Johnny and I both grew up in the South, and we often shared stories about playing a lot of the same clubs, especially on the Bossier strip. That’s how he got the Johnny Winter sound. He told me he never used the treble pickup, but instead used the bass pickup and turned all the bass off the amp. During our break, I’d go listen to Johnny play and talk to him about guitar stuff, preferably before he finished drinking his bottle of whiskey. When I first met him at SIR, Johnny and his band were rehearsing in the studio next to ours. Rick Derringer introduced me to Johnny Winter when we were at SIR preparing for the recording of Derringer, and Johnny and I spent time many fun times together over the years. How would you characterize your relationship with them? - Kevin Kennedy I understand you were friends with Johnny Winter and Stevie Ray Vaughan. I didn’t see daylight for a week! They tucked me in a five-star hotel and we dined in the finest restaurants. Like vampires, we slept all day and stayed up all night. I wanted to stay focused and put all my energy into the guitar, and not get caught up in anything that could potentially drain the band. At that time in my life I didn’t need a vampire lifestyle. Tyler ultimately picked Jimmy Crespo since he had long hair and Steven thought he looked like Joe Perry. Brad told Steven, “Tom and I like Danny,” but Steven told them that my hair was too short. They called Tyler while I was in the room I don’t think he knew I was listening. One night I went to Brad’s room with Tom because they seemed to be in my corner. Initially, I thought, this is cool! But they were spiraling out of control.
I was straight, which made Steven Tyler nervous. We’d go to one of their friend's place with a co-writer for the band, Richie Supa, and that’s where the dope showed up - mainly coke and pot. Around 7 p.m., we left the hotel for our first and only meal, crossing paths with businessmen going home from work in three-piece suits holding briefcases. He told me they were having problems with Joe Perry and asked if I would like to fly to New York for a week and jam with the band to see if anything would come of it, and they would pay my expenses, so I agreed. I got a call from Whitford when I was living in L.A. In Walk This Way: The Autobiography of Aerosmith, Brad Whitford says you were the best of the guitarists the band auditioned when they were looking to replace Joe Perry in 1979, but you ultimately didn’t get the gig. I remember seeing Bebe Buell, Jerry Hall, Andy Warhol and Truman Capote at the show’s after-party. The dressing room was packed with famous folks including John Belushi, Johnny and Edgar Winter, Todd Rundgren, Hall & Oates, to name a few. It was one month before my 21st birthday, and I was playing the world’s most famous arena - what a kick! I remember it like it was yesterday. What is your recollection of that show? - Steven Marks The group you were in at the time, Derringer, was the opening act. I attended Aerosmith’s concert at Madison Square Garden in 1976. I go into the audition with my 1956 Sunburst Gibson Les Paul Junior, and from that day on everything was great.
On the way there, I asked the driver to stop in front of the Empire State Building because I had never seen a building taller than four stories. A limo picks me up at the airport and drives me to SIR. So Rick comes down, and our manager picks him up at the airport, and we give him a private showcase.Ī couple days later I get a call from Rick’s manager he said Rick loved my playing and wanted me to come to New York to join his new band, Derringer, so I got on the plane the next day and flew to New York. Vinny tells Rick that he should come down to Louisiana to hear Axis because the band is really good. At the time, Derringer’s song, Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo, was a big hit. Rick wanted Vinny to come to New York to join a new band that he was forming. My phone rings one day, and it was Derringer looking for Vinny. I was in Louisiana, where I was born, playing with Vinny Appice in a power trio called Axis in 1974, a few months before I joined Derringer’s band. How did Rick Derringer discover you when you were 18? - Frank Kihei
It’s just not natural for someone at a young age to have millions of dollars and be known internationally. I’ve tasted fame, so I’m well aware of its pitfalls. There are many ways to look at success: the upshot is that it brings money and fame the downside is there are many temptations, such as drugs and other indulgences, which can really mess you up at a young age.
Playing great music, which I have done, is far more rewarding to me than being famous.