GRAHAM BONNET - "I Have No Plans To Relinquish The Name ALCATRAZZ; Bands Break Up And There Becomes Two Versions"
December 8, 2020, 3 years ago
It was recently reported earlier that singer Doogie White (Michael Schenker, Yngwie Malmsteen, Tank, Rainbow) was recruited for all Alcatrazz touring for 2021. The lineup features White, guitarist Joe Stump, drummer Mark Benquechea, keyboardist Jimmy Waldo, and bassist Gary Shea. The band reformed in 2019 and released the album, Born Innocent, in July 2020.
Original vocalist Graham Bonnet issued a statement shortly after the news broke, saying that he will still be recording and performing with Alcatrazz in the future, causing some confusion. He has followed that up with a new statement, found below.
Bonnet: "Hi everyone! Since my last post, I've received many emails expressing confusion about the band situation and again, rather than respond individually, I will clarify here.
When my manager resigned in June, I asked the band collectively if they would be interested in touring to support the new album. They informed me that they were only interested in touring if my former manager was included. No one was 'fired,' we just parted ways. As that signaled the end of this version of Alcatrazz, I immediately began to seek new players for yet another new Alcatrazz line-up. I have performed with other versions of Alcatrazz since the demise of the original band, this was just the first time I played with any original members and the first time I recorded using the name Alcatrazz.
The day my manager resigned, he also removed me as admin of the Graham Bonnet and Alcatrazz band FB page, so I was unable to let fans know what was happening until recently when FB returned my page. The first misunderstanding happened when I posted on the band page that Graham Bonnet and Alcatrazz were no longer associated with Giles Lavery management. When I said that, I wasn’t referring to the recent line-up. They had already informed me months earlier that they would only tour with my former manager and to me, that meant that they had quit. My reference was to my new version of Alcatrazz.
I have no plans to relinquish the name Alcatrazz and I expect that they don’t either. This is an old story; bands break up and there becomes two versions. I’m not bothered by it. I’ve toured with Doogie the past few years with Schenker Fest and he is a good friend and a damn fine performer. In my opinion, there is no such thing as too much music. People can listen to one or the other or both versions and choose whatever they like. I’m not interested in squabbling over a name, I’d rather just make music."