Yngwie Lost Fifty Pounds, and Becomes a Health Nut

[whatshisname]

The following message was sent earlier today (Nov. 9) to YNGWIE J. MALMSTEEN fan club members from the fan club's director, Anne Petty:

"Just got off the phone with Yngwie. Had a wonderful chat for a little over an hour, and got quite a few questions answered for the next newsletter. The new album is mixed, and he is just working on the sequencing of tracks before it is mastered. I know the album title, but I'm not allowed to tell. It might leak out anyway, but I'll say no more until he gives me the green light on that. This album will be quite long, with many different moods and styles of songs.

"He was very upbeat, in a great mood, can't wait to get out on the road early next year to promote this new effort. Says he's in great health — has turned into a health nut, no alcohol, no cigarettes, lots of tennis and working out. Has lost over 50 pounds. It's all good!"

A photo of the newly slimmed down Yngwie can be seen on the eBay auction page for the 1996 Malmsteen Model Fender Stratocaster which he is currently selling.

Here's a link to one of his auctions, which includes a pic of the slimmed down Yngwie!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...95332&rd=1

[AndersPGM]

yeah I heard about this earlier today and it made me very happy.
I saw Yngwie perform in ´03 and he was huge...
I was worried about his health.

Rock on Yngwie!!

[davester1234]

good for Yngwie.

He's been judged alot for his weight, almost as if that had something to do with his person or his ability as a guitarist.

It's a great move towards healthy living. Good stuff.

[whatshisname]

Originally Posted by davester1234

He's been judged alot for his weight, almost as if that had something to do with his person or his ability as a guitarist.

I'm sure glad that others have the sense and decency to see through all of the ignorant comments that have been made by so many people. It's really strange, how "fat" people carry more of a stigma in todays society, than drug addicts.

(I put "fat" in quotes, because most people seem to have a pretty ****ed up idea of what "fat" is.)

[fettouhi]

Good for Yngwie! Looking forward to the next album!

Regards

André

[ShredOrDead]

Alas, I will miss seeing those fat little sausage fingers fly deftly o'er the fingerboard.

[Allen Garrow]

Seriously that is great news. We've lost to many musical legends due to poor health or poor health choices.

~A

[weserman]

Good on him

[pawel]

Ditto on everything...

[Jeff]

Very good for him. Not only is he losing weight, but also giving up cigarettes and alcohol, which are probably worse than obesity.

Maybe the new album will reflect the "new" Yngwie.

[Patrick Deno]

Originally Posted by whatshisname

... This album will be quite long, with many different moods and styles of songs.

Wait a minute! Am I the only guy who caught this part?

Yngwie ... different moods and styles of songs? Are we talking about the same guy? I always kinda thought those were contradiction in terms.


Don't get me wrong, I was a big fan in the mid 80's through the early 90's but after the first 5 albums it got kinda redundant. At G3 I didn't hear or see much difference or diversity. In fact, I was kind of embarassed for him, truth tell. I'm not saying the guy doesn't have it in him to write some really creative stuff, it's just that I haven't heard or seen any for a very long time. For years, it seems to me, all he's done is relied on his speed and basically left the creative side behind.

I'm glad he lost the weight, though. Fifty pounds, that's nothing to sneeze at and took serious will and determination on his part. My hat's off to the guy for that. Good on ya, duder! For the longest time I've thought of him as the Heavy Metal Elvis. Good to see him back in form.

I hope he really "realeased the fookin' fury" on this album as well as some real creativity for once. If he can turn his life around so drastically maybe he can do the same with his music. That would be refreshing. After all the hype of the last Metallica album being 'back to the roots' and 'better and heavier then And Justice...', blah, blah, blah, I just tend not to believe anything anymore until I've heard it and judged for myself.

LJ

[whatshisname]

Patrick, I was waiting for someone to bring that up! Actually, while alot of his stuff does sound similar, he's had quite a few songs/albums, that were a bit more diverse. Eclipse, and Fire and Ice, were a bit poppier, and Facing the Animal sounded a lot more American, than anything he'd ever done. Heck, there's a "reggae" song on War to End all Wars.

As for different moods, I don't think that that's anything that he's ever lacked. All of the solos might revolve around swept arpeggios... But, I think he's been very successful at creating different moods.

I never understood much of why people gave him crap about his albums sounding the way they do- I always just said that it's his style. I never heard anyone say that "it's such a shame that SRV never got past that blues thing", like they say about Yngwie, regarding his shred style. What do people expect him to put out a R&B album? Not that that would necessarily be a BAD thing, or then again, maybe it WOULD be... But it's just not what he does. He does, more or less, ONE thing, and does it extraordinarily well.

Of course, this is just my opinion, so, take it for what it's worth.

[whatshisname]

Oh, and I hear ya on the Metallica thing. You just cannot trust what is being said, because it could still end up being a steaming pile of doodoo.

...Just thinking about St. Anger makes me sick. I just CANNOT believe that it's the same band that wrote Master of Puppets, and all of those other great albums. It just doesn't compute! Must be the haircuts...

[Patrick Deno]

Originally Posted by whatshisname

He does, more or less, ONE thing, and does it extraordinarily well.

I agree 110%. I don't know about later albums, though. I stopped buying his records after Fire and Ice. I thought he peaked with Trillogy, personally. It's just when I listen to Vai, Satriani, McAlpine, Lynch, Van Halen, etc. I hear a lot more diversity then with Yngwie. That's just me.

When I bought the G3 DVD I was truly embarrassed for him. Not only did he look bloated and scragly, it just seemed to me that when it came to the actual G3 segment, with Vai and Satch, that he didn't know quite how to fit in. He tried to cover with lots of speed, kicks and guitar twirling but he just seemed so out of his element that he felt lost. I felt sorry for him. But again, that's just my oppinion. I hope this marks a change for the better for him. I'd love to be a fan again. I'm always looking for new/old guitar heros that I can respect who turn my crank.

LJ

[whatshisname]

Originally Posted by Patrick Deno

It's just when I listen to Vai, Satriani, McAlpine, Lynch, Van Halen, etc. I hear a lot more diversity then with Yngwie. That's just me.

Yeah, you're right. He's in NO way as diverse as someone like the guys you mentioned.

Originally Posted by Patrick Deno

When I bought the G3 DVD I was truly embarrassed for him. Not only did he look bloated and scragly, it just seemed to me that when it came to the actual G3 segment, with Vai and Satch, that he didn't know quite how to fit in. He tried to cover with lots of speed, kicks and guitar twirling but he just seemed so out of his element that he felt lost. I felt sorry for him. But again, that's just my oppinion. I hope this marks a change for the better for him. I'd love to be a fan again. I'm always looking for new/old guitar heros that I can respect who turn my crank. LJ

You're not the first person that I've heard say that. I haven't seen the DVD yet, though.