Source: Bravewords.com
The DIO Guitar Pick Collection can now be ordered at this location. These are 10 real 1 mm guitar picks featuring Dio album art and a Ronnie James Dio photo pick and a must have for all Dio fans. Limited supplies for the holidays. Order now to ensure delivery for the holiday season. $15 per set.
Source: Blabbermouth.net
LAST IN LINE — the band featuring DEF LEPPARD/ex-DIO guitarist Vivian Campbell alongside fellow founding DIO members Vinny Appice, Jimmy Bain and Claude Schnell, plus singer Andrew Freeman, who has previously fronted HURRICANE and LYNCH MOB — played its first-ever show (a warm-up to the band’s U.K. tour) last night (Saturday, August 3) at Slidebar in Fullerton, California.
Fan-filmed video footage of the concert can be seen below.
LAST IN LINE performs material from the early DIO records that Campbell appeared on.
Speaking to David “Gus” Griesinger of BackstageAxxess.com at this past January’s NAMM (National Association Of Music Merchants) show at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California, Campbell stated about reuniting with the original DIO band: “I’m excited about that. We’re calling it LAST IN LINE after the second [DIO] album. It’s the original DIO band — myself, Vinny Appice on drums, Jimmy Bain on bass, Claude Schnell on keyboards, and we found a terrific singer called Andy Freeman, who can totally do justice to the songs. Actually, he doesn’t sound anything like Ronnie [James Dio], which is great, [because] I don’t wanna draw that comaprison. Ronnie was a very unique singer, but Andy is a great singer in his own right, and he certainly sings the songs very respectfully.
“The original band, we actually wrote the majority of that material as a band, so I feel like we’re entitled to go out and play it. I don’t think we’re a tribute band or a cover band or anything like that.
“There’s obviously a big legacy of DIO music, and I think I’m right in saying that most people would think that those early DIO albums are the strongest, so we are just chuffed to play it.”
In a recent interview with Rock Guitar Daily, Vivian stated about people who are critical of his decision to perform the DIO material again after so many unpleasantries were exchanged between him and Ronnie James Dio over the years: “Why would anyone be against the LAST IN LINE idea? We wrote and recorded those songs, and we’d like to play them! That’s what it comes down to — the only issue being that Ronnie and I had a public spat.”
He continued: “I can hold my hand up and admit being wrong about saying some mean things about Ronnie, and I was also derogatory about the genre of music.
“Ronnie was a very difficult person to work with. He was a lovely human being to his fans, but he didn’t always share that wonderful personality with those closest to him.
“I had a very difficult relationship with Ronnie, and he had a very difficult relationship with me, and it really hurt me that he not only fired me, but he went on to portray it as if I had left the band. So that’s what got me so riled up, and I really turned my back on him and the genre of music because I was very, very hurt by what it was he had done to me. I admit that it was childish, but a lot of water has gone under the bridge, and for me, I’ve taken all that out of the equation.
“Ronnie and Wendy Dio went out of their way to portray me as someone who had turned my back on the band in the middle of a tour and quit, which was absolutely, 100 percent untrue — I was fired from that band, I never intended to leave that band, and I never wanted to leave the band. Those are my songs as much as they are Ronnie‘s songs. Jimmy, Vinny, Claude, and myself got fuck-all for those records. We got nothing from the record sales, none of the t-shirt money — we were salaried musicians earning less than our road crew! Because we believed in the music, and we believed as Ronnie had told us that we were going to have an equal cut by the third album. And that’s all I asked for!
“The third album came along and I said, ‘Ronnie, do you remember that first time we met in London when we jammed and this band was put together, and you had promised us that by the third album it would be an equity cut, which was why we got fuck-all for all those years?’ We put our blood, sweat, and tears into doing that and it hurt the fuck out of me, as it would anyone. So then he goes and fires me, and portrays me as being the one who quit. So for thirty years, I didn’t listen to those records. I wanted nothing to do with DIO, I wanted nothing to do with that genre of music — I just removed it all from my life. After thirty years, and maybe it is because Ronnie‘s dead, maybe that does make it easier, I don’t know — I haven’t sat down and analyzed it, but the fact is, that’s my music, I’m the one who’s entitled to play it, and that’s what I’m going to do.”
“I’m not doing this for the money; believe me, I’ve got plenty of money. It’s about the love, the passion for the guitar playing.
“When I did it in the first place, I didn’t do it for the fucking money — $100 a week, I don’t think that’s a lot of money, and that’s what I got for doing ‘Holy Diver’. And that’s pretty much what I’ll get for doing it again, thirty years later. [laughs]…
“Right up until the ‘Sacred Heart’ tour, and when I got fired, we were still getting paid less than guys in the crew. It’s one thing to get less than the principal artist — yes, I get that — but to earn less than the crew? Especially when you are the ones writing the songs. It’s not like we were hired to play the parts. We wrote those fucking songs, we were part of the band, and we were totally gypped over.”
Campbell and Ronnie James Dio worked together on the first three DIO albums 1983’s “Holy Diver”, 1984’s “The Last in Line” and 1985’s “Sacred Heart” — before Irishman Campbell left to join WHITESNAKE in 1987.
Today, July 10th the legendary and missed voice of metal, Ronnie James Dio (DIO, RAINBOW, BLACK SABBATH, ELF) would turn 71. Ronnie passed away on May 16th 2010 due to his stomach cancer.
On July 10th 1942, a very special boy was born in New Hampshire, USA. That child would grow up to be the greatest heavy metal singer of all time, a ‘Rainbow In The Dark’ – Ronnie James Dio.
Born Ronald James Padavona to Italian parents, the young Ronnie learned to play the French horn and trumpet, which he later claimed helped with his breathing technique, creating that powerful voice we know and love.
You can read the comments of some rock and metal musicians on Ronnie James Dio below:
Simon Wright: “I always found him to be a real gentleman, really smart, a really funny guy. When I got the opportunity to join his band I jumped at the chance. I was in AC/DC at the time and on the verge of leaving. He was a fantastic person, not only a brilliant singer and songwriter, but just as a person as well; very considerate and humble. He was the boss as well and could crack the whip when he wanted to!
It just got better every year, making albums together, we were very tight. It was some of the best years of my career. I’ll never forget him, I think about him every day.”
Yngwie Malmsteen: “Ronnie was a dear friend for almost thirty years, and I can say without a doubt that he was the greatest rock singer of all time“
Wolf Hoffmann: “Not only was he an awesome singer, everybody worshipped him, he was also a very nice person to be around; gentleman like.”
Michael Weikath: “Well, he’s the one. He’s always been very magical, ever since he did recordings. It was noted by lots of people, his voice and the way of singing. It seemed so magical, it touched your soul and your heart. At that time, it was the best voice for rock or metal and when people get to hear him first, it was like “ooh what a voice, who is he?” That’s absolutely clear. Even Freddie Mercury can shout and that is one word for Dio, it’s a synonym, right? That’s the stuff I always liked.“
Nick Simper: “I never met Dio, but he certainly was one of the best voices in rock. He had a reputation as a very genuine person who always had time for his fans, so I am sure that I would have liked him.”
Roxy Petrucci: “The one and only Ronnie James Dio. He was a genuine’ Rock Star’ in all aspects without trying to be. Ronnie had an incredible voice, a bigger than life stage presence belting out undeniable great songs . He is a legend and his famous sign of the horns to the metal world will live on forever. Long Live Rock n Roll!”
Simon Johansson: “Ronnie James Dio was to me the best singer ever. I´m not sure we´ll ever see anyone like him. The first thing I remember hearing with him was Holy Diver. I just loved it as I do with all the stuff he did with his solo band but what really stood out to me was the work he did with Rainbow. All of those albums are fantastic and the Rising album is just phenomenal.
I remember seeing Heaven and Hell at Sweden Rock Festival in 2007 and how the show just blew me away. The stage, the sound, the songs and on top of the Ronnie James Dio, goose bumps all the way through. I said to my friend that if I ever had the chance to play a stage like that (I´m thinking of the stage set with the windows, iron fences, gargoyle props etc) I never have to enter another stage. My purpose in life would be fulfilled. I think that was the best live show I´ve seen ever. Another time I was at a Dio show in Gothenburg, I had managed to get myself a VIP pass so after the show I was hanging around because I just wanted to say hi to Dio and shake his hand. He was in the shower so I had to wait around. Time passed by and after a while me and my friend felt the urge to grab a beer so we left. Today I really regret that because I never had the chance to meet Dio in person. I guess it have to wait until I´m on the other side. Thank you Ronnie for all the unforgettable music and memories. See you somewhere over the Rainbow!”
Stefan Schwarzmann: “Once I met Ronnie James Dio back in 2005,when we play some festivals with “Accept”(back than with Udo)on his birthday on the top terrace of our hotel where all the bands were booked until our stay in Athens/Greece.
All I could say is that he was a wonderful,nice person…a real gentleman so to say,with no airs and graces!!
His death is a really really big loss and Holy Diver,in my opinion,is one of the best records ever on this planet!!
I raise my glass for Ronnie,rest in peace you big voice of Rock!!!“
Tracy G: “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“
Jon Schaffer: “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.“
Source: Bravewords.com
Drum-line.net’s Camadian editor Evil Ed Nijjer recently caught up with Simon Wright (DIO, AC/DC) following the Geoff Tate-fronted incarnation of QUEENSRŸCHE‘s performance in Seattle. Check out the interview below.
Lucky fans were thrilled when Wright joined Brian Tichy on stage for a lengthy encore set featuring both iconic drummers on side-by-side kits.
On the eve of the anniversary of the death of metal legend RONNIE JAMES DIO, Metal Shock Finland‘s Blackdiamond caught up with drummer Simon Wright, who shared his memories:
“I always found him to be a real gentleman, really smart, a really funny guy. When I got the opportunity to join his band I jumped at the chance. I was in AC/DC at the time and on the verge of leaving. He was a fantastic person, not only a brilliant singer and songwriter, but just as a person as well; very considerate and humble. He was the boss as well and could crack the whip when he wanted to!
It just got better every year, making albums together, we were very tight. It was some of the best years of my career. I’ll never forget him, I think about him every day.”
Discussing Queensrÿche, and there being two versions of the band, Simon expressed: “It’s going really well – I wasn’t sure I must admit, ‘cos there’s a lot of controversy going on at the moment, ‘that name’. We make a pretty good team, we were on the road for about a month in America , doing the whole Operation Mindcrime album and our interpretation of it. Everybody seemed to like it, it went well.
It’s about the music for us – we’re not really involved in the politics, we’re just there to play the music. I guess the legal wranglings of it all will be sorted out in November, so it’ll become a bit clearer.”
Read more and listen to the audio interview at this location.
Source: Bravewords.com
Coming this month in the UK via Plexus Publishing is the new book, Cemetary Gates: Saints & Survivors Of The Heavy-Metal Scene, by Mick O’Shea. The following describes the upcoming illustrated paperback:
Between genius and madness, this world and the next, there’s nothing but the faintest flicker of a pulse and the cemetery gates.
Packed with as many egos as one book can hold, Cemetery Gates is the read that takes you inside the minds of the most twisted icons of heavy metal. Presenting, for their sins, the wild men of metal (many of them hitherto written out of music history): RONNIE JAMES DIO, BON SCOTT, JOHN BONHAM, PETER STEELE, CLIFF BURTON, DIMEBAG DARRELL, PAUL GRAY, LAYNE STALEY, JIMMY ‘THE REV’ SULLIVAN, LEMMY KILMISTER, OZZY OSBOURNE, NIKKI SIXX, DAVE MUSTAINE, AXL ROSE, TRENT REZNOR, SLASH, MARILYN MANSON, VARG VIKERNES, COREY TAYLOR.
Whatever their deadly sin – be it lust, greed, abuse of winged creatures or murder most foul – these prodigiously talented hellraisers have all come dangerously close to the edge. Tragically, not all of them have returned. Between tragic saint and raucous survivor, the line remains perilously thin.
“People ask me how I’m still alive and I don’t know what to say”, Ozzy once shrugged. Cemetery Gates provides the heaviest answer you’ll find this side of heaven.
Swedish guitar hero Yngwie Malmsteen has been announced as headliner for Dubai Rock Fest on 7th of June. Metal Shock Finland‘s Chief Editor, Mohsen Fayyazi has recently conducted a short interview with Yngwie for the Middle Eastern Metal webzine, Jorzine.
When asked his thoughts on Ronnie James Dio, Yngwie answered:
“Ronnie was a dear friend for almost thirty years, and I can say without a doubt that he was the greatest rock singer of all time”
Yngwie stated the following when he was asked what skills must a guitarist have to play faster than the speed of light:
“There are many elements to keep in mind, but at the root of all of them is this: you must make every note count, slow or fast.”
You can read the whole of the interview at this location.
Metal Shock Finland (World Assault ) 