HOW WE RETURNED TO OUR ROOTS!!

This photo was taken January 30, in London, when Uncle Iggor arrived at the Soulfly gig to visit us. Earlier, we had all been hanging with him, Auntie Laima, and their kids, Raissa and Antonio, in the dressing room. During the show, Zyon hopped off the kit for Roots and Iggor took over. I have always wondered how the heck he gets that fantastic, sonic booming drum sound. When Iggor hits the skins, it doesn't sound like other drummers! It is a powerful Hammer of Thor sound. I have never heard another drummer duplicate this sound. I have studied Iggor's technique plenty and still cannot figure it out. Is it how he hits? Or where he hits? No, it's something outer worldly. Therefore, I have determined it's magic and he was the recipient of this gift!! My intense studies also taught me that when Zyon drums, he makes the exact same face as his Uncle. It's amazing what we inherit!

Although you can't see me, I am sitting on the side of the stage as I took this photo. I was happily watching the excitement, joy and surprise on the faces of the crowd, as Max announced his brother would guest on stage. I began to think to myself..."Look how happy everyone is. They love seeing Max play with his son, Zyon, and they love seeing him play with his brother, Iggor." And it popped in my head....Why can't they give the fans what they want? Why should I feel that they can't play their songs? It was their history, too! So many thoughts began swirling....

I sent our North American agent, Dan Rozenblom, a text from the side of the stage. "I have an idea. This is the 20th anniversary of the Roots record. Do you think we could do a tour and the guys play the entire Roots' record? The fans really love it when the guys play Roots, maybe they would like the whole record?" He immediately shot me a reply, "let me ask around. Give me a couple days."

After the show, I mentioned my idea to Max, and one day later, I had my answer. Apparently, Max brought it up in an interview, just a simple interview, but it blew around the world like a hurricane force gust!! In no time at all, I was mobbed with emails from promoters, fans and journalists wanting to talk about it! My kids even got calls from promoters trying to book the show!! I had my answer and to was YES!!!

The Amnesia Fest in Canada was our "Sticking our toes in the water" gig, and it went great! After that, the world was ours and I could barely keep up with all the requests for interviews and concert dates. I realized many things on this tour. Number one, the new fans are cool!! They don't care who is playing; they don't whine about the reunion. They are Metal to the core and want to hear the record from A to Z, and they want it to sound like the record. They want to see the 2 brothers playing, and they want a great bass player and a sick guitarist. We gave them what they wanted and they gave us back what we had all dreamed of! This tour is one of the biggest sing a long tours I have ever been on!! I must say, these moshers did their homework!!

Class dismissed.....

COME TO THE 20TH DLOW MEMORIAL SHOW!!!!!!

This will be the last year of the D-LOW Memorial Show. Max and I made each other a personal pact, a vow, an agreement, and this year it is a reality. There is a dark side to this pact, and for this reason, this conversation we had years ago, will always remain private.

Because of this show, our Tribe has raised thousands of dollars for the Phoenix Children's Hospital's Iggy Diabetes Fund. Believe it or not, many families have benefited from our moshpit!. It has been remarkable, to run into a young adult on the street, in a store, at a show, and get surprised when he says he was part of the program. We took 2 events, Dana's sudden, untimely, death and Igor's onset of juvenile diabetes, and we turned them into something positive. Try it...you can breathe again after crumbling.



Countless local bands and touring bands have graced the stages with Soulfly. Twice, lightening hit and shut the show down and it had to be rescheduled. One of these times, it was just as Dave Vincent was leading his Morbid Angel to kick our asses! I have seen Chino sing to the Heavens and Benji from Dubwar made us cry with his passionate vocals, singing from his soul. The fabulous Sharon Osbourne even let us have a Dana Show at Ozzfest!!



As the years passed and Dana flew higher and farther, his brothers and sisters all grew up....time passed. We learned how to live again. But there is always someone missing. His sisters have children; his brothers have bands. Time passes. I have added them on the last shows, as these concerts aren't just shows, they are personal Phoenix events now. Some people have been to all 20 shows. Fans have become friends. Time passes.

Thank you to all the family and friends who have supported us emotionally, since that fateful day in August, 1996. Thank you to all the fans who gave us their love in the moshpit. Thank you to Fran, April and Kelly of the Iggy Diabetes Fund for putting up with us Metalheads! And thank all of you for the love you show Max, our family and our crew. God bless our Tribe!


Class dismissed...

BREAKING BARRIERS WITH MAX......GYPSIES, DARK AGES' MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS AND A COYOTE....

Recording The Prophecy was a rare experience! Max's creative thinking passed all boundaries, as we flew to Belgrade, Serbia, to add the fingerprints of the past, on his new baby.



Our friends from the Serbian band, Eyesburn, had introduced us to a new producer, Bare, and his home recording sanctuary. A cosy, intimate studio, right across the street from the best chevappe barbecue cafe, ever, was our ground zero. A Serbian Orthodox icon was on the wall, overlooking us all. I knew we were right where we were supposed to be!

Max had an idea to record with gypsies...real gypsies from the streets, not people with gypsy blood, living normal lives. He wanted the real thing! Bare granted Max's wish and asked a troupe from the street to come to the studio. The drummer got caught in some mishap and couldn't make it, but the others did. The song they chose was a song from the World War, The March on the River Drina. The young men spoke in their obscure language and smiled and laughed throughout! The energy coming off them was so positive and strong! When I asked them to sign an agreement for the record label, one of them signed it with an "X!"



Max also wanted some ancient instruments on the record. Coyote, the vocalist and trombone player from Eyesburn, told us his uncle was a professor of instruments from the Middle Ages and Dark Ages, at the university in Belgrade. His name is Ljubomir Dimitrijevic. He brought a wide assortment of instruments. They were made from animal skins, bones, and ancient woods. He played the Kaval (flute), a zurlaj (woodwind), and a gajdej (sheepskin bagpipe). It was amazing these organic items were in such pristine shape!

The final encore was the mystical track, Moses. My daughter, Christina, was awaiting the birth of her son, Moses. We were all family, and waiting for the birth of our second grandson, was an event! Christina had introduced us to the magical Eyesburn, and Coyote, with his extraterrestrial trombone. I cannot find the words to describe this haunting trombone's sound!! Coyote is a master musician and his vocals are addicting! This brilliant track was the ring around our Saturn!!

Students, don't be afraid to take risks. Don't listen to the haters and critics. Art has no boundaries, no expiration date, no code. Max's diverse thinking gave us the uniqueness of Sepultura; the combining of world music with Metal! He added a tribe to his ROOTS!! He gave us the berimbau, never before used in Metal. He combines words whimsically such as Downstroy, Straighthate, Soulfliction and Karmaggedon. He started the world craze of wearing camouflage. He is the only person to play guitar on the bridge of his guitar (You never knew it did you? We call it "crickets."). Max also was the first artist to incorporate the soccer chant in his set! He is the first person to put a Brazilian flag on a guitar. I can go on and on..... Tear down the fences! Don't be afraid to follow your dream!



Class dismissed......

WHY DO GUYS LIKE TO DRAW DICKS??

In the early 1990's, I was making pretty heavy tour schedules, and it was nice to be able to move Sepultura into a bus and not do a van tour ever again. I could only get the less expensive buses, but the luxury of having a private bunk, bathroom, tvs and kitchenette, exceeded everything!

Touring on the heels of the Beneath the Remains' Tour, we had a smaller bus with a mural of an Indian Chieftain and horses on the side and rear. The model of the bus was called a Model 10. Our driver was a rousty, hairy biker type man with a no nonsense personality. His name was Bubaloo.

Bubaloo didn't take any shizzle or drunken games on his bus, and we stayed in line when he was around us. When he was gone, it was another story. One day, he went up to Iggor..."I know it was you who drew that dick on the horse!" It was true...one of the crew had ratted Iggor out to Bubaloo. Right before our eyes, we had to painfully watch Iggor scrub away the permanent black marker dick!

The early tours were full of hell raising and boozy nights! We were wild, I admit! In these early years, I would make a tour that lasted at least 3 months. It was always nice to have a day off every now and then, to break up the days. For the last 31 years, every day of my life seems like a Friday!

At the end of this run. our horse drawn chariot parked in Disneyland's lot and we all ran rampant, through the park. The band had never been there before, and the crowds weren't as extensive as they are now. No hour and half lines back then! It was fun letting ourselves go, and forgetting our rough schedules! A stress reliever for sure!!

And, if that doesn't work...You can always hop on a camel!!!

Class dismissed........