I N T E R V I E W
Yes it comes out on September 26th on SPV Records. We started recording it in April in Germany. I did all of the guitars here at my home studio. We have Andy Parker back in the band who is the original UFO drummer.
Yes...I wrote most of the music for this record as I did on the You Are Here record. Seven of the tunes were mine musically and a couple were co written musically by Pete Way and I. Paul wrote a couple songs and Phil wrote the lyrics.
Yes. It was a blast doing this record. As I said, I did the guitar in my studio which is what I like doing best because I just feel more relaxed and do better and more creative work here. Playing with the band is a cool experience for me.
I am basically a song and melody player. I always get a feel from the song and play what fits stylistically. It just so happens that my blusier/rock oriented stuff fits in better with the music on this record. So I would say that my playing on this is a little more like my Meltdown record as opposed to some of the earlier solo records that were more classically influenced. I play what I feel from hearing the music as opposed to trying to throw in things that don't fit. I just recorded a track for a Santana Tribute CD and my playing on there is totally different from the UFO record. I am into a lot of different things stylistically so I can go off in many different directions with my playing. The song gives me a feel for where I go.
Influenced by Deep Purple?? Not my songs. I was into Blackmore and Purple back in their early days but haven't heard the more recent stuff. Machine Head is one of my all time favorite CD's but I don't really hear the similarities with Purple and the new UFO. Steve is a great player and a friend of mine. Ironically, I don't have any of the DP records with him . I am sure he plays his ass off on them as always though. I have never really talked to him about being in DP so I don't know if his experiences are similar to mine or not. Maybe in some ways I would guess.
I don't actually. I liked their early records but there is a whole time period that I am not familiar with. As far as the current lineup, I don't really think about it, I just write music and Phil writes lyrics to my ideas.
I didn't look at it that way at all. It was a little weird joining a band that had another player for so many years, but I didn't think too much about it. I just went in and did my thing. I was a fan of UFO as a kid so stylistically it wasn't a very big stretch for me. No big adjustment....just plug in and ROCK!
I have written a bunch of new songs and will be starting the drums real soon. It should be finished by the end of the year. I am real excited about it because it has been so long since I have done a solo CD and also the material is fresh and new to me.
It will be instrumental. It is a little different than anything I have done. I like to explore new territories. This is what keeps music exciting to me.
No I don't do this. If it is a UFO show then we play UFO songs. It is not really the right place to do my songs. I do a lot of improvising during the solos though so there is quite a lot of me there.
Haven't heard there new releases. They are both great players though. PG has pretty sick techinique.
There is room for anything that is good and done with passion.
I look forward to it. It will be a lot of fun. I haven't been to France in a while.
I am just concentrating on my new solo cd for the moment. I have other ideas for projects but for now, the new solo thing is top priority.
Yes. It's too early to tell exactly how right now. But hopefully a tour in Europe and the US.
Thanks everybody. Keep rocking and learning and playing music with your heart and soul. Play and write your music with passion from your soul and you can't go wrong. Follow your heart!!
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