Good morning Radicals! Hope everyone had a lovely weekend. The fireworks have already started around me, so hope you’re all safe!
Pantera and Hellyeah drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott was buried on Saturday (June 30th) next to his brother, Pantera guitarist “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott, and their mother, Carolyn, at Moore Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Arlington, Texas. He was laid to rest in a custom “Kiss Kasket” provided by Kiss members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley as a gift to Vinnie’s family. Vinnie was also buried in some of his trademark clothes, including his hat, shoes and flannel.
Speakers at the service included former Grim Reaper guitarist Nick Bowcott, while among the attendees were original Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley, Disturbed‘s David Draiman, Nickelback‘s Chad Kroeger, Anthrax‘s Charlie Benante, Fozzy‘s Chris Jericho and Rough Cutt‘s Paul Shortino.
A public memorial for Vinnie was held on Sunday, July 1st at Bomb Factory in Dallas, Texas. A brief video message from ex-Pantera vocalist Philip Anselmo was played at the event, with Anselmo saying, “Vince, always have love in my heart for you, man. Rest in peace.” It marked the first time Anselmo publicly commented on Vinnie Paul’s death.
Vinnie and Anselmo remained on non-speaking terms until Vinnie’s death. Vinnie indirectly blamed Philip for Darrell’s death, suggesting that some remarks the vocalist had made about his brother in print just weeks earlier might have incited the deranged gunman who shot Darrell to death in a Columbus, Ohio nightclub in December 2004.
Sunday’s public event also included emotional tributes from a number of Vinnie’s fellow musicians, some of whom appeared in person while others sent short video speeches expressing their affection for the fallen drummer.
Vinnie passed away on June 22nd at his home in Las Vegas at the age of 54. The drummer’s death “did not appear suspicious,” according to the official police report. Sources close to Vinnie told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that he suffered a “major heart attack,” but that information has not been corroborated yet by an official source.
Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl was asked if he would ever consider replacing Neil Peart in Rush if the other members of the legendary Canadian rock outfit reached out. The former Nirvana drummer responded, “I would say, ‘I’m not physically or musically capable, but thanks for the offer.’ Neil Peart, that’s a whole other animal, another species of drummer.”
Grohl continued, “I know the arrangements, but I’m like Meg White to Neil Peart. And she’s one of my favorite drummers! She’s my daughter’s favorite drummer, too. My daughter plays drums to two types of music: White Stripes and AC/DC. I’m like, ‘That’s exactly what you need to be doing.’”
Peart seems to have retired at the end of the last Rush tour, effectively bringing the band’s career to an end. Grohl said that getting the 2112 album when he was eight years old “changed the direction of my life,” adding, “It made me want to become a drummer.”
Recalling the first time he met Peart, Grohl said, “This man was as influential as any religion or any hero or any person in someone’s life. He said, ‘So nice to meet you. Can I make you a coffee?’ And he made me a coffee, man. And later on that night, I went to dinner and had a couple glasses of wine and I started f**king crying because my hero made me a f**king coffee.”
Grohl and Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins inducted Rush into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2013, performing “2112 Overture” with producer Nick Raskulinecz while dressed up like Rush circa 1976, complete with wigs, platform shoes and kimonos.
Tony, I miss you bad. Once, Camille was so mad at you. She was defending me. & So were you. Ariane, this was your father. Humbly yours, Joshua pic.twitter.com/sR3mwO5WBI
— QOTSA (@qotsa) June 29, 2018
Queens Of The Stone Age singer/guitarist Josh Homme has shared a letter that the late Anthony Bourdain wrote to Homme’s daughter Camille, a letter that embodied the friendship between the rocker and the late chef.
Homme wrote about the letter, “Tony, I miss you bad. Once Camille was so mad at you. She was defending me. & So were you. Defending me. As we had done & would do many times over the years for each other. & you, with great care, such empathy, such sweetness… you apologized to a little girl who was defending her daddy.”
In the letter, Bourdain apologized to Camille for smashing one of Homme’s guitars during a promo for the Parts Unknown episode that Bourdain filmed with Homme in the California high desert. Bourdain wrote, “You saw me take Daddy’s guitar and smash it against a tree and I’m sure that was upsetting . . . Know that that was in fact not really Daddy’s guitar, and that we were both just playing around.”
He continued. “Daddy would have been very angry were I to do such a thing — and as he is a large man, I would not still be here to write this letter. I like your Daddy very much. We are friends.”
Bourdain recalled another incident in which Homme was accosted by a fan, saying, “I would have broken my beer glass across the man’s skull and then jabbed the remnants into his ****ing neck. That’s the kind of guy I am. I had your Daddy’s back — just like he had mine.”
Following Bourdain’s death by suicide on June 8th, Homme paid tribute to his friend both on social media and onstage, with Queens Of The Stone Age performing “Long Slow Goodbye” and Homme dedicating it to his “brother” Bourdain.
Guitar manufacturer Gretsch has paid tribute to late AC/DC co-founder and rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young with his own signature model, the G6131-MY Malcolm Young Signature Jet. The G6131-MY pays homage to Young’s famously battle-hardened Gretsch Jet, which was nicknamed “The Beast.” Young customized the instrument himself by removing two of the three pickups and stripping away the finish.
The description of the new signature model reads, “This model features the essential hallmarks of one of rock’s most iconic instruments including ‘DIY’ pickup routes with simulated screw holes, chrome switch plugs, Space-Control bridge with ebony base and ’60s-style tailpiece. Open-cavity thunder roars from the thin-skin satin finished chambered mahogany body and is magnified by a high-output TV Jones Power’Tron pickup.”
The new guitar is set to arrive in November and will cost $3,749.
Young, who co-founded AC/DC with his brother Angus in 1973, died last November at the age of 64 after suffering from dementia and failing health for several years.
His condition forced him to leave the band in 2014, with his nephew Stevie Young stepping into Malcolm’s position. Angus told us at the time that Stevie was a natural fit: “He just plugged into what we were doing, ’cause he’s of the same age era as Malcolm and myself. He was my eldest brother’s son. You know, we all grew up together. Mal played that style how he played that rhythm style. Stevie, you know, he emulated that.”
AC/DC, which also parted ways with drummer Phil Rudd, singer Brian Johnson and bassist Cliff Williams during its last tour cycle, has yet to announce its future plans.
Finally, we’d like to wish a Happy Birthday to Evanescence drummer Rocky Gray and Stitched Up Heart guitarist Nick Bedrosian! Have a great day!
