My Time in Dethklok...

It's been a little over a week since the last Dethklok show, and I'm still reeling a bit from all the fun I had.  Our final show of the tour in NYC (after being rescheduled due to hurricane Sandy) was one of those moments where everything came together for me.  The combination of the amazing music, the enormous amount of admiration and respect I have for the band members, the mind blowing spectacle of the video/light production, and the unbelievable fervor of the crowd made that night one of my favorite musical moments ever.  It also didn't hurt that it was at Roseland, where I saw my first club show ever back in 1993.
I keep saying that this tour felt nothing like work and more like a vacation, and that's due largely to the amazing crew that was taking care of us.  Just getting to live on a bus with Brendon Small, Mike Keneally, and Gene Hoglan was such a pleasure.  Not only are they all masters of their instruments, but they're all huge fans of music of all genres, not just metal. 
I have to admit that when I left ZPZ a year ago I was a little afraid I might never get to tour again, but even just subbing for Bryan Beller on this tour was such an awesome and positive experience that I'm excited to see where this crazy music business takes me next!

Gearing Up For Tour/July 1st LA Show

After the longest down time I've had in years, it's time to start getting ready to head back out on tour with Dweezil Zappa Plays Zappa for most of the summer. This time around we'll be opening for jazz fusion legends Return to Forever, which is both incredibly exciting and somewhat daunting. Bassist Stanley Clarke is a huge influence of mine, as well as an influence on all my other influences (if you can follow that), so seeing him play every night will be quite the educational experience. The rest of the band doesn't suck either; Chick Corea, Lenny White, Jean-Luc Ponty, and Frank Gambale...
But first, we've got one more Gryphon Labs show here in LA, on Friday July 1st at Molly Malone's. We've been rehearsing our butts off for the last few months and I think we sound better than ever, so see us now before we're gone for a while! You can check out some recent vids of us over at YouTube (including one of brand new tune "Chuck D for President") for a small sample of what you're in for!