When you’re handpicked to be the guitarist on Michael Jackson’s This Is It farewell tour, it’s the kind of flattering headline that tends to follow you around.
Fifteen years later, Orianthi Panagaris’s career is still flourishing. The talented Greek-Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist has also toured with Alice Cooper and made records with Richie Sambora, but chiefly, she’s on a hot streak of solo albums.
You don’t get to work with artists of the Cooper/ Sambora/etc calibre without having an abundance of fretboard razzmatazz, but it’s in carefully crafted songs where Orianthi really comes to life.
Her new album Some Kind Of Feeling radiates with a moreish style of hook-heavy, blues-infused pop-rock that underscores the name Orianthi as much more than a masterful guitarist.
The first music I remember hearing
My parents had amazing record collections. With my dad it was Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Jimi Hendrix, BB King, Santana. My mum’s was Frank Sinatra, Bryan Adams and lots of country records. But I would say The Beatles. Twist And Shout was the first song I ever learned. Then it was BB King, trying to nail down the vibrato on The Thrill Is Gone. BB King really shaped my life. Lyrically and the way he sang and played, he meant everything he did. It was very impactful.
The first song I performed live
It was an original song of mine which I played at a school assembly. It was called Spin Your Jackets Around. At the time, I was at this college and I hated the blazers they made us wear. I wanted everyone to take them off. So I wrote this song. It was my first real song, three chords and very Beatles-esque. Songwriting came first and foremost to me. I wanted to play the guitar but also to be able to tell a story and write something that people remember.
The guitar hero
I would say Carlos Santana, because it changed my life when I first heard him play Europa. So to me he’s definitely a guitar hero. When I was eighteen I got to meet him and jam in front of fifteen thousand people in Adelaide – playing for about forty-five minutes. Carlos is like an uncle to me, and it’s truly an honour to know him. He’s very inspiring.
The singer
Stevie Nicks. I listened to a lot of Fleetwood Mac when I was younger. I loved her style, her singing and the way she would phrase things. Landslide and all those songs. There’s a real presence about her and she’s such a storyteller. Stevie once asked me to play on one of her songs, but I couldn’t because I was on tour with Alice Cooper at the time.
The songwriter
The Beatles. I got into songwriting when I was really young. I wanted to write my own after hearing them. It was incredible the way they crafted their songs and the magic they had with George Martin. It’s insane how many legendary songs they created.
The greatest album of all time
For me it’s between Jimi Hendrix’s Band Of Gypsys and Santana’s Abraxas. Santana made me want to play electric guitar – that one really affected me. His tone and phrasing are so incredible, and the fusion of blues, Latin, rock, even jazz, and the way he put it all together.
The best cover version
I’m gonna pick a weird one, because it’s something I was just thinking about the other day. I thought it was cool when Alien Ant Farm covered Smooth Criminal – a heavy, unexpected version.
The most underrated artist ever
Jonny Lang is an artist who I think should be much bigger. He’s an incredible singer and guitar player. Obviously lots of people know who he is, but I think he could be given more credit. He has a real gospel singing voice to go with the guitar playing.
My guilty pleasure
I don’t know if it’s guilty, but I listen to a lot of pop music. I went through a phase when I was listening to The 1975. They’re pop songs, but the melodies are cool. It has such a vibe, almost eighties, which I like. If I’m gonna listen to a pop record, that’s probably it.
The song I air guitar to
If I was very drunk – and I would still rather ask for a guitar! – maybe Back In Black. Those chords are mean and tough. Or Whole Lotta Love. They’re brutal when they come in. Very simple but heavy as hell.
My Saturday night party song
Teddy Swims is one of my favourite newer artists, so probably something from his record. I dig it. It’s got that older, Amy Winehouse-sounding production, in a way. Either that or Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Live At The El Mocambo.
The song that makes me cry
Probably Jeff Buckley’s Last Goodbye. His voice and the lyrics are both so haunting. The whole of the Grace record is great. He was one of those really special artists.
The song I want played at my funeral
I don’t want people crying. I want something happy – maybe a Prince song like Let’s Go Crazy.
Orianthi’s new album Some Kind Of Feeling is out now.
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