Adding Andrew Freeman as vocalist, the original members of 1980’s rock band Dio reunited, forming Last in Line, a band created to play the Dio classics and to honor the memory of Ronnie James Dio. Taking their name from the deceased legend’s album released thirty-four years ago, Last in Line released Heavy Crown in February 2016.

At shows, despite twelve new songs off Heavy Crown, Last in Line plays almost exclusively old Dio songs, and only spices up the set with around four new tracks. However, the band doesn’t mind because of how much the fans love the old music.
 
“It’s amazing because we play these songs and they’re thirty-three years old and people are going crazy. They’re screaming and yelling, and they know the lyrics!” said legendary drummer Vinny Appice incredulously. “To see it survive that long and have that kind of life—it’s amazing.”

A group of successful musicians, the members of Last in Line have all traveled the world, and therefore have experienced some wonderful foods.
Soussan revealed his rather odd favorite place to eat: Finland. “The food there is really incredible gourmet food,” he explained.
On top of that, Soussan is quite partial to Japanese food, and let slip that he in fact owns a high-end Japanese restaurant in Sherman Oaks, California, called Kaiju, which means “monster” or “sea creature.”
“It’s been open about a year,” said Soussan. “It’s been something I’ve been wanting to do for 20 years.” 
Soussan has also been a contestant on Guy Fieri’s cooking show, and is—according to his website—an “avid gourmet chef.”
Obviously, this translates to the rest of Last in Line being very well-fed. Campbell remembered one particular meal Soussan cooked: “He made homemade pizza on a pizza stone, made the dough, rolled the dough, and it was served looking like a gourmet chef’s, as opposed to me who makes tuna fish sandwiches.”

Any seasoned musician has spent countless hours working on technique, sound production, and style. Last in Line is no different, but they’ve harnessed technology to make their practicing easier.
Soussan uses an app called Anytune Pro, which he swore has changed his life. “It’s an application on your phone [and it] basically allows you to go over sections, or repitch, retune, or slow things down,” he explained.
A tool such as that is invaluable to a musician on crunch time, like Soussan was last summer.
“I had to learn ninety-two songs in a month, and it was insane,” Soussan laughed.
 
Appice spoke about a gig he was preparing for at the time called Rock Legends, which took place on June 18th in Temecula, California. He performed with Last in Line’s singer Andy Freeman, along with old Dio members Craig Goldy on guitar and Rudy Sarzo on bass.
“We’re playing with an orchestra,” said Appice. “I’ve never played with an orchestra… You got to play the songs exactly that many bars, because they’re reading music.  It’s not like us where it’s Oh, shit!  Let’s go one more time! This has got to be a very exact thing, so it’s a very challenging thing to do.”
Thinking about the upcoming event seemed to make Appice nervous as he joked, “The conductor is behind me.  He can’t even follow me.  I’ll need a rearview mirror!”

It was an absolute pleasure and honor speaking with these rock legends at Rocklahoma 2016, and I hope to catch them at a live show in the future.

*MusiCares is a vital charity run by the Grammy Foundation that provides financial and medical support to musicians and aids them in times of personal emergency and need. To learn more, click here! 

Zoe Adler is a music journalist from Long Beach, California. She is the editor and founder of TeenView Music and editor-in-chief of her school’s newspaper, as well as a dedicated musician. As principal flutist of her school’s orchestra and band as well as a bass trombonist in jazz, she believes that she would not have a life if it weren’t for music. 

Three words: Red. Dirt. Metal.
            Red-the color of blood
            Dirt- earth
            Metal- high-energy rock music
Texas Hippie Coalition hails from the land of blood-colored earth, the land notorious for its country music and twangy guitar sound, and combines the sounds of the South with high-energy rock music. The result of a marriage of two genres, Texas Hippie Coalition is a lovechild of incredible volume and force.
 
In their latest record Dark Side of Black, released April 22, THC chose to explore the metal side of their custom-made genre. Take track two, called “Angel Fall,” which has less of a Southern feel than prior albums. Beautiful arpeggios and a soft drumbeat will lull you into a comfortable, dreamlike state, before bass and drums scream, “HAHA JUST KIDDING!” Big Dad Ritch himself, blasting full force, follows this wonderful introduction, balls out and guns blazing, ready to slam your ears with a voice made of liquefied steel and Texas dirt.  

After listening to Dark Side of Black, I was struck by just how awesome bassist John Exall is. He provides the roots that keep THC grounded as they thrash in “Into the Wall” and “Gods Are Angry” and as they serenade and even take a turn for the funk (1:40) in “Knee Deep.” And this is all without mentioning his stereotype-shattering stage presence. Exall does not stand still, staring at the frets of his bass; instead, he head bangs, whipping his hair vigorously, and still manages to make eye contact with fans.
Despite his talent and awesome hair, Exall is a shockingly normal dude, willing to chat about Smoke Hollow, food, the new THC album, Sons of Texas, and his family.

​We started with his side project Smoke Hollow, a heavy-hitting group that’s just kicking off, fronted by Kill Devil Hill’s vocalist Dewey Bragg.
“We got together with these cats named Jason Williams and Ralf Mueggler and we started churning out some music and it really turned into something,” started Exall. Set to release in early June, their debut album is still being eagerly awaited.
 
“We wanted to make sure it didn’t sound like Texas Hippie Coalition and it didn’t sound like Kill Devil Hill,” Exall said of the upcoming album. “It’s got its own legs, man. It’s going to be awesome. It’s hard to describe because I get all excited! I get all tongue-tied about it!”
Exall also mentioned the exciting news of a Smoke Hollow tour after THC’s summer on the road, so keep all eyes peeled for some fall dates from SH. 

​Big Dad Ritch is a fairly big dude, yet is known for his affinity for pho and sushi, fairly light foods that call for consuming large amounts to satiate a full appetite.
“I’m more of a meat-eater myself,” laughed Exall. But Big Dad Ritch, Exall recalled, “goes and gets this big thing of soup. I don’t know how he does it, but my boy can put it down. The raw fish stuff—if it’s not cooked, I’m not eating it.”
He will, however, eat food that’s still alive, but if it’s dead, it’s got to be cooked.
 
Big Dad Ritch also has Red River Red’s hot sauce line, including his ‘Buckin Crazy Bar B Que Sauce,’ which is dubbed ‘sauce for outlaws’ and is ‘BDR approved.’
Exall said about Big Dad Ritch’s spicy sauce, “I don’t do very hot stuff, but I tried it one time. I dipped a little piece of chip in there and I thought I was going to die!” He laughed, saying, “I can’t eat that hot stuff. He’ll just sit there and eat it and sweat. I’ll sit there and shoot fire out and freak out.”
 
It turns out that THC stays very well fed because BDR is quite a cook.
“The dude can cook. Every time we go over, he’s got something new going on,” said Exall. “His steaks are awesome. We’re from Texas so we know how to cook pretty cool.”
 
Since THC is from Texas, and Texans do know how to cook pretty cool, I had to ask Exall the best place to get barbeque in his hometown of Sherman.
“There’s this little roadside stand, and there’s this old retired cop who makes us barbeque and that’s where I go.”
 
All this talk about food made me pretty hungry, and I assumed Exall would be, too, so I offered him some goldfish. However, he had to refuse on the grounds that he has a severe goldfish addiction and didn’t think it’d be right to eat all of them.

As I mentioned, Dark Side of Black is a bit harder than before, and from what Exall said, that was in fact intentional.

“[We] went back to our roots… There’s still some Southern rock on it, but we stepped it up. You can go from ‘Knee Deep,’ who’s got that slow Southern feel, and then you bust out on something like ‘Angel Fall,’ which is just more metal,” he said. “We really wanted to spread our wings, man. And that had a lot to do with getting to work with Sterling Winfield. He’s worked with the great Pantera, he’s done Damageplan, he’s done Hellyeah… He’s really opened up the doors for us and made us focus on this album. I’ve got much love for him.”

I asked Exall what song he’s most proud of on the album, but he says he’s proud of the whole album, that he can’t pick just one song.

“Cord Pool, our guitar player, really stepped up his game, and just killed it,” said Exall. This led to one of at least two Cord Pool cheerleading sessions, where Exall and I both gushed fangirlingly about Pool’s incredible guitar skills.

“He’s 26 and doesn’t even know how good he is yet,” boasted Exall like a proud father. “I keep telling him, ‘I don’t know when you’re going to get with a real band, but when you do, you’re going to be BADASS!’”

In addition to touring rigorously with THC and working with his side project, Exall has a family. He has seven children, six daughters and one son (talk about being outnumbered!), with his 17-year-old daughter and 14-year-old son still living at home.
“They’re all musically inclined,” Exall said happily. “They all like to sing and play, and my son likes to act. He’s in all the drama classes at school.”
It is a known difficulty, having a family and being a touring musician. “I get to do something I love, but I’m always away from my family. It’s the way I keep a roof over their heads and shoes on their feet, so it’s an even trade,” he explained.
But when it comes time to head home after a long tour, Exall said he can’t wait to come home.
“I’m ready to hug my kids, kiss my wife, play with my dogs, and go to sleep. All at one time,” Exall said. 

All in all, Exall is an amazing dude, the coolest cat on the Southern rock block. He is incredibly humble and never runs out of positive comments for any and every person you mention. Enthusiastic about music like a young child entering an ice cream factory, Exall is the past, the present, and the future of music. As he told me, he doesn’t fit within any musical generation.