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INTRODUZIONE Doogie White vanta un passato davvero straordinario: oltre ad essere l'ultimo cantante ad aver inciso un disco con i Rainbow, prima della poco apprezzata sbornia celtica vissuta da Ritchie Blackmore, ha prestato i suoi servizi tra le fila dei Rising Force di Yngwie J. Malmsteen e dei Temple Of Rock di Michael Schenker, oltre che in band minori ma non meno valide quali Cornerstone e Tank. INTERVISTA: A&B: Ciao Doogie. Prima di tutto, ti ho visto sul palco con i Temple of Rock di Michael Schenker a Roma (qui la recensione del concerto, qui il photo report) e sono rimasto molto colpito. Come ci si sente a lavorare fianco a fianco con uno dei più grandi chitarristi al mondo? Doogie: Hello Gianluca. Con i Temple of Rock è come se fosse un viaggio magico, il più divertente, sia a livello personale, sia creativo, che abbia mai vissuto. Siamo tutti molto felici della nostra musica e di stare sullo stesso palco ogni sera. Tutti noi abbiamo un po' di esperienza nel mondo musicale e ne traiamo beneficio più di ogni altra cosa. Ogni spettacolo spingiamo sempre più avanti, sempre più duramente. Doogie: È curioso che tu abbia menzionato l'album "1987", visto che quelle canzoni sono state scritte nel biennio 84-86. Forse, all'epoca, David ha ascoltato i nostri demo e ha deciso che quello era il modo per sfondare negli Stati Uniti (risate). Doogie: Beh, questo album è stato fatto dopo l'esperienza con Yngwie e prima dei Temple Of Rock e alcune canzoni sono state scritte prima ancora di entrare nei Rainbow. Con il collega scozzese Paul Logue, degli Edens Curse, ho finito di scrivere l'album ma anche Mick Tucker dei Tank ha contribuito alla scrittura di alcuni brani. Quindi, nel complesso, è un album estremamente piacevole, messo insieme dal mio buon amico Pontus Norgren degli Hammerfall.
Doogie: Sinceramente? Non siamo riusciti ad ottenere un contratto discografico. Non eravamo abbastanza forti e, tieni presente che all'epoca, nel Regno Unito, c'era una concorrenza spietata. Molte band di allora, come i Thunder, i Quireboys, i Gun e altri, sono tuttora in giro. Doogie: Ne dubito ma chi lo sa. Abbiamo scelto il meglio di quei due demo per "Granite" ma forse, se faremo un "Best Of", potremmo aggiungere come bonus i brani non prescelti. Ma non incrociate le dita... Doogie: Abbiamo appena finito il nostro terzo album "Shut Up And Rawk", che uscirà ad aprile su Metal Mind Productions. Doogie: No, non sono stato consultato e, addirittura, mai nessuno me ne ha parlato. Ho saputo di quel disco durante un tour, per caso: un fan mi ha chiesto quale materiale bonus avrebbe contenuto. Naturalmente, non c'era alcun materiale bonus nel disco, né alcun mio assenso alla pubblicazione.
Doogie: Credo di sì. È stato un sogno per me cantare queste canzoni classiche, dei miei gruppi preferiti ed inciderne di nuove, scritte e registrate con il mio chitarrista preferito da quando avevo 15 anni. È stato un grande momento per me e sono eternamente grato a Ritchie per aver creduto in me. Naturalmente, ad un certo punto ha smesso di crederci. Doogie: No. Non ho più parlato con lui dopo l'ultimo spettacolo in Danimarca, nel '97. Mi ha tirato un paio di colpi bassi, parlando con la stampa, ma questo prova che mi ama effettivamente (risate). Doogie: Ho incontrato il suo avvocato a New York, lo scorso anno, e abbiamo chiacchierato di quello che la line up avrebbe potuto essere, anzi, della formazione che i fan avrebbero voluto vedere, per un paio di spettacoli, come veniva proposto. Ma Ritchie è un uomo con il suo modo di vedere e fare le cose e, naturalmente, ci ricaverà dei soldi. Spiego meglio quest'ultimo commento, anche per evitare che venga estrapolato dal contesto: ha messo in vendita i biglietti nel Regno Unito, facendo il tutto esaurito, prima ancora di annunciare la band. Del resto, è il suo nome, il suo show e la sua eccezionale musica, così spettacolare. Sono sicuro che sarà grande. Doogie: Avere un felice, sano e sicuro 2016.
________________________________________________ - ENGLISH VERSION - ________________________________________________A&B: Ciao Doogie. First of all, I saw you on stage with Michael Schenker's Temple of Rock (here the review of the concert in Rome and here the photo report) and I was impressed. What do you think about this experience with one of the greatest guitarist in the world? Doogie: Hello Gianluca. It has been a magical journey with Temple of Rock. Its more fun both personally and creatively than I have known before. I think that we are all very happy with the music and enjoying being on stage every night. A&B: Do you think you can work again with him, in the next future? Doogie: We have a short tour in the UK and Scandinavia and we are working editing a live DVD for release later this year. The next thing to do is to sit and write a new album. But we have a lot to do before that. A&B: What are the differences between the Schenker band and the Malmsteeen band? Doogie: Well, with Yngwie I was hired as a voice. I had nothing to do with the song writing, setlist or anything. It was what I signed up for and I was happy to do it. A&B: Listening "Granite" of La Paz (here the review), I caught many influences by Mr. Coverdale. Tracks like “Too Good To Lose”, “This Boy” e “Just For Today”, seem stolen directly from the secret archives of Whitesnake. “Lesson In Love” and “What Do You Say” pay homage to the period post "1987". Do you agree? Doogie: Funny you mention the album 87. Those songs you highlight were written in 84/86 so maybe David heard our demo tapes and decided that was the way to break Whitesnake in America (laughs). A&B: Your solo album "As Yet Untitled" is a great record (here the review). In this case, the influences are from Rainbow ("Dreams Lie Down and Die", "Land of the Deceiver") and Whitesnake again ("Come Taste the Band", "Secret Jesus"). However, you declared your love for Bon Scott on "Time Machine" e "Catz Got Yer Tongue". Is it correct? Doogie: Well that album was done after Yngwie and before Temple of Rock And some of the songs were written before I even joined Rainbow. A&B: In 2013, polish on-line magazine Rockella wrote: "The year 2013 is going to be a significant date for the hard rock genre for at least three reasons. The first one is the new Deep Purple album. The second one is the new Black Sabbath album. The third one is the new La Paz album". I agree. It is the perfect way to review that record: no other words needed to describe La Paz terrific music, I think. The album was well reviewed also in other countries? Doogie: Oh yes!! The La Paz album “The Dark and the Light” was well reviewed and liked worldwide. That was the first one “Granite” was a mixture of the best from our 80s live set and a couple of new ones. TDATL was the first with all new songs and Chic McSherry (guitar) wrote some brilliant stuff for us to work with. A&B: Why La Paz published just demos and not records during the eighties? Doogie: Truthfully? We could not get a record deal. We were not quite good enough then and the bar was high in the UK with competition from bands who are still around today. Thunder, Quireboys, Gun and the like. A&B: Is there a chance to publish, hoping in vinyl, maybe from Metal Mind Records, the two demos of the 80 ("Old Habits Die Hard" and "The Amy Tapes")? Doogie: I doubt it but who knows. We chose the best of the rest for “Granite”. But maybe if we do a “best of” we could add those in as a bonus. But don’t hold yer breath. A&B: Is La paz alive and well, at the moment? Doogie: We have just finished our 3rd album “Shut up and Rawk” which will be out in April on Metal Mind Productions. They have been good to us and this new album is our best work so far and in the top 5 albums I have ever done. Its that good. A&B: Two years ago, Back On Black Records published a Rainbow live album, entitled "Black Masquerade", recorded for german TV 'Rockpalast' on 09.10.1995 at Philipshalle Düsseldorf. Were you involved on it? Doogie: No, I was not consulted or even told about it. I found out while on tour from a fan who asked what the bonus stuff would be. Of course there was no bonus material on it. Nor was there any thought put into the release. It was simply a way to make some money. Nothing wrong with that but a little thought to the fans would have been nice. A&B: In your opinion, the tracklist of that show was a right balance between Deep Purple and Rainbow (old and new)? Doogie: I think so. It was a dream for me to sing these classic songs from my to favourite bands along side songs I had written and recorded with my favourite guitarist since I was 15. It was a great time for me and I am eternally grateful to Ritchie for believing in me. Of course he stopped believing. A&B: Among all the musicians who worked with Ritchie, just Bob Rondinelli and you spoke well about him (on the unauthorized biography "Black Knight Ritchie Blackmore", almost all musicians spoke about the guitarist in not so flattering terms except Bob Rondinelli, who spent good words, saying that he was lucky to meet him). Did you have any relationships with Ritchie after the '90? Doogie: No. I have not spoken to him since the last show in Denmark in 97. He does have the odd shot at me in the press but that just proves he still really loves me (laughs). I have no regrets. We had a lot of fun despite what he says now. A&B: Have you ever been in competition for the singer place of the new incarnation? Doogie: I met with his lawyer in NYC last year, we chatted about what the line up could be, who the fans would like to see if it was only for a few shows as was being proposed. But Ritchie is his own man and has his own way of doing things and of course he will get all the money. To qualify that last comment and so its not taken out of context, he did put the tickets on sale and sold out the UK show before he announce the band. So its his name, his show and his outstanding playing and showmanship that did that. I am sure it will be great. A&B: Latest words for italians fans Doogie: Have a Happy Healthy and Safe 2016
Official web site of Doogie White: http://www.doogiewhite.com/ Official web site of Michael Schenker's Temple of Rock: http://www.michaelschenkerhimself.com/home.php Official web site of La Paz: http://www.lapazrocks.com/ |