By Steve Newton
One of my favourite hobbies back in the ’70s and early ’80s was collecting LPs by bands like UFO, Scorpions, and MSG.
The one thing that all three bands had in common–at one point or another–was lead guitarist Michael Schenker, whose speedy and intense yet beautifully melodic playing kept me transfixed for hours on end.
Anyone else with a fondness for Schenker’s various bands and his mastery of the Gibson Flying V would be well advised to mark Saturday, February 24 on their calendar, because that’s when local tribute band Coast to Coast will perform a cross-section of the finest material released by UFO, the Scorps, and the Michael Schenker Group.
The group is composed of singer Shawn Klatt, guitarists Dave Groves and Ken Scheller, bassist Tobias Haas, and drummer Ed Johnson.
Presented by Mountain Entertainment, a production company formed by Turtle Recording Studios founder Larry Anschell, the concert will take place at the Surrey Arts Centre, and will feature such killer tunes as Scorpions’ “No One Like You” and “Rock You Like a Hurricane”, MSG’s “Armed and Ready” and “Into the Arena”, and UFO’s “Doctor Doctor” and “Lights Out”.
But the coolest thing is that, as well as providing a primo blast of old-school guitar-rock, the concert will be supporting a very worthy cause, with all net proceeds going towards the Surrey Food Bank.
You can find tickets here.
To hear the full audio of my 1992 interview with UFO guitarist Michael Schenker–as well as my conversations with Scorpions members Klaus Meine, Rudolf Schenker, and Uli Jon Roth–subscribe to my Patreon page, where you can eavesdrop on over 400 of my uncut, one-on-one conversations with the legends of rock.