Paul Rose is without a shadow of a doubt one of the UK’s best rock guitar players with the ability to mix rock, blues, country and jazz into his formidable playing in a manner that sounds and ultimately feels very unique. Over the course of his long career Rose has garnered much acclaim for his recordings and thanks to explosive live shows all over Europe and farther afield, his fan base can truly be called global.

Hard Rock House contacted Rose about the possibility of an interview covering his career to date and, by geographical chance, it turned out that he did not live very far away, as a result what follows is a transcript of a very enjoyable conversation carried out in the comfort of my living room. You don’t get much more rock n roll than that!

Paul Rose

Looking back do you remember the moment you picked up or saw a guitar and thought, “I want to do that?” 

Paul.. (pauses) I can remember seeing something on Top Of The Pops, I can’t remember who it was but I specifically remember seeing something on Top Of The Pops. That is my first memory. Actually picking up a guitar…I think there was a kid nipped round who lived near where we lived in High Heaton and he had an electric guitar and he brought it to our house. That was probably the first moment. It was probably a culmination of a few things like television, radio and records and chancing across a few electric guitars in the town as I went round the shops. My brother and me became obsessed with it from the word go…but those would be the very first starting points. 

Can you remember what your first electric guitar was? 

Paul.. (smiles) Oh yes! I’ve still got it. It was an Antoria telecaster Deluxe, chocolate brown with a black scratch plate on it. It has the pick up selector switch where the Les Paul switch would be and unlike a Tele it has four pots that are two volume and two tone. I’ve still got it in its case and it’s under me bed.

So there’s some sentimental value there? 

Paul.. Oh aye! Absolutely. My father died ten days before Christmas, when I was 11 years old, and his brother went out and bought that guitar for us as a sweetener and that’s why it’s under lock and key.

Are you self-taught or have you taken lessons? 

Paul. I’m probably 97% self-taught. However I did go to college, where I was hopeless and got kicked out after 6 months, where I met a guy who I am still in touch with today called Ian Stronnoch from Sunderland. I would be jamming with Ian and he would clarify things that I kind of knew but didn’t know what they were. For instance he would tell me the difference between major and minor, relative major and minor, harmonic minor, diminished. Stuff like that. It was stuff that I sort of knew but like I say, he tagged it all for me. 

At the age of 16 you could regularly be seen playing live on the North East music circuit. Were you playing under your own name or were you a member of various bands? 

Paul.. I joined a band called the R&B Spitfires who eventually changed their name to The Spitfires. I immediately started gigging with them in places like Carlisle and the Borders and I absolutely loved it. I also went into a recording studio for the first time. With them I gained experience as a live player properly. Rather than going out and doing gigs with friends where you can’t fail I went out to places like Carlisle that could potentially have hostile audiences…and that’s real gigging (laughs). 

Primarily you’re known as a rock guitarist that integrates blues, country, jazz and all things in-between into your playing. In those early days what kinds of music would we have heard Paul Rose playing? 

Paul.. Well before I joined the R&B Spitfires they were, with the best possible intentions, a sort of Dr Feelgood kind of band. They had that choppy, cutting telecaster Wilko Johnson kind of thing going on. That was what the guitar player before me was doing. When I joined I was a massive, massive, Johnny Winter fan, Hendrix of course, Santana, Robin Trower and also the ultimate king Ritchie Blackmore whose tone I love. So when I joined the R& B Spitfires I knew they were trying to get me to do that more scratchy Wilko sound but I was into the fatter Johnny Winter Sound. 

More flamboyant? 

Paul.. Oh yes (laughs) 

You won a Fender instruments sponsored competition in which you won a 62 reissue Fender Strat and a Vox AC30 amp which were presented to you by the late, great Rory Gallagher. He described you as a “hot player with a hot future”. How old were you then and can you remember what you played? 

Paul. I was 23 years old and I just messed on, playing blues stuff, accompanying myself and putting lead parts in it. I think I only played for about 2 minutes. What they did was they videoed it.

The competition took in Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, Newcastle and London. It was all advertised in the local press. They asked people to come and play guitar. I actually thought Rory Gallagher was going to be there. That’s why I went down and when I got there I was disappointed to find he wasn’t there, so then I thought well I’ve got nothing to lose and I’m under no pressure. I think there was about a 1000 people turned up but they edited it down to the best 20 and then gave the video tapes to Rory who picked me out as the best out of the entrants. I then went down to Tower records and he presented me with the guitar and the amp. 

Has any of what you played that day crept into your songs and have you still got the guitar and amp he presented you with? 

Paul.. Oh I most certainly still have the guitar. The amplifier I sold within a few weeks, as at the time I didn’t value it. Since then I’ve bought another AC30 and sold that one! I‘ve done the same thing twice. Anyone who has seen me playing live during the last 20 years up until about two years ago will have seen and heard that Strat’. All the pictures on the web site, the front cover of Magic City and Slide Away and many others feature that guitar. I’ve seen that guitar on the back of carts going across the tarmac at Los Angeles airport. I’ve watched that little tweed case being thrown into the back of airplanes, buses and taxis.

Have you tweaked the guitar, changed the pickups maybe or have you left it as it was? 

Paul.. It’s absolutely identical apart from one tiny change. I changed the saddles as they were snapping the strings. It developed grooves due to being used so much and for so long. It actually really needs a re-fret. I guess now its sort of retired because since Rory died his guitars have become so valuable and I had to ask myself is that the kind of thing you want to leave lying around in the back of a car. I’ve got many other very good guitars. (pauses) Actually that guitar was the prototype for the Custom Shop Rory Gallagher signature guitar. I’ve actually played his Strat’ as I’m still good friends with his brother and have been to the house many times. I remember I was at Donald’s (Rory’s brother) house having a coffee and he was waiting for Securicor to come and pick up Rory’s guitar so they could take it to Heathrow airport and send it on to the custom shop in California. I asked him if I could hold the guitar before it went and he said “oh to be sure” and he opened the case and handed me the guitar that had graced the cover of Photo Finish, Top Priority and Calling Card and which I’d seen Rory using at Newcastle City Hall seven times. There I was standing in his brother’s house holding that guitar! 

A once in a lifetime moment. 

Paul.. Oh it’s an absolutely great guitar. You didn’t want to really dig into it as it was his (Rory’s) guitar. 

You were also one of the first winners of the now Annual Guitarist magazine “Guitarist Of The year” competition. I believe that was in 1995.The American magazine Guitar Player also runs a similar competition which is judged by the likes of Joe Satriani and Steve Lukather. Can you remember who the judges were on the Guitarist panel and was it based on a live performance or just submitted tapes? 

Paul. It was based on a live performance that you qualified for from a tape that you handed in. The performance took place at Wembley Conference Centre. I can’t remember everyone who was on the panel but I know the editor of the magazine was one of them. There were loads of people around that day including Malmsteen and Hank Marvin. You could say it was a big guitar day! 

You must have been one of the first winners? 

Paul.. The third I believe. 

Nowadays it’s become quite an event with the winner featuring in the magazine as well on the cover mount CD.

Paul.. The one that I won was the very first year that they featured the CD on the front and I actually got my picture on the front cover of the magazine. That had been an ambition from being a teenager. Without wanting to knock guitar magazines I have to say that I always thought that being in a guitar magazine gave you some kudos but now it just appears to be a lot more sponsorship driven with record companies buying space .You used to see players like Ritchie Blackmore and Hendrix on the covers but now you see some guy from Manchester who plays in a jingle jangle band. 

Recent winners of the “Guitarist Of The Year” competition have gone on to walk some pretty big stages. Guthrie Govan joined Asia and Dave Killminster teamed up with John Wetton. When you won the competition were you approached by anyone interested in securing your talents. 

Paul. No but I can say that whenever I have come very close to some very successful people and situations I always felt unbearably uncomfortable. There were some scenarios that I repelled from and which made me feel sick and I’m not going to name names and maybe I need to take some responsibility for some of those instances. You put such a value on the trophy that you’re trying to reach that when you have it in your sights you scare yourself away. I’ve often thought some of those people never looked particularly happy. 

You appear to value your artistic freedom. 

Paul.. The way I see it is that I’m about to release my ninth album and I’ve put what I want on those albums, how I wanted it, when I wanted it and where I wanted it. 

You’ve said that despite all the accolades you received during the early stages of your career you have suffered countless disappointments. Could you give us an insight into what form those disappointments took? 

Paul.. (pauses) Well I was addicted to alcohol for the best part of twenty years so I’ll let you fill in the blanks. Last month I was 13 years away from alcohol, drugs or a cigarette. I really ran myself into the ground with it. I have however made 9 albums in those 13 years so that in itself tells the story. 

First and foremost you are known as an electric guitar player but you recently recorded and released an acoustic album entitled “The Learning Curve”. What was the motivation behind this? 

Paul.. It all stems from a good friend of mine in London called Paul Pringle, he’s from Edinburgh but lives in London. He was coming over to my place to record some of his songs and he made this comment that he was “shocked and stunned” that I didn’t have an acoustic guitar and it got me thinking “why?” haven’t I got one. At the time I was doing loads of gigs, every weekend, three or four nights a week all over the place. I was in Ireland, Germany, Holland and the UK and when I got home the Strat would sit in the hallway till I went out and gigged again. This was during the time that I recorded the “Half Alive” album that was recorded up in The Highlands when I was doing full on, loud rock and roll gigs. I’d come home and pick up the guitar knowing that within 24 hours I was going back out again. Well (sighs) I just needed to be able to have a new musical outlet so I went out and bought an acoustic guitar and a good microphone. I then ended up recording an albums worth of material on acoustic and I had to completely re-address the guitar. I went form being a Strat’ player with all the volume and sustain to being an acoustic player and that’s where the title “The learning Curve” came from. 

Your acoustic live shows have received critical acclaim so would we be right in thinking your acoustic repertoire is going to grow? 

Paul.. Absolutely. Like I say I’m about to release my ninth album in the next couple of months and I’m actually thinking that the next album after that, number 10, will be another acoustic release. The whole acoustic side has been a runaway success and it’s taken me completely by surprise. Nothing that’s currently happening with the acoustic guitar was planned or hoped for. The guy who’s doing the PA for the live shows at the moment called Ray Carter said “I’ve got you 20 minutes at The Alnwick Playhouse” to do some acoustic stuff. I remember saying “what am I going to do up there for 20 minutes” but he said “go on they’re a good audience, get yourself up there”. So I went and did this 20 minutes and I remember afterwards thinking “there was something good” about it.

You felt satisfied as a musician and musically? 

Paul.. Definitely. Two guys I went to school with Chris and Simon Donald they made this A4 piece of paper, called it the Daily Pie and sold it for a 1p.It went on to become Viz comic. They never set out to create the biggest thing in the world but big things did happen. That’s kind of how I see the acoustic side of my career, nothing was intentional but things are happening. I have people coming to gigs that have never even heard me play electric but are coming to see me as an acoustic player. They probably aren’t even aware that I play electric guitar and possibly don’t want to hear me play electric guitar (laughs). At the same time there are people who won’t come to the acoustic gigs because they just want to hear me play electric guitar, but what that means is that I now have two things going on. What has developed, especially during the last tour of Germany and during some dates in Scotland is that I have put an acoustic section in the middle of the live band shows. Eventually I want to integrate some acoustic playing in with the live drums and bass. 

You’re seen in guitar playing circles as a Fender Stratocaster man but you’ve recently signed an endorsement with Krozka Sharpe guitars. Could you tell us a little bit about this association and what you found in their guitars that caught your eye or ear? 

Paul. Dave Sharpe and Joe Krozka e-mailed me out of the blue and told me they were the only guitar builder in Blyth. They came to my house with three or four guitars, one was finished and the other three were prototypes. They have me asked me to play their guitars, as they know I can give them some exposure. It’s very much a case of they can help me and I can help them. On the latest album the tracks “Excuses” and “Promises” feature their guitar, the Atom Ray. We deliberated whether we should put something on the sleeve to say that but we agreed that what we would do was talk about it in interviews and put information on the web site. They have a link on their site that lets you listen to the track “Excuses” and they have information on the site saying that I used their guitar on that track. So far it appears to be working for both parties. 

With eight albums to your name with a soon to be added ninth on your merchandise page three albums are shown as sold out they being “Homework”,” Live At The Broken Doll” and  “Late Show”. Have they now gone from production altogether or is this just a temporary situation? 

Paul.. ”Homework” and “..Broken Doll” are out of print but I may do another run. Don’t forget they are available through I-tunes. The ninth album, which is going to be called “Ninth Life”, might possibly be the last proper CD I do. I did mention some of this when I released “The Learning Curve”. I just don’t know if mp3 is going to become the entire market. It’s very hard to say or predict. 

You release your albums independently and people can buy them through your web site and through CDBaby. Currently business wise and marketing wise is Paul Rose very much yourself and a select group of people? 

Paul.. It’s entirely myself. 

Artistic freedom is a much-used phrase but it’s a quality you seem to have kept. Do you find it a blessing in disguise to run things yourself and not have major labels exerting demands and deadlines or do you sometimes wish you had bigger backing? 

Paul.. A bit of both. Artistic freedom is very important. It would frighten me if someone handed me a cheque and said “right I need an album from you by six o’ clock this time next week”. I can say the latest album “Promises” has excited a lot of people. 

The new album features 13 tracks mixing instrumental and vocal songs. I gather some were originally destined for a “major label” release. Which ones were they? 

Paul.. ”Hurting"," No Spark No Fire”,” All That Goes Around” and “Lime Street”. The rest just happened in the production of the new album. There are other tracks that were destined for this album that will appear on the next new release. 

There are 3 cover songs on “Promises” they being “Man Of Mystery”,” It’s All Over Now “ and “Summertime”. What made you pick those songs in particular? 

Paul. Well when my father died my mother my brother and I became a very close knit family unit. We went to see Hank Marvin and The Shadows and I now have a very close personal affection for that sort of music. I also don’t own a Vai or Satriani album, as I prefer to hear melodies with chord progressions. Songs like “Wonderful Land”, which will be on the next album, are what I would prefer to listen to and cover. It’s not complicated but I wish I’d thought of them.” It’s All Over Now” goes back to my love of Johnny Winter and “Summertime” just happened. 

Your version of “Summertime” is magic. 

Paul. That was a Telecaster! 

Lyrically the new album sounds very personal, especially “My Life” where you use the line “redefine and redesign”. It sounds like a man taking stock and looking to brighter times ahead. Would that be a fair description of where you are at the moment? 

Paul. Sort of. That song was written and recorded about 2 years ago. It comes from a time when everything wasn’t rosy in the garden. Looking back in order to change a situation one has to address certain things. You can go in the garden and cut the top off a weed but to really change things you need to get the trowel out and remove the root. I have had to do that, I gave myself no choice. What I’ve learnt and my experiences have been born from getting to the root of a lot of my own problems and digging them out. Lets just say now I just eat cake and flans (laughter all round) 

There are some glorious guitar moments scattered throughout every track on the new album. The soloing on “Excuses” is particularly explosive and spontaneous. Did you go for first takes or did you have a few attempts at various solos? 

Paul.. Two takes maximum!! 

The solo on “Hurting” sounds very organized as you go through many different techniques. Were some of the parts in that solo pre-prepared or were they just moments of inspiration? 

Paul. All improvised! What I often do is do two solos and put them both on the computer. If there is a wrong note or a moment’s hesitation on one solo I go to the other solo to see what happened and sometimes if it’s needed I can make a composite. Most times though its one complete solo.” It’s All Over Now” is one solo and a first take. 

Have you recorded a solo, kept it and then thought, “I wish I had changed it after all”? 

Paul.. I used to drive myself to bloody distraction trying to get the perfect solo but the thing that’s bugging you about it is meaningless 6 months later. Sometimes mistakes are just imaginary. Experience has shown me those things that at one time bothered me eventually just pass you by and you end up thinking “I love this track” (laughs). 

Was the album recorded using primarily your Stratocasters or did you use other instruments? I ask this as the album has some wonderful tones throughout. 

Paul. The whole album is two Telecasters and two Strats. One Strat has a Hot Rail pickup in the bridge and the other has a set of Seymour Duncan Alnico Pro 2’s in it. I should say all my guitars are vintage re-issues and all the recording used a piece of software called Ampli-Tube. It’s like a Pod but the Pod is in “nowhere land” com pared to Ampli-Tube. 

I was going to ask are you a microphone in front of the amp man or have you embraced amp simulation technology? 

Paul.. Well Ampli-Tube is amp simulation but it’s based on simulating a microphone in front of the amp. When I play live I use no pedals. I like an amp with a lot of drive in it, not the heavy metal saturated sound. I like to be able to control the amp via the volume control on my guitar and I use no flangers, phasers or wah-wah pedals. Saying that a new track called “Ninth Life” which is on my MySpace site uses a wah wah pedal. Stepping on things like wah-wah pedals has always made me feel like a bit of a pleb! (laughs). 

The new album is very accessible and commercial .Is that something that was planned or did it just turn out that way? 

Paul.. I only make music that I like. If I don’t like it I scrap it and if I like it I pursue it. That’s the top and bottom of it. 

A visitor to the site has sent in the following questions. Gary Moore ended up selling his Peter green Gibson Les Paul to raise funds. Have you ever had any painful instances similar to that over the years? 

Paul.. Yes. Absolutely!

Currently do you have any major influences in either the guitar world or musically? 

Paul.. Guitar player wise I really, really like Bill Frisell. He is on loads of albums including albums by Norah Jones. I love Roy Buchanan and I just love and idolize Ritchie Blackmore. When Blackmore was on form in the seventies he was untouchable. His tone was magnificent. 

What do you think of his Blackmore’s Night project? 

Paul.. I’ve seen them twice at the Newcastle Opera House and I have to say they were two of the best gigs I have seen in my life. 

I caught both those gigs as well and they were excellent. 

Paul.. The second show was just tremendous 

He looked very happy doing what he’s doing and his acoustic work was superb. 

Paul.. He is the real deal! 

You have some shows coming up in the North East this year and you also have some festival appearances. Could you tell us a little bit about your future live plans? 

Paul.. I have festival appearances in Germany at the end of the summer, stuff happening in Scotland, I’m waiting for confirmation of the Colne blues festival and I have appearances coming up in Northern Ireland. I also have a promoter working on dates in Holland and Belgium. 

You have a considerable following in Europe. 

Paul.. The main paper in Nuremberg described me as the  “Nigel Kennedy of the Strat” which was great! I was floored. 

Kennedy is great. I’ve seen him at Newcastle City Hall twice. I’ll never forget him coming into the audience playing “Foxy Lady” by Hendrix and standing in front of my wife as he played it. 

Paul. He is outrageous. 

With the benefit of a long career and countless live shows behind you what advice would you give to any aspiring guitarist who was about to take his or her first steps into a studio or onto the live circuit? 

Paul.. Do it! Whatever you do just do it. Be yourself…(pauses), which is an easy thing for me to say, when I’m approaching 42 years of age. When your 16 or 17 it’s hard to know just what person you are. Don’t get disheartened and don’t make the trophy so valuable that it becomes untouchable. The trophy is actually today, right her and now. 

When you play live you are experimental and spontaneous. What goes through your mind before you launch into an extended solo, do you leave logic behind and go for the moment? 

Paul.. Leave logic behind. The last five years has seen me doing a lot of teaching and I’ve told the kids that you learn more during a year on stage than you do studying in your bedroom for five years. When you get up on stage a lot of people try to play some little thing that they’ve been working on but they mess it up. You then have to say to yourself “forget that, what am I going to do now” and at that point you have to go in with both feet even if that means playing extremely delicately. You don’t have to set your guitar on fire or throw your guitar against a wall, you just have to do something that will get their attention and set pieces, in my experience, tend to fail. 

I have a fondness for the playing of the late Shawn Lane and Alex Masi once told me in an interview that Shawn Lane “completely destroyed and rebuilt his concept of guitar playing”. Have you ever felt that way after seeing or hearing a guitar player? 

Paul.. The late Danny Gatton (Gatton committed suicide at home where he shot himself). I’ve been to America about ten times now and I spent several months around Maryland and Pennsylvania which was around where he was from and as a consequence I came across people who had worked with him, knew him or saw him live. I met a guy who used to get guitar lessons from Danny. We were sitting in a diner and he said I’ve got one of Danny’s Telecasters! I met a guy who works at Mars music store in Baltimore who used to play bass for Danny. I’ve met John Jorgenson (one part of the cult band The Hellecasters that featured Gatton as well as Jerry Donahue). Alan Thompson plays bass in John’s band and as a result I’ve often spoke about Danny with John. I remember after listening to Steve Vai’s “Passion And Warfare” album and thinking “where does he go from there, what’s the next step forward”. After hearing Danny Gatton and his mixture of rock and jazz and music from the 50’s I suddenly realised that going back was the way forward. From that day on I’ve had no interest in listening to Satriani or Vai, I became disillusioned with them and after hearing Danny Gatton I just knew what he was doing was exactly what it was all about. I also remember getting “Arial Boundaries” by Michael Hedges and thinking this is just “heaven sent” 

You are now working with a new band featuring Ted McKenna on drums (Gary Moore, Rory Gallagher, Alex Harvey Band, Michael Schenker) and Alan Thompson on bass (David Gilmour, Phil Collins). How did your association with those guys come about? 

Paul.. I rang Ted McKenna up at his home. He’s a big Glaswegian and a lovely guy who I count as one of me best friends. I still can’t believe I’ve got him drumming for me. I remember seeing Ted playing for Rory at the City Hall Newcastle when I must have been about 14 years old. If someone had said to me then “he’s going to play in your band one day” I wouldn’t have believed it. I rang Ted up and told him I was a guitarist from Newcastle and he said he had heard of me. I reckon Ted may have rang Don Gallagher to check on my credentials. I know I felt very intimidated not because of his personality, as he is a smashing bloke, but because of his track record. He tells me stories about Frank Zappa, jamming with Ritchie Blackmore, being involved in jam sessions when Angus Young was playing drums and being on top of hotels in Mexico with David Coverdale during an earthquake. 

  

         Alan Thompson                                                               Ted McKenna                        

He should write a book.

Paul.. I’ll wait a long time to get a better drummer for the Paul Rose Band. Ted is a complete and utter master. I’ve experienced him doing drum solos and I’ve literally been gob smacked. We finish our set with Hendrix “All Along The Watchtower” during which Ted takes a drum solo. He has a drum fill, which is our queue to come back on stage, and I remember at a gig in Ireland recently being down behind the PA and listening to Ted’s solo and being so into it that when the fill came I nearly missed it. He really is fabulous. 

If you could form a band with any musicians past or present who would you choose? 

Paul.. Ted McKenna on drums, Jan Hammer on keyboards and on bass the guy who plays for van Morrison whose name escapes me. 

And if you could have a vocalist whom would you have? 

Paul.. Bon Scott (laughs) for the thumpers and Karen Carpenter for the ballads. 

My final question is what are the hopes for the future of Paul Rose and The Paul Rose band? 

Paul.. Well I’m off to Glasgow in 2 weeks time to make a guitar tutorial DVD. I’m preparing that at the moment. I want it to be informative, insightful and to offer instruction as to my style of playing. The new album is literally 98% completed but the remaining 2% feels like it’s taking as long as the previous 98% (laughs). There’s just an outro to compose and record and another guitar part that needs replacing then it’s finished. I’d really love to do an album with Ted McKenna and Alan Thompson that would be special and I really want to make another acoustic album. 

Well thanks for taking time out to talk to us and good luck with the current album and also the upcoming album “Nine Lives”. 

Paul.. Thanks for listening and for the continued support of those people who come to the shows and buy the albums! 

Paul Rose's latest album, Promises, is out now. You can read the HRH review via this link and to find out more about Paul you can visit his website @ www.paulrose.co.uk

Al Hey