Leigh Rush Olson, wife and manager of original TROUBLE and THE SKULL drummer, Jeff “Oly” Olson, has issued the following:
“I’ve done PR for both Trouble and The Skull, but now I don’t know what to say. My heart is heavy. This is my favorite photo of the guys. Happy times. Memory eternal, Eric. I love you. Rock in peace my brother. – Leigh Rush Olson, wife and manager of orginal Trouble and The Skull drummer, Jeff “Oly” Olson.”
Jeff “Oly” Olson say’s on his Facebook page about Eric Wagner’s passing…
“I love you Eric. Ups and downs were normal, but we always loved each other. RIP.”
Photo by Ty Klingsick – Left to right in photo: Jeff Olson, Matt Goldsborough, Eric Wagner, Ron Holzner and Lothar Keller
Original TROUBLE Members ERIC WAGNER and Jeff “Oly” Olson, Along with Producer Extraordinaire Bill Metoyer, Discuss The 30th Anniversary of “Psalm 9” – History Unveiled. THE SKULL, Featuring Original and Former Members of TROUBLE, Hit The Road Next Week.
Original TROUBLE members vocalist Eric Wagner and drummer Jeff “Oly” Olson, along with producer extraordinaire Bill Metoyer, were recently interviewed for Album Autopsy – RadioActiveMetal.org’s new series that takes an influential and/or chart topping album and discourses every step it took to make it. In this humorous and light-hearted chat Olson, Wagner, and Metoyer (Psalm 9 producer) dissect every track on TROUBLE’s debut 1984 album “Psalm 9” discussing lyrics, sounds, and the recording process. During the interview, Wagner sites former TROUBLE bassist Tim “Ian” Brown as the band’s “heaviest song writer” revealing Brown’s most notable, unaccredited, riffs from “Psalm 9” and “The Skull” albums. Moreover, Olson spoke about the letter he first received from Metal Blade Records’ Brian Slagel offering the band a deal (photo below), and recalls an encounter with Scott Baio at one of TROUBLE’s recording sessions in a Los Angeles recording studio thirty years ago. You can listen to the interview in its entirety at this link (starts at about 8:20).
In other news, THE SKULL have recently announced a December U.S. tour to promote their debut record, “For Those Which Are Asleep” released worldwide last month (November 4) via Tee Pee Records. Confirmed tour dates are listed below.
December 11 – 31st Street Pub – Pittsburg, PA
December 12 – Metro Gallery – Baltimore, MD
December 13 – The Foundry Concert Club – Lakewood, OH
December 14 – Rock Star Pro Arena – Dayton, OH
December 15 – The 5th Quarter Lounge – Indianapolis, IN
December 17 – Fubar – St. Louis, MS
December 18 – Brauerhouse Lombard – Lombard, IL
December 19 – Reggies – Chicago, IL
December 20 – the Metal Grill – Cudahy, WI
The Skull – Victim of The Insane – Live at Day of Doom Barcelona 10-10-14
The Skull – The Temper/Assassin – Live at Day of Doom Barcelona 10-10-14
THE SKULL — the heavy doom-rock band featuring original TROUBLE members, vocalist Eric Wagner and drummer Jeff “Oly” Olson, alongside longtime former TROUBLE bassist Ron Holzner with SACRED DAWN guitarist Lothar Keller and former PENTAGRAM guitarist Matt Goldsborough – have recently announced a December U.S. tour to promote their debut record, “For Those Which Are Asleep” released worldwide this month (November 4) via Tee Pee Records. Confirmed tour dates are listed below.
December 11 – 31st Street Pub – Pittsburg, PA
December 12 – Metro Gallery – Baltimore, MD
December 13 – The Foundry Concert Club – Lakewood, OH
December 14 – Rock Star Pro Arena – Dayton, OH
December 15 – The 5th Quarter Lounge – Indianapolis, IN
December 17 – Fubar – St. Louis, MS
December 18 – Brauerhouse Lombard – Lombard, IL
December 19 – Reggies – Chicago, IL
December 20 – the Metal Grill – Cudahy, WI
THE SKULL — the new band featuring original TROUBLE members’ vocalist Eric Wagner and drummer Jeff “Oly” Olson alongside TROUBLE‘s longtime bassist Ron Holzner recently did an interview last month with the Greek magazine MetalPaths. A few excerpts from the interview can be read below.
Metalpaths- What about the new songs? Are they past ideas of yours, which have never been released or did you write those songs all together, from the very beginning?
Jeff- They are all new. What we do is send each other our ideas. We are going to be in Chicago in December and we are going to start combining those ideas and write the songs.
Ron- We are doing things we’ve never done in Trouble. They are all new ideas, fresh and exciting.
Eric- The songs we have so far are great. We are all very excited about this. The whole record is actually written, we just want see if we can actually play it together, see what’s going on. But right now I feel very excited and confident with all we have written.
MetaPaths- Have you been working with Billy Anderson for this one?
Ron- Actually we worked with Billy Anderson on two songs. I was always wanted to work with him and he always wanted to work with us, so we had two songs, ready to record and we wanted to see how they would sound. We are not sure we will do the whole record with Billy Anderson because he is too busy and he is staying in South America for months. We can’t wait for him.
This year Psalm 9 celebrates a thirty year anniversary. Share your thoughts about all those years. Is there something you regret? Are you pleased with all you have achieved?
Eric- No regrets! No remorse! Everything happens for a reason and everything is supposed to be the way it is. I can’t believe thirty years have passed. I really can’t say I could change because even with a little change everything would have been different. We may not be sitting here and doing the interview if something was different. Next year we are planning a tour, where we are going to play the whole Psalm 9 in it, and a new record to celebrate Psalm 9’s thirty- year anniversary. It will be great to stop by in Greece to do a show too.
Metal Shock Finland (World Assault ) 