As guitarist and song writer for Iron Maiden, Adrian Smith has forged a path as one of the most revered players in metal. His long partnership with childhood friend Dave Murray, and amigo Janick Gers has endured for decades, but in 2021 he joined up with Shrapnel shredder Richie Kotzen to form hard rock blues duo Smith Kotzen. Two and a half albums in, they show no signs of slowing. "Working with him really brings out the best in me", he affirms as we sit down for a chat over Zoom. We joined Adrian to talk about Smith Kotzen, how it felt to play Metallica man Kirk Hammet's legendary 'Greeny', deep tracks, and Maiden's 50th anniversary celebrations. Scars; Eamon O' Neill.
Photo; Darren McLoughlin
Adrian, it's a pleasure to be chatting to you today; how are you?
Yeah, very well thanks, very well. I was just in Mexico, actually. I just got in last night. I was on holiday just for a few days.
Your mum is from Co. Mayo; when was the last time you were in that part of the world?
That's right, yeah, Ballinrobe. I was there during the World Cup, and mid '80s. I forget which year that was, but I think Argentina won it [1986], but I just remember the World Cup being on. I was out there for about a month, actually.
We're here to talk about Smith Kotzen, and you're now two and a half albums in; that's the most enduring project you've had outside of Maiden.
Yeah, I mean, it has, The second album, I think there's quite a gap between the first and second album. I think when we did the first one, Richie was doing The Winery Dogs, and he had a solo band, and I had Maiden, and so it was very difficult to find the time to get together and work. But we always wanted to do another album, because the first one had success and we enjoyed doing it. I mean, that's the main thing. So, yeah, I mean, two albums. You know, I did two albums with my band, Psycho Motel back in the '90s.
Yeah, I've got both of the Psycho Motel albums.
I listened to them the other day. I was quite surprised. It stood up pretty well. But anyway, yeah, I like to do stuff outside of Maiden. I always have, and now, of course, Steve [Harris] is doing it, and Bruce [Dickinson] has always done it, so it's good to be busy.
I spoke to Richie in 2021 and he compared what you do with two lead singers to Deep Purple's 'Stormbringer' with David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes; do you think that's an apt description?
Well, there aren't many bands or projects that have two singers, because having two lead singers, you think you'd have a lot of friction, but we don't, and it worked great in Purple. I love the fact that you can have two singers, swapping lines, harmonising. I've always wanted to do that, plus it takes a bit of weight off. I mean, I've done projects where I've done the whole shebang; fronted the band singing and playing, and it's really hard work; you don't get a chance to think about what you're doing. But with the two of us, we can share the load, and it's really a lot of fun.
I was a big fan of ASaP, and of both Psycho Motel albums, but you only sang on the first one, so you hadn't sang in a band in a long time. I guess you did a little bit of backing singing in Primal Rock Rebellion. but what was it that brought you back to wanting to sing again?
Yeah, it's a pretty good question. I suppose it's always been in me. I mean, I started out as a singer, and that was with Dave Murray, the Iron Maiden guitarist, when we were 15. There was only a few kids in the neighbourhood who had long hair and were into Purple and Sabbath. Everyone it was into soul music - you know, all the girls were into soul music - and Dave and I used to take heavy albums to parties, and they'd be ripped off the turntable after about a minute! Anyway, my point is, I always wanted to get back into it. It's kind of in my blood, so it was nice to pick it up again. I started just doing odd blues jams - I mean, this is quite a few years ago - on a Sunday afternoon when I wasn't working, just for fun, just do a bit Hendrix, Cream, Free; all that stuff, and singing this with a bass player and drummer. I just really enjoy it. I loved doing it, so, I wanted to pick it up again, but with Richie, it's taking it up a few notches, because he's been doing that sort of thing for many years. He's an expert at it, so working with him really brings out the best in me.
Yeah, very well thanks, very well. I was just in Mexico, actually. I just got in last night. I was on holiday just for a few days.
Your mum is from Co. Mayo; when was the last time you were in that part of the world?
That's right, yeah, Ballinrobe. I was there during the World Cup, and mid '80s. I forget which year that was, but I think Argentina won it [1986], but I just remember the World Cup being on. I was out there for about a month, actually.
We're here to talk about Smith Kotzen, and you're now two and a half albums in; that's the most enduring project you've had outside of Maiden.
Yeah, I mean, it has, The second album, I think there's quite a gap between the first and second album. I think when we did the first one, Richie was doing The Winery Dogs, and he had a solo band, and I had Maiden, and so it was very difficult to find the time to get together and work. But we always wanted to do another album, because the first one had success and we enjoyed doing it. I mean, that's the main thing. So, yeah, I mean, two albums. You know, I did two albums with my band, Psycho Motel back in the '90s.
Yeah, I've got both of the Psycho Motel albums.
I listened to them the other day. I was quite surprised. It stood up pretty well. But anyway, yeah, I like to do stuff outside of Maiden. I always have, and now, of course, Steve [Harris] is doing it, and Bruce [Dickinson] has always done it, so it's good to be busy.
I spoke to Richie in 2021 and he compared what you do with two lead singers to Deep Purple's 'Stormbringer' with David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes; do you think that's an apt description?
Well, there aren't many bands or projects that have two singers, because having two lead singers, you think you'd have a lot of friction, but we don't, and it worked great in Purple. I love the fact that you can have two singers, swapping lines, harmonising. I've always wanted to do that, plus it takes a bit of weight off. I mean, I've done projects where I've done the whole shebang; fronted the band singing and playing, and it's really hard work; you don't get a chance to think about what you're doing. But with the two of us, we can share the load, and it's really a lot of fun.
I was a big fan of ASaP, and of both Psycho Motel albums, but you only sang on the first one, so you hadn't sang in a band in a long time. I guess you did a little bit of backing singing in Primal Rock Rebellion. but what was it that brought you back to wanting to sing again?
Yeah, it's a pretty good question. I suppose it's always been in me. I mean, I started out as a singer, and that was with Dave Murray, the Iron Maiden guitarist, when we were 15. There was only a few kids in the neighbourhood who had long hair and were into Purple and Sabbath. Everyone it was into soul music - you know, all the girls were into soul music - and Dave and I used to take heavy albums to parties, and they'd be ripped off the turntable after about a minute! Anyway, my point is, I always wanted to get back into it. It's kind of in my blood, so it was nice to pick it up again. I started just doing odd blues jams - I mean, this is quite a few years ago - on a Sunday afternoon when I wasn't working, just for fun, just do a bit Hendrix, Cream, Free; all that stuff, and singing this with a bass player and drummer. I just really enjoy it. I loved doing it, so, I wanted to pick it up again, but with Richie, it's taking it up a few notches, because he's been doing that sort of thing for many years. He's an expert at it, so working with him really brings out the best in me.
Richie is quite a guitar player, isn't he? Do you ever look at what he does and go; "wow!", you know; your jaw hits the floor when he's picking away and he's just sliding up and down on that Telecaster.
Yeah, sometimes I watch him and I'll say; "that's voodoo what you're doing there! That's not possible, what you just did". I don't know how he does it. I think he started playing guitar when he was eight, and I've noticed a lot of guys who are real virtuosos start when they're very young. In other words; their motivation for playing music wasn't girls or being on stage in a band, like me when I was 15. I thought; "what can I do?", you know; "what can I channel my youthful energy into?" But you know, maybe that's part of it. I think part of it is a physical thing.
Outside of these bands, you're someone who has always operated as a solo guitar player. I mean, obviously, Dave Murray has been your number one partner, and then you had to slot in with a three guitar Maiden thing, so how was it slotting in with Richie?
Well, it's a kind of an unspoken thing, or even we may have spoken about it, but I think when we write a song, Richie and I, and record it, we both want to be represented on the track, so it's not like one track features Richie, one track features me. Maybe you get a little bit of that, but in the main, everything's fifty fifty, so it's no problem at all. It just fits together. With what we do, I'll play a bit more kind of stripped down, and I'm not so technical, probably, but I do have my technique. You know what? If you play it like you mean it, it's going to come across, whether you play a few notes, or many notes. I think the fact that we have different styles is another good thing, because it widens the palette we have to create a songs so, like, Richie will come up with a crazy line, like in 'Taking My Chances', he just came up with this jazz fusion bit in the middle where I wouldn't have done that, but it's great. So that's what it's all about; just working with different people and tapping into different ideas.
Do you find that the approach to song writing differs from what you bring to Maiden? I imagine you have ideas that you have where you go; "that's probably for something else and not Maiden". For example, something like 'Writing on the Wall, the Maiden track has a very Celtic feel, and I'm actually surprised that didn't become a Smith Kotzen song.
It's interesting that one, because it is kind of folky, and like you say, it's a little Celtic, and it's a little bluesy. It just gives a little insight into how this kind of music came about. The Blues came out of America, or, you know, the Deep South, from the slaves, but the slaves must have go hold of guitars at some point, which was like more of a country kind of thing, so it's a blend, really. All this stuff is very, it's quite related, interrelated. But no, I thought 'Writing on the Wall', from day one, was a Maiden song, and I had the idea for the title and the rough melody for the chorus, and Bruce just kind of took it to another level.
Moving on to chat about 'Black Light / White Noise', and the album opens with guitar harmonies ['Muddy Water'] and closes with guitar harmonies [Blindsided].
Nothing in between, right?
Yeah! You tend not to use harmonies with your songs in Maiden; was this a conscious decision to use them?
It's funny, yeah, I've never, although I'm a massive [Thin] Lizzy fan, Wishbone Ash, all that sort of stuff. Obviously, we do a lot in Maiden. Steve Harris is really, really into guitar harmonies, so he'll come up with endless guitar harmonies, but because I've always focused on writing shorter songs, I kind of don't. It's not a calculated thing, and with SK, with 'Muddy Water', we just needed an intro that sort of hooked you in a little bit, so we just came up with that. We never discussed doing harmonies. Richie harmonises stuff naturally, without me asking him, and it would sound right. Like in a song called 'Scars', at the end there, there's a little bit of a harmony thing, and it's great. We did do a thing on stage in one of the songs on the last tour where we kind of worked up this harmony bit. It was very simple, but it was so effective, just the two of us. It was a slower song - I think it was the song 'I Want to Stay' - and it was just great. And you can see people feeding off it, and it just raised the energy level. So, yeah, maybe we should do more of it, but if you do it all the time, maybe it's not so effective. If you do it sparingly, maybe it's has a more impact. I don't know.
You were chatting about different styles, and something I love about the album is, first off, 'Muddy Water' has really weird timing in places, and in 'Black Light', you're playing this funky thing up the neck; is it important to you to mix things up?
Well, 'Muddy Water' was the first thing we recorded. Richie had the demo, and he pretty much came up with that timing thing. He had the idea, and I loved it straight away. When he played it to me, I said; "that's got to be the album opener". Then we worked on the vocals and the back and forth and the little harmonies here and there. But it's interesting, it was a different song. It's one of my favourite songs on the album, and 'Black Light' started off as another song. I think it was called 'Dressed up to the Nines' or something, or 'The Nines', and we finished it, and we looked at each other and went; "I don't know, nah", but there was something that we liked about it, so we kept the drum track and just rewrote it, and I was listening to drums and I came up with those chords and the vocals, sort of Phil Lynott-inspired, unashamedly, and then we took it from there, and then we came up with the title. It's always good to have a strong title, and I thought 'Black Light' was a real strong title, certainly better than 'Dressed up to the Nines'.
Yeah, it's a little bit '80s, isn't it?
Exactly, yeah!
Yeah, sometimes I watch him and I'll say; "that's voodoo what you're doing there! That's not possible, what you just did". I don't know how he does it. I think he started playing guitar when he was eight, and I've noticed a lot of guys who are real virtuosos start when they're very young. In other words; their motivation for playing music wasn't girls or being on stage in a band, like me when I was 15. I thought; "what can I do?", you know; "what can I channel my youthful energy into?" But you know, maybe that's part of it. I think part of it is a physical thing.
Outside of these bands, you're someone who has always operated as a solo guitar player. I mean, obviously, Dave Murray has been your number one partner, and then you had to slot in with a three guitar Maiden thing, so how was it slotting in with Richie?
Well, it's a kind of an unspoken thing, or even we may have spoken about it, but I think when we write a song, Richie and I, and record it, we both want to be represented on the track, so it's not like one track features Richie, one track features me. Maybe you get a little bit of that, but in the main, everything's fifty fifty, so it's no problem at all. It just fits together. With what we do, I'll play a bit more kind of stripped down, and I'm not so technical, probably, but I do have my technique. You know what? If you play it like you mean it, it's going to come across, whether you play a few notes, or many notes. I think the fact that we have different styles is another good thing, because it widens the palette we have to create a songs so, like, Richie will come up with a crazy line, like in 'Taking My Chances', he just came up with this jazz fusion bit in the middle where I wouldn't have done that, but it's great. So that's what it's all about; just working with different people and tapping into different ideas.
Do you find that the approach to song writing differs from what you bring to Maiden? I imagine you have ideas that you have where you go; "that's probably for something else and not Maiden". For example, something like 'Writing on the Wall, the Maiden track has a very Celtic feel, and I'm actually surprised that didn't become a Smith Kotzen song.
It's interesting that one, because it is kind of folky, and like you say, it's a little Celtic, and it's a little bluesy. It just gives a little insight into how this kind of music came about. The Blues came out of America, or, you know, the Deep South, from the slaves, but the slaves must have go hold of guitars at some point, which was like more of a country kind of thing, so it's a blend, really. All this stuff is very, it's quite related, interrelated. But no, I thought 'Writing on the Wall', from day one, was a Maiden song, and I had the idea for the title and the rough melody for the chorus, and Bruce just kind of took it to another level.
Moving on to chat about 'Black Light / White Noise', and the album opens with guitar harmonies ['Muddy Water'] and closes with guitar harmonies [Blindsided].
Nothing in between, right?
Yeah! You tend not to use harmonies with your songs in Maiden; was this a conscious decision to use them?
It's funny, yeah, I've never, although I'm a massive [Thin] Lizzy fan, Wishbone Ash, all that sort of stuff. Obviously, we do a lot in Maiden. Steve Harris is really, really into guitar harmonies, so he'll come up with endless guitar harmonies, but because I've always focused on writing shorter songs, I kind of don't. It's not a calculated thing, and with SK, with 'Muddy Water', we just needed an intro that sort of hooked you in a little bit, so we just came up with that. We never discussed doing harmonies. Richie harmonises stuff naturally, without me asking him, and it would sound right. Like in a song called 'Scars', at the end there, there's a little bit of a harmony thing, and it's great. We did do a thing on stage in one of the songs on the last tour where we kind of worked up this harmony bit. It was very simple, but it was so effective, just the two of us. It was a slower song - I think it was the song 'I Want to Stay' - and it was just great. And you can see people feeding off it, and it just raised the energy level. So, yeah, maybe we should do more of it, but if you do it all the time, maybe it's not so effective. If you do it sparingly, maybe it's has a more impact. I don't know.
You were chatting about different styles, and something I love about the album is, first off, 'Muddy Water' has really weird timing in places, and in 'Black Light', you're playing this funky thing up the neck; is it important to you to mix things up?
Well, 'Muddy Water' was the first thing we recorded. Richie had the demo, and he pretty much came up with that timing thing. He had the idea, and I loved it straight away. When he played it to me, I said; "that's got to be the album opener". Then we worked on the vocals and the back and forth and the little harmonies here and there. But it's interesting, it was a different song. It's one of my favourite songs on the album, and 'Black Light' started off as another song. I think it was called 'Dressed up to the Nines' or something, or 'The Nines', and we finished it, and we looked at each other and went; "I don't know, nah", but there was something that we liked about it, so we kept the drum track and just rewrote it, and I was listening to drums and I came up with those chords and the vocals, sort of Phil Lynott-inspired, unashamedly, and then we took it from there, and then we came up with the title. It's always good to have a strong title, and I thought 'Black Light' was a real strong title, certainly better than 'Dressed up to the Nines'.
Yeah, it's a little bit '80s, isn't it?
Exactly, yeah!
In the videos, I see you're using you're signature Jackson. That's not the original as seen in the 1989 'Maiden England' video, is it?
No, that's my signature guitar. I think there's a few different ones. There's the one you've got there [eonmusic is holding a Jackson Adrian Smith San Dimas SDX], which is that one there [turns and points to his guitar, sitting behind him]; maple neck, black scratch, and I've got another one, which is a rosewood neck. There's different configurations, but we are bringing out a 50th anniversary of that first 80s' Jackson, with a white headstock. That's going to be the original one. I've got a prototype here, and it's really, really nice. I've been playing it, so I'll probably use that on the next Maiden tour, but we'll see. But I don't use a lot. There's only use two guitars on the album, and they're both the signature ones. That's one of them [pointing to a guitar behind him], and I don't know where the other one is. This is tuned down a semitone, and then on one guitar, it's dropped down, so it's not drop D, it's C sharp. So I only use a couple of guitars, and I think we used one amp on the whole album. Richie had this old Plexi Marshall, and we just plugged into that. Sometimes I used a tube screamer or something, just to give it a bit more, or a wah.
I'm a massive fan of your solos. I love how melodic they are, and I was wondering, is your your approach in Smith Kotzen different to Maiden? I've always found your solos are built, but it seems to me that possibly there's a little more free flow, a jam kind of feel to Smith Kotzen; would that be correct?
Yeah, I think that'd be an accurate observation. Yeah, I think when I first started with Maiden, I used to really work out my solos, and that's where the melodic side [came from]. I've always had that kind of sense of melody. It's also what you're playing over. I mean, probably what I actually play is not a lot different to what I play with Maiden, but obviously, what you're playing over is very different. The speed of the song is usually more up tempo in Maiden, but the sound is the same; it's in the hands, it's the vibrato, and the sound is kind of similar, but you put it against a different backdrop and it has maybe a different effect, and maybe the bluesier side comes out a little bit more.
Speaking of guitars, I saw a great picture of you and Kirk Hammett, and you're holding Greeny, the Gibson Les Paul owned by Peter Green, and then Gary Moore. I know that you're a Gary Moore fan, so what was it like for you to be to be holding that instrument, and what did it feel like for you to play it?
Well, there's no doubt about it, that is a special guitar. I mean, the mojo is off the charts. I mean Peter Green and Gary Moore, you know? And the classic middle position, the out of phase neck pickup; [you flick it over], and there it is, the sound! I mean, Kirk's a great guy. He's a lovely guy, and I bumped into him in a hotel in Canada. We were just waiting for the lift. We're just checking in, and Metallica were there, and the first thing I said to him, I said; "oh, you bought Greeny". He goes ;"yeah", he says; "I've got it. You want to play?" I said; "yeah!" So I went to his room. Ross Halfin [photographer] was there as well, because he's a mutual friend, although I know Kirk a little bit, and we sat, and he gave me the guitar and a little practice amp, and of course, I did 'Oh Well' [Fleetwood Mac song], you know, of course! And then he says; "look, I've got to go out". Him and Ross were doing photos, so he said; "take the guitar", so I took it to my hotel room and I had a little practice amp in there, and I just played it all afternoon. It plays great; it's the intonation, the feel, the sound. I mean, it's just a wonderful, it's a great guitar. I'm glad somebody's using it, and it's not on a wall in somebody's air controlled, climate-controlled guitar locker. It's out there being played, as it should be.
On a similar tack, I'm guessing you've played Dave Murray's Paul Kossoff Fender Strat back when he was using it in the '80s?
I don't think I actually played it, no. I might have picked it up, but I certainly didn't. I think back then I probably wouldn't have appreciated it. Now I appreciate, and I know more about guitars, and I know what I want, and I know what's good, and back then I was like, I didn't really know. I mean, obviously, it's served Dave really well, and it has that incredible mojo; Paul Kossoff, I was a fan of his as well. But Dave really changed the guitar, I mean, he put different pickups in. I hope he's got the original scratch plate with the original pickups. That'd be great, because with a Strat you don't have to route everything out. So yeah, but no, I didn't really play that guitar.
No, that's my signature guitar. I think there's a few different ones. There's the one you've got there [eonmusic is holding a Jackson Adrian Smith San Dimas SDX], which is that one there [turns and points to his guitar, sitting behind him]; maple neck, black scratch, and I've got another one, which is a rosewood neck. There's different configurations, but we are bringing out a 50th anniversary of that first 80s' Jackson, with a white headstock. That's going to be the original one. I've got a prototype here, and it's really, really nice. I've been playing it, so I'll probably use that on the next Maiden tour, but we'll see. But I don't use a lot. There's only use two guitars on the album, and they're both the signature ones. That's one of them [pointing to a guitar behind him], and I don't know where the other one is. This is tuned down a semitone, and then on one guitar, it's dropped down, so it's not drop D, it's C sharp. So I only use a couple of guitars, and I think we used one amp on the whole album. Richie had this old Plexi Marshall, and we just plugged into that. Sometimes I used a tube screamer or something, just to give it a bit more, or a wah.
I'm a massive fan of your solos. I love how melodic they are, and I was wondering, is your your approach in Smith Kotzen different to Maiden? I've always found your solos are built, but it seems to me that possibly there's a little more free flow, a jam kind of feel to Smith Kotzen; would that be correct?
Yeah, I think that'd be an accurate observation. Yeah, I think when I first started with Maiden, I used to really work out my solos, and that's where the melodic side [came from]. I've always had that kind of sense of melody. It's also what you're playing over. I mean, probably what I actually play is not a lot different to what I play with Maiden, but obviously, what you're playing over is very different. The speed of the song is usually more up tempo in Maiden, but the sound is the same; it's in the hands, it's the vibrato, and the sound is kind of similar, but you put it against a different backdrop and it has maybe a different effect, and maybe the bluesier side comes out a little bit more.
Speaking of guitars, I saw a great picture of you and Kirk Hammett, and you're holding Greeny, the Gibson Les Paul owned by Peter Green, and then Gary Moore. I know that you're a Gary Moore fan, so what was it like for you to be to be holding that instrument, and what did it feel like for you to play it?
Well, there's no doubt about it, that is a special guitar. I mean, the mojo is off the charts. I mean Peter Green and Gary Moore, you know? And the classic middle position, the out of phase neck pickup; [you flick it over], and there it is, the sound! I mean, Kirk's a great guy. He's a lovely guy, and I bumped into him in a hotel in Canada. We were just waiting for the lift. We're just checking in, and Metallica were there, and the first thing I said to him, I said; "oh, you bought Greeny". He goes ;"yeah", he says; "I've got it. You want to play?" I said; "yeah!" So I went to his room. Ross Halfin [photographer] was there as well, because he's a mutual friend, although I know Kirk a little bit, and we sat, and he gave me the guitar and a little practice amp, and of course, I did 'Oh Well' [Fleetwood Mac song], you know, of course! And then he says; "look, I've got to go out". Him and Ross were doing photos, so he said; "take the guitar", so I took it to my hotel room and I had a little practice amp in there, and I just played it all afternoon. It plays great; it's the intonation, the feel, the sound. I mean, it's just a wonderful, it's a great guitar. I'm glad somebody's using it, and it's not on a wall in somebody's air controlled, climate-controlled guitar locker. It's out there being played, as it should be.
On a similar tack, I'm guessing you've played Dave Murray's Paul Kossoff Fender Strat back when he was using it in the '80s?
I don't think I actually played it, no. I might have picked it up, but I certainly didn't. I think back then I probably wouldn't have appreciated it. Now I appreciate, and I know more about guitars, and I know what I want, and I know what's good, and back then I was like, I didn't really know. I mean, obviously, it's served Dave really well, and it has that incredible mojo; Paul Kossoff, I was a fan of his as well. But Dave really changed the guitar, I mean, he put different pickups in. I hope he's got the original scratch plate with the original pickups. That'd be great, because with a Strat you don't have to route everything out. So yeah, but no, I didn't really play that guitar.
Back to more current matters, you're going on tour with Smith Kotzen again in the new year; are you looking at mixing up the set list now that you've got a lot more material to choose from?
Yeah, we'll definitely be playing some new stuff. I'm really excited to do that. I think some of the songs will really translate well to live. When we record we don't really go overboard on the overdubs and production is pretty straight, so I think those songs will work great live. And also we'll be playing some of the songs from the first album as well that were a cornerstone of the last set.
Obviously your concentration is on the material that you have now, but going back through your past, you've got Urchin's 'She's a Roller', ASaP's 'Silver and Gold, Psycho Motel's 'The Last Chain', and lots of other great songs; would you be tempted to dig up some of those?
Yeah, I should give it some thought. Yeah, it might be interesting to do that. There's so many songs that you do over your career, and they all have an energy about them. And I think good songs are, hopefully, you know, timeless.
'The Last Chain' for example, has never been performed live, ever.
No, and I do regret not doing that with the second version of Psycho Motel, because there was some cracking tracks on there.
On the last Smith Kotzen tour you played Maiden's 'Wasted Years'; have you thought about playing, say 'Back in the Village' or 'Sea of Madness on this run?
Yeah, I like that song. We did do it a few times in the '80s, 'Sea of Madness'. It worked quite well live, so, yeah, maybe,
'Back in the Village', the funny story about that song is, I bought a white flying V backstage at a show in the '80s. Somebody brought it in for for the Priest guys, and they didn't want it, so I bought it because it was $750, And I sat down, and the first thing I played on it was 'Back in the Village', the riff, and I never really played it much after that, but I've got a song out of it. You know, every guitar has got a song in it. You know, I'd forgotten about all these songs you're bringing up [laughing]!
There was a special moment on the last tour in London, where Nicko McBrain got up and joined you to perform 'Solar Fire'; you and him have a long relationship outside of Maiden that goes right back to The Entire Population of Hackney.
Well Nicko's the sort of bloke who just likes to play music. So, I mean, back with The Entire Population Hackney, he suggested we get together. I had a few friends, and I think we did the Marquee club in London. Yeah, it's great. I mean, Nick's got such great energy. He played on the first SK album, and we got him up to do 'Wasted Years' and 'Solar Fire' with us at Islington, and yeah, it was a special moment. You know, he's a great guy, and people love him, don't they? Everyone loves him.
I wanted to touch on the new Iron Maiden Book 'Infinite Dreams'; firstly, with that title, why is 'Infinite Dreams' not in the 'Run For Your Lives' set list?
Yeah, good question! I think it was pencilled in. It was pencilled in. We were going to do it, but for some reason, I don't know why we didn't end up doing it. I don't know why. That's interesting, yeah, the whole big 50th anniversary book, and then we don't do the song [laughing], but I mean, Maiden has got so many songs, it's just hard to cover everything.
What was it like for you to look at that book; did you go; "my life's in there!"
Iincredible. I love some of the things like Steve Harris's diary, where he's got, you know, the guys just getting together one Christmas and talking about forming a band, the first reversal, the first gigs, you know; "got paid twenty quid", all this stuff, brilliant. Love that.
Are you looking forward to the Knebworth show, and have you enjoyed the 50th anniversary tour? What does it mean to you to be playing a huge show like Knebworth?
Well, it's special. I mean, we did it before, and Knebworth has always been - I hate this word as it's so overused, isn't it? - iconic. But it kind of is, because of the Zeppelin connection and everything. But we've had some incredible occasions, and we call them gigs now. I mean London Stadium [2025], 73,000 people, just a great, great night. And the thing that pleased me about that gig was we were kind of on form. Sometimes, if you play London, there's so much pressure and so much aggravation with people wanting tickets, you just want to get it over with, but that was great, and there was a great audience. Everyone said the sound was really good, which is important. You don't always get that in big arenas. And, yeah, but of course, Knebworth's massive, so yeah, we're looking forward to that.
Yeah. Does it surprise you that Maiden are bigger now than you've ever been?
Yeah, people say that. I mean, it's wonderful, isn't it? I have to say though that the band's philosophy has always been, always to take music out to the people, because it was never music that was going to get mass radio play. And I think when you build a career like that, it lasts a bit longer than just having a few big hit records. You know, we've actually gone to all these places; we used to do fifteen-date tours in France, and go to every little city in England as well, and all over the world. It hasn't always been us playing massive gigs and everyone coming to see us; we've always took it out there. People remember that, and I think that has stood the band in good stead later in our career, because people remember that. It's like an honest way of building a career.
Before I let you go, I have to ask, what's next for you? Are you thinking about a third Smith Kotzen album? What's in the future?
Yeah, I mean, this is my music room, and I'm always sitting messing around, coming up with riffs. I like be creative. I seem to be getting more creative as I get older, so I need an outlet for it. So, yeah, why not do a third album? I'm not thinking directly about it yet, but let's get this tour done and then see where we are, but yeah, I would say so.
Smith Kotzen play across the UK and Europe in February / March. Get tickets at smithkotzen.com
FEBRUARY 2026
3rd La Riviera, Madrid, SPAIN
4th Apolo, Barcelona, SPAIN
6th Le Trianon, Paris, FRANCE
7th Zik-Zak, Ittre, BELGIUM
9th Rockhal Club, Esch-Sur-Alzette, LUXEMBOURG
10th Philharmonie, Haarlem, NETHERLANDS
12th Rock City, Nottingham, UK
13th O2 Ritz, Manchester, UK
15th SWG3 Galvanizers, Glasgow, UK
17th KK’s Steel Mill, Wolverhampton, UK
18th 1865, Southampton, UK
20th O2 Academy, Bristol, UK
21st O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London, UK
23rd Carlswerk Victoria, Köln, GERMANY
24th Volkhaus, Zurich, SWITZERLAND
26th Live Club, Milan, ITALY
27th Backstage Werk, Munich, GERMANY
MARCH 2026
1st Lucerna Music Bar, Prague, CZECHIA
2nd Progresja, Warsaw, POLAND
4th Columbia Theater, Berlin, GERMANY
5th Gruenspan, Hamburg, GERMANY
7th Berns, Stockholm, SWEDEN
8th Pustervik, Gothenburg, SWEDEN
Yeah, we'll definitely be playing some new stuff. I'm really excited to do that. I think some of the songs will really translate well to live. When we record we don't really go overboard on the overdubs and production is pretty straight, so I think those songs will work great live. And also we'll be playing some of the songs from the first album as well that were a cornerstone of the last set.
Obviously your concentration is on the material that you have now, but going back through your past, you've got Urchin's 'She's a Roller', ASaP's 'Silver and Gold, Psycho Motel's 'The Last Chain', and lots of other great songs; would you be tempted to dig up some of those?
Yeah, I should give it some thought. Yeah, it might be interesting to do that. There's so many songs that you do over your career, and they all have an energy about them. And I think good songs are, hopefully, you know, timeless.
'The Last Chain' for example, has never been performed live, ever.
No, and I do regret not doing that with the second version of Psycho Motel, because there was some cracking tracks on there.
On the last Smith Kotzen tour you played Maiden's 'Wasted Years'; have you thought about playing, say 'Back in the Village' or 'Sea of Madness on this run?
Yeah, I like that song. We did do it a few times in the '80s, 'Sea of Madness'. It worked quite well live, so, yeah, maybe,
'Back in the Village', the funny story about that song is, I bought a white flying V backstage at a show in the '80s. Somebody brought it in for for the Priest guys, and they didn't want it, so I bought it because it was $750, And I sat down, and the first thing I played on it was 'Back in the Village', the riff, and I never really played it much after that, but I've got a song out of it. You know, every guitar has got a song in it. You know, I'd forgotten about all these songs you're bringing up [laughing]!
There was a special moment on the last tour in London, where Nicko McBrain got up and joined you to perform 'Solar Fire'; you and him have a long relationship outside of Maiden that goes right back to The Entire Population of Hackney.
Well Nicko's the sort of bloke who just likes to play music. So, I mean, back with The Entire Population Hackney, he suggested we get together. I had a few friends, and I think we did the Marquee club in London. Yeah, it's great. I mean, Nick's got such great energy. He played on the first SK album, and we got him up to do 'Wasted Years' and 'Solar Fire' with us at Islington, and yeah, it was a special moment. You know, he's a great guy, and people love him, don't they? Everyone loves him.
I wanted to touch on the new Iron Maiden Book 'Infinite Dreams'; firstly, with that title, why is 'Infinite Dreams' not in the 'Run For Your Lives' set list?
Yeah, good question! I think it was pencilled in. It was pencilled in. We were going to do it, but for some reason, I don't know why we didn't end up doing it. I don't know why. That's interesting, yeah, the whole big 50th anniversary book, and then we don't do the song [laughing], but I mean, Maiden has got so many songs, it's just hard to cover everything.
What was it like for you to look at that book; did you go; "my life's in there!"
Iincredible. I love some of the things like Steve Harris's diary, where he's got, you know, the guys just getting together one Christmas and talking about forming a band, the first reversal, the first gigs, you know; "got paid twenty quid", all this stuff, brilliant. Love that.
Are you looking forward to the Knebworth show, and have you enjoyed the 50th anniversary tour? What does it mean to you to be playing a huge show like Knebworth?
Well, it's special. I mean, we did it before, and Knebworth has always been - I hate this word as it's so overused, isn't it? - iconic. But it kind of is, because of the Zeppelin connection and everything. But we've had some incredible occasions, and we call them gigs now. I mean London Stadium [2025], 73,000 people, just a great, great night. And the thing that pleased me about that gig was we were kind of on form. Sometimes, if you play London, there's so much pressure and so much aggravation with people wanting tickets, you just want to get it over with, but that was great, and there was a great audience. Everyone said the sound was really good, which is important. You don't always get that in big arenas. And, yeah, but of course, Knebworth's massive, so yeah, we're looking forward to that.
Yeah. Does it surprise you that Maiden are bigger now than you've ever been?
Yeah, people say that. I mean, it's wonderful, isn't it? I have to say though that the band's philosophy has always been, always to take music out to the people, because it was never music that was going to get mass radio play. And I think when you build a career like that, it lasts a bit longer than just having a few big hit records. You know, we've actually gone to all these places; we used to do fifteen-date tours in France, and go to every little city in England as well, and all over the world. It hasn't always been us playing massive gigs and everyone coming to see us; we've always took it out there. People remember that, and I think that has stood the band in good stead later in our career, because people remember that. It's like an honest way of building a career.
Before I let you go, I have to ask, what's next for you? Are you thinking about a third Smith Kotzen album? What's in the future?
Yeah, I mean, this is my music room, and I'm always sitting messing around, coming up with riffs. I like be creative. I seem to be getting more creative as I get older, so I need an outlet for it. So, yeah, why not do a third album? I'm not thinking directly about it yet, but let's get this tour done and then see where we are, but yeah, I would say so.
Smith Kotzen play across the UK and Europe in February / March. Get tickets at smithkotzen.com
FEBRUARY 2026
3rd La Riviera, Madrid, SPAIN
4th Apolo, Barcelona, SPAIN
6th Le Trianon, Paris, FRANCE
7th Zik-Zak, Ittre, BELGIUM
9th Rockhal Club, Esch-Sur-Alzette, LUXEMBOURG
10th Philharmonie, Haarlem, NETHERLANDS
12th Rock City, Nottingham, UK
13th O2 Ritz, Manchester, UK
15th SWG3 Galvanizers, Glasgow, UK
17th KK’s Steel Mill, Wolverhampton, UK
18th 1865, Southampton, UK
20th O2 Academy, Bristol, UK
21st O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London, UK
23rd Carlswerk Victoria, Köln, GERMANY
24th Volkhaus, Zurich, SWITZERLAND
26th Live Club, Milan, ITALY
27th Backstage Werk, Munich, GERMANY
MARCH 2026
1st Lucerna Music Bar, Prague, CZECHIA
2nd Progresja, Warsaw, POLAND
4th Columbia Theater, Berlin, GERMANY
5th Gruenspan, Hamburg, GERMANY
7th Berns, Stockholm, SWEDEN
8th Pustervik, Gothenburg, SWEDEN
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