Zeberdee : Rick Savage, Vivian Campbell, Phil Collen, and Joe Elliott of DEF LEPPARD will be here in a minute... Zeberdee : to answer questions about their fabulous career, their new album, SLANG, or whatever's on your mind! Zeberdee : SO, if you have a question for DEF LEPPARD, send it in NOW! Use that handy "INTERACT" button. Zeberdee : Also, you could be a REAL FRIEND and tell EVERYONE you know about this rare chance to talk to Zeberdee : DEF LEPPARD online! Zeberdee : If you are REALLY COOL, you will tell your friends to come here and check out DEF LEPPARD! Zeberdee : REMEMBER, you can keep sending questions for the band throughout the interview! Zeberdee : It's SUCH a RUSH to have SUPERSTARS like DEF LEPPARD answer YOUR questions online! Zeberdee : You've just GOT to send some questions in to experience the MAGIC of having one (or 2) answered! Zeberdee : Send in GOOD questions, and you'll have a better chance of seeing them come up! Zeberdee : For those just joining us: This is ROCKLINE ONLINE, and tonight we are superstoked to bring you... Zeberdee : DEF LEPPARD!!! Zeberdee : Just minutes away!! Zeberdee : For anyone new to this: Send in questions for DEF LEPPARD by clicking on the "INTERACT" button... Zeberdee : on your chat window. Then, type a question and click "send question" Zeberdee : That's it! Zeberdee : OK, the band is here! Let's go! DefLep RL : Hello! DefLep RL : Good to be here Question : Great to see you online! Are you planning to release a CDROM someday, like the Japanese Question : release was supposed to have? DefLep RL : Probably. DefLep RL : We couldn't give you a positive answer yet. We've only just got past the Space Invaders computer DefLep RL : phase DefLep RL : We do have a website though. Mercuryrecords.com/Mercury (Artist Page) Question : From Alex (who couldn't be here tonight): Wanted to ask, what are each of your favorite Question : songs on Slang, and why? Thank you! DefLep RL : JOE: It changes every week. Right now, it is "Work it Out". It sounds good on the radio! DefLep RL : Rick: "Where Does Love Go When it Dies" DefLep RL : PHIL: Pearl of Euphoria DefLep RL : Vivian: "All I Want is Everything" IT is a very natural sounding track. DefLep RL : There is a bald headed fellow behind us yelling "Deliver Me" Question : Looking forward to the Kalamazoo show on the 26th! What do you guys think of the whole Question : fan network online and on the Internet..ex; LepNet, Leppard folder on AOL, etc? DefLep RL : It's all lovely... Question : What will be the second single off of Slang for the US? DefLep RL : We're not really sure. The single is doing so well on rock radio, so we will probably release another DefLep RL : rock track instead of a ballad. DefLep RL : When interest comes to us and the feeling is unanimous, that it what we usually go with. Question : Will the song "When Saturday Comes" be a b-side? DefLep RL : Only if we run out of real songs. DefLep RL : !!! Question : Will we hear any songs off of Retroactive played live this tour? (I'd love to hear "Ring Question : of Fire"!) DefLep RL : Yes. No. (For "Ring of Fire") Question : I have a copy of FIRST STRIKE - What are your current opinions of this album - since only Question : 2 of you who recorded it are left????? ND DefLep RL : We completely disown that bootleg album. It is collection of songs put together by our former DefLep RL : management in a pathetic attempt to scrape together the rent money. Question : The *ever reliable* grapevine , hints that this tour is going to be scaled Question : way back compared to the flashy in-the-round events of the past. Since lasers and spinning Question : drumkits aren't THAT critical, anyway, what CAN we expect this summer? DefLep RL : No lazers and no spinning drum kits. Emphasis on the music and the band not so much on the toys. Question : Why did some countries get "Slang" as the first single and others get "Work it Out"? DefLep RL : 'Cause the record company in decided that Slang would be better. Question : Glad to hear the new album--I love it! Was it difficult to decide which songs to drop Question : from the set and which new ones to include? DefLep RL : It is always difficult, and in fact we are still juggling it around right now. Question : Hi Joe! I LOVE YOU! Your voice is wickedly deep now...did you lower it on purpose, did it Question : naturally deepen or have you helped it along some by smoking?? DefLep RL : Yes to all the above Question : Trevor Rabin is thanked on the Pyromania album. What did he do on the record? DefLep RL : He lent us a Marshall head. Question : Question forom the AOL board, How long are you going to tour? Only outdoor shows or will Question : you return in the winter for indoor venues? (like last tour) DefLep RL : It will depend on the longevity of the record. DefLep RL : We do hope to tour throughout the winter. Question : Is Leppard ever planning to play older stuff on this tour again? I liked Another Hit and Question : Run played on the last tour--and it would be cool to see more obscure stuff played now and again. Question : Any chance of it happening? DefLep RL : Absolutely yes. Question : This is for Joe: you were quoted in Metal Hammer as saying that Mutt Lange wanted Def Question : Leppard to write "happy" songs. If that kind of restraint hadn't been in place, do you think Question : Slang, or some incarnation thereof, might have occurred prior to 1996? DefLep RL : The point I was trying to put across was that Lyrically, negativity wasn't in Mutt's vocabulary. DefLep RL : But, on this album, having not worked with Mutt we took upon ourselves to acknowledge that not all DefLep RL : things in life are positive, so we wanted to write about things of a negative nature, because that is DefLep RL : mostly what life is like. Question : How do you guys feel about fans` response to 'Slang'? Some hate it, saying you`ve jumped Question : on the alternative bandwagon while others claim it to be their favorite CD yet. DefLep RL : We personally haven't encountered any negative feedback, except from a few journalists. DefLep RL : Ultimately, it is the quality of the songs to determine whether it is a good album. It mostly DefLep RL : going to be that some people like it and some don't. It is a matter of choice. Question : What influenced the new sound? DefLep RL : We got bored of the big production. We recorded in a house as opposed to a studio, so basically we DefLep RL : recorded with demo, home recording equipment, within a house enviornment instead of a studio so DefLep RL : that one isn't obssessed with perfection. DefLep RL : The whole process was a reaction of how we used to record, everything from songwriting to production DefLep RL : techniques. Question : What prompted you to write and record "Blood Runs Cold" when you said you weren't Question : interested in doing personal songs? And how did it personally feel to each of you to record it? DefLep RL : If we said we were never going to record personal songs, it was probably 8 years ago. We've changed DefLep RL : our minds. Check out "White Lightning" on Adrenelize. Question : Hey Joe, did Steve's death change your feelings any about the "rock star" mentality of Question : drinking and partying DefLep RL : No, I always knew it was stupid. We've all said many times in the past, how idiotic it was for DefLep RL : people like Morrison, Hendrix, Joplin, to die so young. Unfortunately Steve was on a different DefLep RL : wave length at the time. Question : On tour, are you guys going to break up the set with an acoustic section even though this Question : album seems to be an attempt to get back to serious rock? Seems like "no acoustic" should be the Question : chant. DefLep RL : It is actually. We've done an acoustic tour for the Greatest Hits and we're all really burned out DefLep RL : with the acoustic thing. However, "Two Steps Behind" was a really big hit for us and it was DefLep RL : an acoustic song. We will be doing that one. Question : I LOVE the new cd cover!!! Can you "interpret" it for us? What's with the binary Question : numbers? And the Indian flavor? Very cool!!! DefLep RL : The binary is computer language, so figure it out. Slang... DefLep RL : The Indian thing is all Phil's fault. DefLep RL : !!! DefLep RL : (lOL) DefLep RL : The people who designed the sleeve heard "Turn to Dust" and that was their interpretation. Question : Sav- I couldn`t help but notice all the bass in this CD. I LOVE it! It`s great to finally Question : hear you stand out! Did you enjoy flexing your creative bass muscles? DefLep RL : It was great fun actually using all 5 strings for a change. Zeberdee : Sorry folks, but we're out of time with the band! Zeberdee : We didn't have nearly enough time... Zeberdee : Thanks to the band for spending the time with us! DefLep RL : WE look forward to seeing as many people as possible on our tour. Adios!! Zeberdee : AND, thanks to all of you out there for the great questions. Zeberdee : REMEMBER to tune in ROCKLINE at 8:30 pacific time to hear DEF LEPPARD live on the radio. Zeberdee : CALL 1 800 344 ROCK to ask the band a question live on the air. Zeberdee : Once again, the band's Web site is: http://www.mercuryrecords.com/mercury (artist page) Zeberdee : Thanks again for joining us! Zeberdee : See you next time...