Welcome...

Welcome to the fifth incarnation of this website, dedicated to musical artistry of Uli Jon Roth.

What you see here is the culmination of the past seven years of work to redesign this site for the 21st century. The previous version was designed in June 2001, supporting the web browsers of the day, such as Netscape 4 and IE 5. The Web has evolved over the past decade, and while the old site lived well past its years, the time has finally come to usher in a new version.

This site redesign cleaned out a lot of cobwebs, and uncovered a few hidden treasures along the way. Look around, explore, and enjoy. Here's what is new:

  • Brand new site design, built from the ground up
  • 15+ new tablatures
  • 6+ updated tablatures
  • New articles
  • New photos
  • Updated equipment list

Who Is He?

Mystical Metal Image

Uli Jon Roth (a.k.a. Ulrich Roth) is a German-born virtuoso guitarist who has been in bands such as Scorpions, Electric Sun, and Sky of Avalon. While maintaining a cult status, he has influenced and inspired the likes of other great guitarists such as Eddie Van Halen, Axel Rudi Pell, Kirk Hammett, and Yngwie Malmsteen.

He played with Scorpions in the mid-70's for 5 years, recording 4 studio albums and 1 live album. After departing from Scorpions, he went to form his own band Electric Sun and recorded three albums. During this period, Uli developed the unique Sky Guitar, which would allow him to pursue a his dreams of playing notes on a guitar generally played in the violin-register. He then disappeared from the music scene for more than 10 years before coming back with a new band called Sky of Avalon, which resulted in Roth's departure from Rock N' Roll and embracing more of a classically-oriented sound. In 2000 he released the unique album Transcendental Sky Guitar, which displays his virtuosity and appreciation for both rock and classical music. He continued his classical experiments with his rendition of Vivaldi's Four Seasons, titled Metamorphosis and then followed up with Symphonic Legend Volume Number I - Under A Dark Sky.


Intro to Uli Jon Roth's Music

For one new to Uli Jon Roth's music, they might ask, "Where should I start?" Uli's career can be split into three eras: Scorpions, Electric Sun, and Uli Jon Roth. The Scorpions period extends from 1973 through 1978 when he was a guitarist for the German band Scorpions. Electric Sun was the band he formed after leaving Scorpions, which came out with three albums. The third era simply dubbed Uli Jon Roth represents his work after the Electric Sun albums. Below are suggested albums to start listening to, to become more familiar with Uli Jon Roth's music.

  • Era I - Scorpions : Virgin Killer - This became Uli's signature album, considering he wrote over half of it with songs like "Virgin Killer", "Hell Cat", "Yellow Raven", and the immortal "Polar Nights".
  • Era II - Electric Sun : Firewind - Quite possibly the most commercially accessible of the three Electric Sun albums, it comes ladened with such tasty cuts like "Cast Away Your Chains", "Firewind", "Indian Dawn", and "Hiroshima".
  • Era III - Transcendental Sky Guitar - If there is any one album which wraps Uli up in a nutshell, it would be this one. It covers such a wide variety of music from his own compositions, to many classical covers (Mozart, Chopin, Bach), and even a couple Hendrix covers.

Current News

24 February 2013

On Sunday 17 February 2013, Uli Jon Roth returned to Chicago for another Sky Academy and extensive concert. Opening the show were Kevin M. Buck and Earthen. Uli's set lasted for close to three hours, playing a number of rare Scorpions songs such as "Drifting Sun", "Sun In My Hand", and "Evening Wind".

  1. All Night Long
  2. Longing For Fire
  3. Crying Days
  4. Life's Like A River
  5. Sun In My Hand
  6. Drifting Sun
  7. Evening Wind
  8. The Sails of Charon
  9. We'll Burn The Sky
  10. In Trance
  11. Fly To The Rainbow
  12. Speedy's Coming
  13. Virgin Killer
  14. They Need A Million
  15. I've Got To Be Free (w/ extended jam)
  16. Polar Nights
  17. Dark Lady (w/ extended jam and "Kojo No Tsuki" interlude)
    18. Encore:
  18. Crowd sings "Happy Birthday" to drummer Jamie
  19. Pictured Life
  20. Catch Your Train
  21. The Watchtower
  22. If 6 Was 9
  23. Little Wing
24 January 2013

A new year has brought plenty of goodies in the way of interviews, social media, new music, and of course another world wide tour. To start off the wealth of news, Uli now is officially on Facebook and Twitter. In preparation of the tour to celebrate the 40 year anniversary since Uli joined Scorpions, here are a couple of new interviews:

In the interviews Uli has mentioned he has written an album's worth of new material, he just needs to find the time to record it at sometime in the future. But looking at the 2013 touring schedule, he will be busy for the first half of the year. Here are the current tour dates:

  • 21 January 2013
    USA, California Los Angeles - Santa Monica Playhouse - Sky Academy
  • 22 January 2013
    USA, California Los Angeles - Santa Monica Playhouse - Sky Academy
  • 23 January 2013
    USA, California San Francisco - Slim's - Jason Becker Event
  • 25 January 2013
    USA, California Hollywood - Whisky A Go Go
  • 26 January 2013
    USA, California Santa Ana - Malone's
  • 27 January 2013
    USA, California San Diego - Brick by Brick + Sky Academy
  • 29 January 2013
    USA, Colorado Denver - Jammin' Joe's
  • 31 January 2013
    USA, Wisconsin Milwaukee - Shank Hall + Sky Academy
  • 01 February 2013
    USA, Michigan Detroit - The Token Lounge
  • 02 February 2013
    USA, Ohio Cleveland - Pirate's Cove/ Peabody's + Sky Academy
  • 03 February 2013
    USA, New Jersey Old Bridge - Old Bridge Music Center: Sky Academy
  • 05 February 2013
    USA, Virginia Chantilly - Sullys
  • 06 February 2013
    USA, New York New Yrok - Stage 48 (+ Sky Academy)
  • 07 February 2013
    USA, Maryland White Marsh - House of Rock + Sky Academy
  • 08 February 2013
    Canada Montreal - Le National + Sky Academy
  • 09 February 2013
    Canada Toronto - The Rock Pile + Sky Academy
  • 10 February 2013
    Canada Toronto - The RoUSA, Californiack Pile
  • 12 February 2013
    Canada Ottawa - Brass Monkey + Sky Academy
  • 13 February 2013
    USA, Pennsylvania Sellersville - Sellersville Theater 1894 + Sky Academy
  • 15 February 2013
    USA, Wisconsin Kenosha - Hatrix
  • 16 February 2013
    USA, Minnesota Savage - Neisen's + Sky Academy
  • 17 February 2013
    USA, Illinois Chicago - Reggie's + Sky Academy
  • 20 February 2013
    USA, Arizona Tucson - The Rock
  • 21 February 2013
    USA, Arizona Tempe - Club Red
  • 22 February 2013
    USA, Nevada Las Vegas - Vamp'd + Sky Academy
  • 23 February 2013
    USA, California Corona - Marquee 15
  • 24 February 2013
    USA, California Santa Rosa - The Last Day Saloon
  • 26 February 2013
    USA, Washington Seattle - El Corazon + Sky Academy
  • 27 February 2013
    USA, Oregon Portland - Hawthorne Theatre + Sky Academy
  • 01 March 2013
    USA, California Concord - Vinnie's

  • 22 March 2013
    England Colchester - Arts Centre
  • 23 March 2013
    England Ipswitch - The Railway
  • 07 April 2013
    England Rotherham - Hard Rock Hell (Festival) 2 shows
  • 12 April 2013
    England Bilston - The Robin 2 (+ Sky Academy)
  • 12 April 2013
    England Derby - Flowerpot

  • 05 May 2013
    North Sea Full Metal Cruise:
         to
    12 May 2013
    North Sea Hamburg, Southhampton, Le Havre, Amsterdam

  • 14 June 2013
    Mexico Mexico City - José Cuervo Salón
  • 22 June 2013
    Brazil Sao Paulo- HSBCL

  • 01 August 2013
    Germany Wacken Open Air
2 February 2012

Last Friday (27 January 2012), I had the pleasure of attending the Sky Academy and concert in Chicago. It was wonderful getting the chance to attend a Sky Academy seminar without having to resort to going to L.A., New Zealand, or Germany. It was a great experience, albeit a brief one. It is easy to see why the standard Sky Academies normally span several days, since the one day seminar just barely scratched the surface.

While Reggie's Rock Club is no House of Blues, it certainly has its own distinctive personality. The worst part is that parking is limited around the club. However, the concert was great, with most of Uli's material stemming from pre-Beyond the Astral Skies days. Opening for Uli were Some Years Later, Kevin M. Buck, and The Golden Ghosts.

Setlist at Reggie's Rock Club in Chicago, IL, USA on 27 January 2012

  1. The Watchtower
  2. If 6 Was 9
  3. Little Wing
  4. Electric Sun
  5. Firewind
  6. A Day Late and A Dollar Short
  7. The Sails of Charon
  8. We'll Burn The Sky
  9. In Trance
  10. I've Got To Be Free (w/ extended jam)
  11. Polar Nights
  12. Dark Lady (w/ Black Night interlude)
    13. Encore:
  13. Pictured Life
  14. Catch Your Train
  15. Fly To The Rainbow
17 January 2012

The 3 Guitar Heroes tour may have been postponed, but Uli marches forth! Here are the scheduled set of early 2012 concerts in North America and Europe. Of important note, eight of the North America dates will also include one day Sky Academy seminars, very worthwhile to attend, especially if you haven't been close to previous Sky Academy seminars.

  • 14. 01 2012
    England Plymouth - World Class Music (Masterclass)
  • 20. 01 2012
    USA, California Corona - Marquee 15
  • 21. 01 2012
    USA, California Hollywood - Key Club: NAMM JAM
  • 22. 01 2012
    USA, California Ramona - Main Stage (these two shows + Richie Kotzen,Tony MacAlpine, Bruce Kulick)
  • 23. 01 2012
    USA, California Anaheim - SKY ACADEMY - Wall of Sound Studios
  • 26. 01 2012
    USA, Wisconsin Milwaukee - Shank Hall
  • 27. 01 2012
    USA, Illinois Chicago - Reggie's Rock Club (+ Sky Academy)
  • 28. 01 2012
    USA, Michigan Westland - The Token Lounge
  • 29. 01 2012
    Canada Toronto - The Rock Pile (+ Sky Academy)
  • 31. 01 2012
    USA, New York New York - B.B. King's (+ Sky Academy) w/ Leslie West
  • 01. 02 2012
    USA, Massachusetts Foxborough - Showcase Live w/ Leslie West
  • 02. 02 2012
    USA, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh - Altar Bar
  • 03. 02 2012
    USA, Pennsylvania Sellersville - Sellersville Theater (+ Sky Academy) w/ Leslie West
  • 04. 02 2012
    USA, New Jersey Sayreville - Starland Ballroom w/ Leslie West
  • 05. 02 2012
    Canada Montreal - Tba - (+ Sky Academy) w/ Leslie West
  • 09. 02 2012
    USA, Arizona Phoenix - Club Red (+ Sky Academy)
  • 10. 02 2012
    USA, California Redondo Beach - The Brixton
  • 11. 02 2012
    USA, California Oakland - The Pound West
  • 13. 02 2012
    USA, Oregon Portland - Hawthorne Theater (+ Sky Academy)
  • 14. 02 2012
    USA, Washington Tacoma - Backstage Live
  • 15. 02 2012
    USA, Washington Seattle - El Corazon (+ Sky Academy)
  • 17. 02 2012
    USA, California Orange Vale - The Boardwalk
  • 18. 02 2012
    USA, California San Marcos - Jumping Turtle (+ Sky Academy)
  • 24. 03 2012
    Germany Geseke - Schulzentrum Mitte (+ Jane)
  • 29. 03 2012
    France Colmar - Le Grillen
  • 30. 03 2012
    Switzerland Basel - Airport Casino - Metro
  • 31. 03 2012
    France Pagnez-Derriere-Barine - Chez Paulette
  • 02. 06 2012
    France Nancy - Amphiteater (+ Scorpions)
  • 02. 08 2012
    Germany Aschaffenburg - 3-day Music School Seminar + Uli