At the beginning of the new year, I was looking for a new guitarist for Soulfly. Logan Mader went on his own journey and Soulfly had an Australian tour coming...Big Day Out was on the horizon! Max suggested I contact Mikey Doling, the guitarist from Snot. No doubt he could use some positive vibes and this would be it! I hit up Mikey and he was surprised and super happy! It gave everyone a lift in spirits!
At that time, Big Day out went to several cities in Australia...Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and the Gold Coast. The festival also travelled to New Zealand and did one show in Aukland. It was founded by Ken West and Vivian Lee. I must admit, they treated everyone exceptionally well. The dates were very well planned, and organization was top notch!
Soulfly shared the stage with Marilyn Manson, Korn, Hole, Sean Lennon and scores of other acts. This tour was the meeting point of Max and Sean Lennon, which evolved into the recording of Son Song, which appeared on the future Soulfly release, titled Primitive.
We took our son, Igor, on tour with us. He was only 3 years old, but already well seasoned to the road! He loved the koala bear hanging out in the backstage at the shows. There were all sorts of activities to watch, bungie jumping, bands playing all day, new cities flying by... I can only dream that one day, Big Day Out will materialize again, and we will be sitting on the Gold Coast, taking a break in-between shows!!
Max was presented a beautiful, Aboriginal didigiri do, which still lives in our home! Mikey stayed with Soulfly for some time more and the Journey just kept rolling by, under our feet. We made friendships that only grew stronger, and music that kept blanketing the Earth. Australia became a natural home on the road for us! And now.....18 years later, we will see you in September, with Return to Roots!!
Class dismissed......
