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March 24, 2021 55 mins

Brian Ray sits down with Orianthi Panagaris as they go deep into her final days rehearsing with Michael Jackson just before he passed, her time backstage and on stage at the Grammys with Carrie Underwood, her crazy encounters with possessed elevators, swords, and boa constrictors while touring with Alice Cooper and that time a rabbit almost stood in the way of her record deal with Jimmy Iovine at Interscope Records. 


Though Orianthi has a booming solo career and has played on stage with the greatest musicians of all time, her story wasn't always so glamorous, we learn how she grew up being bullied in Australia for her dream to be a musician, but her perseverance paid off when she found herself spontaneously on stage with Carlos Santana as a teenager. 


Check out Orianthi’s music at: https://iamorianthi.com

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Episode Transcript

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Speaker 1 (00:12):
On tour as a production of I Heart Radio and
Black Barrel Media. I'm your host, Brian Ray. I've been
a musician for forty years. I started as a teenager
with Edda James, Smokey Robinson and most recently with Paul
McCartney for nineteen years. On this show, we'll take you
behind the scenes of the music business to give you
the most raw and real tales you've likely never heard before.

(00:36):
Get into the highs and lows of the touring industry.
Who these people were before they played on the biggest
stages in the world, and we'll share our wildest, most unbelievable,
and yes, most embarrassing moments while on tour. In this episode,
we're talking to orient They Panagaris, or as most of
us know, where was the lead guitar player from Michael

(00:56):
Jackson on his ill fated This Is It tour. We
go deep into our final days rehearsing with Michael and
the devastating aftermath of his passing. In contrast, we also
dive into some hysterical stories, embracing theatrics while touring the
world with the godfather of shock rock, Alice Cooper Or

(01:16):
He has shared the stage and collaborated with some of
the biggest names in music, among them Prince, Carrie Underwood,
Richie Sambora and Billy Gibbons, all while having a booming
solo career. Her new album Oh top the charts in
the first week out. Though her story wasn't always so glamorous,
it is certainly one of resilience. We begin with how

(01:38):
she went from being severely bullied in high school to
playing in an arena right there in her hometown of Adelaide, Australia,
with Carlos Santana. Here's my conversation with Orion or Aunty.

(02:00):
Welcome to my show. It's such an honor to sit
down with you today. Hey, it's awesome to see you again. Well,
I'm thinking about and there's there. It's like, really no
end to the superstars that you've played with. But what's
so cool about you is that you've developed your own
identity apart from all of them, and and you've been
really successful in your own solo career as well. Before

(02:21):
we get into all your amazing experiences and crazy tour stories,
let's fill in the listeners who don't know a little
more about how you got started. I understand that your
dad was a guitar player and your mentor, and as
I've learned, you heard him play with Jimmy Hendrix when
you were like six years old, and there was really
no looking back. Oh yeah, And my dad was definitely

(02:43):
a reason why I picked up a guitar six years old,
because he would be playing around the house and he's
a left handed player, you know, to be playing on
with Hendrix, and and he's Greek because I'm half Greek,
right to be playing a great band every other weekend,
and so I'll join him, but i'd go past the
living room he would be cranking like you know, band
of Gypsies or like Cream or something like that. Like

(03:04):
that's freaking cool, Like I want to be able to
do that. It was also like a good thing for
me to sort of connect with my dad, to hang
out with him. And every time I what passed the guitar,
I'm like, that's just freaking there's something that really kind
of drew me to it to pick it up. And
it was like this thing where this pool right, And
so I picked it up and I learned the first
quarter I learned was a chord, right, And he taught me,

(03:26):
you know, my dad taught me initially, and then he
took me to a teacher and I studied classical guitar
when I was about ten years old, So I started
when I was six, took me a classical teacher ten
years old, studied Taste, which is like the university in Australia,
and I learned slight reading and scales and that kind
of stuff. But he actually reminded me of school, which
I didn't like. I didn't like the authority situation of

(03:48):
being told what to do. And it was like, you know,
it was kind of you know, like the fact the
reason why I picked the guitar because it kind of
sense to me. It was like a sense of freedom.
It was like a tool of freedom with endless possibilities,
you know. And and so as kind of intimidating a
guitar can look to right because every time, you know,

(04:09):
you look at it and you're like, every time I
pick it up, it's like I played differently, you know,
and it's always like I'm always trying to learn more
as well, you know, going through the whole classical thing
I learned, you know, I got to stage two and
whatever in in Taith University and then I joined a
It's called Oklahoma. It was like this like theater production.
So I traveled with this orchestra around Australia and did

(04:31):
this in the orchestra pit right when I was like eleven.
And then I saw Santana perform and he played Europa
and that was like the moment where I'm like, I'm
playing wet trick and I said to my dad, I
want to reprst guitar. I was a little brat because
I'm like, can you please get me aprs. I kept
done begging every day and then we found this guy
who had a secondhand pr Rest guitar from the eighties,

(04:51):
one of the first prs made right in Australia, and um,
there's a country player. So I had like super heavy
strings and like high action, and my dad had bought
it for me, and I remember that just being like
the Holy Grauld, like this was like something that I've
been dreaming of, like since listening to Abraxis and watching
Carlos before Europa, because that's the most for me, that's

(05:13):
the most beautiful instrument I've ever written. That's amazing, you
know what I mean. Like that is like the melodically
and the way his tone, everything about it is just
so beautiful. And I was like that moved me. And
the power of music really kind of came over me
at eleven when I was sitting kind of the noseableed
area with my dad watching Carlos play that, and I'm like, Wow,

(05:35):
that's what I want to do. I want to be
able to play electric guitar. So that was the sort
of the jumping off ground ground zero for you. Oh,
absolutely classical guitar was like that was buried permission like
that in one night. In one night, Carla said that
it was a dance the Rainbow Serpent tour and and

(05:55):
I was like literally blown away by his performance, his tone,
and I was like it was his voice, and I
was like, you can pull those tones out of a
guitar and move people. And the feeling he got was
like going to church. Yeah, sure, you know, because there's
no divide, everyone's together. Everyone feels the same thing. It
doesn't matter what nationality or whatever. And so that magic

(06:15):
of music is something more powerful, and I wanted to
do that. So the fact that my dad was able
to find me a PRS, the second hand one from
this player, and I just sat there obsessively didn't do homework,
by the way, so you know, I was really good
at writing excuse letters to the teachers, and um, I'll
just sit there for five six hours a night trying
to study Carlos's solos and then Eric Clapton, Jimmy Hendrix era. Yeah, yeah, amazing. Yeah.

(06:44):
I mean my first guitar wasn't quite a PRS. It
was a five dollar acoustic nylon string guitar from Tijuana,
and I was so happy. I was like twelve years old.
I was so happy. I just started crying because it
was mine. It wasn't great, but it was mine, you know,
my first That wasn't my first guitar, though. I had
a sort of a crappy like you know, sort of yeah, yeah,

(07:07):
that I I banged on and my dad had it
and he was like it was a right hand one
he found and and that was the first guitar I had.
Then I had a strap. But what I considered to
be my first guitar was the PRS because that's the
one I was really drawn to. That really made me
feel like I was looking at something so epic that
I had to sort of try to try to try

(07:29):
my hardest to try to learn guitar properly to even
feel good about playing it, you know what I mean,
if you're worthy of playing. Yeah, so I know it
quickly became your passion. And then I understand you quit
school at like fourteen or fifteen years old to focus
on music. Whatever give you the confidence to make that
bold move at such a young age. I hated authority.

(07:51):
I hated people telling me what to do, you know,
and I just I was always like that, Like even
when I was like six years old, my mom, I
was complete brat, and it was horrible because I'd go
into schools and demand to actually meet that the headmaster
before I would go to the school because I'm I

(08:11):
want to suck this guy out. I was like, really ridiculous.
And then when I was like fourteen, I'm like, you know,
I don't like the structure of all this, like being
told what to do and doing like how algebra and
this stuff I'm never going to use, Like I want
to do music. That's my calling, you know. And so
I literally went on the last day of school with

(08:32):
blue glitter all over my face. I found these butterfly
clips and I did my hair up into this very bizarre.
It was a complete spectacle. I showed up really late too,
because UM signed with the management team when I was
fourteen too, so I'd already been playing with Easy Top
and Steve I, and I was doing radio shows and traveling.

(08:52):
So I would show up like I've been doing that
triple Lamb in Australia and doing different things, you know,
on radio, and I'd come in and then Um, I'd
be like, you know, just sitting in the back of
the classroom. And this one time, the day I decided
to leave school, was when I covered myself in the
glitter and it was blue and glitter all over my
face and uh, you know, butterfly clips. And then the

(09:14):
headmaster at the time, so I need to talk to you,
and you know you're not you're not fitting in, and
and then there's other teacher said, I think you should
pick up the heart because it's more feminine, because I
think you're getting too much. Because I was getting bullied
at school by the guys and you know some girls too,
saying that you know, it wasn't feminine for me to
play guitar. And it was really weird that I was
asking for people to join a band like with the

(09:36):
b King influence, and people didn't know who that was.
And you knew because kids on the block and kind
of backstreet boys, and they were like, who the hell
is this, And so it was this whole thing where
I was just like, you know, it was kind of
a whole situation, and I was just like, you know what,
guys like, I'm just not feeling it, you know, And
and you know, it's like this is great structure for
everybody else, which is not for me. You know, I

(09:57):
hear you, but I'm curious that who are your supporters
at that time? And did your dad say that's a
great idea? Orienty quit school? My dad was a little apprehensive,
but my mother was like, yeah, you know, because you
could see and I actually I was just like my
dad was because he could see my passion from music.
He said, I think you should have an education. He
was being really, you know, like logical about it all.

(10:18):
And my mother was too. But at the same time,
she's um a little more free spirit in a sense too,
So both of them were kind of like talking to
each other, I guess, and kind of came to the conclusion, Okay, well,
we're not going to keep her in school because she's
not going to do well because she's definitely not going
to go with it. So they both then and my
dad was very supportive after that. He's like because he

(10:39):
saw how passionate I was when I joined three cover bands,
earn a lot of money every week, you know, when
I when I quit, and I was really proactive. And
then I learned how to record because I went to
a studio and learned with the engineer how to record myself.
So I learned, you know, how to mike things, what
to you, you know, all that the stuff. So I

(11:00):
studied and and then I recorded my first album myself
when I was like sixteen seventeen, you know, at home,
and that's what got me a record. Do with Discute Interesting.
So I mean, I guess having your dad and your
mom sort of at your back, you know, like, oh yeah,
that was really supported, really really helped. I remember when
I first started taking on music, like you, there was

(11:22):
sort of no choice, and I just knew. When I
was three years old, I was listening to old Elvis records.
My older sister was playing me and stuff, and I
was watching the reactions of my sister and all of
our girlfriends when they listened to Elvis and Little Richard
and Jerry Lee Lewis and the Everly Brothers, and as
a three year old kid, I went, that's what I

(11:42):
want to do. Look at that. Look what Look what's
happening here? Means right, yeah, come on, I know you
love Elvis. Honestly, That's the reason why I started playing
in the first place. When I was six years old,
my dad put on the sixty I Come Back Special.
Oh yeah, right, So I saw that and I was like,
he's playing his j T hundred and he's like sitting around,

(12:03):
he's you know, like and with everyone that he had
in the band. They were sitting around in a in
a circle, and the vibe and they played off each
other and and just see the love from music, um
and the way he sang and played just really you know,
moved me. Like I was like, that's cool, something going
on there, Like it's really deep and and and I

(12:24):
connected with that and the Beatles as well. And I
saw them play like Twist and Shot. That was one
of the first songs I learned. And then um, then
it was you know, Elvis and roy Allburson Robinson was
a huge influence on me too. Which you know is
kind of a thing because my dad had so many
roy Allburson, um you know, records and videos vhs, and

(12:44):
I would be like watching him and just trying to
play along like only the lonely and crying all that
kind of stuff, like and I'll just playing the chords, right.
And then I started songwriting when I was six years old.
So I wrote my first bunch of songs and I
was six, And I became like kind of a songwriter
more than a guitar player when I was six and
used to go to school and perform songs i'd written

(13:05):
and have my friends backup dances. Um, and you planned
the whole thing and like choreographed it. Well, it was
badly choreographed, but it was. It was interesting and entertaining
so at least, but um, you know, it was kind
of like, you know, going off what I learned from
watching all these amazing you know, artists and being so inspired.

(13:26):
It was just purely off inspiration and whatever and just
going with it and then feeling like elated from that.
And and some of the kids didn't get it. They
just what I was like weird, but um, my friends
did because I got into it. I mean they're dancing
was pretty like you know that went into it. You know,
I have some video footage which is embarrassing, but yeah, yeah,

(13:46):
I can understand it. I just want to jump back
for a second. You said that you you had some
bullying going on at school. Um, so what was that
like for you? How did you survive it? How did
you deal with that? Yeah? I was bull pretty badly.
I mean I was pushed into lockers. Guitars of mine
were like destroyed for auditions because I joined different bands

(14:08):
in the school, and you know, some of the guys
and girls didn't like it. And I was actually bullied
more by the girls as well, because they used to
like just literally just beat the crap out of me,
like I'm telling you, like literally pushed in the lockers,
like you know, I had bruises on my freaking back
and my feet and everything and and and they I
don't know what's going on with their home life, but

(14:29):
obviously wasn't too good because they were projecting. And I
learned that over you know, amount of time, because I
had to come to terms with it and kind of
the realization of you know what I mean, It's like
they didn't find what I was doing to be normal
or fit into what their world was, whatever their perception
of what I was doing. So they want to take
it out on somebody. And because I was kind of
like just peace and love and I was hippie. I

(14:50):
used to dress like in Bob Miley T shirts and
like Rastafarian stuff and and and want to just play music. Yeah,
they weren't feeling that where they. You know, I was
thinking about that you and I both share a love
for Elvis and all the earliest rockers and stuff like that,
and all of them, like most of the first wait,

(15:11):
like ten Elvis movies were all about being a rebel
and getting sort of sidelined and bullied for that. And
then of course, you know, in the third act he
becomes very popular and everyone's clapping. I mean, so, you know,
rock and roll is defined by rebellion. So it's clear
that you seems like you related to him on a

(15:32):
very deep level in terms of that, just the rebellion.
Oh yeah, and just being true to yourself and just
living your life the way that you want to live it,
because you only get one life, you know, And I
think that everyone has their own path, and if it's
your true calling you kind of gravitated towards that, and
no one can tell you otherwise. It's like people can say, hey,
you should do this, you should do that, but if

(15:52):
you're like in your soul know where you're supposed to
go and what you're supposed to do, no one's going
to kind of, you know, sidetrack you sidetracking from that.
So yeah, that's why I could sort of feel about music,
and I think it's such a calling, right. Your true inspiration,
as you were just saying, was Santana Um and he
was the reason I guess that you really got into guitar.

(16:14):
Would be fair to say that it was a dream
that you would one day get to play with him.
Oh yeah. I mean when I was fourteen years old,
I made this demo with my dad. My dad recorded
on like a task cam. We recorded like five tracks.
I sent it to the Santana management and I got
an email from your gay Santana Carlos's brother, right, and
he said, we've been playing your record in the in

(16:36):
the offices here and we love it. And and Carlos
really did it too, and I was like, oh my god.
I was like freaking insane. And then PORI Smith heard.
I sent it to everybody. When I was like fourteen,
I sent I put out a list of all the
people I want to send it to. I was like
already like going, I want this is what I want
to do it. So I got a list of like
different record exacts in Australia, from Sony to Universe, all

(16:56):
this kind of stuff in America, and I just sent
out to people and the feedback was pretty positive and good,
and I was like, all right, that's cool, and then
maybe this is the right path, and I was just
going to try harder. And then when I was eighteen,
Carlos came to Australia and he was playing the Memorial
Drive fifteen thousand people right and in Adelaide, Australia. Yeah okay,

(17:17):
So I bombarded him with brass kets and stuff like that.
Which is your hometown hometown? Yeah? And I was playing
out the night before with my cover band until four
am whatever, and I was so sleep deprived. And then
I got a call next morning going, Carlos wants to
meet you a sound check. Come there at like twelve o'clock.
So I'm sleep deprived and like hungover. So I go
there and we start jamming and he's like, I'll play

(17:39):
your guitar, you play mine, and we jammed backstage and
then he's like, you're joining me on stage tonight, and
I'm like, okay. He didn't tell me what songs are
playing or anything. I just following him on stage. I
was up there for like forty five minutes just playing
because I had learned most of his songs anyway, right, yeah,
sure your guitar eyball. Yeah. And it was crazy because
I got up there and he turned to me and like,
you play a solo and I was like, oh my gosh,
I have to the key to find all this stuff.

(18:01):
And I was like it was a very surreal experience.
And I got to tell you I'll never forget that.
I was eighteen being on stage with Carlos, same lineup
as Sacred Fire live in Mexico. You know, I used
to wear that VHS out, you know what I mean,
like video out. It was like worn out because I
literally like tried to learn samba patty to like you know,

(18:23):
everything was on there, you know what I mean. So
it was a crazy time and Carlos was just so supportive.
And then after that I just went to nam I
used to. I saved up and then my mom would
come with me, and then you know, we'd just go
to the Nam show and would just keep on playing
in the Hoary Smith booth. And I eventually got to
deal with Jimmy Ivan from Disco Records. You know, I

(18:44):
got a call first, and then waited like a while
because I wasn't sure what was going on and if
they wanted me or not. And then um, I had
so many animals. We had this rabbit which shoot the
phone card, so we don have a phone for like
two or three days. And apparently Jimmy was trying to
call Thury to say you got a record deal. The

(19:04):
rabbit choot the phone card. Rabbit rabbit called Gaston, actually
gast on the rabbit. Okay, that's the end of rabbits
in your life. My sister's rabbit was amazing. He has
to eat too many cookiesn't it. I think it died
from my basity. But anyway, from the cookies and the
and the and the telephone cord, I mean, it's not

(19:25):
a good combo. You can't eat both of them, not
at the same time, and weird. But tell me, just
how did he get through to you if he missed
your phone call. I I guess he looked. He looked
at that as a challenge and just kept reaching out.
How did he find you? Well, I think three days
later when we got no che days later when we
got the phone called fixed. Um, he called through and said,

(19:45):
you have a record deal. Yeah, that's my favorite record
deal story ever. Oh god, you've heard it first, ladies
and gentlemen. Gaston to the telephone cable. But Jimmy Irvin
did not give up. That's right, Jimmy Irvine who engineered gosh,
what everything Springsteen or like everybody right? Yeah, and then

(20:09):
became the biggest smuggul in the music. Visit Interscope Records.
A great story. He chased you down. Gaston was not
going to fail him. So, even though you've worked with

(20:33):
Steve v and you've been on stage with Santana, would
you consider your breakout that Grammy show you did in
two thousand nine with Carrie Underwood, Given the fact that
that was the night that you were spotted by Michael
Jackson's musical director, you know that was a crazy evening. Um.
What happened was I started my record with Howard Benson,
so I was in there recording my album Slim with

(20:54):
the Interscope was doing that and then I, you know,
I changed management. I was with nineteen entertain Simon Fuller
was my manager, and Carrie Underwood was under the nineties
entertainment thing with the Idol and she decided to choose
me as a guitar player for that evening, which is
really cool, and and and Simon and they were just
in talks and they said would you do it? And
I was like, oh my god. The Grammys is like epic, Absolutely,

(21:17):
I'll be honored. So they got me out there playing
last Name, and you know, Carry is such a sweet,
amazing person and just an incredible singer. Incredible singer. And
so when that curtain dropped and I was like walking
past bb King and sat with him in the green
room beforehand, it was like Bono was walking past you
and all these things. I'm like going, oh my god.
I was sitting in my pajamas, sitting on the couch

(21:38):
watching this ship before and I was younger, you know,
so it was really daunting. And then Keith Urban introduced
us and I just got there and the curtain drops
and we just started playing and I'm like this is
crazy amazing, and it was just a fun evening. It
was really fun. Carrie was just so you know, she said,
this is what they're born to do. Don't be nervous,
it's just play and have fun. And she really was
so cool and she's a friend of mine and very sweet.

(22:00):
And the band were awesome. And after that, I guess
Kenny Ortega was in the audience, right, and Michael Beardon
who's the m D and Michael ja was the choreographer, right, yeah,
he was. He was a very part of the whole
like this is it thing, and so he was there,
and the Michael Jackson had some reason was on YouTube

(22:23):
and and saw me and Carlos Santana mentioned him to
to mention me to him and a few other people
and Michael Berden. So I just gotta I got a
message through MySpace when I was working with Diane Warren.
Yeah my Space I was relevant, but yeah, it was
like when I was in in in the studio and

(22:43):
I got this message through my Space. I was recording
with Diane Warren, which was like an honor, and I said,
and half way through, I get this like alert. I
don't know, I just got this alert on my phone,
I said my Space message and I was like, and
I said to Diane, I'm like, so Michael Jackson wants
me coming in tomorrow. I gotta learn beat It tonight.
She was like, what you know, the whole thing is
going on, and she's like, really, I'm like, I don't

(23:04):
know if it's a did or not. I don't know
if this guy's a weirdo. But I'm going to send
it through my manager. So I said the MANAGERI sn't yet.
You gotta learn beat It. I want to be selling
something in Dirty Diana. You've only got a few hours
because you've got to learn it tonight. And then got
on the phone and then get there tomorrow morning for
a thing for from Michael. So Michael called me that
night and he's I been watching YouTube videos and you know,
I really did what you do and I really want

(23:24):
you to be part of this is it? Can you
learn beat It and these songs and come in tomorrow
and and pay them for me? And I want to
hear them really loud, and I'm like, okay, awesome. So
I'm a blues rock guitar player, but I've never really
listened to that much of Edie Van Halen all the
tapping stuff, you know what I mean. So I don't
have to get into that. So, you know, my whole
thing at night was I tried to play it like Eddie,

(23:46):
but I just couldn't because I'm not that kind of player,
you know, and you can't feel Eddie van Halen shoesman, hell,
you know, so or Jennifer Batton. So I'm like, you
know what, I'm gonna play the solo the way that
I would play it as an artist. So that's the
way the approach I took to it. And I'm like,
if he doesn't dig it, then at least I'm being
true to myself be the right call for it. Yeah,
I wouldn't be right, corn, I'd be cool with that
because I'm not trying to try to be something i'm

(24:09):
not and trying to feel shoes that I can't, you
know what I mean. So I was being like really, um,
and I came to that sort of conclusion after like hours,
so I'm like, that's going to happen. So I was
going in there and I played the solo with the
right notes, but just with my filter it right right.
He's like, I love it. You're hired that night right.
So I was like literally crying. I was like, are

(24:30):
you kidding me? This is like crazy. I didn't tell anybody.
I didn't tell I didn't tell Intoscope, I didn't tell anyone.
So I just because they were indecisive about what direction
I should go, country, pop, rock, whatever. So I'm like,
you know, I'm not gonna I'm not going to tell
anybody yet. Then Kenny, I'll tell you. Goes into run
Fair's office, and then run Fair text me I heard

(24:50):
the news, you know, and I'm like, congratulations. So he's
really happy and everyone's actually really happy about it all.
So it turned out to be a really positive thing,
unfortunately and really tragically, but I just feel very blessed
to have been part of that whole, that whole thing,
you know, for like two or three months. Yeah, I'm
not clear, So it was like two or three months

(25:10):
of rehearsals before that, I don't even know, but yeah,
it was solid. They booked out, the Staples Center, booked out,
the Forum, booked out, you know. I mean, it was
a lot of money put into all this stuff. We
had apartment's already set out in London ready to go
for the two tour. Um had a guitar mate which
had rockets coming out of it and lasers and all this.

(25:31):
It was crazy. Did he ask for that or is
that something you you thought of? Um? He asked for it.
And then the other guitar that was made, UM, the
one prior to that was covered in Strossi crystals. It
was very heavy, like it was completely covered in strosky.
Is that something that was his idea or it was
I put him my guitar and it was blue and
he's like, this is too plain. I'm like all right,

(25:53):
he's like, let my clothes design to come in with
my you know, the person who's covering everything, he has
giant like triantula or whatever. It was. So everything was
covering crystals and nine pounds. It was really heavy. I
mean Paris is a slightly heavy, but this this was
like be dazzled and heavier and cool. And when I
saw it was like blinding and it was great. And

(26:15):
then the rocket thing as well. It was crazy. So
the whole thing was like extravagance to the end. I mean,
you know, there was nothing that you couldn't dream up,
that couldn't be made, you know what I mean. So
it was insane and he was like the sweetest person
to work for, the sweetest boss and had the best
time working with Michael. I mean, honestly, it was truly

(26:36):
an experience I'll never forget and I'm very blessed to
have spent that time with him, no doubt about it. Unfortunately,
as you said, tragedy struck while you're rehearsing him, Michael,
you never toured. What was the craziest thing that happened
during those rehearsals besides the nineteen pound Swarzky crystal. Oh,
there was so much crazy. I mean, like from the
fans to the people that would come rushing in security,

(26:58):
and like it was a different realm of reality. I've
ever experienced anything like it, to be honest with you.
I mean, it's just so much money was thrown into it,
so anything you wanted you got basically right. So then
you have cameras following you around. Even when I went
to the refrigerator to get some berries, that were following me.
Literally everything was filmed, was like Big Brother or something.
So it was pretty intense, and I got to tell you,

(27:20):
the paparazzi everything after that was insane. I had paper
cuts and being pushed around everyone. That was kind of
part of it. And I guess I used this clip
of me playing with Michael they don't care about us
on the news when you passed, you know. So I
had paparazzi at on my door, I held TMZ, follow
me around, my sister or something like all the time.

(27:41):
It happened for like about a year, good year, you
know what I mean. After that, and then I was
then into Scope were like, we're putting out your record,
like literally a month after so I was on a tour,
you know, promoting my album and single which went platinum
around the world, you know what I mean, which was great,
but I was still dealing with the grief of that too.

(28:02):
So it was kind of like this, I just like
I had like a therapist, and I was like, I
just a therapist that I worked with because it was
really hard for me to deal with the emotions of
it wasn't just losing a tour, It was losing a friend.
It was losing the he become a friend with you,
oh everybody, you know what I mean. It became like
your boss, your and just I guess getting caught up
in the whole thing of when you're musicians and you

(28:24):
play together, and that sense of friendship and between everybody
in the band, that's what kind of it was all
gone overnight, you know what I mean? And then his
his life and everything he goes How did that happen? Like?
How can someone's life be taken away? When he seemed
completely fine and and and good and good spirits everything

(28:44):
was and it was just very mind boggling and hurtful
for everybody. We're all very upset and the world was
I mean, obviously obviously a global thing. Was he as
intense as a band leader as as we might think
he is? What he like in terms of leading the rehearsal?
Was that more Michael Bearden? Was he very demanding during

(29:05):
the Verse Long Day? Yeah, Michael MJ. Was incredibly intense. Yeah,
Michael Bearden was very intense too. Um Yeah, I mean
he heard everything, you know, because it was it was
about parts. It was about how to make this sound
the best it could. So even when my guitar tone
wasn't right on point, you try this? Can you try that?
Even had Pole Smith make me a PRS which sounded

(29:28):
a little like a telly sometimes you know, they had
like more of that bite to it and changed the
pickups and stuff like that, so it cut through and
you know for those funky parts, so it would sound
really similar to the parts of like I want to
be starting something or thriller and all those you know
those those are in the rhythmic sort of stuff. Yeah,

(29:49):
this single note, funk stuff, little things, you know what
I mean. And Michael could hear all that stuff. He
wanted to hear it loud, so there was no faking.
You had to have the were do and he was like,
can you use this different? Are can you get something
else different? He would hear everything. I'm telling you, that guy,
he was on point. And when people say, oh, he
was on different things or whatever it was to be
that on point, I don't believe it because I mean,

(30:11):
I'm telling you, if you're if you're spaced out and
you're on ship, you can't hear that, you know what
I mean. Like, he was so on it. He's like,
I need I need to change that guitar tomorrow. And
I'm like, sure, absolutely, I need that part change for
the base, I need that part change for whatever, the
singing or whatever. And he was like so adamant about
every part to the dancing to the overall production that

(30:31):
guy was working over time. Amazing. Yeah, well that explains it.
I mean for me with Paul, there's been several times
where he'd come to any of us and say, hey,
can you try a little thinner sound? And you know,
we do our best to sort of emulate the records
that we were raised on because they're sort of in
our blood. They're they're in our d n A. Those
those Beatles, Wings and Paul solo songs are you know,

(30:54):
they're part of our vocabulary. So what are you gonna do?
Say no, I don't have that sound. You're going to
dig around until you find that sound. Did he end
up feeling happy with the sounds when you were going
for that thinner sound that he was describing? Was he
happy with He seemed content after that, of course, yeah,
I mean because he you know, then he wanted me
to come up with a part at the end of

(31:15):
like Black or White Um, which was called Aftermath, and
it was like this destruction part where everything was like falling.
He's like, can you can you write something for the
end of that? And I was like sure. So then
that night I wrote this part and then we just
performed it for and he loved it, which is really cool.
The whole experience, I got to tell you it was amazing.
I got to plan his last record too, so I

(31:35):
played a solo on the song called Monster Amazing. Wow,
that's that's amazing. Yeah. And so you didn't really notice
like he was rursing under a lack of sleep. He
was still really president, really intense that whole time. I mean, yeah,
you could tell that he was overworked, There's no question
about that. And with the tour ready to go, um,

(31:57):
it was ready to roll out. Oh yeah, ready to go.
Oh my god. Well a loss. So since you never
got to tour with Michael, I guess Alice Cooper was
really your first big world tour, is that right? Yeah?
Well I toured with my own band and had a
platinum single with Number one, which was great, and I
was platinum in Japan, Australia and America. Great song. By

(32:21):
the way, you know that song um was actually written
by Steve Diamond and Andrew I think Andrew Frampton and
and then I added my stuff toured as well with
the eighties guitar tapping, solo and everything. I'm like, if
I'm going to do something on pop radio. I'm putting
an eighties tapping guitar solo in there. So every kid
wants to play guitars with the point of different. So

(32:41):
I said, I'm not I'm not Miley Sis, I'm not
any of these um you know, they're they're great artists,
they're great pop singers and dance and everything, but I'm
not that. I'm a guitar player. So sure, if I
want to have an empowering song, but I want to
also put in that guitar solo where everyone could play
along to and got on Guitar Hero. There was so
much stuff that you know, came along with it and

(33:05):
yeah yeah, and had great director and it really inspired
a lot of kids to want to play guitars. I
thought it was cool. When I put down the guitar sol,
I thought, oh my god, they're gonna left the studio.
I'm like, they're going to hate this ship. I'm like,
but you know what, why not? And then Ron Fair
calls and says, I love it. It's different, it's cool.
Add more guitar playing to it. I'm like, all right,
And honestly, the reaction from it was really great. I mean,

(33:26):
I worked my ass off and promoting it and meeting
with every radio programmer around the country for like two
or three months solid with my guitar player, which went
around and met everybody. We did two cities in one day.
No sleep, right, just constant like pushing it and handshakes,
meet and greets, all that kind of stuff. Would you
play my song? You please play my song? You know
all that kind of stuff. That stuff works because you

(33:47):
made that personal connection and and you know, some of
the interviews were like pretty grueling. I mean, you know,
you get up so early, you don't sleep, You're asked
these pressing questions, very emotional. It was mixed, but honestly
all paid in that sense, in in in getting the
song out there and as an artist and then being
able to tour, you know, extensively in Japan, having your

(34:09):
best off record in Japan then and then Asia, and
then playing all the festivals and sumer Sonic and you
know what I mean, and then people are singing about
your songs, like a hundred of thousand people. Yeah, putting
in that sweat equity and all that time, all that
what they used to call elbow agrees to to sort
of promote yourself and it worked. To watch that rise
up the charts and gain that kind of success and

(34:30):
must be really satisfying for you. It was, you know,
it was kind of crazy because like when you're playing
Japan and I don't really speak English, you know, well
some do, but not everybody, and they're singing back the
lyrics to according to you, and you're playing a hundred
thousand people, right, It's like that's like a drug in itself.
It's like holy sh it, you know what I mean.
It's like wow, and then you go all right, Then

(34:52):
after that, how do I be normal? You know? I mean?
And so it's trying to find the balance. I think,
I think, you know, as a musician, and you know,
we go from a zero to a hundred all the time, right,
and you've got to find a way to deal with
normal life and sort of like go, Okay, how do
I normalize. I'm a I'm a homebody. Like when I'm home,

(35:15):
I love my animals, I love cooking, I love my friends,
I love the normal crap right things. Right, but then
I love playing the big shows. And then when I'm
not playing shows, I'm going crazy. So there's like this
whole thing I've got to get back in the studio.
I'm gonna be writing them with people doing stuff like
just being a service, you know, to music, because I

(35:35):
feel like you're calling for it. So if I had
too much time off, I'm I'm a weirdo that must
to be around me. When was it that Alice reached

(35:59):
out to Alice Cooper? I played the finale of American
Idol with Alice. We play schools out so and I
did some session worked with Bob ezran So. I played
on Pippie Dobson's record her you know, he had a
big single in Canada, Can't Breathe. So I played the
guitar solo on that of his skye with Bob. And
then Alice called me when I was in Nashville making

(36:21):
my record Dave Stewart from the Rhythmics, and he called
me after I finished a record, like literally the last day.
He's like, a right, I need a guitar player. I
was like, I was right, He's like my guitar players
left thin Lizzie, and I need you to learn everything
in a week. And how many songs was that? Oh
my god? So I um and I was like sure,
absolutely sounds great. And then I listened to them, I'm like,

(36:43):
there's like this, this is hard. It's like it's like
Frank Zappa and every guitar player when they record it
wasn't a different drug, but it was like somehow very
war orchestrate it with Barbezer and everybody that went around.
So it was like incredible. And and and then Steve Hunter,

(37:04):
who's like an incredible guitar play and I was like
y and he was part of the band when I
joined Steve, so it was me and Steve with Tommy
Hendrickson he's incredible too, and and and Chuck Garrick and
Glenn Sable. So I wanted to hear Steve really loud
in my ears because he was just inspiring and incredible.
So learning all those songs are literally told my friends,

(37:27):
I'm sorry, but I can't see you for a week
and I'm un lockdown and I have to learn these songs.
They're very difficult. And then Damon Johnson, who I replaced
in the band, came out. I said, I need your help.
You gotta fly in, Damon, because there's no way I'm
want to learn and it would retain basically all the
parts in a week. You know. Halo Flies was a
nine minute long song, like nine minutes long, like, and

(37:50):
there's all the different parts and all, and it's not
like it's difficult parts. It just melodic parts you're gonna remember.
It's more orchestral animal where orchestral and and so Damon
was like, Okay, I'm sit down with you and go through,
and he s, so if you take a part by part,
you're gonna remember it. And he was really wonderful, dame,
And I've got to say he really saved the day
for me, because without that, I wouldn't have known how

(38:12):
to really take it on because it's like, you know,
it was overwhelming for me, to be honest, and I
just finished my record as ready to put that out
and promote that. I was like, no, I'm gonna go
with Alice because this is this is Alice Cooper. I mean,
he's incredible. And so I was part of that whole
rocky horror, crazy show with pythons and swords, and I
was an irritable zombie for like four years and it

(38:33):
was wonderful. I was covered in blood, I had like
I love the Dad written on my arms and I
loved it. I loved every minute of it because I
got to tell you, Alice Cooper and Cheryl are the
nicest people you ever meet. Amazing what a performer too.
What's the craziest story that you have from that tour?
I have many crazy stories. I mean I nearly got
stabbed in the head by one of the swords and

(38:54):
he got a confetti cannon um going off up my
butt because I was playing a song that would have
been a really awkward in hospital visit. And then I
got stuck in an elevator in Perth, Australia, which felt
five stories. This is just like the first time we
went out on tour and I got to the hotel
room in pers I got my key, I was any

(39:15):
personal elevator and it decided to just break I guess, yeah,
elevator and it was a really high hotel by the
beach and everything in Perth, and it just decided to
fall five or six stories, like like damn, like down right,
And I was like these like magazines, I'm like, oh
my god, I'm dying. For some reason, I've read somewhere
like if an elevator is falling, you should flatten yourself

(39:35):
so your your spine isn't jar. So I'm like flattened
across the ground like like a weirdo. And as it's
in midfall, you did that. Yeah, so it smart to
remember that down because it doesn't jar your spine. So
you just like you can fall with the elevator, you
don't die. So um, good plan. I like that plan.

(39:56):
You don't want to die. We had a rescue team
come out with oxygen and everything. It was really dramatic,
really dramatic anyway, So there's a wedding going on too
at the time. There's all these brides maids, and I
was stuck between two levels, right, So they finally got
a wrench and they got me out, and I was
like looking like death. It's like twenty hours of flying
for me, you know. I come out of the elevator

(40:17):
and I'm like they run's dressed up properly for the wedding.
I'm like, don't get in that freaking elevator. It's freaking possessed.
And I'm like yelling everybody because I'm like superprived, and
they're like looking at me like, oh my god, this
girl's like insane. I'm like, well, that's a good thing
you weren't in zombie makeup because then you would have
really caused a scene. Oh my god. Yeah no. And
then then I went and bought myself a Martin guitar

(40:38):
as a result of that. Oh yeah, I went to
a guitar store stright after that little retail therapy. Oh
my god. Yeah, guitar stores from me and hat stores,
that's where I go. I feel. Yeah, well as far
as I not as much the hats, but yeah, guitars.
Ever since I was a kid, Like when I was
twelve years old, I remember getting on the number nine
bus and I put a quarter in the out of

(41:00):
the bus and take it down to Santa Monica and
do this tour of pawn shops and music stores that
would take me all day on Saturday. I started off
with a big old plate of French fries and a
Coca Cola and get all starched and sugared up, caffeine up,
and I do this routine like six guitar stores, starting
with pawn shops and build up to the best one

(41:21):
ace music. But I was I was an addict. At
the end of the day, they'd say, when my mom
would come pick me up, we're gonna start charging you
for babysitting, you know, because like, you know, that was
what I was into. And I was like thirteen years old.
So you got the Martin. Did that fix it for you? Yeah?
It did. For a minute, I felt good because I
could took it back to my room and see with

(41:41):
his guitar, and I'm feeling good about this purchase. And
I really died. And it was really funny because when
I got downstairs and like, we feel so terrible. What
happened when it upgrades you to the Sweet? And I
was like we was a suite on the twentieth floor.
I'm like, you know, I don't want the Sweet. I
want the freaking first floor ship. Okay, Like I don't
want to get in the elevator, right, So I like,

(42:04):
you can upgrade somebody else to the Sweet. I don't
want good news as you have a sweet, the bad
news as you get you got to get back on
that elevator. Yeah, I don't want I don't Yeah. Yeah.
So it was a really funny, terrifying, but funny in
the end experience. I mean, there's so many things that
happened with Alice Cooper Tour. I mean I gotta tell you, like, well,
there's a there's a guillotine, on stage. Yeah, real swords, snakes,

(42:29):
huge bowl constrictors. There's a snake minder. Yeah, there's a python.
Little ball of Peep I think it was or little
bo Peep so little. She lived on the bus and
the generator broke so she was out on the couch
as I was pouring my coffee one morning and I
was just like it was staring at me. Its beady eyes,

(42:51):
like just staring at me, like fixated. And I was like,
oh my god, I can't do this. I'm tired, I
want my coffee and there's freaking python staring at me.
So I went up Glenn the drummer, and I was like, Glad,
you gotta wake up. Like I can't deal with this.
I'm trying to pull my coffee in. This ball was
looking at me and he wants to eat me. He's like, okay,
I'm looking up. So and then Kyler, he works with Alice,
he came out and dealt with it. But I was

(43:12):
just like, and apparently they're they're really attracted to um pheromones.
So if you were wearing perfume, which I pretty much
cropped us myself and Tom forward right, it's like, you know,
like looking at me like I want don't want to
eat you or just take a chunk out of flash
but apparently I don't know, make a partis or somebody
had a chunk of their arm taken out by one

(43:34):
of the pythons because she was wearing this cream which
had perfume on it. So it was definitely after me
and I could sense that because it was like kind
of like hovering, like looking at me like I was like, okay, no, no, wow, Yeah,
that was weird. Um, you know, there was a lot
of weird experiences, but I going to tell you overall,

(43:55):
that tour was a blast and I have, you know,
such amazing memories because such a beautiful family environment with
Alice and the boys and they just and Cheryl and
Calico and everyone just just beautiful people. They really are.
That's so cool. We'll listen, We're gonna wrap it up
now with our Lightning round we like to call the Encore.

(44:16):
So there's a non glamorous side of what we do,
and that's the travel. What's the craziest travel story besides
the Bola that's happened to you? And was there a
moment of this is really not as fun as I
thought I would be oh my god so many times.
I mean, you know, for the first tour, um, I
was turning around my tour manager and band. Um. I've

(44:36):
been doing a lot of press and going to Asia
a lot, and going to Japan I think ten times
in one year. We had to get passed through China
one time, and I had not slept in a week
because I just like constantly probably like half an hour
and naps in between, right, So it's delirious as how
So apparently I got put in a dark room in China,
questioned and all this stuff I don't even remember, and

(44:58):
my tour manager said to me, like blacked out because
you had been sleep deprived and you haven't slept in
a week. And mind you, I wasn't drinking, I wasn't
doing anything. This was just severe sleep deprivation from just overware.
So that was weird. And then I guess just trying
to pick yourself up after you know, fly after flight
and just not remembering which city you're in, and you know,

(45:20):
you get on stage and and you're just like, oh
my god, like and just taking too much BE twelve.
I remember I was taking like too much BE twelve
to the point that was giving me anxiety, Like I
thought it was like helping me, But there is a
point where you can take too much of it. Good
to know, good to know. So it's it's been said
that the tragedy plus time equals humor. What's the most

(45:40):
embarrassing thing that has happened to you on stage? And
how did you get through it? One of the funniest stories,
which I found be very humorous. I was I used
to wear these big hair extensions, you know, quite the
um it was really unmanageable. Actually it was really annoying.
But um so my bass player was running past me
and she got her head stover a base caught in

(46:01):
my hair extension, and it took two songs to separate us.
And it was a Montreal UH festival, twenty thousand people
filmed in Canada, and I think it was really funny
because everyone in the first in the front row, we're
kind of like just looking at like when are they
going to separate? Like who's gonna how's this going to happen?
So I think liked she added to the show of

(46:21):
like the you know kind of like how's this going
to happen? How's it gonna how you know, and she's
like pulling her neck and I was like, my heir,
it was going. I was like trying to sing and
I was like on the mic, it was a weirder ship.
And then like they finally two texts came out, so
we had the drum tech came out, the guitar tech
came out, and they finally pulled her and she had
hair stuck to hear. Her head stopped, and she was

(46:42):
convinced she was being fired after this, right, and the
trumander was playing some games with her and saying, ah,
he's going to fire you right. This this is not
it's not good. And so I walked on the bus
and I was like I'm like, oh no, you know
what I said Viv, And she's wonderfu what's incredible? Based
by I love you? Like this is funny? Added he
added to the show, people were like suspense, like when
is the hair going to come out? Is that? When

(47:04):
are you going to Guys want to get separated. This
is a weird ship, very spinels. And then um, I
said it was great entertainment value. That's what's all about,
you know, I said, all good, all good. So then
she has so funny she had her leg out, or
I think she did her. Somebody else did, maybe my
assistant at the time, but anyway had their leg out
of their bunk. So I go running without even looking

(47:27):
a little dark into my bunk to go to sleep.
I get severe concussion because the leg hits me on
the side of the head where it just blocked me out.
So I passed out and crawled into bed. I'm asleep
for seventeen hours, but now I wanted to wait me
because I thought that poor girl, she's so sleep deprived.
We're not gonna wake her. She get mad, So I

(47:47):
could have died from being concussed yea and going to sleep. Yeah.
And then so I had this big bruise in my
head and I wake up and everyone was like staring
at me when I wake up with white eyes, like wow,
you slept all the way through to like, oh my
sound check time, And I'm like, that was the best
sleep I ever had. So I remember getting hit on
the head and they said, oh my gosh, or you

(48:08):
have a huge bruise on your head. So we had
a doctor come in. It was like severe concussion, and
you know what, it was all good. So that was
kind of a crazy story. Do you personally have a
pre show tradition or there are any superstitions that you have.
For me, it's definitely about just gathering the band together
and having that time together before the show and putting
hands in a circle and shouting something and whatever that

(48:29):
word it is or phrases that we all do it together,
and then having a bit of a loan time is
really important to me as well. You know, it's about
togetherness and it's about like, you know, we're all playing
for real, we're not miming, so you never know what's
going to happen. A guitar strap could break, string could break,
whatever could happen, a drumstick could break. You never know,
you know, and all these things have come in your head.
But ultimately, and I have a certain thing where I

(48:51):
like to wear my moonstone rings. I have my crystals
and I'm I'm very much about energy, you know, I'm
very much about that. It's really important to certain rings
and certain jewelry. Turquoise for me, I have a senature
strap line which I just created just now with Carlino Guitars,
and it has turquoise all on the straps right, which

(49:15):
is really cool. And then um, you know, I'm working
with gifts and guitars right now and doing it a
Brandy j T hundred which is really cool, and incorporating
crystals with that too, right, So it's definitely about the
energy fields of things. And I thought music is such
a the most powerful form of magic is music, right,
and that can bring people together more than anything else can.

(49:37):
And there's no divide, you know, And I think that
everyone just kind of you know, it's this frequency which
is healing, and it brings people together and they feel
the same things, no matter what nationality, whatever your beliefs are.
It's an incredible thing. And who would you go see live?
Let's say you you didn't have any v I P
access at all, that you would just stand in line
with everybody and I would always have to be the

(49:58):
Rolling Stones. I mean, you can't, girl, I kind of
knew that was going to happen. I'm still that way too,
write like they're they're just freaking so great, you know,
just the incredible show. Incredible show. And when I saw
you guys perform too in Vancouver, remember that, you know,
freaking amazing show, you know, Pole And yeah, I mean honestly,

(50:18):
I'm just a fan of music and when it moves
you and it's just like so iconic and everything's like
a certain way and and level too, I mean the
level of musicianship that you guys have. You know, you're
playing Paul's playing everyone, you know, everybody, and with the
Rolling Stones and all these different bands, it's like it's funny.
It's like it's such it's such a vibe, but it's

(50:40):
so real and it's like you mean it, but it's
like you're doing what's best for the song and it's
it's all, it's all very you take it really seriously.
I think a lot of bands that are coming out
now don't do that. They don't and they've got to
take note interesting, yeah, you know what I mean, take notes.
Take notes from Paul McCartney. Here, you guys take from

(51:01):
you know, because because with Alice and I'm sure you
guys like you rehearse a lot and get the parts.
You know. With the Stones they hap hazard in a
very organized way, but they always have that it's like
a train wreck. Keith will play something like out there
and then Ronnie Wood would just back it up solidly,
and then he would play something solid and then Ronnie

(51:23):
will play something like you know, out of the box,
and everything just fills in, and then Mick will start
like dancing around and playing something, and then you know,
it's like it's just all works because they're so rehearsed
the fact that they know each other's instincts. And I
think that once you know, it's about dynamics, you know
what I mean, It's all about presenting the songs properly

(51:43):
and just being polished and really being a service to
the music and how you present it to people and
how to move people. And is there anything you'd be
stoked to collaborate with it you haven't collaborated with. I
would love to do a collaboration with Gary Clark. We're
talking the other night. Ability that's a great idea. Yeah,
we we text each other and see what happens there,

(52:05):
you know. But so, I mean, I would love to.
I'm a huge fan of Gary's and I just think
that he really brings the realness of h the blues
and everything that. You know, he just got this whole
vibe going on, which I really did so soulful. Yeah,
great singer too, great player and great singer. Yeah, we
got to dam out with Rick Nelson for the whole

(52:26):
that That was the coolest thing, you know, when you
called me to do that, And that was actually with
Jimmy Ivan That's home. I was in his office and
you called through and said, Hey, were you part of
this last Pole tribute? And I'm like absolutely, I'd be
so cool. And then you're like play these parts. I'm
like all right. So we recorded it, you know together
after and everything, but then being able to play the
live show and be a part of the it was

(52:46):
a Dolphins, Yeah, Miami Dolphins halftime show, and we had
a hundred kids out on the field all playing air
guitar and acting like they're playing you know, bassis and
guitars and doing little steps. They were oreographed Alfred Gibson
to promote music in schools. Such a cool environment, and
I remember them all was like, you know, just jamming out.

(53:08):
It was fun. And I was out there for a
week because we play the Towelgate Party, I play national Anthem.
So Rick Nelson he has the most precise pick throwing situation. Real.
I have a story about that same here on the
Freaking Head. I'm like, same here. One I was with
a guest and he threw a pick and got caught
in her hair, and we're like thirty five ft from

(53:30):
the stage. I swear to god, he's like a sharpshooter
with guitar picks. He flicks them, telling you goes like
this and he knows straight part. I'm like, dude, how
do you do that? And then when I throw them
and I'm like, you know, looking at a fan, it
goes like the other way, the same here. All of
mine end up down in the security pit. He's like

(53:52):
it go somewhere else and they're like, you're an idiot,
and I know, well, we'll leave it there. Thank you
everyone for listening, and thank you to my good friend

(54:14):
and fellow guitar slinger Orientally for taking us behind the
scenes into our amazing life. Be sure to check out
our new album, Oh You Won't Be Disappointed. On Tour
is a production of I Heart Radio and Black Barrel Media.
This show is produced by Mandy Wimmer with executive producer
Noel Brown and I'm your host Brian Ray. For more

(54:36):
information about on Tour, visit our website black Barrel media
dot com for behind the scenes photos from these interviews
and to interact with us. Visit our social media at
on tour pod on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. For more
shows from My Heart Radio and Black Barrel Media, visit
the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get

(54:59):
your favorite podcast mm hm
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