Craig Goldy

Craig Goldy
Born	November 6, 1961 (1961-11-06) La Mesa, California, U.S.
Instruments	Guitar
Years active	1980–present
Associated acts	Vengeance, Rough Cutt, Giuffria, David Lee Roth, Dio

Craig Goldy (born on November 6, 1961) is an American guitarist, mostly notably of the band Dio.

Before Dio, he played in the bands Vengeance, Rough Cutt, and Giuffria. He replaced Jake E. Lee in Rough Cutt and was himself replaced by Amir Derakh in this group. Prior to joining Rough Cutt, he had played in the band Vengeance. Rough Cutt recorded some demos with Craig Goldy that received airplay on San Diego radio station KGB FM's Metal Shop program, but he left the band before they got a record deal and recorded their first album. Ronnie James Dio had produced those demos (for the songs, "Queen of Seduction," "Try a Little Harder," and, "Take Her"). Goldy, giving a clue as to his future in Dio (the band), commented on Ronnie James Dio in a live interview on KGB's Metal Shop in 1983. In that interview Goldy praised Dio for his talent and for being a nice person who took time to help Rough Cutt out. Ronnie and his wife Wendy both co-wrote some songs on the first Rough Cutt album, which was recorded after Craig Goldy left the band.

Shortly after leaving Rough Cutt, Goldy would join Giuffria, the eponymous band of former Angel keyboardist, Gregg Giuffria. Performing on Giuffria's self-titled debut album, released in 1984, Goldy is heard on the band's biggest hit, "Call to the Heart," which hit #15 on the Billboard charts in early 1985.

Craig Goldy was featured in Hear 'n Aid - Stars project while still in Giuffria, alongside other players such as Adrian Smith and Dave Murray of Iron Maiden, Yngwie Malmsteen, Brad Gillis and others.

Goldy was the original guitarist of a supergroup consisting of himself, singer Rob Rock, bassist Rudy Sarzo, and drummer Tommy Aldridge. But before recording Project Driver, he left the group to join Dio and was subsequently replaced by Tony MacAlpine.

Craig Goldy co wrote the song "Lady Luck" with David Lee Roth on Dave's 1991 album A Little Ain't Enough.

Craig Goldy temporarily left the group Dio for the third time in 2005 after suffering a hand injury on a tour through Russia. He was then replaced by former Dio guitarist Doug Aldrich for the duration of the tour, but had returned to the fold. He also is currently the guest guitarist of heavy metal pioneers Budgie.

His main guitar was a B.C. Rich Warlock, however, he now uses an ESP M-II through ENGL Powerball amplifiers. He has modified the guitar by switching the EMG pickups with Seymour Duncan pickups.

Discography

With Rough Cutt

• demos (early 1980s)
• "Try A Little Harder" (1983)

With Giuffria

• Giuffria (1984)

With Dio

• "Time To Burn" on Intermission EP (1986)
• Dream Evil (1987)
• Magica (2000)
• Master of the Moon (2004)

With Craig Goldy's Ritual

• Hidden In Plain Sight (1991)

With David Lee Roth

• co wrote the song "Lady Luck"
• A Little Ain't Enough (1991)

Solo

• Insufficient Therapy (1993)
• Better Late Than Never (1995)

On Ronnie James Dio

Goldy expressed his feelings regarding the passing of Dio (excerpt):

"Ronnie James Dio is and was more than a legendary musician, friend and fellow band member, he was my family. He is the reason anyone really even knows who I am at all and why I exist. He rescued me from sleeping in a car on the streets of San Diego and Los Angeles and brought me into his world where dreams come true, kindness to strangers and fans, warmth, humility and integrity are paramount and where creativity could be without boundaries that could change people's lives forever.

I know he changed mine. Not just through his music and the voice that turned his unique abilities into a legend, but who he was as a person and how he treated me and everyone he came in contact with directly and indirectly."

External links

• Autobiographical Interview w/ Craig Goldy