The Song Rules: Guitar God John Platania
by Peter Aaron
I’m in the middle of my sixth production for Guy. I’m
proud of all the stuff I’ve done with Guy. He’s a really
fine musician, an amazing bluesman. I’ve started pre–production
on my next solo CD. But that will take awhile; though I hope the gestation
period for this one won’t be as long as it was for Blues, Waltzes
and Badland Borders, which took years. At this point I don’t
have room for much else because of my involvement with Van Morrison.
I was just doing his stateside gigs for about a year but now it’s
escalated to Europe as well. I didn’t want to at first, but when
Van Morrison calls…
I own a white label promo of the first record you were on, a 1967
single by The Silver Bike on Bang Records. What was the story with
that band?
White label promo? I don’t even own one of those. The record
actually was released commercially. Then [Bang Records CEO] Bert Berns
died. Bert signed us and, ironically, was the guy who signed and produced
Van Morrison, as you probably know. Bert’s wife took over after
his death and that’s when it ended for us. And for Van, too,
though I think Van was out of there way before. It got pretty ugly
for Van. Eileen [Berns] ruled with an iron fist. No love lost there.
The Silver Bike continued for a year or so after that. Then I went
back to fronting my own band for a few months until Van’s tour
manager at the time arranged for me to audition for Van in Woodstock,
where he was living. The rest, as they say, is history.
You’ve frequently said that you’re happy to stay in the
background as a musician, which you’ve certainly made into a
solid and successful career. I know you made one album as the leader
of The Giants in 1976, but with the recent releases of Lucky Dog and
Blues, Waltzes and Badland Borders do you see yourself moving back
into the solo–artist spotlight again—or are these albums
enough of a fulfillment in that way? Any plans to play locally? CONTINUE...
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