When I wore my hair long, I used to go to this hair cutter that supposedly cut Yngwie Malmsteen's hair. Well, the impression that I got from that guy was that Yngwie was some sort of Megalomaniac, and so the trepidation within me going in to this interview was rather heartfelt because I was worried about keeping Yngwie's attention long enough to generate a decent article.
Talking with Yngwie was one of the easiest interviews I've ever done. Yngwie Malmsteen is a regular guy that happens to be a genius who puts on his pants the same way we normal people do. I did not sense one shred of Megalomania in any shape or form when it came time for our phone conversation. I guess it boils down to if you can handle a person that's done very well for himself. As the interview unfurled, I became aware of an extremely articulate, intelligent, well mannered and self-assured individualist...not some freak heavy metal self-obsessed weirdo.
On the Eve of Yngwie's departure for a European Tour in support of Magnum Opus, he called me (after an all day dry-run of material for the Tour) from his home studio.
He's the Music Director/Conductor of the L.A. Philharmonic.
He sounds like he's Finnish...
Why Rock And Roll, Yngwie, why not, why aren't you a world class violinist?
Well, it's quite simple, because I started playing electric guitar before anything else, yeah?, I didn't take classical lessons or anything like that. When I was 7, I started playing, actually, I got hooked on to Hendrix when he died, in fact, I had a guitar when I was 5 and I started playing when I was 7...and then when I was 8, my older sister gave me a
Deep Purple album, Deep Purple's "Fireball", and then I got INTO Rock after that. So I always liked that hard edge, you know?, I always liked that run around the stage, play with my teeth, throw the guitar around and all that
stuff, BUT...I think that most...well, nowadays it's completely out of control as far as quality, but even when Judas Priest and Iron Maiden and bands like that were out, I mean compared to what's out now, they were
really good, but to me, it felt a little limiting...so I became heavily, heavily Classically influenced...Classical Music became very important to me.
Where in Florida are you?
Miami, Miami Beach.
Why did you turn to Classical, ...for inspiration?
Well, basically what happened was, that I felt that most guitar players sounded alittle bit like other guitar players and I found it- not boring- but kind of limiting, you know. Even though I Love Ritchie Blackmore and Hendrix and everything, ...it's that pentatonic blues scale that pops up all the time and it's over and over and over the same, so I
became much, much more influenced by classical violin, than I was by any other guitar player...and ofcourse, it's escalated in to me studying Classical music very heavily, you know, like Vivaldi, Bach, Paganini, Tchaikovfsky, Albinoni, you know...Corelli, and that became much more of an inspiration source to me than any Rock band, but I still kept the Hard Edge...that's how my style came about.
Why do you list Enzo Ferrari in your liner notes personal thanks?
Because I own two Ferrari's. I have a black 308 with Borrani racing wheels and I have a red Mondial cabriolet.
Did you get them prior to Enzo's demize, since a few Ferraristi think that there are no real Ferrari's after the Great Man's passing.
Yes, oh these are quite valuable, they have like no miles...one of them has 800 miles and the other has like1200 miles. So they are in absolutely flawless condition... I'm a Ferrari Freak, you know.
What year is your 308?
'83 Quattrovavole, it has four valves per cylinder, so that makes it better and also my Mondial is an '85 and that's red with the black ragtop.
If you have time in the Spring- I'm gonna pitch something to the Editor of Automobile Magazine, David E. Davis, I want to do this Heavy Metal Shootout and all these guys from Heavy Metal that like to race-I mean it's just an idea right now, but if you're interested, I want to get You, Vince Neil, and a couple of the other guys and just Drag. I mean, I'm
going to pitch this to David E. Davis, Okay?
Sounds like...I'm In, man.
You want to do it?
Yeah.
Give me time to pitch that to Automobile Magazine and get it together.
What time of the year would that be?
Well it's in the air right now, but I'm hoping for the Spring. I'm hoping to get the Ferrari people interested so...
So you mean I won't drive my own car?
No, no...we can do something like the 348 Race Series sort of thing.
I don't like them...
Do you really want to drive your own car?
Well, but ofcourse I don't want to hurt it...
Let me just work out the particulars...
Yeah, if you want to Get me a Ferrari, get me a Testarossa or an F40...Get me the F40, there's no way no one's gonna win. (Laughter)
When you listen to the violin, which Artist or Composer is the best, to you?
As far as composers go, Vivaldi, Paganini, and Tchaikovfsky...but as far as people that live today that actually perform it, I think there is no one that can touch Itzac Perlman...no one...he's got so much feel, and so much...he really does it well, Mintz and all those are very good too, you know.
Have you ever been turned on to Nadia Salerno Sonnenberg?
No.
She's like the Jimi Hendrix of violin.
Oh yeah?
You ought to check her out. She's out there. I mean you've got to go see her perform live. She's like a guitar player, she's crazy.
Yeah? Very Classical?
Yeah she does Classical, but the way she plays is like Jimi Hendrix, man, I mean I don't see how she doesn't just snap the violin in half. Very, very passionate.
That's cool.
What's your rig like for Studio work as opposed to live?
As far as the guitar equipment? Yeah, the same as live.
The Same as live.
Yeah, there's no difference...It's a Fender Stratocaster, Marshall Stacks, and that's it.
JCM 800's?
No. (In a whisper) No, no, no, no...50 Watt Mark II's, yeah, the old one's they're from like 1969 til about '73.
Do they have the Celestions in them?
Yeah, they do. There are Celestions in them. There's one more interesting things that you night want to know, is that one of my biggest dreams ever just came true: I finally built my own studio, And it's not like a demo studio or like a home studio, although it is in my home, it's got the absolute top of the range equipment, like a Studer...
Yeah, I know Studer...
It's really great 'cause I can play anytime I want, record anytime I want.
How far is it from your pool?
I can see the pool from the studio...It's a perfect setup.
When I go out to Florida to see my folks, I'm gonna come by and see your setup.
You got it!
Any other Rig stuff, any pedals?
No.
Just pure guitar.
Yeah.
How did you get in to the Scallopped neck? That's so strange.
Strange?
Yeah, well, not a lot of people can Play a scallopped neck.
Well, that's a long story really. When I was about 13, I was like an apprentice at a guitar Luthier because I really loved,...I used to build my own guitars and I used to mess around with my own guitars...and one day one
guy came in with a 16th Century lute that did'nt have any frets at all...it was wood, the tip of the wood, it was carved out on the neck and the tip of the wood acted as the fret...I just liked, it looked really neat, I thought, so I just did it on one of my not so good necks, and all of the sudden I Really Liked it so I did all my good necks, and that's how it happened.
Then later on, I found out that's how Ritchie Blackmore does that too. I was a Blackmore Freak when I was a kid, but I did not take it from him, as you can tell. I actually influenced quite a few people to do that, for some reason.
Billy Sheehan, for instance, when we were touring together 10 years ago, he did it on his bass, and Ulrich Roth from the Scorpions and Electric Sun does it now.
So what kind of frets do you use? Jumbo frets?
I use the hugest frets you can get.
Bass frets?
Bigger than that...they're absolutely humongous.
You get them Custom?
Yeah, Jim Dunlop makes them.
What about your Machine Head?
No, it's stock.
Your Wang Bar?
It's stock.
Locking Nut?
No, they're all stock.
Have you been fortunate enough to get any of Jimi Hendrix's guitars?
I was on my way to get one once, but when I finally saw it, I realized it wasn't his, the guy was a Liar.
But I do however, have quite an elaborate guitar collection, it's reaching 200 now.
Do you play all of them?
No, some of them are just strictly collector's items. I have one of
the 10 first Strats ever built: March, 1954. I have a few of the very, very
rare custom colored ones like Shoreline Gold and Lake Placid Blue, Atomic
Blue, Fiesta Red...those guitars are worth $100,000 plus.
Of today's Luthiers, who's your favorite one out there?
I don't know that many, but I use one guy down here, his name's Larry Lashbrook, and he's a genius...he does all my scalloping...I can do it myself, I'm just too lazy.
The wood on your Strat, what do you use, Alder?
I use the lightest ones I can find, you know, I like them light. And I like the contouring on the body to be really thin, quite deep.
Do you use a cord?
I use Samson wireless systems, they're really good.
Are you ever worried about them fucking up on you live?
No, they're really good, and believe me, I beat the hell out of my guitars...
Are you happy with the band you've got now?
Yeah, Have you heard Magnum Opus yet?
It's great, I loved it.
Yeah, well it's the same lineup.
How's the Gaalaas guy?
Very good.
How did you find him?
I got a friend called Deen Castronovo, and I wanted him in the band cause I think he's a Monster, and he said he'd love to do it but that he was stuck with Ozzie and other commitments and stuff. And he said that
he knew this kid that just burns and his name is Shane Gaalaas...and I took his word for it and called him and that was it.
What guitarist out there today do you listen to for inspiration?
Nobody, I actually stopped listening to guitarists altogether around
1975/76...I just was't interested anymore in guitar players.
I think there's a lot of good guitar players out there, but they don't
inspire me and I don't get influenced by them and all I can say is good on
you to them, you know, let them do what they do and I do what I do.
Do you listen to John Coltrane at all?
Never heard him.
John Coltrane is Jazz Saxophone.
As far as Jazz players go, I think that Allan Holdsworth is my favorite.
So you don't listen to Jazz Saxophone?
No, I think I've found my thing: Classical violin...As far as my biggest inspiration...on you know, the actual notations, arpeggios, lines and linear things and so forth...as far as chord progressions and tonality...
I'm very much influenced by Carl Philip Emmanuel Bach, Antonio Vivaldi, Albinoni...
Which is the tune by Albinoni that you like?
It's called Adagio...it's a very sad piece...it's very, very good.
I have a vinyl version of Pachelbel's variations on a theme by Albinoni on the Erato Label...
It's one of the most famous compositions, along with Bach's Air and Vivaldi's Four Seasons,
Pachelbel's Canon, and all that...
Have you ever heard Pavan For A Dead Princess?
Which one's that?
Oh man, it's this amazing piece-I'll send it to Stacy 'cause I think you could do an adaptation of it for Rock.
I'm Sure.
If you could pick an Ultimate Rock Band, who would the members be?
On guitar it would be 1972 Ritchie Blackmore for straight up Rock, it
would probably be him or like Uli Jon Roth on guitar...as far as drummers,
I like Simon Phillips and Cozy Powell...on bass probably Jeff Berlin...he
used to be with Holdsworth, but he can play anything, but he's more of a
Jazz player, ...him or Billy Sheehan I think...yeah, keyboards would be Don
Airy or John Lord...I just like the way they play, both of them...Keith
Emerson is real good, too.
Who would you have on Vocals?
Ron James Dio, no question about that.
When you came to America, you played with other bands.
Yeah, I played with Steeler and then I played with Alcatrazz. Steeler
I made one album and one tour with him and I did not like that at all...it
was not my cup of tea, although I was only in the band for 3 or 4 months or
so and I was 19 years old...I had bands in Sweden since I was 10...so it
wasn't like a new thing or anything to me. Anyway, then I joined up with
Graham Bonnett and formed the band Alcatrazz and I must say I liked
that...I liked the songs, I think they came out really well...
How did you like doing Yngwie Malmsteen's rising force?
Well, it was the same as it is now, it's just that I called the band Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force. If I wouldn't have had so much problems with the members, I would have only called it only Rising Force, instead of Yngwie Malmsteen, although every note you hear I write, you know.
Do you ever get obstructed when you write?
I write in a very spontaneous manner, basically I just pick up the
guitar and the music comes out by itself and I just sort of go, wow, well
that was pretty good and then I show it to the guys...most of the time I
record it first...you know, if I could have found a bunch of guys that
wouldn't like become heros up their own nose and stuff like that...I would
have probably kept the same lineup and called it Rising Force, but I found
that very difficult, because most of the time when we got on the road, they
have not been used to touring so much before or not at all in some cases,
and to have all the girls and the vodka, and drugs...you know, everything
gets to their head and all of the sudden they think they're stars, and then
they start acting like they should do what I do...and they should be
leaders and they should write the songs and stuff like that and that's
where the problem is...
Are you a lefty naturally or a righty?
Why?
Because you wear your Rolex on your right hand and not on your left.
That's a funny question and I don't know why, I've just always done it.
Where did you get it?
I have like 6 of them...
So you're a Rolex man.
Yeah.
I'm a Rolex Man.
That's Good.
My boss is a Rolex Man.
That's even better.
Rolex people have a certain thing about them....
Yeah, I got the President with diamonds all over the place, I got the
Daytona in gold, and I got the Submariner in Gold, I got a stainless steel
Daytona and a stainless Submariner...
Have you looked at the Omega Speedmaster?
I've been looking at them, believe me.
You've got to get the one's before 1969 if you want them to be of value.
They're quite nice...Are they quartz, or are they movement?
They're perpetual, but you have to get the old ones, not the new ones...
They're perpetual...
Yeah, but you have to get the ones prior to '69 to be worth something.
Do they look the same?
Yeah, but the old one are the ones that are valuable.
They have this store down here called Gray and Sons, they have
hundreds of Rolexes and Brietlings...they have Everything...they have
Cartier too, but I think they're a little faggy...the lip on them.
What happened to you in 1987?
I learned a very bad lesson: Don't Drink & Drive.
I was drunk and I drove my 12 cylinder Jaguar E-type into a tree...It took a while to get
back from, but I'm in better shape now than I've ever been in my life.
I've got a great tan, I feel Really Good I'm working out and I play tennis
every day.
Oh, shit, you play tennis?
Yeah, I have a tennis court here.
I used to tune up satellite players on Long Island...I'll kick your ass!
(Laughter), Yeah to be honest with you, I'm not that good, I just do
it for fun and the excercise.
I've been a tennis bum since I was 13 and I love it! It's great!
It's great, it's a lot of fun.
Do you have a U.S. Open surface on there?
It's clay...
Har-Tru?
Yeah, something like that...I like to use Head raquets...I play mostly
with my tour manager, his name's Dave and we get a tan, go to the pool,
play tennis, go to the pool, have a few beers...and that's it.
What kind of strings do you use?
Oh, on my raquet?, I don't know...it's just stock...I don't know what
it is...
Once you get a little better, you should switch over to gut...Bablolat
VS Africord...
Hey you know, there's a new technology out there...stretch raquets...
Is there?...I actually need a new raquet, I wore this one I have out....
The new raquets out today are an inch and a half longer, which gives
you greater raquet head speed on the ball...
You mean the handle, or the overall length?
The overall length is 1&1/2" longer...Dunlop, Prince, and Wilson are
putting out the bigger models...
I got a couple Dunlop raquets, but I don't like them as much as the Head...
I recommend the Wilson 2.8 Si Hammer Stretch, with 17 gauge Babolat VS
Africord...Go to your tennis shop and ask the guy for the Wilson, try it
out and see what you think...
Hmmm, you're good at that stuff...huh?
Yeah, when I come down to Florida I'll give you some lessons,
and...Let's put it this way: I'll play you for one of your Daytonas!
(Hearty Laughter) Don't think so...
Hey man, it was worth a shot...
Yeah, cause you would get it!
Is there anything you want to say to your fans?
Well, I hope everybody likes the new album,
Magnum Opus, and that
they can bank on the fact that there will always be an Yngwie Malmsteen and
I will never turn anybody down and I will continue to put out the records
that I think that my fans like...That's A Promise.
All right man, give me time to get that Automobile Magazine Heavy Metal Shoot Out going...
Yeah, get me an F40, I feel really comfortable in that car...
All right man, Good luck on your tour and stay safe in Europe...
You know it, man.
Come back to us safe...
You Got It.
All right man, Thanks.
Take Care.
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