Michael Fischer of KNAC.com contacted an interview with Uriah Heep's lead guitarist Mick Box. Uriah Heep at the moment are touring to promote their new album "Wake The Sleeper".

KNAC.COM: Hello Mick! Top of the morning to ya mate!

BOX: Yes indeed Fish. Well... it's becoming evening over here in England and it's raining cats and dogs.


KNAC.COM: Well, then should I say "Bottom of the evenin' to ya then mate!"

BOX: ( Laughs) Yes, it's a "Bottom of the day!" ( Mick says that as he's probably gazing into the bottom of his empty pint glass needing a refill for this interview ).

KNAC.COM: If it's gloomy and raining... that's a beautiful day if your from England huh?

BOX: Yes, indeed ( Still laughing )

KNAC.COM: Where are you originally from?

BOX: I am from a town called "Walthamstow' in the East End of London England!

KNAC.COM: My ex-wife was from London... Tottenham.

BOX: Oh that's my team! The Tottenham Hotspurs!

KNAC.COM: Cool. Your a big Futbol ( Soccer ) fan?

BOX:Tottenham Hotspurs indeed! I supported them since a child. They are a hard team to support and our trophy cabinet is pretty bare but hey I stick with them through thick and thin. We did win a trophy recently and you would have thought we had won the world cup, come on you Spurs!

KNAC.COM: So what's new with Heep?

BOX: We have a new record out called Wake The Sleeper on Universal and we're ready to tour Europe this Fall. It's gotten great reactions from everyone, so we're very pleased with that. We're looking at now trying to put an American Tour together now. We'll maybe do the House of Blues in mid January or February 2009 and come across with a real strong package. So we're really vibed.

KNAC.COM: "Wake the Sleeper' is how many albums for Heep?

BOX: Twenty one I think?....I go a little dizzy counting!

KNAC.COM: Chicago fans would love to see you again.

BOX: Mate, Chicago was home for Uriah Heep for many many years.

KNAC.COM: Fan's praise your live record from 1973.

BOX: That's a real live record though as well! ( Laughs ). That's one of those rare things these days where we actually record it on the night. And mix it and put it out without any touchin'.

KNAC.COM: That's when people actually did all their vocals without all the digital cookie cutter recording today.

BOX: Yeah, we don't do any trickery at all. As it was, is the way you hear it.

KNAC.COM: In two years, Heep will have been together four decades?

BOX: It will be indeed... Yeah forty years, It's unbelievable isn't it? I mean I became a musician for life. Little did I know that forty years of that would be in Uriah Heep. Hey, I've been blessed. It's been a fantastic roller coaster life.

KNAC.COM: I think it's great your keeping the band's legacy alive.

BOX: You know, we lost a couple people along the way with our vocalist David Byron and bass player Gary Thain. And one of the reasons of keeping the band going really (pauses) was simply to keep the legacy of what they left behind so people could still be inspired by it. That was one of the reasons and I really proved my point. Because people write to me and say, "God what a great vocalist and bass player they were!"

NOTE: (David Byron the original lead singer of the band Uriah Heep from 1970 to 1975. He was removed from the band after Return to Fantasy due to his problems with alcohol. Ten years later he was found dead from a heart attack at the age of 38 on February 28, 1985. Bassist Gary Thain was with Heep from 1972 to 1975. He was plagued by ill health, drug problems, and was hospitalized after being electrocuted on stage cancelling their remaining US and UK Tour Dates for the Wonderworld Tour. Shortly after the bands departure, Gary was found dead in his flat on December 8, 1975 from a drug over dose.)

KNAC.COM: What was it like to play with Gary Thain?

BOX: He was fantastic player, and he was really in tune with everything. He was the first bass player that had those melodic bass lines. He used to fly about all over the place and it just fit the music perfectly. He just had the knack of doing those things so beautifully... and effortlessly as well.

KNAC.COM: He had a lot of Jazz influence?

BOX: A bit of everything. He was very in tune with so many genres of music. He was right up there. Fantastic player, and a great person. Real great individual. He's one of those guys, if you met him... you would never forget him. It would be a special moment.

KNAC.COM: He was electrocuted on stage?

BOX: Yes in Dallas. It was very unfortunate and Gary was quite a fragile individual at the time and we had to stop the show. We did go back and play a free concert to make up for it and we received the key to the city. It was 3rd October 1975. It did not mean much because I have not had even as much as a free drink in Dallas since receiving the award.

KNAC.COM: Your keyboard player Phil Lanzon and yourself wrote most of the material for the new record?

BOX: Yeah, we're a good writing team. We've been writing now for a number of years. We're just very comfortable with each other as writers. We move very quickly to so it's never boring. And we're very pleased with the results we've been having lately. It's just balls to the wall rock music really. Good honest rock music that Heep's been known for with melodic songs, a decent lyric and all the trademarks of Uriah Heep like the Hammond Organ and the wah-wah guitar. And five vocalists because we have five people that can sing. So harmonies are a very big part of what we do. So we're very proud of it. I think it's the album the fans have been waiting for awhile. It works on all levels really.

KNAC.COM: Your song off your first record in 1970 Wake Up and Set your Sights has really come full circle with the war cry theme hasn't it.

BOX: Yes it is quite amazing isn't it how these things go round in circles like that. The song "What Kind of God" from our new CD is getting the same comparisons in regards to war.

KNAC.COM: Heep was doing the big harmony vocals long before bands like Queen?

BOX: Oh absolutely yeah. I can remember touring America and one guy called us the Beach Boys of Heavy Metal. It made me laugh. We've always had that harmony thing. That stood us out apart from all the other bands that were around at the time when we came out you see. Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath all had one vocalist and then Uriah Heep had five. So that stood us apart. Because in the sixties, harmony was used very very sweetly, and melodically. And we started using it almost as an instrument. And that kinda turned people onto emulating us really.

KNAC.COM: Your first couple records are heavy with vocals.

BOX: It's one of those things that you know, your trying to find your feet. You trying to find out your own trademarks and own identity. And the harmony thing was one of those big factors for us.

KNAC.COM: Did Spinal Tap ever pay you a royalty for stealing your image?

BOX: (Laughs hysterically) Well let me tell you a story. No! (Laughs) I don't think there is a band in the world there isn't a bit of Spinal Tap in. I think they're fantastic!

KNAC.COM: You were doing "Jazz Odyssey' long before Derek Smalls? (Bassist Spinal Tap)

BOX: Well, I heard through the business Derek Smalls was more the bass player from Judas Priest. And if you look at the similarities there, it very well could be. I've heard these rumors who it's all about. One minute it's Iron Maiden, the next minute it's us, the next minute it's Judas Priest. But the honest truth is, there's a bit of every band in there. (Laughing) Without foul. I don't know band who hasn't been lost backstage in Cleveland.

KNAC.COM: Heep all sing... and Tap all sing. Coincidence?

BOX: (Laughs) Yeah, there is a similarity.

KNAC.COM: Austin Powers should pay David Byron a royalty for stealing his image too?

BOX: (Laughs) Absolutely! It just shows you what a strong image it is for it to be emulated like that.

KNAC.COM: Bands don't dress up and perform anymore. Everyone just goes out in t-shirts and jeans.

BOX: I'm afraid we've lost all the characters in the world Fish. It's a real shame. It's gotten a little generic hasn't it in that regard. You haven't got the "Bowie Spiders From Mars' thing happening. Or any of those T-Rex's of the world and stuff like that. It's gotten to be like you say, t-shirts and jeans hasn't it.

KNAC.COM: It's a performance. Do you think bands have gotten lazy?

BOX: The presentation is great when you get it right.

KNAC.COM: Your "Magicians Birthday Reunion DVD" from 2001 was quite impressive. Safe to say Bernie Shaw is definitely the singer for Heep?

BOX: That's absolutely brilliant. Well the thing is, when we got Bernie about twenty six years ago in 1986. We've had other singers since David's death like John Lawton (Lucifer's Friend). When we went out and toured with Bernie for the first time, fans came up to me bar none in every country saying "At last! Now we have the Uriah Heep singer!' It was unbelievable. Bernie has the capabilities to sing from all the songs from 1970 up to today. He's got that range to his voice. We did some acoustic shows recently with Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull) and people like that. We kind of stripped everything down, an occasionally on those old songs. It was almost like I could almost close my eyes and it would be David singing. It was quite spooky. It gets that close. Apart from having his own identity on some of those old songs, Bernie really hits the nail right on the head.

KNAC.COM: He handles David's vocal material with respect.

BOX: Absolutely. He's very respectful of that as well.

KNAC.COM: What was the writer that said about David's vocals on Salisbury? His vocals sounded like a Danish Fjord. The sound of someone falling into the Fjord on a cold day.

BOX: (Laughing) It sounds like a car starting up! (Laughing) Like "Uh, uh, uh!" That was David you know. He had that vehicle that was wonderful... and it was controlled. He could really do it well.

KNAC.COM: Your second record "Salisbury' from 1971 was the first time I ever heard Uriah Heep. It really changed the way I viewed progressive rock.

BOX: Salisbury is the Dark Horse in our catalog. People come out and say what a great record it is.

KNAC.COM: I heard the first song "High Priestess" and was thrown for a loop.

BOX: There's some vibrato for you... and high harmonies!

KNAC.COM: Do you have a funny story from that record?

BOX: Recording the guitar solo live for the song "Salisbury" was quite funny. It was the first time I had been in a studio back then with real orchestrated musicians. We were all reading dots, or tad poles on A4 I call them. The symphony musicians (Brass and Woodwind) were all sitting in the back of the studio recording their parts... and they could hear the click of my wah-wah getting ready to go for the solo. And soon as I ripped into the solo... Every one of them threw their head phones on the floor! (Laughs) I had to play these three really lengthy solo's with all that turmoil going on (Laughing). conductor John Fiddy tried to get them all together to come back in. So it was a great album for all those memories which was done absolutely wonderful.

KNAC.COM: Who was the song "Simon the Bullet Freak" about?

BOX: Simon was just a name that fit the lyric at the time taken from out imagination.

KNAC.COM: By your fourth record "Demons and Wizards" in 1972. You were doing drop D guitar tuning and sorcery themes long before other bands?

BOX: Yeah, we actually hit on the formula almost by accident really. We were just writing lyrics in a very mystical way you know. It then it just so happens at the same time we found Roger Dean. And he kind of married the cover of Demons of Wizards with the music for the first time. We used to just do the music and then just go and find a cover. But this time it all sort of developed together, Roger listened to the music and came up with that artwork and it was tremendous. It's quite iconic now days because it's one of those that has revered through the ages as a great piece of artwork. It just all came together... all very very quickly. And we knew we had something special because we captured everyone's imagination by writing lyrics like that.

KNAC.COM: Demons and Wizards is a big fan favorite.

BOX: That was the album that took us on the world stage. And we're playing fifty three countries now. Probably a lot of that is because of that album.

KNAC.COM: Were songs like "All my Life", "Sweet Lorraine", or "Stealin'" written about any girls in particular?

BOX: Not really. A lot of that was just imagination you know. No particular female involved.

KNAC.COM: "Bird of Prey" Sharon Osbourne?

BOX: (Laughs hard). Now your getting into some ground! (Laughing). A good fit, I have to say! I have to be honest.

KNAC.COM: In 1975, I heard you fell off the stage on opening night in Louisville for the Return to Fantasy Tour and broke your arm?

BOX: It was crazy! We had all black carpeting on stage because it's what David wanted. Normally we had the lighting truss and the crew would always tell me every night "The lights here, so when you run out Mick.. you know where to stop.' This time they didn't! It was the first night of a long tour and I ran straight out off the stage and crashing into the orchestra pit. (Laughing) Which couldn't have looked to clever. I dislocated my left arm. Half way through the show, the crew brought back a nurse from the hospital to come look at my arm mid show. She snapped it back into position. I thought,"This is painful!" We had a bottle of Remy Martin Brandy there so I thought..."Doctor Remy will help me." I was going though that cognac like water! And by the end of the show I was a bit wobbly on my feet and low and behold... When we went for our stage bow at the end of the show... I bowed to far and fell straight into orchestra the pit again!!! But this time I broke four bones in my right arm. So I hit that deck twice (pauses) and it was just terrible.

KNAC.COM: "Return to Fantasy" should have been called "Return to the Emergency Room?"

BOX: (Laughs) Yes indeed. The next night we played Detroit Cobo Hall and it was all just unbelievable. They were giving me three injections a night through various stages of the show. But sometimes they couldn't hang around. So they give me a boost. I'd have to delay the show while I came back down to earth. (Laughs) Honestly, I've never enjoyed the light show so much in my life! (Laughing) But it was a bit of a tough run to do, but I did that for about three months. I had two casts a day. I would go on at night and play the show... and my right arm would swell up, and break the cast. I would have to go straight from the show to the hospital afterwards and put a new one on. I'd wake up in the morning and the swelling would be gone down... and my arm would just be there flapping in the wind. Go have another cast done. It was a constant three months of hospitals. I never want to go thru that again. (Chuckling). Well, we didn't cancel any shows and we managed to get through.

KNAC.COM: You were definitely improvising to play.

BOX: Oh yeah, I was cutting the cast away with scissors to make it comfortable and gaffing the pick to my right hand. We tried everything we could like put a lot of gain up on the amps so I could do a lot of left hand string stuff. It was an interesting ride.

KNAC.COM: Maybe your cast could be an option for Mick Box on the Guitar Hero Video game?

BOX: (Laughs) Why not? The original cast!

KNAC.COM: Producer Max Norman used to do live sound for Heep on the road. He told a hilarious story about your late singer David Byron falling and sliding across the stage on his duff in the rain. He said, when he got up... his white out fit had a huge dark stripe down one side to the laughter of the band and crew.

BOX: Yes David was very skunk like. These sort of things happened all the time. When we did "Don Kirshner's Rock Concert" Rock TV show. David came out (after sampling a little bit too much of the Amber Nectar in the dressing room) and tripped over and impaled himself on the bass drum in the first number. He had to sit there and finish the song. I give it to him though he did pose away like nothing had happened.

KNAC.COM: Did you ever toss a television off the "Rock n' Roll Hyatt" on Sunset Blvd?

BOX: We did some crazy stuff, but didn't really do that. In all honesty, we were away from home for nine months out of the year. And the last thing you want to do is trash your room because you gotta live in it. We did a lot of stuff like throw a couple mannequins into hotel swimming pool and then watch a thousand police cars show up because they thought someone had drowned. Little things like that. Never our own abode. (Chuckles)

KNAC.COM: Heep and Frank Zappa were the only bands to ever to use a Kazoo on a record?

NOTE: The Kazoo is a simple music instrument (membranophone) that adds a buzzing timbral quality to the players voice when one vocalizes into it. The Kazoo is a type a mirliton - a device which modifies the sound of a persons voice by way of a vibrating membrane.

BOX: Indeed. In the solo of Magician's Birthday. Yeah, that was our drummer Lee Kerslake. He did a fantastic job too I thought. In fact the first take, when we just tried it out as an experiment. That was the one I wanted! But nobody pressed the record button. That was the most fantastic Kazoo solo I ever heard in my life, but it ended up pretty good anyway. That first run he did, I was falling on the floor laughing, it was fantastic.

KNAC.COM: Kazoo's were hot for about one year.

BOX: (Laughing) I'm surprised it was a year!

KNAC.COM: So who really did the ranchers daughter?

BOX: (Replies) "Done the ranchers daughter?" (Laughs). (In his calm british voice) I think we all did...one by one! (Laughing) That's the honest truth. (Still laughing).

KNAC.COM: And you sure did hurt his pride.

BOX: (Laughing) And I hurt his pride indeed!

KNAC.COM: What was higher in 1975? The bands bar tab? Or your shampoo bill?

BOX: (Laughing) Definitely the bar tab every time! We certainly shied away from the hair spray thing. (Still chuckling)

KNAC.COM: Do you have a Wah-Wah Pedal in your kitchen, or bathroom at home?

BOX: I have it personally installed in every pair of shoes I buy! Um for two reasons. One the height problem is I love the sound of it when I walk. (Laughing). You know it's part of my guitar style and sound. So I don't use it in the typical sense where the Wah-Wah (He makes a "wah wah wah" sound) is going all the time. I use it more as a tone bend. With the power of our band, you know and go to take a lead break on a single note, your up against it. So if you can find a tone where by it just sits on top of it, and it can be heard. That's basically the way I use it really.

KNAC.COM: It's vintage tone.

BOX: Absolutely. Yeah, I don't like all the new fangle dangle ones with all the different knobs on it and stuff where you can make a Cappucino out of it. It looks like a coffee machine. Just the straight forward one for me mate.

KNAC.COM: Where did you guys buy those cool platform shoes in the 70s?

BOX: There were a number of places but most people went to Kensington Market or Camden Town Market. Hey, they were cool then but now?

KNAC.COM: It's really great to see all your music being re-released on CD, and concert DVD. "Wonderworld" and "Sweet Freedom" are now digitally remastered.

BOX: There's a whole remaster thing going on. I would hate to see them all disappear. There seems to be a resurgence in it. So Oappy days really.

KNAC.COM: Guitar amps have gotten really processed. Do you still plug straight into a Marshall?

BOX: That's all I do, and all I ever want to do. I don't like all that processed sound. I don't think it makes the guitar sound like a guitar.

KNAC.COM: Do you believe your sound comes from your fingers?

BOX: Absolutely. I think that's the way it should be all the tone and everything else you know.

KNAC.COM: Do you still play your signature "Black Beauty" Les Paul?

BOX: No, but it's my all time favorite. I've retired them because I have a new signature Mick Box Model Guitar made by "Dot On Shaft Guitars" made in Canada. They're beautiful guitars. I get a lot of guitars like the Black Beauty type and put them down the next minute and go "No it's not for me." This particular one my guitar tech set it up and said "Just try it.' I said "O.K., I'm going to try two numbers tonight and then get ready to give me the other one." I had it on for one month and said "This is sounding really good!" (Laughs) It's a mean machine, I love it!

KNAC.COM: What do you do when your not on the road with Heep?

BOX: I've been managing Heep for the last twenty years. I sort of relinquished that to a guy named Simon Porter who was my PR guy back in the day. He also manages another English based band called Status Quo. Now I can stop being a typist and start playing guitar. Plus I have a little seven year old boy that keeps me busy. So you know there is a point and time I just take off the rock n' roll hat, and put on a dad's hat and have the best time of all hanging out with my son.

KNAC.COM: A "Little Heepster."

BOX: A "Little Heepster" indeed!

KNAC.COM: Are you getting better with age?

BOX: Well, you know I never look at age as a disadvantage. I just look at I'm doing what I did when I was eighteen now. And there's no reason to stop doing it. If your enjoying what you do. To be honest... you don't ever retire from the business. The business retires you! If there is no audience... you can't go out and play for anyone. We're lucky enough we have a great fan base through our website, a solid world wide touring base and everything else. We have all of the above and can continue working no matter what.

KNAC.COM: Do you hear Hammond Organs in your sleep?

BOX: It's a very versatile instrument isn't it and I love it! It's capable of doing all the romantic cool quiet stuff, and it can be as aggressive as you want to make it. Much the same as the guitar to be honest. In terms of that.

KNAC.COM: I'm bet Ken Hensley hears your guitar amp in his sleep?

BOX: (Speaks humble and slow) I can only hope so. (Laughs)

KNAC.COM: Do you have any Mick Box Survival Tip's?

BOX: Survival Tips? Um (pauses) I think believe in yourself is very important. Because you know it's one door up to another, until it slams in your face... until the belief is... that it will get you thru to the end. Other than that, you have to have degrees of discipline. Everyone likes to party, and do all that fun stuff. But you've always got to think of tomorrows show. I think discipline is very important.

KNAC.COM: It's easy to lose your focus on the road partying.

BOX: Exactly, it certainly is. There's a time to go out and have a laugh, and a time not to. And smile mate! Keep smilin'! If your happy in what you do then there's no better place to be. Somebody asked me about my guitar style, talking about me coming from the 60's blues thing that was happening with John Mayo and Eric Clapton. When I actually started playing guitar, I was a jazz guitarist that moved straight into rock. I gave the blues thing the complete miss. And they said "Why is that?' I said "I was too happy to play the blues.' I was having the time of my life (Laughing). Why am I going to try and get depressed and play all those blues lines?

KNAC.COM: You can play blues all night, but only actually listen to it for fifteen minutes.

BOX: Yeah, I couldn't go that route. I think being in a happy frame of mind is the best frame of mind you can have.

KNAC.COM: You could start 'Appy Mick's Box Company and slip Heep CD's inside the boxes you sell?

BOX: (Chuckling) Sounds like a plan to me.

KNAC.COM: One last question! If I win the lottery, will you come play my party?

BOX: (Laughs) Absolutely!

KNAC.COM: I want to get up on stage and jam with you guys like "Jeff Spacoli" in Fast Times at Ridgemount High.

BOX: That would be brilliant mate!

KNAC.COM: It's been really fun talking to you Mick.

BOX: As you my friend!

KNAC.COM: Go "Tottenham!"

BOX: Ah, we're going no where. (Laughs) We've still got a lot to go for.

KNAC.COM: Hey, the "Tottenham Hotspurs" still smoke the "L.A. Galaxy.' We'll trade you David Beckem and Posh Spice for a couple cases of Guinness?

BOX: (Last Chuckle) Indeed, brilliant mate!

KNAC.COM: Good luck with your new record. We all look forward to seeing you on tour... and speaking for "Heepsters' everywhere "Long Live Heep!' Cheers Mick!

BOX: Thank you KNAC and Fish my friend... and 'Appy days! Cheers mate!