ULI JON ROTH On SKY ACADEMY: 'The Most Important Thing Is To Make It Inspirational'

Legendary guitarist Uli Jon Roth (SCORPIONS, ELECTRIC SUN) recently spoke to Classic Rock Revisited about his upcoming Sky Academy concerts. Set to take place August 22-26 at Musician's Institute in Los Angeles, the concept of Sky Academy was conceived by Uli. He wanted a medium to teach his own unique approach to musicians wanting to take their playing to that next level.

Uli will perform two concerts, titled "Uli Jon Roth and Friends", in conjunction with his Sky Academy Seminar (note: tickets can be purchased separately for the concerts). Uli will play lots of SCORPIONS and playing tribute to many classic bands, such as CREAM, JIMI HENDRIX, THE DOORS, and others.

Roth stated, "I had the idea for this a few years back, but last year we made it a reality for the first time. They [the students] are all very dedicated and really take it seriously, but at the same time we're having lots of fun."

Roth is pleased with the Sky Academy's progress. Last year marked the inaugural year for the event and if things keep going strong this could be a yearly event for some time to come. "Obviously I was hoping it would work out alright; I was confident, but at the same time you never know what happens at a new kind of event," he said. "Last year's shows lasted for four hours or so, but we had a great time. We have lots of very special guests on stage this year again, and the shows are going to be divided up into three separate sets — like at a mini-festival. Both nights are going to be different from one another, because some of the guests will only appear on one of the shows. The most important thing is to make it inspirational. There are quite a few outstanding players on that stage and they will musically interact with one another — I venture to predict that sparks will fly."