Anthony Krizan has recorded with Mick Taylor, backed up Noel Redding and been a member of the Spin Doctors – but it’s his solo music that keeps him inspired. His latest album Cool Shade of Blue, is an example of where he’s at. “It’s a blues, rock and soul vibe,” he says. “Everything I do has the blues in it, but I like to write hooky songs that cross genres.”
He’s already working on his next record, among other things. “I have a lot of new music, and I have a line of pickups from Greenville, a father/son company out of Detroit,” he reports. “I’ve been working on a Strat pickup – we’ve got a line called Sonic Blue 60 Vintage Hot.”
In the late ‘80s you participated in a recording session with Mick Taylor.
“When I had my deal with Chrysalis Records, the management company had us go to LA and we’d get together with some writers. They were really kind of ‘80s pop. It wasn’t our bag. We’d made a record before the Black Crowes came out where we were going for a Stones-type thing.
“We met Greg Sutton, who played bass for Bob Dylan, and we just kind of hit it off. He said, ‘Let’s see if we can get Mick Taylor out.’ So, we paid Mick some money, and got some blow, because he liked coke, and we wrote a few songs.
“Every solo he did was on a tape machine. He’d be like, ‘Let me take it again,’ but I was like, ‘Man, that was unbelievable!’ We’d have to erase a few because we didn’t have enough tape – but every time he played, it was just amazing. It’s true: you get the tone out of your hands. And whatever he plugged into sounded great.”
Those recordings were never released. Where are they now?
“One was called Gospel, and that never made the record. It was a little bit like a Gimme Shelter vibe. We wrote two more – one has never been released and the other one was lost when somebody erased the reel, which I’m kind of pissed at. But getting to sit there and watch him for a whole day was pretty amazing.”
You were in Noel Redding’s band in the ‘90s. How did you get the gig?
“I made a pretty big-budget record with Chrysalis, but it got shelved. So we were being shopped around, and we ended up on Polygram, and our producer, Frankie LaRocka, approached Noel and said, ‘Would you want to do some gigs?’
“A lot of people don’t know this, but Noel Redding died broke because he signed his publishing away. When Noel started coming around, it was me and Frankie the first time, and then Earl Slick was on guitar. We had Jack Daley as a second bass player because we didn’t even know how Noel was playing at the time.
“We’d have Noel come over every few months; we’d book gigs and play colleges and bars, and we’d give Noel the lion’s share of the money.”
Is it true that Noel used your gear?
“Every time Noel came over he’d use my ’71 Fender Jazz Bass. It’s my favorite bass. He’d use that even though Fender reissued the Noel Redding bass! We played for 10 years on and off, and we did a live record in Prague that’s out there somewhere, which is pretty cool.”
Did Noel ever ask you to play like Jimi Hendrix?
“He was so loose – he’d always get a kick out of the fact that it was unrehearsed, and anything could happen. Sometimes he’d forget certain songs, or we’d mess up, but he wouldn’t care.
Alex was more of a heavy metal shredder… I don’t think he fit the vibe
“I was nervous at first because with some of the Hendrix stuff, I could play just like it, but there’s other stuff that you want to kind of take off and do your own thing. We kind of stuck to the vibe of the records, but during the jam sections we’d do our own thing.”
What was your biggest takeaway from playing with Noel?
“One thing I still try to work on is not overplaying. You want to build solos, but I used to try and rip out of the gate. But getting to look over and see Noel playing just like the records with his attack and stuff was a surreal experience.”
How did you hook up with the Spin Doctors in the mid ‘90s?
“I got the gig because I was playing with Noel. Frankie and I were at the Wetlands when the Spin Doctors were pretty much at their peak. They were at the side of the stage watching me play with Noel, and when it came time to audition guitar players they kind of remembered me.”
What was the audition like?
“Alex Skolnick and Kenny Withrow went before me. I’ve always had a good work ethic and was prepared for that gig. I think I copped the vibe of what Eric Schenkman did when he was in the band, which was definitely cool stuff – and not easy. He came from a jazz background, and I’m not really a jazz guy, but I got the gig.”
Alex Skolnick, while known for playing mostly metal, is phenomenal. Did you actually see his audition?
Playing with the Spin Doctors as a three-piece, you have to cover, and it’s kind of nice
“Yeah – I was right outside the door. Alex was more of a heavy metal shredder, but he was amazing. Kenny was great too, but I don’t think they fit the vibe. There also wasn’t much time to work with a new guy, and they wanted somebody who could fit the sound so that most people wouldn’t notice Eric wasn’t there. I’m sure if it wasn’t such a rush job, they’d have auditioned more guys.”
You made one record with the Spin Doctors, You’ve Got to Believe in Something. How do you look back on that?
“Even though that record wasn’t a huge success, it was still something cool, and some good stuff came out of it. Playing with the Spin Doctors as a three-piece, you have to cover, and it’s kind of nice. You have freedom; but rhythmically you have to fill spots, and do solos with chordal stuff to fill out the rhythm.”
- Cool Shade of Blue is on sale now.
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