“I love
Finland. I was there recently, a couple of weeks ago. I visited to some Finnish
friends who are helping me to put my future website together,“ KK says.
{mosimage}Let us know more
about Violent Storm project, where you recently got pretty involved.
We were on
tour in America,
with Judas Priest, and we had a couple of tours in Miami. We met Mick Cervino there.
Later I met him again in Barcelona.
We went there to see Yngwie Malmsteem´s show. He asked me to play a
couple of songs in his album. Nobody has offered me that before. I said
“maybe”, and when he sent me the record I thought it was pretty cool. So I
played the solo guitars guitar solos and then slowly I got more and more
involved
Did you
enjoy the experience?
Yeah, it was
very interesting to see the whole process. I was not there from the very
beginning, otherwise I could have had even more input. It was a lot of hard
work in the end but I think that for a first album, it sounds good.
They are
going to be touring pretty soon. Any chance you can appear as guest musician in
any gig?
I suppose
that at some point we are going to be on stage with them at a festival or big
concert, so anything can happen.
It would be nice
to see you on stage with them.
Yeah, maybe
they could even open for Judas Priest. You never know what is going to happen. I
think that they would work very well as a support band for Judas or for others
like Black Sabbath.
It was
recently confirmed that they will play at the Sauna Open Air festival next
summer in Tampere, where Black Sabbath guys will play as well.
I am looking
forward to seeing the band live. After delivering a good record, you have to be
able to show that you can deliver a good live show too.
Focusing on
Judas Priest, the launching of the new album about Nostradamus is coming
closer. Why this turn toward a conceptual album?
It is a very
good challenge for us. In Judas Priest, we have never been too afraid of
pushing the boundaries and trying new things. We always thought that if we can
bring a wider audience to metal, that's a good thing, because it makes this
kind of music stronger, and this is good for other bands as well. People
complain that heavy metal is boring, but it is funny that every year, the same
classic metal bands are the ones that have the biggest headlines in the festivals.
All in all, Judas Priest are very proud of what we have achieved, and not only
from our band, but also from other bands.
Do you have
any information about the releasing date of the album?
Not yet. For
the moment it is going exceptionally well. We are working very hard on it and
hopefully it will be released soon.
What is the
story behind your first guitar and Michael Schenker?
U.F.O. was playing on a Saturday night,
this was years and years ago, and I think that Michael saw the flying guitar
that I had, in a little shop window, and the shop was obviously closed because it
was at week end. He went back to London,
and came back to Birmingham
to buy the guitar, but I had bought the same guitar that morning on Monday. So
later when I saw him in Los Angeles,
he told me “That's the guitar that should have been mine!” I said: "too
bad, it's mine now!" That particular guitar… Gibson only made 117
worldwide in 1969, so they were quite rare.
So Michael
has kept reminding you about this every time you met later?
Yes, of
course, yeah. I said: "if I go to my grave first, Michael, I will leave it
to you in my will!"
You also
like collecting cars. If they offer you a choice between a nice guitar and a
nice car, what would you take?
The car! I
can play a cheap guitar, that's fine, but I would take the nice car!
Is true that
Julio Iglesias, the legendary Spanish singer, and Judas Priest
collaborated together once?
Yeah, it is
true. We were recording in Miami,
and Julio came to the studio where we were rehearsing. I think that we released
the song in the bonus track of the Remasters.
He was a
very nice guy indeed. One day a big truck arrived outside the studio, and then
a brand new Ferrari come out of the vehicle: a present for “Mr Iglesias”, sent
by the record company for selling so many records. He got in the car, drove around
the block, and said “too fast for me, I will give it to my son”. I said: "I
will take it, Julio, that's fine for me!"
I want to
see one day that I am in the studio and a truck comes with a Ferrari for me!
We work hard
for it.
You only
need to sell some more million albums, KK…