August 21, 2005

Question from many fans: "What do you think about the murder of Dimebag Darrell?"

Answer from Yngwie: "I'm wasn't really a fan of his music or playing style, but I was shocked over his death. Every time a musician goes out onstage, he (or she) is open to anything that can happen, and most of the time you don't think about it, but anything can happen to you and it's a chance you are willing to take to play your music and connect with your fans. Sometimes it can be scary, and this time it was fatal. It was a terrible thing to happen."

Question from Andy Sedgley: " Yngwie, I love your music and your shows, but the ringing in my ears when I get home worries me! I just watched a TV programme about Beethoven (one of your often-cited influences) and I wonder how come you aren't going deaf from the volume of your live music? I understand why you like to "Play Loud!" but I wondered if you thought you had lost any hearing from the power of your Marshalls - because I think I would if I was there every night! Respect to the greatest musician of our age."

Answer from Yngwie: "No, I have not suffered any noticeable hearing loss. Eh? Just kidding!"

Question from Juan Carlos Amorrortu: "Yngwie, what to do think about Jason Becker and what happened to him (Lou Gherigs disease)?"

Answer from Yngwie: "I don't know him personally, but it is a terrible shame when an artist (of any kind) loses his ability to perform his art. I've had some close calls myself, and it's a frightening thing to face."

Question from Sean Harmon: "I know you started playing guitar at a young age, and by the age of 19 you were better then 97% of the other guitarist out there that have been playing for 20+ years! I'm sure along the way you felt just down and all around shitty, well I've kind of hit this rut, not in my playing but in my motivation, my inspiration. My question is: how did you stay motivated to pick up your guitar every day and practice for hours on end?"

Answer from Yngwie: "Motivation has never been a problem; I have always felt driven to achieve the highest personal goals in music that I could reach. I play everyday because I loves it; I don't think about it as "practicing" (that is, doing exercises, etc.). Music just pours out of me, I can't stop it, so it's never an effort. This may not be the kind of advice you are looking for, but sorry, that's the only way I can explain it."

March 4, 2005

Question from Emmanuel Calvario: "Yngwie, I know that you know Michael Angelo was nominated as the no.1 shredder of all times. They say that you and Angelo both mastered sweep picking and economy picking. But they say that you haven't mastered playing a one note per string arpeggios. Is that true? For you, Yngwie, who's faster between you and Michael Angelo. Just a direct and sure answer from you, sir. Because for me, you the best guitarist in the world."

Answer from Yngwie: "I don't personally know Michael Angelo or his music, but regarding contests and who is faster or whatever. It doesn't interest me. Trying to determine who picks more notes per second is ridiculous. What is important is the quality of the music and how well it speaks to fans who love it."

April 25, 2004

Question from Andrew McNeill: "Hi. You are my God and I have two questions. The first, as a child did you ever hit a barrier where you felt you weren't improving and if so how did you manage to overcome this? And secondly, do you feel that you were born with the talent to play as well as you do, or do you feel that you were in the correct surroundings to pick up your first guitar and progress as you have done?"

Answer from Yngwie: "The answer to your first question is basically 'no', and the answer to both parts of your second question is 'yes'. [Webmaster's note: Yngwie has elaborated on these types of questions elsewhere in this section.]

February 4, 2004

Question from C. Shelton: "In 1994, a videogame company called Falcom made a game called Ys 4: The Dawn of Ys. As I listened to "Far Beyond the Sun", I noticed that it's the same song that's in this videogame! Do you know anything about this at all? Like, how Yngwie was involved with making this, or if he even had anything to do with it at all??"

Answer from Yngwie: Nope, he didn't collaborate on it with them.

December 29, 2002

Question from Mike King: "I have a question about the song, "Making Love". When the Eclipse album first came out, a local heavy metal radio station was playing the full version of the song (this included the full ending). I was a bit disappointed when I bought the album and the ending was cut off. Then came the YM Collection album with the "Extended Version" of Making Love. However, even this is not the full version and the ending has been edited. I haven't seen on your site anywhere or heard anyone else mention this, but is the full, unedited version of Making Love available anywhere?"

Answer from Yngwie: The only long version of that song released is on the Eclipse 1990 2-CD pack. The CD #1 has both versions of the song: the commercial edit of "Making Love" (4:56) and the extended guitar solo version (6:23). [webmaster's note: The Double-Pack catalog # is POCP-9007/8, but it's been out of print for years. ]

June 1, 2002

Question from Stefan Madru: "When you're asked about current bands, you answer that you haven't heard of them or their music. What is the reason for being so little interested in what's new or which bands are worth it?"

Answer from Yngwie: "There are several reasons for this. When I hear stuff on the radio in the car, I definitely don't like it - it does not do anything for me at all. I mean, it has gone from grunge, which I thought was bad enough, to rap metal, which is really scraping the bottom of the barrel, in my opinion. The little bit of this "new rock" that I have heard turns me off to the degree that I have absolutely no interest in what is "current." But even if there was a lot of good music out there, I wouldn't listen to it much anyway. Here's why: music is to me like breathing, I pick up a guitar and play around and something comes out that excites me that wasn't there before - it feels new to me. And that's enough. And especially after going through the intense period of recording an album, then going on a long tour, I have NO interest in listening to current music on the radio or CD. I need a break from it - I have other ways of relaxing, like reading books, watching movies, playing with my little boy (especially Play Station 2 games), and just hanging out with my family. We don't have the radio on or CDs playing in the background, so it's actually pretty quiet at home unless I'm up in the studio working on something. Music is not casual recreation for me, so I don't feel like I'm shutting myself off from anything by not listening to every new thing that's played on the radio."

Question from Adam Johnson: "What helped you cross the gap between sitting down and practicing someone else's music until you could play it, and being able to sit down and write and play your own work? Was it lessons from a teacher? Sheer talent? Hours of practice? Knowledge of the instrument? Extensive chord and phrasing knowledge?"

Answer from Yngwie:"Actually, I did it backwards. I started creating my own stuff first (pretty primitive, you understand), and then started to follow along with Deep Purple and other bands from their LPs. By doing that, I had already become familiar with the sounds I could get from the fretboard and how I could combine finger positions to get certain sounds before I started trying to learn what actual guitarists were doing within the context of recorded songs. I had an old steel-string acoustic and improvised leads on it before I could even tune it or play chords (my son Antonio, at age 4, does the same thing when I leave my Strats lying around where he can reach them). My brother showed me how to tune the guitar, and for the first couple of months I was into blues players like John Mayall and Eric Clapton, trying to copy what I heard the lead guitar doing. About age 8, I got a solid body guitar and started following Ritchie Blackmore's playing off the Deep Purple albums. Chord structure came easily to me – I could hear in my head what the notes of the chords were, and it was easy enough to find them on the fretboard. What bothered me when I began to really listen to a number of rock bands was that they often played bar chords. I wanted to know how to play all the notes and how to combine them precisely – I used to play D major with F# in the bottom (I didn't know until later that this was an inversion). I just heard that sound in my head and experimented until I found how to produce the sound I wanted. I have always worked that way. To this day, it has served me quite well; although I don't read written-out (scored) music, I am very knowledgeable about keys, scales, modes, and chord structures as well as time signatures. Most of the formal music theory I learned from my sister, who is a trained flautist."

March 16, 2002

Question from Brice: "I was just asking if you could tell me what key "My Resurrection" is inand what scales can be used over it."

Answer from Yngwie: "That song is in E, but don't forget that I tune my guitar down a half-step to Eb - that's because I like the chunkier sound it gives to the Strat. You can play melodic minor scales over the song with good effect."

Question from Gabriel Glusman: "Wht drum machine have you used when recording songs like Arpeggios From Hell and Flamenco Diablo?"

Answer from Yngwie: "I used a Roland R-8."

Question from Cameron: "I read somewhere that you bought a new Ferrari. Being a Ferrari enthusiast myself, I was wondering what model you got?"

Answer from Yngwie: "It is a 1962 red GTO 250. BURRN! magazine has published a photo of it a few issues back."

January 27, 2002

Question from Robert: "Do you believe that playing drums helps improve timing and rhythm when playing guitar? I have heard that playing another instrument can slow you down on guitar, and I have heard others say it makes you better. What is your opinion on this?"

Answer from Yngwie: "That is a really good question. My feeling is that being able to play drums is very helpful. My grandfather was a drummer and got me interested from an early age. I definitely think it improves your sense of timing and rhythm playing - it puts you so in the pocket. Being able to coordinate your right and left hands plus right and left feet improves your "rhythm brain," so to speak. I love to sit down at the drums in my studio and play for relaxation! Also, I don't find that knowing how to play more than one instrument inhibits my musical abilities - if anything, I think it enhances them overall."

Question from Matthew Hazeltine: "I was just wondering if there was just a steel-string guitar used in "Icarus' Dream Suite" or was there a nylon string guitar in there as well? I ask because some of the acoustic parts sound a little different."

Answer from Yngwie: "The answer is 'both.' The opening is done on a steel-string, while the brief b-minor segment is played on a nylon-string guitar."

November 9, 2001

Questions from Randy Cox: "I have been an Yngwie fan since 1983,and although I have never been able to learn the sweeping techniques Yngwie singlehandedly made famous, I will always enjoy every album, and marvel @ his fretboard wizardry. My question as a 7-string guitarist, have you played or will you ever play a 7-string guitar on any upcoming material? And what do you think of Steve Vai?

Answer from Yngwie: "I own the Uli Roth 'Sky' 7-string guitar. It's very well-made, but I don't much like the 7-string concept in general and probably wouldn't use it on a recording. About your second question, I have been asked about Steve Vai hundreds of times. Steve Vai is an old friend, and we frequently talk on the phone. We had a lot of fun together on the Young Guitar cover photo shoot [January 2001]. I admire his talent and skill, but I don't always enjoy the sound of his compositions - sometimes too unmelodic or quirky for my taste. But on the other hand, he has also composed some really great stuff."

Question from John M.: "I have followed your playing since you first came to America. As a full time dedicated player, how can I help the term of "Neo-Classical-Metal" to grow into something bigger and better and become a mainstream Style?

Answer from Yngwie: [...huge laugh...] "If I knew the answer to that, we'd all be rich by now! That's the $64,000 question, isn't it? Unless the music industry in America changes drastically, it will never be a mainstream style. Getting media airplay seems hopeless, but the Internet has been good at playing this style on sites like KNAC and others. Buying albums and supporting the artists who play neoclassical is one way, plus sending support mail to the labels who sign them is another. Requesting that neoclassical albums be carried in your local music stores is another way."

November 3, 2001

Question from Jean Domínquez:"I want to install a DiMarzio Super Distortion humbucker in the bridge position and a YJM (or HS-3) in the neck position. What do you think about that?"

Answer from Yngwie: "That would not be a smart idea at all. Because YJM and HS-3 are very pure pickups. I've always had the belief that if your signal coming out of the guitar is clean and then gets boosted afterwards into a Marshall, and the Marshall gives it the power and distortion, then you will have much more clarity of the sound. I've also thought that it's strange when people put a humbucking pickup in the bridge and a single-coil in the front, because the front pickup and the treble pickup (so-called "lead" pickup) need to be equal in output. So, no… that will not work to any advantage for you!"

Question from H. Riyal: "Does bodybuilding have an effect on the fingers. I have done bodybulding for a long time, I can't play guitar like before, I was faster than now. How do you advise me?"

Answer from Yngwie: "If you overdo your workouts, definitely it will have an effect. The best thing for me is lighter weights and a lot of stretching before and after workouts, so you don't strain your hands and wrists. I like enough weight for a good resistance, but not enough to cause undo strain and tension afterwards. I also don't do it every day - I scatter the workouts over several days of the week. I'm no authority on that stuff, I'm just telling you what works for me."

Question from Firat: "Which song is Yngwie's fastest song or which one has the fastest solos?"

Answer from Yngwie: "I have to respond to that by saying that I think it's a stupid question, because this is definitely not a priority of mine at all. However, I will say that lately I'm clearly at the top of my game in terms of my command of the instrument, and the way I play my solos onstage, especially my intro for "Trilogy Suite" and pieces like that - there are probably more notes per millisecond than there have been before, that's for damn sure. Whether that can be captured on a recording, I don't know because it's very hard to get that type of adrenaline rush in the studio. But to return to the question itself: I thought people had sort of gotten over that speed issue of who or what's the fastest. A better question would be what songs connect with you the most… which ones inspire you in some way, whether they are fast or slow?"

Question from Johannes Berg: "I would like to know what Yngwie thinks about John Petrucci from Dream Theater."

Anwer from Yngwie: "I have been asked this same question so many times, so let me summarize. Dream Theater (especially their earlier albums) are one of my favorite bands. John Petrucci is a very melodic player with obvious talent. I think he's quite good."

October 20, 2001

Question from Todd: "As a player, I'm wondering how you break down long, difficult passages or pieces of music in order to string them together as a song, solo, or interlude. When you are writing, how do you sort out and piece together the difficult areas of the song?"

Answer fromYngwie: "I'm not that deliberate with the composition of my solos. Even in songs like "Black Star" where the riff now seems to be carved in stone, it was originally just an improvisation that I liked and repeated throughout the song. In songwriting and soloing, I do what sounds good to me and seems to fit - I don't have a set formula for songwriting. In soloing, my aim is to let it flow... just record it with no retakes. Sometimes I might do a second take and then see which one I like better."

Question from John: "What does Yngwie think about what happened to Eddie Van Halen?"

Answer from Yngwie: "I was shocked to hear about Eddie Van Halen's problems with cancer. It should remind us how much we should value life and make use of the time we have here."

October 16, 2001

Question from Renny Verwer : "What are the settings on Yngwie's DOD Overdrive pedal?"

Answer from Yngwie: "Everything FULL on (knobs all the way to the right)."

October 15, 2001

Question from Roger Black: "On the new Racer X cd, SuperHeroes, Yngwie was supposed to play on a tribute song that Paul Gilbert had written called "Viking Kong". According to Paul and Racer X, Yngwie had backed out at the last minute with no reasons given. According to Paul, the song was written basically with the same theme as "I am a Viking" off of Marching Out as an Yngwie tribute. He had left the solos out for Yngwie to finish, and it was presumably a done deal."

Answer from Yngwie: "We spoke about it briefly, but nothing was close to signed and confirmed. I have been totally focused on trying to finish the Japan tour and get the South American tour underway, so I didn't pursue it strongly and they never sent me anything to add a solo to. That's all I know about it."

Question from David Lames: "What impressed you about Jimi Hendrix's style?"

Answer from Yngwie: "What impressed me most about Jimi Hendrix was his stage performance, his cool image and totally wild stage moves (like burning his guitar and torrents of feedback off the Marshalls). He was the ultimate showman. His guitar riffs are not that difficult by today's standards, so it was more the fact that he was very flamboyant and different from his peers that impressed me the most, plus the extreme feeling that he put into his blues playing. That's why I like to cover a lot of his songs, which are also in my vocal range."

October 11, 2001

Question from Franz Gustav Niederheitmann: "What do you think about that stupid thing that happened in Porto Alegre?"

Question from Tobias Saibot: "I want to know how did you feel when you played the American anthem [in Porto Alegre] and everyone shouted BIN LADEN?"

Answer from Yngwie: First, I want to emphasize that this was a single, isolated incident near the end of an otherwise very successful, enjoyable three-week tour of Mexico and South America. To put it plainly, here's how I felt. I've been touring for so many years now and I'm sure I have done some nights better than others, but for the last several years I have kept what I believe are very high standards for the concerts. I'm at the top of my game right now, and I'm playing as well as I possibly can. In all these years--and I'm talking now, thousands of shows--I have never been booed onstage, ever. Not for any reason.

Let me point out first and foremost -- I'm not a politician, I'm a musician. I'm not going to debate politics and government because that's just not my thing. I don't do that. But we all know what happened on Sept. 11 in New York City and Washington, and even though I've been playing the "Star Spangled Banner" onstage for 20 years or more, to me it was even more important now. Over the years I've played all kinds of anthems in that solo, Swedish, Japanese, British, wherever… and that night I just felt like playing the U.S. anthem out of respect for all those people who were killed on Sept. 11. Although people from 28 different countries were killed in that attack, it happened on American soil, so I played the U.S. anthem. At the time, with all the adrenaline pumping, when I heard the jeering and booing I got really angry. But I didn't do or say anything at that moment, I just finished the song. Then a few more times, I just put it in anyway, 4 or 5 more times [chuckling]. Because I couldn't let that kind of thing go unanswered. You don't spit in my face and expect me to ignore it, okay? I'm not talking politics here or larger issues of imperialist whatever -- I'm talking about that one moment right there onstage. I was really pissed off, and maybe I shouldn't have showed it, but I did.

I have nothing against the Brazilian people -- I've played numerous shows there in the past and have loved every minute of it. I've never been to Porto Alegre before, but I'm not saying that it's a bad town or anything, although that was the only place this kind of thing happened. And so obviously some fans in that town have a different view, but as I said, I'm not a politician. I did not intend to go there and start a political confrontation -- nothing was further from my mind when I started playing my solo. But there were a couple of elements in the situation onstage there that made me feel more strongly about the audience's reaction: (1) I've lived in the U.S. virtually half my life, so I feel as American as I do Swedish; (2) my son was born here, he's an American citizen; (3) my band's keyboardist is an American citizen; and (4) most important, the innocent people who died on Sept. 11 deserve respect.

So to put it plainly, the people who booed me and yelled Bin Laden's name in some misguided attempt to show their hostility to me, I have no respect for them-- what I said over the microphone at the end of the show is directed to those specific people in the audience. But that wasn't all of the audience, I know that. That wasn't Brazil, that wasn't Porto Alegre… it was a bunch of bad apples in the audience. There was a long break between the end of the show and the encore because we were debating backstage over what to do… whether to go back on and play more songs or to just leave. I finally decided to go back on by myself and give a parting shot, so to speak, because I was still so angry. But this was one isolated incident, and it doesn't mean that I have any bad feelings for my Brazilian fans at all. I love playing there, and I will definitely go back there again in the future. Peace, Yngwie Malmsteen

September 9, 2001

Question from Mike Bodnar: "Why do you use the DOD Overdrive 250 distortion pedal, isn't the natural distortion of your toneful 50 Watt Marshall 1987 Mk II amps with Tesla tubes at your loud volumes good enough? Also, do you leave the DOD Overdrive 250 on all of the time that you are playing? One more question: I heard that you have expressed that your favorite Marshall speakers are the Celestion G12T-75 Watt. Is this true, and if so, why? "

Answer from Yngwie: "Unlike modern amplifiers with built-in overdrive circuits and diodes that clip the signal and create distortion, the vintage Marshalls are pure 100% tube circuitry in its most basic form. The preamps do not create lots of distotion and gain like modern amps. These old amps get their crunch from the power amps instead. Even then the level of distortion created is mild (like a crunchy blues). The DOD Overdrive is not a distortion box, but a voltage booster with only mild signal clipping itself. It boosts the voltage of the guitar signal, which then overdrives the front end of the Marshalls' inputs and creates the classic distortion sound. The DOD is on all the time, but the volume knob on the guitar can be rolled back to clean up the sound somewhat. In my early days, I used 30-watt Celestions, but as far back as the late 80s I started using 300-watt cabinets, which of course contain 4 x 75-watt speakers. The reason..... I don't like speaker cone distortion: too raspy, plus it can't respond as well to fast notes. Since a 50-watt Marshall can actually put out up to 150 peak watts when overloaded with a DOD 250, the 4 x 75-watt speaker cabinets can better and more accurately reproduce the note clarity instead of 25 or 30-watt speakers, which would be loose and flabby all over the place. You have to hear every note or it is mush."

September 8, 2001

Question from Alberto Pineda: "I´ve seen on yngwie.org that Yngwie is going to give a clinic on September 12, and I have my ticket in my hand. I only have a question. Are we allowed to get in our guitar? I have gone to many guitar clinics, and in some , we play the guitar with them. It's very important for me to know it, and also if he´s going to give autographs."

Answer from Yngwie: "You should not bring your guitar (unless you want it to be autographed). My clinics are actually close-up demonstrations rather than a guitar lesson, so audience members do not play along. Please understand that I do not consider myself a teacher; I am a performer. So, in my clinics I demonstrate various songs, riffs, and works in progress (I bring along recorded backup rhythm tracks on a DAT). If you have seen my Full-Shred video, you'll have an idea of what my clinics are like. After each demonstration section, I'll answer questions from the audience. If there is time, I will also sign autographs."

September 7, 2001

Question from Luis Rodriguez: "Have you ever heard the playing of Strunz and Farah, what you think about them, their playing is very fast, they're considered the fastest duo on earth, their album "Live" is a jewel. If you had heard them, did you have considered to make an album with them?"

Answer from Yngwie: "Sorry, I do not know who they are - haven't heard the album you mention."

Answer from Yngwie:

September 6, 2001

Question from Todd Nochomsom: "I've been a huge fan of Yngwie since just before the release of Trilogy around 1986. I've only had a handful of opportunities to see him live in concert. He's only played about 2-3 shows in this area, in the past 10 years. I live in the Miami area and I know that he not only records but rehearses down here. The big question.....Is there any way to have an opportunity to watch one of his rehearsals or interact in some other way?"

Answer from Yngwie: "No, my rehearsals are not open to the public. I have so little chance to just hang out privately, out of the public eye, so to speak, that I try to keep most of my time in Miami to myself and my family."

September 6, 2001

Question from Chris Baime: "What happend to Matts on keyboards and the other band members?"

Answer from Yngwie: "Everyone had other commitments at the end of the Japan shows [July 2001]. Mats and Randy will be touring with ARK, Tim returns to the Cherry Poppin' Daddies, and Mark is touring for his solo album. I knew that I would need to find an all-new lineup if I wanted to do any further touring after the Japan dates."

August 10, 2001

Question from Michael Jessen: "How have you developed that easy 'touch' you have with your picking hand? You don't seem to play the strings, just touch them. How can a fairly skilled guitar player learn/train this technique?"

Answer from Yngwie: "It's just a natural thing that has developed over time. I never worked deliberately at creating a specific technique for such things; instead, it's just that I had a sound in my head that I wanted to hear when I played, and I kept playing and improvising until I began to get what I wanted to hear. I know how it feels in the hand to play the way I do, but I can't begin to teach anyone else how to do it. If I tell you that you need to "feel" the music you want to hear come out of your guitar, that probably won't satisfy you, but that's exactly how my 'techniques' were developed."

August 10, 2001

Question from John: "I would like to know what scales and techniques I need to learn to play in Yngwie's style. The whole reason I started playing guitar was to play neoclassical music, but I have no idea where to begin. I want to have a style that is something like Yngwie, but with my own twist."

Answer from Yngwie: "Well, my most-used scales are harmonic minors, diminished Phrygians, some chromatics, plus pure majors and minors. You can learn these from any music lesson books that cover basic chord and key structures. For technique, you'll need to learn how to execute alternate picking." [webmaster's note: see the answer just below this one for Yngwie's discussion of alternate picking.]

August 10, 2001

Question from Jim Taylor: "I was looking at Yngwie's lessons in Guitar One magazine; I played them over and over, thought I had got to playing them quite fast, but then I listened to Yngwie's example! Most of his songs seem to have a very fast sweeping arpeggio. Are these all separately picked notes? If so, how the hell do you move your right hand fast enough to hit all the notes perfectly, am I missing something?"

Answer from Yngwie: "About picking techniques: in my opinion, it is essential to master alternate picking (both up and down, rather than just down) to be technically accurate. As for playing them fast, I don't have any magic formula - it just feels very natural to me. People have said it is like rubbing your stomach and patting your head at the same time... some can coordinate it easily and some people can't. Practice alternate picking at a speed where you can do it precisely, then keep pushing yourself to do it a bit faster each time. That seamless coordination between the picking hand and the fretting hand is just something that came very easily and naturally to me. I never even think about it - I just do it - and these days, I can do it as fast as I want to."

August 9, 2001

Question from Alexander K.: "How old were you when you did your first difficult solo? You surely were younger than me (18)! What's the secret???"

Answer from Yngwie: "Hmm, I would say that by age 10 I could play all of Deep Purple's material - I was very obsessive about learning it and would lock myself in my bedroom and play along with their albums continuously, forgetting to eat and even to sleep. By age 12, I was getting good at arpeggios, and at age 16 I began to play early versions of "Black Star." I wrote "Far Beyond the Sun" just after I had turned 20. What's my secret? Just a god-given talent and an iron determination, plus some amount of brain cells [laughs] that let me learn and remember music very quickly. Those things together have allowed me to become the musician I am today."

August 9, 2001

Questions from Jason: "Have you heard any bands such as Death (Florida) and Meshuggah (Sweden), or any other heavier, technical, new bands out there? Also, the 400-watt Marshall power amp you use live, do you run the heads through it first? And is that a discontinued piece of equipment?"

Answer from Yngwie: "I am not familiar with the bands you name. You have to understand that I don't listen to the radio, I rarely buy music CDs unless they are classical, and I just don't keep up with new bands. If someone brings a CD by the house, we might play a few songs or I might hear other bands if I'm doing a radio interview. About the stage gear: It's just a standard head, not a power amp, and the signal goes in front of the head, then out the back to the 4x12's. If you're looking for some complicated, highly technical setup, you're asking the wrong person. My gear is really quite simple and basic."

August 9, 2001

Question from Carlos Hernandez: "What do you think about Luca Turilli, the guitarist from Rhapsody?"

Answer from Yngwie: "Ah, I have actually heard this band. I was doing an interview on the air in England last year with Barney Greenway, and he played some of their songs. It quite appealed to me - they have a very dark, operatic sound. There wasn't a lot of solo guitar playing, but what I did hear was pretty cool."

August 9, 2001

Question from anonymous (via the Internet): "What do you think of Dimebag Darrell of Pantera?"

Answer from Yngwie: I really don't know what he sounds like, so I can't give you an opinion. The only Pantera song I've heard was just a brief needle-drop of a few seconds that was played for me in an interview a number of years ago. I remember the singer's voice (which I disliked intensely), but I don't remember the guitar playing at all."

August 9, 2001

Question from Valeck: "How do you get that sound on the bass that sounds so rich and powerful? The Seventh Sign and WTEAW both have a great bass sound - what gear do you use to get that sound?"

Answer from Yngwie: "On War to End All Wars I used a old '67 Fender bass run through a standard compressor and right into the console - no amp. That bass guitar is my main bass these days; it has a long-scale neck and P&J pickup... I call it the "Orca" because of the black/white paint job. " [For Seventh Sign bass info, see the next question below this one.]

August 6, 2001

Question from PlJ. LeConte: "Can you tell me more about your Rickenbacker basses?"

Answer from Yngwie: I have black and red Rickenbackers. I used the black one, just like Geddie Lee's, on my Inspiration album (on the Rush song "Anthem"). I also used that same guitar on all the bass tracks for The Seventh Sign. It has a great resonance and chunky tone, plus it's very easy to play."

August 6, 2001

Question from John: "My band Alligience played with Steeler at a club in the Anaheim area in the early '80s, and we were told it would be Yngwie's last gig with Steeler. Did he join Alcatrazz right after that gig?"

Answer from Yngwie: "I'm afraid I don't recall the opening band, but I do recall that final show with Steeler very well. It was a cramped, crowded venue and the sound was horrible. But Phil Mogg of UFO was in the audience and gave me a call the next day. I had already heard from Graham Bonnett, so I had two offers: join UFO, or start a new band with Graham. I chose the latter and that's how Alcatrazz was started. I think I made the right decision, because creating a new band gave me much more creative freedom than I would have had by going into an already-established band with their own songs and style."

August 5, 2001

Questions from Sean: "What is your favorite original composition; what is your favorite duet (Joe Lynn Turner and Dio come to mind?); and what is your personal favorite song from another artist of all time?"

Answers from Yngwie: "I have to say that "Far Beyond the Sun" is still my all-time personal favorite; I really enjoy playing it - it's never boring for me. Lately I've also really loved playing "Miracle of Life" on the tour. We substituted it for "Dreaming." "Dreaming" has a great instrumental melody line, but the words are just fluff, they don't mean anything to me personally. But "Miracle of Life" puts into words the most emotional events of my life, as well as having a beautiful melody. Your second question, I don't really have an opinion. To answer your third question, all my favorite songs from other artists are on my Inspiration album, with the exception of Queen, whom I love. For some reason I didn't get around to including one of their songs on that album, but I certainly should have!'

August 5, 2001

Questions from Rick Hagar: "What would you recommend as the best way to master playing scales? Is there any book with tab,or special idea you may have to really get good at being able to solo using some blazing scale runs?"

Answer from Yngwie: You probably want some advice that is much more specific than what I can tell you. I didn't learn from any books, so I can't recommend any to you. As for mastering playing scales with speed, it was just my unrelenting determination to succeed that pushed my speed - plus whatever my innate talent is. See, I can't really teach you how to master the skill you are asking. The real question is, what is the limit of your own personal talent? Anyone can learn scales from a book, but then what you do with them is purely your own talent and musical vision. I can't teach that to you."

April 17, 2001

Question from Mark Stevens: "How long is "too long" for an every day practice for you? And, do you use any warm-ups like massaging your forearm(s) or hand(s), or stretching your wrist(s) and fingers?"

Answer from Yngwie: "I do not practice, in that sense of the word. A day rarely goes by that I don't pick up the guitar, but when I do play, it's either composing or working on arrangements. I never sit down and deliberately practice a set of scales or arpeggios or excercises. The only warm-up I do before a show is just to noodle some arpeggios or play some of the songs I intend to perform that night. I have never followed a strict practice or warmup routine."

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