YNGWIE MALMSTEEN: 'I'm Definitely A Dictator; It's Just The Way I Am With Music'

Pat Prince of Powerline A.D. recently conducted an interview with legendary Swedish guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Powerline A.D.: Do you ever compare yourself — competitively — with some of the other contemporary guitarists out there?

Yngwie: Never. And it's not because I'm arrogant. … It's just that I wouldn't go out and buy a record and listen to it. If I'm working on an album, I listen to that. The last thing I do is think about what other people do because I am so occupied with what I do. When I was a little kid I had my heroes that I listened to, and my biggest heroes are Bach, Vivaldi, and Paganini, but I don't even listen to that anymore.

Powerline A.D.: Well, you certainly had guitarists that influenced you, like Hendrix…

Yngwie: No. That's not true.

Powerline A.D.: No? I had read that you saw Hendrix on television when you were a kid and that's what got you interested in guitar.

Yngwie: Yes, I was seven years old and I saw him on television. On the day he died they showed a video of him lighting his guitar on fire, and that made me want to start playing guitar. I didn't hear any music. It was just a visual. That was the impact that made me want to play, but musically if you listen to my stuff, there's no Hendrix in there. Maybe, maybe, some of the ballad stuff.

Powerline A.D.: Never influenced by European guitarists like Schenker or Uli Roth?

Yngwie: When I was a little kid, really little, like seven to ten, it was Ritchie Blackmore. And there was no one else. And then after that, I stopped listening to guitar players all together.

Powerline A.D.: Back in the '80s, when you first came to America to join STEELER, there was quite a buzz about you. It reminded me about what I used to read about Clapton in the '60s, when they used to spray paint "Clapton is God" across London. How have you dealt with such high expectations over the years?

Yngwie: I learned really early on that whether it's praise or criticism, you have to take everything with a grain of salt. The one thing I know is that I'm my own worst critic anyway. No one criticizes me as hard as I do. I'm very picky and to this day, a perfectionist. And, of course, it's great that people dig what you do. All the praise is very nice and rewarding.

Powerline A.D.: What do you think of the term "shredder?"

Yngwie: Well, you can shred cheese, you can shred carrots, you can shred a lot of things, and I suppose I shred notes. I guess it's just a word because when I first came to the States many years ago as a teenager, people would come up to me and say, "Hey, dude. You shred, dude." I didn't know what they were talking about at first but then, of course, I came to understand it. I don't mind it. It's all good.

Powerline A.D.: Since being in the '80s bands STEELER and ALCATRAZZ, have you been asked to join any other established bands?

Yngwie: There have been some people that approached me but I had been in bands since I was ten years old in Sweden and I was always the leader. I was always the writer, the lead guitar player, the lead singer… I was always the guy, so when I came to America I knew I had to take the route and go through some bands til I became the leader again. When all of that was finished, I started off where I left off in Sweden, basically, with RISING FORCE. I've always made sure that I end up in a position where I have control, because to be happy in a sort of democracy, that doesn't work for me. I'm definitely a dictator. It's just the way I am with music. I guess I'm the same way a painter would be, except I'm doing this in a rock and roll fashion. A lot of people, you know, just don't understand and sometimes I give up trying to explain it.

Powerline A.D.: But, say, someone like Axl Rose came up to you and asked you to join GUNS N' ROSES — a real once-in-a-lifetime opportunity — would you do it?

Yngwie: Probably not. But as a guest spot, I'm always open to that. I'm always flexible to do that. When I do play on other people's records, I'm theirs to command. I will do exactly what they want. That's just being a professional. And I've done that quite a lot. But as a permanent thing, probably not. But, who knows. You never know.

Powerline A.D.: What do you prefer: life on the road and playing live, or creating music in the studio?

Yngwie: Well, they're very very different things. I love playing live and the sound, when you're in a good hall, with the band just cranking it, it's just amazing. I try to get that sound in the studio. A lot of people try to recreate their albums on stage. I try to do it the other way around... that live feeling in the studio. But the studio is also a laboratory where you can be a crazy scientist forever, and change things around. Live, it's like a battlezone, like being dropped right in the warzone for battle. I really love both of it. It's a great contrast. Doing the same thing in such different environments is cool.

Read the entire interview from Powerline A.D.

Fan-filmed video footage of Yngwie Malmsteen's October 26, 2008 concert at the Blender Theater in New York City can be viewed below (clip uploaded by "dreinlieb").