2021.09.28 - AL.com - Marc Ford talks turning down Guns N’ Roses twice (& related articles)

Marc Ford talks Black Crowes, turning down Guns N’ Roses twice, new solo tour

By Matt Wake

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You may not know his name, but if you love a certain era of blues-based rock you know Marc Ford’s guitar playing. He was lead guitarist in The Black Crowes during that band’s classic era. His leads played a pivotal role in making 1992 sophomore disc “Southern Harmony and the Musical Companion” the definitive Crowes album.

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Before joining the Crowes, Ford gigged at clubs like Coconut Teaszer, Madame Wong’s and The Scream, fronting Los Angeles power-trio Burning Tree, who were signed to Epic Records, the same label as Michael Jackson. Burning Tree toured as an opener on a 1991 Black Crowes trek in which Ford sometimes sat-in with the Crowes on a cover of Allman Brothers classic “Dreams.” Soon after, The Black Crowes plucked up Ford after their own lead guitarist, Jeff Cease, wasn’t keeping up musically.

The Crowes aren’t the only juicy offer Ford’s had. Soon after joining The Black Crowes, Ford received a phone call from Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash asking about Ford filling the GN’R guitar slot vacated after Izzy Stradlin quit during the “Use Your Illusion Tour.”

Ford explained to Slash he’d just joined the Crowes and politely declined his invitation. “Of course, I was very flattered,” Ford told me in 2017, “and my life would be a whole lot different now. I’d probably be dead, to be honest with you. I think it was probably the best decision and Slash agreed. He said, ‘Man, that’s really cool. That’s probably a better fit for you anyway and good luck.’”

Around this time, Ford did a session for the solo debut by the same musician Slash had inquired about Ford replacing in GN’R, Stradlin. He walked into the sessions right after Stones guitarist Ron Wood finished recording a cover of Wood’s ‘70s solo gem “Take A Look At The Guy” with Stradlin. Ford played uncredited on Izzy’s opening track “Somebody’s Knockin’” because the Crowes didn’t want it to seem like Ford was just a hired gun. Looking back now, Ford can’t quite recall for sure what guitar he played on the session but says, “Maybe a Tele that was there.”

Despite the rare musical chemistry between them, after a five-year or so run the Crowes parted ways with Ford, citing substance abuse issues. [...]

With his outsized talent and bigtime experience, Ford found other notable gigs. He was with rootsy singer/songwriter Ben Harper for a while. Ford earned a Grammy for his contributions to “There Will Be a Light,” Harper’s 2004 LP with gospel-vocal group Blind Boys of Alabama. He’s also been in the touring band of R&B icon Booker T. Jones, of Booker T. & The MGs fame.

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Around 2002 or so, Ford received a second offer to join Guns N’ Roses,, he revealed during a 2021 interview with the Black Crowes-themed podcast State of Amorica. This was during the elongated recording sessions for GN’R’s “Chinese Democracy” album, which was eventually released in 2008.

“I didn’t want to have any part of it,” Ford tells AL.com. “And with the nightmare stories I’d heard about it, forget it. I’d already went through something that I didn’t want to repeat, and to imagine an even worse scenario …” He says another reason he turned down a job with Guns N’ Roses was to make his first solo album, released in 2003 as “It’s About Time.” (Which was, coincidentally, recorded at the house of Slash, who’d by then split from GN’R years ago.)

“I’m not really into being a rock star,” Ford says. “I really f---ing hate the bull----. And it’s getting harder and harder to deal with, the older I get. I’d much rather be quieter and do my own thing”.

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Full article:
https://www.al.com/life/2021/09/marc-ford-talks-black-crowes-turning-down-guns-n-roses-new-solo-tour.html

From another interview (The Weekly Show with David J. Maloney, December 2, 2021):



Interviewer: Now, you’ve said before that, I guess, if life would have been different and you would have taken that offer to join Guns N’ Roses that you’d be dead. That’s a really profound statement, it seems. Looking back, I guess, what are the differences you see between the Crowes and Guns N’ Roses that made that difference in your life?

Marc Ford: Well, I think I just resonated more musically with the Crowes. I would have been less connected to anything important with Guns N’ Roses and more inundated with crazy, and money, and drugs. So I know what would have happened. I would have been miserable and stoned. And dead.