{"id":9376,"date":"2013-01-15T00:00:28","date_gmt":"2013-01-15T00:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=9376"},"modified":"2013-07-20T11:52:44","modified_gmt":"2013-07-20T11:52:44","slug":"feature-michael-schenker-01-13","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/feature-michael-schenker-01-13\/","title":{"rendered":"MICHAEL SCHENKER – Handmade Rock\u2019s Architect (January 2013) | Features \/ Interviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

MICHAEL SCHENKER – Handmade Rock\u2019s Architect<\/strong><\/span>
\nAnthony Morgan<\/span>
\nJanuary 2013<\/span><\/p>\n

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Michael Schenker<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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German axeman extraordinaire Michael Schenker (ex-UFO \/ ex-Scorpions) performed at the 013 in Tilburg, The Netherlands on May 13th, 2012, an outing taped for DVD issue. Surfacing courtesy of Temple Of Rock \u2013 Live In Europe<\/em>, Schenker\u2019s solo line-up on that specific date consisted of Schenker himself of course, Doogie White (ex-Rainbow \/ La Paz) supplying lead vocals, Wayne Findlay handling keyboards et al, and erstwhile Scorpions alumni Herman Rarebell and Francis Buchholz occupying drums and bass respectively.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had to go from Glasgow overnight to go there, and get ready to do the filming,\u201d Michael chuckles. \u201cIt was a long way. We were filming, and there was a lot of stuff going on. Something that I notice with this particular line-up \u2013 with Herman and Francis \u2013 is that even in Germany and other countries, for the first few songs people would just look and look. They really watch everything, and then after a few songs they would start going crazy. That\u2019s what also happened in Tilburg, but it happened not just in Tilburg. It happened everywhere with the exception of England. In England the people just go for it straight away, but in Europe it took a little while because I think they tried to figure out what this combination was all about.\u201d<\/p>\n

A number of factors caused Tilburg\u2019s 013 to be a logical choice of venue. \u201cYou get one shot,\u201d the axe-slinger notes. \u201cYou only have so much money you can afford to put together, and everybody who is involved is also an important issue in terms of where you do it. Everything had to make sense, and so in general this is what everybody came up with. The company that we used had done some filming at the venue before as well, so they were familiar with the technical aspects and stuff like that. That helped too, and so it was just a combination of many different things.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scorpions alumni comprised 60% of the overall member line-up on that very evening, if Michael\u2019s presence is taken into account. \u201cIt\u2019s a very unique line-up,\u201d he enthuses. \u201cI thought it would be great to capture this on DVD, because it may never happen again. Just incase something happens (laughs), I quickly captured it and so nothing can go wrong. I\u2019m happy that I did, but at the same time we\u2019re already making the next album. I think this line-up will be together for awhile but I recorded it anyway, because you never know.\u201d<\/p>\n

The assemblage of a touring line-up is determined by a number of variables. \u201cWhen I finished Temple Of Rock<\/em> (September 2011) I thought I had a band and a singer, but Michael Voss signed a solo deal,\u201d the guitarist cites. \u201cAll of a sudden he wasn\u2019t available so I had to figure out what to do, and that\u2019s usually how it happens. I have to look what the situation is, and what I can do from there. Then I start being creative. I realised that Robin McAuley sang on the album, and also Doogie. Plus, a live show wouldn\u2019t be able to have the original singers anyway because it was a summarised kind of set. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe set was like a best of that involved different eras of my career that had different singers like Phil Mogg (UFO) and Gary Barden for example, so I wouldn\u2019t have been able to have the original singers anyway. Because Doogie and Robin McAuley sing on this album too, I realised that I could ask Robin if he would be available to do this in America. He was available, and he wanted to do it. Of course, I\u2019ve had many line-ups so I have many musicians to choose from. Doogie was available for Europe, and Michael Voss was available for Japan. I chose the musicians that at that time were also available and interested, and then based on availability I made my choices.\u201d<\/p>\n

As of September 19th, 2012, Robin McAuley was due to undergo surgery as the result of a hiatal hernia. \u201cI don\u2019t know if he\u2019s had it yet,\u201d Michael admits. \u201cThe last time I heard he was being tested, and he didn\u2019t enjoy that. I\u2019m not really sure. Nobody has reported to me yet that he has had it done. I don\u2019t think he\u2019s had it done yet, because otherwise people would\u2019ve said something. I think he\u2019s waiting for an appointment, and being tested.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The axeman\u2019s career spans across five decades, the man\u2019s back catalogue a gargantuan affair. Selecting which tracks to perform in a live situation would arguably be a difficult task consequentially, but the German argues that this isn\u2019t the case. \u201cAt this point in time it\u2019s kind of easy, because I toured with Gary Barden for two to three years for In The Midst Of Beauty<\/em> (May 2008),\u201d he explains. \u201cWe played a lot of shows, and so because this is the best of Michael Schenker that involves different eras, I just decide to stick with stuff like the most popular albums to make it even more simple. I just focus on Strangers In The Night<\/em> (UFO, January 1979), One Night At Budokan<\/em> (February 1982), Lovedrive<\/em> (Scorpions, February 1979), and then some songs from Francis\u2019 and Herman\u2019s stay with the Scorpions which are \u2018Rock You Like A Hurricane\u2019 (from March 1984\u2019s Love At First Sting<\/em>) and \u2018Blackout\u2019 (from the March 1982 album of the same name). You have a pretty good set together there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Material lifted from Temple Of Rock<\/em> additionally features. \u201cTemple Of Rock<\/em> we are still touring, so sooner or later we will be adding things to the set,\u201d Michael acknowledges. \u201cWe are actually already starting a new album which will be released by the end of 2013, so hopefully we will have something ready to perform on the next tour which starts in April. Everybody is putting their things together. I\u2019m putting my things together, putting down my guitars. Basically from that moment on, it goes pretty quick. It\u2019s with Doogie White, with that line-up. Doogie White, Herman Rarebell, Francis Buchholz, Wayne Findlay, and myself. It\u2019s the same line-up as Tilburg.\u201d<\/p>\n

Temple Of Rock<\/em>\u2019s successor will inevitably adhere to a signature style. \u201cIt\u2019s Michael Schenker,\u201d the mainman laughs. \u201cI\u2019m being myself. When I write music, it\u2019s Michael Schenker music because I\u2019m creating on a whim. I don\u2019t look around, and say \u2018Oh, what shall I do today?\u2019 I just express myself, and so what comes out is what comes out. I don\u2019t have a description for that other than it\u2019s what I do. It\u2019s basically as much as possible pure self-expression. That\u2019s what people tell me, that they can recognise my style. I wouldn\u2019t know because I\u2019m too deep in it, so… I don\u2019t look at it that way anyway, but just based on what people say that\u2019s what\u2019s happening. I think when people focus on what\u2019s within themselves \u2013 in other words, when people express themselves rather than trying to play something that somebody else has already expressed \u2013 automatically they will become original, because only you can express what\u2019s inside you. You see what I mean? It\u2019s natural that you\u2019ll be very recognisable, because you\u2019re the only one who does it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Doogie White\u2019s involvement will somewhat flavour Michael\u2019s forthcoming record as well, however. \u201cWhen I\u2019m writing of course, I have Doogie in my head because I know he\u2019s gonna be doing the vocals,\u201d he concedes. \u201cHe\u2019s a more metal singer, and so automatically it will be more metal. It will be more on the level of \u2018Before The Devil Knows You\u2019re Dead\u2019 (from Temple Of Rock<\/em>) of course, because that\u2019s Doogie singing there. Doogie has more of a heavy metal voice. Automatically, when I\u2019ve been writing this time I\u2019ve been writing with Doogie in my head, but I have a very good concept usually. When I wrote Temple Of Rock<\/em>, I didn\u2019t know what I was doing in the beginning. I just started and went for it, but this time I have a concept. I already know that the title of the album is gonna be Bridge The Gap<\/em>, and so this time I have a blueprint in my head, like a map that I see. I can see that it\u2019s a concept I have, and so I have a very clear direction of what I\u2019m doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The third stage of the axe-slinger\u2019s career is distinguished by celebration. \u201cWhat I\u2019m doing at this point in time is celebrating the era of handmade rock,\u201d he divulges. \u201cI\u2019m back in the loop to celebrate the era of handmade rock. Handmade rock is the rock that I fell in love with that started with Led Zeppelin<\/a>, Deep Purple, and Black Sabbath<\/a>. They created the foundation of what I call the era of handmade rock, and so handmade rock means it was done without computers and was just very straightforward. In the 70s bands like Rush, UFO, Scorpions, AC\/DC and stuff like that created the framework of the foundation. In the 80s they were putting down the bricks and the clay to create that building, that temple, the era of handmade rock. Now we\u2019re coming to the roofing, and the roofing is usually about celebrating. <\/p>\n

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\u201cPeople these days with computers and stuff can write songs, and don\u2019t even need to know how to play an instrument. There will be new eras though, and new temples will be created. People who\u2019re growing up with computers are doing things in a different way, just like a 100 years ago people were riding wagons with horses and then 50 years later they weren\u2019t doing that anymore \u2013 they were using cars. I want to celebrate the fact that it\u2019s a special moment, a special era in evolution that cannot be repeated and will not be repeated. Life goes on with new toys to play with, and so this is a particular moment in time. When all of the people are gone that were the foundation of it, that era is just a memory.\u201d<\/p>\n

Albeit an architect of handmade rock, for recording purposes Michael uses modern studio equipment. \u201cIf you use a wagon and a horse and then a car becomes available, you change from the wagon and the horse to the car because that\u2019s the new momentum of life,\u201d he figures. \u201cYou cannot ignore it. It would silly to sit there on a horse and a cart while everybody is flying in rockets (laughs). What I\u2019m saying is it was created by hand \u2013 rock was handmade \u2013 but while it was created, 40 years later new technologies are evolving and being used and of course you cannot ignore that. Life goes on, but I\u2019m talking about the generation that are growing in an era where computers are already there. People who were born when cars were already around don\u2019t even know what a wagon and a horse is. That\u2019s what I\u2019m talking about. It\u2019s a particular era that new generations weren\u2019t involved in, because they weren\u2019t there. Therefore, the new generations are creating a new temple.\u201d<\/p>\n

February 1972\u2019s Lonesome Crow<\/em> \u2013 Scorpions\u2019 debut full-length \u2013 marked the guitarist\u2019s recording debut. \u201cI wasn\u2019t born in 2020,\u201d he muses. \u201cI was born when rock was handmade, so my generation is the era of handmade rock. That is where I come from. The first chapter was all about being in love with rock \u2019n\u2019 roll, focusing on lead guitar and being fascinated with the single note. Pure self-expression, and excellence. That is what my focus was all the way up to the time of Strangers In The Night<\/em> with UFO. My second chapter was about being more involved in experimenting, developing on a musical level and a personal level, growing and expressing, doing things at my own pace, overcoming certain aspects of life, and learning etcetera etcetera. <\/p>\n

\u201cI was growing in general, musically and personally. In the middle of life, you have challenges. You have to deal with problems, and you have to overcome certain aspects. You learn self-improvement, curiosity, finding out, discovering, making mistakes, falling flat on your face, and getting up and finding out why, what, and how. Those kinds of things. By moving forward and by dealing with those things, you grow, keep growing and understand more about life, and embrace the extra depths of life. You grow in directions where maybe some people are afraid to go in order to have a deeper understanding of life. That kind of stuff was fascinating for me, and that\u2019s what I was enjoying. The third stage is I\u2019m back playing rock \u2019n\u2019 roll, and celebrating the roofing of the era of handmade rock.\u201d<\/p>\n

Slated for January 2013 issue, Paul Raymond Project record Terms & Conditions Apply<\/em> will include a cover interpretation of The Four Tops tune \u2018Reach Out (I\u2019ll Be There)\u2019 (the original rendition featured on July 1967\u2019s Reach Out<\/em>). Michael lends a guest appearance to the recording, him and Paul having being erstwhile bandmates in UFO. \u201cPaul Raymond asked me if I could help him out,\u201d he recalls. \u201cI said \u2018Yes, send me the thing.\u2019 I put my guitar parts down on it in the studio with Michael Voss, and gave it to him. I haven\u2019t heard the finished version of it yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

An acoustic collaboration between the axeman and vocalist Don Dokken (of heavy metal namesake Dokken) is in the works. \u201cThere is the Thank You<\/em> (1993) album,\u201d he reminds. \u201cDon and I got together, and we had been talking awhile about doing something together. He likes the first Thank You<\/em> album, so I said to him \u2018Why don\u2019t you put some vocals on it and see what happens?\u2019 He did it on one song, and sent it to me. It was fantastic, so I said \u2018Keep going. Let\u2019s make this a project.\u2019 I can\u2019t wait to hear more.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Whether the pair will record any original acoustic compositions is yet to be decided. \u201cI don\u2019t look that far ahead, so let\u2019s see,\u201d Michael reasons. \u201cI\u2019m more a person who likes to live in the moment. Right now that\u2019s what Don is doing, so let\u2019s focus on that first.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dean Guitars are currently crafting a fresh Michael Schenker signature guitar model for public release. \u201cThe Yin Yang was the latest but there is a new one coming, and that is gonna be for the next album,\u201d the mainman reveals. I don\u2019t know how soon it will be ready, but it\u2019s something that goes with the concept that I\u2019m using. People come up with ideas, and I just approve it. I tell them if it\u2019s good, if I like it, so basically I handle quality control. It\u2019s a reflection of my tastes. If I don\u2019t like something, I say \u2018You have to change this. I don\u2019t like it.\u2019 Everything about it reflects my tastes if I like it, and then it becomes a signature model.\u201d<\/p>\n

Further live performances are scheduled in support of Temple Of Rock<\/em>, a United Kingdom trek beginning on April 9th, 2013 at Stockton On Tees\u2019 ARC. A date at Norwich\u2019s Waterfront on April 21st will conclude Michael\u2019s visit to British shores. \u201cI don\u2019t know why, but in the UK they\u2019re just happy right from the beginning,\u201d he reiterates. \u201cIn Germany, Holland, and some other places, they just check you out for the first four to five songs. I don\u2019t know why, but that\u2019s what they do. A third into the set, they then start getting into it. I guess maybe they try to figure out what we\u2019re gonna be doing. If it\u2019s anything good and they like what they see, then they get into it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pencilled for issue shortly is a personal VIP package, scheduled to include a previously unreleased 14-track demo recorded in 1979. \u201cThe demo is material recorded after I had finished with Scorpions,\u201d the axe-slinger remembers. \u201cI went into a mobile studio and recorded material for my first solo album (August 1980\u2019s The Michael Schenker Group<\/em>), which went through different stages. I rehearsed it with the Aerosmith guys (bassist Tom Hamilton and drummer Joey Kramer) and stuff like that, and I was singing on some of the material and so on. It\u2019s stuff that nobody has actually ever heard, and has never been released. That\u2019s part of the VIP package. Plus there\u2019s the \u2018Howler\u2019, which is the tool that I\u2019m using to get a particular sound. There will be an instructional DVD for it on how to use the tool, and plus the tool will be included. Then of course some other stuff that will be a part of the package. It\u2019s a VIP package that will be sent out to people who order it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Temple Of Rock: Live In Europe<\/em> was released in CD, DVD, Blu-ray and limited deluxe collector\u2019s edition formats on December 10th, 2012 in Europe and subsequently on January 15th, 2013 in North America, all via inakustik.<\/p>\n

Interview published in January 2013.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MICHAEL SCHENKER – Handmade Rock\u2019s Architect Anthony Morgan January 2013 Michael Schenker Pic: Kevin Estrada German axeman extraordinaire Michael Schenker (ex-UFO \/ ex-Scorpions) performed at the 013 in Tilburg, The Netherlands on May 13th, 2012, an outing taped for DVD issue. Surfacing courtesy of Temple Of Rock \u2013 Live In Europe, Schenker\u2019s solo line-up on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,478],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9376","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-features","category-michael-schenker"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9376","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9376"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9376\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9398,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9376\/revisions\/9398"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}