Uncovered: Billy Morrison on Guitars, Doheny, Camp Freddy and More

by Rick Landers

Guitarist, songwriter and budding videographer, Billy Morrison, whose time with The Cult in the late 90s brought him to the attention of the international guitar community, talks about his journey through the music scene, guitars, and two current projects: Doheny and Camp Freddy.

Plus - don't miss the two full-length mp3 downloads at the end of the interview, "Watching It All Burn" by Doheny and "20th Century Boy" from Camp Freddy!

You grew up in the UK music scene. What artists or groups made you rattle and hum?

Billy Morrison: Being a young kid in the UK in the late 70s and watching The Sex Pistols appear from nowhere and annoy everybody changed my life. I felt they were showing me that I didn't have to work in an office and accept the cards that society dealt. That you didn't have to be a virtuoso musician to make yourself heard, to say something valid.

And I also realized that I could get laid from having a guitar around my neck! The Pistols, The Ants, The Clash, and with a bit more research, The New York Dolls, The Heartbreakers, Bowie, Iggy, The Velvets -- these were the bands that spoke to me as a kid.

Did you go to particular clubs? Listen to records and radio?

Billy: Oh, I was out every night! I lived for the music -- nothing else mattered. I wouldn't bother with school, but jump on a train into Central London, make a nuisance of myself in the West End all day, and then hit The Music Machine, The 100 Club, The Venue or The Lyceum and go and see bands. And the radio had nothing to offer, so it was all about Bonaparte Records in Bromley on a Saturday afternoon -- pick up the latest 7" from 999 or the newest import Pistols single, and then go home and annoy the parents!

Let's talk guitars...

Billy: My first guitar was a Gibson L6S in a natural wood finish. I have long since been without that guitar, but I remember it had a huge pickup selector like the dials on a Vox Amp! I loved that guitar.

I've always been a Les Paul guy -- they just sound so good. I have owned a lot of different guitars along the way -- I have a couple of nice Teles, and of course, I had my pointy headstock phase! I was all about Jacksons, Charvels and Ibanez for a few minutes there!

Had a lovely performance Strat, after finding out about the company when I realized they made stuff for Steve Vai. I have a couple of nice RG series Ibanez left over from that period. The white Les Paul is one of my favorite Pauls these days. Kinda like my own Steve Jones white Custom.

What gear are you using today? What about acoustic?

Billy: I have two different rigs -- one for Doheny and one for Camp Freddy. I use Les Pauls in both bands, but I use Standards in Doheny and Customs in Freddy. There's also a Gold Top with a 60s tapered neck that does double duty in both bands.

The Doheny rig is a Bradshaw switching system, based around a JCM 900 and a Boogie Triple Rec, with some Line 6 outboard gear and a couple of Boss pedals. The Camp Freddy rig is a more stripped down set up, with a Roccaforte head (Doug is a friend and worked with me to dial the head in exactly how I like it) and a pedal board.

For acoustic guitars, I use Yamaha.

You own about 20 guitars. Any favorites?

Billy: First of all, I've been able to convince the wife that a guitar is an investment! I do own a lot of guitars. It's actually weird to try and count them, because I have some in Doheny's rehearsal room, some over at the studio where we are making the Camp Freddy album, some in storage, and some here in my own studio.

Let me see...the Les Pauls are obviously my favorite pieces. I have quite a few Les Pauls: the white Custom, the 72 Deluxe with mini-humbuckerss, the flame top Standard, the black Standard (which has been my main live guitar since the Stimulator days).

Gibson just made me a one-off black Custom with the Camp Freddy logo on the body. Their Master Builder, Steve Christmas, built it for me and it gets so much attention. It's just a beautiful guitar to look at, and to play. And they are about to build an Alpine White Standard for me, which is hugely exciting. I love Les Paul Standards and they don't make a white one, so it should be another nice piece.

I have a nice Gold Top with the 60s neck that I use quite a bit. I also own a couple of Teles (one was given to me by Brett Scallions of Fuel, and has the Fischman bridge that makes it sound like an acoustic), some Ibanez RGs, a beautiful Gibson J200 acoustic, Yamaha acoustics, a couple of things like an ESP and a Schecter, ..... the list goes on.

Pickups?

Billy: I am endorsed by Seymour Duncan Pickups, so all my live Les Pauls have had the pickups replaced with their JB/59 combination. It gives me the tone at the bridge that cuts through, and for the solo stuff, the neck pick up sounds really meaty.

Strings?

Billy:My strings are 10-46 on the regular-tuned Camp Freddy guitars, and a custom set of 11-14-18-28-38-50 on the drop D tuned Doheny guitars. I use Dean Markley strings.

Do you practice playing guitar daily?

Billy: I actually don't practice every day anymore, although I certainly did when I began -- I am extremely lucky to be able to play for a living, which means that most days I am either rehearsing with Doheny, doing sessions in some studio, writing in my own studio, or working on Camp Freddy stuff. I basically play every day anyway.

I do pick up licks from the other guys that I get to work with and practice those until I've got them down. And being in Camp Freddy means that I am constantly having to practice, learn, get better, etc. When you get up on a stage with Lou Reed, or Slash, or any one of our guest guitarists, you cannot help but become a better player. To be surrounded by the quality of these guys just makes you naturally become a more rounded player.

I get to play regularly with Dave Navarro, Billy Duffy and Steve Jones, and these are the guys that inspire me, who I rate as the best at what they do. I cannot help but learn and grow with that lot standing about next to me!!

Life before The Cult?

Billy: Well, I've been in bands since I was a teenager. Certain "substance abuse" issues probably contributed to me not actually doing too much for a lot of years though! I would say that Stimulator was the first band that meant something. We signed to Geffen sometime around '96 and made a great album with them. It never saw the light of day back then, due to the massive Universal Music merger that went down at the same time. Maybe I'll put that out one day.

Was joining The Cult your big break?

Billy: The Cult was definitely the first taste of arenas, stadiums and festivals. Being on the road with The Cult and Aerosmith kinda moved my goalposts......I definitely would say that at that level, it doesn't suck! And my good friend, Mr. Billy Duffy, is responsible for my time in the band. He called me in the UK and asked me if I wanted to audition. One plane flight to L.A. later, and a rehearsal with the band, and I was in a bus, on my way to the first gig. Pretty amazing, really.

How different was the L.A. music scene from the UK?

Billy: The music scene in L.A., and America in general, is totally different from the UK scene. For a start, here in the US, its all about radio. And because there are so many rock stations throughout the country, rock music as a genre has a chance. In the UK, nothing with any balls ever gets the chance to really shine through. It's usually such a watered down chart every week. Thank God for bands like The Darkness!

How did Doheny come about?

Billy: Doheny [J.S. Clayden (vocals), Billy Morrison (lead guitar), Sean Kipe (rhythm guitar), Colin LaRocque (drums), and Tony Fredo (bass guitar)] started life when I was on the road with The Cult. We were out for a year, so the back of the bus became my "demo studio" and I began writing some stuff. I had known Jon [Clayden] for a few years and loved his band, Pitchshifter. I had been saying to him for ages that he should move to L.A. and form a band with me, but really didn't expect it to happen. And then I got a call from him, saying he was re-locating to L.A. I was on the road with The Cult and he was on the last Pitchshifter tour, so we started emailing files to each other, working on parts on our busses, and emailing mixes back and forth.

Most of the first batch of songs we wrote together happened with me doing a drum machine and guitar and bass file in Japan, emailing Jon, who was in Berlin, him singing a guide, emailing it back to me (now I'm in Chicago, or some place!) etc., etc. Ah, the wonders of modern technology!!

The rest of the band were auditioned once Jon and I were both back in L.A. and off the road. It's a relatively new band -- we just completed our first year of playing shows, and of course it's difficult to get out on the road without the tour support. So we are concentrating on getting the deal that will enable us to make the best record we can and that will allow us to get out on the road and stay there. We have some tracks finished, with producer Scott Humphrey, and the plan is to finish the record with him. Hopefully all this will fall into place early next year.

And the group names "Doheny" and "Camp Freddy"?

We wrote most of the songs for Doheny in my own studio which is on a street in Los Angeles called...Doheny Drive! As to Camp Freddy, in the original Michael Caine movie, The Italian Job (one of my favourite movies, by the way), there is a great character called Camp Freddy - a very stylish, camp English gangster. So, when we were looking for a name for the band before the first CF show and my mate Robbie (Williams) suggested that we use that as a name for the performance, we thought it would be fun. Little did we know that it would last three years and we would be stuck with a name that needs explaining at every turn!

You've been studying film and editing. Did you have a hand in Doheny's "Drive Me" video?

Billy: Well, "studying" is a strong word for it! I get a computer program, and just sit in front of it and figure it out as I go along. It's fair to say that I do enjoy editing film, and although I am a complete amateur at it, I am not afraid to show my finished attempts (hence, the "Drive Me" home video). I did the whole thing -- my first real attempt at Final Cut Pro. I'll definitely be attempting more as I'm always up for anything creative. Considering that I have well over 100 hours of Camp Freddy footage, and every Doheny show from this last year, I have a lot of material to work with.

Besides bass and 6-string, what other instruments do you play or plan on learning?

Billy: I can bash out a beat on a drum kit -- in fact, I have a good feel for beats and a good sense of timing, so I could probably learn, if it wasn't for the fact that I smoke 40 cigs a day and I'm knackered after the first chorus! I dabble on the keys a bit -- I find that a knowledge of the keyboard really helps when you are writing vocal harmonies, something that is a big element in Doheny's sound. I wouldn't mind learning to play a brass or reed instrument - the sax is a very sexual sounding instrument and I'm always open to anything like that!

When you were gaining momentum as a guitarist, at what point did you figure that it was a career? Do you have plans to broaden your professional interests into other arts -- film production, acting, etc.?

Billy: I still don't really look at it as a career. I take each day as it comes and if someone calls and asks me to play, or the agent calls to tell me that Doheny are doing a show, or if Camp Freddy get asked to do some event, then it's a good day. I don't really think of myself as a great technical player (because I'm not!) so it's difficult to think in terms of "career". I believe I play with passion, and I believe that my love of the guitar, and of everything rock 'n' roll is what keeps it ticking along for me. So its more like I get to earn a living from my passion.

I also have a crazy work ethic, which means that I am always the guy that says, "Yes, I'll do it," and this keeps me extremely busy. I am a creative person, so the whole acting/film thing is a possibility. I'll let you know if Oliver Stone calls me up!

How do you balance your professional and personal life to keep things healthy?

Billy: It's not particularly healthy! The balance is way one-sided right now -- it's all work. I am fortunate enough to have a beautiful wife who supports what I do unconditionally, and is there for me at every step of the way. I moved in with her and left to go on The Cult world tour four weeks later. We were gone for the better part of a year! I suppose that gave her an idea of how it was going to be, and she has been nothing but supportive ever since. One of these days, I want to give her the honeymoon we still haven't had.

You have very supportive fans. A few memorable moments?

Billy: Having a "Doheny" pumpkin carved for you at Halloween is just so sweet!! The same person brought a "Cult" pumpkin out to one of the shows a couple of years ago and presented it to me! And my caffeine addiction is completely taken care of when I'm on the road. Fans post directions every day on the Web to the nearest Starbucks to the hotel, and regularly give me Starbucks Gift Cards, so that I can always get my Venti Gingerbread Latte!

On a more frightening note, I can tell you that the practice of signing certain female body parts definitely happens while on the road. But it is not always a pleasurable experience. One night in Dallas, Texas, I went out to sign autographs and hang out for a while. As I moved down the line, chatting and smiling, I turned my head and all I could see was the biggest, whitest ass I've ever seen! The girl had just dropped her pants and bent over and was handing me a sharpie! It was a Spinal Tap moment in more ways than one!

What pleases you most when you're on stage?

Billy: Without a doubt, seeing someone in the audience looking at you, singing the words, and beaming like they're having an orgasm is a special feeling. The physical air of my Marshall cabs hitting me in the chest when I turn around and face them always makes me feel good. And to see other members of the band that you are onstage with, looking at you and you get that moment of sharing a special thing - that's priceless. Looking at Dave while Steven Tyler is standing between us, killing "Whole Lotta Love", and both of us just smiling like there's no tomorrow - wow!!

You're a songwriter. What are some of your favorite Billy Morrison songs?

Billy: I am absolutely a songwriter. I am all about co-writes and collaborations. I believe that songwriting is an art, and how better to learn your craft and get better at it than to continually work with other artists.

My favorite song changes from day to day. I co-wrote a song with Robbie Williams and Glen Ballad that is a beautiful song, called "Coffee, Tea and Sympathy". Jon and I wrote a song for Doheny, called "Dust" that is a fantastic acoustic track with such cool lyrics and great harmonies. I have written some tracks with Jed Leiber, son of Jerry Leiber, one half of Leiber/Stoller who wrote songs for Elvis, -- that was a learning experience. The guy is a musical genius and I learnt so much from him. Basically, put me in a room with a musician, and I'll write a song.

How did Camp Freddy evolve into a group?

Billy: Camp Freddy [Billy Morrison, Dave Navarro, Matt Sorum, Donovan Leitch and Chris Chaney] was meant to be anything but a serious band. We started as a one-off covers band at an L.A. party. Donovan was hosting this party and suggested a covers band for the evening to me. I called Dave and Matt and suggested we do it for fun. They agreed and that was that. But we all had so much fun, we did it again - and again.

We started inviting our friends to get up and jam, and it's just turned into this amazing, fun thing to do. It's not your usual touring, recording unit, as everyone is busy elsewhere. Matt is, of course, on the road with Velvet Revolver until the end of time; I am insanely busy with Doheny; Dave has the Panic Channel with Chris; and, Donovan - well, Donovan's a supermodel, so he does...I'm not really sure what he does! The reason for the continued Camp Freddy shows, even after three years, is that we all have so much fun doing it, and so do the guests. When does Steven Tyler get to sing a Led Zepp track, with Navarro, Slash, Sorum and Chad Smith? When he does it with Camp Freddy!

What other artists have played with Camp Freddy?

Billy: The list is huge -- approaching 100 now. Ronnie Wood, Slash, Kid Rock, Robbie Williams, Steven Tyler, Lou Reed, Macy Gray, Melissa Etheridge, Sebastian Bach, Billy Duffy, Jerry Cantrell, Juliette Lewis, Nikka Costa, Mark McGrath, Cypress Hill, Perry Farrell - it just goes on. We would love to do a track or two with Madonna. Bowie would be on the top of the list as well. Iggy agreed to do it, and then had to be in the studio, so we are hoping that he will get up with us soon.

Other names that I would love to approach next year include Johnny Depp (a brilliant guitarist, by the way), Adam Ant (is he doing OK - I don't know). I'd love to have the guys from The Darkness join us onstage and, although he's already done a show with us, we would love to have Rob [Williams] back for a second appearance. We miss you, Rob!

Must be a book of interesting Camp Freddy stories.

Interesting stories? Well, I tried to pick up Ronnie Wood's Strat at sound check and was descended upon by the biggest security guard I've ever seen and promptly told, "It's alright son, no one touches Ronnie's axe!"

I remember Duffy telling me one time, "No matter what it is you're playing, lean back and look up and it'll look like you know what you're doing!"

Every time Camp Freddy plays, I find myself being taught things by the guys that wrote the songs -- Slash has sat with me and taught me the nuances of "Paradise City", Lou Reed stood with Dave and I and went over "Venus In Furs" with us both. It kinda blows my mind sometimes! Even sitting in a trailer at a Nascar race, about 10 minutes before show time and getting a one-on-one lesson on how the solo to "Them Bones" actually goes, from Jerry Cantrell, and then working out and singing those killer harmonies with him - amazing stuff.

What's on your CD player?

Billy: I listen to absolutely everything. The Velvet Revolver album was on for quite a while. Bowie's Aladin Sane is never far from my ears. The Exies new album rocks, and I loved that Hoobastank album that was out in the summer. Incubus seem to be in the car a lot (not the new one -- the one before) and of course, Led Zepp are a must on any trip. Finally, every CD player in the house, every hard drive holding mp3s, and each car, has a copy of Never Mind The Bollocks -- the most seminal, angry, important album ever made.

What about Doheny or Camp Freddy CDs? A Billy Morrison solo journey?

Billy: If all goes according to plan, both Doheny and Camp Freddy will have records out next year. In fact, Camp Freddy have already tracked 14 songs with Mike Clink (Guns N Roses producer) and we have begun having our friends come by and do their thing. And as far as a Billy Morrison solo journey goes, I'm working on a conceptual three-part symphony as we speak.

When you're 80-years-old, what do you want to look back at when you view your life? What do you think you'll be most proud of contributing to or being over the years?

Billy: When I'm 80 years old, I would hope that I'm either sitting on some deserted island somewhere in the Maldives, with my wife, still able to get it on, and serenading her on my beat up sixty-year-old Les Paul. Or, if it's all gone hideously wrong, I'm living in Bangkok, Thailand, where a steak is $3 and an aging rock star can still get some action!

Seriously? Well, I am very proud of Doheny -- the music Jon and I have written, the work that the guys in the band have done to sound so tight and heavy, live. I hope we get a chance to share it with the world.

And I am, and always will be, proud of putting Camp Freddy together. Without exception, every guest that has ever done a song with us has told me that it is just pure, unadulterated fun. And I am also proud that, although I am just one of many guys who have been in The Cult over the years, I got to be in the band and play those great songs, with Ian, Billy and Matt.

I think if I continue to live life like I do at the moment, my proudest achievement will be that of being able to have had such great relationships with so many people. To love and be loved, and hopefully to have made someone else happy through playing music. Sounds a little esoteric, but it's true.

MP3 Downloads! (.zip files)
Doheny - Watching It All Burn
Camp Freddy - 20th Century Boy (performed on the Sharon Osbourne Show)

Websites
Doheny (www.dohenymusic.com)
Camp Freddy (www.campfreddy.net)