Milan: Never - I think I have my influences (like everybody else does) but I feel like I have my own touch and approach.

For some strange reason most of the reviews never refer to my influences but always compare me to some other guitarists that never really influenced me instead

BB’s: What were the songs and solos that made you want to go through that learning period?

Milan: The first 2 Ozzy albums, early Racer X, old Queen, AC/DC, old Van Halen records (DLR-era) – I love that loose, no holds barred approach. I tried to get that same kind of vibe on my song ‘Quicksilver’.

BB’s: A lot of guitar playing these last 15 years just comes over as a poor man’s Malmsteen how do you see yourself in the Malmsteen clone arena?

(Are you conscious of sounding like the pack?)

Milan: Well, I don’t really think you can hear too much of that neo-classical style in my playing or compositions….

BB’s: What would you say to those people who say that the style you are playing lacks feel and doesn’t capture any of the blues routes that helped to influence the likes of the great 70’s players like Michael Schenker, Brian Robertson, Joe Perry etc?

Milan: Well, listen again. Haha. As far as the bluesy thing goes, just wait for my vocal CD, listen and then we’ll talk again…

But if ‘feeling’ means to play a few bends and make a stupid face along with that then count me out! Hahaha I think that ‘feeling’ means to capture the vibe of a song and play what fits. Some insanely fast shred in a ballad is just as misplaced as some soulful bends and blues licks may be in a speed-metal tune.

And if ‘bluesy’ means to play the same old boring standard cliché blues licks that everybody else and their grandma’s dog play count me out again!

BB’s: Well maybe the guys with the stupid faces may say the likes of Charlie Christian established the electric guitar in Jazz. His single note solo playing on his Gibson ES-150 was a cool alternative to the saxophone, trumpet, clarinet or other instruments of the 1930’s i.e. Modern Jazz was born - something you have now developed in your playing.

Others would say respect where it’s due for the old blues players likes Robbie Robertson, John Lee Hooker - those dudes who laid the seeds for the rest to grow. Jimmy Hendrix was influenced by the likes of Elmore James and BB King and once we look at who Jimmy inspired well do you want to throw the towel in now?

Milan: I agree completely. I LOVE Charlie Christian, I have some of his original old records – he is one of the all time bests! And I also like the old blues players. These are the roots man. I always say that without Hendrix we all would not be sitting here the way we are. But then again, then it would have been a different way.

Let me put it like this: I do agree that the old Volkswagen Beetle was a great car once but if I can drive a Porsche today… Things develop and that is good. Just never forget the roots and pay respect. The people I have been influenced by have been influenced by players who have been influenced by players who have been influenced by… etc… That is a natural way of life.

I just don’t understand someone who keeps playing the same old D-minor pentatonic scale up and down for 35 years – that is definitely NOT what I consider as progress.

BB’s: How much practice a day would you say that you put into the guitar?

Milan: These days? Zero. I focus on song writing, singing and playing, answering fan mail, taking care of promotion and biz. And all that keeps me quite busy.

In the early days I was basically playing all day.

BB’s: Do you think it’s possible to progress on the guitar with out learning modes?

Milan: Depends on what you want to achieve. I’d say music is like a language – you don’t have to be able to read or write it to be a great speaker or narrator. But it can expand your capabilities. It can also stand in your way if you listen to your brain instead of your heart.

BB’s: Do you feel the pentatonic scale dates some ones playing as it’s a typical blues run?

Milan: No, not at all! After all the zillion scales, modes and what not I learned, I have always returned back to the pentatonic. It is still my starting point for any improvisation. I just know my other notes as well and where to find them

BB’s: Y ou started out studying Jazz/Fusion and received a professional diploma in Feb 1991

Check out the whole songs 'Slowgold' or '4 am' - these are jazz-influenced. And then there are songs like 'Straight Ahead' and 'Joyride' spiced with jazzy licks.

If you listen very closely you’ll notice that all my playing is spiced with well-hidden bebop licks...

Even in the more bluesier ballad ‘Dreamscapes’ in the finale you’ll detect some.

I just incorporate them so they give my lines a little unorthodox twist. They are not right in your face so the listener would go, ‘Oooh, that sounds complicated.’ Or like, ‘Look here everybody, I can play jazz!’

And then, of course, there’s also the JAM-CD I recorded for the English label LNR which is a total fusion album and even made it to no. 2 in the Jazzwise UK charts.

BB’s:

Briefly tell us what you regard as significant recordings in you career and your personal favourite pieces of work?

Milan: I don’t have a fave. I barely ever listen to my own stuff. Usually by the time it is out I am on to something new.

But definitely ‘Dreamscapes’ is a very important piece of work in my career. It has brought me a lot of good things like endorsements, the gig with Falco, etc.

BB’s: What can you tell us about your instruments in terms of characteristics? In this I mean are you a Gibson Les Paul or Fender Strat?

Milan: I endorse Peavey guitars, these are my main axes. At the moment my favourite guitars are my HP signatures.

I would say that I prefer Strat style guitars as far as the playing feel goes Les Paul type guitars sound-wise.

If I work on a song I usually hear exactly in my head what sound I want, which amp, which guitar, etc.

I have about 30 axes to choose from and various amps, mainly Peaveys. Recently I have been recording a lot with the Classic 30 and the DeltaBlues combo which is my favourite amp at the moment.

BB’s: That’s an interesting choice. I read some reviews on your amp and one guy said “

The only problem I've had with the amp has been a result of a faulty handle. For whatever reason, one of the nuts holding the handle decided to come loose and dropped down inside the amplifier and ended up shorting out my transformer. It smoked the amp (literally) and I had to send it in for repair.” The guy said he put lock washers on both the nuts so I'd recommend you do the same in case mine is not an isolated incident.

I thought I would share that with you all because the owner obviously thought it was worth mentioning and it may just save some one out there some serious wedge (money)

BTW do you do any research on guitars and equipment before you purchase or are you an instinctive purchaser?

Milan: The only problem I am experiencing with both the Classic 30 and the DeltaBlues is that I wear out the tubes pretty quickly. I don’t know if that is a common problem or if it is rather related to what I do to those poor things…. Hahaha

About purchase: with amps it is pretty easy and simple - gotta plug in, play it and like it. If it sounds good to me I’ll take it, if it doesn’t, I’ll go for something else.

With guitars it is a little more complicated. I first feel them. Guitars are like women – gotta love the way they feel when you touch them!

It may be interesting to you that the kind of wood is not the utmost important criteria for my decision. I will play the guitar first without amplifier. Just strum a few chords to see how it sounds acoustically and play a few bends to check out the sustain. Then I look at the neck.

For Pick Up’s I prefer mid-output ones. I don’t believe in high-output PU’s – distortion should come from the amp NOT the guitar.

I am endorsed by DiMarzio and working together with Steve Blucher who is very supportive.

The ones I really dig are the Air Norton, Air Zone and Virtual PAF’s.

BB’s: Many players argue that the tone is down to the amp, the type of guitar and the player’s technique, do you feel you have the brown sound?

Milan: I always say, ‘Tone comes from your fingers, sound from your gear.’

I have whichever sound I prefer to have and that depends on different kinds of things such as the song, the style, the vibe, etc.

BB’s: How do you set about putting an instrumental album together? Do you write it as you would a vocal album with verses and choruses etc?

Milan: Yes, definitely. I don’t like the ‘song around the solo’ composing kind of approach. I receive a lot of praise by reviewers and fans that my songs are like ‘real’ songs even without vocals. It is something I emphasize a lot.

And also I never force myself to write a song. My songs just ‘happen’. I never sit down saying, ‘I have to write a song now.’ I don’t like that. I can hear if a song has a flow or was pieced together in some way.

Instrumental tunes are always just a ‘bypass product’ of my musical being. I never sit down to compose an instrumental – they just happen.

BB’s: Do you always produce your own work? If so how do you tell yourself to shut the F>>k up and keep it simple?

BB’s: Do you listen back at your work to make sure you haven’t used that trick before?

BB’s: Let’s talk about the recording process starting with processed guitar verses, an amp with a SM57 up its speaker’s arse, what’s your call?

Milan: Well, I don’t have a special trick in the pipeline, I’m afraid. Like I said before, I usually know exactly what sound I want and how to get it.

One of my basic rules is that I NEVER use an SM 57 though But I always mic my guitars (both electric and acoustic) and amps. I hate the sound of direct recordings. Also I am a tube fan. All this new shit with emulating amps and speakers digitally and recording direct is BS. Can’t beat the real thing – sorry kids.

Also, I don’t use any effects. I am known for always playing with a very dry sound – no reverb, no delay or any of that pussy shit to cover your mistakes and flaws.

That excludes guitarists using effects to create a certain sound or vibe.

Whatever effects you hear on my CD’s have been added by the sound engineer in the mix.

As far as room goes I have a special room-in-room sound-proof cabin that was built for me some time ago.

BB’s: Ok. Let’s rewind a little as there are a few thousand kids out there who may have bought the latest Boss GT8 or even the Boss GT-Pro going to be a bit alarmed at that statement.

Surely technology as caught up with the old amps? 24 bit recording straight onto hard drives with no mic spill, hiss and at low volume surely everyone’s home studio dream?

Milan: Yes, but they all sound alike. I just don’t think that, 1 can replace the good old tubes or that inch of air that’s being moved when the sound blasts out of the speakers into the mic.

Listen to old Gary Moore records (I mean old – before ‘Still Got the Blues’) such as ‘Victims of the Future’ or ‘Corridors of Power’. If you listen closely you can hear how the amp breathes and blows. That was a major part of his tone, his sound. You just simply cannot replace that digitally.

It’s logic - it’s physics.

And that is also another problem of today: Everybody can have a PC, a cracked version of their favourite music software downloaded from the internet and say; ‘Hey man, I have a studio.’

And then sell the CD via their web-sites.

This is why the market has been flooded with thousands of shitty sounding, cheaply produced CD’s.

Listen to old Queen or Pink Floyd albums. Beatles, Van Halen, whatever.

Why do people like Lenny Kravitz spend thousands of Dollars on making their CD’s sound retro? Ok, the recording possibilities were far away from what you can do today in your living room but these CD’s had some magic.

It is almost like comparing a picture painted by Dalì with some computer animated picture.

BB’s: Every good picture started as a sketch. Let’s assume you have no album deal and like many good but unsigned musicians out there can’t afford to pay big studio fees. Surely a low budget self produced album to show what you are made of or at least to have something to sell to your fans is better than Jack Shit?

I know where you re coming from with parting the hair and the vibe but it’s the labels who are responsible for the releases so if there’s shit out they are to blame. They are responsible for quality control.

Milan: Yes, I agree completely. And also I am missing the times when labels were still investing money into building up an artist or a band. It is sad to hear that the label guys themselves admit these days that they would never sign a band like Queen or Led Zeppelin anymore. Instead the masses are being fed with ‘hip today – gone tomorrow’ type of crap.

BB’s: Why not the SM57?

Milan: Because everybody is using it. I don’t believe in doing something just because everybody else is doing it. I mean, sure there has been great guitar recordings made with it. But then again, so what?

The SM 57 was originally made for recording snare drums and in a time when guitar recording was still a very new field someone just had the idea of trying to mic an amp with it. It worked and ever since then everybody has been doing it. Cool!

But I don’t. haha

BB’s: What would you use to mic the cab up?

Milan: I turn the amp up loud enough so it can breathe. That’s why I prefer to use 50 watts to 100 watts because you don’t have to turn it up to ridiculously high levels to get a good sound out of them. I am looking for dynamics in the sound. I like when the notes pop out of the speaker.

BB’s: What would you use to gate out the spillage?

Milan: Nothing. That is also a disease of today’s digital world. Make everything totally clean and sterile. Hey, if the spillage is part of the sound then it’s gotta be.

If you could get a hold of the master tapes of some of your favourite records and just listened to the guitar tracks, you’d be surprised…

Milan: No, that’s NOT what I meant. In this case I would recommend to fix your gear first…. haha

BB’s: And for someone who hates the new technology I guess its old valve compressors etc or is it?

Milan: Hahaha. Well, I don’t necessarily hate the new technology. I like progress (like I said before).

I just think it can be a blessing and sometimes it can be a curse. Like with everything else it is always a question of who uses it and how. Give nuclear science to the right people and they might come up with something useful – give it to the wrong people and they will come up with an atomic bomb, you know what I’m sayin’?

I use both valve and solid state compressors in my studio depending on the kind of mic I am recording with.

BB’s: Don’t you think you have a limited market for your albums e.g. guitar wanna be or guitar has been?

Milan: Yes, definitely. That’s why I am moving on to the next level recording ‘real’ songs with lyrics & vocals.

BB’s: You are doing a vocal album so who told you that you can sing?

Milan: Hahaha, that’s a good one! Well, actually I have been singing backing vocals for all my life and people would always come to me after gigs saying that I sounded much better than the lead singer and why I did not sing myself. I always had the same answer: ‘I am a guitarist, NOT a singer.’

But with time this attitude changed, especially since it is very hard to find a good singer. I always ended up having to write the lyrics, telling the singer how and what to sing, etc. and it never turned out to be a satisfying result. It was always compromise, struggle and what not. So it finally led to the point where I just thought to myself, ‘Aw, fuck it – give it a shot.’

There are a lot of great singers in the world and I am definitely NOT one of them –– but so far the reactions have been really good and encouraged me that I was right to take this step.

Especially singing is a big question of personal taste, so anything goes, I’d say…

There are a lot of really awful singers selling millions of records. And a lot of great ones no one has ever heard of. So who’s to judge…?

BB’s: Gary Moore thought he could sing and it seems everyone was too scared to tell him to stick to guitar HAHA. If you got slaughtered for singing on the album would you consider bringing someone else in to do the vocals?

Milan: Let me put it like this: If I happen to run into a vocalist that I like and we get something started I will work with that person. But the reviews will not have any impact on that. I am sure some people will love it and some people will hate it. I really don’t care or think about it at the moment.

I chose to take the path of creation. It is always easy for others to sit back and bash what someone else is doing. Hey, everyone’s free to do it better than me…!

But looking back on my life I was always someone who preferred investing his time and energy in being creative rather than talking shit about others and how much better I would do it.

If you like it – great, if not – do it better.

Interestingly, those people who sit around talking bad about others all day and knowing so much better how to do it right are usually nowhere in terms of their ‘careers’. People who work hard on their career usually do not have the time to stick their noses up other’s asses.

Milan: That’s absolutely right. I remember when Kiss after many records decided to produce their next album themselves and after that they decided to get a producer again. I remember thinking, ‘Wow, if they do that, that tells something…’

This is why I said before that I would like to have a decent producer for my vocal album. I believe in the theory that a few talented people together can create something much better than a single person if the vibe fits. If you are doing a one-man show it is hard to keep the distance sometimes and look at things objectively.

BB’s:

Have you sung on anything credible before?

Milan: Yes. Even on a radio/TV commercial that I composed for a big campaign two years ago.

And like I said before, a lot of backing vocals.

If this is credible enough or not you have to judge

BB’s: Its supposed to be a really good earner did you get a session fee or royalties every time it’s played or both?

Milan: I don’t like talking about money but okay… Both - because I also composed it.

BB’s: Did this type of work open any more doors for you with regards to interest in your own music or further commissions?

Milan: No, not really. It is a totally different field/market.

But I like doing it. I once did a little movie score for a BBC international production. That was a nice challenge. But also tedious.

You can find some of that stuff on my website (free to download) at www.milanpolak.com

BB’s: If you ever stop playing be a salesman. You have got more plugs in than my local plumber.

Milan: Haha, thanks but I don’t think that will ever happen…

BB’s: Why not just get someone like a Jeff Scott Sotto in to sing on your vocal album?

Milan: I would definitely not mind.

BB’s: Are you a control freak?

Milan: No.

BB’s: So you are going over to the big Apple New York city to record your vocal album. Why?

Milan: Because. Hahaha Well, apparently the drummer who I am working with lives there and he has his equipment there, the studio which knows how to get his drum sound etc.

Plus, it sounds cool… Just kiddin’…

BB’s: Bring us up to speed on how the vocal album has taken shape and who you may be working with on this project?

Milan: At the moment all I can/ want to say is that the album will consist of 12 songs plus one bonus-track. The style will be plain, right in your face guitar rock, sometimes more bluesy, sometimes more heavy. No progressive stuff, no complicated guitar hero stunts.

No synths or anything like that. Some of the songs will not even have guitar solos in them.

I am working together with some of the best musicians in the scene who have played with the likes of Malmsteen, Steve Vai, members of Dream Theater, Steve Lukather, etc.

More info when the time is right. I have never been someone who talks a lot about things in advance. I leave the talking to others, I’ll work hard in the meantime…

BB’s: Ok sorry I asked I didn’t know it was a secret. We are the same so can’t fault you keeping your cards close to your chest. Maybe we can hear some exclusive snippets and chat again when its well on its way?

Milan: Sure. My pleasure! I’d love to play some of the rough mixes to you guys and have your feedback.

Should be sometime around the end of this year.

BB’s: We mentioned in our Dreamscapes review (Oct 3 rd)

That we liked the way you put melodies and guitar phrases over metal riffs. Do you actually like any metal stuff? And were you at the time looking to do something a little different?

Milan: Yes, I do like metal. Believe it or not, I like Pantera (even jammed with Dimebag in the early 90’s – that’s why the song ‘Shadowdance’ is dedicated to him). I like the first Slipknot album.

I am just not too keen on all that NuMetal stuff.

Well again, you know I don’t give a fuck about what’s hip and what’s not.

For every movement that goes to one extreme will be a counter movement in the other extreme. So after all the guitar hero overkill madness in the 80ies and beginning of the 90ies it was of no surprise to me that this was going to happen.

But I am doing my thing and that’s it. Period.

You know, these days it is cool to not know your instrument and be a complete retard and the masses will love you. Not only in the music market.

And media is selling people with those crappy star search, pop idol shows that everyone with no talent whatsoever can be a star. I even wrote a song about this phenomenon called ‘Superstar-Mania’ which will be on my vocal CD. We live in a ‘fame for 5 minutes’ society and I sometimes feel like I have to be ashamed of or apologize for the fact that I know my instrument, am able to speak, read and write more than one language and have some cultural background

BB’s:

You come across in this interview has someone who likes to move forward and progress as a person and a musician. So how come you are allowing a re-release of something you recorded 10 years ago? New package but same sell by date is it a stop gap for the forth coming vocal album?

Milan: No. ‘Guitar Odyssey’ had the deal with Lion Music before I had concrete plans for any vocal album. The story is this:

The original CD ‘Guitar 2001’ was released by a small indie label that went bankrupt. The CD was soon sold out, turned to cult status amongst some guitar fans and I received a lot of requests during the years from fans who were looking to find the album. When Lion Music signed ‘Dreamscapes’ I also mentioned ‘Guitar Odyssey’ to them and they signed it. I guess, I am a lucky guy.

BB’s: So for those who didn’t get a copy first time around talk us through a few tracks how they came about ,the writing process, and may be let us know how you think you have progressed and what you have learned from that release and Dreamscapes?

Milan: Wow, are you sure you want me to answer all that thoroughly…?!? Hahaha Will you guys grant me that much space? Ok, I’ll try to be brief: Some of the songs were originally written when I was 17 years old. And the album is the result of a writing process until I was 23, 24. Obviously, the guitar itself is more upfront and had more spotlight than on ‘Dreamscapes’ but I think you can already hear certain things that are typical for my style. I mix a lot of different music styles, I incorporate acoustic guitars, Latin, Jazz, Fusion, heavy rock and the songs were already structured like ‘real’ songs, with melody, a theme, chorus, verse, etc.

People seem to sometimes judge me by only these two CD’s overlooking that I did a lot of other things in between. Like I said before, instrumentals were always kind of ‘bypass products’. I always preferred to have a real band rather than being the one-man show guitar hero. I had a band called ‘ New World’ which released an album around the same time ‘Guitar 2001’ was released and received some cool reviews. I played with Falco, Tangerine Dream, just to name a few.

Well, and now I am working on the next step recording a vocal CD.

BB’s: How do you find reading some of your reviews? Do you take it personal and feel like challenging a writer who has misunderstood you or just thinks you are crap period?

Milan: Well, I do not take it personal anymore. I still prefer good ones to bad ones though!

Human beings have different tastes and that is ok. We are all different and after all that is the beauty of art.

If someone does not like my stuff I respect that and I can live with that very well. Trying to please everybody is a game you just can’t win. Hahaha

Just sometimes reviewers seem to forget that even if you don’t like someone’s work does not mean you have to get rude or insulting. At least show some respect for the artist.

But some of them are just frustrated wanna-be musicians who end up getting CD’s for free and dissing them.

You know, in the end it’s the fans that count. Those people who spend their hard earned money to buy your CD. That means a million times more to me.

BB’s: It’s the fans that count for sure but sometimes a good review can inspire new fans to give you a chance. I know what its like to be reviewed and also know how personal it can be, but it’s a big mans world and you take the rough with the smooth. I noticed you put your worst review on your web site www.milanpolak.com Why was that?

Milan: Hahaha. Well, you know ‘Dreamscapes’ has really received incredibly positive reviews. It ranked no. 1 in four different categories of the guitar nine-charts including ’50 Most Popular Overall’ with a popularity rating of 100.0 in all four. An English online magazine even dedicated a special edition to me and ‘Dreamscapes’ for the first time in their history. What more can you ask for…? Hahaha

Some of the reviews are so incredibly awesome that I had begun to think, ‘Fuck, people will start to think that I paid these guys or write the reviews myself!’

When there are too many good reviews it always also conjures up some people who will hate you just for the sake of it. You know, kinda like, ‘Well, everybody likes that, so I will hate it.’

When you start using your site only to praise yourself or post the good reviews then that’s kinda corny to me.

I think it creates a balance to also post negative reviews and makes me more human also.

BB’s: We never really talked about the people who influenced you so can you tell us what you think to the likes of Satriani, Vai, Malmsteen, Eddie Van Halen and how they helped shape the way you play?

Milan: I think they are all great guitar players that had a huge impact on the guitar world. Some of the guitarists that had an impact on me at some point in my life are

Paul Gilbert, Steve Lukather, Randy Rhoads, Shawn Lane, Nuno Bettencourt, Brian May, David Gilmour, Dan Huff, Vinnie Moore, Allan Holdsworth, Larry Carlton.

BB’s: You are going to be working with another really classy guitar player from England Mario Parga. How did you come together and what are you looking to do together as guitar players?

Milan: Well, Mario is like my soul mate, my alter ego in some ways. Matt Williams, head of the English label Liquid Note Records, asked me if I was interested in recording Mario’s upcoming CD in my studio. Matt has a great feel for putting people together, knowing in advance what will and what will not work.

So, Mario and me met in Hamburg to get to know each other personally (we both had heard of each other before and had a mutual respect for each other as a guitarist/musician but we had never actually met face to face before).

We got along really well and started to realize that we had similar life stories, some same influences and a lot of same opinions on certain issues.

One thing that we found out in our conversations was that we both have an incredible love for the acoustic guitar and we were both planning on recording a purely acoustic album some day. We looked at each other and said, ‘Hey, let’s do that album together.’ And this is the plan now. As soon as Mario has finished his instrumental album and I have finished my vocal album we will start working on our project which is called ‘MP2’ btw since we found out that we even share the same initials

In the meantime we will record a tune with electric guitars for LNR for an album called ‘The Alchemists II’. Each of us had been on ‘TA I’ with a song already - again something in common. If I kept on talking, I am sure there would be even more commonalities popping up….. hahaha

But I just love the beauty, the pureness, the honesty of an acoustic guitar.

BB’s: You are both regarded as pretty fast shredders so come on - admit there must have been a point when you wanted a guitar duel - you know pistils at 10 paces just to see who’s the best?

Milan: Hahaha! Well, I don’t consider faster as better and neither does Mario, I think. Mario and me both can play at a very high technical level but we were just as fast already a decade ago and that is not important to us (anymore).

Technique is just a tool, if you make it the main reason why you play an instrument rather become a gold smith instead.

BB’s: It must be cool to be able to work with some one laid back and compatible as Mario is?

Milan: Yes, definitely.

BB’s: Have you set a timetable for your future releases or do you find dates equal pressure totals less enjoyment?

Milan: No timetable. I do find it to be less enjoyment. I don’t like being pressured when I eat, I don’t like being pressured when I have sex and I don’t like being pressured when I make music.

We caught up with him on his return from D City studios Long Island New York City.

BB’s: Hi Milan I can see the swelling has gone down from our last battle so can you tell us who has played on your vocal album?

Milan: The musicians are John Macaluso on drums and both Randy Coven (both pictured above with Milan) aboveand Fabrizio Grossi on bass who have played and worked with the likes of Steve Vai, Yngwie J. Malmsteen, George Lynch, ARK, James La Brie of Dream Theater, Richie Kotzen, Steve Lukather of Toto, Glenn Hughes, Joe Lynn Turner, TNT, and many others.

BB’s: Have you got an album title and track listing we can reveal?

Milan: Album title: 'Straight'

Tracks (13 - not necessarily in this order): 

1) Difference

2) Favorite Vice

3) Crosses

4) Hero

5) Psychobitch

6) Superstar-Mania

7) All I Want

8) Free After All

9) Straight

10) Happy Now?

11) Some Kind Of Jesus

12) I Don’t Care

13) The Glowing Of A Cigarette

All of the lyrics are very, very personal - sort of my diary.

BB’s:

Ok, describe the album?

Milan: Basic attitude: no fake, no Bull Shit,

Chorus lyrics of title track:

'Ignorance, stupidity are two things that I hate

Lies and superficial talk are two more things I hate

Won’t hesitate, I’m not afraid, I just can’t wait –

I give it to you straight'

'Psychobitch'

Is my personal experience with a woman I met in Hamburg.

'Crosses'

Deals with my insomnia and reflecting upon my life

'Superstar-Mania'

Is my way of dealing with all those fuckin' casting shows that have been torturing us in the last 3 years

'Hero'

Is the ballad

etc.

Every song has a special meaning - therefore I don't have a favorite.

Basically, the whole album will be guitar rock, some more bluesy, some more heavy

Playing with the guys in NY was awesome; they certainly took those songs to a new level.

My rhythm section has the biggest balls in the world. The album rocks and is the best thing I have ever done in my life.

I am totally confident and happy with it. Period.

BB’s: Well we asked the question “So who told you that you could sing?” It seems on the strength of the songs we have heard from the new vocal album that Milan Polak can do just that. Some are saying there are touches of Tony Martin and Coverdale in his delivery.

The up shot is that this multi talented individual as lit the touch paper for what should be an explosive career. Top musicians are already requesting his services as a singer but once his fans hear what he is capable of Milan Polak will rise from the world of shred and land on planet Rock to a completely new and appreciative audience.

We have waded through hours of emails, phone calls and had the exclusive on his new album. Hopefully our enthusiasm for this kid will prove to be justified but just remember where you heard it first!