Former Dio, Rough Cut & Giuffria guitarist Craig Goldy has amassed an array of amazing talent for his new project Dream Child, the nickname used for Goldy by legendary front man Ronnie James Dio. Alongside Craig are bassist Rudy Sarzo (Quiet Riot, Ozzy, Whitesnake, Dio), drummer Simon Wright (AC/DC, Dio), Wayne Findlay (MSG) on keyboards and vocalist Diego Valdez, with their debut album “Until Death Do We Meet Again” set for release on 14 September. The Rockpit managed to secure some incredible talk time with Goldy about how the project came together, working with Dave Lee Roth and timeless tales of the late, great Ronnie James Dio and many others…
Sean: Hi Craig, thank you so much for talking to us at The Rockpit here in Australia. Hope your well.
Craig: No problem at all. Really good thanks. I just gotta say, before we start, just how much I miss Australia. I’ve loved my times there. We went once with Dio and a couple of times with Budgie and you guys down there are just such special people. I just love you guys and can’t wait to come back. So, to chat to you guys is an absolute honour for me.
Sean: And for us too and we can’t wait for you to come back to see us. But we need to start by talking about this amazing Dream Child project you’ve put together and been working on. The album is fantastic. You’ve managed to capture that sound of the classic Deep Purple / Rainbow era but also giving a fresh new feel to it – in fact in the press release there was a great quote saying “they don’t make music like that anymore” and you replied by saying “Well, I can”. How did you manage it?
Craig: Well, thank you and you’ve actually hit it right there by answering the question with the compliment you’ve paid. That was the mission right there, to make it seem that an album from the long lost era had been discovered in a vault somewhere… [laughs] you actually described it better than I do – I wish I came up with that [laughs]. It kinda reminds me of one of the shows like storage wars, where they buy the storage unit and sift through it and suddenly find some Rainbow album that had never been released. So we tried to bring back an older era that some think would never return and somehow make it sound new too.
Sean: And I think you have captured that perfectly. The opening track Under the Wire kicks off with Mike Oldfield’s timeless Tubular Bells intro, before you fire it up with a killer guitar riff…
Craig: Well Ronnie (James Dio) told me a story once about how Richie Blackmore came up with the riff for the song Burn, which was from the big band era and a song called Fascinating Rhythm – he took the same notes from that song and put 5ths into it and turned it into the riff that we now know as Burn and I never forgot that story. When I was in high school I took film class and there is something called an establishing shot. Now, in music there are a couple of ways to achieve a similar effect, so I thought I’d try it. So, you can recreate something from the past and then little by little it metamorphosizes into something different, so you bring people out of their world and into your world. So for me, it starts with a very dark memory of the movie The Exorcist, which was clouded in dark imagery. But it’s only 5 seconds of the intro and then the band starts – I’m playing it in an open A position and that changes the notes completely. So, they are not that same notes but it’s supposed to remind you of it, but then it metamorphosizes in to a guitar riff and then there’s chords – almost kinda like the Burn type of thing with the 5ths. Then it goes into this almost Genesis type climb & descend and then – bang – it’s an in your face rock n roll tune. We try to keep that darkness with us for the whole entire album, because I love that dark sound but also it holds a positive message.
Sean: That’s real interesting and the tracks throughout the album keep you hooked with that dark atmosphere. There are some real complex tunes on the album, so have you managed to play any of it live yet?
Craig: Well we need to wait until it’s released and then the guys need to finish all their touring schedules and commitments before we can plan some shows and make it happen.
Sean: And that must be hard logistically. Having such an incredible collection of musicians must make that planning of live shows pretty difficult. How did you gather then for the album?
Craig: Well, when I was in Giuffria, around the time of the first album, it was just when Rudy Sarzo & Tommy Aldridge had left Ozzy Osborne and was forming a band together. I ended up being the guitar player for that project for a year and a half and then I was asked to join Dio. So Rudy and I go way back – and then after that Rudy joined Dio too. It was so great to see Ronnie & Rudy become so inseparable over the years, because they were a lot alike in many ways. Rudy is one of the best human beings on the planet, and so was Ronnie. Rudy & I were in Dio Disciples together for a while too, and then he got real busy doing some touring. So when Serafino (President of Frontiers Music SLR) asked if I wanted to get Rudy involved I immediately said yes – I didn’t know if he was even available or that he would even want to do it. Once Rudy jumped on board and added his credibility & talent to the project we knew it had kicked it up another notch and totally raised the bar. Then there was Simon Wright on drums, he just played his butt off throughout the whole album. I mean there are a lot of tricky drum pieces in there and he was able to stretch his wings and just delivered some incredible work – he was able to add a touch of progressive metal to the album too. Then Serafino wanted me to find someone to help write the tunes and that’s where Wayne Findlay came into it. Wayne came from working with Michael Schenker, but we’d previously tried to do something a bit like this once before but it never really got off the ground. So, he came in as keyboard player and writing too. But I also have really good writing relationships with Jeff Pilson, Doogie White, Chaz West & Alessandro Del Vecchio, so we knew we had the writing all covered.
Sean: So that just left you to find a vocalist…
Craig: Serafino asked me who would get to sing, so I sent him an MP3 file I had received around 8 years previously. One of Diego’s (Valdez) friends sent me an MP3 of him singing a song that Ronnie & I had written for Killing the Dragon, even though it wasn’t on that album. The song was called Push and I heard a cover of it and thought Ronnie must have covered his own song – I mean it was chillingly scary, but it was too soon. We’d just lost Ronnie and I was absolutely destroyed. I got hold of Diego and told him how great I thought he was, but I said it’s just too soon to do something like this – but someday we will do an album together. So, when Serafino asked me who, I just said “wow man, your whole world is gonna change” [laughs]. So, I sent him the MP3 track and that was that. But Diego isn’t trying to sound like Ronnie – he just naturally does what he does. He has a lot of attributes that Ronnie had vocally. He has the power, he has the inflections, he can act with his voice – when the lyrics call for sadness he sounds sad, he can sound humorous if the song calls for it. Ronnie was and still is my favourite singer and this is my favourite type of music – this is not a tribute album though, this is an “influenced by” album. And I’m just blessed to be surrounded by these musicians.
Sean: It could well be the album people have been crying out for. We are hearing a lot of the younger, newer bands bringing back that Zeppelin and Doors sound, so to get that Deep Purple & Rainbow one back too is just fantastic.
Craig: You know I always thought that Ronnie & Richie were the best combination for me, and then it was Ronnie & Tommy (Iommi), and then I was blessed to be the one working with Ronnie – it was like he wanted to keep his way of writing alive – I remember an interview Ronnie did during the Dream Evil Tour where Ronnie said “I look forward to Craig leading his own band someday”. And here we are.
Sean: What was Ronnie like as a person?
Craig: He was incredible. He had an imagination with no boundaries. He created his own world where all were welcome, just be cool to each other. And on top of it all he did amazing things to help people. When I was in the band Rough Cut he handed me an envelope and asked me to hand deliver it to one of the worst parts of Hollywood. So I knocked on the door and explained who it was from and they looked at it like it was the Golden Ticket for Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory [laughs] – turns out it was a rent cheque. Ronnie had heard they were having trouble paying the rent so he helped out. But he was that kind of guy. He was a supporter of The Children of The Night project too. You know a lot of people go L.A. to find fame & fortune but end up getting dragged into the world of drugs and prostitution. There was a doctor that would go out on the streets to help them and Ronnie did a string of concerts to help build them a shelter – it was a huge complex where they could get counselling to help get off drugs, find out why they got on them in the first place, help them with education and so forth. We did a 10 year reunion and one of the photos from before was of a teenage guy who was that drunk he had pissed himself, and when we met up with him ten years later he was a 4-star general of the U.S Army. So, it wasn’t just about making great music for Ronnie, it was about changing people’s lives. And he’s still trying to do that even though he’s not here anymore with the Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund, helping fund prevention research and awareness.
Sean: Sounds like an incredible human being…
Craig: I try to treat people the way Ronnie did. He would look them in the eye and treat them with love and respect. I try to show that his way didn’t die with him. Hopefully this will help stop people charging a fortune for nose bleed seats or $500-$1000 for Meet & Greet’s – Ronnie never charged fans for Meet & Greets. Hopefully we can restore the balance between fans and bands once more. It is hard but artists do sometimes feel like they are having their music stolen – if you like the song then pay the 99c for it.
Sean: I discussed this recently with another guest – the impact of technology on the artist and their music. I will hold my hand up and admit to being a Spotify subscriber but only because the sheer amount of music I have to research for interview purposes – but if I like the artist & their music I’ll go support them and buy it because I love to have the physical copy on my shelf to dig out and put on the player. So I totally understand how important it is to support the artist and especially to buy merchandise at the gigs because that way it works for everybody – artist & consumer.
Craig: Yes, thank you for that, but we are also in an era where if we “build it, they will come”. If we get the best musicians in the world to give their best performance and give their best ideas but only for them to have them stolen… well, I’ll tell you what, I’m going to do it and if they steal from me sobeit. At the same time I’m not asking people to make buy my music when can’t even pay their own rent. Money is a tool – so the guy Ronnie helped and the shelter he helped fund, he could only do that because of the concerts that he put on and these were supported by the fans. Money is just a tool – the true currency of life is love, respect, honour and the spirit of giving and integrity.
Sean: Talking to you this evening I can even hear in your voice, how he has gifted you with so many of his qualities Craig…
Craig: Let me tell you something else. I came from an abusive family. I was in and out of hospital as a child – I remember being thrown face first into a window sill at 4 years of age – I mean if I told you everything it would make you sick to your stomach. The point I’m trying to make is that I left home and ended up living on the streets just to get away from the abuse and 5 years later I’m headlining Madison Square Garden with my favourite singer of all time stood alongside of me, playing songs we wrote together. So firstly, dreams do come true. And secondly, when I was in Rough Cut, Ronnie was the producing our demo music. I was homeless so I’d end up sleeping on the couch of one of the band members each night. This one day I brought myself a can of tuna and made myself a sandwich – well the guy came home and flipped out saying it was his can of tuna – he won’t let it go. I said to him “it’s a can of tuna dude, I’ll buy you one if it’s that bad”, even though it was mine anyway. The next day I’m looking out the window and I see Ronnie’s car pull up. Out gets Ronnie & Wendy (Dio), both with two grocery bags each loaded with food, they couldn’t even knock on the door. They stormed in and slammed down the bags on the table and said “these are for Craig, don’t touch them”, then they stormed back out and went back to the studio to continue recording Holy Diver – so they stopped the Holy Diver recordings to go to the store to buy four bags of groceries for me because of the saga over one can of tuna. You can’t help but be affected by things like that – I try to live my life the way he lived his, treat the fans the way he did and I’m still nowhere near the man. He was the first and last of his kind. I just try to show people that his way didn’t die with him. I love to tell these stories because they are true. It’s amazing how many times I run into fans that have their own stories about what he did for them. It’s just outstanding.
Sean: Thank you for sharing that. I’m feeling pretty emotional now – an amazing insight. Changing the subject, I didn’t realise that you co-wrote Lady Luck with David Lee Roth for his third album A Little Ain’t Enough. How did that come about?
Craig: Well I was a song writer for Warner Brothers for about 6 years. I would submit my songs to be considered by other famous musicians to be utilised on their albums. Then one day the phone rings and my girlfriend answers it, well you’d think it was the president of the United States on the other end judging by the look on her face. So I pick it up and a voice on the other end says, “Hey man, Dave Lee Roth here. Love your shit man. Can we get together and write some stuff. Here’s my producer!” and at the time it was Bob Ezrin who had worked with the likes of Pink Floyd. So I’m like, hang on Dave Lee Roth AND Bob Ezrin want me to write some tunes with them. So they give me an address and I get there and I’m playing them ideas and Dave’s like “That’s badass man” and he’s grabbing my arm and patting my back [laughs]… So he invited me to his home every day for 3 months – and he’s such a nice guy. He would always ask how you were doing today and pat your back like a brother would to another brother and ask if you needed anything. Then we’d head down into the basement and he had all the Van Halen road cases down there, which were just so cool. So, the studio was also the rehearsal room so he’d get the band to learn the ideas we had put together – and lucky for me Lady Luck made it through the sifter and onto the album. You know, Dave is a real smart guy too. After every writing session it would just be us two out on the patio watching the sunset and talking. On the second level he had a pool with all those rock climbing grip things all around it – and he’d get me to try climb all around the pool, but there was this one bit that was tilted too much and I would always fall off [laughs] but he could do it. He was such a funny guy but there is so much more to him too as well.
Sean: I was lucky to see him in ’88 at Donington on the back of the Skyscraper album with Steve Via…
Craig: Oh I remember that, oh my god, who on earth could touch that! Dave Lee Roth, Billy Sheehan, Steve Via and Gregg Bissonette… that was a crazy line-up – it was like “ok, I give up” [laughs]
Sean: I missed out on going to the bar just so I could watch the set because I was so mesmerised…
Craig: [laughs] the beer was gonna have to wait!
Sean: While we are on the subject of food & drink, I like to ask my restaurant question to each of my guests. I feel I may already know your first guest at the table but if you had a 2 hour reservation and 3 empty seats at your dinner table, who would you like to join you from the music world, past or present?
Craig: Wow, great question. Ronnie obviously, John Lord & Richie Blackmore would be my three.
Sean: I’d be booking the table next to you just to hear what you’d be discussing…
Craig: No, you’d be welcome to pull a chair up and join us [laughs]. I did get to talk to Richie in his private dressing room, when we opened up for him on the Deep Purple Perfect Stranger Tour – He was an absolute gentleman. He sometimes got a bad reputation for having a bit of a temper or whatever but the night I met him he was a real gentleman. I’ve actually got a real table experience to tell you – Back when Sam Kinison (American comic) was alive – he was discovered by Rodney Dangerfield – when Sam was in town he would invite us to come see him. So, Ronnie & I got invited to his table at the Rainbow after his show – there was me, Ronnie, Sam & Rodney Dangerfield. Sam was doing an impression of Ronnie, Ronnie was doing an impression of Sam and Rodney was doing his thing – I was like “where’s my video camera” [laughs]
Sean: So surreal. So what music would I find you listening to at the moment?
Craig: It will only be either Deep Purple’s Burn or Stormbringer… I also loved the Joe Lynn Turner days too. I got into the songwriting brilliance of Jimmy Page as well, so The Song Remains The Same would be in there too. I listen to Jeff Beck quite a bit. Foreigner – I remember touring with them – Imagine that… having a 2 hour set full of hits, wow. But generally my iTunes account is plastered with Deep Purple & Rainbow.
Sean: We were lucky to have Glenn Hughes here in Perth last year playing the Deep Purple back catalogue. I couldn’t get over how strong his voice still is – it gets better with age.
Craig: There is nothing that guy cannot sing. It’s as if his voice has grown young. Incredible. I was thinking just the other day about all the careers that Richie Blackmore has started – David Coverdale, Glenn Hughes, Ronnie James Dio, Graham Bonnet, Joe Lynn Turner, Ian Gillan – the list is full of singers with immense quality and talent.
Sean: You forget how many there have been and all with their different twist on their delivery of vocals. It has been an incredible chat Craig and one I will never forget, as I feel we have only touched on the tip of the iceberg with the amazing stories you have. But I must finish by asking if you could be credited with writing any song, what would it be?
Craig: That’s like me asking you to pick only one – inhale or exhale [laughs]… for me it would be Rainbow’s Stargazer. Has anyone ever asked you yours? [laughs]
Sean: I knew this would happen one day…no they haven’t, but its Uriah Heep’s July Morning. I just love everything about it and a fantastic track I never get tired of hearing.
Craig: I’m gonna go back and check it out after this.
Sean: Enjoy it – it’s so good. Craig I can’t thank you enough for out talk. And please send all the guys our best wishes from us here at The Rockpit. We wish you every success with the album and hope we can get to see you and the guys here for a tour soon – Australia misses you.
Craig: It’s been really great. Hope we can do it again soon my friend. I’ve really enjoyed it
