Glenn Hughes and Doug Aldridge of the Dead Daisies were nice enough to jump on Zoom with me to discuss their upcoming album, Radiance. They've released three songs already, as we talked about the writing process of the record, if the pandemic played into it and more.
Glenn gives us a health update, as he recently fought off Covid himself and was forced to miss some tour dates. Doug hoped on a few minutes after we started, but also talked about the album, working with Blackie Lawless from W.A.S.P. (sort of) and playing with a legend like Glenn. There are some local Detroit ties to the band, which we also discussed.
Glenn gives us a health update, as he recently fought off Covid himself and was forced to miss some tour dates. Doug hoped on a few minutes after we started, but also talked about the album, working with Blackie Lawless from W.A.S.P. (sort of) and playing with a legend like Glenn. There are some local Detroit ties to the band, which we also discussed.
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FunTranscript
00:00Thank you so much for watching Riff TV. Now this interview is obviously with video, but I don't
00:05interview everybody on Zoom. That's why I put it on my Talkin' Rock with Meltdown podcast. We talk
00:10to rock artists from all over the genre. So check out Talkin' Rock with Meltdown wherever you get
00:15your podcasts. And now to today's video interview. Glenn, good to see you. How's things?
00:23All fantastico. How about you?
00:25I'm doing great. How are you recovering from your bout with COVID?
00:30You know, I was the last, well, there was like, I was the last guy in the band to get
00:36it. So when I got it, I thought, well, you know, how many more are going to get it? So
00:42I had a pretty bad case of it. So there's no way I could have continued. So I'm glad the
00:48guys had a chance to continue. And now we're all home getting ready for the next run of
00:54shows, which of course is the United States coming up very soon.
00:57Well, before we go on any further, it took two guys to do the job of one Glenn Hughes.
01:02All right.
01:03Yeah. I mean, they did really well and they came in under really no notice at all. And
01:09they did a remarkable job. I'm really glad for everyone that they could continue and
01:14fulfill the commitment.
01:16Yeah. So you're talking about these running shows here in the States. So that starts up
01:21pretty soon. Of course, the record drops on September 30th. So talk about that. Radiance.
01:24Yeah. You know, the album start with I got together with Doug exactly around two, two
01:33years ago to start privately start making new music because Holy Ground had just come
01:38out, as you know. So I came up with 10 songs, six of which are on the album.
01:45Okay. So that two years, two years ago was the foundation of what would become the album
01:53called Radiance. And funny enough, Radiance was the first song that I came up with. So
01:57I'm glad it's the title track.
01:59Now I see that Doug is trying to get in here. I didn't realize that he was.
02:02Yeah.
02:02I thought you guys are going to be like together in the same room. So when I just saw you,
02:05I just thought it was going to be you.
02:07No, no. We're always together. He's at his house. I'm at my house too.
02:12I see. I'll tell you what, while he's trying to check in here.
02:16Yeah.
02:16So how much did the pandemic play into this record? There's Doug right there. Doug,
02:20we'll get to you in a second here. I'm talking to you for a second, but.
02:23No, it played a part in the fact that Doug and I were able to privately get together in
02:30our own homes and work on new music and, you know, keep the flag flying, you know?
02:36So again, we had a good head start to make the album. So, and here we are talking to you about
02:42it. So we're very happy. Doug,
02:44I was just telling Glenn before you got on that I thought that perhaps you guys are going to be
02:47together. So when I just saw Glenn, I thought that maybe you were going to be there. So I
02:50apologize for starting early here, but we won't forget.
02:53Oh no, it's all, it's all good, man. No worries. How are you?
02:56I'm doing great. We're here in Detroit, just talking about the new record. And I just asked Glenn about,
03:00you know, how the pandemic kind of played into it, but he, he just kind of mentioned that,
03:04like, you know, you guys were, had a chance to get together, but did, as far as the writing,
03:08the song, anything like that, have anything to do with the pandemic or no?
03:11Well, I mean, as Glenn probably told you, we, we, we got together and started, we were actually
03:16going to do a concept record during that pandemic. And so we started banging through some, Glenn had
03:22a few ideas and then we went and demoed those up. We ended up getting busy promoting the album.
03:28So we, we didn't get, we didn't go through it, but a couple of those songs, I think there's a,
03:33there's five of those songs on that made it on the album. And, uh, we, we came up with six or
03:38seven other songs as well. And, uh, so we, it was, it was a start. It did have something to do
03:45with it because during the pandemic, we got together to start doing demos. Yeah. It was
03:49important. I'm glad we did that. We had a good head start. And we just talked about this a few
03:54minutes ago that Glenn couldn't make some of the shows there in the UK. What was it like to have
03:57five guys up there on stage, Doug? Oh, that was, uh, it was, it was nerve wracking because,
04:03you know, we were working as a tight machine and, and we thought we were going home, but then at the
04:08end, um, it became a possibility that we could carry on and finish out our commitments, which is
04:13what we did. But, you know, there's no replacing Glenn. It was a completely different situation.
04:18Yeah. No, I just thought it was a great opportunity for the band to look, look, it was 11 week tour
04:25and it's a long time for anybody, any age group to, and especially in this climate. So as you know,
04:34a lot of bands are pulling out, canceling people getting COVID everywhere. God bless them,
04:40but we were able to continue and fulfill our commitments. Yeah, that's great. So what is it
04:45like to, to release a new record, Doug? What do you, what do you, what is, what is the feelings
04:49when you release an album? Well, it's exciting, man, because, you know, like, like, um, we're,
04:54you know, we're really, really, really happy with the album. We've been playing a couple of those
04:58songs live, but on this U S run that we're getting ready to do, we're going to be playing four of those
05:02songs. And to be honest, they don't, the, the, they, nobody's been able to capture the live sound
05:09that we've got. So the album sounds great, but live it's better. It's better. It's a, it's a,
05:14it's a wacky scenario because these songs, uh, some of the songs on Holy ground sound way better
05:22live than they do record. And they sound great recorded, but for some great reason, these songs
05:29tick all the boxes when we play them live. Well, you guys have a very live sound and feel,
05:35of course, you know, it's funny. I just saw Metallica the other night. I'm not a fan of St.
05:39Anger, but they ripped out one of the songs from St. Anger and all those songs sound better when they
05:43play them live. Yeah, I guess. Now, listen, you're in Detroit. Just so you know, that's a big place
05:48for the dead days. Isn't a big place for me because I just love Detroit. Now, wasn't Detroit the first
05:55major show you ever played or no in deep purple. It was purple. Yeah. Uh, yes, it was. You're right.
06:03It was, uh, February of 70, 74. Yeah. Cause, uh, yeah, your friend David Carverdale has told me that
06:10about many times. Yes. It's true. Two shows at the Cobo hall. It was fantastic. Yeah. Hey Doug,
06:17what are your, uh, what are your favorite memories of Detroit? You had to come through here a bunch
06:21of times. Yeah. I, one of them is playing at the Fox theater. It was white snake and scorpions and,
06:28um, Ted Nugent showed up and the Nuge. Yeah. And he, he wanted to jam with the scorpions. And so he
06:36didn't have a guitar and he, so I loaned him my Les Paul and they didn't react. They
06:41didn't, I don't think they knew what was in store because he came running out on stage
06:45and just took over the stage. It was like, it's a scorpions show and he's playing Rocky
06:50like a hurricane with them and just owning the stage. So that was fun memory. And then
06:55always pine knob. It's called DTE now, I guess, but back to pine knob. Oh, it's back to
07:00pine knob. Okay, cool. Yeah. I mean, that's the famous venue. There's been so much history
07:04there and, uh, I love it. Always love playing there. Yeah. We were just talking about this
07:10the other day that Metallica asked Ted Nugent to come on stage. And one of my friends told
07:14the guys from Metallica, you better be ready to give up your stage. And they actually unplugged
07:19Ted's guitar, I think. But I think, uh, Glenn, didn't you tell me about playing at the Fox
07:22one time? Yeah, I played there with the, the bill was, this is a great bill. It was Jay
07:28Giles band, uh, uh, and, um, Gary Brooker's band, Prokel Harum and Trapeze. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah,
07:39exactly. Yeah. That was pre D purple. 1972. Okay. Now you're dating. I was only, I was only five
07:48years old, by the way. I was three. So I know the feeling, but, uh, Hey, speaking of Detroit,
07:54of course, there's a little bit of Detroit roots that's gone through the dead daisies. Talk about
07:58playing with, uh, Tommy. Yeah. Incredible. The loudest drummer I have ever, and I played with
08:04everybody, but that guy has got a big foot and he's allowed. He's a great, great, great thunderous
08:12drummer. Yeah. Doug, what do you think? I love him. He's, he's, he's very proud of his roots in
08:19Detroit. He's a man's man. You know, he's like, he's, he's, he's one of those guys that you don't
08:26want to mess with because you will get, you know, he'll, he'll, he'll put a hurting on you. And that's
08:30what he grew up like, you know, he's like, yeah, that's how it is, man. You don't, you know, you
08:34don't run away from this or that. You just deal with it. That's how he was. But yeah, as, as Glenn said,
08:39he was, I'm, my ears are still ringing from playing with Tommy. He was, uh, and I guess, again,
08:45I played with everybody. He's the loudest drummer for sure. Yeah. I saw you guys play with him at
08:49the, uh, Tokyo last time you guys came through. Yeah. It was so unbelievable. Yeah. What a great
08:53show, man. You guys are so great. Thank you. Yeah. Thank you. Uh, Doug, I was going to ask you,
08:58what's it like to play with a legend like Glenn on stage? Glenn has impressed me every single time
09:02he's taken on stage. Of course he impressed me. He impresses everybody, impresses me too, more than,
09:08than probably anybody I've seen. I've worked with Glenn, been friends with Glenn for a long time,
09:14but I'll tell you a funny story. We were playing in, um, he, he, he brought me out on a solo tour
09:20in 2015 and we had a show in Tokyo and he was doing soundcheck and, you know, he just walks up
09:27really gingerly and puts on the bass and all of a sudden, it was just like, it was like a rhinoceros
09:33exploding and the drums were playing and he's got his bass and he's singing. I'm like, we don't need me.
09:40Well, if you told me that I was going to be friends with Glenn Hughes, when I was a kid,
09:47I would have been like, yeah, right. You know, Doug, Doug and I have got a great,
09:50great friendship. Very, very close. Not only friends, but actually, you know,
09:54playing on stage and Glenn, I've told you this several times, but you had your trials and
09:59tribulations, uh, back in the day, you've cleaned up, you've straightened up and man, I, I just can't
10:04say enough good things about when I see you on stage. Thank you. You know, the, the, the changing point in my
10:09life is when I surrendered to the fact that I may have a problem at the bar. So when I stopped
10:14drinking and using, it's like, it's been almost four decades now. So yeah, three decades, sorry.
10:22And is that your watchdog in the background? Yeah, I've got three watchdogs and they're all
10:27looking at me like, what's going on, daddy? So talk about, uh, Brian Tishy getting back in the band.
10:33Um, my fave, my fave drummer. I'm so glad Brian's back. So it's glad Brian's back.
10:40He is, uh, he's the, he's the best drummer in the world right now. There's, I don't think there's
10:44anybody that can, can compete with him. He's just got the best groove. He's, he knows exactly what
10:50to do for each song and you can hear on the album. He just, he threw down. It was amazing.
10:54Yeah. He's when I was working, I've worked with Brian like for a long time, working with him on
11:00this album in the studio. He's a very musical drummer. Very, very musical. And when we take
11:06these songs live, he's very, very serious. Yeah. That's the groove. Very serious about
11:10groove as a bass player. For me, it speaks volumes that when you're working with a drummer that
11:16understands groove, it's just, it's a beautiful thing. Originally, originally they wanted, uh,
11:22David covered out when he was putting white snake back together after his hiatus, he wanted
11:27Brian Tishy and Brian was busy working with Billy Idol at the time. So we didn't have him.
11:31We got, and we got, of course, Tommy Aldridge is amazing. Um, but eventually a couple, maybe
11:37it was about six or seven years later, Tommy went off to do thin Lizzie and we got Brian
11:42Tishy and do an album with white saying, and man, I've just fell in love with this playing
11:47ever since. And so when I joined the Dead Daisies in 2016, Brian was, was in the band at the time.
11:53And so I was really excited about getting back together, playing with Brian and then now he's
11:59back again. So it's, it's amazing. And of course, not only playing, but you got to have people that
12:04you can hang out with, uh, outside the stage, right? That's, that's a big thing. People don't
12:09realize that you, if you're going to be in a band together, you got to be getting along because
12:14you, you, you're traveling in a, in close proximity all the time and seeing each other
12:19every day. It's important that you get along. Yeah. You see, the camaraderie in this, this
12:25band is strong. So that's a really good thing. And speaking of more Detroit ties, uh, Glenn,
12:30you've had a chance to play several times with my friend, Chad Smith, guys that have a groove.
12:35Yeah. He's been on four of my albums and one live album. Yeah. He's my, one of my closest
12:42friends ever. And his family are very close to me and my wife. So I've got father to one
12:46of his children. Yeah. I can't say enough about Chad Smith. Uh, again, one of the top
12:53three drummers of all time. So, but again, more importantly, he's a very dear friend of
12:58mine, a brother figure. Yeah. I just brought his mom up on stage the other day. She's 95.
13:04Yes. God bless her. She's a lovely lady. Yeah, she is the best. He would tell me stories
13:08back in the day when he was practicing drums that she would walk in from the grocery store
13:12and flash the lights. So she, so he knew she was home. You know, it's a beautiful story.
13:18His mother is a beautiful lady. Yeah. Beautiful, a beautiful family. He's crazy as a bed bug.
13:23Yeah. So I was at dinner last night with my wife and I was thinking about two years ago
13:28at this time, did you guys ever, was, did it ever cross your mind that you might not have
13:31been able to get back on a stage again for a long time? Maybe even never?
13:36Yes, it did. It did. Absolutely. Yeah. I just, I, I didn't, I kept thinking like, you know,
13:43uh, we're going to, it's the tour is going to get pushed back till summertime or whatever. And then
13:48it just kept getting longer and longer and longer and longer. And then we did finally last year get
13:54out and we played some shows last year in the U S and in the UK, but it's just, it's been difficult,
14:02you know, navigating this whole thing. I think what's, what's happening right now as Doug has
14:08witnessed with me, this, this window in Europe, as you've seen every, I think every band had
14:15somebody get COVID or some, so it's affected touring. It's really stopping a lot of bands
14:23from going out and doing tours, you know? Yeah. And I guess there's like a thin line between
14:28like, do you live your life or do you live in a, you know, a cocoon or what? Like I've been in
14:32concerts now. I was in the snake pit at Metallica the other night in Pittsburgh. It's like,
14:36nice. I've kind of, I've kind of decided to live my life. I've taken the shots. I've had it. I've had
14:41COVID. I've done everything. I'm kind of like, I'm kind of finished with it. That's, that's what I
14:45think is the best thing. You got it. You got to just, we got to move on. You know, we can't,
14:50we can't, it's just something we got to live with. I mean, this thing is so viral. It's,
14:56it's running rampant every, especially in Europe. It's, it's horrifying, but you know,
15:01we're kicking off this tour in a couple of weeks and we did a tour last year. We're all good and
15:07we're very safe with people and you know, uh, yeah, we, we're going to be okay.
15:13Hey, Doug, I want to ask you about a real fast about a record that you're on that I really like
15:17is, uh, the Crimson Idol from Wasp. I know you probably didn't do a lot on that, but, uh, tell
15:20me your, your, your, uh, recollections of working in that project. That was, um, that was a long
15:25time ago. It was, I think in the late eighties or I think 30 years ago, 92, if I'm not mistaken.
15:31Okay. Okay. Yeah. Well, anyway, uh, I just went into, I guess, um, he didn't have a blackie
15:39lawless, didn't have a guitar player and he wanted, he had a few of me and a couple other friends
15:43that I knew, uh, came in and played some solos and I don't even know. I mean, I don't even know
15:48what I played on to be honest, but blackie blackie, I'll just tell you this. He was very nice and very
15:54tall. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. At five foot six, I guess I could, uh, relate. Yeah. No, I can't. So, um,
16:04so what do you guys have going on the rest of the year then just a touring, just pushing out this
16:07record. Yeah. We're doing a, as you know, these shows coming up in starting in September 7th,
16:13in New Jersey. Unfortunately, we won't be hitting Detroit on this run, but we will be back next
16:20year, but we've got these shows coming up in September. Then we take a little bit of a break
16:24and then we hit the UK in December. Now I know you guys played with priest in a, in the UK a few
16:30weeks ago. Is there any chance you'll happen a big tour here? Uh, I don't think so. Yeah. I, I don't
16:36know. You never know. We're very close friends with those guys. So yeah, maybe who knows? Yeah.
16:44Doug, you were going to say, no, I was just going to say, you never know these things, you know,
16:48they come up really quick and then if you're available, you got to jump on it. Um, but I,
16:54I think priest is locked in with, I'm not sure who they got on that tour, but that's, if you get a
16:59chance, people got to go see priest cause it's, it's a great show and Richie Faulkner is killing
17:06it and the metal God is killing it. It's great. Yeah. Those guys are awesome. You know, I didn't
17:11even think about this until you just said that Glenn, but you do know so many people. Couldn't
17:15you just call in a favor and say, Hey, you know, whatever. Can, can we hop on? You know,
17:20I'm not one to do that. I'm just very, I mean, I've known Rob Halford and Glenn Tipton since
17:26Deep Purple. So they hope they opened for purple on the last tour. So, um, I, again, yeah,
17:33I do know a lot of people. I'm just not one to ask too many favors. Yeah. I don't want to
17:37be rejected. So I don't know. I'm just really happy with where we're going. What the fight
17:43of course that we're on right now, it's a good thing. We're tight knit family. We go out
17:50there and we take this very, we listen, we have a lot of fun as you see at the token
17:54that, and that's the way we like it. Yeah. And, uh, have you talked to a David
17:58Carvedale recently? Yeah. I spoke to him last week and he's, he's doing okay. He's, uh,
18:04recovering right now from some upper respiratory problems and he's, uh, taken it easy. I think
18:10they're going out again in Europe, uh, the end of the year. Yeah. I'm bummed out. I'm
18:16going to miss him here with the, uh, Scorpions coming up, but, uh, anyway, uh, uh, uh,
18:20Radiance comes out on September 30th and, uh, Glenn and Doug, thank you so much for the
18:25time. Thank you. Glenn, I think it's someone's feeding time there. I'm not sure.
18:29Oh, they've just been fed, but no, I got workers. I got a workload at the house right now. So
18:34they're having a grumble at the workers. I think the last time I talked to you, there
18:38was a dog in the background as well. So there's always dogs and workers at my house.
18:43Dan's best friend, no doubt about it. So thank you guys so much and good luck with
18:47everything. Thank you. Good. Good luck. Good luck. I love you, Detroit. I'll see you
18:52again. Peace and love. Thank you, my friend. Good to hear you. Good to see you. Yeah. Good
18:58to see you guys. Thank you so much. Doug. You all right? Thanks Matt. Thank you guys.
19:01Thanks everybody in Detroit. We love you. We'll see you soon. You bet. All right. Thanks
19:06guys. I appreciate you. Thanks guys. All the best. Thank you. See you in a minute, Doug.
19:10See ya.