David Coverdale: Powerhouse rock singer. Demanding band leader. Cocksman. These are the facts once, now, and always, each evident immediately in his band Whitesnake’s shocking 11th record, Forevermore. But there is more to Coverdale. He lives in a really tall house in Lake Tahoe that, at the time of our chat, was partially snowbound. He is aggressively friendly. He swears magnificently. Oh, and the dude has paired with Blackmore, Sykes, Vandenberg, Vai, and Page. That’s an Ozzy-sized resume and David Lee Roth-league results. So you get that it’s both fun and stressful to gain entry into CoverdaleLand for a few minutes. Still, it was all laughs as Coverdale entertained my inquiries into the muscular songwriting of Forevermore, the bombast of Slip of the Tongue (as captured live in this summer’s Live At Donington 1990 DVD-CD set), his voice health, and the “snakes” of Whitesnake axemen.

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Twitter is arguably the most powerful tool available to musicians today, its micro-blogging mechanism allowing for real-time dissemination of information as well as a venue for direct communication open discussion with fans. Sadly, too many bands focus so heavily on the first of these benefits (Shadows Fall are a prime example of Twitter fan abuse, their profile replete with repeat tweets) that they squander any chance of actually connecting with their supporters. Interestingly, one musician who actually “gets” Twitter comes from a generation of rockers you’d expect to not “get” Twitter. His name is Glenn Hughes.

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