NEW YORK DOLLS guitarist Sylvain Sylvain recently spoke with Steven Rosen at Ultimate-Guitar.com. An excerpt from the interview is available below.

UG: The early ‘70s were a pivotal moment in the development of American music. The punk scene was starting and the New York Dolls were at the center of it. Could you sense that there was a style of music being created?

Sylvain: "Oh, god, yes. I mean it was just taking birth and it was movin’ so fast and I knew for a fact that the New York Dolls was ground zero for all of that, which really made me so proud. When it all kicked through and especially once we got our recording deal, which took three years probably."

UG: Three years?

Sylvain: "Oh, yeah, because we started like’70, ’71 and we were already goin’ and ’72 we were goin’. By the time we got a record deal it was ’73 and this was pre-CBGBs because they opened their doors in ’75. This was Max’s Kansas City of all places if you’re talking about a club; there was no places to play so you had to kind of chum up with this one and that one and whatever. Or invent places like the Mercer Art Center was just a performing place for theater; off Broadway theaters and stuff. So, um, there was no place; there was only Madison Square Garden and there was stadium rock was the norm. The song was 25 minutes long and the guitar player, that was just his solo [laughs.] You know what I mean? And it was mundane. To us it was like all showmanship and nothing sexual; that’s we thought. That’s what we loved about rock and roll like the EDDIE COCHRANs and the girl groups like THE RONETTES."

UG: You’re still here doing it 38 years later. The new album, Dancing Backward In High Heels, has a lot of surprises on it: acoustic ballads and a lot of keyboard stuff.

Syövain: "Well, you know what? Time goes on of course and you have to grow with music. If you’re a real musician you have to keep on learning; learning everyday is what keep you goin’. And if you don’t have that ambition, I don’t think you’re gonna do anything. Or else maybe you have a good year or so and then that’s the end of that. We don’t try to do anything that’s really programmed or calculated. We don’t know. We fly by the seat of our pants. We have this really good relationship in working and our natural way is hopefully you try it in front of the audience and they’re gonna tell you whether it’s working or not; whether it’s a good song or whether you should fucking can it. If there’s anybody out there thinking about trying to do anything, this would be a great suggestion to do."

UG: That’s exactly what you did on The New York Dolls album – road tested the material before recording it.

Sylvain: "Like I said on the very first album, wow, we had three years to practice those songs and to make ‘em popular. So the minute we recorded ‘em they were already hits; whether they sold or not. With this, we didn’t try to do anything that’s different. It was just, 'Let’s write a fuckin’ good song.' It’s damn fuckin’ hard to come up with a good tune, baby, no matter where it’s from; no matter what genre and everything. You just take your influences that you love and for me it was the Eddie Cochrans and it’s the girl groups and sometimes it’s even BOB MARLEY or whatever. I like rhythms; I think I put in a lot of rhythms on this new record."

Go to this location for the complete interview.

As previously reported, the New York Dolls are gearing up for a North American tour with MÖTLEY CRÜE and POISON. Dates are as follows:

May

29 - Pryor, OK - Rocklahoma

June

7 - Dallas, TX - Gexa Energy Pavilion
9 - San Antonio, TX - AT&T; Center
10 - Houston, TX - Toyota Center
12 - Albuquerque, NM - Hard Rock Pavilion
14 - Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Bowl
15 - San Francisco, CA - Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
17 - Phoenix, AZ - Desert Sky Pavilion
18 - Las Vegas, NV - Venue TBD
19 - Salt Lake City, UT - USANA Amphitheatre
21 - Kansas City, MO - Sprint Center
22 - Maryland Heights, MO - Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
24 - Minneapolis, MN - Target Center
25 - Milwaukee, WI - Bradley Center
26 - Cincinnati, OH - Riverbend Music Center
28 - Toronto, ON - Molson Amphitheatre
29 - Clarkston, MI - DTE Energy Music Theatre

July

1 - Tinley Park, IL - FMB Amphitheatre
2 - Noblesville, IN - Verizon Wireless Music Center
3 - Nashville, TN - Bridgestone Arena
5 - Hollywood, FL - Seminole Hard Rock Live Arena
6 - Tampa, FL - St. Pete Times Forum
8 - Biloxi, MS - Mississippi Coast Coliseum
9 - Pelham, AL - Verizon Wireless Music Center *
10 - Atlanta, GA - Aaron's Amphitheatre at Lakewood
12 - Charlotte, NC - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
13 - Hershey, PA - Star Pavilion at Hersheypark
15 - Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Arena
16 - Camden, NJ - Susquehannna Bank Center
19 - Mansfield, MA - Comcast Center
20 - Uniondale, NY - Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
22 - Darien Center, NY - Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
23 - Saratoga Springs, NY - Saratoga Performing Arts Center
24 - Pittsburgh, PA - Stage AE
27 - Cheyenne, WY - Frontier Days **
29 - Youngstown, OH - Covelli Centre
30 - Frederick, MD - Outlaw Jam 2011
31 - Scranton, PA - Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain

August

5 - Tomah, WI - Fort McCoy

* Mötley Crüe and New York Dolls only

** Mötley Crüe only

Tickets will be available to fan club members beginning March 11th and a national on sale starts the weekend of March 18th.