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JACK STARR: BB King, Albert King, Freddy King…anybody named King. Out of those three Kings, my favourite is Freddy, I also like Kim Simmons, the original guitar player of Savoy Brown, a british blues band that later changed their name to Foghat. Kim's feel and phrasing touched me deeply, like few guitar player ever have. I recommend anything from his vast catalog of work. As far as metal…I like the metal pioneers: I include Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix in that category, as well as an American band called Blue Cheer - who's guitarist was great. At least I thought so back then (laughs). I once spoke to Gene Simmons of Kiss who told me he really like the song, Talk, Talk by an American band called Music Machine. Gene's comment totally surprised me because I've always felt that Talk, Talk was the very first heavy metal single and that Music Machine was the first heavy metal band, circa 1965. G2: describe the local club scene in the 80's vs. now. JS: It can be explained in a few sentences. Back then there was a helluva lot more of an audience for us and everyone else. Nowadays, if I'm playing in a club and it seems like there's a decent crowd - fifty to sixty people - I'll think: gee, we used to have fifty people in our dressing room! So…that takes a little getting used to. But honestly, it doesn't bother me on ebit, because I love the music too much to worry about it. G2: What about the music business itself? JS: The music business has changed tremendously since the 1980's especially in NY and the Tri-State area, for a couple of reasons. There is a strong pressure for club owners to obey the DWI and "over 21" laws - which right away excludes a large portion of people who enjoy hard rock and heavy metal. (B)- The radio stations are pushing hip-hop culture for commercial results. MTV has been following suit for several years. I have a question for MTV - a band like Pantera, who regularly sells triple-platinum and sells out coliseums - why don't you play them?! Pantera is definitely no more harmful to society than any other genre of music out there today. The band Phish, who represents another sub-culture - a throwback to the Greatful Dead - why doesn't Phish get playd? Things have got to change. Original creative music is suffering as a result of these exclusionary practices. G2: What should be done to effect change, and how? JS: Give a voice to the voiceless by finding out through polls and phone in shows what people really want to hear. G2: Do people recognize you often? JS: Basically I get recognized every day. Sometime I wish I weren't - especially if I didn't shave or I'm having a bad hair day or if I'm wearing dirty, grungy clothes. I was in Sam Ash recently with my friend Richie. He said: "Jack, check out this guitar". So I picked it up and started playing one of my tunes. A couple who were buying a guitar for their son interrupted me to say that the song I was playing was one of their favourites. They had watched Guitar Shop and had seen me perform it. The cross section of my audience is very interesting. G2: Your guitar playing has been well received. The quote from the Encyclopedia Of Rock tauts you as one of the most brilliant guitarists in rock. You must be thrilled with recognition like that. JS: Obviously I'm pleased whe anyone enjoys my work. I was proud to have touched Bill Basche…for him to have praised me so enthusiastically. I receive lettes from people all over the world who've bought my CDs. This includes war-torn and strife ridden places. I was very moved by a letter from a white girl in South Africa who was part of the ruling class. She wrote to say she was sick of all fighting and the prejudice. One of the ways she used to escape all the harsh realities of her existence was to pop in my CD. She said, Your music help me to forget all the stupid crap that exists out here! G2: Your music seems to have an effect on critics and listeners alike, as well as fellow musicians. Jag Panzer recently covered one of your tunes. How did that come about? JS: Jag Panzer contacted me through their record label, Century Media, a major metal record label in America. They asked if they could record and release "False Messiah", a song I had written in 1984 and released on an album with Rhett Forrester (Riot). I told them that I'd be happy to let them cover it and was pleasantly surprised when I heard their version. They did a great job! G2: On a personal note, you and I both know a terrific guy and excellent photographer, Bill Pickering, who snapped a great deal of Virgin Steele's photo's back in the 80's. JS: Yes - Bill Pickering and another wonderful photographer named Bill Passante, were both responsible for getting our pictures published all over the world and helping us climb the rock ladder. G2: Any parting advice, Jack? JS: My advice is similar to when the Beatles said: "The love you make is equal to the love you take". On guitar, the pratice and dedication you put in, is what you're going to get out. Barbara Bales, Guitar-2001 |
Jack
Starr is one of the most brilliant guitarists in rock. So states
author Phil Basche in the book, Encyclopedia of Rock (published
by Doubleday). Jack spent the first ten years of his life in Paris,
absorbing as much culture as the city of lights had to offer. Fast
forward some years and we find Jack wailing away on his stratocaster
for the band Virgin Steele. The band gigged steadily and released
several album before he left the group in 1986 to form Burning Starr.
From the Burning Starr oeuvre of five albums comes the re-release
of : No Turning Back on Sentinel Steele Records in NJ. In recent
years, Jack immersed himself in studio works, hosted a public access
cable show called Guitar Shop and has recently been performing locally
fronting a blues band, The Jack Starr Blues Band. Now the most recent
news is a possible Virgin Steele reunion tour in Europe. Recently,
Barbara Bales had the pleasure of interviewing Mr. Starr for Guitar-2001.
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