Vintage Guitar - September 2017 - open - 24

Burstbucker pickups. I pair them with Hiwatts
and Marshalls. They're pretty awesome.
What was going on in your life before
you joined Train?

About 11 years ago I was working with a pop
artist on Columbia Records who was opening
for Train. She never did sound checks, so I
would sing, play Led Zeppelin, and all kinds
of oddball stuff. Pat Monahan, the singer from
Train came up and said, "Dude! Where did
you come from!?" I told him about working
with Glenn Hughes, UFO, and John Waite.
He said, "Would you like to write?"
We wrote some songs and ended up recording his solo record. Over the years, I stayed with
the guys even though I made an album with my
band, Into The Presence. If fact, I kept playing with a lot of people including Lisa Marie
Presley and Bigelf, which was a big deal. One
day, Pat called and asked me to join full-time.
I was like, "Cool. Let's do it." We stayed friends
professionally and personally. Everyone in the
group is like a big family. My brother, Hector,
plays in the group, so it was a logical step. Pat
is really into letting everybody shine. Train is
full of great music and inspiration.

LUIS CARLOS
MALDONADO
Have SG, Will Travel

rain guitarist Luis Carlos Maldonado's
musical upbringing and skill on the fretboard has earned him cherry gigs with artists
like John Waite, UFO, and Glenn Hughes. He
hails from the SG school of melodic-rock swagger, yet it's his way around a melody that made
him invaluable in great bands. He's a prolific
solo artist and professional songsmith. Train's
current album, A Girl, a Bottle, a Boat, is full
of memorable pop and his clever guitar hooks.
How did you develop such a wicked legato
technique?

My entire family is made up of musicians; three
of my four brothers studied classical guitar. We
were raised in orchestra from a very early age,
studying classical guitar. So, most of it came from

there. You have to build these techniques so you
can play Villa-Lobos and all that stuff. When
you're doing flamenco, you're always barring
the frets and always moving up and down the
fretboard. The muscle memory just stayed there
when I started playing pop music. Somehow,
when I managed to play rock, it stayed, and I
developed my own thing. As much as I wanted
to sound like Paul Kossoff, I never did (laughs).
One of the main reasons I play an SG is
because of Pete Townshend. I watched him on
the Woodstock video, playing with the Hiwatt
amps and that crazy fuzz he had going. That
was a big influence - like, "Oh my God!" I've
always loved Angus Young and Tony Iommi,
too. My main guitar is a Gibson Custom Shop
VOS '64 reissue with a Vibrola and the stock

VINTAGE GUITAR

September 2017

I use to do sessions for Mike Varney, at
Shrapnel Records. Mike loves discovering
new talent - he paved the way for Yngwie
Malmsteen, Paul Gilbert, and all those guys.
I moved to the Bay Area and my mother said,
"Some guy named Mike is looking for you."
I wound up playing guitar for him, doing
back-up vocals, and engineering. That's how
I ended up working with UFO and doing a
Michael Schenker record. Mike isn't just a great
friend; he's a mentor in many ways.
I ended up playing keyboard and guitar on
a UFO tour with Uli Roth. John Waite was on
that tour, and I ended up with him. Everything
was very natural and organic when I met
Glenn Hughes a few years later. Mike got me
to that point with UFO and it just kept going.
I wrote with John for eight years and wound
up doing an album with Glenn and a bunch
of other people. I don't have many nightmare
stories (laughs); 98 percent of my career has
been very blessed and I'm glad to be doing it.
Outside of Train, what's going on with you?

I still write with a lot of people. For me, writing
is one of the things I'm blessed to do. When I first
got signed, it opened a lot of doors to write with
a lot of different artists. I'll never ignore that. I
want to make something that will last regardless
of whom I'm working with. I'm in an awesome
band with some awesome people, and I get to
write with all kinds of people. - Oscar Jordan

Luis Maldonado: Michael Corrado.

How did you graduate from Madison
Square Bedroom to becoming a professional guitarist?

Vintage Guitar - September 2017 - open

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