Tracy G

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Tracy G, Graham Oliver, Jon Schaffer, Arjen Anthony Lucassen, Niclas Engelin And Many More Metallers Talk About Ronnie James Dio

Posted by Mohsen Fayyazi on May 16, 2012
Posted in: Int. News, News. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . 1 comment

METAL SHOCK FINLAND have asked various musicians their thoughts and opinions about the legendary singer Ronnie James Dio and you can read some of their responses below:

Tracy G (DIO):  “IT WAS AN HONOR TO WORK WITH ONE OF THE GREATEST SINGERS IN METAL AND HARD ROCK MUSIC FROM 93 TO 99…..RONNIE WAS A GREAT GUY AND HAD THE BEST TONE TO HES VOICE…..NEVER TAKING LESSONS AND NEVER HAD TO WARM UP..HE WOULD TELL ME ..WHY WARM UP.ITS JUST WASTED OF TIME..HE WOULD SAVE ALL HES VOCALS FOR THE STAGE………A TRUE NATURAL SINGER….HES WAS ONE OF THE BEST FOR SURE..LONG LIVE RONNIE JAMES DIO“

Graham Oliver (OLIVER/DOWSON SAXON, EX- SAXON): “I first saw Ronnie in 1976 with RAINBOW and it was a great show and jumping forwards to SAXON,s first tour of the USA in September 1980 we played some show on the HEAVEN AND HELL tour where we met Ronnie and our paths crossed a few times.
When ODS were promoting Angel Airs ITS ALIVE CD we were on the same show as RONNIE in ITALY and chatted a lot about all things music ect and to our delight Ronnie asked for ODS to be the guest band on the UK leg of KILLING THE DRAGON tour ,it started in LONDON and finished in PORTSMOUTH all the shows were great and sellouts and on the last show after our set i was asked to join the band on stage for RAINBOW IN THE DARK how great was that Steve Dawson videoed it thank goodness and introduced me as a legend. And coming from one of my legends that was the best ,he was always so nice with friends and fans after the shows and was one of the greatest rock singers of all time.“

Jon Schaffer (ICED EARTH): “Ronnie and I were good friends and I miss him very much. We did have plans to work together. We were on tour with Heaven And Hell in the UK back in 2007, and even before that we talked about doing a project together. But it was difficult to get our schedules lined up. When we were on that tour we got more serious about it, and unfortunately it wasn’t very long after that we found out Ronnie had cancer and obviously that changed everything.

I loved Ronnie as a human being, certainly as a heavy metal legend, but to me he was much more than that, because he was such a genuine person.

It didn’t matter who he was talking to, he always listened to them and looked them in the eye. He was a very genuine special guy and this world is going to miss Ronnie Dio.“

Arjen Anthony Lucassen (Ayreon) : “Ronnie was and will always be my favorite power singer of all time. Not only did he have a fabulous technique, but most of all I love the sound of his voice. He could sing raw and powerful, but also clean and gentle. And his deep and slow vibrato was the best ever. Never did I hear him sing out of tune. I even love his crooning pre-Elf stuff. I had the pleasure to meet him once, must have been quite a sight…the giant talking to the little guy Sadly I never had the pleasure of actually working with him, now that would have been a dream come true… Damn..I’m gonna listen to Stargazer again…horns up!“

 

Glenn Five-Gyorffy (EX-ANVIL):  “Ronnie was as genuine as they come. When he was meeting someone, whether it was a fellow musician or fan, he was genuinely meeting you. Not just going through the motions. The first time I met Ronnie I got to spend about 15 minutes with him over breakfast after a very early hotel check-in in Italy after a long night of travel from Canada. It was such a thrill for me to sit and chat with one of my first heroes of music as Rainbow was one of my first fave bands. About 12 hours later- at the festival that we were there to play-I was passing by Ronnie and I said hello to him. He looked at me and said ‘Hey Glenn, how has your day been?’. I thought it was amazing that a guy like Ronnie James Dio-who probably spent his day doing lots of press and meeting all sorts of people in his daily routine-remembered my name. The last time I got the chance to see Ronnie I remember a very happy man enjoying his life and running around with Phil Campbell from Motorhead having a blast like a couple of kids. A great way to remember a legend…with a smile on his face…having fun.“

Richard Holmgren (WOLF):  “Growing up I listened to Ronnie alot and Im a huge Black Sabbath fan as well as DIO and Heaven and hell, but I have to say hes greatest work is with Rainbow.
In my years of singin and writing lyrics Ronnies been a great influence to my own work and hes way of using hes voice to get the message told in the songs.
My favorite since they were released and still are Rainbow rising,Mob rules and Holydiver, that might be the best cover art for an album ever.
I think when Ronnie past away a bit of music history and future realy died with him. He was a perfectionist and artist and made no compromise, thats why you can hear is honesty in the songs.
I think most people was well met by him and he listened to people that came close to him. He had a burning passion for hes work and it will live on and on and on as Ronnie would say.
He will always be missed and when he died he took a bit of the heavy music history with him.
I dont think there will be anybody filling hes shoes in a 1000 years.
R.I.P Ronnie, You were the greatest, Long live Rockn Roll.“

ALEX LANDENBURG (Rhapsody, Angel’s Cry, Mekong Delta, 21Octayne, Symfonia, Stratovarius, Annihilator…):  “I haven’t been fortunate enough to meet Ronnie James Dio in person but like anyone who is into our kind of music I’ve been a fan ever since I heard his voice for the first time. There will always be other great singers but there won’t be another Dio again, simple as that!“

 

 

Andrea Ferro (LACUNA COIL):  “I just met Ronnie once in our hometown in Italy (Milan), I had the opportunity to be there since the soundcheck and then I’ve been introduced to him. He was a very humble and cool guy, his voice was really powerful and louder then anything else, I will always remember him as the positive force of heavy metal!“

 

Niclas Engelin (Engel, In Flames):  “How can I describe my admiration for Ronnie`s work in just a few lines?? To me, Ronnie is still alive through all the godless music he contributed with in all constalations he was involved in. Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio, Elf & Heaven & Hell just pure magic!! Listen to the song The Sign Of The Southern Cross from the Mob Rules/Black Sabbath album and you just fall in love.”

 

 

Superstar Joey Severance (TORNADO): “while i didnt know Ronnie James Dio personally his music is a HUGE inspiration in my life. he is my second favorite singer of all time (after john fogerty) and for sure the best metal singer we’ve ever had in our genre……for our second demo,Tornado did a cover of “the king of rock n roll” which might show up somewhere but in the meantime i do have a great dio story…….i was tour managing nuclear assault some years ago at graspop and while i was walking back to the office to get paid i was reading one of the guys passports and not paying attention to where i was walking…..anyway, i bumped into someone and when i looked up (because everyone is taller than me) there was no one there so i look down a bit and scream out “oh shit, its dio!!” he kinda smiled……i was so excited that i almost shit myself so instead i said “oh man dio, i would love an autograph but i have nothing to write with” he said to me “no worries, have some of this” and proceeded to hand me the icky of the sticky……needless to say, that is a memory i will never forget. ronnie james dio forever!! \m/”

Ilker Ersin (POWERWORLD): “Ronnie James Dio was one of the greatest voices we ever had. He was a source for inspiration for many singers and musicians.
I know him as gentleman and nice person. His voice will live forever on the recordings he did.“

 

Ex-DIO Guitarist TRACY G’s ‘The Dio Years And Beyond The Skull’ Book: Promotional Clip Released

Posted by Mohsen Fayyazi on January 21, 2012
Posted in: Int. News. Tagged: , , . Leave a Comment

Former DIO guitarist Tracy “G” Grijalva is working on a book that will chronicle his time in DIO (from 1993 through 1999). In the book, titled “Tracy G: The Dio Years And Beyond The Skull”, Tracy talks about everything — from how he got the gig and how he eventually left the band and what he has been up to since.

A promotional clip for the book can be seen below.

Tracy speaks very fondly of Ronnie James Dio, as noted in the following passage from the book.

“Behind the scenes and away from the reporters, cameras and industry people, Ronnie was very relaxed and calm,” Tracy says. “[It was] very comfortable to be around him and he was very much a regular guy at those times.”

Ronnie was always doing “cool” things like letting Tracy watch Dio‘s video library of film from the RAINBOW and BLACK SABBATH days, as well as inviting G‘s parents to the singer’s house for a tour. Ronnie took the Grijalvas through the entire spotless house, which he kept cleaned all on his own. He told Tracy‘s parents that he once had a housekeeper but had to let her go because he kept the house cleaner than she did. Then they hit the room that Tracy was occupying and he told him that he was not in any way responsible for that room as it was Tracy‘s mess.

Tracy left DIO in 1999 after he claimed he was “asked to play in a dual-guitar situation” in Ronnie‘s band. According to a posting on Tracy‘s web site, DIO was “looking for more of a Ritchie Blackmore style . . . and wanted [Tracy] to step back and just play rhythm guitar. That’s when [Tracy] knew it was time to leave, freeing him to more diligently pursue his home studio projects.”

“Tracy G: The Dio Years And Beyond The Skull” is being co-written by HYDROGYN guitarist Jeff Westlake — described by Tracy as “a big DIO fan” — and will be available for shipping in late March from www.tracyg.com.

As previously reported, Grijalva has joined forces with current HYDROGYN vocalist Julie Westlake to record a collection of songs Tracy had written with Ronnie James Dio for the DIO releases “Strange Highways” and “Angry Machines” along with some of the guitarist’s post-DIO material. The recordings are taking place at Tracy‘s G Factory studios and will include musicians that played on Grijalva‘s 2011 album, “Controlled Chaos” — Johnny B on drums and vocals and Eddie Frisco on bass. There is also talk of live shows taking place in the Los Angeles area this spring or summer.

 

 

 

Source: Blabbermouth.net

TRACY G Comments On His Upcoming Book, New Solo Album, BLACK SABBATH Reunion

Posted by Mohsen Fayyazi on November 21, 2011
Posted in: Int. News. Tagged: , . Leave a Comment

Former DIO guitarist Tracy “G” Grijalva is working on a book that will chronicle his time in DIO (from 1993 through 1999). According to a press release, “The book will talk about everything from his initial tryout for the band, how he got that chance and also the end of the line for him in DIO. G will talk about the writing process, the touring, his feelings on the band and also his own private thoughts about working with Ronnie James Dio during this time.

Commented Tracy: “Actually, I only just come up with some memories and general ideas, but I can hardly call myself a real writer. So I have asked a good friend named Jeff Westlake to do the literary job and put the pieces together. Jeff plays in a band himself and is a big DIO fan, so I guess the book should be cool.”

Tracy recently released a new CD with his band THE TRACY G GROUP called “Controlled Chaos”, available on his own Spooky G Records. Tracy is joined by Johnny B on drums and vocals and Eddie Frisco on bass.

Said Tracy: “I sure hope my old and new fans will like it because there is something from the Tracy G they used to know from the time I played in DIO, but I have also tried to expolore new ways to express myself.

“There are some things I have to say about the guys playing in my band who helped me with the album and without whom all my ideas would have been lost.

“It is obvious that I am not as much in the public eye as I was in the ’90s when I was playing in DIO, so I would like everyone to get to know these wonderful musicians better. Johnny B is on vocals and drums and Eddy Frisco is on bass. They have played with many local bands here in California since they were young. The great thing about them is that they are both very talented and cool people and, what’s more, they have been playing and touring together for many years, so they are real tight as bandmates. Besides working with me, they also play in another band — it’s a cover band called MO50. They are super guys are we are writing more new songs all the time. Currently, we are trying to get some distribution for my new CD worldwide and I hope we’ll be able to hire an experienced booking agent to do some tours next year.”

On the topic of the recently announced reunion of the original BLACK SABBATH lineup, Tracy said, “I’ve always been a BLACK SABBATH fan and I always will — you could probably feel it when [DIO's] ‘Strange Highways’ [album] came out where I was trying to do my best to follow up on what those guys did on ‘Dehumanizer’. No matter what they say about Ozzy [Osbourne] and Bill [Ward], I think it’ll be a great because Tony [Iommi] and Geezer [Butler] can be counted on to do wonders and [pdocuer] Rick Rubin is the right man for the job.”

Tracy left DIO in 1999 after he claimed he was “asked to play in a dual-guitar situation” in Ronnie‘s band. According to a posting on Tracy‘s web site, DIO was “looking for more of a Ritchie Blackmore style . . . and wanted [Tracy] to step back and just play rhythm guitar. That’s when [Tracy] knew it was time to leave, freeing him to more diligently pursue his home studio projects.”

For more information, visit www.tracyg.com.

 

Source: Blabbermouth

Guitarist TRACY G To Chronicle Time With DIO In New Book

Posted by Mohsen Fayyazi on November 16, 2011
Posted in: Int. News. Tagged: , . Leave a Comment

Former DIO guitarist Tracy G Grijalva has just currently released a new CD with his group THE TRACY G GROUP called Controlled Chaos available on his own Spooky G Records. Tracy is joined by Johnny B on Drums and vocals and Eddie Frisco on bass.

He is also working on a book that will chronicle his time while in DIO from 1993 through 1999. The book will talk about everything from his initial try out for the band, how he got that chance and also the end of the line for him in DIO. G will talk about the writing process, the touring, his feelings on the band and also his own private thoughts about working with Ronnie James Dio during this time.

For the first time since his departure in 1999 Tracy is putting it all out there for the fans to live through him the experience of being in a band with the biggest influential singer of modern history. He will go through the process of writing, getting ready for the tours and also only things he would know about that time.

Tracy has been busy since he left DIO in 1999 be a part of 23 releases in that time.

For more details visit Tracyg.com.

Source: Bravewords