Blistering.com: I guess that ties into your need to be in total control, right? It always wasn’t like that when you were in Alcatrazz though.
Yngwie: In Alcatrazz, I wrote everything. Graham [Bonnet, vocalist] wrote the lyrics. That’s why I was always unhappy in that band. I thought it was a really good record [No Parole For Rock ‘N’ Roll]. We had good a time, but there were some run-ins. Steeler was [singer] Ron Keel’s thing. I respected that and did what they wanted me to do. That’s what I did – I stepped in, was professional and that’s what I expect from people who come into my situation.
Before I came to America, I was in bands since I was eight or nine years old. Even though, they weren’t really “bands,” I was the undisputed leader. It was just always like that. At 10 years old, I was in band with 20 year-olds, so I was like the little fucking circus freak [laughs]. It’s funny, because when I came into Alcatrazz, I was 19 and the rest of them were in their late 30’s, and it wasn’t meant to be my band. It was Graham’s band, but for some reason, it became my band and that wasn’t what I meant to do. I was very adamant abut the musical direction and when we started touring, people seemed to like me running around, doing my thing. I wasn’t trying to do anything differently than I’ve always done.
For my first couple of albums…it was very simple back then – you just had to make music. Then in the late 80’s, I got a little confused. It was not a very focused period. I didn’t have a base. I was living in Miami, New York, Los Angeles and it was a weird thing. The whole thing wasn’t focused. Then, some things happened that shouldn’t have, but most of the time, I’ve been pretty much in control.
Blistering.com: How did you hook up with Ripper Owens?
Yngwie: It was a long procedure. You do a tour, start writing, record, and mix and go out on the next tour for that album. It’s become a much less cycled process. I can go on the road anytime, anywhere, it doesn’t matter if I have a new album or not. I went to Europe this summer – there wasn’t a new album, but we went there to have fun. Same with South America. During all of this time, I was writing songs. I would put them on CD’s and do my studio stuff, then I thought I had some good ideas and went into the studio with the drummer and put down some basic tracks and we were back on the road. Then we came home and I did some keyboards and then went back out. It was done in stages. When the songs started taking form, that’s when I realized the singer [Doogie White] didn’t have the time; he’s not gonna cut it. He’s not going to be up to the level I want him to be. No offense to him, it’s just that our style was getting more heavy and I like that. I didn’t want to hold back. It’s like your casting a movie – I needed someone like an Al Pacino or a Robert DeNiro and Tim came down, hung out, I showed him the songs, and bam, that was it.
Blistering.com: It appears with this album it’s more about the actual song than shred. Do you agree with that?
Yngwie: It wasn’t intentional and it turned out that way. It seems to be the common census – everyone says that to me. It’s not something I meant to do at first. My songwriting has become particular. I put a lot of time and effort into that. Once the riffs and melodies are good, it hooks together. I’ve always tried to do that, but this time it came out much better than before.
Blistering.com: Was improvisation in the live setting you’ve always done?
Yngwie: I improvise in the studio too. Everything is improvised. I never have it set up. Every concert, every night is different. If I put a solo down or two solos on a song, they’re totally different. I grew up in a musical family. My older brother and sisters and we always took music as being free. That’s a lot more challenging and you take a risk, but when it does click – and I never thought after all this time - I could break all the parameters, but I did. For me, it was rewarding to take a challenge. You have to be in such a stage to do in the studio. You have to capture it. If I do a solo and it doesn’t feel right, I say “Fuck it” and I’m out of there. I don’t sit there and do another one. It happens or doesn’t [laughs].
Blistering.com: We’re 20 years removed from your car crash. What do you remember most about it and how did you bounce back?
Yngwie: The funny thing is that it was serious, serious car crash. I was in a coma and everything, but out of all the things that happened to me that year, the worse things that could possibly happen, happened. My mother died, I lost my house in an earthquake, I found out my manager stole all of the money. The whole thing was a fucking nightmare. The car crash was a bad thing, but I bounced back from it pretty damn quick, I have to say. I’m the kind of the person – if you don’t kill me, I’ll come back stronger. You have to snuff me out. The harder you push me back, the harder I push forward. I’m like a solder in the legion of forever [laughs]. The more challenging things get, the more I work.
The funny thing is, is that my stuff is more together when I’m more settled and I’m happy. Then the music comes out really aggressive. Some people go, “you live in Florida where the water is jet blue where there’s palm trees and sunshine, but you write songs like you lived in a dungeon.” And I say: “I’ll tell you what: I grew up in hell!”
