Rik Fox opines that Yngwie J. Malmsteen considers Steeler to be so far beneath him
Rik Fox opines that Yngwie J. Malmsteen considers Steeler to be so far beneath him
Steeler bassist Rik Fox was recently interviewed by Greece’s Rock Pages and asked about the Steeler partial reunion that took place at KeelFest in Columbus, Ohio, USA back on May 10, 2019.
The partial Steeler reunion consisted of alumni Ron Keel (lead vocals), Rik Fox (bass) and Mitch Perry (guitar) along with Keel drummer Dwain Miller.
One notable absent was guitarist Yngwie J. Malmsteen whose first band when he came from Sweden to the United States of America back in the early ’80s was Steeler. Malmsteen played on Steeler‘s infamous self-titled debut record.
In terms of whether Malmsteen was approached for the Steeler reunion [at KeelFest] or whether that was even on the table, Fox advised: “Well, I certainly didn’t personally. I don’t know if Ron tried, but in any case, we all know what the answer would have been. Sadly, and very unprofessionally, Malmsteen’s arrogance gets too far in the way of his being a nice guy and team player to allow himself to be considerate enough to want to be involved. Although Steeler was the band that gave him his introductory break in the USA, there’s absolute zero gratitude or acknowledgement from him on that, and, he considers Steeler to be so far beneath him and that’s a known fact. Besides, working with legendary guitarist Mitch Perry was just so much more rewarding, personally.”
With respect to Malmsteen‘s recent “cookie cutter band” comment pertaining to Steeler, Fox opined: “I commented to that on Facebook. I took a very Paul Stanley, high-road reply, and said something to the effect of: “What’s wrong with cookies? Everyone I know LOVES cookies. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with being a cookie cutter band, most people like that kind of music anyway, besides, we go great with a tall glass of cold milk.” (laughing). “The more chocolate chunks in the cookie the better.” (laughing).”
You can read the rest of the interview with Rik Fox at Rock Pages‘ website.