Special report Deb Rao

Uli Jon Roth will wrap up his North American Tour in support of his latest release, Under A Dark Sky at B.B.Kings on October 11th in New York City with a cast of all-star musicians slated to appear with the legendary guitarist this Columbus Day weekend. Roth spoke to Bravewords.com regarding exclusive details surrounding the event, a special tour update, and the making of his latest release.

Q: You are currently on the road in support of your latest release, Under A Dark Sky. How is the tour going so far?

Uli Jon Roth: "It is going great. We’ve spent six or seven shows in California including the Sky Academy over there, and also we did the Sky Academy in Arizona. We have played Idaho, the House of Blues in Chicago. We have been all over. Now we are going to the East Coast. I am on the bus right now. We are playing very long shows. Usually around a three hour mark. It seems to be that people are not leaving before the last note so that is a good sign I guess. Because, we keep it interesting. The first half is mainly new material, which is very structured. The second half is much more free-flow. I play a lot of old Scorpions stuff and electric. Also, we do a lot of Hendrix, and we do a lot of jamming. Sometimes some of the best moments are at the end of the show and we really get into it. We have a seven-piece band with two vocalists, two guitarist, keyboards, bass and drums. So it is definitely my best band so far. That is why we are able to play these different things. We are doing a lot of the new album. We are doing a lot of Scorpions, because this year is the 30th Anniversary of Tokyo Tapes, which I am always getting a lot of requests to play early Scorpions. We do that, and we do it pretty much like it was back then. It is almost like now I can relate to it again. There was a long time that I couldn’t relate to it. Now I am kind of at piece with everything. As long as the people enjoy it, I'll play for them."

Q: Uli, Are you looking forward to performing at B.B.Kings in New York City on October 11? Will there be any special guest stars attending the event?

Uli Jon Roth: "Yes, we have Chris Caffery, who is with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra and Savatage. I got to know Chris at NAMM, where we spent some time together. He is such a nice guy. But I never actually played with him, so that will be really interesting. He is a real musician. We have Alex Skolnick. First time I met Alex was in New Zealand recently at the end of the summer, where we had a Sky Academy in New Zealand. He came out and jammed a couple of tunes with us. We have Joe Stump, who is an excellent guitar player, who has been to several Sky Academy’s adding a little teaching and performing there. The first part of the show we play the new material and the second part is much more loose and we will be doing a lot of jamming and I am really looking forward to that."

Q. How challenging was it to you as an artist to write, Under A Dark Sky?

Uli Jon Roth: "Well, it is always like a new adventure. It wasn't actually a challenge to write it, it kind of wrote itself. The music came very quickly, and very easily. It was an easy first. That was only the beginning. Actually, making the album I found much harder because in order to present it in such a way that my inner ear was remotely satisfied, it was quite a struggle. It was technologically difficult because it adds quite a vast array of sounds and textures. I had to orchestrate the band and the choir, different singers, lots of different guitar approaches. Sometimes we had up to 400 tracks going. Then I had to narrow it down to two tracks, which was to me just about the worst nightmare. I am never happy with the two tracks. Because I feel compromised. If I do like a three piece scenario bass, drums, guitars, and vocals, yes the stereo can be sufficient and you do get good results But with the sound that I have mind, I never come anywhere near it in the stereo department. To me that is always a horrible compromise and I have hated it from the beginning. Apart from the sonic aspect and the limitations, I do think that the message and the spirit of the album I wanted to portray comes through. That is why I released it. Because I could have gone on for another 3 months maybe made it a little more perfect but it wouldn't have got much different in terms of the essence of the whole thing. So it I thought it is ready now. I like to actually transform melodies and give them a longer lifespan by actually making them into living beings or living entities. A melody will start a certain way and take on a life of its own. That is what I like. I like to take people on musical journeys. To me music reflects life. Music is build according to certain principals’ cosmic principals. I use the word cosmic it sounds very hippiesque. People think I am a hippie because I wear a headband. But I am actually far way from that mentality. When I use the word cosmic, I mean cosmic."

Q: As a guitarist, how do you think you have evolved since your early days on the road with The Scorpions?

Uli Jon Roth: "I think I have a much wider scope now. I finally got the scope that I always wanted to have. I didn't always have that in the beginning. I needed to learn the ropes first. I started out as someone, who was intensely in love with lead guitar playing. That was when I was twelve thirteen years old. I use to copy Eric Clapton, who was such a beautiful melodic player. Then, a little bit later on, I got into Jimi Hendrix who had all these other qualities plus his very own way of bringing in melody and rhythm. Then I started exploring Classical music, I learned the classical guitar and studied that quite intensely. I learned the piano and violin. All these things developed a life of its own and my own musical being; I wouldn't say language because I didn't invent the language. But maybe my own act. Usually we all draw from something we heard before and then we are the next generation and the fruit of the tree. I see myself as an ongoing fruit of trees that span generations. Because I do relate to early Baroque Renaissance music, and classical music. Actually, most musical genres, I can relate to in some way or another. I see myself very much as a musical cosmopolitan. I also love folk music, Indian, Chinese, Spanish, Italian, you name it, and I love it all. Some more than others. I think my playing reflects that to some degree. I like the Universal approach to music. My journey is far from finished. In many ways, I think I am only at the beginning. I feel that I am at the height of whatever powers I might have. I am fully in the flow. I feel like the sky is the limit. I don't intend on stopping. I am just really at the beginning."

Q: What are your future touring plans after the U.S. Tour wraps up in New York City?

Uli Jon Roth: "We are a playing a week with The Scorpions in England. Then we are doing some days in Greece, a beautiful audience there. I can relate to Greek philosophers. I have a deep connection with that. Then we go to Japan. Thirty years ago we recorded 'Tokyo Tapes' in Japan and we are actually playing the same hall, Sun Plaza Hall for two nights in a row. I am looking forward to that. It is a great sounding hall. We are also playing the city of Hiroshima, which I am also looking forward too. Then we do some German dates and the Christmas season is upon us. We will have several Sky Academy’s next year. Next year we want to branch out. This year we did for the first time Phoenix, Arizona, that went well. We may do Sky Academy in several cities including Chicago. I enjoy the teaching and sometimes we even just do a one-day seminar and they seem to make a difference. I will go anywhere, all we need is an invitation."

Go to this location for Roth's complete tour schedule.