Guitarist ALEX GROSSI Talks About Working On New ADLER'S APPETITE, DIZZY REED Albums

Jason Price of Icon Vs. Icon recently conducted an interview with guitarist Alex Grossi (ADLER'S APPETITE, QUIET RIOT). A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Icon Vs. Icon: I know you have done some songwriting in the past. Is there a typical songwriting process that you employ or does it vary depending on who you are working with?

Alex Grossi: Ya know, it is really contingent on what type of band that you are in. If you are hired just to come in and play lead guitar or chord guitar or whatever. In that case you just come in, they hand you the song and you just play over it. For example, I just recently worked on Dizzy Reed's (GUNS N' ROSES) solo album. I went in there and he pretty much had all of the guitar parts mapped out and I would just put my own sorta thing on it, contributing a little bit here and there. With a band like BEAUTIFUL CREATURES, where I came in as the guitar player, replacing DJ Ashba, the main songwriter, I literally had to write from scratch with four other guys, what became 'Deuce', our second record. It really depends on the situation, ADLER'S APPETITE is planning on going into the studio in late July and we have already started working on some stuff. Chip Z'Nuff, Steven Adler, Michael Thomas and myself will get in a room and just start banging out ideas and roll tape. Hopefully by the end of the year, you will have a new record from us.

Icon Vs. Icon: You mentioned recording guitars for Dizzy Reed's [GUNS N' ROSES keyboardist] solo debut and I know Del James [writer and longtime Axl Rose personal assistant] is serving as producer on that release. What can you tell us about this project and any idea on when it may hit stores?

Alex Grossi: I have no idea about its release date. I know that they are mixing it right now. Once 'Chinese Democracy' came out, I am sure it took a little bit of a back burner. Working with Del was great. For a guy who doesn't really play an instrument, he has a really great ear. He will walk into the room and say, "No, no! Do it more like…" and then throw out some crazy analogy that ends up making perfect sense at the end of the day! It was really great working with those guys. As a GUNS N' ROSES fan, and I am sure not too many people will be a fan of me saying this, but it is cool to work on every end of the spectrum. By that I mean, I am working with a guy who was there at the very beginning, Steven Adler, all the way up to the guys who are in the band now. Whether that ties the two things together, I can tell you 100% that it does not, but it is really cool to hear the stories and the history of the band. If you think about it, as far as I am concerned, they are the band of my generation. You had THE WHO, LED ZEPPELIN and THE BEATLES for previous generations. As far as rock bands and anyone that is in their early thirties to forties, our band is GUNS N' ROSES or NIRVANA but definitely one of the two.

Icon Vs. Icon: You have worked with so many icons from the industry in your career. What is the best piece of advice someone has given you along the way?

Alex Grossi: The best piece of advice was given to me by Kevin DuBrow, and it was to always go out and play your show as if it were your last. He didn't say it in exactly in those words but I have seen Kevin play in front of forty thousand people and I have seen him play in front of forty people. He would go out there because he genuinely enjoyed doing it. The day it stops being fun for you is the same day that it stops being fun for the audience. When you are up there, no matter how big the crowd is, no matter how good the sound is, no matter how bad the sound is, if you are having fun it is infectious. It goes back to the audience and right back to you and everyone has a good time. People pay their hard earned money to get in to see you. I won't mention any names but there are guys in that particular genre that just show up and are only doing it for a paycheck, not because they love playing. You can tell when people care and when they don't. That was the thing about Kevin, he always cared. I will never forget that. Even right up until our last show. It was November 4th, 2007 at a small club and he still played it as if he would have been playing Madison Square Garden. He still brought it every night! A lot of guys from that genre don't do that anymore.

Read the entire interview from Icon Vs. Icon.