Scorpions Guitarist Gearing Up for Extended Farewell Tour

The hard rock world is still reeling from the recent announcement that the Scorpions would be retiring after the touring commitments for their upcoming 'Sting of the Tail' album were completed. The German heavyweights have been cranking out their unforgettable brand of melodic hard rock in the last five decades, and their absence in the scene will definitely be felt. Luckily for their fans, the Scorpions have promised that the tour will last years -- so we'll all get a chance to see them one last time.

Noisecreep spoke with founding guitarist Rudolf Schenker and asked him about the upcoming farewell tour, the possibility of an album with his brother Michael, and what other non-Scorpions projects he had coming our way in the future.

You are kicking off your 2010 tour with eight shows in Germany this May. What can we expect in terms of set lists? Will it change nightly?

The big hits will be there nightly. You have to play that stuff because Scorpions fans demand it, and we love it. We'll also be playing some rarities from the catalog. The new album has so many perfect songs for the stage. But look, we understand that we can't throw in nine to 10 new tracks in the set list, because it would get rather boring for some people. I think we're just going to play three to four of the new songs every night and rotate them. That will all depend on the country we're playing and reactions.

Will Herman Rarebell, your brother Michael or any other of your ex-members be joining you for these last shows?

We played with Herman, my brother, and Uli Jon Roth at Wacken Open Air a few years ago. It was released as a DVD. It was an amazing night! I'm not sure what the plans are for anything like that on this tour, but we had a great time in that performance. It hasn't been released in the States yet.

What other projects are you working on for the future?

I wrote a book called 'Rock Your Life' which is out now in German. It's about my life and the Scorpions. We did everything wrong and still got it right [laughter]. You see so many bands trying to do what they've been told the right thing is, but I don't believe in that. You really need to do things your own way. We came from Germany and people didn't think a band from there could do this kind of music. And we've proven them wrong. The book is about that. I hope to get it out in other languages soon.

Will we ever get that fabled Schenker Brothers album?

People have been waiting for a Schenker Brothers album for a long time. I think we are both into doing it, but the Scorpions album and tour are the priority for me right now. Once that finishes, we can start talking about the future more seriously. I think it would be a lot of fun for us (laughter).

We actually worked on a guitar together for Dean Guitars. It's called the 'Schenker Brothers V' guitar, and it is available now in a limited edition. It's really cool if you get a chance to check it out!