An Interview With George Vjestica of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

Feature Photo by Anthony Oates

George Vjestica has been with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds for ages. In a past life, he played sideman to The Stone Roses’ John Squire and KT Tunstall, gigs which put him on the map and led to further work in various popular film scores.

As they say, one thing leads to another. This has undoubtedly been the case for Vjestica. “That’s the great thing about music,” he tells ClassicRockHistory.com. “You can embrace anything you want.”

Indeed. But it also comes down to Vjestica’s deep-seated love for guitar and playing the sort of music that captivated him when he was young. “In the mid to late ‘70s, the guitar was the instrument to play,” he says.

Adding, “Jimmy Page, David Gilmour, and Pete Townshend were like superheroes. Loads of bands came to play in my hometown around that time. AC/DC with Bon Scott did three shows in one year, and I remember Black Sabbath with Van Halen supporting.”

But it wasn’t just classic rock that inspired Vjestica. “And then, there was The Clash, Magazine, The Jam, The Pretenders with James Honeyman-Scott; it was a golden age, absolutely,” he exclaims.

“All of this was going on in my early teens,” he explains. “I knew even back then it was all or nothing. I never wanted to be a session player; I just wanted to be in a band.”

Though Vjestica detoured into session work, in the end, he got what he wanted. With Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, he’s been a part of four records: 2013’s Push the Sky Away, 2016’s Skeleton Tree, 2019’s Ghosteen, and 2024’s Wild God. In addition to that, he’s toured the world with Cave, which is what he’s up to now, in fact.

When Vjestica looks back, the 58-year-old six-string ace has nothing but gratitude for his journey to date, with the knowledge that he’s got plenty more to do. “Regrets,” he questions. “Yes, a few. But you live and learn. For me, it’s better to take the positive out of every situation.”

What are your first memories of music in your life?

My earliest memories of music would have been listening to Balkan folk music 45s that my mum would play at home. My father always had the radio on first thing in the morning while he was getting ready for work. Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain” was a big one.

There was a record shop not far from where I lived, and I can still see David Bowie’s Aladdin Sane and The Beatles Live at the Hollywood Bowl in the window. And Top of the Pops was the big thing every Thursday night, without fail, we’d all sit around the TV and watch it.

What drew you to the guitar, and when did you decide the sort of player you wanted to be?

I was nine years old when I saw Jimi Hendrix on TV. It was such a profound moment for me; that was it! My father bought me a nylon-stringed guitar for Christmas, and I was all in! I used to stand outside the local guitar shops, staring in the windows at what seemed like magical, mystical, and unobtainable objects to me.

How did the scene you grew up in impact you as a player?

I was raised in Stoke -on- Trent, a working-class industrial town in the north. Lemmy [Kilmister] was born there, and Slash spent the first five years of his life there, too. Most kids at the time were into football and music. I had two older brothers, one was into rock music, and the other liked punk, so I got the best of both worlds.

You’d hear live music spilling out from the pubs and the working men’s clubs all the time. I remember my dear old mum buying me Pink Floyd’s Animals from Woolworths when it first came out. Manchester was close by, and a cousin gave me the original EMI pressing of [The Sex Pistols] “Anarchy in the UK” on the day that Elvis Presley died.

How did you end up working with The Stone Roses’ John Squire, who is a great player… and a unique, quiet personality?

John was looking for a guitar player when he was promoting his first solo album, Time Changes Everything. Sophie, his wife, was an old friend, and she told John to get in touch with me. He’s an amazing guitar player, really fluid and lyrical, and he’s a great songwriter too. He’s definitely unique and can be quiet, but when he’s playing guitar, he’s the opposite. I had a great time playing with him. I’m eternally grateful to him for giving me that break.

You played a bit of guitar for KT Tunstall. Tell us about that.

KT was going out with John’s drummer at the time, Luke Bullen; she’d just got a deal and was recording her debut album Eye to the Telescope. I went into a tiny studio in Bath with KT, Luke, and the producer Steve Osbourne for a day, and they ended up using my guitar part on a song called “False Alarm,” which was the first thing she released as an EP. The album went on to sell millions.

What led you to join Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, where you’ve been for years now?

I’d known Nick as a friend for quite a few years. He’d asked me to play guitar on a couple of film soundtracks he’d made with Warren Ellis, The Proposition and Lawless. In 2012, he asked me if I’d like to play on what was to become the Push the Sky Away album, and the following year, I joined the band.

What’s made you the right fit with Nick, and what does he expect from his guitar players?

I guess there was something he liked about the way I played guitar and something in my character and personality that he thought would work in the Bad Seeds. It’s all about having the right energy and musical empathy, too.

Nick’s very attuned to what’s going on with the Bad Seeds; he writes brilliant songs, and with Warren, they really know how to produce great albums. A lot of it is down to chemistry, and a lot of it is down to really listening and playing less sometimes than more.

What’s been the key to your rig, and where does it stand today?

I’ve got an old black Everley Brothers [guitar] I use in the studio, but I don’t take it out on the road. On stage, I have a pretty standard Gibson Hummingbird and a J-45 I got from a guy at Gibson called David Bower; they’re solid workhorses! I pretty much use the same gear I’ve always used with the Bad Seeds since I joined. I love my old Gibson ES-330, the red ‘60s one; it looks and sounds great.

What’s something about you as a player and listener that might surprise fans?

One of my favorite guitar players is Nile Rodgers. His chug, that rhythm on songs like “Thinking of You,” and “Spacer”… there’s nobody in the world who can play the guitar like that. I’ve met him a few times, and he’s awesome. And I love the band Yes. Those albums from the ‘70s are amazing, and Calvin, the singer of Discharge, once asked me if I’d be interested in playing guitar for them.

What’s next for you?

I’ve been on tour in Australia and New Zealand with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds; the shows have been incredible. We’re playing a load of festivals in Europe in the summer, which I’m really looking forward to. I just worked on the score to Lynne Ramsay’s Die My Love starring Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson, and I’m also about to start work on another score for a film about a Russian Poet.

Check out similar articles on ClassicRockHistory.com Just click on any of the links below……

Classicrockhistory.com claims ownership of all its original content and Intellectual property under United States Copyright laws and those of all other foreign countries. No one person, business, or organization is allowed to re-publish any of our original content anywhere on the web or in print without our permission. All photos used are either public domain Creative Commons photos or licensed officially from Shutterstock under license with ClassicRockHistory.com. All photo credits have been placed at the end of the article. Album Cover Photos are affiliate links and the property of Amazon and are stored on the Amazon server. Any theft of our content will be met with swift legal action against the infringing websites.