Craig Goldy

To Heavy Metal fans around the world, the name Dio means quality metal. Ronnie James Dio has always armed himself with the best musical talent available. When original axeman Vivian Campbell left, Ronnie turned to former Giuffria and Roughcutt guitarist Craig Goldy. Goldy proved to be a shred-master of the highest caliber, but unfortunately, his stint with Dio was short lived. Craig left to do solo work but returned in 2000 to help create Magica, the album many are calling their best yet. (Be sure and read the House of Shred review of Magica). I recently had the pleasure of talking to Craig in person when he stopped in Kansas City on the Magica tour. He proved to be an incredibly friendly and intelligent guy and it quickly turned into just a laid-back relaxed chat.

House of Shred: Welcome to Kansas City!
Craig Goldy: Thank you!

HoS: First off, I want to jump right into the new album "Magica". I want to state for the record that I personally feel this is the best Dio album ever.
CG: Oh wow! Thank you!

HoS: It truly is a great album. I've been a fan since Holy Diver and a fan of Rainbow before that and any time Ronnie goes to work you know something special will come of it.
CG: I'm really proud of it. First of all, I was Rainbow fan and a big fan of Deep Purple. Deep Purple inspired me to play guitar in the first place. Being a part of Dio is a little more special than if I was just a guy who didn't like Rainbow. So, for me to have an opportunity to create music with the guy I listened to and was a fan of and, and thought was the best singer in the world; from that perspective it's great no matter product comes out of it. There's that, and I think I can speak for Ronnie and for myself that we're very proud of the way Magica came out.

HoS: When I first heard Magica, the first thing I thought of was what took you guys so long to do a concept album? It's seem so natural to me because of the way Ronnie writes and the ideas he explores. All the stories and mythology and fantasy that has always been a part of his music. Was there some catalyst that brought this about?
CG: Since Ronnie's the visionary of the band, I know that he wanted to do this for a long time. I remember after Dream Evil we were having dinner and we talked about doing a concept album back then. I guess he waited until he thought the timing was right. Being the way that the shift of the tide in the music industry is so volatile, it's hard for some people to accept anybody from the 70's or 80's , let alone when they do something that's somewhat outside the norm of what they're used to hearing from that artist. And then, he had experimented and done some things that he hadn't done before and it didn't seem like it was that well accepted. The concept idea was so close to his heart he wanted to wait until he thought the timing was right.

HoS: I have to agree that the timing seemed right. I've seen a big resurgence of support for heavy metal in general and especially for some of the bands that were big in the late 70's and early 80's. Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath and Alice Cooper, to name a few, all had very successful albums and tours this past year with almost no support from radio or the media in any way. Do you think people are coming back to that genre for a reason?
CG: Absolutely! People miss it. You can't sell millions of records 10 years ago and have people just forget about you. The music industry will do that but the fans will always stand by what they love. We're all just people and we go back to the things that stirred our feelings and emotions regardless of the current trends. It's like a great movie that lasts through many generations. Being older doesn't make it any less appealing to the people who loved it when it was new. Look at "It's a Wonderful Life." It's old, it's in black and white, but people will watch it over and over every Christmas because it speaks to them in a profound way. You can't take away that power. It's in their heart.

HoS: That's a great metaphor, it think that really nails the feelings of a lot of people who still love the power and the spectacle of heavy metal. This past year we had all the current pop stars come out to do the big summer shows. Some of the biggest names in pop music today came out but only did marginally well sales-wise. Then Iron maiden came along and sold out the biggest venue in Kansas City! They did what the little teen-slut singers and the boy bands couldn't do, in spite of their massive record sales.
CG: Well sure. Every genre that becomes popular does so for many reasons. Sometimes they truly have an original sound, sometimes the fans are just bored and looking for something new, social and economic changes will affect people tastes, over-saturation of the market among other things will drive people to look for something else because they're sick of the same thing over and over again.

HoS: Lets jump back for a minute to Magica. I'm curious, not just about Magica, but with any new work you guys do, how does the creative process work between you and Ronnie? When you get the call to go back in the studio what do you each bring to the table? For instance, I know Magica is Ronnie's creation. When you two got started what did he bring to the table?
CG: When we started out he had most of four songs already written. 'Magica Theme', 'Lord of the Last Day', 'Fever Dreams' and portions of 'Feed My Head' were already done on tape. I had a few ideas on tape as well. When I heard what he had done I was like "WOW"! I really liked them so we pretty much left them alone rather than mess with them too much. It's easy to change things too much, usually with good intent, but it's not always what's best for the song. In that spirit, there wasn't any inherent publishing struggle. A lot of bands do that. They don't say it, but it happens. Everyone wants their input to get their name on the songs so they can get that royalty check. So, many people will keep pouring out ideas to try and convince everyone else that their idea is better so they can ultimately get that check. We've never had that kind of relationship. We just wrote the music according to what we liked and what worked best for the album.

HoS: How much of the Magica story was written when you started out?
CG: He had a sort of synopsis of the story when we started but most of it was written as we went, while we created the album. We'd spend all day writing the music and as we developed lyrics and melody lines and chord progressions, the music gave way to more of the story. Sometimes we'd have trouble with a song we were working on so Ronnie would sit down and work on the story for a while and eventually it would inspire something that he'd bring back to the songs so they really grew from each other, the songs and the story helping to create the other. It was so cool when I'd come in to the studio in the morning and Ronnie would be there at his computer and have some more of the story done. After I while I had all this paper! Pieces of paper with a few paragraphs here, half a page there, and eventually I had this huge pile of fragments of the story. We really did write it as we worked because he had an idea and portions of songs but he didn't know exactly what ultimate twists and turns he wanted, so we just dove in and did it as we went.

HoS: You're obviously thoroughly enmeshed in the creative process. It must be a thrill to have been a fan of the man yourself and then be able to work with Ronnie so closely and be such an integral part of this album.
CG: It is, it really is. It feels good. It's really gratifying to hear Ronnie say things like "I couldn't have written this album without Craig." Those things feel good because let's face it, he's a legend in his own right. But there's a balance there. You work differently with a legend than you do with a guy who you felt was more of a colleague because you started out together. No matter how talented that person may be, it's different than working with an established, well-known artist.

HoS: Was it intimidating when you first joined up with him?
CG: 12 years ago it was, absolutely! Not because he of anything he did. We were friends beforehand. He was producing a band I was in called Roughcutt. Jake E. Lee left that band to join Ozzy and I auditioned for that spot. We hit it off and became friends.

HoS: It's obviously a great musical relationship and it sounds like you two have a great relationship on a personal level as well.
CG: Thank you, we do definitely. I feel very lucky that we do have that. It's funny because musical relationships can be a lot like romantic relationship. If I can use another metaphor here, my relationship with Ronnie is similar to my relationship with my wife. You know how when you meet someone special and start a relationship, you tend to have all these barriers, little walls and corners that we put up so we can avoid the difficult or uncomfortable issues. With my wife, we never had that. All these barriers weren't necessary because we felt so comfortable with each other right from the start. My relationship with Ronnie is like that. We know each others styles and little quirks so we're able to avoid a lot of the problems that many musicians or creative collaborators fall into.

HoS: One thing I'm curious about is the songwriting process between you and Ronnie. A lot of people don't realize that Ronnie is a musician as well as a singer. Most people have never seen him play really unless we go back to the days of Elf. How does the composition process work with you two seeing how he's not just a singer?
CG: Actually it works very well. Because of what you said, he's a musician. His musical qualities complement his singing qualities. It's really an asset because as a musician he writes songs that are vocal-friendly. When you work with a guy like that you also learn to write songs that are vocal-friendly. A lot of guitar players write songs that are guitar friendly so they can showcase what they do. But, they're not always vocal-friendly. As a musician he can play guitar, bass, keys and he programs a drum machine. So, there's a lot of things he does so we can understand each other on that level. He knows music theory and chord progressions so he can tell me, no why don't you do a B flat inside that D, I know it's gonna make it sound weird but lets try it that way. And more often than not it works. Unlike a singer who goes like, "we need a new chord here!"

HoS: That must differ greatly then, from working with a singer who brings in lyrics and says "I want it to go dum-dum-da, de-de-da."
CG: (Laughing) Right! That's the trouble. A lot of people don't understand the concept of melody first, then lyrics. You'll find these singers who come in with pages of lyrics and then try to cram those words into the structure of a chord progression and try to use the melody to fit their lyrics and a lot of times that doesn't work well at all. With Ronnie that's never the case because he understands the importance of melody first, lyrics second. He's writing with at least an idea of the melody and chords that are intended for those lyrics. It's a harder job but that's what it takes to write a great song.

HoS: It must help you both a lot to be able to present a complete vision of his songs.
CG: Yes, definitely. So many times when we're in the studio one of us is running the boards while the other is playing and we learn a lot from each other that way. It helps me a lot because I can take what I learn and apply it to other projects and other people I work with.

HoS: How about the keys you guys use. Dio has always had some fairly predominant keys and it's become part of your sound. Some people subscribe to the rule that keys and heavy metal don't mix. I'm not one of those buy the way, I think the keys on Magica for instance, add a lot of character and texture to the songs.
CG: Yes we agree. We have a great keyboard play, Scott Warren, who you'll see tonight and he does some really cool stuff that add a lot to the songs. On the album, Ronnie and I play all the keys, mainly for the sake of expediency. Keyboard player have a tendency to be constantly tweaking and fine tuning and changing the sounds and they can eat up a lot of studio time! Not to say that guitar players don't have their quirks too! (Laughs). Ronnie and I just play what we think is right and if it sounds good we keep it. We've never felt the need to bring in a specialist to do what we've always been able to accomplish ourselves.

HoS: I can how with all the technology, computers and sampling etc. available to them keyboard players could easily get a little out of hand.
CG: They do! Definitely! But the keyboards are very significant and very important to the songs.

HoS: They certainly are. I think that's especially evident on Magica where the theme of the story and the songs lends itself beautifully to those types of sounds. Frankly the keys are predominant on a lot of the songs and they wouldn't sound nearly as good without them. They add a lot of color and texture to the songs that would be missing otherwise. The album is to me, very progressive sounding and the keys help to flesh it out a lot.
CG: I think so too. I think a lot of that comes from the fact that Ronnie and I are both big fans of bands like Deep Purple where the keys are an important part of their sound.

HoS: I know Deep Purple was a big influence on you, who else influenced you, either in the early years or more recently?
CG: Neil Schon was a huge influence, He's an incredible musician. George Lynch is another that comes to mind. I remember when we worked on Hearing Aid, watching him goofing around before the taping and being amazed at how naturally he plays. It made me go back and practice! (Laughs) Al DiMeola is another, Carlos Santana and Zakk Wylde are also guys I really admire.

HoS: Unfortunately, we have to wrap up now. I have to get over to the show so I can see you guys work. Tell me what's on the horizon for Dio and yourself.
CG: As soon as this tour's over we're going to get started on the next album. Now don't quote me on this — Ronnie's the visionary here so he'll float around and drift in and out of different things. But, so far it's beginning to sound like a mix of Holy Diver meets Dehumanizer meets the year 2002. Some surprises to be sure, a lot of blood and guts surprises I think.

HoS: I'll be waiting anxiously for that. Well, thanks a lot for taking the time to chat with me and I'll see you at the show tonight.
CG: Thanks, it was a pleasure.

A big THANK YOU to Craig for spending some time with us and Dio's management team for setting up the interview.