After seven years, two albums and playing numerous tours a statement was released by guitarist Micky Crystal on 23^rd April 2020 which left fans of the Tygers of Pan Tang in shock as it came at a time when the Tygers were, after rescheduling lockdown dates, gearing up to going out on the road with new album Ritual…..

’I officially announce that I have left Tygers of Pan Tang and want to thank you the fans for all your love and support. I am proud of the music we have created and the things this line-up has achieved.

I have developed and grown both as a musician and as a person and I feel this is the perfect time to open the door to a new chapter and new goals. I wish the band all the best for the future. Micky’

Only so much can be said in a statement so for more detail I got in touch and asked Micky if he has made the right decision…. Absolutely, you know I had a great time for the first few years but to be honest I think I cared too much and was starting to drive myself crazy really wanting it to be something that it wasn’t going to be.

At the same time I feel fortunate that I’ve met some true friends within the band and been able to visit some of the wonderful places I have through playing music.

But unfortunately, cracks started to appear and gradually got worse particularly around making the Ritual album.

What were the problems for you ?

I began to find things incredibly frustrating. The manager and the original member have been friends since the Sykes/Deverill days and while he did do some good things early on, it gradually had a very negative effect on the decision making.

It became less of the democratic brotherhood that it was sold as when they asked me to join.

Increasingly towards the end, big decisions were made without everyone’s approval or in some cases we were deliberately not being told, there’s too many examples to individually list.

The original member made it clear to me on numerous occasions that it was their way or the highway which only added to my growing frustrations after he had very little involvement in the writing or recording of Ritual.

That wasn’t a problem in itself, but it became painfully apparent that there was no appreciation for the extra work and hours put in by myself.

I started to feel more like a hired hand who was expected to write albums and do the hard work but have very little say or input regarding anything else – that just didn’t work for me.

In the end it was actually an old interview quote from John Sykes (former Tyger guitarist) that made me realise things would never change and it was time to walk away.

“What happened with the Tygers was that I was getting fed up with them. Everything was a five-way split, yet I was doing most of the work and not getting the credit I should have done. They didn’t wanna listen to what I had to say – I told them to get rid of the manager”.

(Interview with Killerwatt in Kerrang magazine 1984) 

What are your plans now ?

I’ve been working on a home studio and have been getting more into the production side of music which I’m really enjoying. It’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time.

I was fortunate enough to spend a week with Soren Andersen last year and I learnt a lot from him so I’m putting a lot of the stuff I learnt into practice now.

I’ve also got some online content for some guitar companies that I’m working on. Plus some online collaborations and a prog project that I’m pretty excited about too.

Have you been listening to any new music ?

I’m listening to a lot of trap and pop music at the moment. People like Machine Gun Kelly and Post Malone in particular. I’m listening to a lot of Big Wreck too as well as all the usual rock stuff like Led Zeppelin and Ozzy.

It really depends on the day to be honest, one day it could be Chick Corea the next day it could be Bring Me The Horizon.

What were your highlights in the Tygers ?

Writing closely with Gav and Jack was a highlight, they both work fast and they’re very open minded when it comes to creative ideas. Finding out that both the self-titled album and Ritual had charted was awesome combined with various magazine front covers for the first time in the bands history.

Spending my 28th birthday on stage in São Paulo, plus I’d always wanted to play in Japan so getting to play there and go sightseeing round Tokyo was certainly a highlight.

The Lockdown – how are you dealing with it ?

I’m still teaching from home via Skype and playing a lot and recording too so I’m keeping busy. Just trying to make sure I’m learning new things so it’s been ok.

Who knows what the future holds. I’m totally open to new projects and bands. I hope it involves a lot of music, recording, teaching, playing live. I love it all.

For more information contact Micky on his social media acoounts:

https://facebook.com/MickyCrystalOfficial/

https://www.instagram.com/mickycrystal/

https://youtube.com/MickyCrystal

https://jtcguitar.com/store/artist/micky-crystal/

Interview by  Alikivi  April 2020