Whoa! I am still literally reeling from last night’s “Road to HardDrive Live Tour” with Tremonti. The excitement of the mere fact that the advance ticket sales were sold out and the first time New York fans of Mark Tremonti got to see him in his solo glory was intense. But then add to that, Brian Marshall‘s bass slot being filled by Wolfgang Van Halen, the room was on maximum overdrive! The night started out with a set by local band Evan Russell Shaffer, who commanded the stage with a great performance. Then came Charm City Devils, who put on an amazing set including their singles “Man of Constant Sorrow” and “Unstoppable.” Then the man, the myth, the legend, Mark Tremonti, with Eric Friedman and Garrett Whitlock (Submersed) and Mr Van Halen, commandeered the stage with an explosive, no holes barred, blistering set of the entire All I Was album. Now here’s the back story on how this all went down with Wolfie. Brian, unfortunately, made a last minute decision to leave the tour due to personal reasons. And Mark happened to be in touch with his buds in Sevendust, who are in Butler, NJ working on their new album (more on that tomorrow.) So while he was on the phone with them, Mark said he was without a bassist and didn’t know if he had to cancel the tour!!!! I think it was Morgan who told him Wolfgang was in town, and was hanging out with the band and HAPPENED to have his guitars with him! So Mark hung up, called Wolfie and the rest is history. I think it took WVH about 2 seconds to say yes! So now it’s official, he’ll remain on the rest of the Tremonti HARDDRIVE LIVE TOUR starting on the 20th in Flint, MI. And he will also join them when they head to Europe to tour with Slash. (Imagine the jam session with Mark, Wolfie, Slash and Myles!) Now let’s get back to Mark, whose wife Victoria surprised him by showing up at their rehearsal yesterday! And as fate would have it, he was coming down with a cold and sore throat!!!! But did that stop him from continuing to do his show and pre-show interviews? HELL NO! The man recorded all of our video promos for the local stations along the hardDrive Live Tour route, did an interview with me and Wolfie in his dressing room, did a meet and greet before the show, then after the show, hung out at the merch area to meet EVERY SINGLE PERSON that hung out after the show. And he never complained! No Lead Singer Disease with this man, lemme tell ya! So please, do yourself a favor and see Mark on the hardDrive Live Tour if it’s coming to your town. Also, we have a venue change: the Sep 23 House of Blues show is now at the Basement Lounge. Meanwhile, in attendance were all the guys in Sevendust and I met the two fellas who run the new studio in Butler, NJ. And the bands who opened for Creed, Like A Storn and Eve To Adam, also were in the house. It was a great night and one I will not soon forget!
