GILBY CLARKE On Filling In For NITA STRAUSS On ALICE COOPER Tour Last Year: 'I Had So Much Fun On That Run'

In a new interview with Indie Power TV, former GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Gilby Clarke reflected on his run of shows as the guitar player for Alice Cooper's band nearly a year ago. Clarke filled in for Nita Strauss, who had conflicting obligations of her own. Previously, guitarist Orianthi had been planning to fill in for Strauss, but due to unforeseen circumstances, Orianthi was unable to do the tour. Gilby said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Earlier this year — well, actually, we're about to go into [2026] — I got a call from my good friend Chuck Garric, who plays bass for Alice Cooper. Chuck calls me on a Friday. He goes, 'Hey, if we needed you to play guitar for Alice, would you do it?' Because I have been offered that gig before, and it just didn't work out, a few times; it just didn't work out for some reason. And I go, 'Yeah, I would, of course.' I go, 'I love you, guys. I love Alice and his music' and stuff. He goes, 'Well, Nita was never able to do this next run we have coming up. And we had Orianthi to fill in for her because she's done it, but Orianthi just pulled out today. She has a medical issue.' And I go, 'Yeah, yeah, I could do it.' And I go, 'Well, when does it leave?' He goes, 'Monday.' He called me Friday, so I had Saturday and Sunday to learn almost 30 songs, get on a plane with them Monday, one rehearsal Tuesday, and show Wednesday. And thank God it's Chuck and Ryan Roxie, and, of course, Tommy [Henriksen] too. Ryan and I go way back to CANDY days and stuff, of course. And Ryan came over one day and helped me tweak it up. But I had so much fun on that run because, first of all, Alice's music is just the best. And Alice is one of the greatest human beings in the world. And then a couple times I got poked with a sword and I got whipped, but it was really, really, really nice stepping into that."

Clarke went on to say that he had to learn some of the Alice tunes that he wasn't familiar with. But, he added, "even the songs that I really don't know — the 'Poison' era and all that stuff, 'Lost In America'; I kind of missed that [since] I was doing other stuff at that time — I really enjoyed learning those songs and playing those songs," he said.

Gilby also praised the 77-year-old Cooper for staying active and maintaining a strong work ethic, driven by the simple fact that he still loves what he does.

"It's inspiring when you see someone like Alice that's so keyed in and he's figured it out," Clarke said.

The now-63-year-old Clarke replaced Izzy Stradlin in the GUNS lineup in 1991, during the "Use Your Illusion" tour, and stayed with the band for three years. After exiting GUNS N' ROSES, Clarke continued as a producer and solo artist, while also playing in SLASH'S SNAKEPIT, ROCK STAR SUPERNOVA, HEART and other acts.

Clarke, along with fellow GUNS N' ROSES members Slash, Duff McKagan, Steven Adler and Matt Sorum, played three "Appetite For Destruction" songs with Myles Kennedy at the band's Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony in April 2012 in Cleveland, Ohio, although Gilby himself was not inducted as part of the group. Kennedy, who handles lead vocals in Slash's solo band and ALTER BRIDGE, sang "Mr. Brownstone", "Sweet Child O' Mine" and "Paradise City", with "Use Your Illusion"-era member Sorum sitting behind the drum kit on "Brownstone" and the man he replaced in GN'R, Adler, pounding the skins for the other two songs.

In 2021, Clarke addressed his non-participation in GUNS N' ROSES' reunion tour, which features three-fifths of the group's classic lineup — singer Axl Rose, Slash and McKagan — during an interview with "The SDR Show". He said: "They didn't ask me to join the band; they asked me to come out and do [a guest appearance] with the band. And it just happened to be the day that I was in Chicago with my daughter. Her band was playing Lollapalooza [in July 2016]. And I'm actually her roadie. I don't think anybody would know how to tune the guitar if I wasn't there. Just kidding. But, yeah, it was just bad timing. I just said, 'Look, I think it's a great idea. I'm up for it. I just can't do it today.' And they literally asked me that day. And I never heard back from them after I said that."

Gilby also confirmed that he only had a week to learn the entire GUNS catalog when he first joined the band more than three decades ago. "That's true," he said. "They told me on a Monday, that 'You have the gig,' and the next week we were flying to Boston for our first show. And I literally had a week. And remember, this is before YouTube. I was glued to their records with the headphones on, trying to learn the catalog. And the last song I learned was a song called 'Estranged', which was a really long ballad piece. And if you listen to it, it's kind of one-dimensional guitar-wise — it really just features Slash. So I was listening to it, and I really couldn't figure out what I should do in that song. So I went to Dizzy [Reed, GUNS keyboardist]. I go, 'Hey, man, can you sit down with me, and let's work on 'Estranged'.' I go, 'I just wanna kind of figure it out.' And he goes, 'Oh, well, here's the music book.' And he handed me the music book. And I went, 'There's a music book? I just spent a week learning every note by ear when I could have just grabbed the freakin' music book…' I mean, I read charts — it would have taken me an hour. I was a little pissed off that I didn't ask. They could have offered it to me."

Clarke's latest solo album, "The Gospel Truth", was released in April 2021 via Golden Robot Records.

Gilby released his solo debut, "Pawnshop Guitars", in 1994.