In a new interview with “Let’s Discuss With Lance Hall”, veteran hard rock vocalist Jeff Scott Soto was asked if he would ever consider writing an autobiography. He responded (hear audio below): “There is a book that my former tour manager pieced together. I guess it came out during the 30-year anniversary of my career back in 2014, I believe it was. And he was able to get it out on hard copy, but we never got it published. It wasn’t necessarily a tell-all, like giving all the dirt and all the details. It was more of a chronicle of my career — all the things that I’ve done, how I got involved with these people, et cetera, et cetera. I thought it was very chock-full of great information, but, as we all know, people want the dirt — they want the stories. They wanna hear [about] televisions being thrown out and the cocaine binges and all that kind of stuff. So I realized, for me to be able to tell my story, I might be hurting others. And I don’t have any interest in throwing anybody under the bus. And there are even some stories I can’t tell legally and officially. So if it’s gonna incomplete like that, it’s kind of not worth it. I’m at the stage of my life where I’m still kind of writing the book in terms of living the experiences. So I don’t think I’m ready for that.”
Soto‘s career spans over 35 years. He was first introduced to the public as the vocalist for guitar virtuoso Yngwie Malmsteen‘s iconic first two solo albums before going on to front esteemed hard rock band TALISMAN. He is also one of the vocalists for the wildly popular TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA, the lead vocalist for super group W.E.T. (featuring JSS alongside members of ECLIPSE and WORK OF ART), creative visionary for the more metal leaning Soto, and frontman for the supergroup SONS OF APOLLO (which also features Mike Portnoy, Derek Sherinian, Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal and Billy Sheehan), among many other musical activities he has been and is involved in. He also held a stint fronting Rock And Roll Hall Of Famers JOURNEY and was one of the vocalists for the officially sanctioned QUEEN tribute QUEEN EXTRAVAGANZA. His incredible voice has led to many an artist inviting him to do guest lead vocals or background vocals on their albums, including, but not limited to, STRYPER, Joel Hoekstra, SAIGON KICK, Fergie Frederiksen, Lita Ford, STEELHEART, and more.
In 1995, Soto released his first solo album, “Love Parade”, followed years later by the acclaimed “Prism” (2002), then “Lost In The Translation” (2005), “Beautiful Mess” (2009), “Damage Control” (2012), “Retribution” (2017) and “Wide Awake (In My Dreamland)” (2020).
Asked in a 2015 interview with JoelGausten.com what he considers to be the keys to longevity in the music industry, Jeff said: “You have to want it so badly that you know nothing else. That, to me, is the key to me even being here now and even talking to you. It’s a very fickle industry. As most know, it’s not going to work for everybody, especially today. One out of every 5,000 to 10,000 is going to get a chance to do anything in a real way. Those odds are not very good. You have to really want it; you have to really be hungry for it and you have to stick it through. My persistence is one of the things that got me most of the gigs, whether it be singing for JOURNEY or singing for TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA currently or any of the other things I have under my belt. My persistence has been above and beyond most people that I know in this industry, and that’s the only thing that got me here. I’m still eons away from where I aim to be and where I ever wanted to be. I’m still hungry for it as if I am starting today, like it was 1985 all over again. That’s another thing that keeps me here. So if you really want it, it will happen. That’s the only advice I could ever give to a new musician; you’ve gotta stick with it. If you don’t stick with it, then that means you never really wanted it.”
