In a new interview for Metal-Rules.com, Marko Syrjälä recently spoke with American singer, bassist and songwriter, Mark Boals.

Boals first gained worldwide recognition in the mid-1980s when he joined Yngwie Malmsteen’s Rising Force. After leaving Rising Force, Boals embarked on a solo career, collaborating with various other artists and bands. He has also worked with artists such as Royal Hunt, Billionaires Boys Club, Uli Jon Roth, Savoy Brown and Ted Nugent. He is currently an active member of Shining Black, Red Ravyn, and Ring Of Fire.

In the new interview, conducted in Helsinki, Finland, Boals discusses his life and career so far. An few excerpts from the chat below...

On joining Yngwie's band in 1985: "They heard a demo tape that I had been working on, and I went down to audition. And I had to sing Deep Purple songs because 'he was never influenced by Richie Blackmore,' but he loves Deep Purple songs. And so our first gig was Oakland stadium, Day On The Green, and it was two weeks away. And we rehearsed for two weeks, but we never played his songs, only Deep Purple songs. So if we had played Deep Purple songs, it would have been perfect, but we played his songs, which I didn’t know. So I had to make up stuff."

On why he quit the band in late 1986: "Well, it was actually in late ’86 when I left the first time because, well, the management had stolen all the money, all the money. And Yngwie got a little bit of it, but not much."

On reconnecting with Malmsteen in 1996: "He called me up, and he was so nice, and everything seemed fine, and I went down to Florida and hung out with him for a while. We had a great time. But he was still the same kind of guy. He’s never changed. We had a lot of good times together, though, even throughout all his tantrums and things. In between the tantrums was good fun."

Read the complete interview at Metal-Rules.com.