SCORPIONS drummer James Kottak in featured in a new interview with Sleazeroxx.com. An excerpt is available below.

Sleaze Roxx: Was it your original intention for Sting In The Tail to be the Scorpions' farewell album? And if so, how much additional pressure did that place on the band to dial it up a few notches?

James Kottak: "That actually wasn't decided until after the record was completed. That decision wasn't made until around November or December of 2009. We had been talking for the last year when this would all come to an end. We never seriously sat down and spoke about it at length. Our manager suggested that if we were going to call it a career that we should go out with a bang since this record turned out to be so great. The timing couldn't be better and we have an entire tour ahead of us."

Sleaze Roxx: Is it really goodbye? One thing that I told everyone is that the Scorpions deliver each and every time. You guys are one of the most consistent live acts that I have seen year in and year out. It's almost superhuman at times.

James Kottak: "The thing about us playing live, when you have 10,000 plus people in front of you screaming their heads off, is it gives you an extra dose of adrenaline. No matter how tired you are, like you said, you feel like a superman. This is the real deal and after this there is no more Scorpions. I know there are many bands out there that claim that it is farewell, then they never leave, or they get back together after a year or two."

Sleaze Roxx: This tour will take you guys on a three year jaunt. How many North American legs will there be?

James Kottak: "Well we will be here this summer and then we'll be back again next year. If it were up to me I'd say, 'let's tour North America for 6 months', I love here so much. I've been in the band for 15 years and with each album that I've been a part of it takes at least two years to tour behind the album. In fact we just finished touring behind Humanity Hour 1 in November of 2009 if you can believe that! So to do this properly we're looking at... at least three years of touring. We are not doing an Ozzy Osbourne farewell, this is it and that's why we are making sure we do this right. Once it's over it's really over."

Go to this location for the complete interview.

The Scorpions' North American leg of their Get Your Sting And Blackout farewell world tour will hit the following dates:

June

18 - Holmdel, NJ - PNC Bank Arts Center *
19 - Columbia, MD - Merriweather Post Pavilion *
22 - Wantagh, NY - Nikon at Jones Beach Theater *
23 - Gilford, NH - Meadowbrook Amphitheatre ****
25 - Quebec City, QC - Pavillion de la Juenesse *
26 - Montreal, QC - Bell Centre *
27 - Toronto, ON - Molson Amphitheatre *

July

1 - Detroit, MI - DTE Energy Music Theatre
2 - Milwaukee, WI - Summerfest
5 - Pittsburgh, PA - Amphitheatre at Station Square
8 - Sarnia, ONT - Sarnia Bayfest Festival *
10 - Nashville, TN - Bridgestone Arena
13 - Sturgis, SD - Sturgis Motorcycle Rally
16 - Miami, FL - Bayfront Park Amphitheatre ***
17 - Tampa, FL - Ford Amphitheatre ***
19 - New Orleans, LA - Mahalia Jackson Theatre ***
24 - Oklahoma City, OK - Oklahoma City Zoo Amphitheatre *
26 - Albuquerque, NM - Hard Rock Casino Albuquerque Presents The Pavilion ****
27 - Phoenix, AZ - Dodge Theatre ****
29 - Ontario, CA - Citizen’s Business Bank Arena *
31 - Los Angeles, CA - Nokia Theatre *

August

6 - Roseburg, OR - Douglas County Fairgrounds **
7 - Ridgefield, WA - Amphitheatre at Clark County **
17 - Denver, CO - 1st Bank Center *

* with CINDERELLA

** with DOKKEN

*** with RATT

**** with TESLA

***** with VINCE NEIL

Additional dates will continue to be announced soon.