DEF LEPPARD's VIVIAN CAMPBELL: 'There's A Very Strong Chance We'll Start On A New Record Next Year'

DEF LEPPARD guitarist Vivian Campbell was recently interviewed by Todd "Crash" Davis of the 101.9 The Keg radio station in Nebraska. You can now listen to the chat using the SoundCloud widget below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On whether DEF LEPPARD has started work on the follow-up to 2015's self-titled album:

Vivian: "Well, you know, individually, we're always writing songs. So I know that if we decided next week to go into the studio, we would have plenty of ideas to get started on. We haven't officially discussed it yet, but I would imagine, this year, 2018, is a very, very, very heavy touring schedule for the band. We're doing 60-plus shows with JOURNEY in North America. Then we're going [to] Hawaii, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and England, and we finish in the U.K. on December 18th. So I don't think we'll probably tour quite as heavily in 2019. So there's a very strong chance we'll probably get into the studio and at least start on a new record next year."

On DEF LEPPARD's approach to making new music:

Vivian: "We always try and do it the best that we can. The landscape has changed, and the music industry has changed, and how people consume music, how they acquire it and how they buy it and how they listen to it, all that is very, very different than what it was back in the '80s and '90s. But what hasn't changed with DEF LEPPARD is we'll always try and make the best record we can, we'll always try and write the best song that we can. So that work ethic is not gonna change in DEF LEPPARD."

On whether pursuing side projects helps keep DEF LEPPARD "fresh" for him and his bandmates:

Vivian: "It absolutely [does] for me. I think there's a few things that keep bands vital. For DEF LEPPARD, one of those things is that we continue to occasionally make new albums. It's been a couple of years; I think we'll do another one. But we still do that, even though some people say, 'Why do you even bother? People just wanna hear your hits. You do very good business by just going out and playing your hit songs.' But it's important for the lifeblood of DEF LEPPARD as a band that we continue to be a creative unit. It's also important for me as a guitar player that I really exercise that muscle, and I do that with LAST IN LINE. It's a different kind of challenge to DEF LEPPARD shows, and I'm sure Joe [Elliott, vocals] and Phil [Collen, guitar] feel the same way when they work with their side projects. I mean, Phil just did the 'G3' festival with Joe Satriani earlier this year — he was out for about three months. And I went to see the show in L.A., and Phil's playing guitar much, much better than ever; it's really made him an even better guitar player and really upped his game. And I'd like to think that the same is true when I go out and do shows with LAST IN LINE. When I come back to DEF LEPPARD, I have a renewed vigor with which I approach that work."

DEF LEPPARD and JOURNEY's 58-city tour will kick off on May 21 in Hartford, Connecticut and run through October 6 in Los Angeles.