The Dead Daises

Perhaps it’s their Australian-American heritage, or the fact their name sounds like an unpublished Virginia Andrews novel. Maybe it’s that these guys are simply pros at what they do. Whatever the reason, their rotating lineup has included members of bands like Cold Chisel, Nine Inch Nails, The Rolling Stones, and now guitarist Doug Aldrich of Whitesnake. The musical life is a carousel Aldrich wouldn’t trade for anything, though with The Dead Daisies’ third album Make Some Noise arriving this month, it hasn’t always been an easy ride.

“There were some tours when I was with Whitesnake where…” Aldrich pauses, trying to capture the reality of life after 30 years on the road. “I was in something like a hundred different hotels one year, just always checking in and checking out. Maybe the whole tour itself was something like 120 shows, and between playing and your days off, you’re moving a hundred times. It gets pretty tedious, and everything starts to look the same. Even the people themselves are basically the same. The people in Sydney, the people in Los Angeles, the people in London, they’re all just doing their thing, wanting to hear music from a band that they love. They’re just trying to have fun and to take care of their family and be able to work. It’s the same thing if you’re in Albania or Tokyo, wherever.

“So you’re doing all this moving, all this packing and unpacking, you go to the gym and try to stay healthy while having to gear yourself up every day for the show, and then wind down,” he says. “It’s tedious, man, and I tell you the honest truth – eventually, if you’ve got a relationship or a family … it’s very difficult to be away.”

It’s a sobering reflection, and speaks of a side of musicianship that is often glossed over. Touring can be a bitch, and it quickly takes its toll on the unprepared and starry-eyed. These days, Aldrich has found a way to make it work thanks to the wonders of Skype and a passion for musical experimentation that has never diminished. To hear him talk about guitars is to hear a man enthralled.

“For me, the guitar itself – and there are others who’d tell you totally differently – but I really love the vintage stuff. I love the wood from some old tree with wires stretched across it. The way that wood resonates just feels different, it sounds different. I really love the older instruments. I don’t know how much improvement you can really do on a guitar. But they are doing some interesting things with amplification. Digital modelling, they call it, where you can basically buy an amplifier that will model maybe 70 kinds of amps, and that’s pretty cool.

“For example, I own a 1968 Plexi Super Bass 100-watt Marshall, an amazing amp – it’s really old, it’s hand-wired. All the parts were so well made at that time, all the capacitors and tubes. So that amp sounds amazing, but if you compare that to the new modelling amp of that same brand, the same year, you know, it sounds pretty darn good. It’s like 90 per cent there. If you’re recording, you’re going to go with the real thing. But if you’re touring, you might figure to take the modelling amp. It’s more stable, it’s not a 50-year-old piece of equipment you’re worried is going to break.”

It has been less than a year since The Dead Daisies’ second album Revolución arrived, itself appearing soon after the band became the first Western rock act to play Cuba after the US embargo was lifted. Make Some Noise marks Aldrich’s first time recording with the group, and although the Daisies have seen a variety of members in a relatively short lifespan, the impression you get is that this turnover doesn’t reflect personality clashes or the rigours of touring. Rather, this is an outfit that enlists the best possible musicians available to serve each new direction. Aldrich is himself taking the reins from Richard Fortus after the latter signed on to tour with Guns N’ Roses.

“Richard and I [have] mutual respect, and I love what he’d done with the Daisies. David [Lowy, co-founder] and I had lots of conversations regarding what we were trying to accomplish and how we would do it. What actually went down was, when we went into a room, it wasn’t so much anything to do with where the Daisies had left off. It was kind of, ‘Let’s see what we can create right at this moment.’

“Revolución I think is just great. I really love that record – there’s great songwriting and great playing. Make Some Noise feels like another chapter, in kind of the way bands like Led Zeppelin worked. Led Zeppelin II to Led Zeppelin III, which was totally different, and then Led Zeppelin IV. So, Make Some Noise for me is a nice change of speed. It’s a little more riff rock, it’s a little more raw and stripped-back. It’s got the elements of the Daisies that you heard from Revolución, but obviously there are going to be some differences between Richard and myself. But when you’re looking at the overall thing, there’s a theme that runs through it. I didn’t feel any pressure about trying to recreate anything.”