Guitar International recently conducted an interview with former HANOI ROCKS singer MICHAEL MONROE. In the interview Monroe talks about his new solo album Sensory Overdrive, due out in the US and Canada on August 23rd via Spinefarm/Universal, and upcoming tour plans. Excerpts from the interview are below:

Guitar International: Tell us about the songwriting process for the band. How does a song get started and how does it evolve? Does each member contribute to the writing?

Michael Monroe: “It was fun and interesting to see how it would all fold out for this record. Since this was a brand new situation, we were kinda feeling each other out to see who would write what, etc. So as it turned out, all five of us wrote some songs like ‘’78’ for example.

Some were written by everyone except Karl, one was by me, Sami and Ginger (‘Gone Baby Gone’) and one was just me and Ginger (‘All You Need’). ‘Debauchery As A Fine Art’ was written by me musically, plus I had pretty much written the verses, but Lemmy Kilmister (MOTÖRHEAD) and I wrote the lyrics for the chorus.”

Guitar International: When do you think you will be touring the states?

Michael Monroe: “We’ll be touring the States for about three weeks, starting this September 30th in Philadelphia and finishing on October 20th in LA at the Whiskey. We’re also working on coming back for more touring in 2012, hopefully joining forces with some other cool (and preferably big) Rock band. It would be nice to play to a bit bigger crowd at once every night. Following the US run, the band will head to Japan, Finland and the UK.”

Read the entire interview at this location.

In anticipation of the new album, the entire CD will be available for streaming on Monroe’s Facebook page right now till the 22nd.

Sensory Overdrive was produced by legendary producer Jack Douglas (AEROSMITH, JOHN LENNON, CHEAP TRICK). The CD also features guest performances from country star LUCINA WILLIAMS and MOTÖRHEAD frontman Lemmy. The first single and video from Sensory Overdrive is the track '78'. The clip can be viewed below:

In support of the CD, Michael will head out September 30th on a 16 date US and Canadian tour with his all star band featuring guitarists Steve Conte (NEW YORK DOLLS) and Dregen (HELLACOPTERS, BACKYARD BABIES), bassist Sami Yaffa (Hanoi Rocks, New York Dolls, JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS), and drummer Karl Rockfist (DANZIG).

Following the US run, the band will head to Japan for the V Rock festival to be followed by shows in Michael’s home country of Finland. The band will then end 2011 with a run of shows in the UK co-headlining with WEDNESDAY 13. Tour dates are as follows:

September

7 - Stockholm Sweden Debaser Medis,
9 - Naantali, Finland
10 - Radio Rock Cruise Finland
30 - Philadelphia, PA - Trocadero

October

1 - Baltimore, MD - Sonar
2 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
4 - Boston, MA - Great Scott
5 - Montreal, QC - Les Foufounes Electriques
6 - Toronto, ON - Mod Club Theater
7 - Cleveland, OH - Peabody’s
8 - Chicago, IL - Reggie’s Rock Club
9 - St Paul, MN - Station 4
10 - St Louis, MO - Fubar
12 - Denver, CO - Moe’s
15 - Seattle, WA - El Corazon
16 - Portland, OR - Dante’s
18 - Santa Clara, CA - Avalon Theater
19 - Santa Ana, CA - Galaxy Theatre
20 - Hollywood, CA - Whisky A Go Go
23 - Japan, V-rock Festival Saitama Super Arena

November

4 - Lahti, Finland - Finlandia Club
5 - Tavastia, Finland (2 Shows)
24 - Wolverhampton, UK - Wulfrun Hall
25 - Manchester, UK - Ritz
26 - Nottingham, UK - Rock City
27 - Glasgow, Scotland - Garage
28 - England, Newcastle, UK - Academy
29 - Leeds, UK - Academy

December

1 - Bristol, UK Academy
2 - London, UK - Electric Ballroom
3 - Prestatyn, Wales - HRH

The band will continue to do extensive touring in 2012 in support of Sensory Overdrive. For more information go to Michaelmonroe.com.