Wednesday, Jun 05, 2013

It’s 10am in Dubai and the shrill ring of my telephone startles me almost forcing me to spill my freshly brewed morning cup of tea on my still crisp pyjamas. I had in fact been waiting to interview Yngwie Malmsteen, the guitar great, who is scheduled to perform at the Dubai World Trade Centre on June 6.

But I was a little bit apprehensive about how it would pan out: Malmsteen’s antipathy towards journalists is stuff of legend. To make matters worse, I had just read an article from Guitar World where the Swedish rock star participated in a blindfold test and was asked to critique the styles of some famous unnamed guitarist and tracks. Malmsteen tore to pieces the reputations of guys like Joe Satriani, Metallica’s Kirk Hammett and The Cure’s Robert Smith. Let’s put it this way, after that I was pretty darn nervous. But you gotta do what you gotta do. So I switched on the record button on my retro cassette tape recorder, threw caution to the wind, and plunged headlong into the interview. The interview was on and Yngwie turned out to be one of the nicest guys I had ever spoken to.

What can we look forward to at your concert in Dubai?

I promise it will be a very intense show. I would say it’s very guitar orientated and I’m very excited to come there, it’s my first time in Dubai.

What’s it feel like being on stage even after all these years? I guess there are not too many long-haired rockers like yourself doing their thing these days?

We’ve been on stage in America where we’ve been playing for over a month and the thing that excites me is the challenge every time I go on stage. Whenever I go on stage I challenge myself to play new things. So that makes it exciting and I never get bored. And also the audience are never the same, so that’s something to look forward to as well.

What were you looking for when you put your current band together? What do you create in your mind for in each one of them?

It’s always been the same way since I was a little kid. I’ve always been very particular, very straightforward with the fact that I write music and I know the chords, I need musicians who can play it the way I want them to. They also have to be able to improvise, because I improvise all the time. I never play the same thing twice, they have to understand that. They also had to have a nice attitude and be nice people as well. Not a lot to ask for.

Improvising is a favourite word you musicians use, and I like it. But having said that, how much improvising is necessary in a concert?

It depends. My show is completely different, I improvise everything I play. That’s how I can keep doing this for all these years.

Do you think it’s more important to be an entertainer as opposed to being a showman? What does it take to wow your audience?

[Pauses] I think I do a little of both. To quote [18th century Italian violin virtuoso] Niccolo Paganini ‘One must feel strongly to make others feel strongly.’ If I get excited with what I’m doing, I think it translates out to the audience as well. I definitely don’t put a show on, its very real but there’s also some showmanship of course. The fans have come to expect that.

You mentioned Paganini, considered to be one of the greatest violinist of all time. What was the one thing that you learned from him, or other violin virtuosos, when you were starting out developing a style of your own?

When I started out I was very young, and I started playing the blues, a little bit of rock and then I discovered classical music. But it was only when I heard the classical violin of Paganini I decided that I wanted to translate that to the guitar, which was almost impossible. Actually it WAS impossible. So that’s where the challenge first started. I actually never copied anything, I just took the style of Paganini and [19th century Spanish violinist Pablo de] Sarasate and other virtuosos of the violin and made it my own. I always felt that the sound of the violin was very impressive, but so was the Stratocaster.

Which other guitarist has impressed you most? Hendrix, Blackmore, Page, Clapton…?

I try to explain this to everyone. I got kinda bored listening to the regular guys. I stopped listening to guitar players when I was very young. But I must say that I loved Deep Purple, obviously Hendrix and some of the jazz guys. But I was never influenced by that kind of guitar playing. My style had established itself a long time before. Neo-classical guitar was what I was into.

So what kind of music do you listen to?

I really don’t really listen to music. What I do instead is listen to the stuff I have composed when I drive in the car, or whatever, to see how I can improve on my stuff. I prefer to read books and watch movies you know, as opposed to listening to other guitarists.

The obvious next question would be to ask you what your thoughts are on the current music. You probably are appalled by what’s making the charts and the lack of musicianship in most of today’s artists?

Not really, because you know I started such a long time ago. I remember when I was a little kid the punk wave came and the disco wave and I completely ignored it. I ignore it too now. Life’s too short, I can’t get bothered with it. I concentrate on what I can do as a musician and I like to keep it that way.

Do you think pure guitar music will ever come back in full force?

I think it’s already happening, especially in the United States. The guitar has taken over everything. Rap and other stuff is on the sidelines. I don’t thing guitar music every goes away. It never did and never will.

How much did you enjoy the V3 experience with Satriani and [Steve] Vai?

I really enjoyed that phase, especially the show we did at Wembley. That was great. Not long ago I played with Satriani again in London and we had a great time.

[A Ferrari enthusiast, Malmsteen owned a black 1985 308 GTS[12] for 18 years before selling it on eBay, and a red 1962 250 GTO[13]. He is also a Rolex enthusiast and is reported to own over 40, including several worth $100,000.] I’ve heard so much about your love for Ferraris, and your Rolex watch collection. But what I want to know is how many guitars do you own?

I don’t know the actually number, perhaps a couple of hundred.

Which is your favourite one?

The Yngwie Malmsteen signature piece that’s my favourite.

What’s you favourite Malmsteen track?

My new favourite is Spellbound. It’s a real kicker, you know. But I enjoy all the other tracks as well.

Any last message for your fans in Dubai?

I am so excited to come there and I’m going to give them the best show they’ve ever seen. Whoever turns up, we’re going to have a great time together.

By Leslie Wilson Jr Special Features Writer

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