Ruben Mosqueda from Oregon Music News spoke with Yngwie Malmsteen about the upcoming Guitar Gods 2014 tour set to run June/July in North America, with Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal (Guns N' Roses), Uli Jon Roth (Scorpions) and Gary Hoey in tow. Here are a few excerpts from the chat:

Oregon Music News: Was this idea conceived by you, or was this something that was pitched to you?

Yngwie Malmsteen: "My wife, April Malmsteen, who, as you know, is also my manager — it was her idea, the whole thing, to put together this guitar festival. I thought it was a great idea. So we got on the phone and called up a few friends. I think you’re going to love this tour.

Oregon Music News: Is that literally what you did - you phoned guitarist friends that you felt would fit the bill?

Yngwie Malmsteen: "Well, we put the word out, and we auditioned a lot of people. We had a number of people who wanted to be on the bill; we auditioned them and picked who we felt were the best ones for this tour. Uli (Jon Roth) is a very good friend; we asked him if he was interested. He said yes, and that was that. It’s going to be a great mix. We have two opening acts; it’s going to be a nice guitar fest."

Oregon Music News: I know that often times your confidence and your desire to see your vision through might be viewed as arrogance. I think that those who haven’t spoken to you or met you would greatly benefit from reading Relentless, because they’ll realize that you’re a regular guy.

Yngwie Malmsteen: "Yeah, since I was very young I was always extremely serious about I was doing. I have one shot at this, and I have to do it myself. I’m like a painter or like classical composer because a composer wouldn’t have someone else write the cello parts of a piece of music — they’d write it themselves. Now, that might come off as arrogance, but when I put my name on something, it has to be my work. Like it or hate it, it’s my vision and my creation. I don’t work in the traditional way, how most rock ‘n’ roll bands or musicians work. I like to see myself as similar to a painter. I think that comes through in the book, because like you said, most in the past would view it as arrogance."

Read more at Oregon Music News.

Dates:

June

13 - Paramount Theatre - Huntington, NY
14 - Starland Ballroom - Sayreville, NJ
17 - Bergen Performing Arts Center- Englewood, NJ
20 - Arcada Theatre - St. Charles, IL
21 - Phoenix Theatre - Toronto, ON
26 - Showbox Theatre - Seattle, WA
27 - Roseland Theater - Portland, OR

July

3 - Saban Theatre - Beverly Hills, CA
8 - Rialto Theatre - Tucson, AZ

Promo video:

(Photo above by Joe Kleon)