Date: 17/6/02 Time: 10:09am Ill Nino are back in the USA, at home for a mere 3 days before 3 radio shows. After the radio shows, they have 2 weeks off before heading out on the US Ozzfest. No rest for the wicked we say. The band played an awesome show at the hotter-than-hell Wedgewood Rooms in Portsmouth last Thursday night… “I saw Ill Nino on Thurs @ Wedgewood Rooms and they are the best band Ihave EVER seen and will ever see!! Those dudes kicked some serious butt…..they made the Wedgewood Rooms more lively then a chicken with a firework up it’s ass! They were so good that Ican’t describe it..and if u dont have n e pics or reviews from the show on ya site soon I will be very upset, Ill Nino are not one to miss when they next come down. Peace.” Rest assured, ‘Rprior666’, we’ll have some new photos up here soon! Date: 13/6/02. Time: 4:18pm. Place: Portsmouth. Did you know? Ill Nino have completely sold out every venue on this tour! Back to the updates: Ill Nino have recently finished their last instore signing this tour at HMV in Portsmouth. The band play the Wedgewood Rooms tonight. All are excited to be going home to the US on Friday, for a little time off before their next tour starts! We hear last night’s show in Newport was off the hook. Paul, RR rep extraordinaire, reports it was “Intense. Insane. There were people passing out!” Don’t want to take our word for it? Here’s an email we received today from a dude at last night’s show. “I can’t believe how fucking crazy those guys are! They are the dogs bollocks of today’s music! It’s my second time to see them and they keep on getting better and better. The one thing Ilike the most about Ill Nino is that they are so appreciative of their fans, we were hanging around with them before and after the gig…….awesome 10/10 the music was perfect every song kept everyone at the gig going!!! It was an amazing performance by all the bands at the gig – if only other bands were this appreciative and hung around with us! The beats and riffs these guys create especially the lyrics are excellent and they sound even better live. Thanks guys for giving us such an awesome performance and the best night I’ve had in a long time. I’m still aching today.” Very cool indeed… thanks for the line Gavin! Date: 12/6/02. Time: 7:32pm. Place: Newport. Ill Nino are currently hanging out pre-show at TJ’s having spent the afternoon meeting fans and signing stuff at HMV. The band are pleasantly surprised to discover that tonight’s dressing room is a flat above the venue, instead of the broom cupboard they were expecting. “It’s a whole apartment, it’s got beds, a sofa, a kitchen, a patio!” What are they up to? “Well, right now, we’re just sitting back and watching the Lennox vs Tyson fight. But did you know? Skindred are gonna be main support tonight, although Violent Delight are still playing too, which is cool.” Skindred and Ill Nino spent much time hanging out together on the POD tour, and again at Ozzfest so we’re sure everyone is having fun. Most likely Benji (Skindred singer) will join Ill Nino again for Soulfly cover Eye For An Eye… awesome. What was the show like in Leicester like last night? “Totally amazing! It was packed. That place was so hot the walls were sweating! The ceiling was dripping!” Date: 11/6/02. Time: 1:30pm. Place: HMV, Leicester. Just took a call (make that several calls) from Paul, our RR rep on this road with Ill Nino this week. Paul tells that the queue for the Ill Nino signing (taking place as this is typed) is “the biggest the shop has ever seen.. there are some hundreds of people here.. out the door.. into the foyer.. all around, they’re everywhere!” He reports that even the staff of the shop are queueing up to get their shit signed.. may we congratulate them on their good taste. “The band have been signing babies! Yes, live babies!” he exclaims. “It seems the street team have been out in force, for this little baby came into the store (with parents) covered in stickers.. so the band signed them!” Anything else of note? “Met a cool dude by the name of Mark Barker who brought in a Brazilian football shirt for signing… which was made all the cooler because instead of a player name on the back it says ILL NINO!” Very cool indeed. Mark has promised to send us in a photo of said cool shirt too. And we hear Mark’s brother is part of our roadcrew. Nice. What else? “I’ve found the coolest grandad in the world ever. His grandaughter Mira has exams all day so he came down and queued up to get all her stuff signed for her coz she couldn’t be here!” Sounds like a damn cool grandad to us. More reports to come. 11/6/02 Secret Show Spilled: So, Ill Nino made a secret appearance in London last night opening for Cyclefly at the Camden Underworld. Having spent the day shopping in Camden, we asked Roger what he thought… “Man this place is ghetto! Definitely a Mr. Roger’s Return To The Hood.” As for the show, a good time was had by all… judging by the circle pit and the moshers nearly headbanging the stage, not to mention a couple of stage divers and the grins on the band’s faces! Not only did the crowd get some blistering Ill Nino songs (Liar, What Comes Around, God Save Us, amongst others), with a cry of “We are Motley Crue!” the band burst into a couple of classic Crue intros, and even a little Rob Halford. Cris (vocals) even persuaded to Marc (guitars) to take the mic briefly, telling the crowd with a grin, “he’s gonna sing, and I’m gonna be the mic stand”… what did he sing? Not Ill Nino.. just a little death metal! In true 80’s metal fashion, we even got a guitar solo from Marc. By the end of the set, Dave (drums) and Roger (percussion) joined in the fun, jamming along, their hands a blur! Definitely a top opportunity to see everyone kicking back and having a little fun onstage. “That was a lotta fun”, tells Laz (bass) with a grin from ear to ear, the rest of the band cracking up and agreeing. After the show, with a late 4am bus call, all headed off to the Dublin Castle for a few not-so-quiet jagermeisters. Next stop, Leicester – the band play the Princess Charlotte tonight after an instore signing from lunchtime at HMV. Get down there if you can!! Last year, it was Slipknot leading the charge for the annual ‘Off Fest’ dates…this year, Ill Nino will be partaking in the event. Ill Nino, already confirmed to play this summer’s US Ozzfest, is now confirmed for this year’s ‘Off Fest’ dates with DROWNING POOL, SOIL, and FLAW. These shows will take place on OZZFEST ‘off’ days, with Drowning Pool as the headliner. Soil, Ill Nino and Flaw will all rotate the order in which they play each show. Exact routing forthcoming. London Headline Stormer On May 28th, the band played their very first UK headline show, and sold out the London Mean Fiddler. US friends Drowning Pool even came along to catch the show from the stage side, and Dave, Drowning Pool’s singer, joined Ill Nino for Soulfly encore Eye For An Eye. The setlist was as follows: If You Still Hate Me, God Save Us, What Comes Around, I Am Loco, No Murder, Unreal, Revolution, Rip Out Your Eyes, Nothing’s Clear, Eye For An Eye, and Liar. After the show, band, friends, and RR staff made their way to local drinking establishment the Crobar for a few celebratory beverages. Credit cards were placed behind the bar, and with a shout to the bar from Cris: “who wants Jagermeister? I’m buying!”, all the Jager the bar had was drunk as fast as it was poured. Drowning Pool Dave took over the jukebox to ensure all classic metal tunes on offer were played, instructing the barman to “fuckin’ turn it up!”. Hardcore. With bus call at 12:30am, all Ill Nino and crew were forced to leave for France, leaving the rest of the party partying on til the very early hours. We hear one member of the band had some trouble staying upright on the bus… rock ‘n’ roll. The band return to the UK mid-June for 3 regional headline shows…. new single out June 10th. OZZFEST! Did you catch the band playing as special guests to Hundred Reasons on the Kerrang! stage? Or in the Kerrang! signing tent? If not, you missed an explosive set. We’ll be bringing you live shots of Ill Nino’s set and some fellow acts, together with a selection of “candid backstage moments”, and behind the scenes snaps very soon! A personal highlight of the set had to be the Soulfly ‘Eye For An Eye’ cover, performed by no less than 4 vocalists, as Ill Nino were joined by friends Benji (Skindred), Martin (American Head Charge), and Dave (Drowning Pool)! We hear that 3000 people were turned away from the Kerrang! stage who were queuing to see Ill Nino play – just too many people trying to crowd in to catch their set. A treat then at the Irish Ozzfest as the band were invited to play on the main stage for masses more people when Ozzy pulled out – and they got to play directly before Slayer!! Of course, the guys were thrilled and raved about what an amazing time they had and how off the hook you Irish were. Write in and tell us your favourite moments! rrguest@roadrunnerrecords.co.uk BEHIND THE SCENES: Check out our brand new special feature on the recent Ill Nino UK dates – live photos, band interviews, video footage, behind the scenes, a celebrity sleepover, and more!! Click HERE! You can watch the sleepover footage on MTV2’s Riot on May 31st! Don’t miss it! Teasers for the show have already been running! Be sure to check out our Downloads section for a whole load of super cool Ill Nino desktop wallpapers – thanks going out to the artistic skills of Tommy Allen! MORE WORDS FROM THE ROAD In Dublin, Ireland this past Friday May 3rd, Ill Nino bassist Laz gave a bell. Though we find it hard to believe, Laz relays that it was sunny…which leads us to ask, was he really calling from Ireland? “Caught a sunny day…don’t worry, it will be rainy and windy tomorrow,” he assured us. More importantly, he finished with saying “out here kickin’ ass, makin’ everyone proud.” More to come on Irish exploits and the night before… in Epsom. The point of this story is to point you in the right direction – www.razorart.com. Check out the above link for an interview with Ill Nino’s Roger Vasquez. Learn what a typical Ill Nino day is like…and more, of course. WORDS FROM THE ROAD So, 2 dates have come and gone… and the 3rd UK show is about to start… time for a little catch up with Roger. He’s out window shopping in Birmingham when I call, and reports that despite the band being somewhat tired the first show, in Manchester, that it didn’t stop the band “fucking shit up, you know, how we do it!” “Playing here is cool now.. we get to go places we have friends, like when we tour in the US. It makes it that much more chilled”, he says, telling how the band are recognising fans and Roadrunner street & e-teamers from their last shows here before Christmas with Machine Head. “The Glasgow show was, like you guys say, fucking mad! It was totally awesome, everyone went nuts.. and all the teamers were down the front ‘representin’!” Word about the show from our man in Scotland, Thredz, is, “when I saw them last time with Machine Head they were brilliant, but I felt like I was the only guy in the hall to know the songs, this time was a different story. From the word ‘go’ the crowd were singing along to everything and the floor didn’t stop bouncing until the last note of the last song.” Yes, Ill Nino are having fun this trip. “We’ve been playing What Comes Around, I Am Loco, God Save, Us, Liar, If You Still Hate Me, and a cover of Soulfly’s Eye For An Eye. The first day we also did No Murder, but we swopped it for Revolution the 2nd day, which we don’t always play… tonight we are gonna fit in Nothing’s Clear instead.. and then we’ll see which one of those gets the best reaction.. we are doing a little experiment.. and then we’ll play that one for the rest of the tour.” Tonight, Birmingham Academy.. tomorrow London Astoria… Saturday Dublin Ambassador.. and then off to Europe until they return for Ozzfest. Keep an eye out for the roving RR photographer snapping band & fans in London and Dublin…