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Thursday, December 24, 2015

AUSTRALIA OR BUST!!!!

With all the hoopla regarding the cancellation of Soundwave, I thought I would brighten things up a bit and also clarify....contrary to reports, Killer Be Killed is not owed moola from their performance last year and we WERE paid amazingly fast. I have heard this isn't the case with many other acts, but I like to keep my nose to myself and cannot comment on other band's business. Max and I absolutely love the Australian music scene, having gone there since the wild days of the early 1990's. The vivacious fans, the fervor of Metal in the veins of the bush lands, it all adds up to a great experience!

Soulfly

Mikey and Max
From Soundwave, to Sidewaves, to Big Day Out, to Gigantour, to headline shows, i have planned many tours across the Land Down Under. Sepultura was quite famous for a riot in Perth, permanently causing the total destruction and closure of a venue! Ah, yes, the lovable Aussies. They are maniacs for merch; they are loyal to bands and actually BUY cds, and they patiently wait in line at in stores to meet their musical heroes-always buying a cd to get signed and never pulling the Whine out of their mouth! A band's dream! My next dream is to roll across the country with my Maximum Cavalera Tour! One day, hopefully in 2016!

Igor and Christina

Me, Igor, and Max

Max and Zyon
Once, we took 23 people with us--band, crew, children, nanny, friends, boyfriends and girlfriends all in tow! We dined on alligator cooked by yours truly and blew the crap out of digiridos, all for fun! One night, we were awaken by Mary Poppins ,er Joey Nugent, our son's nanny, saying that Zyon had slept walked out of the hotel room and was nowhere to be found! Running to the lobby, the smiling receptionist pointed to the bar and behold... Zyon was walking in circles slapping the dead finger as he prowled, unknowingly! Thank God he never wandered out of the hotel!

Roy, Max, Squasha, and Me

Paul, Andrew, Igor and Me
Besides friends who are/were promoters, AJ, Squasha, Gavin, Adrian Bohm and others through our 20+ years of tours, our dearest buds are the famous twins, Paul and Andrew Haug. They were 15 years old when we met them and they have grown with us, as our children have grown up with them! Many visits to the Melbourne Zoo were made into memories because of their friendship. We have known each other through happy times and the worst of times. They have never lost their humor or their youth! Some of you may know them from their band, Contrive!

One of the worst experiences happened to Incite! They were in their infancy when we toured there and they weren't very experienced at the time, when misfortune became their shadow! I checked everyone in for the flight to the US and as you can imagine, we were all looking forward to being home! As we approached the passport checkpoint, Luis Marrufo, the bass player reached for his passport, only to find that some slight of hand pickpocketer had swiped it from his jacket!! You can imagine his shock and my pissed-off-ness when we both realized we would have to leave him on the Big Island until he got a replacement passport! That was not a good thing!

Max
One thing you can always be assured of is the fact that we will always return! Morfing from one band to another, bringing a son or daughter or several, we cannot resist the lure of the succulent Harry's pies, the curves of the Opera House, the changing lights of the bridge and the bungi jump on the Gold Coast! The screams of the fans and the poofy-ness of the koala bears will beckon us back, many, many years to come!





Class dismissed......

Friday, December 11, 2015

TRIBE, LET US WELCOME THE SOON TO BE MRS. CAVALERA!!!

Next week, on my Father's (RIP) birthday, our son, Richie, will tie the knot with his squeeze, Shonda Mackey! Not only will we be gaining a daughter from another Mother, but the Tribe will have a new Mrs. Cavalera in our tight circle.




I met Shonda when Richie introduced her to us some time ago. When he told us she was a fetish model, I admit, I raised an eyebrow! We never had a clue that she would be marrying him one day. We could see from the start that she was very much in love with Richie. She is a hard worker and a beautiful person, inside and out. She has proven herself to be loyal, and protective of us all. In our family, privacy is very important and treasured. It is also rare. Shonda slid right in with us and has never let us down. We have seen her evolve into a serious model, part time actress and now, a wife to or son.

Poster ad from the boulevard in Huntington Beach
When Thomas Mignone was looking for a Medusa who would allow a snake to slither on her body, Shonda donned her body suit and made friends with the serpent. Voila! Snakes of Jehovah gave us the smack down! Thomas said he had never shot anyone the camera loved more!

Mr. and Mrs. Richie Cavalera and son, Sawyer

Richie and Sawyer
So next week, Tribe, let us welcome another woman in the family tree of ancestry of the Cavalera family... Mrs. Richie Cavalera!!! You know how we do it!




Class dismissed......

Friday, December 4, 2015

CALL THE POLICE! WE HAVE BEEN ROBBED!!!!

In 2004, we did the craziest tour that we had ever done! It started out all cool...lots of shows, Soulfly headlining and the kids in tow. We some of the kid's friends with us, too.....Bryan, Eddie, and Joey, the boy's nanny. With the band, crew, kids and friends, we needed a giant bus! We found this bus in Sweden. It was the biggest band bus in the world, exquisitely furnished on the inside! A double decker, of course, but it also had 2 bedrooms and living room lounges upstairs.

Igor and Max in our bus lounge


Tour dates

Roxanne and Moses
The upstairs was cut in half with a wall, which divided the upstairs into the family room and the bushwhacker's room. Each had bunks for everyone and a spacious living area with poofy black leather couches and a kickass entertainment area. We really loved that damn bus! By the end of the tour, the bus had so many mechanical failures we were arriving up to 5 hours late for festivals!! But, dear Students, that is another blog...

Bryan


Roxanne
One night in Italy, about 4:30am, I was awaken by a phone call from our friend in America, Tess (RIP) Krimbell. As I chatted away in my bunk, I got up to make sure that the kids had all gotten to their bunks, and not fallen asleep to a video game. Walking to the front of our area, I peaked down the staircase and was shocked to see the door wide open and Bryan's backpack laying near the door, with a hundred dollar bill sticking out of it!!

I walked downstairs, still yapping to Tess, and looked around for Bryan. We were parked at a truckstop in Italy, and as I expected, everyone was snuggled in their bunks. I gasped when I got to the kitchen are. It was the room we kept all of our laptops, phones charging, cameras, etc. It was bare!!! Not a device anywhere!!! Fear washed over me as I realized that we were being robbed. Was whoever behind me, or hiding in a corner? Was I about to be grabbed and silenced? WTF was going on?

I ran upstairs and woke the driver and everyone up. Shock turned into anger. This had never happened before! We contacted the police promptly. They arrived and it seemed that this had been happening in Italy many times. In fact, they said we were "lucky!" they told us that a gang from Northern Africa had been pulling similar heists. They went by the gang name "Amerikans." We were lucky because usually they pumped some narcotic gas into the bus to knock everyone out and many times, the people neared to where the gas came into the bus, died. I guess in that respect, we were blessed! What an experience...one I hope is never repeated!!!

Christian

Yuha, getting the f%#@ outa Dodge!





Class dismissed....

Friday, November 27, 2015

WAS DANA D-LOW KILLED......YOU DECIDE!!!

It has been brought to my attention that a certain someone has been saying incorrect statements online about Dana's death and about Max and myself. If anyone wants to chat about it, I have boxes of depositions, video taped interviews and a police report that pretty much sums it all up. But, in the end, everyone is a judge.....a judge without ALL the facts. Any questions about his death, just ask me any time. Don't believe someone who was INVOLVED, ask yourself...would HE really be truthful?

*Click Image To Enlarge*



Class dismissed......

Friday, November 20, 2015

BACK TO THE PRIMITIVE......

Making Primitive was an exciting time for us. The first Soulfly was well received by the Tribe. Max put his magic on the Metal world and infused percussion, collaborators and instrumentals on the first Soulfly and this would be an extension of his creative beams. Chino, Tom Araya, Sean Lennon, and Corey Taylor and many others were all stopping by the Salt Mine to metalize the recording. Every day recording was a new frontier conquered!

Corey Taylor and Max
Neville Garrick was Max's choice for the cover art and cd booklet. Neville was Bob Marley's artist and had done many of his creations, as well as helped with the Bob Marley estate. He had archives stuffed with photos, and we relished viewing them, and hearing the tales of Bob's career. Neville is super cool and very calm. This lent a serenity to the project. Glen LaFerman...legendary rock photographer.....arrived to capture the evolution going on in the studio. If you visit The Rainbow Cafe in Hollywood, you will see Glen's b/w portraits gracing the walls and nooks.


Max and Neville Garrick

Glen La Ferman, Max and Mikey Doling

The Salt Mine was in its infancy and did not have a room to chill in, so we rented a motor home that sat out in the parking lot. It was an interesting journey. Chino flew out to track and brought the Deftones music they were working on. He was in the control room a whooping one minute, when the cd mysteriously disappeared...never to be heard or seen again!


Don Salter and others. Don owns the Salt Mine
Brazilian Meia Noite, Sergio Mendez's percussionist, flew in to add his spice throughout the record. He brought a large road case of tribal delicacies...gourds, beads, and shakers galore!! A splash here and a splash there, it all added up!


Max and Meia Noite in the control room
Toby Wright was behind the wheel of this Cadillac! I will say we had our ups and downs, but eventually the pie was baked. When Sean Lennon added his piano outro on Son Song, I truly knew I had heard it all! I will add, Sean is one of the most humble artists I have had the blessing to work with. It was an honor to be there for the creation of a song about Sean and Max's fathers and the love of a son for his Dad. We still have Sean's autograph on our bedroom wall, right next to Dana's. So very long ago but fresh in my mind as the coffee I had this morning.


Toby Wright and Larry McDonald
Percussionist Larry McDonald joined our gang and slid his percussion into the mix. We had met him in Holland when Max did a spoken word presentation at the Crossing Borders festival in Amsterdam. Max was asked to perform a short berimbau impromptu set and Larry volunteered to jam with him. Larry was with Gil Scott Heron's band at the time. Al in all, it was a carte blanche of artists of all genres of music, entertaining their skills and producing the finest gemstone.



Class dismissed.....

Friday, November 13, 2015

GROWING UP METAL....Zyon and Igor morf roles....

2016 will be another year of Metal releases for our family. Incite just recorded with Steve Evett and they will have a smasher out in April. I am looking forward to this and I haven't heard a peep of a track yet!!! Jonesing.... Another surprise for everyone who collects all things Cavalera....there will be a new release for Lody Kong! The first full length, recorded nearly 2 years ago with John Gray (Primitive, Dark Ages, Babylonian Pandemonium, and many others...), will be released in the first half of the New Year! Long awaited and mysteriously kept a secret....it has only graced a coupe homes....it's not even allowed to venture out the door....house arrest!!

Igor and Zyon (photo credit: Glen La Ferman)
When Zyon and Igor were small, they had their roles reversed. Zyon was the vocalist and Igor the drummer. Dana would jam the Deftones' advance cassette all the time with Zyon. After checking the band out live, Z really got his Chino portrayal down. I would tell Max, "when Z-Money hits the stage, you better watch out!" He was jamming!!





All day long, the two would be attracted to music! When they got tired of drumming and jumping to BORED, they would ask Max to do Picture Time. Max is a super good artist. He draws cartoon style and doesn't have to look at something to draw it. He draws on his memory. The early Picture Times were Ninja Turtles with chainsaw arms, or 5 headed monsters...mostly superhero mutants. When they discovered the Pied Piper of Metal, the drawings began to be band photos. I guess I will have to blog a few when I return home from the road..just for my Students!

Our home began to be littered with drawings of the Deftones and KORN. Damn, those drawings piled up daily! After the kids met more bands and began paying more attention to life, the drawings included bands like Fear Factory, Sepulltura, Napalm Death and zillions more. I have boxes and boxes of them stashed. Yes, yes, I will show you all one day! In the meantime, wait for the big announcement from our next generation!



Class dismissed...

Friday, November 6, 2015

JUVENILE DIABETES...THE ENEMY OF OUR TRIBE!!!

In 1997, when Max and I were with Soulfly, recording in Malibu, our son, Igor was stricken with a strange illness we had never encountered on the path of raising children. It was strange fate, as the week before, we were at the beach outside our hotel, the Malibu Beach Inn, enjoying the sand and surf with the boys. Igor ventured into the crevices of these large rocks, scattered around the hotel. I noticed fragments of debris and ocean bits and pieces, and called him away. "You are going to get a sickness from that junk," I said, as I coaxed him out.


Soulfly with Ross Robinson

Igor and Jade on Malibu beach



The next week, he developed an insatiable thirst. Every second of the waking moment he said, "I'm thirsty." We shoveled drinks down him so often, I thought I was going crazy. We actually left the studio and flew back to Phoenix to see his doctor. The doctor gave him a test for diabetes and it was negative. He diagnosed it as a virus. What the hell kind of virus makes you lose weight and thirst like a man crawling out of the Sahara?

Returning to the studio, Igor rapidly diminished before our eyes. He lost his desire to play, eat or smile. I couldn't figure out what in the world was going on. Being the Tribe Mom, I must always be in control and able to fix anything. This was driving me nuts and watching our little son wither away was more than frightening!

One day I told Max, Ross and the others at Indigo, that I was heading home to find out what was going on with Igor. Max decided he had recorded enough and booked a one way ticket for Soulfly 1 on a jet plane to NYC to mix.


Igor

The doctor confirmed to us that Igor had juvenile diabetes. What a shock! I didn't even know what diabetes was exactly. No one on either side of our family had ever had it. We were lost. Our next journey was to the hospital, where Igor stayed for 3 days. We stayed too and learned the regiment. I think I had a bit of a nervous breakdown.


Christina, Igor and me
When we came home, it was Roxanne's birthday. Igor came down with the chicken pox on top of everything else. Covering his speckled torso with calamine lotion, finger poking and shots consumed our days. Worrying about him getting low and having a diabetic coma was another drama. So much info...

Igor with chicken pox

Roxanne at her birthday
My friend, Kristen, and I were sitting at the kitchen table---yes, the table Chaos and Roots was written at--- during the birthday party, heads in or hands. We had lost Dana the year before; now Igor had diabetes...We looked at each other and I said, "What next?" I turned around to see Jason inhaling a balloon full of STAY HI, not helium, and pass out on the floor, eyes rolling in the back of his head and body convulsing...

We looked at each other, eyes popping out of our heads and I called 9-11.
Class dismissed......


Friday, October 30, 2015

SOULFLY ONE....LOST PHOTOS

Back on the road with Soulfly, we often laugh about our wacky memories. Good ones, bad ones, they add up to the journey. Our kids have been there alongside the fans...all of us sharing Life together. Nearly-20-years-of-Soulfly-later, I still come across old photos. Some of the people here, some of them gone, but we all touched each other's lives.



Indigo session with Richard in the middle 




Maxs vocal booth with his personal items and percussion drums



Nacao Zumbi drummers

Richard Kaplan (RIP) and the crew of Indigo Ranch Studio in Malibu, were there for the crash of Max with Sepultura and they were there for the birth of Soulfjy. They saw Max stroll through the storm and walk out unscathed. And Zyon and Igor just played. It was all natural evolution.




Class dismissed........

Friday, October 23, 2015

FALL BREAK.......LET'S TAKE A VACATION!!!

Fall break, Easter break, Christmas break, we missed so many national holidays, we made our own time for breaks and they usually came in between tours. Staying close was Max and my priority. Some people in the past got pissed when we had our own bus. They wanted the teen age agenda to last forever, but people grew up. We made a family and dammit, nothing would stop us from having both our careers and our family.

Grrrrr!!!
We could never structure vacations because something would always come up and our plans would change. Once Max and I had even sent our passports to the embassy to get visas to Tibet and of course something came along and it never happened. Instead, we travelled while on tour, and visited many castles, monuments and other tourist attractions in the mornings when everyone else was still sleeping.

Me,Max, Zyon and Igor

Me, Zyon, baby Igor, and Jason
Another remedy to our dilemma was to take short little vacations whenever we could. This ended up being the best solution to finding a small escape from 24/7 touring and working. One year we even went to Kurt Cobain's hometown of Aberdeen, to look for his roots! The kids loved these short jaunts and it kept us all close. On top of it all, it was always educational for them. Fun with a hidden twist!

Zyon, Rox, baby Igor, and Richie
So today, my Students, let's take break, as the year has been long and the miles pass under my feet like blacktop under a diesel...

Jason, Me, and Igor


Class dismissed......