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Uli Jon Roth is headed back on the road this spring with his Pictures of Destiny tour.  We had the opportunity to do a Zoom call with Uli to discuss his upcoming tour, advice to young musicians and his memories of Cleveland.  He will be playing The Mercury Music Lounge on April 21. 

 

GD: Your new tour, “Pictures of Destiny,” seems to blend your music with strong visual and philosophical elements. What inspired the concept, and how does it reflect where you are artistically today?

 

UJR: Well, I love oil painting. I paint large canvases of allegorical subjects.  Flying horses, winged creatures, anything that you don’t see on this planet. Some people may call it fantasy or whatever.  I used to paint in the late ‘80s but I had to give it up because of the solvents. I had strong stomach pains so I had to give it up. In recent times, I found that they have paints and solvents that don’t do that anymore.  I was bitten by the bug and I exploded in my art studio and I cranked out one after the other. These paintings are based on my lyrics or the music. So I thought, why not bring the whole thing together?  

 

This Pictures of Destiny concept is the first half of the show. The show comes in two parts. It’s an unusual concept because the two parts are completely different from one another. The first half is a lot of my new music, which is symphonic rock. After intermission, it couldn’t be more different. We are going back fifty years and doing a celebration of In Trance and fifty years of Virgin Killer, which were two of my most important albums when I was with the Scorpions.  So we’re doing a best of with the band. 

 

GD:  I’ve read that it’s a seated show so everyone can be immersed with what you are doing on stage.

 

ULR:  For the first half, I want total immersion where you can sit back and drift off like you are at an IMAX cinema. I like to take people on a trip of sorts. When you are standing for three hours, that’s maybe not such a good idea. Although, I am standing for three hours and I’m seventy years old! 

 

GD:  People forget that you are actually performing up there for three hours and we have the luxury to have a seat. 

 

ULR:  And more!  Our last shows we had a one hour pre-show and that brought it to four hours.  Then  you have a meet and greet and a VIP event.  I was on my toes for five hours usually every day.
 

GD:  You’ve always been known for fusing rock, classical, and spiritual influences. How does “Pictures of Destiny” continue or evolve that fusion?

 

UJR:  The Pictures Of Destiny is something that comes out of my own personal philosophy so to speak.  I’ve written a book during COVID.  It’s a huge tome of 600 pages, it’s called In Search of the Alpha Law.  It’s full of philosophical musing of how I see the world for myself. The music very much ties in with that. Every song has a meaning or a little bit of a message. I’ve done a new version of one of my old pieces, “Sails of Charon.” I’ve done an orchestra version which is now 15 minutes. I’m trying to present a 360 degree picture of sorts.  

 

GD:  You mentioned that the second half of your show is mainly Scorpions songs from your era.  When you go back to your era, do you approach the songs differently or do you maintain the way that they were recorded?

 

UJR:  Certainly all the important bits are there. We play them in the same key and we are using the same lyrics, the same melodies, the same harmonies.  Maybe the actual performance is a little bit more sophisticated than it used to be.  Back then, there were some that we never performed live. I always push the envelope because we never play them exactly identically twice.  There is always room to breathe new life into it. We are taking chances and improvising certain parts. We always used to do that in The Scorpions but they don’t do that anymore.  At least when I was there, we used to do that a lot.

GD:  The Sky Guitar has become synonymous with your sound. How has that instrument evolved over the years, and how does it allow you to express the way you want to express music rather than another guitar?

 

UJR:  The Sky guitar for me was a natural evolution from the original, and my favorite guitar, the Fender Stratocaster. It was the perfect instrument, still is.  The Sky guitar was never supposed to compete with it.  I wanted a guitar that could play to a higher register. That was the limitation that I didn’t like with traditional electric guitars. I came up with a shape that allows for a lot of extra frets.  The first one was built in 1983 and I predominantly almost exclusively have been playing Sky guitar. With their tonal range and the spectrum of sounds that I can get, they enable me to play violin concertos like Vivaldi's “Four Seasons” or the Mendelssohn Concerto, or Bach pieces at their original pitch. If I were to play Vivaldi on a regular Strat, I would have to play it in the wrong octave and the entire structure of the piece falls apart. Over the years, Sky Guitars developed a lot.  The sound system and the pick-ups became very sophisticated and very powerful.  Probably the strongest and most sophisticated in the world. It’s a mean machine, you can do anything with this guitar and I do! 
 

GD:  You’ve mentored and inspired countless guitarists. What advice would you give to young players trying to find their own unique voice in today’s music world?

 

UJR:  Maybe don’t listen too much to other players. Get your chops in order but don’t put too much emphasis on it. There’s a lot of talent out there, however I find the journey at the moment is a little bit too much in pursuit of technical brilliance.  The personal sound and personal touch and expression is wanting.  Too many players start sounding like typewriters. For a young player that wants to be different and stand out, do the opposite. Don’t play all the fast notes, play the notes that go straight to the heart and not too many. I’ve done that in the past, and still do sometimes but the older I get, the more I aim for the most meaningful notes. It doesn’t matter how fast you (talk), it’s what you actually say. It’s empty hogwash, I like that word. Poppycock. 

 

So for the young player, do it differently from everybody else. Go for your own voice and do learn the craft. You should know music, not just the scales and arpeggios.  Understand the harmonies, understand the rhythms. Understand music from deep within and connect with it on the deepest level you possibly can. Then get inspired and then the rest will come! 

 

GD:  That’s great advice!  Thank you very much for that! So your going to be coming to Cleveland.  Do you have any memories of playing in Cleveland throughout your career?

 

UJR:  Yeah!  Cleveland has always been good to me. We’ve been invited to come to the museum (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame) several times. They were always very friendly there and showed us around. We used to play at The Agora, unfortunately it is no more. Certainly I love the audience in Cleveland and we always had a good rapport. 

 

GD:  The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is expanding.  They are putting a whole new addition on. 

 

UJR:  Really?  Physically?

 

GD:  Yes, it’s like another 50,000 square feet. It’s going to be huge. 

 

UJR:  That’s a lot! We always used to park our bus there. If we were on tour and we had an off day, the tour manager would say, “where are we going to park the bus?”  The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was always good to us, so we were able to park in the middle of Cleveland. 

 

GD:  You are going to be playing The Mercury Lounge, and hopefully we will pack the place for you, what do you want fans to take away from this Pictures of Destiny experience?

 

UJR:  I really like to take people on a trip, on a journey away from their every day. It’s like seeing a movie that really touches you. Ours is not that different but with us, the audience can interconnect. The presence of the audience makes a huge difference because we are all one in this. You play differently when there is nobody in the hall because there is so much psychic energy between all of us. I feel that we are really connected. Let’s go on this trip together and for that time, I am the captain of that ship. 

 

GD:  You can captain this boat anytime you like, Uli.  We love having you here. I wish you safe travels and I look forward to seeing you here in Cleveland. 

 

UJR:  Great!  Thank you! 

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You can watch the entire Zoom interview below! 

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