AC/DC Guitarist Angus Young Says Band Has "Boxes And Boxes Of Ideas" For New Album
May 7, 2011, 13 years ago
Darryl Sterdan from the QMI Agency caught up with AC/DC legends Brian Johnson and Angus Young in London yesterday (May 6th) at the Live at River Plate DVD launch party. Here are a few excerpts from the chat:
QMI Agency: It's been nearly a year since the Black Ice tour ended. In hindsight, how do you think it went?
Johnson: "Fast. Just whoosh. It didn't seem like it in the middle, then all of a sudden we were saying goodbye on the tarmac. I was in shock for over two weeks. I was just sitting around back home, twiddling about with the wife looking at us, going, 'Will you get off your arse and do something?' I didn't know what to do. I didn't know how to live a normal life anymore!"
Young: "I stayed in bed for about a week, but then I just took the guitar down in the studio and started hammering away on that. And I did a few jigsaw puzzles. I got hooked on them."
Johnson: "I did a jigsaw too. It only took us three days. But I was really pleased, because on the box it said: Five to six years."
QMI Agency: You kept us waiting eight years for Black Ice. You're not going to do that again, are you?
Johnson: "Nah. Fuck, in eight years we'll all be dead, mate. Fucking hell!
Young: "Promises, promises.
Johnson: "Ha! 'Oh, there goes another one!'
Young: "'Can't he take his friends with him?'
QMI Agency: How far along are you in the process of making another album?
Young: "It's still early. But we're hoping that it comes quick. The only formula for when Malcolm and I write is that there's no formula. Sometimes you have boxes and boxes of ideas - in our case, rooms full of them. It's just a matter of taking the best - and probably because we're brothers, we can easily say, 'That's good, that's crap, that's good ... '"
Johnson: "I think if you put a date on something, you put yourself under pressure. As soon as somebody says 'late November,' it's like, 'Oh fuck.'
The band's 40th anniversary is coming up in 2013. What are we going to get?
Johnson: "Fireworks! Nah, I think the best thing would just be to still be standing after 40 years and ripping s--- out of the fucking audience. I don't think anything could be more of a celebration than that. That'll fucking set a few noses straight.
Read the entire interview here.
Shot in December of 2009, Live At River Plate marks AC/DC’s triumphant return to Buenos Aires where nearly 200,000 fans, and 3 sold-out shows, welcomed the band back after a 13 year absence from Argentina. This stunning live footage of AC/DC underscores what Argentina’s Pagina 12 newspaper reported by saying “no one is on the same level when it comes to pure and clear Rock ‘n Roll.”
Directed by David Mallet and produced by Rocky Oldham, AC/DC Live At River Plate was shot with 32 cameras entirely in HD. AC/DC Live At River Plate features 19 songs (110 minutes) as well as ‘behind the scenes’ footage of this massive production coming together among the excitement of anxious fans (see below for full track listing).
On Tuesday, May 10th, AC/DC Live At River Plate will be available on DVD, Blu-Ray and Ltd Edition collector’s edition with exclusive t-shirt. Additionally the DVD contains a bonus feature titled The Fan, The Roadie, The Guitar Tech & The Meat, features interviews with AC/DC, their crew and fans among the excitement of the shows and the city of Buenos Aires.
AC/DC Live At River Plate captures the intensity and power of the band’s critically acclaimed world tour in support of their most recent album Black Ice, which debuted at #1 in 31 countries. The Black Ice World tour took AC/DC on a 20 month trek around the globe playing to over 5 million fans in 108 cities in over 28 countries. The Black Ice World Tour earned AC/DC a Pollstar Award for Major Tour of the Year in 2010.
AC/DC Live At River Plate tracklisting is as follows:
'Rock N' Roll Train'
'Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be'
'Back in Black'
'Big Jack'
'Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap'
'Shot Down in Flames'
'Thunderstruck'
'Black Ice'
'The Jack'
'Hells Bells'
'Shoot to Thrill'
'War Machine'
'Dog Eat Dog'
'You Shook Me All Night Long'
'T.N.T.'
'Whole Lotta Rosie'
'Let There Be Rock'
Encore:
'Highway to Hell'
'For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)'
(Photo above: AC/DC - 'Shoot To Thrill'/'War Machine' 7" vinyl for sale exclusively on the UK's Record Store Day, April 16th)
AC/DC Live At River Plate Trailer:
AC/DC Live At River Plate: Documentary Teaser:
AC/DC Live At River Plate: The Fans Speak:
AC/DC Live At River Plate: 'Whole Lotta Rosie':
AC/DC Live At River Plate: 'Let There Be Rock':
AC/DC Live At River Plate DVD: 'TNT':