Yahoo Rock Online Chat

Yahoo Rock Online Chat

Yahoo's Ad for the Chat:

Yngwie J. Malmsteen, The Legend Returns! Monday October 16th 4pm EST Rock Online Chat Stage

Metal genius Yngwie Malmsteen, give or take fifteen records into a career, returns with a rythmic firestorm called War To End All Wars. Looking deeper, past his singular, well documented mastery of the guitar, the man writes all the music, all the lyrics, and is a hell of a producer. Pile on Yngwie's width, breadth, and scope of classical music theory and practice, and you've got a man that is quite unarguably, at minimum, a musical genius. "War To End All Wars was a very enjoyable record to make," adds Yngwie. "With this album, I didn't really have a concept or anything. I just let it flow, you know? And they turned out to be very, very good songs in my opinion, if I don't say so myself. I like the songs a lot. So it is a very well rounded record but at the same time it is very Malmsteen-esque. But at the same time it also feels fresh. It's not predictable. The music has to speak for itself ultimately though. I don't like to put my music into words (laughs)." Chat with Yngwie Malmsteen Monday, October 16th, 4pET/1pPT, before he heads to the Hard Rock Cafe in NYC to donate one of his guitars.

Yahoo Chat Transcript:

YAHOO: Is it better to start on acoustic and once mastered go to the electric, or is starting electric and then going to acoustic fine?

Yngwie: It's like this...the acoustic guitar is a different instrument. It's the same tuning and the same strings...but on electric you bend the strings...you can't expect one to help the other, it's two different instruments. Acoustic is like piano, the way I play is sort of violin-like.

YAHOO: What kinds of effects, equipment, and amplifiers do you use?

Yngwie: I've used the same things for many years now... Old Strats ...68-72... I use old Marshalls... and I haven't changed it at all. I don't go for effects at all.

YAHOO: Is it true you slapped your bassist in the middle of a concert a while ago?

Yngwie: No... that's not true ... about 8 years ago I spun my guitar around my body ... I do that a lot. We played in a small club and the stage was small and I told the bassist to please watch out. I caught him in the head, it was not intentional... that's the only injury for the bass player.

YAHOO: What do you use for a practice amp?

Yngwie: I have a small, tiny Fender. It's got an 18" speaker, no reverb. I just plug into it and it sounds great.

YAHOO: Have you ever considered doing collaborative work with other guitar players? I know that you are good friends with James Byrd.

Yngwie: I don't want to rule it out, I'm open to things. I just got a call from Michael Shenker, don't be surprised if something happens. But I wouldn't have a permanent additional guitar player. I've always loved having a keyboard player. It's another sound, it's a different instrument.

YAHOO: Hi Yngwie, you rock. Do you happen to like any epic metal, and if so, which bands?...sincerely, a Norwegian epic fan.

Yngwie: That's cool... it's almost where I'm from, Sweden. I like a lot of bands. As far as bands go, I love Tull, Queen... Deep Purple, King's X, AC/DC... Mostly old school, but Sabbath is great, Hendrix was great.

YAHOO: What do you think of today's new-age guitarists?

Yngwie: I don't listen to new stuff... I can't make a comment.

YAHOO: Yngwie, do you keep in touch with old band members like Jens Johansson?

Yngwie: Sometimes, not much... There's no bad blood.

YAHOO: Hi Yngwie, this is Anne from the Fan Club. How's the media blitz in New York going so far? Talk to you later!

Yngwie: It's the most hectic schedule ever, so I don't wanna complain... I'm covering a lot of ground.

YAHOO: One second... brb. You worked with many renowned musicians. Who are your collaborators on this project?

Yngwie: For songwriters, no-one; but the way I write, I write a very demanding piece... I played bass. So we really have to get good cats... Mark Boals - vocals, Mats Olausson - keyboards, John Macaluso on drums... and me on guitars, vocals, and bass. When we go on the road it will be this line-up plus a bass player. I have a couple of bassists I'm checking out but haven't made a decision yet.

YAHOO: Yngwie, how did you get your start in music? How'd you get to play the guitar so damn well? (it's amazing)

Yngwie: I started playing when I was very young, seven. I had my first guitar when I was five. As far as me making it in the business, it was moving to the States on February 13, 1983. Guitar Player magazine, I sent a tape to them and they called me back and said, "You must come to America. You have to!" It was weird. From Sweden to LA was a bit of a change. I was just fanatical about playing for hours for many, many years. Not so much practice, but playing. I never took lessons. When I was seven or eight I wanted to play Bach. When I was ten or eleven I could play all of Ritchie Blackmore's parts, and felt I needed to go somewhere further than that... so I started to learn Bach and some Beethoven, and it's when I heard Paganini that I decided to apply violin techniques, wide vibrato... really fast.

YAHOO: Yngwie, will you do G3 with Satriani?

Yngwie: Sure, he's called me and asked me, actually. It's up in the air, we've talked about it. People would be surprised to know how flexible I am [who he would be interested in playing with].

YAHOO: Do you enjoy having classic Strats, or do you use them as tools?

Yngwie: I have so many guitars now it's funny. I have some worth a lot of money, they lay in a pile somewhere. The ones I play range from '68 to '73 - cream white, maple neck - those are my favorites. I look at the guitar as an extension of myself, as part of me.

YAHOO: Where does your heroic-fantasy inspiration come from?

Yngwie: The artwork [on the new album cover] is just a symbolic way of saying [to certain music industry people] that you got me really pissed off.

YAHOO: On the new album, I heard that you spent a lot of time experimenting with different amp/mic combos to recapture that fat, warm sound of your early albums. What exact changes did you make?

Yngwie: I'll tell you what... I have so many guitars, they all have the same pickups, but they do have different tones and so many amps that have different sounds as well. So it was suggested that I hone in on the best. Normally, I never spent time on that... I just picked one up and started playing. I was never into equipment.

YAHOO: [A question about Dio and singers was missed here.]

Yngwie: Mark was by far the best in terms of control, pitch, vibrato, accuracy. Some singers are just blues singers like me. I can sing blues, that's it. Dio is a great vocalist. I'm friends with him, he calls the shots like me. So I'm going on the road with him Nov-Dec. Roseland will be 9th in NYC. We've done some great things together, we've played live together, it's just a fun thing, so we'll see this time around.

YAHOO: How has Mike Spitzer (your new manager) had an effect on the business side of things so far?

Yngwie: We work side by side, there's no communication breakdown - that's the way it should be and decisions are made, really really clever decisions. Decisions aren't made without us both talking about it, everything down to the cover, you name it.... that's not the way it happened in the past........... that's a long story...... let bygones be bygones....

YAHOO: Is there still a lawsuit pending with your former management (Lewis Entertainment)?

Yngwie: I can't answer that........ I can't talk about those things.

YAHOO: Dear Yngwie, don't you sometimes give the impression of repeating yourself, especially when soloing. Some of your solos on "Concerto Suite" are almost the same as on "Eclipse".

Yngwie: Mmmm, not true. On Concerto Suite I made a decision to utilize some of my existing songs on the rock albums. I took directly from my previous recordings, I can do whatever I do. I'm not repeating myself, I'm using songs in a different way. I'm not taking them from someone else, so there.. [smiley-face emoticon]

YAHOO: When you play your concerto live, will you be arranging any of your instrumentals as well as for the orchestra?

Yngwie: Yes, I'm doing Black Star, Far Beyond the Sun, Trilogy, Brothers, Evil Eye. That's gonna be a separate performance, three nights in Tokyo in June 2001.

YAHOO: Do you plan to perform soundtracks in the future?

Yngwie: Yes, actual scoring films I'd like to do: I have to see what's available. There were a few things, but I can't get into that....... in this industry you don't want to get ahead of yourself, I've learned the hard way.

YAHOO: What other guitarists do you admire?

Yngwie: So many years ago I stopped listening to guitar players...... but there's loads of great players.

YAHOO: [question about his new recording sound]

Yngwie: When I play live I really went after a live sound. I wanted to go after a not-too-polished sound, more raw, like a rough diamond........ My studio has a 24-track and 48-track, so there's hundreds of tracks of vocal overlays.

YAHOO: Any plans to do new instructional videos?

Yngwie: I just finished one two months ago, called "It's Basically Full Shred"; I'm still working on it.

YAHOO: Have you ever considered being part of a bigger band, instead of just Yngwie Malmsteen by himself doing everything?

Yngwie: No.

YAHOO: If you were a vegetable, what type would you pick to be?

Yngwie: Very funny, I never thought about that.

YAHOO: Will there be any promo videos made for the new CD?

Yngwie: Yes, there will be. We haven't decided; we will leave it up to the label to decide which tracks.

YAHOO: How is Spitfire working out?

Yngwie: Spitfire, I've been very impressed. I think they are doing a great job.

YAHOO: Yng, I've been a fan since the Alcatrazz days... has having a child mellowed you out? Lord knows, you are a tyrant with red wine around!

Yngwie: No, I don't drink any red wine, or do drugs...the only thing I drink is beer, lite beer. The impression people have of me from years ago is long gone. And yes, a child will do that... he is 2 and a half years old. I've been married four years now.

YAHOO: Are your signature Strats still available?

Yngwie:Yes, they are incredible instruments. too.

YAHOO: I know Paganini was an influence; any jazz players inspire you?

Yngwie: Not really an influence, but I really like Alan Holdsworth.

YAHOO: One more question.....

Yngwie: I have to go downstairs for another interview with Metal Dreams magazine. I've been doing interviews since 9 this morning from all around the world.

YAHOO: What's the thing that has changed the most about you in, say, the last 10 years?

Yngwie: The birth of my son. It was great to be on, and I'll see you all soon.

Pete from Rockonline.com: Malmsteen was great. Sorry we couldn't answer more questions, but Malmsteen is on a tight schedule.... Malmsteen has left the building.....