Herman RarebellHerman Rarebell, former drummer for the Scorpions and an accomplished solo musician, is back with two new efforts. The first is 'Take It as It Comes,' a disc of new material featuring songs written by friends. The other project is 'My Life as a Scorpion,' an audio autobiography.

"It's a good entertaining thing when you're sitting in the car," explains Rarebell on his choice to release his autobiography via CD rather than print form. "I actually have people who ask me now to print this out as a book."

Rarebell says 'My Life as a Scorpion' could be out in printed form by the fall.

Like most musicians, Rarebell moves quickly between projects. These days, he's more into producing than songwriting. Even still, his song choices are calculated. We're living in a digital, 'give it to me now' kind of world, and Rarebell wants to compete.

"I make songs that are very commercial, so [each] could be a single," Rarebell confesses. "It's a whole new thing. I think all you need is the forum to promote the music. The more people know about the song, the better chances you have. For example, if you have it in a movie, you have an edge because then people come out of the cinema, they hear the song pulsing their brain, they go home and download it. So it's not like in the old days where the next day you go into the shop, you buy the CD and you take out the cover, you study the whole thing. It's a completely different ball game now."

As Rarebell gears up to promote his two new projects, he'll perform a couple gigs in America. One of the dates is the Rock n' America Festival slated for later this month in Oklahoma City. Rarebell will do drum duties for guitarist Michael Schenker. Schenker and Rarebell will perform the same day as the Scorpions. While Rarebell is coy when asked of a possible mutli-musician jam session at Rock n' America, he does admit that "a lot of things are possible."

When the conversation returns to the Scorpions, Rarebell is long on praise for his former bandmates. "They do very good, and I probably just think that it was time after 20 years with them just to something else, no bad blood you know," explains Rarebell. "It was just like you make a decision after you're married for 30 years and you say to your husband, 'Look, I want to do something else in life,' and [you] get divorced.

"S--- happens as you say. My real life philosophy is what the song says. 'Take it as it comes.' There's not much you can do about it except stay positive. Don't look back, look forward and do something ... you really want to do and live your life. It's my philosophy. That's why I say that with my heart fully behind it. I learned that lesson, you know?"

'Take It as It Comes' is available now via Dark Star Records.

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