Australian guitarist and singer Orianthi released her new album “O” through Frontiers Music on 6th November. I had the opportunity to chat to her via Skype a couple of days before the album was released. We talked about the new album, future plans, working with Richie Sambora on the RSO project and much more. That interview was featured on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 13th November 2020. You can read the inteview below or listen to the Show which is available on our MixCloud page - https://www.mixcloud.com/NIRocks/interview-with-orianthi-on-the-friday-ni-rocks-show-13th-nov-2020/
I last interviewed Orianthi back in 2014 in the Ulster Hall in Belfast when she was on tour with Richie. You can find that interview on our MixCloud page or read it here - http://www.rockradioni.co.uk/interviews/1587-ni-rocks-interview-with-orianthi.html
Playlist
AC/DC – Realize
THUNDER – Last One Out Turn Off The Lights
PHIL CAMPBELL AND THE BASTARD SONS – Born To Roam
ALTER BRIDGE – Last Rites
BAD WOLVES – Learn to Walk Again
EVERY MOTHER’S NIGHTMARE – Here’s to the Ones
STORMZONE – Dealer’s Reign
ORIANTHI – Sinners Hymn
Interview with Orianthi Part 1 (4 min)
ORIANTHI – Contagious
Interview with Orianthi Part 2 (8 min)
ORIANTHI – Sorry
Interview with Orianthi Part 3 (5 min)
ORIANTHI – Rescue Me
RSO – Blues Won’t Leave Me Alone
ALICE COOPER – Hey Stoopid
RATT – You’re In Love
FM – Someday (You’ll Come Running)
DRAGONY – Gods of War
IRON SAVIOR – Souleater
SKYPILOT – Stomper
IRON MASK – Wild and Lethal
THERION – Leviathan
RAVENLIGHT – The Circle
LUCER – The New World
MINEFIELD – Home
SWANEE RIVER – Blue Moon Rising
STEVIE NICKS – Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around (Live)
NI ROCKS – Hi Ori, thanks for taking some time to talk to us. Your new solo album “O” is released this week by Frontiers Music. We just played “Sinners Hymn” which was the first single taken from the album. What can you tell us about that track.
ORIANTHI – That song came about pretty fast. I had the rough outline of it on GarageBand and I brought it into Marti (Frederiksen) and we finished it off in a few hours. It has a pretty raw kind of sound to it – a 90’s kind of Hendrix vibe. People are saying it’s like Hendrix meets Nirvana or something like that! I have no idea! Honestly, I love the riff and the sound and everything like that. Evan Frederiksen, who is Marti’s son, played drums on the track and he really killed it too. We had a lot of fun doing that song.
NI ROCKS – You mentioned that the new album is produced by Marti Frederiksen. Where was it recorded and who did you work with in terms of writing, mixing etc?
ORIANTHI – Marti and I wrote the entire record together, with obviously the exception of “Crawling Out of the Dark” (co-written with Candi Carpenter) and also with Nikki Sixx coming in on “Streams of Consciousness”. Apart from that we did it all together in 28 days in Nashville.
NI ROCKS – You mentioned Marti’s son playing drums, who else is performing on the album?
ORIANTHI – That’s it. Yep! Myself, Marti and his son. We just did everything together.
NI ROCKS – This is your first release through Frontiers Music. How did you team up with them and how has that relationship been so far?
ORIANTHI – They’re great. They’ve been really enthusiastic, and they’ve really wanted to work with me. I went with the enthusiasm, and they’ve been a great team. I’m excited to put this record out with them.
NI ROCKS – It’s a very simple album title – “O” – what was the thinking behind that?
ORIANTHI – This record wasn’t over-thought and I didn’t want the title to be overthought. It’s kind of self-titled as it’s what people call me.
NI ROCKS – As far as I’m aware this is the first of your albums to be released on vinyl. Is that something that you had any influence on and are you a fan of the vinyl format?
ORIANTHI – Oh yeah! I’m totally for vinyl. I was very happy to get it yesterday.
NI ROCKS – Yes, I saw your video with your assistant and the vinyl and CD format.
ORIANTHI – (Laughs). Yes, we like to post some crazy shit sometimes and keep ourselves entertained. Plus I wanted to show the enthusiasm. Getting the vinyl for the first time – that’s cool; after people have put the work into making a record.
NI ROCKS – I have my copy ordered on vinyl. I’m a bit of a vinyl junkie myself, so I have my copy ordered.
ORIANTHI – Yeah, actually I can’t wait to put it on the vinyl player a bit later.
NI ROCKS – Your last solo album was “Heaven In This Hell” back in 2013. That album was a mix of blues, country and rock influences. Do you think that the rock influence is slightly more to the fore on the new album?
ORIANTHI – Yeah. I think it’s a mixture of different things and I hope people dig it. It’s definitely out of the box a bit.
NI ROCKS – What was the song writing process like for the new album? Had some of the tracks been around for longer or were they all written in one period of time along with Marti?
ORIANTHI – The song writing process was different with every song, the way Marti and I approached it. We just went on a vibe. Whether it started with the lyrics, a riff or a vibe with me humming it or something. Every song was very different with the way that it came out. That’s the cool thing about song-writing.
NI ROCKS – We’ll play another track from the new album now. Do you want to pick a track and tell us something about it?
ORIANTHI – Yeah. Let’s play the opening track “Contagious”. This song we wrote about a year ago – it’s not about the pandemic (laughs). It’s actually about being positive and keeping your positive vibe when people try to bring you down – “they try to break us cause hate is contagious”. It’s about staying to stay positive. Even though it sounds like a heavy, angry song – it’s not.
NI ROCKS – We last spoke back in July 2014 at the historic Ulster Hall in Belfast. I’m sure you miss touring and performing live at the moment. Are there any plans in the future for tours and what are the chances we’ll see you back in the UK or even Belfast?
ORIANTHI – Absolutely, I can’t wait to come back there. I had a great time. Was that when we toured with Bad Company? (That was actually Dublin in Oct 2016). That was so much fun. I remember going to a guitar store before that show and doing some damage!
NI ROCKS – (Laughs) Yes, I think you had some time off in Belfast and you were going around the guitar shops.
ORIANTHI – Yes, that’s what we did (laughs).
NI ROCKS - When I spoke to you in Belfast that July and to Richie a few weeks before that it seemed that the album that eventually became “Radio Free America” was almost complete and you’d hoped that it might be released by early 2015. It wasn’t finally released until 2018. What delayed the release of that album?
ORIANTHI – You know what, there were a lot of things that happened behind the scenes that people don’t really know – like management and the team around us and what not! There were some changes going on and a lot of things going on. Honestly, that record took a while to make. It was trying to get the right team around to put it out. It took some time. Even with my record – I did it a year ago and I changed teams, I changed a lot of things. It could have been put out a lot faster, but this industry is a crazy one. It’s not for the feint-hearted and not for people who want stability, by any means. It’s about getting the right people, then you can find some comfort in that to create and feel at peace. If you don’t have the right people in your team; I’m not saying they are bad people, just not the right fit; then it’s really hard to work and really hard to get moving and to feel good. And it’s all about that.
NI ROCKS – My favourite track from that album is definitely “Blues Won’t Leave Me Alone”, which you also recorded a great video for. What can you tell us about that track and the video?
ORIANTHI – Thank you. That track came about kinda around the end of making that record. It was kind of a last minute decision to do a music video. It was kind of a wild time I’ve got to say. We’d made the record and I’m really proud of it. Leaving the door open for RSO of course. He has a solo record coming out, which is amazing. I’ve just heard it and I can’t wait for people to hear Richie’s new stuff. There’s my new stuff. That’s the cool thing about being artists and keeping on creating – never stopping. That’s it.
NI ROCKS – Do you think any of the writing process for the RSO album has influenced anything on your new album?
ORIANTHI – Obviously working with Richie, he is an incredible song writer and he upped my game for sure. He’s amazing and an amazing lyricist and all that. I learnt a lot working with him and we write together now too; and have written a lot of stuff. As I’ve said, with every experience and every different artist you work with, whoever it is, you always feel like you learn something. He’s an incredible artist. I’m really proud of that stuff and I think that this new record that I’m putting out is pretty eclectic but very cohesive. It’s got rock, it’s got pop, it’s got the electronic elements over the blues. I hope people dig it.
NI ROCKS – Covid has obviously had a big impact on everything this year, including the music industry. Restrictions obviously differ by region. Have you been able to perform at all over the past few months?
ORIANTHI – Yeah, we played a live show at the Whiskey not to long ago. That was good - it went well, but it was very stressful. I probably won’t do that again for a minute. Everybody has masks on – it’s hard to breathe, hard to rehearse. I’m the one really that takes a big risk because I’ve no mask on as I’ve got to sing. It’s really stressful and live-streams cost a lot of money to put on too. Having the not-immediate situation where you have to wait for Ok’s and how things happen and all that! You’ve got to pay for rehearsals, pay the band, pay for all that. Everybody that I have spoken to who is kinda doing the same thing – it’s a big risk for artists now in many areas. So if it makes sense to do it again I will.
NI ROCKS – On a personal level your family are in Australia, I presume the pandemic has made seeing them very difficult too. How have you been coping on a personal level dealing with covid?
ORIANTHI – I’ve got to say, it’s kinda wild. I don’t know really how to put it into words to be honest with you. I think everybody is struggling to a certain extent to find normality and find comfort and find peace with themselves. During this time of craziness – with elections going on too. You’ve got covid, you’ve got the industry being upside down. A lot of stuff going on this year!
NI ROCKS – You posted recently on your social media about going through the guitars that you have in storage. Do you keep track of how many guitars you actually have and which guitars did you use on the new album?
ORIANTHI – Yeah, I’ve kept an inventory and I have all that on my computer and I know all the guitars that I have for sure. I like to use different guitars for different things. Sometimes I borrow people’s guitars – if it’s cool. In the studio I think I used, god I don’t even know who’s guitar that was lying around in Marti’s studio when I was recording. There were some cool Les Pauls in there and vintage stuff that I used; just for textures and sounds and stuff. But, I have a healthy collection for sure!
NI ROCKS – (Laughs) Do you know how many exactly, or are you just not saying?
ORIANTHI – You know what, no I don’t to be honest with you! I don’t! (Laughs) My main guitars – it’s not exorbitant – but there’s a lot I actually want to get rid of pretty soon – that I don’t play and I don’t think it’s worth having them in my storage if I’m not using them. So, I’d rather sell them for somebody to pick up and play rather than it staying in a dark case. I might make some posts pretty soon actually on my Instagram about my guitars if people are interested in purchasing them. Especially if they are going to the right home and they are going to be loved and all that. I also do trades with other stuff that I will use.
NI ROCKS – Is any of your stuff on display in Hard Rock or places like that do you know?
ORIANTHI – Yes, there are quite a few Hard Rock places that have my guitars for sure. I think Vegas, Cancun, Sweden, Hawaii. LA here. There’s one at the front of the Guitar Centre here in LA at Sunset. There’s one in Fran too, in a guitar store up there. I think there’s one in London somewhere. Honestly there’s a lot of my guitars in Hard Rock stores.
NI ROCKS – We’ll play another track from the album now. Again do you want to pick a track and tell us something about it?
ORIANTHI – Let’s play the next single, “Sorry”. I’m doing a music video for that one tomorrow. I hope everybody digs it. This one’s a bit electronic. It’s got a Prince vibe kinda meets….I don’t even know what to be honest (laughs). It’s got a vibe though!
NI ROCKS – When we last spoke back in 2014 you had just left the Alice Cooper Band, but you did say that you would return as a guest whenever Alice asked or invited you. That did happen a few months back towards the end of last year. What was like being part of that group of people again?
ORIANTHI – Alice will always be family to me, so getting up and jamming with him is just so much fun and always cool. I’m always open to doing it for sure. Any time Alice asks me to jam with him, I am there!
NI ROCKS – You were part of the band for the “Raise The Dead – Live From Wacken” album and DVD. Alice doesn’t do a lot of studio releases these days unfortunately. Would you liked to have done something like that with him - been a part of an Alice studio album?
ORIANTHI – I’d do it again for sure. I performed on the Hollywood Vampires first record – two songs. So yeah, I’d be down to do something again with Alice for sure.
NI ROCKS – That “Live From Wacken” album is actually very hard to find a copy of and it doesn’t seem to be on available on Spotify or iTunes or any of those things either for some reason! Did you have a favourite track to play live?
ORIANTHI – Probably “Billion Dollar Babies” for some reason. It’s just really cool. (Laughs) Or “No More Mr Nice Guy”. “Brutal Planet” was great too because it was heavy, de-tuned.
NI ROCKS – You’ve worked with many people over the years of course, including some of your musical idols such as Steve Vai and Carlos Santana. What was it like getting to work with those who influenced your playing and are there others that you’d like to play with at some stage as well?
ORIANTHI – I mean yeah, getting to play with Santana, Alice Cooper, Michael Jackson, Stevie Vai, all those artists that I’ve played with; I just feel really honoured honestly. And Carrie Underwood. It’s so diverse the people that I’ve worked with.
NI ROCKS – Frontiers Music are very good at bringing together musicians and creating new bands or projects. Would that be something that you’d be interested in doing? And if you did, who would you like to be in the band with you?
ORIANTHI – I’m not so interested in being in a band right now. I’ll guest with somebody for sure; but the band thing isn’t really my thing. I like to be getting up as a guest, like when I guest with Alice Cooper and obviously I was his guitar player for many years; but not being part of a band so-called. I don’t think that would be the right thing right now.
NI ROCKS – The last time we chatted we talked about how prolific you were on social media. That hasn’t changed at all! You still are. Do you think you’ve been even more active since the pandemic and how important is the whole social media presence now in terms of marketing etc?
ORIANTHI – It’s a great platform. It’s the only kind of platform we have right now. Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and all that kind of stuff. It can be overkill sometimes. You can get lost in it, like a rabbit hole. I like to leave my phone alone sometimes because if I’m always on it, it drives me crazy. Every day if I was to sit on my phone and respond to all my text messages and e-mails, and do social media my day is gone. And that’s just not healthy. Fans will find me on Instagram and that, here and there, but honestly a lot of the time I’m not even on it. I’m on it when I need to be. That’s the way I Iead my life right now. Paying attention to things that are around me now and in front of me, because it’s uncertain times for a lot of people. I haven’t seen my family for a long time too, so it’s trying to find normalcy and grounding right now. That in the midst of promoting an album. Kinda crazy times, but I definitely love to the fans and I love to post things that are uplifting or entertaining. I’m not on there as much as I used to be, to be honest.
NI ROCKS – We need some more photographs of Scarlett (her cat).
ORIANTHI – I know! The thing is that I’ve been back and forth from seeing her. She is at my studio and I’m working in different places.
NI ROCKS – I’m a cat person, so more cat photos (laughs)
ORIANTHI – She is beautiful. She’s my little daughter, my Persian. (laughs)
NI ROCKS – Some of your recent social media posts have mentioned that you’ve been spending time writing tracks. Is that for something specific or are you just a person who is always writing more stuff?
ORIANTHI – I’m writing for the next album right now. I’m working with other people too. So it’s been fun doing that and keeping busy.
NI ROCKS – Any timescale on when some of those things might come out?
ORIANTHI – No, not right now. I don’t have an idea. I’ll let you know (laughs)
NI ROCKS – That’s pretty much all the time that we have. We’ll finish by playing another track from the new album. Can you pick a track and tell us something about it?
ORIANTHI – Let’s play “Rescue Me”. That was the first track that I wrote for this album and I had a lot of fun doing this track with Marti Frederiksen. I hope you dig it; it’s got a bit of blues and heaviness to it.
NI ROCKS – Thanks for taking the time to talk to us and best of luck with the new album.
ORIANTHI – Thank you so much.