View source for Gilby Clarke

{{short description|American guitarist}}
{{BLP sources|date=December 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2014}}
{{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Musicians -->
| name              = Gilby Clarke
| image             = Gilby Clarke 2 2012.jpg
| caption           = Clarke in 2012
| birth_name        = 
| alias             = 
| birth_date        = {{Birth date and age|1962|8|17}}
| birth_place       = [[Cleveland, Ohio]], U.S.
| instrument        = {{hlist|Guitar|vocals}}
| genre             = {{hlist|[[Hard rock]]|[[Heavy metal music|heavy metal]]}}
| occupation        = {{hlist|Musician|songwriter|record producer}}
| years_active      = 1984–present
| past_member_of    = {{hlist|[[Guns N' Roses]]|[[Rock Star Supernova]]|[[Slash's Snakepit]]|Kill for Thrills|[[Candy (band)|Candy]]}}
| website           = {{URL|gilbyclarke.com}}
}}

'''Gilbert J. Clarke''' (born August 17, 1962) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is known for having a three-year tenure as the rhythm guitarist of [[Guns N' Roses]], replacing [[Izzy Stradlin]] in 1991 during the [[Use Your Illusion Tour]], and also featured on ''[["The Spaghetti Incident?"]]'' (1993). Following this, Clarke went on to forge a solo career as well playing guitar with [[Slash's Snakepit]], [[Kat Men]], [[Heart (band)|Heart]], [[Nancy Sinatra]], [[Kathy Valentine]] (of [[The Go-Go's]]), [[MC5]] and forming his own group [[Rock Star Supernova]] with members of [[Metallica]] and [[Mötley Crüe]].

Clarke's production work includes albums by [[L.A. Guns]], [[Bullets and Octane]], [[The Bronx (band)|The Bronx]], [[Frankie and the Studs]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://shop.dead-beat-records.com/products/frankie-the-studs-life-s-a-glitch-lp-special-edition-pink-orange-blue-splatter-wax-ltd-to-100?_pos=1&_sid=d60cd3d48&_ss=r |title=Frankie and the Studs - Life's A Glitch |website=Dead Beat Records |access-date=2025-02-26}}</ref> and [[Vains of Jenna]].

==Career==

=== 1985–1991: Early career ===
Gilby Clarke started his musical career during the first half of the Eighties, replacing [[Candy (band)|Candy]]'s original guitarist, [[Geoff Siegel]], who later played with [[the Nymphs]]. Gilby eventually replaced the band's lead vocalist and penned several unreleased fan favorites including, "Dance America". He left them to form [[Kill for Thrills (band)|Kill for Thrills]], a metal band which released the EP ''Commercial Suicide'' and the LP ''Dynamite from Nightmareland'' before eventually disbanding. 
Kill for Thrills was a supergroup of sorts with Jason Nesmith (son of former [[The Monkees|Monkees]] [[Michael Nesmith|Mike Nesmith]]) on Guitar, and Todd Muscat formerly of seminal L.A. Punk band Decry, on Bass and then later with Junkyard after Kill for Thrills. Muscat is also the brother of [[Brent Muscat]] ([[Faster Pussycat]], [[L.A. Guns]], [[Sin City Sinners]]). All members have deep roots in the Los Angeles rock scene.

=== 1991–1994: Guns N' Roses ===
{{Main|Guns N' Roses}}
Following rhythm guitarist [[Izzy Stradlin]]'s decision to abruptly quit the band,<ref name=autogenerated1>Bozza, Anthony, & Slash (2007). Slash. Harper Entertainment: New York. p. 344</ref> during [[Use Your Illusion Tour]] in 1991, citing a combination of [[Axl Rose]]'s personal behavior (he would consistently delay the start of shows by hours at a time) and his mismanagement of the band<ref name=autogenerated1 /> and difficulties being around [[Slash (musician)|Slash]], [[Matt Sorum|Sorum]], and [[Duff McKagan|McKagan]] due to his new-found sobriety and their continuing alcohol and substance addictions,<ref>Bozza, Anthony, and Slash (2007). Slash. Harper Entertainment: New York. p. 337</ref> Clarke was chosen as his replacement, playing out the rest of gigs of the tour which lasted until 1993. His first show with the band was December 5, 1991 in Worcester, MA, USA.

During many shows throughout the tour, Rose introduced Clarke and had him play "[[Wild Horses (The Rolling Stones song)|Wild Horses]]", a [[The Rolling Stones|Rolling Stones]] cover with Slash.

On November 23, 1993, Guns N' Roses released a collection of [[Punk rock|punk]] and [[glam rock]] covers entitled ''[["The Spaghetti Incident?"]]'' where many of the tracks were recorded with original Guns N' Roses guitarist [[Izzy Stradlin]] during the ''[[Use Your Illusion I]]'' and ''[[Use Your Illusion II|II]]'' sessions and then were later re-recorded by Clarke.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.heretodaygonetohell.com/misc/recordingsessions.html |title=Guns N' Roses :: Recording Sessions |publisher=Heretodaygonetohell.com |access-date=2011-11-02}}</ref>

Clarke's contract was not renewed and he was gone from the band by 1995.<ref name="symph">{{cite web|url=http://www.heretodaygonetohell.com/articles/showarticle.php?articleid=125|title=Four Bust-ups And A Single!|date=November 1994|work=RAW magazine|access-date=April 24, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150317020545/http://www.heretodaygonetohell.com/articles/showarticle.php?articleid=125|archive-date=March 17, 2015}}</ref> Slash stated in [[Slash (autobiography)|his book]] that Rose fired Clarke without consulting anyone, claiming he was only a "hired hand".<ref>{{cite book|author1=Slash|author2=Anthony Bozza|title=Slash|date=October 30, 2007|publisher=HarperCollins|isbn=978-0-06-135142-6|page=576}}</ref> Clarke was not involved in the recording of "Sympathy for the Devil", stating "I knew that that was the ending [of Clarke's involvement in Guns N' Roses] because nobody told me about it. Officially I was in the band at that time, and they did that song without me".<ref name="Clarkefinal" /> Clarke also mentioned that before the final show of the ''Use Your Illusion Tour'', Rose came up to him and told him "Hey, enjoy your last show".<ref name="Clarkefinal" >{{cite web|url=http://ultimateclassicrock.com/gilby-clarke-final-guns-n-roses-gig/|title=Gilby Clarke Opens Up About His Final Guns N' Roses Gig|first=Jeff|last=Giles|date=October 11, 2014|work=Ultimate Classic Rock|access-date=April 25, 2015|quote="My official end was actually at the last show of the last tour," he continued. "Axl was jokingly saying 'bye' to everybody, but he was really saying 'bye' to everybody. He even came up to me and said, 'Hey, enjoy your last show.'"}}</ref> Clarke later sued the band over the use of his likeness in [[Guns N' Roses (pinball)|Guns N' Roses Pinball]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.laweekly.com/music/book-excerpt-duff-mckagan-recalls-the-bitter-dispute-over-the-guns-n-roses-pinball-machine-5557829 |title=Book Excerpt: Duff McKagan Recalls the Bitter Dispute Over the Guns N' Roses Pinball Machine |author=L.A. Weekly staff |date= May 11, 2015|website=LAweekly.com |publisher= Beth Sestanovich; Voice Media Group|access-date=May 16, 2015 |quote="...&nbsp;it was a foregone conclusion that Gilby would be in the band&nbsp;... his picture was included on the big mural on the game&nbsp;... suddenly (he) wasn't in the band anymore. Gilby sued us for using his likeness on the machine"}}</ref>

Clarke's only other appearances on a Guns N' Roses release would be on the [[Live album|live]] and [[compilation album]]s ''[[Live Era '87–'93]]'' and ''[[Greatest Hits (Guns N' Roses album)|Greatest Hits]]''.

Clarke is featured on Guns N' Roses video releases [[Use Your Illusion I (video)|''Use Your Illusion I'']], [[Use Your Illusion II (video)|''Use Your Illusion II'']] and ''[[Welcome to the Videos]]''.

===1994–1996: ''Pawnshop Guitars'' & Slash's Snakepit===

In 1994, he released his debut solo album ''[[Pawnshop Guitars]]'' on Virgin Records which featured contributions from several of his close friends. [[Ryan Roxie]] ([[Alice Cooper]], [[Electric Angels]]) on guitar, Will Effertz on Bass and Marc Danzeisen ([[Riverdogs]], [[Little Caesar (band)|Little Caesar]]) Drums and backing vocals, also including all the then members of Guns N' Roses. It went gold in Argentina.

{{Main|Slash's Snakepit}}
Following the end of the [[Use Your Illusion Tour]] in 1993, [[Guns N' Roses]] guitarist [[Slash (musician)|Slash]] began recording demos of material that he had written during the tour, at his home studio with bandmate [[Matt Sorum]]. Clarke and [[Alice in Chains]] bassist [[Mike Inez]] soon started to come around to jam with them. They eventually recorded twelve demo songs.<ref name="Slash">{{cite book | author=Slash |author2=Anthony Bozza | title=Slash | publisher=HarperCollins | year=2007 | isbn=978-0-00-725775-1 }}</ref> [[Eric Dover]], live guitarist for [[Jellyfish (band)|Jellyfish]], successfully auditioned to become the group's singer. Slash and Dover wrote the lyrics for all the tracks, except "Monkey Chow" which was contributed by Clarke and "Jizz da Pit" which is an instrumental written by both Slash and Inez. The album was released by [[Geffen Records]] in February 1995<ref>{{cite web |url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r218342/review|pure_url=yes}} |work=[[Allmusic]] |access-date=2010-02-23 |title=allmusic ((( It's Five O'Clock Somewhere > Review )))}}</ref> charting at No.&nbsp;70 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]].<ref>{{cite magazine |url={{BillboardURLbyName|artist=slash|chart=all}} |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |access-date=2010-02-23 |title=It's Five O'Clock Somewhere – Slash's Snakepit }}</ref> For the tour in support of the album, [[James LoMenzo]] and [[Brian Tichy]], both members of [[Zakk Wylde]]'s solo band, joined the band to replace Inez and Sorum who could not tour with the group due to other commitments.<ref name="Slash"/> With Guns N' Roses regrouping to record a new album, Snakepit disbanded with Clarke resuming his solo career.

===1997-2006: Solo career and new projects===

Since then he has released another three solo albums, ''[[The Hangover (1997 album)|The Hangover]]'', ''[[Rubber (Gilby Clarke album)|Rubber]]'' and 2002's ''[[Swag (Gilby Clarke album)|Swag]]'' as well as the live album ''[[99 Live]]''.

He formed the band Col. Parker with ex-[[Stray Cats|Stray Cat]] [[Slim Jim Phantom]] and former touring additional GN'R keyboardist [[Teddy Andreadis|Teddy "Zig Zag" Andreadis]], releasing the album ''Rock N Roll Music'' in 2001.

In addition, he made a guest appearance on the [[L.A. Guns]] album ''[[Shrinking Violet (album)|Shrinking Violet]]'', which he also produced. Clarke also produced [[The Bronx]]'s self-titled album released in 2003 and Girlsplayboys debut album ''From Ritual to Romance'' in 2006, and L.A. Guns' 2001 album ''[[Man in the Moon (L.A. Guns album)|Man in the Moon]]''.

In 2002, Clarke worked with [[Nancy Sinatra]] on her album ''California Girl'' and a year later joined [[Heart (band)|Heart]] on their national tour.

[[File:MC5 @ The Casbah.jpg|thumb|right|Clarke (far right) along with the reformed [[MC5]] in 2005.]]

In 2005, he played along with the reformed [[MC5]], joining original members [[Wayne Kramer]], [[Dennis Thompson (drummer)|Dennis Thompson]], and [[Michael Davis (bassist)|Michael Davis]], along with new vocalist [[Richard Manitoba|Handsome Dick Manitoba]].

=== 2006–2012: Rock Star Supernova and reunion with GNR on Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ===
{{Main|Rock Star Supernova}}
[[File:StevenAdlerGilbyClarke.jpg|thumb|right|Clarke (right) with [[Steven Adler]] in July 2012]]
In 2006, Mötley Crüe drummer, [[Tommy Lee]], formed Supernova with Clarke on guitars and former [[Metallica]] bassist [[Jason Newsted]]. The band used the TV show [[Rock Star (TV series)|''Rock Star'']] to find a new lead singer. [[Lukas Rossi]] was chosen as their lead singer. However, there was already a band from California called [[Supernova (American band)|Supernova]]. On June 26, 2006, the California band filed a federal lawsuit and on September 12, 2006, U.S. District Judge John A. Houston in San Diego ruled in favor of the original Supernova, granting their request for a preliminary injunction. The injunction stopped the band from ''Rock Star: Supernova'' from "performing rock and roll music, or recording, or selling rock and roll music recordings under the same name, pending a trial of this action on its merits, or until otherwise ordered by the court." The band renamed itself [[Rock Star Supernova]].

Clarke produced a cover of [[Johnny Cash]]'s "[[Ring of Fire (song)|Ring of Fire]]" on ''[[Rock Star: Supernova]]'' runner-up [[Dilana|Dilana Robichaux]]'s 2007 album, also released as a single on digital download websites.

When re-recording "[[Kick Out the Jams (song)|Kick Out The Jams"]] for the video game [[Guitar Hero World Tour|Guitar Hero: World Tour]], Clarke was brought in for additional guitar work, along with [[Jerry Cantrell]]. <ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r92aZ_j5pVE |title=Behind the Scenes - Guitar Hero: World Tour [Making of] |date=2021-05-23 |last=NeoGamer - The Video Game Archive |access-date=2025-07-28 |via=YouTube}}</ref>

In 2007 he released a [[Gilby Clarke (album)|best of]] album featuring tracks from all of his solo albums as well as two songs from the Col. Parker project and a rerecording of the song "Black", featuring vocals by Dilana.

In July 2008 Clarke played at the [[G-TARanaki Guitar Festival]] in New Zealand. His solo band included bassist Muddy Stardust and drummer Dennis Morehouse. He then toured North America as part of the Rock n' Roll Fantasy Camp.

Clarke reunited with Guns N' Roses members [[Slash (musician)|Slash]], [[Steven Adler]], [[Matt Sorum]] and [[Duff McKagan]], during the live performance, at the band's [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] induction on April 14, 2012. Clarke himself was not inducted as part of the band.

===2021-present: "The Gospel Truth" and touring===
In 2021 Clarke released his most successful album to date, ''The Gospel Truth'' on [[Golden Robot Records]]. It featured a host of well-known musicians including [[Nikki Sixx]].

== Discography ==

=== Albums and EPs ===

====With [[Candy (band)|Candy]]====
*''Whatever Happened To Fun'' (1985)
*''Teenage Neon Jungle''  (2003)

====With Kill for Thrills====
*''Commercial Suicide'' (1989)
*''Dynamite From Nightmareland'' (1990)

====With The Loveless====
* guest lead guitar on "Wish I Could Fly" (1994) track on album "A Tale of Gin and Salvation".

==== With Guns N' Roses ====
*''[["The Spaghetti Incident?"]]'' (1993)
* ''[[Live Era '87–'93]]'' (1999)

==== Solo ====
*''[[Pawnshop Guitars]]'' (1994)
*''[[Blooze|Blooze E.P.]]'' (1995)
*''[[The Hangover (1997 album)|The Hangover]]'' (1997)
*''[[Rubber (Gilby Clarke album)|Rubber]]'' (1998)
*''[[99 Live]]'' (1999)
*''[[Swag (Gilby Clarke album)|Swag]]'' (2001)
*''[[Gilby Clarke (album)|Gilby Clarke]]'' (2007, compilation)
*''The Gospel Truth'' (2021)

====With Slash's Snakepit====
*''[[It's Five O'Clock Somewhere (album)|It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere]]'' (1995)

====With Col. Parker====
*''Rock N Roll Music'' (2001)

====With Nancy Sinatra====
*''California Girl'' (2002)

====With Rock Star Supernova====
*''[[Rock Star Supernova (album)|Rock Star Supernova]]'' (2006)

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{commons category}} 
* {{Official website|http://www.gilbyclarke.com}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060518120149/http://www.rockstar.msn.com/ Official MSN site]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081229142145/http://www.musicmight.com/artist/usa/gilby+clarke Musicmight detailed history]

{{Gilby Clarke}}
{{Guns N' Roses}}
{{Slash's Snakepit}}
{{Heart (band)}}
{{Rock Star Supernova}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Gilby}}
[[Category:1962 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Record producers from Ohio]]
[[Category:American rock guitarists]]
[[Category:American male guitarists]]
[[Category:Candy (band) members]]
[[Category:Guns N' Roses members]]
[[Category:Heart (band) members]]
[[Category:Musicians from Cleveland]]
[[Category:American rhythm guitarists]]
[[Category:Slash's Snakepit members]]
[[Category:Guitarists from Ohio]]
[[Category:20th-century American guitarists]]
[[Category:Kings of Chaos (band) members]]
[[Category:Rock Star Supernova members]]