Neil Giraldo likens the creation of his Three-Chord Bourbon to being in a band.
“My bourbon team is spectacular,” said Giraldo, who is married to Pat Benatar. “It’s like a band. It’s truly like a democracy, where everybody has a say. We have a diverse team.”
Giraldo will speak about the Ann Arbor, Michigan-based Three-Chord Bourbon on Saturday, March 15, at the Celebrity Wine & Spirits Festival at the Scottsdale Civic Center. Other guests include former WWE wrestler Brie Garcia, actor Joe Mantegna, Phoenix Suns legend Tom Chambers, musician Roger Clyne, golfer Cristie Kerr and baseball’s Dusty Baker.
The Cleveland native, 69, founded Steel Bending Spirits LLC in 2017, with its first offering, Three-Chord Bourbon, in July 2018. The spirit was created to raise funds for his documentary about Ohio musicians and its trailer. The results were overwhelmingly positive.
“Here’s the part that’s so beautiful. Everybody believes in the fundamental beginnings of a company,” Giraldo said. “We’re winning awards all the time. When I started it, I wanted it to be something special. It’s overshooting the dreams I had in the beginning.”
The first guitarist to appear on MTV, Giraldo is Three-Chord Bourbon’s creative director and board chairman.
“The synergy between bourbon and music is a living thing,” Giraldo said.
One must be inspired to write songs, and then arrange, produce and mix them.
“It’s just like whiskey,” he said. “You have to have a healthy and very focused mind to be a musician.”
He doesn’t encourage drinking while performing, as imbibers should sit, respect the moment, and engage and enjoy good conversation.
Giraldo’s year is busy. He and Benatar will continue working on a holiday album featuring original material and special guests.
“It’s not like ‘Frosty the Snowman,’” he said. “There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s all about experiencing that time of year, whether it’s November, December, January, or February. There are a lot of emotions that go on during those four months.”
Giraldo has maintained his passion for music. He recalled the first song he wrote for himself and Benatar, “We Live for Love.” That was the beginning of a successful career — and partnership.
The 1980 hit “Hell is for Children” from her second studio album Crimes of Passion was a game-changer for the couple, who married in 1982.
“The response that we got from that song was so enormous, from so many people and how it helped guide them through tough times in their lives, being abused,” Giraldo said.
“We wanted to start somber and then get angry, then screaming ‘hell is for hell.’ It’s like a film. We tried to create this landscape film. It engages all these different emotions.”
Giraldo called the soundtrack favorite “Love is a Battlefield,” an R&B song with a rock edge. The track was a departure for the band.
“I like to challenge myself and challenge the audience,” Giraldo said. “I have a theory: If a person listens to a record, if they don’t love it at first, that’s what I want. I’d rather them learn to love it than have a quick burn.
“Prince’s ‘When Doves Cry,’ was really a skeleton of a song. There’s not a lot going on. The production is vacant. It’s different. ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ is a song that I heard when I was 3 years old that made me want to be a record producer.”
He called it sparse but incredible.
In 2023, Benatar and Giraldo were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in LA, thousands of miles away from its brick and mortar in Cleveland. The event thrilled Giraldo on many levels.
“Cleveland’s a blue-collar town,” he said. “People work hard there. It’s gray and dark. That’s why a lot of musicians come out of there. They spend a lot of time in the basement to hone their craft and become better musicians. I know this first-hand.”
Celebrity Wine & Spirits Festival
WHEN: 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, March 15; 11 a.m. VIP entry
WHERE: Scottsdale Civic Center, 3939 N. Drinkwater Boulevard, Scottsdale
COST: $50; $100 for VIP
INFO: civiccenterlive.org