Michael Schenker maintains a singular place in the annals of guitardom. Ground zero of his brother Rudolf’s Hanover legacy the Scorpions by virtue of his six strings on 1972 debut Lonesome Crow and 1979’s Lovedrive; nexus of NWOBHM-seeding UK hard rock heroes UFO (’74-’78, ’93-’95, 2000-2002); and mad axeman of the Michael Schenker Group, the West German fused enough speed and melody to help touch off legendary bands including Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, and Metallica. Even so, Schenker remains a singular instrumentalist more in line with genre transcendents like Santana and Slash.: “When I reached the end of my first step of development with [UFO’s] Strangers in the Night and Lovedrive, all of a sudden people said, ‘Michael Schenker is God,’” he says in a still heavy accent from a tour stop in Kalamazoo. “I didn’t know what to do. That’s when I decided to withdraw. I experienced fame and I was able to decide for myself if I wanted to continue in this money-making machine or if I wanted to carry on with my expression and experimental music, because I was overflowing with creativity.: “All sorts of stuff was going through my head, which didn’t go down well with Ozzy Osbourne, Aerosmith, Deep Purple – all these bands. They would have hated if I joined them.”: Concluding its U.S. tour in Austin, Michael Schenker Fest rounds up his key MSG vocalists: Gary Barden, Graham Bonnet, Robin McAuley, and Doogie White.: “It’s so effortless, because everybody wants to be there. And I believe if things happen that smoothly at that level, it’s something that’s meant to be,” enthuses Schenker, laughing. “Seeing it in one go, in one night – for the newcomer, for the hardcore fan, and for people like yourself who have never seen [me] – must be amazing.”
Sat., May 18, 7pm