Confeos
Game time started.
Yeah, he acknowledges it this interview (has been posted before in another thread): https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/23207-iron-maiden-out-of-thin-air
"You’re all accomplished players, but do you spend any time at home woodshedding, working on your chops?
Smith: I definitely practice, especially before an album or a tour. I can’t do what some people do—you hear about Yngwie Malmsteen practicing for eight hours a day. That’s a long time to do just one thing. When I get time, I try to learn some new things and stay fresh. One thing I like to do is work new techniques into old material. Sometimes [bassist] Steve [Harris] will say to me, “Why are you changing that? What you had before is great, it’s melodic—it’s what people want to hear.” But you know, you have to try sometimes, especially with stuff you’ve played so much."
So it's definitely a matter of spicing up the older songs from time to time, so they stay interesting (at least for him).
"You’re all accomplished players, but do you spend any time at home woodshedding, working on your chops?
Smith: I definitely practice, especially before an album or a tour. I can’t do what some people do—you hear about Yngwie Malmsteen practicing for eight hours a day. That’s a long time to do just one thing. When I get time, I try to learn some new things and stay fresh. One thing I like to do is work new techniques into old material. Sometimes [bassist] Steve [Harris] will say to me, “Why are you changing that? What you had before is great, it’s melodic—it’s what people want to hear.” But you know, you have to try sometimes, especially with stuff you’ve played so much."
So it's definitely a matter of spicing up the older songs from time to time, so they stay interesting (at least for him).