Lenny Wolf (Kingdom Come) Interview

   I was eighteen years old back in 1988 when I first heard the hard rocking bluesy riffs of “Get It On.” A new band had emerged on the American rock scene and their Zeppelinesque style was all over rock radio. Of course, I’m talking about Kingdom Come led by vocalist, musician, and creative mastermind, Lenny Wolf. Although they would never again see the commercial success of those early years, Kingdom Come has been consistently producing solid albums. Thirty years later Lenny is still on top of his game creatively and has released a new Kingdom Come album, “Outlier.”

  I had the chance to chat with Lenny while he was home in Germany and he proved to be quite an interesting man with plenty to say. Join us as he discusses the new record, his early success, religion, and hunkering down in his creative mode.

KE: Hellooooo Lenny! How are you?

Lenny: Good, good, good. So rock and roll. How’s life?

KE: It’s great, thanks.

Lenny: Where are you calling from by the way?

KE: I’m here in the States, Charlotte, North Carolina.

Lenny: Cool, cool. Love the south. So we got about a six hour time difference I think.

KE: Yes, Its one o’clock in the afternoon here.

Lenny: Yes, yes six hours. OK, enough of me going on. So hit me!

KE: You have a new album out now, “Outlier.” Can you tell us a little bit about it?

Lenny: It’s great, simply great. It’s unbelievable. It’s a must have. Hallelujah (laughter)!

KE: The new record has a lot going on. There are some industrial style tracks as well as some classic rock tracks that sound like they could have been on the Kingdom Come debut record. Was it important to you to mix it up and keep things constantly moving creatively?

Lenny: I think I’m definitely a big fan of progress. I’m trying at least. I haven’t reinvented the wheel but I’m trying to keep things creative. It’s like I’ve got two hearts beating in me, one is like caught in the more traditional approach with songs like “Let The Silence Talk,” for example, reflects that very well. And the other heart beating in me is more like a different vibe and introducing more industrial sounds. Both sides are just part of me and I’ve never really written like for fans or for like fulfilling expectations or whatever. I just try to keep myself happy and after that hopefully people will like it obviously, but I go in the studio and do what I have to do not knowing what the outcome will be. There is no master plan or anything like that. It’s just a guitar chord and hoping for something cool to go along to while I’m going through endless hours of that. That’s basically how I function. It’s a simple thing, just pick at it and hope for some good stuff.

KE: You also played all of the instruments on the record except for the solo guitar parts. Is that correct?

Lenny: Yes, my solos suck. That’s why I had to call Eric but everything else was played by me.

KE: Were you also responsible for all the production and engineering this time around?

Lenny: Yeah, this time it was a real Lenny Wolf effort. I mastered the whole thing myself. Because I really I don’t know why but I had this urge to really prove a point once again to do the most personal project possible and that’s why I said let me see what I can do, pull the switches myself. I mean I’m not studied in the technical aspects of it so I’m basically just guided by my gut and feelings and just playing around with things until it feels right. Sometimes when I’m recording things the level meter was like spinning around but I don’t care. If it sounds good, that’s all.

KE: Well, it’s got to be a good thing to be in control of how you want it to sound right?

Lenny: Yeah, I mean exactly. If you use a producer, I think it’s much worse than doing it on your own. Even if you lack on some technical issues or I end up doing some things not properly but the most important thing is the human ear. If it sounds great, then I don’t care what signal or meter or blah, blah, blah. It’s made for the human ear and that’s what matters. Ahh, I’ve been talking to much gibberish lately.

KE: How did the writing develop for this project or what is your creative process like?

Lenny: It’s funny actually. I’m thinking of my favorite saying from Bon Scott and that’s how I reload my battery. I might go through months where I don’t even want to look at a studio or grab my guitar, I just want to enjoy life and be a happy camper. Then the feelings come to me and I grab my guitar and lock myself up in my studio for weeks at a time. Getting sick to my stomach and getting headaches because I forgot to eat or forgot to make peepee or whatever. So it’s like I jump from one extreme to the other basically. It’s a good thing I have my own studio. I can take a break, I’ve got no time frame. I’ve got no red light flashing, no people telling me I’ve run over and now have to pay double. So I just work when I feel like it and that is great naturally because creativity can’t be forced you know.

KE: I wanted to ask you about the first single on the new record, “God Does Not Sing Our Song.” It was one of my favorites and I really got a feeling that the lyrics were coming from a place deep within you. Can you elaborate on that song for me?

Lenny: Thank you. First of all, thank you so much for liking it. I mean I don’t have all the answers on the issues and the world is going through changes and changes and a lot of difficulties. I mean there’s nothing worse than the combination of religion and religious hierarchy and superiority. That’s a very dangerous concept. I was just so tired of people in general playing destructive, very bad behavior by doing this in the name of blah, blah, blah. I’m fucking sick of it and I just had an urge to address it. Of course I don’t have the answers to make the world a better place tomorrow or what. But I felt gathering my thoughts, my ideas, not preaching, just sharing my thoughts and I also like to make a big difference between religion and believing. Those were two different things for me. I mean you can believe and talk to the almighty or she or him or whatever energy it is when I sit on the toilet. I don’t have to go to a building with a steep roof to feel closer to the almighty. But if it does make people feel happier or closer of course that’s fine. I’m just trying to say that the energy doesn’t need to have a mark or a name you know what I mean. So at least that’s my way of describing my belief and that’s basically what it is. Just sharing thoughts, sharing beliefs without the fanfare and the preaching in a forceful way. So that’s basically what I’m doing there.

KE: Will you get a chance to tour with this new album?

Lenny: I believe we would. Anything is in the planning stages. I would love to tour the States, after all that’s where I got my first big break but the problem is we are not Metallica so it’s a work in progress. Lots of steps, working visas, maybe more for some festivals. We can’t take things too far out. What are you doing you know? We can’t just park and do three weeks in Florida, it’s just not doable. So if the demand for us is hopefully going to be big enough to do some clubs or whatever, we would love to play. But right now nothing is set in stone. I’m talking to a touring agency right now and I don’t know if we’ll have a chance to get out or not. But believe me it’s not a question of wanting to do it. It’s a question of making it doable. But in the meantime, you’ll just have to listen to the record (laughter).

KE: You mentioned Bon Scott earlier? Was he one of your musical influences?

Lenny: I don’t know about influence. He’s a normal guy who I truly love very much without ever having met him. I just like the way he sang, not just the words but how he packaged the words. He was very cool. Like he would have never said hey that chick is great, I want to bone her. Listen darling there’s a wet spot on the sheet. That’s just unbelievable. I mean I love that guy. Very charming, but kind of witty, but still a street type of guy. I like the street but I also like some real charming behavior. That’s just Bon Scott. He was such a great lyricist. The words, the way he was singing was fantastic. But I admire him very much. I’ve never found my perfect match speaking in terms of like a soul mate like a writing partner. Like a Lennon/McCartney, Page/Plant, Angus Young/Bon Scott or whatever. I never found a perfect match so I was forced to basically control more and more and do things on my own to get anything done because most people I worked with were good craftsmen. But there’s a big difference between playing a song and creating a song. In terms of creating, that’s why I ended up doing what I’m doing but it’s ok. We all have to carry our cross (laughter).

KE: Going back to the early days of Kingdom Come, you had a lot of success early on. You must have had that “Wow” moment when it all went down. Do you have a favorite memory from back then?

Lenny: Obviously, for a young band coming to the States and experiencing such wonderful acceptance by so many people was a mind blowing experience. The money, the career, all I can say is Thank you God for letting me experience it and letting me live through it, so that’s all I’ve got to say. So everything else that has come my way has been the cherry on the whipped cream. So no complaints on my end. I mean commercially speaking we’re not doing that great right now but it is what it is. But for me it’s something I’ve been doing for forty years. It’s not just what you have in the account. It’s really how you look at life. How well are you connecting with your inner self? Is it your bank account or your health and being able to do what you want to do however you want to do it? I mean how much more could you ask for. But memories of Kingdom Come to answer your question. I’m sorry I’m taking so long to answer one little question. I must say that Monsters of Rock was an experience that I will remember until I’m 220 years old. I mean four weeks of craziness. We had a lot of free time on our hands because the production was a stadium tour and they were hauling trucks and trucks around so we would have a few days off between shows. So we had a lot of time jet setting around, hanging out, and with Metallica. It was really cool. So lots of great, unbelievable memories. I was young so I was one of those remote control idiots obviously. It was unbelievable. The 80s, I must say, were not my favorite period. My favorite bands came from the sixties, seventies but the eighties sound, of course speaking of drums and guitars, just doesn’t really excite me anymore. So it makes it difficult because I love progress soundwise. Sorry for talking so much and saying so little but I hope you get the point.

KE: One more question for you. When you’re not busy with music, what do you like to do?

Lenny: Well, right now I’m watching a bird shitting on my boat (laughter). Seriously, I have a motorboat here on the Baltic Sea which is close to Hamburg where I live. I love being on the boat, just hanging out and letting time fly by. Maybe have a cappuccino. I really enjoy being on the water though. And then when the mood strikes, pick up the axe and get into the creative mode again. Happiness is a big factor. I’ve seen a lot of very, very wealthy people and I’ve noticed that many of them are so busy making the next ten million that they are not living the life. They are just working and then one day they are seventy years old and have not lived at all or enjoyed their wealth and then in ten years they die of a heart attack. And that’s not what I want to do. I want to live life and enjoy it while I can still stand up straight.

KE: Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with me today. It has been a pleasure.

Lenny: Cool. The pleasure is all mine.

KE: Thanks again and best of luck with the new record.

Lenny: Hallelujah!

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We would like to thank Jon Freeman of Freeman promotions for setting up the interview with Lenny. For more information on the new CD “Outlier” or just Kingdom Come in general, please go to: Kingdom Come.