Blues Saraceno toured with Clapton’s Cream bandmates, recorded for Cher and had a bumpy ride with Poison

While C.C. DeVille – and, briefly, Matt Smith – set their fretboards alight for Poison in the ‘80s, and Richie Kotzen held things down in the early ‘90s, it was supremely talented shredder Blues Saraceno who ruled the roost from 1993 through 1996.

Saraceno was made for the gig in many ways, with his big hair, wide smile and cache of hod-rodded six-strings quivering under his nimble fingers. He’d broken into the biz as a teen in the late ‘80s before hopping on tour with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker, taking the place of Eric Clapton in a quasi-Cream off-shoot, and recording with Cher and Taylor Dayne.

By the time he joined Poison at 22, Saraceno was already a verifiable industry vet, even if he was nearly a decade younger than his new bandmates. His time with Poison lasted three years and included just one album, Crack a Smile… and More!, which was shelved until after C.C. DeVille returned in 2000.

These days, despite the miles logged, Saraceno is a young 52 and has made a name for himself as a composer of TV, film and videogame scores. He’s come a long way since being heralded as the next big thing in Guitar For The Practicing Musician at 16; it hasn’t always been easy, and maybe not as he’d imagined, but he’s thankful for all of it.

“The best part is for all those years, it was guitar and vocals,” Saraceno says. “That’s a different challenge, but I’m not just a guitar player now. I work on melodic content, lyrical content, vocal performance; the game keeps changing.”

He adds: “I’m no longer just a guitar player – I’m having to flex and express my full artistry in new and exciting ways. Now it’s this multi-dimensional thing where I utilize all my skills. I’m thankful for where I’ve been and all I got to do, but I love what I’m doing now.”

You were featured in Guitar For The Practicing Musician during the golden age of shred at 16. What got you to that point?

“I refer to the way I grew up as a combination of The Sopranos and The Deer Hunter! My parents kept me grounded; but still, I got to a point where, I was going to be a guitarist or a professional BMX racer. When I was 12 I broke my left elbow, which kept me off the bike. So I said, ‘I guess I’m gonna stick with this guitar thing.’

“I decided to be a full-throttle, bare-knuckle type of player. At 15, I flew myself out to the NAMM Show and met Rich Lasner with Ibanez, who was launching stuff with Steve Vai, Joe Satriani and Paul Gilbert.

“They decided to take a chance on me, even though I didn’t have a guitar pick – I had to show them what I could do with just my fingers. From there I got an endorsement, made a demo, and ended up in guitar mags.”

Not long after, you featured on hits by Cher and Taylor Dayne.

“That was funny, because I never even met Cher. I was recording with Michael Bolton and I was driving to Manhattan for this session – which was crazy as I’d only been driving for four days! Through that connection, I ended up working with Cher and Taylor Dayne.”

Being an admitted rock guy, how did you approach those pop tunes?

“At that point I knew that this was what I should be doing, and I needed to make it happen. Working with them, I knew it would require a very different approach, where I’d have to come in and serve a purpose on the track rather than stand out.

“I’m glad I learned to do that early because it’s precisely what I’ve had to do while working on scores. I was still in school, and the kids found out about it and things went crazy. And after the Taylor Dayne thing [Can’t Fight Fate], things took off. I decided this would be a viable, longterm option for me.”

How did you end up touring with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker, becoming the ‘kid who replaced Eric Clapton?’

“I was doing a photoshoot for my record, Never Look Back, in Staten Island, and I got a phone call from my manager about this audition in Manhattan with Jack and Ginger. So we hop in the car the next day – it was only a one-day thing – and it’s all New York, heavy-hitter session guys. Then there’s me, in prime Guns N’ Roses and Van Halen mode!

“I rolled in two hours late because my car broke down, so I’m the last guy to play. I plugged into a Marshall JCM800 and figured, ‘It doesn’t matter; there’s no way I’m getting this gig anyway.’

“I just did my best and respected the situation, even though I was so stressed. I turned everything on the amp to 10, tilted it away to not blow them away, and smoked the guitar so hard that it would rattle teeth.”

And how did that go over?

“They were all looking at me, and I’m like, ‘Fuck. Not only am I late, but I just completely blew this gig.’ They said nothing, and then Jack Bruce looked over to signal me out, and I did like this walk of shame on the way out.

“I was like, ‘Fuck. Maybe I shoulda had the amp on 8 rather than 10,’ and all that stuff. So, I thanked them, figured, ‘That could not have gone worse.’ But when I got home, a message said, ‘Jack would like you to come back.’ I returned on Monday, learned three songs, locked it in, and slayed it. That’s how I got the gig.”

Once on the road, did you feel like you were living in the shadow of Clapton?

“It was weird in some ways, but I kinda loved some elements of the gig, too. I wasn’t trying to be Clapton, nor could I be. No-one can touch what Eric Clapton has done. He’s a once-in-a-lifetime talent, and Jack knew that.

“He loved the fact that a kid like me, with a blue mohawk and a plaid guitar, was up there making the songs my own. I was just standing there, playing Cream songs and doing divebombs in the corner; it was the coolest thing.”

You mentioned your plaid guitar, a Yamaha RGZ820R. How did that come to be, considering Ibanez endorsed you?

“I had gone to Japan for some shows, and I’d been playing Ibanez custom-made guitars you could not buy off the rack in the States, but in Japan you could. I showed up to a gig and this guy had the same guitar down to the knobs and pickups, which I didn’t like because it looked like we were copying each other.

“I decided if people were going to copy me, I’d get a plaid guitar and make them work for it! I thought it would be like Eddie Van Halen’s striped guitar, where people would recognize me. Yamaha was into it, and I had a good run with them.

“We only did it for a minute, but having a guitar that was synonymous with me was super-enjoyable. Ultimately I stopped it because I always wanted to be genuine – I never wanted to feel like I was wearing a costume in the form of a guitar.”

Before joining Poison in ’93, you auditioned in ’91 but lost out to Richie Kotzen, right?

“Yes. At that time, Richie and I had paralleled each other’s careers, and we even had the same endorsements. We ran in the same circles and were friendly. I gotta say I’ve always gotten along with Richie.

“But in short, the Poison auditions after C.C. left came down to Richie and me, and we had different approaches, and they just decided Richie was the better fit.”

Did they say what they preferred about Richie?

“They needed a songwriter. In Poison, C.C. DeVille was a huge part of the sound. When he left they didn’t just lose a guitarist – they lost a songwriter. Richie was a songwriter and all about that stuff.

“With me, each record was never about guitars as much as it was about moving forward and making what I do quantifiable as a product; as an artist, it’s about your skillset. It’s not just playing the guitar; it’s the whole thing.

“I knew hair metal was over and grunge was happening, and I walked up to the guys in Poison, saying, ‘Here’s the deal: you guys are a lifestyle band, but you want to be taken seriously,’ and I gave them my take. But Bret Michaels, the singer, wanted the Rolling Stone accolades.

“I was like, ‘Fuck that. I’ve been there and done that. I don’t care about that shit.’ So they went with Richie, who could be a songwriter in a band about good times and all that. I was too much of a high-energy tornado for them then. Ironically, that part of my personality was a lot like C.C.’s.”

And yet they called you two years later after it didn’t work out with Richie.

“I was sad it didn’t work out with Richie after they did the one record [Native Tongue] with him. But after it didn’t work out, I was told that the guys in Poison ran into Rudy Sarzo, and he’s the one who said, ‘Hey, you should call Blues back up.’

“Everybody respects Rudy, so they called me. They called me like 12 times, and my phone was ringing off the hook! So, I went back, I was already comfortable, I knew the songs, and I was in.”

What led to the Crack a Smile record being shelved and C.C. being asked back into the band?

“Honestly, the big reason I took the gig was because they offered me a lot of money to tour. They offered me one sum, and I said, ‘Double it, and I’ll do it.’ They did, and I was in the band. But there was a lot of internal stuff going on – a lot of drama.

“It was your typical rock ‘n’ roll bullshit that had nothing to do with me. In essence, I was the trophy wife of that situation. Don’t get me wrong – I had a great experience. I got along with them and they were nice guys. It was drama-free for me; but it was a marriage of convenience, to be totally honest with you.

“And after we got signed to do the record, and we recorded it, one day, I go into a meeting – after buying a big, expensive new truck – and I’m told, ‘The record is being shelved and C.C. is back.’ That was it.”

From there, you moved into session and soundtrack work. 

“I do television and film now, and honestly, I love it. I’ve done solo albums, been in big bands, and done all the tours. It all felt stagnant. I needed a new challenge to keep the feeling of excitement around. If I’m not doing that, I don’t feel like I’m being sincere to myself.”

Has that been as fulfilling as your former life as a rockstar?

“What’s the hardest thing to do? Make a living. I have a skillset – I’ve been able to take my guitar and use it to survive. I bought a house. I bought a car. I have medical insurance, and my family is taken care of.

“I’ve kept up despite the game changing because I chose not just to be another guitar player. I get to leave sonic footprints and do things that grab attention, and let people feel emotion. It’s different and a challenge – but I still get to be an artist, so it’s fulfilling.”