First on the agenda, the backstory on how the resulting album, Gipsy Lady was born.
MICHAEL SCHENKER:
I was curious how my acoustic instrumental music would sound with vocals ... that’s basically how this album came about. I gave Gary some of my acoustic instrumental music and asked him to do something with it. [The lyrics] he came up with [were] really, really good so we decided to make this an acoustic project and it turned out really good.
ABOUT.COM CLASSIC ROCK:
There’s some flamenco guitar on "Dance Lady Gipsy" as well as castanets?
MICHAEL SCHENKER:
Castanets? Yeah [makes noise like castanets] you mean that one? [laughter]
ABOUT.COM CLASSIC ROCK:
You’ve also got a fiddle and a flute on "Fight For Freedom."
MICHAEL SCHENKER:
Yeah, there’s all sorts stuff on it. Michael Voss, who produced the album with me, is really good and he put some unusual sounds on it, so it makes it a little bit more than an acoustic album, lots of percussion on it too.
ABOUT.COM CLASSIC ROCK:
I understand that you did an acoustic show with Gary in the U.K. recently.
MICHAEL SCHENKER:
Yeah, but that was kind of a one off thing with Gary and Michael Voss and [percussionist] Kai Luennemann. We played acoustic but it was a bit more dirty than acoustic, it was a bit more ... [laughing] ... we used the acoustic guitars as if we were playing electric, you know? So it came across pretty good. I don’t know why, but when we were playing there were a lot of people complaining outside, they didn’t let them in! The audience was very happy, it was Gary’s and my first appearance for a long time together on stage. We’re planning a an electric tour to complete our In The Midst of Beauty world tour.
ABOUT.COM CLASSIC ROCK:
Now with so many vocalists having passed through Michael Schenker Group through the years, how does it feel to have Gary back on board?
MICHAEL SCHENKER:
Absolutely great, because it reminds me of the chemistry. The chemistry was so cool in the early '80s. I’ve been playing with great musicians throughout the years and MSG has always been for me like an experiment ... with all sorts of people on all sorts of levels. It’s great to have Gary back and realizing how much feeling he has in his voice and how unique his vocals are.
ABOUT.COM CLASSIC ROCK:
There’s quite a bit of nostalgia around MSG in recent years isn’t there? Tales of Rock & Roll really started things rolling again, didn’t it?
MICHAEL SCHENKER:
Yeah, I mean that’s how Gary and I got back together. It kind of finished the MSG development over the years with all the different musicians and singers and it summed it all up. Basically the cycle closed and then starting over again with Gary.
ABOUT.COM CLASSIC ROCK:
Who will be working with you on the next MSG album?
MICHAEL SCHENKER:
You know we are not there yet. I mean, right now we have the acoustic project, we’re finishing our current world tour, and we’re also planning to do some concerts with the original In The Midst Of Beauty lineup, so there’s a lot of stuff coming up that keeps it all, well, interesting and exciting!
ABOUT.COM CLASSIC ROCK:
Along those lines, after the U.S. tour finishes, what are your plans then?
MICHAEL SCHENKER:
Well, we’re doing U.K. and Europe and then I’m planning to do something with Leslie West and some other guitarists. We have plans to play Japan with Simon Phillips and Don Airey ... that kind of stuff.
ABOUT.COM CLASSIC ROCK:
Is the plan to record those shows for a live release?
MICHAEL SCHENKER:
Yeah, and we want to do a DVD with the original In The Midst Of Beauty line up.
ABOUT.COM CLASSIC ROCK:
Do you ever talk to any of the guys in UFO?
MICHAEL SCHENKER:
[laughing] I don’t know where they are! They kind of disappeared. Actually the guitarist, Vinnie Moore, I invited him onstage at the NAMM jam and we we played together [but] I don’t know what has happened to the rest of the guys. Maybe they went on a holiday to a different planet!
ABOUT.COM CLASSIC ROCK:
So, what’s been your most satisfying achievement to date, Michael, and what goals do you still have left?
MICHAEL SCHENKER:
Well, the thing is, I kind of live in the moment and I enjoy what I do now. Once it’s done, it’s in the past and I think that’s the best way for me to go -- to be in the present and to get the best out of the moment. Of course, I have a rough plan short term, putting together whatever concepts or where I should be playing next and stuff like that, but basically most of the things happen very spontaneously.
Interviewed February 28, 2009
Gipsy Lady release date: May 19, 2009 - Inakustic Records
