Just a quick heads up on a short weekend run with Sebastian Bach in the Midwest. European summer tour dates to be announced shortly!
May 11 - Annie's - Cincinnati, OH May 12 - Cubby Bear - Lincolnshire, IL May 13 - Lazerfest - Indianola, IA
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February 15, 2012 - Rest In Peace, Mark Reale!
Sunday, 26 February 2012 06:55
As you've probably all heard by now my long-time Riot band mate, Mark Reale, passed away January 25 from complications due to Crohn's Disease (see RiotRockCity.com for more).
He had been in a San Antonio hospital for a couple of weeks and his condition was very worrying as the rest of us took off for the East Coast to play the first ever Riot shows without Mark. But when the news of his passing came while we were on the 70.000 Tons Of Metal cruise it was still a tremendous shock.
The first thing that comes to mind when I think of Mark is that he had such a good heart. Everyone knows that. He always treated people and his band members as equals. He never thought of Riot as "his band", it was always "our band." Mark wrote some amazing music! He had such a great sense of feel and soul in his guitar playing. I can still picture him sitting with his guitar, playing and humming at the same time. One was never without the other. He always thought "melody".
Personally, the last couple of years were tough for me with Mark. The disease had taken something out of him. I didn't understand what had happened, and I'm sorry to say that I still don't really understand. Why should someone so gifted have to suffer through that for so many years until the very end?
I remember the way he laughed. Sometimes Mark would laugh so hard that there would be no sound coming out of him. Everyone would laugh out loud but Mark would be in tears..... but with no sound! I was always enjoyed watching him during those moments.
Mark enjoyed simple things: Eating good food, being out in the sun, laughing with us, and, of course, creating great music which I was privileged to be part of for many years. In fact, I owe Mark a lot - who knows how my own path would've gone if it wasn't for getting that break when I joined Riot back in 1987 as a young no-name drummer.
I am so glad things came full circle so to speak and we got to make one last record together with the old line-up back in place. 'Immortal Soul' is a fitting epitaph to a storied career of a great musician, musical companion and friend.
Rest in peace, Mark Reale!
January 12, 2012 - FATES WARNING European tour dates announced; TOP DRUMMER cover story!
Thursday, 12 January 2012 03:42
Hey all!
First off, a belated Happy New Year to everyone out there - hope you all had a great holiday season. I had a pretty sweet New Year's as the BACH band played a 2-nighter with Guns N' Roses in Las Vegas. Not a bad place to be to ring in the new year!
Anyway, no rest for the wicked as they say - I'm about to take off for a string of U.S. shows with RIOT starting at B.B.King's in NYC on January 18 before we rock the boat as part of the massive 70.000 Tons of Metal cruise. We are also confirmed to headline this year's Headbangers Open Air in Hamburg, Germany on July 26. For updated tour dates go to the Official RIOT website.
March will be another month of heavy touring as I'm heading back to Europe with FATES WARNING. We have dates in 11 countries, including Bucharest, Romania, which I've never played before with any band, and close things out in Moscow - the first ever FATES show in Russia! Check out the full tour itinerary below and visit FatesWarning.com for links on how to purchase tickets. I've already mentioned the South American April dates with SEBASTIAN BACH and the exclusive ARCH/MATHEOS (don't forget to watch 'In the Studio' Part 3 from the A/M sessions on my YouTube channel!) engagement in Germany later that same month in my previous update (see below). The FW itinerary is as follows:
March 05 - Verviers, Belgium - Spirit '66 March 06 - Pratteln, Switzerland - Z7 March 07 - Paris, France - Nouveau Casino March 09 - Uden, Holland - De Pul March 10 - Reichenbach, Germany - Bergkeller March 11 - Aschaffenburg, Germany - Colos Saal March 12 - Bochum, Germany - Matrix March 14 - Munich, Germany - Backstage March 15 - Ljubljana, Slovenia - Orto Bar March 17 - Bratislava, Slovakia - MMC March 18 - Prague, Czech Republic - Rock Café March 19 - Budapest, Hungary - A38 March 21 - Bucharest, Romania - TBA March 22 - Sofia, Bulgaria - Mixtape 5 March 25 - Moscow, Russia - Milk Club
Last but not least, I was thrilled to get the cover story in the December 2011 issue of Poland's TOP DRUMMER magazine. Visit their website HERE and HERE for more info in Polish and a look at the cover!
December 1, 2011 - SICK DRUMMER cover story; 2012 live dates with Riot, Bach, Fates & Arch/Matheos!
Wednesday, 30 November 2011 21:10
Hey all,
Just wanted to turn your attention to the latest issue of SICK DRUMMER magazine which is online now at THIS location. The guys were kind enough to put me on the cover (a first for me!) and put together a marathon 20-page feature you can read on pages 56 through 77. I don't think I'll have to do another interview for a long time - just about anything you ever wanted to know about me as a drummer is in there. Thanks again, Ian!
My year is slowly winding down (doing local gigs and continuing work on a cool Danish prog metal project throughout December) but the first half of 2012 is already shaping up nicely and will keep me on the road quite a bit. I've got January U.S. shows with RIOT, pending European dates with FATES WARNING for March, February and April stints with SEBASTIAN BACH, and an exclusive headline gig with ARCH/MATHEOS in Germany at the end of April. For confirmed gigs see below:
RIOT: Jan. 18 - B.B. King's - New York, NY Jan. 19 - Jaxx - West Springfield, VA Jan. 20 - Montage Music Hall - Rochester, NY Jan. 23 - 28 - 70,000 Tons Of Metal Cruise (Miami to Cayman Islands and back)
SEBASTIAN BACH: Feb. 01 - Ziggy's - Winston Salem, NC Feb. 02 - Ram's Head Live - Baltimore, MD Feb. 03 - The Omni - Toledo, OH Feb. 04 - The Hayloft - Mt Clemens, MI Feb. 07 - Peabody's - Cleveland, OH Feb. 08 - Cubby Bear - Chicago, IL Feb. 10 - The Venue at The Hub - Fargo, ND Feb. 11 - Deerfoot Inn & Casino - Calgary, AB April 12 - Teatro Caupolican - Santiago, Chile April 13 - Teatro Flores - Buenos Aires, Argentina April 14 - Carioca Club - São Paulo, Brazil April 15 - Opiniao - Porto Alegre, Brazil April 17 - Carioca Club - São Paulo, Brazil
ARCH/MATHEOS: April 27 / 28 - Keep It True Festival, Tauberfrankenhalle - Lauda-Königshofen, Germany
