SCORPIONS Guitarist Thinks ROCK HALL Induction 'Would Be Well Deserved'

Thomas S. Orwat, Jr. of RockMusicStar.com last week conducted an interview with SCORPIONS guitarist Matthias Jabs. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

RockMusicStar.com: Your new CD, "Sting in the Tail", had a very success first week in sales. It debut #1 in Germany and Greece, #2 in Korea, #3 in Czech Republica, #6 in Russia, and Finland. Plus you had your highest-charting position in twenty years in the USA at #23. How gratifying is this to you?

Matthias Jabs: It feels fantastic! At this point in our career, we really couldn't expect anything like that. It is especially rewarding here. We landed here yesterday, coming in from Germany, and the first thing I read is that we are #1 on the classic rock charts. We haven't had those experiences in the last ten years. We had successful albums all over the world, but not the high chart positions. It's amazing if you really think about it.

RockMusicStar.com: Well, it's an amazing CD, so it's well deserved. Was there any time during the recording of the CD in which you thought, "Hey this CD is really special?"

Matthias Jabs: Yes, it felt good overall. The way we recorded this CD was a little different. We started in May of last year; we got together with the producer team of Mikael "Nord" Andersson and Martin Hansen in Sweden. We had some songs from recent albums that we didn't use and we rearranged them and wrote a few new ones. And then we went on tour in the summer and came back in August and really started working on the songs, and then we played a few shows again and then went back into the studio, sometimes in Sweden, sometimes in our place. Because of this, it always felt fresh. We would work for a week or ten days then take two weeks off from recording and play a few shows. When we finished with all the songs, we invited people from management and from our record company to listen to the rough mixes. After, we heard the whole thing, we went, "Wow!" And management said that we should consider calling this our last album, because it's really a great one. This followed by a world tour that usually will last 2 ½ years because we play everywhere. They said this will be a great way to end your career on a high note. So we thought about it, but not for too long. We decided that it was a good idea and made the announcement in January that this would be the last CD and tour for the SCORPIONS.

RockMusicStar.com: As far as this being the bands last CD and tour, where you at all reluctant to agree to this, because you're a bit younger than Klaus [Meine] and Rudolf [Schenker]? You still could easily do this for another 10-15 years.

Matthias Jabs: No, not reluctant. It makes total sense, this whole thing. But if I didn't agree, it wouldn't have made a difference, I guess. (laughs) I can't change their age. Because I'm younger, I would have never come up with that thought. But ask Klaus and Rudolf, they would have never thought of it either, we would have just continued forever. But it took someone from the outside with a different perspective to tell us that we can't go on like this. What convinced us was that we want to be remembered as a great live band that's full of energy and healthy and fit. That's how we want to be remembered by the fans. Not growing old in the spotlight and limping around on stage. Blues musicians can sit in their chairs like B.B. King and play until they are 80. I'm sure that I will always make music, but what comes next, I don't even want to think of for the moment. I'd rather concentrate on the upcoming tour and enjoy it. What comes after? We will probably still have a lot to do together. But, we will not do what we have done that last 35-40 years and that's do a CD and go on tour. We want to break out of this cycle.

RockMusicStar.com: Do you think the SCORPIONS will be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame anytime soon? A lot of your fans think you deserve to be. Is it something that you care about?

Matthias Jabs: I think it would be a very big deal. My feeling is that they will approach us. They are having an '80s exhibition there and they asked us for some memorabilia and instruments. We are doing Hollywood's RockWalk on Tuesday on Sunset Blvd. and a Guitar Center-related one where you put your hands in concrete. But I think the band being in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame would be well deserved. I think that it will probably happen.

RockMusicStar.com: Why didn't you use Desmond Child, the producer of your last CD, "Humanity - Hour 1", for "Sting In The Tail"?

Matthias Jabs: Desmond is known as being a hit-producing producer. We went with him three years ago in L.A. But he made us follow his concept too much. He put his producer stamp on the SCORPIONS too much. But I like the album; I liked what he had done. But the Swedish guys, Mikael "Nord" Andersson and Martin Hansen, were who we were originally going to record the last CD with, but decided to go with Desmond. But it was their turn now. They wanted to do what we wanted to do and not bend it out of shape. It was more like a unit, a band with seven people rather than a producer and a band.

RockMusicStar.com: Was it at all uncomfortable working with Desmond?

Matthias Jabs: No, not for me. I think it was more uncomfortable for our singer Klaus because Desmond is so particular about his lyrics. He liked me and my guitar playing and we didn't have any problems. I mostly recorded with James Michael anyways, our co-producer. But it was hard working with Desmond because lyrics are his main thing and the SCORPIONS are a guitar band. You have to pay attention to that and the results will be a lot better.

Read the entire interview at RockMusicStar.com.