Licorice Pizza: Gilby Clarke on the streets of Bakersfield

2/28/2008

Gilby Clarke on the streets of Bakersfield

I recently ran across a handful of live Gilby Clarke songs and I thought I’d share them. Gilby, as I’m sure you recall, is probably best known for the three years he spent as a hired gun, so to speak, with Guns N’ Roses.

He had a career before Guns, though, and has had one since. Last year he released a self-titled “best of” collection, which I know I told you about. Since then, he’s been working on different projects, including a tribute to Led Zeppelin organized by former Quiet Riot drummer Frankie Banali. Next week, he’s playing two shows in Green Bay, Wis., before going to Tokyo to perform at the ESP Musical Academy. (Check Gilby’s Web site for more show information.)

The songs from tonight’s post came to me with the information that they were recorded Nov. 9 last year. Looking over Gilby’s show dates listed on his site, I think this might actually be from Nov. 8. He did a solo show that night at a club called Fishlips in Bakersfield, Calif. Bakersfield, if you didn’t know, is midway between Los Angeles and Fresno, and is also just over the Tehachapi Mountains from where I grew up. I remember it as a redneck oil town, but apparently things change, because it’s now one of the fastest growing cities in the U.S. And Gilby Clarke's playing there (which is more than I can say for Miami...).