GROWING UP GREEN!! Wake up!! Wake up!! Pack your bags, Students! Let’s go to Kazakhstan!

In 2014, Soulfly flew to Russia for a tour with Korn. Before that tour started, we had two shows in Kazakhstan. We were super excited because we had never been there before. One of the highlights was staying at a ski lodge that was only opened for us!!!

It was a bit of The Shining at night but we managed to make it through to morning! Good food and even a gondola ride down the mountain! Our hosts said they were hoping to have a few of the Winter Olympic Games at that location. There was a lake tucked up near the lodge that had formed an actual hurricane and tore up the mountainside. I had never heard of a hurricane on a mountain lake but hey...

The band played in Karaganda and in Almaty. It’s always genuine to play somewhere for the first time. The fans go crazy and the band is always full of anticipation. And Lenin....well he just sat there all stoney faced!!

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GROWING UP GREEN!!! Wake up!! Wake up!! Happy Birthday to me!

First of all, thanks to the nearly 5 million students who have crossed our space corridor and took in a class or more!! You will never know the support and encouragement you have given me through the years, so let me send my green heart your way! That is a gift from every single one of you and my soul thanks you!!!! Yes, Today I am blessed to see another birthday, so I will keep this short and the party rolling!

Last night we all rocked hard in Flagstaff and today we carry the bash to Tucson! Who could ask for a better birthday than seeing Hatebreed, Prong and Incite!!! Spending the week with friends formwork and friend for life brings batches of laughter and reminiscing! Let's peak at the action!

We are pulling ourselves together....Richie, Shonda and my grandawg Sawyer are staying here....and heading to Tucson soon so be there if you want to share the fun!! Check out the live feeds on my page tonight and join the party!!!

Thanks to God for giving me Life and another year! Thanks to my family for always being there and for making my Life a dream come true! And thanks to our Tribe, for we are the biggest Tribe in the world, sharing the gift of unity through music!




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GROWING UP GREEN!! Wake up!!! Wake up!! The Time Our Dogs Were Born in the Bus..!!!

In 2004, the end of July, we all boarded the family bus with a very pregnant Silky Terrier in tow, and her quizzical lover, Spanky. The vet had assured us Sofia would not deliver until we returned, so it never entered my mind that we may have a surprise. Soulfly was on another bus because we brought our family along with our dogs. It was summer vacation so why not?

The very next morning, August 1st to be exact, I’m sleeping in the back room when I am awakened by Sofia’s nudge. I roll to the left and next to my temple is a slick black, furry puppy. It took my brain a minute to realize what it was!! I yelled for Rox to help. She magically whipped a large, leopard spotted dog bed out of her bag and laid it in a bottom bunk. Sofia went in with her little son and within no time at all, 3 little puppies were taking their first breaths!! I was speechless. For one, I now had granddogs and secondly, how the hell did she shove that giant bed in a small bag? It seemed like an inflatable bed!!

Chunk, Rick James and Chiquita were christened official tour dogs! They looked like teardrop Dobermans!! We decided their crib would be a red plastic tub in the front lounge.

We had to keep the snoopy Dad Spanky occupied since Sofia seemed like she was ready to rip him a new a&@!!! He had the “What Did I Do” look on his face!

The kids had a blast on that tour! Little Moses was with us too, so it was a special time for our family!

We were lucky that there happened to be a vet on tour with us! Talk about random! Mike helped us with all our questions and we had a lot of them! He also pointed out that Chunk, the first born, was gigantic!!

We had plenty to occupy us on that tour. I needed an energy boost one night so I borrowed some mojo from Marc Rizzo! Carry on! Nothing to see here!

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GROWING UP GREEN!! Wake up!! Wake up! It’s a Full Terror Assault!

We inched our bus into the Shawnee National Forest, destination Full Terror Assault at the famous Cave in Rock! Once the first home base of the Juggalos’ festivals, transformed now into a full on Metal campground!

This is a relatively new festival, a camping festival styled like the European giants, with liberties galore, since it is located on private land. Golf carts, coolers, camping, kickass food trucks and a merch selection to drool over! It’s all there without the rigid rules of most US festivals. Relaxing yet full of excitement!

There was even a man selling homemade moonshine!!!

Bands all day, on two stages, which were both easily accessible! No security problems either! I can see this growing each year, as the vibe is cool, everyone working was nice and at the same time, professional. You could even take coolers in!!! Let’s keep an eye on this one! It’s surely going to be a force in the next couple years! Soulfly, MOD, Vio-lence, Crisix, Unearth, and many others rocked the woods! Four days of Metal flying through the trees, and skimming across the swimmers in the river! Let’s DO this again! Special thanks to Shane for organizing the mayhem!!

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GROWING UP GREEN! Wake up!! Wake up!! Let’s go to the Alcatraz Festival in Belgium

August 11 Soulfly rolled into the encampment of the famous Alcatraz Festival! We weren’t strangers there!!

The day was full of press, a photo shoot with the famed rock photographer, Tim Tronckoe (who I adore working with!), seeing old friends and super delish catering! And what about that stage set up!! Not to forget the Tribe who were out in full fierce!!! Max was also happy to see Glen Benton!

You know what’s so cool and fan-frikken-tastic? The Mayor is a huge contributor to the show!!! That’s beyond rad! We met Mayor Vincent Van Quickenborne of Kortrijk, Belgium, the previous time Soulfly played at Alcatraz. He was traveling this time, so he sent a rep to deliver Max a personalized city soccer jersey, and some fine chocolates and local beer for the band. Super unexpected and very much appreciated!!!

When the band hit the stage, the Ritual began! The pit, the sweat, the music, and the metal blended as one! The fans make the long work days worth it! Big thatnks yo everyone e who contributed to the day! Heck, outside the bus, I even sold Incite cds and Igor’s book, to some die hard Tribe members!

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GROWING UP GREEN! Wake up Wake up! Poland is Europe’s Texas for Metal!!

Back in the dark days of the Revolution and Lech Walesa, I was prying my way into the badlands of Poland. It was a different time in the ‘80’s. Tight borders, police with machine guns, and white nunchucks, very little food and all grey buildings. War torn. Poor. But Poland was on the edge, with the door to the modern world opening slowly. Today it is a modern, beautiful country, ripe with tourist trade and a choice of historic cities to vacation in. In25 years I saw the county explode into the scene like a ripe volcano! On the last tour, one of the festivals fell out and I was left with 4 days off in a row. What did I do? I decided to take the Metal to Poland!!.

I hit up our agent in London and asked him to please get the open dates filled with Polish dates. He was skeptical but I knew it would rock hard! I messaged Ania Janiak to find a club in Plock and I would make one of the dates a show for her and her city. Yes, I made a show for Ania Janiak... for her dedicated, loyal friendship and her hours of support to all Cavalera acts. She works tirelessly, for the love of Metal.


Ania found a club that was available and also interested, so I sent the info to our agent. He landed 3 other gigs, Warsaw, Poznan and Wroclaw. The dates were filled! By the time they were announced, we had 2 weeks to sell tickets! Plock sold out in 20 minutes, and the others took only a couple days. It was revolutionary to sell tickets so quickly, in the heat of the summer, with no advance notice! Our Tribe stayed true.


When we got to Plock, our Arena bus parking happened to be near Ania’s family’s apartment, so Max, Jadore and I went there for lunch with Ania and her parents. We had a fun time and ate delicious food! For her parents’ privacy, I won’t share any personal photos.

The venue was intimate!! Our sound maestro had to sit outside the venue to run sound, because the venue was so crammed with fans!

The shows were rowdy! The Tribe was hungry and they ravaged their fill till the next visit! Thanks to all the many cities that rock with Metal fans!!! Poland has the fervor and gnashing of the crowds in Texas!! Never underestimate Metal fans!! And thank you Ania, for always believing!

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