The phone rings...

My name is Yngwie Malmsteen, I’m suppose to call for an interview.

Hello Yngwie, I’m COMMONPLACE, I’m suppose to interview you. How’s life?
I’m on a tourbus.

Where you headed to?
Hartford, Connecticut.

Where’d you play last night?
Uh…last night we played in uuuuuuuuh…I’m trying to think, it’s all blur now. In Uuuuuuh….Cleveland Ohio

Why is it a blur?
Well, y’know, when you tour like this...We’ve been to (lists off all the major American cities on the Dio/Yngwie Malmsteen Tour). We’re gonna wind up in Miami, so that’s perfect for me

Yeah, I was gonna say; you anxious to get back to Miami after all those northern states?
Yes, it’s very cold.

What made you decide to live in Miami over Sweden or wherever else?
I’ve lived in America now for 18 years which is half my life basically. And uh, I moved first to LA and I lived there for a while but then I realized it is a very plastic place plus those earthquakes really scared the shit out of me when I was in a few of them. So I moved to New York and I lived in London for a while but I wanted to get the warm weather…and went to Miami and I’ve been there for 11 years and I love it, just TOTALLY love it.

Do you play down there? Are there any clubs you play at regularly, or friends you sit in with in Miami?
No, not really I’m more like a…My studio is there and I make records there and uh…I pretty much keep to myself

I was reading something you said in an interview...talking about your records, and you used the word ‘obscure’…do you consider your music to be obscure?
No, certainly not.

Not anymore?
I don’t think I meant the music to be obscure. I thought I meant was that, before I had this American deal now, these last eight years or so, my records haven’t been really promoted or put out in America. So I always concentrated strongly on Japan, Europe, South America, places where…but I still toured in America but not as extensively as I’m going to do now.

It seems like your brand of metal is a bit more challenging than what’s being fed to people over here right now…sometimes music that’s challenging gets marginalized…I was wondering if you found that to be the case.
I’ll tell you what; I’m getting such a good vibe from American fans now, that…they’re welcoming what I’m doing with open arms, coast to coast. I mean it’s fuckin’…it’s really a change from four or five years ago.

How was it four or five years ago?
Well, a lot less people at the shows. Obviously there was less interest from the press. Less metal on TV and radio. It’s really coming back.

Why do you think that is?
People just basically are ready to have it again…people who can play.

You’re not a fan of the modern guitar music that peppers the radio these days?
To be honest with you I don’t even know what it is. I don’t listen to it.

It doesn’t have any guitar solos in it anymore.
They were cut out?

Yeah, I was gonna ask you if you knew where they all went…where all the guitar solos went?
I dunno. Maybe people just don’t want work on their instrument. People don’t want to be putting time into become a good musician, just want to bang out a few chords.

What kinds of people are at your shows these days?
Every possible you could imagine. From forty years old to five years old, girls, boys, teachers, ANYTHING. Very very very not like you can say ‘that’s my audience’. Very broad.

This new record, The War to End All Wars, is that what you’re touring behind?
(defensive) Well, yes and no, I do that and I also do some other stuff.

Are you using that singer that’s on the record?
No?

Who’s the singer for the shows?
His name is Jorn Land.

Another Swede?
Uh…Norwegian actually.

Oh, sorry. I know that that’s a sore spot; mixing up Sweden and Norway.
It works. It works fine.

Do you still do any instructional videos?
Yeah, I finished one about a year ago. I got five of them out now. I‘m not a big fan of doing those things but I do them because people really want me to do them

I had a friend who bought one and he said it was just impossible; too fast, couldn’t follow you.
(LAUGH)

Anybody else tell you that?
Yeah.

What do you do in Miami?
Permanent vacation.

What’s your fascination with medieval imagery and those kinds of motifs?
I’ve always been into that. This record has a little more meaning behind it…many of the songs are very very very very very angry, and the reason for this is because I’ve been fucked over so many times by managers and shit like this that…I just fired one of my managers for the last couple years now…I found out all sorts of dirty shit been going on and I was so fucking disgusted that I would write songs like, ‘War to End All Wars’ ‘Crucify’ and ‘Masquerade’.

Those are all about your managers?
No, it’s not about HIM, it’s about what people do to each other now for fucking money. It’s horrible.

So tell me about the show you’ll be playing in St Pete.
It’s extremely intense. Ridiculous.

You also play bass on this record; how many times have you done that?
Most of the albums I did that.

You play with a pick?
Yeah. I play with a pick.

Anything else you’d like to add?
No. Just, I hope people come out to the show and then check out my new record and let’s rock out, y’know?

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