Yngwie Malmsteen Tells Brazilian Audience “God Bless America And **** You All”...

KNAC ^ | Thursday, October 04, 2001 11:36 AM | Frank Meyer

[MassExodus]

Great minds ...

[tiki]

It's stuff like this that makes me want to become isolationist. Shut down the borders, no immigration, strict tourist visas, no foriegn students, no foreign aid.

[liliana]

i think the second version fits best. at least thats's how this dane would pronounce it.

[Notforprophet]

Uh, the quote "I don't give a f..." was from Derek Sherinian, not Yngwie. But both of them are awesome!

[Jim Pelosi]

I haven't bought any of his albums in years, but my favorite was always "Marching Out". Lots of REALLY cool stuff. Sounds awsome with a good set of headphones while laying in bed in the dark. :) JIM

[Stultis]

bookmark

[a_federalist]

Add me to the list.

[PRND21]

Mr. Malm plays guitar one million miles an hour.
And is mostly unlistenable.

[danneskjold]

i think the second version fits best. at least thats's how this dane would pronounce it.

Sounds good to me. Thanks.

[Dakmar]

Ooops, my fault.

[No.6]

bttt

[freedomcrusader]

perhaps the poor Brazilian people need $300 million of our taxpayer money in humanitarian aid

Are you kidding me? They're probably getting at least that much already. They're probably bucking for an even $1 billion.

[lds23]

Now THAT'S Rock and Roll! Yoko go home.

[ohioman]

From one old metalhead who was not a huge fan of Yngwie (pronounced "Ingvay" for you non-metalheads), he has new fan here in OHIO!!! :)

[Lewite]

Those people hate us because they know they can never be like us. The Alabama National Guard could wipe out brazil with out breaking into a sweat. It would be MEN against boys. Piss on souse amarika!!!!

[My Favorite Headache]

I had dinner with Derek when he was in Dream Theater during their Falling Into Infinity tour. Funny as hell, ego is just part of the gig, don't take him so serious with it. He is hillarious.Thank God this story was posted here. Glad to see some balls comin out.

[Sabertooth]

MIA from your list: Robby Krieger. He's WAY underrated.

[bluefish]

I sent a little thank you note to the fan club director and and received an immediate reply:

Here was my note:
Subject: THANK YOU - New Customer and Fan

Appreciate the stand Yngwie took for the US in your recent concert in Brazil. I honestly admit that I had not heard of you before, but learned about this on a Conservative discussion forum, Free Republic.

You have a new fan. Without having heard your music even, I am now going to seek out and purchase a few of your CDs!

Thanks Again!
bluefish

P.S. How does one pronounce "Yngwie"?

Here was the reply:
Thanks for your message to Yngwie!

I'll be calling Yngwie after he gets home on Saturday, and will get his complete opinion about the entire incident.

He believes the people attending the concert misunderstood him. For many years now, Yngwie has been emulating Jimi Hendrix's Woodstock performance of the USA National Anthem theme into his extended solo, with no bad response from his audiences. It never occurred to him that anything different would happen at the show in Porto Alegre (no problems in any of the other South American shows before it). But I do fault the South American promoter for not warning him that some states in Brazil are strongly anti-U.S., and that it could be a bad decision to play the anthem onstage.

As for repeating the anthem after the boos, if you know Yngwie at all, you will realize that he could not let that go unanswered, even though he did not fully understand the political climate of Porto Alegre and why the shouts of "Bin Laden" and "Osama" were being yelled at him. After all, he has lived in the U.S. longer than in Sweden, and his son is an American citizen born in the U.S. In hindsight, his words might not have been the most prudent thing to say, but it was a very predictable emotional response to an emotionally charged situation. His only intention is to play music, and the anthem theme has been part of his solo performance since he saw a video of Hendrix playing it at Woodstock - it was not a political issue for him until the audience started to boo at him and shout Bin Laden's name.

Fan Club Director

P.S. His name is pronounced "ING-vay". Here's his website: www.yngwie.org

[Dakmar]

Those people hate us because they know they can never be like us.

I used to think these people were backward and ignorant (uneducated) because they were poor. I now see they are poor because they are backward, ignorant, and probably none too bright to begin with.

[Rebelbase]

Re: Guitarist link. The first one on your list is Phil Keaggy. I participated in a guitar workshop with him last week. I am still reeling from watching him play. I have never seen anyone with such mastery over an instrument.

Usually when I see great players I am inspired to go home and practice & create. Not so with Phil. I wanted to go home and sell everything I have related to music...I mean whats the point!!!?

No I'm not quitting, its just that seeing him perform makes me feel like musically i've been riding along in a 10th century ox cart for the past 20 years while he is cruising the universe at warp 10+.