Former Dio Keyboard Player Thinks the Dio Hologram Is “a Travesty”
Hey, remember the Dio hologram? How someone thought it was good idea to send Dio’s digital ghost out on tour last year? Okay, good, I was just scared for a second that you guys forgot about that weird, tasteless move.
Well, Claude Schnell, Dio’s keyboardist from ’83 to ’89, who played on classic albums like The Last In Line, Sacred Heart, and Dream Evil, hasn’t forgotten about it, and he ain’t a big fan of it, either. On the most recent episode of the Ouch You’re On My Hair podcast, Schnell cut loose, slamming the hologram as “a travesty” and “disrespectful.”
Some choice quotes:
“To the fans who like it, good for them,” Claude said (hear audio below). “If it makes anybody happy, then it’s a good thing. Personally, I think it’s a travesty; I don’t think it’s something that should have been done…personally, I think it’s disingenuous to the memory of the man.
“If you were lucky enough to know who he was in life, and if you were lucky enough to see him in life and to enjoy him and his music, that should be enough…And I’m not even addressing the fact that some will argue that it’s just a cashgrab and it’s a way for Wendy [Dio, Dio’s widow and manager] to find herself making more money off his memory, which that’s not here or there, and I’m certainly not about to stand in judgment of what other people do. But just in principle, I don’t think it’s right.
“Under the best circumstances, a hologram is, obviously, a hollow version of who the person was….I can’t understand how Wendy can be okay with it, but that’s between her and her own values. To go full circle, to me, it just seems like a travesty.”
You can listen to the rest below.
Schnell makes a big point of repeatedly saying, “But hey, what do I know, who cares what I think?” during the interview, which shows a certain level of self-awareness. No offense to the guy, but I doubt many metalheads think, “Man, what do you suppose Dio’s keyboard player from after the Holy Diver record has to say on this matter?”
Buuut he’s also right. Dio was rad, but he died, and that’s that. To sell people tickets to see a bizarre, ultra-smooth Pixar version of him is just ghoulish and weird. Blugh.
Check out the episode below, or follow it here. Hopefully Schnell makes it through the night without the Dio hologram floating through his window to send him off on a romp through Christmas past.
[via Blabbermouth]
