I have witnessed the many incarnations of Michael Schenker — from UFO to MSG to McAuley-Schenker and most recently at the House of Blues in Hollywood, Temple of Rock. In each instance, I marveled at his touch as a guitarist, but in Hollywood, his passion for being on stage and playing broke through like no other.
It may be that Schenker, as he assured me during a recent chat, is in a good place right now — personally and professionally. The first Temple of Rock album featured old comrades in arms — Herman Rarebell, drummer for the Scorpions during their most successful years, and original UFO bassist, the legendary Pete Way. Unfortunately, Way’s health issues beset any further plans for touring or recording, so former Scorpions bassist Francis Buchholz was brought in to record a second album, Bridge The Gap.
Whereas the first Temple of Rock album had three vocalists — Robin McAuley, Michael Voss, and Doogie White — Bridge The Gap only has White. Schenker praises the singer, calling him a poet. In Hollywood, as well as in other cities for the past month, he wanted to introduce White, who sang briefly with Rainbow in the 90s, to American audiences. The band for this short jaunt included guitarist and keyboardist Wayne Findlay, Pete Holmes on drums and Rev Jones on bass. Rarebell and Buchholz are on tap to take over the rhythm section in March 2014, beginning with dates in Japan.
It sometimes gets difficult to follow Schenker’s ever-changing alliances, yet he sees longevity with the current incarnation of Temple of Rock. The show at the House of Blues opened with the first two numbers from Bridge The Gap — “Neptune Rising” and “Where The Wind Blows.” After that, it was the best of the best, including MSG classics “Armed And Ready” and “Into The Arena,” Scorpions’ “Lovedrive,” and seven UFO goldies like “Shoot Shoot,” “Rock Bottom” and the encore, “Doctor Doctor.” The whole band ripped through one number after the next, White doing an admirable job as a finger-pointing frontman. His Scottish demeanor endeared him to the Hollywood crowd, and by the night’s end, he’d clearly won them over.
As for Schenker, he was masterful all evening, assuming the crouch position, his head down, but more often up and mouthing the words; the headstock of his Dean Flying V jabbing the airways as a tinkling of phosphorous guitar notes came tumbling out in harmonic doses. It seems like he’s only getting better with age. Just two days before, Schenker spoke to me by phone and filled me in all the details, including how he makes that guitar sing. I listened anxiously and share what transpired below.
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