Dio Fan’s Place

Live Chat with former Dio Guitarist

Rowan Robertson

Sunday the 25th of November
Times are as follows:
United States PST 4PM
MST 5PM
CST 6PM
EST 7PM
London 12 Midnight
Holland, Spain and most of Scandinavia 1 AM
Greece, Egypt and Finland 2 AM

Pre Chat Tunes:

Dio—Lock Up The Wolves

Vast—Touched

AMRadio—It’s All My Fault

Violet’s Demise—Broken Dreams

AMRadio—A Thousand Suns

Dio—Wild One

Vast—Dirty Hole

Violet’s Demise—(Unknown Track)

Vast—Gates Of Rock & Roll

Dio—Why Are They Watching Me

People who made it that night:

DioZine KEN

Emmiline

Wolfkiss Carol

Joe From Redondo

Isabeaux

Dan Irvine

Lavender Irvine

Jacob

Scot Clayton

Mohammed

Lackadayblues

Rowan’s Sister

Rowan’s Mother

And Rowan Himself as Exangelino2001

Q&A:

Jacob: Who inspired you? Was Eddie Van Halen an influence?

Rowan: Jimmy Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Gary Moore, and I love Eddie.

Mohammed: What is your favorite RJD album?

Rowan: Last In Line.

Mohammed: What do you think of Tony Iommi and Ritchie Blackmore?

Rowan: I think they are both wonderful.

Dan: What is your favorite Dio song to play?

Rowan: Heaven and Hell.

Mohammed: Yeah, you rock!

Dan: Of your own works, what is your particular favorite?

Rowan: I like a few of them a lot.

Isabeaux: How do you stay focused?

Rowan: I like to try to keep interesting things in the old cranium.

Joe: What were some of the songs you rehearsed for the South America Dio tour?

Rowan: Holy Diver, Invisible, Sunset Superman.

Joe: Any Magica?

Rowan: Yeah, Lord of the Last Day, Fever Dreams and Magica.

Romnyauk: What about AMRadio?

Rowan: We did a lot of songs, we will soon have an album to release.

Ken: I understand that AMRadio has been playing Rainbow in the Dark?

Rowan: Mostly only in rehearsal, the guys in AMRadio are Dio fans.

Mohammed: When you first joined Dio, what did you think? Did you think it was real?

Rowan: Disbelief, I didn’t think it would happen.

Joe: Have you been invited to participate in Children Of The Night?

Rowan: No.

Ken: What can you tell us about the tracks cut from the Lock Up The Wolves album titled, River Between Us and Hell Wouldn’t Take Her?

Rowan: Yes those tracks are one of my friend’s favorites. Very memorable tracks.

Joe: Will Violets Demise still re-form?

Rowan: Yes, I am recording with Oni Logan, we just gigged recently.

Joe: Will you be playing in Los Angles?

Rowan: Yes, the next scheduled date for us is in December.

Romnyauk: What about some dates in the UK?

Rowan: I hope so…

Joe: Where else?

Rowan: Hollywood and San Diego.

Mohammed: My Eyes [from LUTW] I like that song very much. I miss your solos in this song in particular.

Ken: Rowan, what would your ultimate dream project be in this industry?

Rowan: Buy a country…(LOL!) Seriously, just to create good music.

Joe: Where can we find information on AMRadio’s gigs?

Rowan: I will put up the information on the web site.

Robo_Ash: The guestbook [on the AMRadio site] is up.

Mohammed: Will you visit Egypt some day?

Rowan: I would love to, I hope so.

Mohammed: [Offered his home address in case Rowan visits Egypt—LOL!]

Ken: Can you tell us when to expect AMRadio to hit the shelves?

Rowan: It will be February or March.

Ken: Any plans to tour, as yet?

Rowan: In January or February it looks like.

Mohammed: What does AMRadio sound like?

Rowan: Heavy, good, melodic.

Ken: The January issue of TMOASM there will be an interview and sound samples concerning AMRadio—and many other portions of Rowan’s Career.

Dan: What was the most challenging solo of the Dio set?

Rowan: Holy Diver.

Dan: I would have thought Rainbow in the Dark.

Mohammed: I would think Stargazer.

Ken: I know that you have heard the new Dio album, what did you think?

Rowan: Great, back to his roots…good stuff.

Ken: How did you like doing all the Rainbow classics? There were a lot of them on the LUTW tour. Was there any pressure? Those were some big shoes to fill.

Rowan: No pressure. Big shoes indeed.

Ken: What was it like to work with Ronnie—you being so young and he being so experienced?

Rowan: Taught young grasshopper much. [LOL!] He’s great, rock steady. Genius!

Joe: Loved your playing!

Rowan: Thanks you!

Jacob: What was the first song you actually recorded on LUTW?

Rowan: I can’t remember, but Wild One was the last one.

Scot: What is your favorite tune from LUTW? And has it changed over time?

Rowan: Wild One…My Eyes

Ken: Did you ever really rip like that with VAST or AMRadio?

Rowan: No.

Ken: My Eyes seemed to speak to the possibility of Ronnie retiring. Any truth to that?

Rowan: Yes, somewhat about changes for Ronnie.

Joe: What is Evil on Queen Street about?

Rowan: It is about a haunted house in Canada—we heard about it in a café while we were there.

Dan: What was it like working with Jens?

Rowan: I love that guy, and what a talent also!

Rowan: Well, goodnight and thanks for having me.

Once again I want to thank Rowan from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to spend his Sunday evening in a chat room fool of crazy Dio maniacs!

Take care and talk to you soon,

KEN