"Carlos Cavazo was at the epicenter of the ’80s metal scene," writes Gibson.com. "He undertook the daunting task of replacing Randy Rhoads in Quiet Riot, when Rhoads left to join Ozzy Osbourne. Cavazo proceeded to lead that band, alongside stentorian singer Kevin DuBrow, to the heights of popularity, with hits like 'Bang Your Head (Metal Health),' 'The Wild and the Young' and the Slade covers, “Cum on Feel the Noize' and 'Mama Weer All Crazee Now.' In 2008, he joined another legendary metal outfit, Ratt. The band released their first Cavazo/DeMartini-fueled album, Infestation, in April and have hit the road with a massive tour to support it. We caught up with Carlos on a rare day off in rain-drenched Cleveland."
Read an excerpt of the insightful interview below, and go right here to get the full Q&A.

The long-awaited return to Ratt n' Roll form Infestation is out now! Get your copy RIGHT HERE.

On how he came to join Ratt, Cavazo explains:

"Actually, Warren DeMartini ran into Vinnie Appice at a club in Hollywood — and Warren had known that I’d been playing with Vinnie off and on in different projects — and he asked what I had been up to. He got my number from Vinnie, and he called me. He had my number for about a year before he called me; I guess the timing just wasn’t right yet. He called me up one day, out of the blue, and I had missed his call and then I got the message, “Can you give me a call if you have a chance?” And I’m thinking either there’s a big party in town or they are looking for a guitar player and it ended up being the latter. I went down, and I knew they were working with a couple of people, as well, and I went in there and they liked what I did and it worked out."

On playing in a two-guitar band:

"Ah, you know, I’ll tell you, I’ve played with other guitar players in the past, in different projects, and it really wasn’t that much of an adjustment. Actually, a bigger adjustment was my sound. I’ve been using more of a modern set-up with digital processing kind of sound and these guys just hook into a couple of pedals (and then straight) into an amp. So I adapted to that, which I’ve done before. I prefer that myself. It’s more of a natural sound. And as far as our playing, mine and Warren’s styles are very similar in many ways and we were influenced by some of the same guitar players; so, it just kind of fell into place and it felt natural."

On the scene in the 80s:

"You know, everybody was friends. I think the press made it look like we hated each other. I mean, I’ve known these guys all of my life, since I was in my 20s. And oddly enough, I was friends with Robbin Crosby before I knew any of these guys. We used to hang out. He was the first guy in the band that I knew. Then I hung out with Stephen after that. I don’t think I ever met Warren until like the ’90s. I knew the guys in Mötley Crüe, Dokken… I hang out with all those guys. We were all friends. It’s just made to look a certain way in the press. You know, that battle against each other."

On his history playing Gibson guitars:

"The first time I got a Gibson was in, probably, the early ’70s, when I was about 15 or 16 years old. I bought it for $100. It was a double cutaway Les Paul Junior. A red one. And I loved that guitar. I bought it from a good friend of mine. We used to always trade and sell each other guitars back then. And that’s the first Gibson I had, and I’ve been sold ever since. And I started using Vs in Quiet Riot in the early ’80s. I acquired a V from some guy in Denver, Colorado, on the road. He sold it to me, that cream-colored one from the early ’80s. And I still have that V, actually. It almost became my trademark. Everybody liked me playing a V. Actually, one day, I came in with Ratt and I brought in a V and they all said, “Oh, I love you playing that guitar. Play that from now on.” So I’ve been using the Vs a lot with Ratt now."