Yngwie Malmsteen has defended his onstage “gimmick” of throwing and kicking guitar picks into the audience, explaining that it’s a necessity for him to be able to pull off his complex guitar licks. The legendary Swedish guitarist made his comments while speaking to Eonmusic about his new album “Tokyo Live”.
Malmsteen, known as much for his flamboyant stage show as he is for his blistering speed on the Fender Stratocaster, was asked by Eonmusic‘s Eamon O’Neill about his habit of “firing guitar picks like bullets” during his live show, to which he replied: “It started out being out of necessity. When you play on the low strings, you will get little nicks in the pick, so when you want to do, like, a two-, three-, four-, five- or six-string arpeggio, there could be some sort of friction there. So I like to have completely new picks, and when I play those things, I just throw them out.”
He continued: “Those picks I’m using are Jim Dunlop picks. I told them years ago, ‘I want you to make them white for me so people can see them,’ so I made it out of necessity, and I made it into a part of the show too. I don’t like when they’re having nicks, so why not just throw it out, or I’ll kick it out, whatever. So it’s not just being stupid, you know? I mean, it is kind of like a gimmick, I guess, but it’s because I need to have a new pick when I play the fast stuff.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Malmsteen discussed how the rise of grunge affected him in the 1990s. He said: “Well, it did in a certain way, because in America, up until the grunge wave, America was very formatted, so if you didn’t sound a certain way in the ’80s, you couldn’t be on MTV or or radio, whatever. Then everything changed overnight with this grunge thing; if you didn’t sound like that, you couldn’t do it. But I would still play shows and stuff, even though the shows were not as big in America, but in Japan and parts of Europe and in South America, there was a brilliant market, and now it’s completely global. I mean, I say this to everybody, like, ‘Oh, you like Japan?’ Yeah, Japan’s great, but I could play in Wisconsin, and it’d be the same fucking craziness there, anywhere in the States, anywhere in South America, anywhere in Europe, anywhere in Asia. I am so blessed, and I count my blessings every day because I was always doing it on my own terms.”
Read the entire interview at Eonmusic.
Yngwie has just released a new live album, the aforementioned “Tokyo Live”, via Music Theories Recordings. The concert was recorded at the Zepp DiverCity, Tokyo on May 11, 2024 as part of Yngwie‘s 40th-anniversary world tour.
Malmsteen‘s breathtaking technique takes center stage of the 100-minute concert while being cocooned by exquisite musicianship throughout. The setlist tracks Malmsteen‘s illustrious career, from “Hiroshima Mon Amour” and “Evil Eye” and through his remarkable solo career with “Rising Force”, “Far Beyond The Sun”, “Arpeggios From Hell” and “Seventh Sign” all the way up to his most recent material taken from 2021’s “Parabellum”, with “Wolves At The Door”, “Relentless Fury”, “(Si Vis Pacem) Parabellum”, not to mention rousing renditions of “Paganini’s 4th” and “Smoke On The Water”.
Only four of the songs on “Parabellum” featured vocals. The album title is Latin, translating as “Prepare For War”.
After working with some of the top hard singers of the past four decades, Yngwie now handles much of the lead vocals himself in his own band, backed by a lineup that includes keyboardist Nick Marino, bassist Emilio Martinez and drummer Kevin Klingenschmid.
The name of Yngwie Malmsteen has always stood for uncompromising excellence. In a career that now spans more than 40 years he has proven himself to be a unique artist. You can try to categorize him in any way you wish. But the manner in which this supreme Swedish craftsman has continually developed his music makes Malmsteen sublimely transcend any definition you attempt to impose.
He now has a catalogue of 22 solo studio albums, each of which has much to commend. Malmsteen‘s artistry has always clearly incorporated a healthy virtuosity, but his talent goes well beyond a comprehensive control of the guitar. The man is a fine composer and, on recent releases, has also showcased a strong vocal presence and now, with only this fifth live release, it captures four decades of relentless fury and blissful artistry of one of the true greats.
Source: blabbermouth.net
