Scott Gorham Of Black Star Riders And Thin Lizzy

He served as one half of Thin Lizzy’s most legendary guitar duo and just released his third studio album with his band Black Star Riders, but what Guitar World readers really want to know is…

- Richard Bienstock

Q: HOW DO YOU AND DAMON JOHNSON WORK TOGETHER AS GUITARISTS? —MICHAEL DINAN

That mostly gets sorted out in rehearsals. You pretty much get the feel of who’s going to be able to grab what lead guitar section better than the other guy. Neither of us is real selfish about that. We’re not precious about who’s doing what lead line or what harmony. It’s all pretty obvious. A lot of times I’ll just say to Damon, “Go ahead and take that one,” or vice versa. It’s really as easy as that. I think that’s the only way it actually can work with two guitar players. If you get real selfish in there and you want to grab all the choice spots for yourself, your guitar team probably isn’t going to last very long.

Q: I love the singles you’ve been releasing from the Black Star Riders album Heavy Fire. Is there anything in particular you guys were going for with this album? —John Mille

Nothing’s premeditated with Black Star Riders. The way that we work is always that you write the best songs you can. But there’s a lot of different subject matters, a lot of different feelings on this one. It doesn’t just go down one road. It’s pretty much what I like about this band—that everything’s different from track to track. And to be quite honest, I think it’s a better album than [2015’s] The Killer Instinct. It just seems like we’re getting better and better with each one—the songwriting is better, the recording is better. And from what I’ve been hearing, a lot of other people think it’s the best of the three, too.

Q: Last year you did a few select Thin Lizzy anniversary shows. Do you think there will be any more? —JeffDeSalvo