Richie Sambora is the quintessential rock ‘n’ roll guitar hero, who along with his childhood buddy Jon Bon Jovi, wrote some of contemporary rock music’s most memorable anthems including Living On A Prayer, You Give Love A Bad Name and Wanted Dead or Alive. The band toured the world to packed arenas for decades and were inducted into the American Songwriters Hall of Fame. Richie left Bon Jovi in 2013 to pursue other musical adventures. At the age of just 18, Adelaide-born guitar wunderkind Orianthi was championed by Carlos Santana, who said of her, “If I were going to pass the baton to someone, she would be my first choice.” She went on to play with Steve Vai, Alice Cooper, and was major part of Michael Jackson’s final band before his untimely death. She’s also released her own acclaimed solo recordings. After an introduction in Hawaii by Alice Cooper, Richie Sambora was not only smitten by Orianthi’s guitar dexterity but was also hooked on a personal level. They’ve since become inseparable life partners. This week the pair are in Australia to play a series of shows together as RSO (Richie Sambora Orianthi).
Just prior to them jumping on the plane to head downunder, Australian Musician’s Greg Phillips asked them about the tour and the planning which has gone into the upcoming shows.
“Planning? We haven’t,” laughs Richie. “We just show up and jam! It’s all about entertainment. We pull out a bunch of songs that people know but also what I think was missing in music for a bit was improvisation and for Ori and I, that’s what we do. The way we met musically was improvisation, talking to each other musically. We fell in love that way.” Orianthi concurs with Richie on the show’s casual, anything-goes approach. “We’ll see how we feel when we get there and play accordingly,” she adds. “That’s the way we’ve been doing it. Every night is different. If we feel like playing a song, we’ll add it.”
Speaking with the amiable Richie Sambora it’s easy to forget that the guy was part of a band which has sold over 130 million records. In reference to him and Orianthi performing at the NRL Grand Final next Sunday as part of this tour, I asked Richie if he was much if a sports fan, to which he swiftly replied, ‘I owned a football team!” Richie, along with Jon Bon Jovi had a part share in the Philadelphia Soul, a team which just a month ago beat the Arizona Rattlers to take out the 2016 USA Championship. “Ori and I are either playing music or watching sports, it’s what we do,” he added.
There was a point in Orianthi’s early career where she seemed to be systematically ticking boxes off some kind of rock legend bucket list. First it was Carlos Santana, who she jammed with as a teen, then there was Steve Vai, followed by an endorsement and her own signature guitar with the acclaimed Paul Reed Smith brand. Things only escalated from there with Ori winning guitar slots in bands for Alice Cooper, Prince and Michael Jackson. As to Richie’s first encounter with a rock guitar god?
“The first one? Man, I don’t know,” he says, struggling to remember. “Basically I met all my guitar heroes through records and taught myself to play. It came out of Jimi Hendrix and the Allman Brothers, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page age then going back to Freddie King, BB King and Albert King, Buddy Guy. Songwriting comes from the same place, you emulate your heroes. That’s the way we pass everything on. The past comes through us all.”
Life can get quite surreal when you’re part of one of rock’s biggest ever bands. Take birthday presents for example. In what has to be one of the best gifts a musician could ever dream of, a friend of Richie’s brought the legendary Les Paul over to his place meet him as a 28th birthday present. Paul gifted Sambora a rare white Les Paul model, one of only two in existence. Paul owned the other. It was the beginning of a long friendship which led to Richie jamming regularly with Paul and engaging in many ‘fatherly’ type conversations.
“Yes, it was quite the birthday present and we became life long friends until he passed,” says Richie. “I was in Hawaii and his son called me and said dad passed at 93. We played together and hung out many times. He was like a family member, we’d talk business and family. He was a master inventor and a great man.”
The realm of the lead guitarist has been a male dominated area since rock ‘n’ roll began. Along with Lita Ford, Nita Strauss and Jennifer Batten to name a few, Orianthi has been one of the pioneers of a new wave of female guitar players who have found a role front and centre stage in rock bands. “There are more out there now,” says Orianthi. “When I first came out here and went to NAMM, there were hardly any female guitar players but now there are a lot. You just have to be committed to it and love. Playing guitar is not easy for me, it’s a challenge every day. You know, you get cut up with blood … my fingers don’t look very nice with all the calluses. You gotta really dig in.” At this point Richie interjects. “Ori is an inspiration for girls,” he says proudly. “She’s an anomaly. She’s frightening.”
Richie and Ori have been working away on a RSO album at Sambora’s home studio for more than two years and it’s nearing completion. Celebrated Canadian producer Bob Rock (Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, Motley Crue ) has been assisting in the control room, while many other rock legends have been stepping by to add their talent, including Abe Laboriel Jr (Paul McCartney drummer), The Doors’ Robbie Krieger, Ray Parker Jr and Alice Cooper. “When we are not recording, we’re writing,” says Orianthi about the creation of their album together. “Richie might be on the marimba at 4 in the morning coming up with an idea or on the piano. He’s a great piano player as well. And it’s great, you never know who is going to knock on the door.”
For any musician who is lucky enough to own a home studio, it can be both a blessing and a curse. Knowing that you can add a track and keep working on it at all hours of the morning doesn’t always mean that you should but Richie only sees the positives.
“It’s the same thing with Abbey Road … that consistent nature of that studio,” explains Richie. “When you have that consistency and you are building a process with the same people all the time, it sounds cohesive and its coordinates are right there … everyday! It’s a weird thing but it works. For George Martin and The Beatles their environment was very important and the environment that we have built here is very, very important.”
While the pair are clearly excited about their new recording project, they’re less than impressed with the music industry machinations which stand in the way of an album release date. “You know what? It’s not about us and not about the music, it’s about the music business,” Richie sighs. “That’s your problem right here. We’ve been throwing it down now for two and a half years. We’re totally ready for it to come out.”
The RSO Australian tour dates
Monday 26 Sep Entertainment Centre Adelaide
Tueday 27 Sep Margaret Court Arena, Melbourne
Thursday 29 Sep Enmore Theatre Sydney
Friday 30 Sep Eatons Hotel Brisbane.