When Smith/Kotzen’s second album Black Light/White Noise was released in spring last year, Classic Rock described it as: “More of the same, although heavier and groovier”, adding that it sounded like “two mates having a blast kicking out the jams”.
Below, Iron Maiden guitarist Adrian Smith talks to Classic Rock about resuming roadwork with his side-project partner, solo artist and former Poison, Mr. Big and Winery Dogs guitarist Richie Kotzen.
Most musicians within a group as successful as Iron Maiden would not require a pressure release valve, and yet here you are, two albums and an EP into Smith/Kotzen.
Well, Maiden only tour for three months of the year, and also we haven’t recorded for a while. Of course we are extremely successful, and I really love what I do within that band, but with Maiden’s current schedule I do have a lot of free time.
Smith/Kotzen was born from a jam session with Richie Kotzen. Tell us about that.
I bought a house in Los Angeles about fifteen years ago, because my wife [Natalie] has family here and there’s a big community of musicians. Richie and I got on great from the start. He’s a first-rate musician and singer. Some other very well-known people were at that first jam. I wish I could tell you who they were but I’d get into a lot of trouble.
You and Richie bonded over Stevie Ray Vaughan and Bad Company songs. Can you describe that first spark?
It was pretty instant and very strong. We both like the same music. Not all of the same stuff, but our common ground is British rock from the seventies – Free, Bad Company; we grew up on Humble Pie. It was my wife, who co-manages me, who suggested: “Why don’t you and Richie get together and write?” I’ve written with people before – some quite well-known people – and it doesn’t always work; you sit and stare at each other and nothing happens. This wasn’t like that.
The use of two lead voices on the albums works really well.
From the early days with Dave Murray [in the pair’s shared pre-Iron Maiden band Urchin], I always wanted to sing a bit. I cut my teeth on [Hawkwind’s] Silver Machine and Chuck Berry songs. Richie is a better singer than me, but although I have my limitations, our voices complement each other.
Given all that you’ve said, how many more Smith/Kotzen albums might there be?
The nice thing about S/K is that there’s no pressure. We just do it when we feel like it. But of course Richie has his solo career, and circa the first album he also had The Winery Dogs, plus me with Iron Maiden, so schedules can be a nightmare. We have written some songs remotely, I was in England and with Richie in LA, which is crazy when you think about it.
Was that for a third Smith/Kotzen album?
No. And we haven’t written remotely lately, though it has been necessary when a deadline was approaching.
Smith/Kotzen’s first, and thus far only, British tour took place in 2022. Apart from Richie’s own You Can’t Save Me, and the hit you wrote for Maiden, Wasted Years, you played all original songs. Did you see it as important for the band to stand independently?
Yeah. I had thought that we might pull out a few more of Richie’s old songs and some of my own material, but he said: “No. Let’s just play everything we’ve written.”
With a second album under your belt, which songs will you be playing be this time out?
Obviously we will play lots from Black Light/White Noise, but we haven’t really planned out the setlist too much.
Last time out, Nicko McBrain, then still Maiden’s drummer, was a special guest in London.
Bless Nicko, yeah. It was great to see him and have him play a couple of numbers with us.
Who is Smith/Kotzen’s support act this time?
The Kris Barras Band. I love these young guys that are out there and keeping the music alive.
Last summer, Iron Maiden fans from around the world made a sort of pilgrimage to the London Stadium as Maiden celebrated their 50th anniversary. Did the band feel that show lived up to its mouth-watering billing?
It really did. Previously when Maiden have played these different places, something always goes wrong. It’s sod’s law. When we did Twickenham [in 2008] I couldn’t hear anything in my monitors. All of your family and friends are there, it’s so frustrating. But at the London Stadium everything worked perfectly, and most importantly we played really well. The audience reaction was great, but to me personally that’s always secondary to our performance. That show definitely ranks among the highlights of my career.
Maiden’s anniversary was also commemorated with a magnificent, trivia-filled book, Infinite Dreams: The Official History. What did you like most about that?
I loved the [resignation] letter from Paul [Di’Anno] to Steve Harris. I had never seen that before. And the excerpts from Steve’s diaries: “Paid twenty quid for a gig at the Brecknock and spent it all on petrol.” Fantastic. You’ve got to love that stuff.
Smith/Kotzen’s European tour begins on February 3, with UK dates starting in Nottingham on February 12. For venues and tickets, visit the Smith/Kotzen website.
