ULRICH JON ROTH - Wails In Wales Page 4
by Martin Popoff

How far back does your being able to read and transcribe classical level music go?

"I first started being in contact with classical music when I started learning the trumpet, and that was reading music, and then I learned classical guitar, and that was reading music. So I began to read music around the time of between 11 and 13 years old, I guess, which is very late. But ever since, I did use it to jot down ideas. And certainly in the days of the Scorpions, I was able to read and write what I played. For me, it's an invaluable help. In the early days, I didn't used to write down my leads, because I had a very good memory back then. But later on my memory started to get weaker, at least my long-term memory, and I started to write things down. I find it very helpful because I can learn something nowadays, just by looking at it in a flash."

Do you find a lot of people want to talk to you about Scorpions?

"It's a recurring question. It's normal because I haven't been around for so long, so a lot of the interviews I'm doing now, are kind of like first interviews. You know, people are catching up on the past. It's inevitable and I've got my standard answers but I do try to keep it alive (laughs) you know. Because there's only so much you can say about the same subject. But it's part of my past, and I'm proud of it, so I've got no problem with that, except for the album cover (laughs) (ed. we chatted about the notorious naked girl Ð and I do mean girl Ð cover art for the German issue of Virgin Killer). But that cover didn't come out in the States."

And oh yeah, in case you're wondering why Uli's English is so good, here's why: "I had the added advantage that my father started teaching me English when I was five years old. So by the time I made it to school, I was already pretty good at it."