BLABBERMOUTH.NET
Graham Bonnet has clarified his recent comment that he will "still be recording and performing with
ALCATRAZZ" despite the fact that he has parted ways with the musicians who performed with him on the band's latest album,
"Born Innocent".
On December 4,
ALCATRAZZ members
Jimmy Waldo,
Joe Stump,
Gary Shea and
Mark Benquechea issued a statement saying that will be joined by singer
Doogie White (
RAINBOW,
YNGWIE MALMSTEEN,
MICHAEL SCHENKER FEST) for all their 2021 touring. The announcement came less than a month after
Bonnet said that he was "no longer affiliated" with
ALCATRAZZ's manager
Giles Lavery." At the time, the other
ALCATRAZZ members shot back, saying that they were "still represented" by
Lavery and blasting
Bonnet for "dictat[ing] to us who our collective or individual manager may or may not be."
Not long after,
Bonnet released a statement via his social media in which he said that he "will still be recording and performing with
ALCATRAZZ. I am the founder and main songwriter and have been since the band's inception in '83." He added that he will "be announcing the incredible new
ALCATRAZZ lineup in the spring" and promised to take the new band on the road.
Bonnet's comments naturally created confusion within
ALCATRAZZ's fan base, prompting him to issue a follow-up statement explaining his position.
Graham wrote: "Hi everyone! Since my last post, I've received many emails expressing confusion about the band situation and again, rather than respond individually, I will clarify here.
"When my manager resigned in June, I asked the band collectively if they would be interested in touring to support the new album. They informed me that they were only interested in touring if my former manager was included. No one was 'fired,' we just parted ways. As that signaled the end of this version of
ALCATRAZZ, I immediately began to seek new players for yet another new
ALCATRAZZ line-up.
"I have performed with other versions of
ALCATRAZZ since the demise of the original band, this was just the first time I played with any original members and the first time I recorded using the name
ALCATRAZZ. The day my manager resigned, he also removed me as admin of the '
Graham Bonnet and
ALCATRAZZ' band
FB page so I was unable to let fans know what was happening until recently when
FB returned my page.
"The first misunderstanding happened when I posted on the band page that '
Graham Bonnet and
ALCATRAZZ' were no longer associated with
Giles Lavery management. When I said that, I wasn't referring to the recent line-up. They had already informed me months earlier that they would only tour with my former manager and to me, that meant that they had quit. My reference was to my new version of
ALCATRAZZ. I have no plans to relinquish the name
ALCATRAZZ and I expect that they don't either. This is an old story, bands break up and there becomes two versions. I'm not bothered by it. I've toured with
Doogie the past few years with
[MICHAEL] SCHENKER FEST and he is a good friend and a damn fine performer. In my opinion, there is no such thing as too much music. People can listen to one or the other or both versions and choose whatever they like. I'm not interested in squabbling over a name, I'd rather just make music."
When
Waldo,
Stump,
Shea and
Benquechea announced that they were working with
White, they vowed to put on "an explosive live show featuring all of the
ALCATRAZZ classics that you know, plus added selections from
Doogie's work with
RAINBOW and
MICHAEL SCHENKER FEST/
TEMPLE OF ROCK." They also floated the possibility of "a couple [of] new songs as well."
Waldo,
Stump,
Shea and
Benquechea's version of
ALCATRAZZ has launched a
Facebook page where they will be posting all their news going forward.
"Born Innocent" was released in July via
Silver Lining Music. The LP featured
Bonnet alongside fellow founding members
Waldo and
Shea, plus guitarist
Joe Stump.
Chris Impellitteri wrote the music and played all guitars on the
"Born Innocent" title track, while
Bob Kulick wrote and laid down guitar for
"I Am The King". Former
ALCATRAZZ guitarist
Steve Vai wrote
"Dirty Like The City".
Hi everyone! Since my last post, I've received many emails expressing confusion about the band situation and again,...
Posted by Graham Bonnet & Alcatrazz on Monday, December 7, 2020