Randy Castillo Benefit Concert

Randy Castillo Benefit Concert - Exclusive

By Sefany Jones, Junkman & Frank Meyer, Journalists
Tuesday, April 30, 2002 @ 4:43 PM

Crowd

Montrose

Andy Dick

Keith Nelson of Buckcherry

Josh Todd

Slash and Duff

Steven Tyler and Slash

Steven Tyler

Steven Tyler, Slash, Duff

Steven Tyler and Slash

Slash and Josh Todd
Photos by Paul Harb/KNAC.COM

A Final Hurrah In Randy Castillo's Honor at The Key Club In Los Angeles, April 29th; Steven Tyler, Members of Guns N' Roses Perform, Among Many Others

A benefit concert was held Monday night to honor and bid a final farewell to the great, late drummer, Randy Castillo, as well as to help his surviving family with leftover expenses from his illness. Randy had the best seat in the house, watching from his “skybox,” as a plethora of musicians and one “Icon” took the stage in front of a sold-out audience of over 800 people.

Kicking off the show was Nickelbag, which featured Rolling Stones backup vocalist Bernard Fowler taking the mic, guitarists Ritchie Kotzen (Ex-Poison) and Stevie Salas (Michael Hutchence, Bootsy Collins), Carmine Rojas (ex-David Bowie, Rod Stewart) on bass, and Brian Tichy (ex-Ozzy, Slash’s Snakepit, Pride & Glory, Foreigner) on drums, spewing out some good ol’ rock and roll!

Next up was Randy’s ongoing side-project, flamenco band Ziroq (formerly Azul), featuring Carmine Rojas on bass, Paul Blazek on drums/ bongos, Tal Bergman drums, Marcus Nanz as lead vocalist/ guitar, Janna Jacoby on vocals, Jose Prieto on guitar, and Guillermo on keyboards/ vocals. Randy passionately loved this band, and it’s unique style of mellow mood music.

Thereafter followed Joey Heredia’s band, featuring Joey Heredia on drums, Jeff Pevar on guitar (David Crosby/CPR, Shawn Colvin), and Michael Ruff (Kenny Loggins, Air Supply, Bonnie Raitt, Nancy Wilson) on keyboards and vocals, with their slick session-styled rock.

Ball rocked the stage next, with Brian Tichy now on vocals and guitar, with Joe Travers (Dweezil Zappa, Duran Duran) on drums, and Michael Devin on bass. They got the crowd amped up with some smoking rock n' roll!

Montrose, featuring Ronnie Montrose (Sammy Hagar, Van Morrison) on guitar, Chuck Wright (Quiet Riot, House of Lords) on bass, Keith St. John on vocals, and Pat Torpey (Mr. Big, Ted Nugent) on drums, all hopped up on stage and ripped out goodies like "Rock the Nation" and "Rock Candy." Ronnie dedicated Space Station #5 to Randy and reflected on old stories.

Next up was SLAP featuring Steve Lukather (Toto, Cher, Michael Jackson, Lionel Ritchie, Eric Clapton) on guitar and vocals, Phil Soussan (Ozzy, Toto, John Waite, Billy Idol) on bass, and two of Randy’s idols, Kenny Aronoff (BB King) and Simon Phillips (Toto, Pete Townsend, Joe Satriani, Judas Priest) on dueling drums. They finished the set with Randy's favorite Hendrix song, "Manic Depression," which was sung by Soussan.

In between sets comedians Andy Dick and Charles Fleischer (the voice of Roger Rabbit) performed. Our very own Program Director, Long Paul, was slated to emcee the event, but had to cancel due to illness.

Next on stage was the aptly named "Buck N’ Roses," (or "Cherry Roses," as it was later decided upon) which featured vocalist Joshua Todd and guitarist Keith Nelson (Izzy Stradlin was unable to attend), both of Buckcherry, and Guns N’ Roses originals, guitarist Slash, bassist Duff McKagan, and drummer Matt Sorum. They spun the crowd into a frenzy, opening with GNR’s "It’s So Easy" then the Sex Pistols "God Save The Queen," as well as Rose Tattoo/ GNR’s "Nice Boys" and Buckcherry’s "Lit Up." The band then tore into GNR’s "Paradise City," in which Cypress Hill’s Sen Dog jumped up on stage to provide additional vocals. And then it came… Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler pounced onstage and blew out the place with an amazing rendition of the Aerosmith classic, “Mama Kin.” The floors were thumping and the place went wild! Tyler finished his appearance by holding his arms up and looking to the sky, and woefully screamed, “Raaaaannndyyyyyyyyyyy!”

Wrapping up the show was an all-star drumming session, which pretty much included everyone who had played earlier in the evening. They even had Randy’s kit on stage, watching over the evening’s festivities.

Surprisingly, no one from Ozzy showed up (with the exception of Alice In Chains bassist, Mike Inez), and none of the guys from Motley Crue showed up. Present for the show, were Marilyn Manson members Ginger Fish and Pogo, Ratt’s Bobby Blotzer, actress Drew Barrymore, who said she didn’t know Randy, but “felt like she knew him now,” Mike Matejevic of Steelheart and various other musicians and celebrities.

Diana DeVille will write up her own article, which will include more exclusive photos and a bunch of quotes from the various attending artists, as well as friends and family of Randy.

Thanks to all that came out for the cause, and to all that worked so hard to make this happen. All proceeds will go directly to Randy’s mother and sisters – especially his sister Christine, who spent months commuting back and forth from Albuquerque to Los Angeles, to care for him. We wish the best for his family, and share our condolences.

All in all, it was one hell of a night and a very appropriate send off to one of the industry’s finest musicians. A final goodbye to Mr. Randy Castillo – rest peacefully.

Andy Dick	Keith Nelson of Buckcherry
Sen Dog	Sen Dog and Slash
Duff and Slash	Slash
Duff and Slash	Slash and Steven Tyler
Steven Tyler

NORTHRIDGEKID - 5/6/2002 1:04:43 PM
Arrrgh! I got stcuk in NYC and couldn't attend. Oh well. God bless you Randy, no you can jam in Heaven with Randy Rhoads. We will miss you.

Rokkaholik - 5/6/2002 5:43:21 AM
That would have been one hell of a show to see!!! Axl must have been shitting his pants over not being there too. Randy was an awesome musician who did it for the love of doing it, and not for the money. He deserves all the respect in the world for that. They should do this every year and donate the money to research for Cancer. As for 2 of my Favorite bands...Motley Crue and Ozzy...There is no reason what-so-ever that you could not have stopped by or have hit the stage for your former bandmate. What kind of friends were you for skipping out on this event? Very sad excuses guys. Bless all the other musicians that showed up to pay tribute to their friend. You guys rock!! Long live Randy

strendkill - 5/5/2002 7:55:14 AM
R.I.P bud. Thanks for all the good times on stage, and off. I will miss u.

binwhored - 5/5/2002 5:19:18 AM
Ozzy's a bastard for not showing up,i love the guy and all.but what the hells wrong with him.randy's contribution to ozzy's career should have brought him out on guilt alone.and forget motley.one of my absolute favorite bands.but you can't tell me none of those chumps could have aranged to be there.anyone could have sent money,that's a poor excuse .they should all be ashamed

JDAVIS - 5/4/2002 5:52:46 PM
R.I.P.

maskofsanity - 5/4/2002 4:57:11 PM
What Randy Castillo Died? When Did This Happen?...?...?

Mattocaster2000 - 5/3/2002 10:29:06 PM
R.I.P Randy Castillo... you rocked www.hexxx.net

rockinitall - 5/3/2002 9:09:18 PM
rockneverstops...Im not missing the point of all of this...my point is that as human beings...throughout there lives the motley folks havent been too good of people. I mean look at what they did by reading the dirt? So I guess I shouldn't be surprised..and maybe it was nice of them to contribute $. I just think Randys memory lies in music...and the ultimate way to pay tribute to a musician is through song..I just know thats how I would want my band to remember me. and girlrock...the problem with not bitching about who wasn't there is that if noone showed like the Crue...then there wouldn't have been a benifit. I just think death deserves its full respect.

feed - 5/3/2002 7:24:31 PM
r.i.p.

Paulzo - 5/3/2002 3:33:42 PM
Buckcherry and GnR? I missed it but, based on the response from fans, I bet we'll see that band again...soon. And leave Rush outta this - They are not even in the same league as these "rock bands".

cobain_is_watching_us - 5/3/2002 3:16:45 PM
sounds like it was a blast, man. wish i was there...but its good i wasnt because if i was i would have threw my drink on andy dick because hes a fucking moron and so not funny, and he would have gotten pissed, and yelled at me and i would have said fuck you to him, and we would have gotten in a fistfight and i would have hurt him nd i didnt wanna ruin the night for eveyrone else. but it sounded like it was a blast.

robj - 5/3/2002 2:01:50 PM
girl rock, you are wrong, Mike Inez WAS in attendance

Cagney - 5/3/2002 1:44:13 PM
The best? I'm sure he was a great guy and all, but he wasn't even the best drummer to sit behind Motley's kit. Death always makes folks lie.

maestro - 5/3/2002 11:57:29 AM
An excellent rant girlrock, thank you for not missing the point of all of this. RIP Randy

girlrock9769 - 5/3/2002 11:22:55 AM
This was a great show. Ozzy was at the funeral but was unable to attend this benefit show. Not to mention Zakk Wylde and Mike Inez were also unable to attend. Zakk was at where I work on the Friday before the show I asked him about the benefit and he said they were going to be in rehearsals for Black Label Society getting ready to gear up for Ozzfest on Monday. They were between rehearsals and possibly leaving for Europe on the day the benefit took place. People should stop bitching about who was there and who wasn't. The show wasn't about that. The show was to remember Randy and to bid are fairwells to him. The man was in my opinion the best damn drummer that has sat behind a kit. I had the pleasure of meeting him a few years back and I couldn't ask to have met a more down to earth nicer person than Randy Castillo. I was fortunate enough to get one of his drum sticks and I will cherish that memory forever. So instead of continuing to bitch about who was or wasn't there people should stop and think why we were there. To pay our respects and tribute to Randy Castillo. RIP Randy, We love and miss you.