AND THE MEMBERS OF JEFF LOOMIS’ TOURING BAND ARE…
…Joe Nurre (Shaded Enmity) on guitar, Gregory Macklin (System Divide, Ordinance) on bass, and Anup Sastry (Intervals, Skyharbor) on drums. None of those dudes appear on Loomis’ forthcoming album, Plains of Oblivion, but it was never very likely that the guitarist was gonna be able to get, for example, Dirk Verbeuren to do a tour, so whatever. I would be kinda curious to know why Shane Lentz, the bass player who Loomis recruited for Plains after discovering him via YouTube, isn’t joining the band — it could be any number of reasons, including Lentz just not wanting to tour — but that’s really just my gossipy side getting the best of me. The dudes Loomis landed are all talented musicians, and will surely do him proud, or else be condemned to a lifetime as Warrel Dane’s designated driver.
Here’s a statement from Loomis about how he put this band together:
“My good friend, Joe Nurre from up here in Seattle, will be playing guitar with me out on this run with Protest the Hero and Periphery. Some of you might have seen him play with Nevermore on the 70,000 Tons of Metal cruise last year. I was lucky enough to find this killer drummer online. His name is Anup Sastry, I’ve seen him do these perfect drum covers on his Youtube page. I reached out and learned he plays in a few great bands as well. You should check out all the stuff he’s done. Anup is based out in the DC area and brought in a friend of his, Greg Macklin, to do bass. Those guys are going to be getting together out there to start practicing the set. Joe and I will do the same over here and then a couple weeks before the tour, Joe and I will fly over Maryland and we’ll all rehearse until we get things perfect. I can’t wait to get out there and start playing live again. See you soon.”
Loomis and this just-announced trio will be on the upcoming MetalSucks-sponsored tour with Protest the Hero, Periphery, The Safety Fire, and Today I Caught the Plague; you can get dates here. Meanwhile, don’t forget that Plains of Oblivion comes out April 10 on Century.
-AR
