Yesterday, we reported how Rex Brown has hinted in interviews recently (for his new Kill Devil Hill project with drummer Vinnie Appice) that his “main focus” is no longer Down, leaving us to wonder if he is still indeed in Down. Well it would appear that even his fellow band mates in Down are unsure as to Brown’s status in the band as we are.
In an interview with The Delaware County Daily Times, guitarist Pepper Keenan said the following about Brown’s absence from Down’s current tour:
“Rex is not gonna be with us [on the road for the upcoming shows]. He’s got things he needs to deal with, and we gave him an ultimatum and he’s trying to work things out. We’ve got Pat [Bruders] from Crowbar playing bass, and he’s ass-kickin’ in the same way. He plays with his fingers — which is really cool; he’s got the whole Geezer Butler thing going on.”
When asked if Brown is still considered to be a band member in Down, Keenan said:
“I don’t know what to really say on that; he’s not out of the band, but he’s not playing with us live.”
So…that kind of helps? We could speculate as to what “things he needs to deal with.” However, seeing how he’s been performing with Kill Devil Hill as recently as last week, we have a hunch it has something to do within the band. Hopefully this all gets sorted out soon.
In addition to talking about Brown and Down’s next studio release (which he claims may come in the form of four EPs), Keenan also gave an update about his status in his other band, Corrosion Of Conformity. The Animosity era lineup of C.O.C. has been playing shows and working on new music together since roughly this time last year without Keenan. When talking about his involvement (or lack of involvement, that is) in C.O.C., Keenan said:
“I’m waiting to hear when we’re gonna get together and jam. We’re supposed to play some festivals in Europe [this summer] and I’m supposed to sing on a couple of songs. Right now all I know is they’re doing the three-piece thing which I haven’t heard much of or what the deal is, but we’ve talked, just not much. Eventually they want to get together, and I want to, too, and get back to the Deliverance-era stuff and put together a new record. I’m just waitin’ for them to call.”
Keenan had previously said that he has still been in talks with his C.O.C. band mates about returning to the group, but this new response hints that Keenan could return to the fold even sooner. However, if his commitments to Down were what prevented him from joining C.O.C. from the start, then wouldn’t it be unlikely that Keenan would be able to tour with C.O.C. seeing that Down are readying a new release?
We’ll keep you posted when more develops regarding both Brown and Keenan’s status in their respective groups.
