Peter Hartlaub and the San Francisco Chronicle recently caught up with WINGER frontman Kip Winger to discuss his work composing classical music and his new project, Ghosts:

Ghosts Resurrects Kip Winger's Career

"When the grunge thing hit," Kip Winger explains, "it was like all the 1980s bands were gone. Overnight."

It's a well-referenced piece of musical history. Nirvana's 1991 album Nevermind sold 10 million copies, and Winger the band became an oft-used punch line. That brutal ending was also the beginning for the artist, who is about to execute one of the all-time improbable musical resurrections. Winger, who spent much of the past 17 years studying classical music composition, on Tuesday will premiere his first symphonic piece with the San Francisco Ballet. He wrote the music for Ghosts, featuring choreography by Christopher Wheeldon.

"The universe does amazing things," Winger says. "It took me down on one side, and on the other side it gave me the opportunity to go back and do what I really wanted to do, which was move to Santa Fe, N.M., put up a studio and basically relearn how to write music."

It's a surreal thought to anyone who remembers Winger for his pretty looks and appearance in glitzy music videos, including "Seventeen" and "Headed for a Heartbreak." But it makes perfect sense to Winger, who fell in love with ballet as a 16-year-old in New York.

"A girlfriend of mine wanted to do it and none of her girlfriends would take (classes) with her. I was, like, 'I'll go,' " Winger remembers. "I took to it like a duck to water, it was just really cool. ... Then I got a taste for Baroque music and studied classical guitar, and quickly went on to composition. I didn't want to be a player. I was more into writing the music."

Go to this location for the complete story.

Winger recently updated their European tour schedule with shows in Norway and Germany, and a gig in Nottingham added to their UK run (**). Their schedule is now as follows:

March

19 - Leknes, Norway - Lekneshallen (Lofothallen) **
20 - Oslo, Norway - Rock The Boat **
22 - Bristol, England - O2 Academy 2
23 - Portsmouth, England - Wedgewood Rooms
24 - Manchester, England - Academy 3
26 - Dudley, England - JB’s
27 - Belfast, Ireland - Spring & Airbrake
28 - Glasgow, Scotland - Cathouse
30 - Newcastle, England - O2 Academy2
31 - Leeds, England - Rio’s

April

2 - Sheffield, England - Corporation
3 - Nottingham, UK - Nottingham Rock City **
4 - London, England - Islington O2 Academy
6 - Bochum, Germany - Matrix **
7 - Berlin, Germany - Columbia Club **
8 - Munich, Germany - Backstage **
10 - Aschaffenburg, Germany - ColosSaal **

Go to this location for additional details and ticket information.