those up next week. It's a total band situation - these three songs are songs I wrote with Jon. He's a fantastic singer and writer. Charlie Drayton is coming back to the band for this next run in November and December, so he'll be back and also, Darryl Jones (Rolling Stones) will be playing bass."

I had seen Jones working with Richard before in an awesome performance with Martha Reeves and The Crystal Method on the Jimmy Kimmel show - I had to ask how that gig came about:

Richard Fortus: "The Crystal Method guys - I've done some records with them before, and they had called and asked if I could help them put a band together to do that show, so I put that whole thing together. I called Brain (Brian Mantia - Guns N' Roses drummer) and Darryl, and The Tower of Power Horns. It came out really cool."

Fortus' day job for the last twelve years has been as a guitarist with the notorious Guns N' Roses. I inquired as to how he got that prestigious position:

Richard Fortus: "Well, I had originally gotten a call back in about 2000, asking me if I would be interested in auditioning for G N' R. 

"I was living in New York City at that time, but I was coming out to Los Angeles to do a record in two weeks after they called, so I said, 'Yeah, I'm going to be out there, and we could do it at that time. 

"I spoke with them a few more times, but I didn't hear anything back and didn't know what was going on - it just wasn't happening. So I got out to LA to do the record, and there was Tommy Stinson and Josh Freese - I said that I found it ironic that you guys would be doing this, because I had received a call for an audition with G N' R just last week. They said, 'Oh yeah, you're the guy! Axl found this guy Buckethead, and we cancelled the auditions. So, that was the first time I got the call. 

"Then, Tommy and I became really good friends, and the next time they needed somebody, which was like a year later, they called me - and that was to fill the Izzy slot."

Of course, you can't speak with anyone from the Guns N' Roses camp and not ask about what it is like to work with Axl Rose in the real world:

Richard Fortus: "Um....well, I don't work with him in the real world, I work with him in our world! (much laughter) 

"He's great to work with - I've never had any issues. You read all this stuff, but it's really not what I see. The tyrannical monster is not what I deal with - my experience has been nothing but positive. He's a great musician."

Whether it's Steve Lukather, Steve Hunter, Doug Aldrich, or any other super guitar sessioneer I interview, I always ask how it is that they get A-list calls:

Richard Fortus: "You know, that's a really good question! 

"I think a lot of it has to do with besides being the player you are - it has to do with who you are as a person, and how people relate to you as a musician. 

"Before I was touring a lot, when I first joined Psychedelic Furs, I had moved to New York and started doing sessions. Hundreds of sessions, that was mostly what I was doing. I couldn't really afford to go on the road because I was making more money just being in New York and doing sessions. 

"Whether it be TV commercials, movie scores, or playing on people's records. Writing TV themes, things like that. 

"I think the reason I got so many calls from so many producers to play on records was just because they could relate to me in terms of using references, and things like that. They could say, 'I'm looking for an Echo and The Bunnymen type thing, a Paul Kossoff type tone on this, and I would know not only who they were talking about, but also how to get that tone - what kind of amp, guitar, and pedal combinations. 

"It's knowing these things, and knowing the references - the type of playing required. That really got me a lot of work. That's what really got me connected, and that's the way you relate to artists."

Switching gears, I mention that Richard's playing first got my attention via Trace Davis of Voodoo Amplification - again, it was Fortus' work with Thin Lizzy that enthralled me. I asked him about his working relationship with his amp guru:

Richard Fortus: "Well, Trace has done so many things for me - he's modded Marshalls for me, modded Kelley Amps for me, Kelley amps, the designer from Selmer left the company and started his own shop. I'm a big fan of their amps, and Trace has done a couple of those for me, he's done Park amps, Vox - he's done a bunch of stuff for me. 

"I love his attention to detail. He was the guy that successfully cloned my main Marshall, which is a '73 100 watt Jose modded amp that I bought from Mick Mars. 

"Motley Crue wasn't doing anything at that point, and Mick was getting rid of a bunch of gear. I was invited over to his house, and I played through a dozen or so amps, all Jose modded Marshalls. 

"I plugged into this one and just hit one chord, and it blew my head off. That was his #1 amp, his recording amp. It then became my main Marshall. 

"I had been trying to have it cloned for a long time, and finally I came to Trace, and he cloned it - a fantastic job, and after that he became my 'go to' guy for amps. 

"We've designed an amp - we're going to release it as a signature model amp. Basically, the clean channel is based on my favorite Plexi which is a '68 PA, a 50 watt p.a. head, and it has a boost to it, as well. The other channel is based on that '73 Jose mod, and it also has a foot switchable boost for leads. 

"It's almost like a four channel amp, but it's really just two channels. I am really excited about that amp! 

"It's what I've been using live, and it's like having my four favorite Marshalls in one box, which is amazing. I've been using it with Guns N' Roses for the last year, and we've been tweaking and refining it. Lately, I've been using it with a Strat, plugging straight into it on The Dead Daisies stuff, and it's just been amazing."

I had seen clips from the Daisies tour, and I asked if it was a Trussart he has been playing:

Richard Fortus: "Yeah, his guitars are just incredible! I've been on a big Tommy Bolin kick lately, so I've really been loving my Strats again, after a long time away from them. The pickups are based on a '60s slab board that I own. Arcane Pickups copied them, and they did a great job, they sound phenomenal."

I then asked about his stint in the legendary Thin Lizzy:

Richard Fortus: "Oh, man - I grew up listening to Lizzy, so for me, it was sort of a dream come true to be able to play harmonies with Scott Gorham. 

"Absolutely phenomenal. 

"It was an amazing experience. When I got that call, I couldn't believe it, I was so excited to do it. Sort of living out a rock 'n' roll fantasy. Realizing, and I told Scott this, as I was learning the songs, and I realized how much of an influence their Live and Dangerous album had on my ideal of what the perfect guitar sound was, what the rock guitar tone was. 

"And he was like, 'Really?' 

"Yeah, man, the Les Pauls and the Marshalls - he said, 'Well, Richard, I hate to burst your bubble, but that was all we had! We had old amps, a couple of years old, and that's all we could afford! I had my phaser, a script logo Phase 90, and Brian had his booster, a '70s JMP, and an 808 (Ibanez TS-808 Tube Screamer).' 

"The Lizzy gig was definitely a highlight of my career."

Speaking of the Lizzy gig, I asked Richard about playing alongside 'the world's bassist,' Marco Mendoza, who also spent the summer touring with Fortus in The Dead Daisies:

Richard Fortus: "He is one of the most phenomenal bass players I've ever worked with - he totally 'gets' the bass. 

"He's capable of playing anything, but it's what he chooses to play that is so awesome. I didn't realize what a monster he was until the first few weeks I was on tour with him. 

"He plays his parts absolutely machine-like - very, very solid, but I didn't realize he was the chops guy that he is until like three weeks into the tour - we were backstage jamming, and he took a solo, and I was like, ' Oh my God! Where did you come from?' He's phenomenal, and the way he sings - he's got an incredible voice!"

And, so it goes - I find more and more, that when I have the pleasure of speaking with someone who is a master of not just his instrument, but of the art form, the best players are all about sharing the glory, getting along with band mates, and checking their egos at the door. Richard Fortus gets the A-list calls because he's an A-list individual and musician, it's as simple as that.

Voodoo Amps and Trace Davis - The New Kings of Live and Loud?

Fifteen years ago, Trace Davis took a natural attraction for electronics and a love for rock 'n' roll, and founded Voodoo Amps. Today he stands at the top of the heap, servicing the amps of ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons, Aerosmith, Rammstein, Alice Cooper's band, Mark Tremonti, and building Voodoo Amps  masterpieces for the masses. He does it one customer at a time, and the customers could not be happier.

Trace Davis on the job.

I considered not writing up anything about our recent chat and simply reprinting examples of Trace's letters from his customers, which are probably the most enthusiastic and effusive I have ever seen - whether he is modifying a Fender Vibro-King, a wall of Rectifiers, or delivering one of his own, Davis seems to receive raves from those he serves, and in these days that says a tremendous amount about his commitment to his customers, and to great tones.

Voodoo Amps came to my attention back in 2011, when I happened to view a video of Thin Lizzy's performance at Hellfest in France. Vivian Campbell (a Voodoo endorsee who has a prototype Signature preamp - the VC-2 and utilizes Voodoo V-Plex amps) had just left the band and had been replaced by Richard Fortus of Guns 'N' Roses fame. Two things about this performance blew me away - one was the passion and excitement contained within Fortus's playing, he was the most exciting co-guitarist I had seen next to Scott Gorham since a young Gary Moore. I realize that this is a subjective opinion, but I also acknowledge that I am favorably comparing him to some amazing players, but I feel he earns it. The other thing that amazed me was the tone coming from Fortus's amps. He was using a Voodoo Custom V-Rock 100 and the tone was amongst the finest I've ever heard - goose-bump good.

Trace recently had the honor and pleasure of modifying thirteen (13) Marshall JMP-1 preamps for none other than arguably the king of tone, Billy Gibbons - who also gave a Voodoo V-Rock head the once over:

Trace: "All thirteen JMP-1s had been on the road for years and as such, had drifted a bit - they no longer sounded quite the same, and the requirement was to make them indistinguishable from one another. I performed the same JMP-1 Platinum Mod that we offer on our website. 

"We meticulously went through each, so that when all was said and done, they would be identical to one another. Of course, I grew up listening to Billy, so it was an honor to work with him! I always loved his sense of phrasing and he has had such great tones throughout his career. I am thrilled to no end that he enjoys the tones and feel of his preamps. 

"He also played through one of my amps that I had brought along - I didn't know if he would have an interest or not, and I took a chance and brought one along. Things were very hectic backstage, and Billy was there one minute and gone the next, but when we finished up, he stopped by and played for a few minutes through the amp. He played for a bit, and then handed the guitar back to his tech, Elwood Francis, and you can imagine how thrilled I was when he said, 'Son, that's one hell of an amp you got there.' Tony, if I died tomorrow, I would die a happy man"

Aerosmith's Brad Whitford and his Voodoo

Trace spends much of his summers being deeply immersed in the touring season, servicing back-lines as a technician and consultant to the biggest acts on the road - last year he spent much of the day re-tubing, biasing, and otherwise making sure that there would be no technical difficulties with Aerosmith's extensive amp back line. You have to appreciate that none of these thirteen amps are of the same model and make - they run the gamut from yesterday's tweed classics, British standbys, and a superb collection of modern boutique beauties, and Davis tends and tweaks them all:

Trace: "I think that when I do support for an act, I go a bit deeper than most. I basically service all of the amps, and I also try to make sure their guitar techs are comfortable when I leave. Doing a band like Aerosmith, well, that makes for a long day as they are able to bring out and use as many amps as they like on the road. 

"I recently did Alice Cooper's back-line and one of the things I got into was with Orianthi's amps. They were brand new, but they were a bit noisy on the high gain channel, so I helped her tech move some ISP Decimaters around in the rig to help quiet things down. You just have to listen to the player, listen to the amp and address their needs."

Scott Ian approved!

If you're wondering how Trace got into the amp business, well, the apple apparently falls not far from the tree:

Trace: "My father worked for the Westinghouse Corporation, and part of his job was overseeing the production of vacuum tubes. Westinghouse made their own tubes, but they also OEM'd tubes for GE, RCA, and many others. Then much later, I owned an amazing '68 Marshall Plexi, and one day I was playing it and lightning struck nearby and shorted out the amp's output tubes and transformers. The amp was never the same after that, and ironically, that's what got me into this business - trying to duplicate that perfect tone. 

"A few years later, a gentleman brought a very late '68 or early '69 Plexi into our shop for servicing. We service and refurbish a lot of old Marshalls, but this was the first one that truly captured that lost tone! I couldn't believe it. Of course, the fellow had no desire to part with his amp, but after several offers I finally purchased it. That amp became the basis for our V-series of amps. 

"We sent the transformer to Mercury Magnetics to be cloned - I wanted every player to be able to experience that tone without having to go through a bunch of old amps to find it."

Mark Tremonti and Trace dialing in Tones.

The topic of transformers is one dear to Trace Davis - he feels that the transformers are the heart of the amp, and he has worked closely with Mercury Magnetics to insure that his designs are seen through to the highest quality. He also is a big proponent of transformer upgrades when doing modifications - Voodoo Amps is the largest mod shop in the world, and Davis and company can tackle most any amp and make it all it can be:

Trace: "We have modified literally thousands of amps - we have Standardized modifications, but that's just the beginning. We spend a lot of time with customers, finding out exactly what they are looking for when they want a modification done. While most customers love our Standard Mods, some players have more specific needs, or needs outside the ordinary, and we are here to meet those needs."

One of my favorite Trace/Voodoo amp modification stories comes from a fellow who was looking for a certain tone that he heard on AC/DC's tune, Night Prowler. After several phone sessions, and the customary filling out of the Mod Form that helps break down the customers complete signal chain, he received an additional e-mail from Davis, from which I will quote:

Trace: " Bill, I spent most of the day and all morning making some fine line tweaks based on the song you referenced. 

"AC/DC Night Prowler tone - when you listen to the studio version the guitar tone is great (truly). However - there are (2) different guitars creating the tone you are hearing. Combined, they sound great. 

"I tried to morph both tones together in the Treble channel, going by the guitar/pickups you have, speaker cabinets, speakers, etc. I would recommend plugging into the Treble channel only to start with. Set the Preamp/Gain control full up/wide open. Set Treble, Mids, Presence to 12:00, and the Bass to 10:00. Raise up the Master and play - this should be a good starting point."

The customer went on to rave about how the exact tone he sought had been achieved and how Davis had made the entire transaction one of ease and enjoyment.

Customer service above and beyond the call of duty seems to be Trace Davis and Voodoo's stock-in-trade. A visit to the company's Facebook page finds a wall covered in customer love. I asked Trace where such a devotion found its beginnings, and his answer was simple - it all kind of starts with the old Golden Rule. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Of course, we know that in the every day hustle and bustle of life it's not always that easy, but I have always found Trace to be not just receptive, but eager to be of assistance in any way possible at any time.

New products are often the lifeblood of the boutique amp builder, and the latest addition to Voodoo's amp line, the ODS-60, might be Davis's boldest move yet. After building his reputation as the lord of live and loud, Trace has now went after the 'holy grail' of boutique amps, but at a fraction of the price of a genuine Dumble. Davis stops short of direct comparisons, but is confident that the amp is what it is intended to be, and as such opens yet a new avenue of tones for Voodoo lovers.

Also, Davis has done what some have called impossible - he has built an iso-cabinet that actually works and sounds great. It's built to reduce volume by 30 dB and will retain a tight and full bottom end at up to 130 dB. He told me that the Iso Cab took over two years to design and R&D to get it where he felt confident to offer it to a public that had been failed too many times by isolation cabinets that simply didn't deliver.

So - when he's not making loud better, Trace Davis is making louder more tolerable and usable at home, onstage, and in studios. There are loads of great amps out there, but to my ears nobody is doing the classic 50 and 100 watt heads better than Voodoo Amps - even if their name isn't seen on the stage, there's a good chance that amps you are seeing may have been made better by David and his crew at Voodoo.

Click here to hear loads of great Voodoo Amp samples on Soundcloud!

He's even a great matchmaker - when we spoke, we talked about a couple of friends of ours - one Trace's and one of mine, who had never met. One needs a hot guitar player, the other is looking to spread his wings a bit and work with yet another world class vocalist. We arranged an introduction, and as fate would have it, they both happened to be on the same island continent at the same time. A match made in heaven? Hahaha, we'll have to see, but if it's not it won't be for a shortage of effort and genuine good will. Trace Davis is a great amp builder, designer (did I forget to mention that he does a tremendous business as a design consultant for some very large, unnameable amp companies?), and modification/restoration specialist, but even above all that he's a helluva guy and a damned decent human being - who could ask for anything more, I ask?

EDIT: Huge thanks to Trace Davis - even after the fact, he's making things better with some great facts and pics to help make this article better.