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MICHAEL SCHENKER: It’s A New Day Now
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FEATUREby Shelly Harris
On the line from his Phoenix, AZ, home base, on the eve of a tour with MSG that will bring him to Chicago’s House of Blues on the 19th and 20th of December, the “Mad Axeman” is as more philosophical and enthusiastic than ever, despite recent personal and career hardships stemming from both marital and management splits. In fact, Schenker’s creative output from the late-‘90s onward has been more prolific and fine-tuned than at any other time in his 33-year career, and has included two albums with UFO, two with MSG (including the new album, Arachnophobiac), two electric instrumental releases, four “Thank You” series acoustic instrumental albums (including the most recent Thank You 4), and several others, including The Plot with Pete Way and Under Construction, an eight song “demonstration” CD that he recently completed with singer/songwriter/guitarist Amy Schugar with a project called Schugar/Schenker. (Author’s Note: Schugar, the first female vocalist Schenker has ever written songs for, is also accompanying MSG on tour as a guitarist and backing singer.) “The thing is, I'm a true musician," says Michael explaining this recent prolific artistic output. “And I’m a creator. I love to write; my favorite thing to do is writing. You know, one thing I cannot stand doing is to write something not knowing if it’s going to be used or not. Because, when I write something, I always put my whole focus on it, and there’s not going to be something that is nonproductive or something that is not going to be used. When I start writing and focusing, I get it from a place –– and there’s lots of stuff there –– but it takes a lot of energy, so I really want it to be worth it. I have an infinite spring where my stuff comes from ... But, I’m kind of realizing, too –– I’ve really become aware of it –– that writing is something that has become urgent … It’s like it almost makes me nervous, it’s a ... I have to write kind of thing!” Though Schenker has been a truly enigmatic personality (ever since when, at the age of 18, he left brother Rudolf's band, The Scorpions, to join the British UFO, and in turn abruptly left them at the top of their game during the Strangers In The Night live album era) and has been especially notorious for sometimes leaving mid-tour or even mid-gig during past UFO tours, he also is equally renown for his steadfast artistic integrity. However, these days he is candid and open to detailing his mindset and true motivations on all of the above. “I am not a technical player,” he assesses. “I get more inspired by my own guitar sound, for instance. You know, if something sounds good, I play even better, but if something sounds very, very bad, it’s like –– Ooooh, Man! –– it’s hard. (laughs) But, if you’re a technical player, you kind of play it without thinking, and nothing really affects you. But then again, nothing comes across, either, because there's no emotions in it. So, if you are playing with feeling, then you need feeling coming from somewhere to help you get even deeper. So, when you’re onstage, and the sound is bad, etc., it can be really frustrating for a person that plays with feel –– because it interferes. You’re on a roll, and deeply involved, then, all of a sudden, you’re being kind of sabotaged, because what you need to feed you, to be performing the way you'd love to, is all of a sudden taken away, and it leaves you feeling half-empty. But if you have a good sound, it can be a lot of fun, because it gets you into amazing places to perform." Reflecting on his motivations when he began playing guitar at the age of nine, he admits –– “Well, definitely, I wanted to be one of the best guitarists in the world. That was what I strived for, that was my vision. But being the best doesn't mean being the most famous and successful! I wanted to be one of the best, anyway –– because ‘the best’ you can never really be –– because I wanted to be able to do something like what Jeff Beck did to me with his guitar playing. To give people goose pimples with some sounds.” “If you are a musician because you are interested in being with a bunch of girls, you might not be doing it for the rest of your life,” he laughed. “Because, sooner or later, you’re going to be married and have children. If you do it because you wanna get laid, or have parties and drink, or have a reason to drink and take drugs –– or whatever it is –– and enjoy the whole circus, then you might not do it the rest of your life. But, if you do it for the right reason, you might have a chance to do it for the rest of your life. I mean, the purer the motivation, the better it’s going to be in the end, you know? And the purer the motivation, the longer you can listen to the music, and the longer your music will be around.” Schenker’s focus on the music, above all else, has also been one of the reasons for his on again/off again relationship with UFO. He rejoined the band for the mid-‘90s reunion album, Walk On Water, but following an abruptly aborted European tour in ‘00, he has not since toured to support other UFO albums like last year’s Sharks, and recently “gave back” the band name to original vocalist Phil Mogg and bassist Pete Way. Still, he’s not burning any bridges... “Well, when I was a younger guy, I used to be very good at closing doors. I’d close the door, and that was it! Things aren’t like that anymore, because you become your own prisoner. I leave the doors open now. At this point in time, if I’m not working on that door, I’ll go over here and work on this one, and maybe I'll work on two of them at the same time,” he explained. “At this point in time, Phil Mogg asked me to give the UFO name back. You need to feel good with the people you’re onstage with, and not have the feeling that someone is going to sabotage you,” he sighs. “I just had to let go of that. And you know, I wish them all the best, and you know, whatever is meant to be will happen. In general, I have always felt that there is a lot of jealousy coming from UFO and from Phil. The last thing in life I need is a competition. I don't want a competition with a woman, I don’t want a competition with a musician, I don’t want a competition period!,” he declared. “That tears me down and wears me out, so these days I’m kind of like a snake that is changing skin. I feel like it’s time to let some of this old skin go, and get some new skin up, and then look at things from a new perspective, and make decisions from a new perspective. I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future, but I just leave it all open and let it present itself.” This past year Schenker has also taken over his own management, from “scratch to finish” and says there have been many unexpected rewards in getting out of his past artistic type of tunnel vision, and having much more direct contact with his longtime fans. “You know, it’s so incredible now when I'm reading what people have been saying about how they have been able to get through hard times with the music, and through operations, and through accidents... Man, it’s so powerful! It’s really, really humbling. It's like a really strange but wonderful feeling. It’s like you never knew the impact you had on people, and now you actually have access to finding out, and it’s just overwhelming!” As the “new" Michael Schenker concludes (with convincing conviction), “I’m having a blast! You were saying earlier that I’m so lucky that I’m doing something that I enjoy, like guitar playing, but, I’ll tell you, what I’m doing right now, other than playing guitar, is office work! But I totally enjoy it! It’s unbelievable, you know? I think I’m just in a happy place; it’s so much fun!” MICHAEL SCHENKER performs live at Chicago’s HOUSE OF BLUES on December 19 and 20 with GEORGE LYNCH Find Michael Schenker online at: www.michaelschenkerhimself.com www.strangers-in-the-night.com |
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“I’ll
tell you, and I’ve been saying this for a few years now: the older I
get, the better it gets!” enthuses Michael Schenker, the German-born
bonafide “guitar god” who made the Flying V famous while creating the
mold for scorching, highly melodic and dynamic “Euro” styled shred
(often imitated but never duplicated) during his tenure with equally
legendary bands like The Scorpions, UFO, and his own
Michael Schenker Group (MSG).