Classic Rock Revisited founder Jeb Wright recently caught up with BLACKMORE'S NIGHT vocalist Candice Night. The following is an excerpt from the interview, with Candice discussing life with Ritchie Blackmore

Jeb: Ritchie has never stayed in a band for ten straight years. How did you do that?

Candice: "You don’t keep Ritchie anywhere; he keeps himself. You don’t tell him what to do."

Jeb: What is different about him? Have you been a positive influence on him?

Candice: "We have this mutual respect. There is no ego in our music making. It is all about the song. No one throws a temper tantrum about not getting a solo or the lyrics not being about this or that. We are really involved in the creative process and the journey. If there is a problem with whatever we are doing, we talk about it. No one slams the door and storms off for a week and a half. If he has a creative idea and I am in the kitchen then he can say, 'I have this idea. Can you come work on this with me?' and I am right there. We both have this passion and love for the same direction of what we are doing. Nobody is pulling us in opposing direction. We also don’t have a record company dictating to us what it should be about. He is in a really freeing stage of his life where he is able to do anything that he wants to do. I think he has really earned that and I give him a lot of respect. The man has been in the business a long time and he has written some amazing songs. He can play anything from finger style acoustic guitar to hurdy gurdy to just wailing away on his electric guitar. He exceeds himself and anyone I have ever heard. It blows my mind every time I hear him pick up a new instrument. I don’t know if he has ever had that kind of appreciation or if he has had anyone kind of verbalize that appreciation to him in any other situation he has been in. I have no problem going up to him and saying, 'You are fricking unbelievable.'

We also have the deal where he is responsible for the musical aspect and I am responsible for the lyrical aspect. He is the master of that domain and I am the mistress of my domain."

Go to this location for the complete interview.