YNGWIE MALMSTEEN On Being Sober: 'It's Like I Breathe And Love And Live'

October 14, 2008

Charlie Steffens of KNAC.COM recently conducted an interview with legendary Swedish guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen. An excerpt from the chat follows below.

KNAC.COM: You've had a couple of adjustments in your lifestyle over the last few years. Are you still abstaining from booze and smoke?

Malmsteen: Oh, clean as a whistle, man. In four years I've not touched anything — no, four and a half, almost. Trust me, man, I don't wanna sound like I'm preaching or nothing, but man, oh man, it's like, "Take the veil off my eyes, brotha!" I can't even tell ya. It's like I breathe and love and live. It's just no comparison. It's just really, really a great thing and you know, everybody's got to do what they got to do. When I stopped smoking I promised myself I wouldn't start bitching to people who smoke cigarettes. So I don't. I don't smoke, and if you smoke I don't care. I don't drink, but if you drink that's fine with me, too. But I don't. And I feel so much better for it.

KNAC.COM: Yeah, you never want to get up on some tower and talk down to somebody or preach.

Malmsteen: No! The funny thing is — I gotta tell ya — I never had so much fun and so much enjoyment out of everything I do as I do now. I'm having the best time of my life, so for whatever it's worth — let me tell you — it was a good move for me (laughs).

KNAC.COM: Were the first couple of days, weeks, months a hard adjustment?

Malmsteen: Of course! I'm thinking the first year, even. But once you're over that, man, then it's all beautiful. I mean really. I'm not just saying that. Just the whole thing of getting up in the morning — I love the sunshine, I love the palm trees. I'm that kind of guy. I like to drive around with the top down and just enjoy life. I never did that before, so it's a beautiful thing. You get so focused on everything you do, as far as the recording and the writing and all that shit. It's like totally razor, pinpoint, very, very organized and on, you know? To me that's extreme enjoyment, really, to be really together, instead of being confused and wondering what the hell's going on (laughs).

Read the entire interview at KNAC.COM.

Find more on

Prev More News Next

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).