Italy's SpazioRock conducted one of the final interviews with late GOTTHARD singer Steve Lee recently who was tragically killed in a motorcycle accident in Nevada on Tuesday, October 5 at the age of 47. Here are a few excerpts from the chat:

SpazioRock: Are you still working on your voice after all these years? If so, how do you try to improve?

Lee: "Of course, trying to evolve and improve is very important. The body changes with the years, and the voice too! Today I find a clear improvement in the quality of my voice, most of all thanks to my 20-year experience with my career but also to vocal exercises and warm-up that I overlooked initially... Ignorance is bliss! Luckily I didn’t ruin my vocal cords back then!"

SpazioRock: You have met so many rock stars in these years during your tours... is there anyone who particularly impressed you, in a positive way?

Lee: "I especially remember Ian Gillan (DEEP PURPLE) being very kind the first time we played as opening band in 1996, he said 'feel free to play the cover of 'Hush'... I like your version more than ours!' That is still one of the best compliments I ever got! Idols of the past, I’ve met many and luckily they have all been kind... maybe Bon Jovi went over the top with his “quarantine”, he wanted everybody in the backstage to disappear while the band approached the stage... huh?!!"

SpazioRock: RAINBOW's Rising, one of your favourite albums, was the one who changed the history of rock. Were there, after Rising, any albums that equally drew your attention? Which album would you advice today to a boy who has just begun listening to hard rock?

Lee: "Of course... many! Surely, with the years the tastes and ways to listen to the albums change (especially if you make music as a job...)! Among my favourites there are CDs dealing with serious issues like for example QUEENSRŸCHE - Operation: Mindcrime or the legendary Dark Side Of The Moon by PINK FLOYD... but they’re too many to be listed! To the young I would advice to listen to everything from blues to punk rock of the past, and to get a wide picture of music... that is, a personal hit list of favourite albums, without necessarily stick to the fashion imposed by the majors and the various field experts!!. Anyway, a modern album that I would advice is Black Bird by ALTER BRIDGE, which is really a blast!"

Read more at SpazioRock.