RICHIE KOTZEN

RICHIE KOTZEN - " I Have Kind Of Fulfilled My Ambitions"

RICHIE KOTZEN checked in with Hardrock Haven to talk about his new CD Into the Black; the sentiment behind one of the angriest and best songs you'll ever hear, called 'You Can't Save Me'; his weekend at NAMM; if he considers himself a better singer or guitarist; and a whole lot more. The following is an excerpt from the audio interview:

Hardrock Haven: I think the lyrical content of the CD ... I think you totally nailed it by calling the new CD Into the Black. The opening track, 'You Can't Save Me', it's so angry, so vehement, especially that part where you are singing, "Fuck your money, fuck your fame, fuck my life I walk away." It seems like you might have been a tad angry when you wrote it, and that perchance it was aimed at someone, or a specific group...

Kotzen: "No, no it's not really directed at anyone or anything, other than maybe the feeling of, well, I get this a lot. I guess it's a compliment, but it's a weird thing to say, the whole notion of, "God, you are really great. I really thought you'd be a lot more successful." And it's kind of a weird thing to say to someone ... it kind of undermines what you do. People don't know what you really think of yourself. People don't know where you are at and what you've done. Honestly, for myself, you always want to do more, and experience more. But at the end of the day, I'm really kind of happy with what I've done with my life as it relates to music. It's all I've ever really done, I never had a normal job or did anything other than play the guitar. When you talk about goals, from when I was a kid, my goal was to be a guitar player, and I wanted to be considered a good guitar player, whatever I thought that meant at the time. So I spent a lot of time with the instrument, and I wanted to be able to write my own music and I wanted to be able to survive off of it, and that's what I've done. So to some degree, I have kind of fulfilled my ambitions."

To hear the streaming interview in its entirety, go to this location.

(Thanks www.Melodicrock.com)