The Los Angeles quintet known as White Wizzard is one of the rising stars in the heavy metal music business.  However, their road hasn’t been paved with gold, as they have encountered numerous potholes on the way to success.  A spot on the Forbidden tour this summer has the band optimistic about their future, but seemingly with every success, there’s something to temper those expectations.  Even so, White Wizzard is not ready to give up their dream of making it in the metal music scene.  Recently, Metal Psalter caught up with the members of White Wizzard to talk about the things that have kept them down and how they have done their best to overcome everything that has been in their way, and getting around the woman issue when showering isn’t an option.

Peter: Would you mind saying a few things about the band?

Jon Leon: Sure, I guess we can go around and say our own thing.  The band is first, rooted in traditional heavy metal and hard rock, more in the classic sense, but embracing the modern, and we’re about to put out another record and are totally kicking ass on the road so far.  [Talking to Giovanni and Mike Gremio] Anything else you want to say?

Giovanni Durst: You just said it all, the band kicks ass.  It’s amazing.

Jon: [to Mike] How about you?  Anything, no? [Mike doesn’t say anything]

Peter: Currently, the vocalist situation is something of a mess, so to speak.  Anything you would like to say concerning the situation?

Jon: I wouldn’t call it a mess, it’s pretty straightforward in the sense that we brought Wyatt Anderson back in for a second chance after he quit on us last year because he didn’t want to tour.  Then, he said he wanted to tour again, give it another shot and we went into the studio with him, tracked the record, and booked this tour (Forbidden) and some other ones and booked his flight.  Three weeks before the tour, he sent us an email saying he didn’t want to tour anymore and didn’t regret to inform us.  Mikey filled in and did a killer job at Download Fest last year, but had other commitments, so he couldn’t join us full-time then, but when we put out a call to him prior to this tour, he was ready and willing to come do this tour, which is fantastic and he’s done quite stellar and we’ve bonded on this tour.  We’re looking forward to doing this new record with him now, so we’re set as a band and if anything, the vocalist situation is less of a mess now than it was with Wyatt because he (Wyatt) made so many wishy-washy decisions the last couple of years as far as what he wanted to do.  He didn’t really want to tour, and you can’t force a guy to tour if he doesn’t want to tour, so we’ve been kind of held in limbo by Wyatt the last couple of years.  He’s a great studio singer, but he doesn’t want to get out and tour on a consistent basis, and touring’s what a rock band needs to do, so when he bowed out at the last minute on us for this tour,  it was the last straw for us, so we’re done with him [small laugh].  You won’t be seeing any more of Wyatt Anderson in White Wizzard…

Giovanni: Definitely not.

Jon: So, that’s over, and [speaking to Giovanni] if you’d like to chime in with anything else on Wyatt…

Giovanni: There’s not much to say.  I mean, you (Jon) pretty much said it already.  He’s an amazing singer, but he had some issues, so we’re just moving on.  We wish him the best of luck, but Mike’s doing a great job and we’re glad to have him.

Jon: I’ve worked with four singers in White Wizzard and I think Mikey’s the best combo performer on vocals that White Wizzard’s had.  To me, I think we’ve taken a step up and are in the best situation with Mikey and I think we’re going to be doing some amazing things together.  It’s been a good time for us, but a tough tour, as we had to jump into this quick, but we’ve kicked ass every night and we’ve somehow managed to pull it all together through all of the adversity.  We’ve been through plenty of adversity, which to me, makes us stronger as we move on and push forward.

Peter: You mentioned the new album.  Do you have a definite release date or album title?

Jon: The album title will be Flying Tigers and the date has yet to be determined, but we’re hoping by October.  We’re planning to track the record as soon as we get done with the tour.  We originally had it tracked with Wyatt, which was a real stinger for us and I thought that was messed up.  Wyatt said all the right stuff and actually tracked the record, but three weeks before the tour, turned around and said he didn’t want to tour, so we’re scrubbing those vocals and Mike’s going to sing on the record and we’re going to move along with Mike.  Expect the album to be out…hopefully in October.

Peter: Currently, White Wizzard is on tour with Forbidden.  Are there any interesting stories from the tour so far?

[All laugh]

Jon: I’ll take the fifth on that.  It’s been for us personally, a bit of a struggle, but that’s partly because we’re up against $4 a gallon gas right now.  We’re still a baby band and are trying to get out there and re-establish ourselves after getting kind of screwed by Wyatt last year not being able to tour a lot.  So, it’s been a little tough for us to get out on the road and do what we want to do, so we’re trying to get our sea legs again, and that’s what the whole story’s been about.  The bands have been great, HAVOK’s been a bunch of great guys, Revocation, and all of the bands we’ve played with, we’ve had a great time with them. 

We’ve been real lucky to have been paired with these groups, they’re all fantastic guys, and we’re having a great time in spite of all the adversity.  It’s been a fun ride, complete with hair-raising close calls like flat tires and bad weather and all sorts of things.  Last night, we were scared that we were going to get caught in a tornado and happened to end up at a truck stop on the way to Kansas City.  Seems like there’s some kind of story like that, [laughs] with some last minute thing happening that causes us to be late like a flat tire, but we always make the shows and always kick ass, and we’re becoming a better, more focused, tight group.  It’s been interesting, yet rewarding.  We’re going to look back on this work and energy with good and bad memories, with a lot of positive thoughts coming out of it.  It’s been definitely difficult to get acclimated with a new dude when a guy jumps ship like that and keep the mental fortitude and continue to move forward and keep a positive attitude.  It can sometimes beat you down.  I’ve been through lots of adversity the last three years in White Wizzard, and that was just another blow and knock to the ground, but I had to get up and continue to push forward and continue to push the band forward because I think the band is special.  If I wasn’t doing that, I’d be on a beach in Hawaii right now, smoking weed if I didn’t think the band was special, and that’s why I am still here: because I believe in it and you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do. [laughs]  I think we’ve got a good group of dudes right now, I believe in these five guys, and I think it’s going to be an awesome time.

Peter: At the risk of ripping off a fellow scribe who asks this question in every interview he does, recommend a book for the readers and why you chose it.

Jon: A book for the readers…wow. [laughs]

Giovanni: Books for the readers and why you chose it…

Jon: The thing is I never read on tour, actually.  That’s one thing…

Giovanni: Who has to read? [All laugh]

Jon: I’m not a reader…

Giovanni: How about the sleepy one there? [Looks at Mike]

Jon: I don’t know, but I’d recommend anything by Hunter Thompson.  I love crazy, outlandish writing, and he’s fun to read.  Pick up the entire Hunter Thompson collection.  I wouldn’t even recommend one book, just read them all, drop some acid, run around the country for a year, try to find yourself for a while, go around the forest naked a couple of times, drop more acid, and see what happens when you come out of it, if you’re a different man.  The reading should be coupled with LSD, travelling, and other things.  You shouldn’t just sit in a room and read, you got to go out and go for it and use your imagination.  You have to make your adventures and make it happen.  Anyway, drop acid and read Hunter Thompson, that’s my recommendation. [laughs]

Peter: Is there anything else that you would like to add?

Jon: We like hookers.  We like lots of hookers…

Giovanni: And slutty metal girls…

Jon: Slutty metal girls are good.

[Jon and Giovanni talk at the same time]

We smell, which can be a problem and that’s why we need the hookers.  The regular girls stay away from the band, so you have to pay them to come near the band.  We can be pretty ripe, especially after three days of not showering and playing shows, it can get pretty rough.  It’s hard times for the girls, and after the third day, it’s hard to convince the girls to come into the van to hang out with the band and do things.  She’s not going to get too excited about it and it isn’t good times, but when we’re showered and clean, like yesterday…

We’re on the one day, but it’s been a sticky and balmy climate literally, no pun intended.  So, we’re heading to Denver next, the Mile High City, and we’re going into the mountain air, so our balls should be less balmy.  When we get into Denver, we should expect it to be drier, so with the girls, things should be a little better out there, but tonight’s going to be a hooker night.

[All laugh]

White Wizzard

Interviewer: Peter

July 6, 2011

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TO THE TOP

(Click on Photo to Enlarge)

Formed:  2007
     Los Angeles, California  USA
Label:  Earache Records
Genre:  Heavy Metal

CURRENT LINE-UP:

Michael Gremio:  Vocals
Cory Nagatoshi:  Guitars
Lewis Stephens:  Guitars
Jon Leon:  Bass
Giovanni Durst:  Drums

DISCOGRAPHY:

White Wizzard EP (2008)
High Speed GTO EP (2009)
Over the Top (2010)

PHOTOS BY PETER SANTELLAN

(Click on Photos to Enlarge)