Just as Modern Drummer
went to press with the Update on Slayer drummer Paul Bostaph
(February
2002 issue), word came in that Bostaph had to forfeit the gig due to a
chronic elbow injury that could worsen if he
continued to perform with
the act. Slayer's management looked no further than a man of the past
for a temporary tour
replacement, legendary Slayer skinsman Dave
Lombardo.
Though Lombardo has prior commitments to his current
projects, Fantomas
(featuring Buzz Osbourne of The Melvins and Mr. Bungle's Mike Patton
and Trevor Dunn) and Grip
Inc., downtime in both projects created a
window of opportunity large enough to accept the temporary position.
"Slayer's manager called me up and told me about Paul's condition, and
he asked me if I was willing to
do a short tour," Lombardo says. "I
told him I would think about it. Well, it only took me twenty-four
hours. I called back and
said, 'Sure, why not?' It's been ten years
since I last played in the group, and at this point I didn't
see
anything wrong with the chance to do it again.
"They sent me a fax with a list of the new and old tunes," Dave
says,
"and I immediately went to work analyzing and making notes of the new
material so I'd be prepared when I showed
up at rehearsal. As for the
old tunes, well, I didn't touch them. In fact, I didn't even listen to
them. I was curious to
see how my memory had stored that info for the
past ten years. I have to admit, when we got down to playing some of
those
tunes, I was just plain clueless. We'd be playing and I'd have to
stop and say, 'I've gotta do my homework
on this one. This is just not
going to work right now.'"
And what about the future for Lombardo and Slayer past
this tour? "As
far as I know, it's just this tour. But I think it's been a treat for
the band's long-time fans.
I'm glad to be doing it."
