KAMELOT's official website caught up with singer Khan and guitarist Thomas Youngblood just before their second gig from the Ghost Opera US Tour 2008 for the following exclusive interview.

How are things going at the Kamelot camp?

Khan: "It's going great! Yesterday, October 9th we started off the tour in St. Petersburg here in Florida (we're actually in Ft. Lauderdale as this is being written... on the East coast). It was a great gig with that little extra "first show tension" and we're all excited about the month ahead."

So now you are touring the US with your Ghost Opera US Tour 2008. What can you tell us about this?

Thomas: "Some of the shows have local support and others will have EDGUY from Germany as special guests. This is our last US tour until the next album is released, probably in 2010, so we are really going to miss playing for the fans here. The fanbase in the states and Canada has grown so fast in the last 3-4 years and its really awesome to tour here. We hope to do a Canadian tour in 2009 by the way."

Where will you play?

Khan: "Tomorrow (October 11th) we will head all the way up the East coast and then go across the Mid West up to Seattle. From there we go down the West coast and turn east again from Los Angeles. The tour ends in Texas. See Tour section for details."

After this tour you will be resting until the second leg of the European Tour in March/April 2009, where you will be playing in some new cities. What could your fans expect?

Thomas: "After the US tour we start writing sessions in Norway, then we have some select European dates in March as well as our first UK Tour. It will mark our first time playing in Scotland and Ireland, which is going to be amazing. We are already getting tons of emails from fans there and we expect packed rooms for those gigs. We are planning big pyro shows for some of the venues in Europe that allow pyros, like Tilburg in The Netherlands and Pratteln in Switzerland for example. The shows outside of the UK will include the band DELAIN from The Netherlands, very cool band and sound. Check out their Myspace site at MySpace page!"

We heard rumors that Kamelot will play a private concert in Dubai this year. Can you tell us about this?

Thomas: "I can't confirm or deny this at this moment. All I can say is we have been contacted by a promoter about Dubai. We'd love to play there and we have some serious fans in the UAE so nothing is impossible. Stay tuned!"

How was the experience of playing with IRON MAIDEN? Summer 2008 will be a period to remember also for your performance at the Wacken Open Air I assume.

Khan: "Man, we have played in front of thousands of fans before but Wacken was definitely the largest crowd at 70,000. Another highlight was of course playing the Iron Maiden gig in Assen, Holland. As kids both Thom and I were huge Maiden fans, like so many others. To see them still kicking total ass today was really awesome. The band and crew were very cool and we had a real blast on stage."

One question which fans are always asking is about your live equipment. You have great endorsements supporting Kamelot. Tell us about this and the way they help Kamelot live.

Thomas: "I recently hooked up with Digitech and will be trying out their new GSP1101 and maybe some of their other effects. Also Elixir strings are now one of our endorsers, these strings are really amazing. They last 3-4 times longer than normal strings, and they sound great. ESP Guitars has been with Kamelot for several years now. We just got word from Warwick basses that Sean will be playing Warwick and running Warwick amps, killer stuff. I recently met Michel Lag Chavarria from Lag guitars, I am playing their acoustic guitars on tour. They have some amazing guitars and we hope to work together on something in the near future. We have some great companies that support us! Check our full endorsement list at Kamelot.com."

You are getting many fans each day. What do you think is the secret behind Kamelot?

Khan: "Our fan base is growing fast and I guess they could answer that question better. Personally I think the secret is that we simply love doing this... all parts of it. I also think and hope that our fans appreciate that we put everything we can into our art; be it time, money or passion. They have come to expect a certain standard, and our goal is to go beyond those expectations... every time. That's a good aim to keep it interesting to ourselves anyway."

Don't you ever get tired of all the touring and being away from home?

Thomas: "It has it's pros and cons. You have to remember that this is something we love doing. At the same time it is of course a dilemma that we have to be away from home, family and friends in long periods. We feel very fortunate to be able to live this dream, but everyone around us understands that this is our job too."

Your final words for the Kamelotians...

Thomas: "Many thanks for your support and we hope to see all of you at the upcoming concerts!""

Khan: Thanx for all love and support! See you out there somewhere soon!"