When Twisted Sister/Adrenaline Mob drummer AJ Pero unexpectedly passed away, he not only left a void in the music world, he left a void at home.
His family has set up a GoFundMe page which explains their plight. It states:
“Hi my name is Michele Agnello. I was AJ Pero’s long time girlfriend of 19 years, his companion, best friend and the mother of his youngest daughter Briana, age 14. Briana was his sunshine. When he was not traveling and working as a world renowned rock star in Twisted Sister and Adrenaline Mob, he was just her dad. When he was home they did everything together. She was his shadow, he was her whole world. He was and always will be the love of our lives. As most of you know AJ recently passed away from a massive heart attack while on tour. Due to his unexpected and untimely passing we now need a little help getting on our feet, to keep our home, basically start over without him. AJ truly loved and appreciated his worldwide fans so now we are reaching out to you all. For almost 20 years AJ has been the sole provider for our family as the drummer in the legendary rock band Twisted Sister and had recently joined the band Adrenaline Mob. This is very hard for me to ask for help but at the moment we have nowhere else to turn. Since we weren’t legally married and he had no will, we are left with nothing and the bills are starting to pour in already this month. I have been unemployed for several years now due to an accident that left me disabled with 2 broken elbows and subsequently rods had to be implanted. I am asking for your assistance in helping us so I can get my daughter through this incredibly heartbreaking and difficult time in our lives. With my head held low and my heart completely shattered I ask for your help so we can keep our home, I can feed my daughter and buy her clothes until I find a job to support us. Anything you can spare would be greatly apprciated. Thank you and God bless you all!”
Answer: It is probably one of the biggest honors you can get. It is bigger than the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame or a Grammy or anything you can win. This is the history of the country. To be recognized as a someone who has contributed to American music, especially being an immigrant, is a hell of an honor.
Q: When you came to America as a Dutch immigrant, did you face hardship?
A: Oh, yeah. We came here with 75 gilders, which is the equivalent of about 50 bucks. We brought the piano with us, and that was all we had. I was in second grade when we came here.
My mother and father couldn’t speak English. Neither could Alex or I. Believe it or not, the elementary school we went to was still segregated. So because we couldn’t speak English, they lumped me in with the black kids. It was actually the white kids who were mean. They used to rip up my homework papers. They bullied me on the playground. The black kids stood up for me. My first friends were black.
My dad was a professional musician, and he ended up having to wash dishes and work as a janitor. My mom was a maid. I’ll never forget, we used to help my dad wax floors at the Masonic Temple in Pasadena. [I] learned how to use one of those floor waxers [and] helped my mom clean houses. But what saved us was music.
Q: How many guitars did you donate to the Smithsonian?
A: I donated the most important ones.
Originally, before I did this event, I donated my red, black and white striped guitar. When I did this event, I donated the black and white guitar that was on the first album. And “Wolfgang,” which is what I play now. And the 5153 amp and 412 cabinet.
Q: Now that rock ‘n’ roll is in the Smithsonian, does that mean it has become respected?
A: I wouldn’t say that. Music is just part of our culture. Whether it is rebellious or acceptable or not I think is irrelevant. I think it is just part of life. To me, it is the universal language that transcends any barriers.
Q: Are you excited to get back on the road?
A: Yeah! We are going out in July. We just did Jimmy Kimmel and the Ellen show. All of a sudden, [David Lee Roth] wants to do the live stuff. We said, “OK, great!” He never wanted to do it before.
Q: You just released Van Halen’s first live record with Dave, Tokyo Dome in Concert.
A: We were trying to figure out what to do since we didn’t have time to put a studio record together.
[My son Wolfgang] is working on his own project. Dave is off doing his thing. What I originally wanted to do was remix the original 25 song demos. That would have been really cool. But the tapes are lost. They are gone. So that was out the window.
Then we started digging through bootlegs from the club days. We tried our best to make those sound good, but ultimately it wasn’t good enough to put out. The quality of the recording was so bad that we tried to enhance them and make them better. Once we made them better, you lost that fly-on-the-wall aspect of it. It just didn’t jive. So we decided, “How about a live record?”
Q: Last time you toured, Wolfgang assembled the set list. Did he do it this time, and are you playing any songs this time out you didn’t play during the last tour?
A: That is yet to be seen. I’m hoping to play some other songs, but a lot of times that comes down to what Dave will sing and what he won’t. Wolf and I talk all the time and say, “Let’s throw this in. Let’s throw that in.” Ultimately, if Dave doesn’t want to sing them, then we can’t do them. I would love to throw in Drop Dead Legs and Light Up the Sky. All kinds of stuff. I think it would be a treat for the audience. Maybe we can convince him this time around
Q: How are things between you and David Lee Roth these days?
A: He is always off doing his own thing. Getting tattoos in Japan. He’s got an apartment over there. He’s got an apartment in New York. The relationship has always been the same, really. Just because he quit back in 1985 to pursue a solo career, the press I think made a bigger to-do out of our relationship being sour than we did, you know what I mean?
When [my son] Wolfgang joined the band, he was actually responsible for calling Dave and getting him back in the band.
Q: Speaking of Wolfgang, we hear he is working on his first solo record.
A: I wouldn’t call it a solo record. It’s not just him. It’s him and one of his best buddies who goes by the name ERock. His real name is Eric Friedman. Those two guys, working with a producer named Elvis Baskette. French for basket. [Laughs.] Between these three guys, it’s just incredible.
Q: What instruments is he playing?
A: Wolf is playing drums. And bass. When he plays bass to his drums, it is so locked in. He plays guitar to it and it is just so damn tight and powerful. It is like a freight train coming at you. Then you add Eric Friedman on top of it, and that’s the icing on the cake. To watch them work and see how much fun they are having just reminds me of the old days. I’m actually jealous.
Q: Musically, how would you describe it?
A: It’s the simplicity in riffs of AC/DC and Van Halen mixed with very progressive pop. More progressive than Van Halen, I would say.
Q: Are there any countries or places you want to play that you have yet to?
A: How about Bora Bora? But it wouldn’t be big enough. [laughs] No, I’m kidding. To me, it is not necessarily the country or where you are playing. It’s the audience. When the audience comes to see you play, they are pretty much the same. They come because they like your music. Half the time, I’m not even aware of where I am.
Q: What is the one thing you always need to have with you on the road?
A: My wife. Our dog, Cody. And obviously my equipment.
Q: Will there ever be another Van Halen studio album?
A: After this touring cycle, we will probably hunker down and do a studio record. We certainly have enough material. It is a matter of timing and getting everybody together. That’s the only way it can be done.
We put out [A Different Kind of Truth] in 2012. But then you go onstage and play those new songs, and the audience looks at you like, “What’s this?” They really want to hear the classics.
Q: Is it frustrating that when you play a new song, the audience makes a beer run?
A: It’s kind of a double-edged sword. Thank God we have so many career tunes that people want to hear — songs they grew up on and that bring back memories of where they were and what party they were at and what chick they were with.
That’s what they remember and want to get back to. But at the same time, it would be nice to be able to put out new music that people would give a chance. Maybe 10 years from now stuff off of “A Different Kind of Truth” will be considered classic and people will want to hear those.
Read Eddie Van Halen’s entire, and extensive, interview with the Washington Timeshere.
Megadeth has announced their new guitarist and his name Kiko Loureiro from the band Angra. This announcement comes on heels of the band announcing that their new drummer will be Lamb of God‘s Chris Adler.
In a statement posted on Megadeth’s website, frontman Dave Mustaine revealed, “I first met Kiko around 8 years ago for a cover shoot for Burrn! magazine. I had no idea who he was, other than the fact he was tremendously talented and that the staff from Burrn! held him in high regard. Since then I’ve come to see what a guitar virtuoso he is, and I’m deeply encouraged by his depth and talent. Very few Megadeth alumni have had the same feel and ability as Kiko. As Frank Sinatra says, ‘The best is yet to come!’” The statement came with the photo of Mustaine hanging out with Loureiro posted above.
Loureiro’s addition has been rumored heavily in recent weeks, enough so that during a recent performance fans in the audience were reportedly chanting “Megadeth” as he played.
While we’re certain to see Loureiro on the stages when Megadeth resume touring, it’s unclear whether he’ll be joining Mustaine, bassist David Ellefson and Adler in the studio. When the band announced that Adler would be on drums, Mustaine hinted that the group would record as a three-piece. Megadeth will be heading into the studio soon, as Mustaine recently tweeted that the writing process was almost complete.
Tom Keifer released his solo album, The Way Life Goes on April 30th, 2013 and still continues to release videos from the album. His latest is for a song he co-wrote with his wife, Savannah, and Kent Agee, called It’s Not Enough. Watch the video below.
To hear other songs from The Way Life Goes, click the highlighted song titles.
The Way Life Goes ranges from intimate, organic, acoustic tracks to driving hard rock. It embraces the blues, rock and country roots that have always been present in his unique sound that has generated the sale of over 15 million records worldwide for Cinderella.
Jamie Blaine of The Weeklings spoke with our very own Eddie Trunk. Excerpts from interview appear below.
The Weeklings: The old guard metal guys are older now than my grandparents were back then! Sabbath, Maiden, Judas Priest, AC/DC? Why do you think so many classic acts are still around? Is it because we don’t have anyone to fill their shoes?
ET: I think it’s more of a case that there’s nothing else they really know to do. Every time they pull away from it, they realize it’s just what they love. It’s kind of like an athlete who retires and then comes back for just one more year. Then it keeps going on and on….
For some, quite honestly, it’s financial. There’s a misconception that some of these artists are wealthier than they actually are. In some cases you have guys who have been through multiple divorces, huge overheads, and for others it’s simply a lifestyle that they can’t afford unless they stay out on the road. And then for others, it’s ego and they don’t want to give that up.
Ozzy said he was retiring on the ‘No More Tours’ show over twenty years ago. Of course his hand is being played more by his wife than he himself – which he has said. So everyone has a different reason they do it. I’ve always said that I don’t mind an artist staying out as long as they want to as long as they are able to do so at a level that’s close to what they originally brought to the game. Once you start seeing cracks and the energy isn’t there then it’s time to go away gracefully. Some have stayed too long at the party and some are still as good as they’ve ever been.
The Weeklings: I have to imagine in 10 years that many of these acts will be retired for good and there’ll be a huge void. Then what?
ET: Sure. You already see that Rush is pretty much out of the picture and done touring after this run. Who knows what will happen with Sabbath, there are obviously health issues there. Bruce Dickinson is battling cancer. AC/DC down two key members. Priest said they were done two years ago, but they’re still hanging in there a bit. Time stops for no one and you have to wonder how much these guys will be able to keep doing. I’m not sure what fills the void. Metallica are about ten years younger than the bands we’re talking about. So, you have to hope that they can carry the torch along with others.
The Weeklings: I grew up in the Deep South and preachers would come play records backwards and hold up Bark at the Moon, warning parents about the evils of heavy metal and rock. Did you face any of that as a kid?
ET: No, not really. To this day my parents are in church every single Saturday, pretty staunch Catholics, and to their credit never gave me any grief about the music I loved. I was huge into KISS, so there I was bringing home Destroyer, and putting it on the family stereo in the living room. Some parents might have recoiled about that, but they never did. They grew up in the 50s as big fans of Elvis so they probably saw the bias against early rock and roll and thought, okay, KISS is our kid’s Elvis. So they’ve been totally supportive. In fact, they’ll still hit me up from time to time for Fleetwood Mac or Eagles tickets.
The Weeklings: One of the things fans talk about a lot is reunions. Before we go, let me run a few of the rumors past you for your take.
ET: Okay, sure.
The Weeklings: Metallica and Dave Mustaine.
ET: I haven’t heard anything about that one. And honestly, I’d be shocked if there was anything to it. Maybe people are getting caught up in Metallica putting out the No Life til Leather demo for Record Store Day? Obviously Mustaine was part of that but as for recording together or doing a project I seriously doubt that’s going to happen.
The Weeklings: Def Leppard and Mutt Lange.
ET: I don’t know how active Mutt Lange is these days? He’s a pretty reclusive guy.
The Weeklings: He’s producing the new Muse record.
ET: We just had Joe Elliot on That Metal Show so I know it won’t be this next Def Leppard record. Obviously, they had their greatest success with Mutt, but there’s probably a side that doesn’t want to re-hash old things. Also, everyone knows that Mutt Lange is a taskmaster and put Def Leppard through a lot. At this point in their career, I’m not sure they’d want to endure that.
The Weeklings: Van Halen and Michael Anthony.
ET: I think that would be wonderful. I don’t say this as any knock on Wolfie, who is a talented kid, but it’s silly when you think about it. You’ve got the original Van Halen together except for Michael Anthony? The most loveable, regular dude in the world? It’s ridiculous that he’s not part of it. I know there’s always politics and things behind the scenes but I don’t see why they can’t make that happen. But whatever Eddie decides to do, I think it’ll be with his son.
The Weeklings: In my opinion, he was Van Halen’s secret of success. With all of Dave and Eddie’s flash and pyrotechnics, someone had to keep it grounded. Mike Anthony was the solid rock.
ET: Absolutely right. I don’t think people every realized how important Mike’s vocals were until they heard the band without them.
The Weeklings: Last one. Slash and Axl in 2016.
ET: I don’t know about 2016, but I believe it will happen. Slash is a friend and I’ve done a few things with Axl — but when I say that, it’s strictly me speaking as a fan. I don’t have insider information. But, I have had conversations with people in the Guns camp and I think there’s an underlying feeling that it could be gradually moving towards a day when that will happen. I think a lot of people got really excited when Slash tweeted happy birthday to Axl. Sounds silly and harmless, but people took it as a huge olive branch.
But yes, I think it’s too big not to happen and those guys are still young enough to make it happen. If you think about it, the only thing to prevent it from happening is Axl and Slash talking. Duff has already played with them. Both drummers want to do it and Izzy floats between camps, totally neutral. So really, it comes down to Slash and Axl coming together.
Read Eddie’s entire interview with The Weeklings, here.
Jimmy Kimmel Live! aired the second night of Van Halen’s performance on the show. Watch video footage of Dance The Night Away , Hot for Teacher, Eruption, You Really Got Me below.
To see performances from the first night of Panama and Runnin’ With The Devil, please click here.
