MIKE TRAMP Blasts Singers Who Are 'Hacking Their Way Through Songs Because They Will Not Accept That They're Not 23 Anymore'

In a new interview with Dawn Osborne of TotalRock, former WHITE LION singer Mike Tramp, who turned 63 in January, addressed his need to adjust his singing to suit his now-lower voice. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I can't sit here and deny what I've done [in the studio during the WHITE LION years]. I mean, that's what we did back then. When I sang 'Wait', sometimes I think about, I mean, not just did I sing that high, I also went into the studio and sang the harmonies above myself.

"I don't have any form of vocal training," he explained. "I'm not a trained singer. I've struggled all my life with trying to just keep my vocals in shape and stuff like that. So I don't know, really, why it happened. I guess it just happened for that, but it was never my wish to end up there. And I am not the least embarrassed.

"These days, when you have to go through and you see all that bullshit on YouTube and all this… some of my fellow old competitor singers that are hacking their way through songs because they will not accept that they're not 23 anymore…

"When football players become too old, they become sports commentators," Tramp continued. "We accept when other people are not too old, but not fit for the gig anymore. It's biology. But rock and roll has been given carte blanche when it comes to age. And I can tell you one thing, regardless of me needing to pay for my living, and I live very, very, very simple, I am not be gonna go out like KISS, I'm not gonna go out like that, because those are my heroes and they have left me really, really disappointed in that's how you do it. And I'm not for reading Blackie Lawless saying, 'Well, it's all for the better of the show, so we play with tracks.' That's not why we got into rock and roll. Why is it that people cannot sort of grow a little into it?

"I have the highest respect for Robert Plant [LED ZEPPELIN] — highest than any other artist on the face of the earth.

"There are a few singers out there that still can almost sing the same — a few. And then there's the bands who find a younger singer who sounds like the original singer, but it really, really hurts me seeing Arnel Pineda sing for JOURNEY and thinking of Steve Perry. Steve Perrymade that voice. I mean, Arnel sings phenomenal, the guy is a phenomenal singer and it's enjoyable to watch, but I just wonder, how does Steve Perry feel at home? Or how does it feel to go out and be the singer who now is representing Lou Gramm in FOREIGNER, a band that doesn't have one original member.

"Shame on rock and roll," Mike added. "Shame on rock and roll. I don't understand it. And I feel I can sit and say that, regardless of me being out there [on the road] and calling it MIKE TRAMP'S WHITE LION, it's still my band, but I do it with, with the dignity. But I just think that there's too many cheap shots now in rock and roll, and it's only hurting us. It's not making us stronger when we're already struggling in a dying business."

Tramp will release "Songs Of White Lion - Vol. II" on August 23 via Frontiers Music Srl. The album's ten tracks once again see Tramp re-imagining select cuts from his former band WHITE LION.

Last year, Tramp was asked in an interview about the possibility of WHITE LION reforming for a tour. He said: "When we broke up in '91, we always knew we would never go back together. And a lot of people always talk about reunions. WHITE LION reuniting would not be a better WHITE LION than WHITE LION was, so I'm out there performing the songs, not trying to recreate WHITE LION."

Asked if he has ever thought of calling his solo band WHITE LION and touring with new members, Mike replied: "I can't call it WHITE LION." Pressed about whether he would call his band WHITE LION if he could, Mike said: "I tried, and it cost me money. [Laughs] I think that the audience now is understanding that I'm just keeping the songs alive, and I'm able to perform it in a different way. I'm able to show the image that I'm not coming out there and doing a show but I'm gonna take them through like a greatest hits. I like to tell stories about what the songs are. You can't always do that on a festival when you have one hour, but that is my goal, that I will keep the songs alive. And I think that all the fans and the music fans know who Mike Tramp is and it doesn't need to be called WHITE LION. But it's called 'Songs Of White Lion'."

Back in 2019, Tramp revealed in an interview that he had apologized to guitarist Vito Bratta for trying to resurrect his former band without his onetime songwriting partner and bandmate.

The Danish-born singer hasn't played with Bratta since WHITE LION performed its last concert in Boston in September 1991.

In the 33 years since WHITE LION broke up, Bratta's public profile has been virtually nonexistent, while Tramp has remained active, recording and touring as a solo artist and with the bands FREAK OF NATURE, THE ROCK 'N' ROLL CIRCUZ and, more recently, BAND OF BROTHERS. Tramp also attempted to revive WHITE LION with the 2008 album "Return Of The Pride", featuring new members. Two years later, Tramp ceded ownership of the name WHITE LION to Bratta in an out-of-court settlement.

Mainly active in the 1980s and early 1990s, WHITE LION released its debut album, "Fight To Survive", in 1985. The band had its breakthrough with the double-platinum-selling "Pride" album, which produced two Top 10 hits: "Wait" and "When The Children Cry". The band continued its success with the third album, "Big Game", which achieved gold status.

By the time WHITE LION released its final album, 1991's "Mane Attraction", alternative rock was in the ascendancy, leading to a swift decline of the so-called "hair metal" scene in terms of sales, popularity, radio play, and most importantly, relevance.

Mike released "Songs Of White Lion", in April 2023 via Frontiers Music Srl.