Former W.A.S.P. guitarist Chris Holmes will kick off the "Be Somebody" European tour with his band MEAN MAN on April 22 in Ostrava, Czech Republic. For now, the Czech Republic, Germany, Holland, U.K., Norway, Sweden and France are on the calendar, but be sure that a lot more tour dates will be added in the upcoming period. Having first toured Europe last year, MEAN MAN plays no less than seven W.A.S.P. classics in its set and includes a crowd invitation to three members of the audience to come and join in on "I Wanna Be Somebody", promising for a very memorable night. Free meet-and-greets are organized at the end of each gig at the merch booth. All confirmed "Be Somebody" tour dates so far: Apr. 22 - Sweet Fest - Ostrava - CZ Apr. 25 - Cafe de Meister - Geleen - N Apr. 27 - Garage de Luxe - Munich - D Apr. 28 - Kubana Live Club - Siegburg - D May 02 - The Rocknella - Barcelona - ESP (CD signing session + meet-and-greet) Jun. 15 - The Musician - Leceister - UK Jun. 16 - Yardsbirds - Grimsby - UK Jun. 17 - Cathouse - Glasgow - UK Jun. 19 - Bannemans - Edinburgh - UK Jun. 20 - Redd Suite Live -Dundee - UK Jun. 21 - King Billy - Northampton - UK Jun. 22 - The Marrs Bar - Worcester - UK Jun. 23 - The Cellar - Stafford - UK Jun. 24 - The Rigger - Stoke - UK Jun. 25 - The Diamond In - Sutton in Ashfield - UK Jun. 26 - The Snooty Fox Club - Wakefield - UK Jun. 27 - Robin 2 - Bilston - UK Jun. 28 - Fat Lils - Witney - UK Jun. 29 - The Underworld - London - UK Jun. 30 - Satan's Hollow - Manchester - UK Jul. 01 - [to be confirmed] - Liverpool - UK Jul. 07 - Norway Rock Festival - Kvinesdal - N Jul. 08 - Vicious Rock Festival - Trollhättan - S Jul. 14 - Glassheim Rock & Kulturscene - Jevnaker - N Jul. 15 - Rolling Wheels Motorcycle Club - Oppdal - N Jul. 29 - Bourgogne France - HDC Macadam Motors Nov. 11 - A Day Of Rock- Corby - UK Holmes's latest album, "Shitting Bricks", was released in 2015 via M & O Music. In an interview with Noisey, Holmes talked about his decision to move to France back in 2014. He said: "My wife is from France. But since I left W.A.S.P. I dangled around in L.A., trying to find musicians to play with, but it just didn't work out. The change of culture in the last ten years… My kind of music isn't played that much — not like it was in the '80s." He continued: "[A few] years ago, I pulled into a 7-11, and this kid got out of his car. He wasn't listening to rock. When I was his age, that's all I listened to. That made me realize the kind of music I do here anymore… [He was listening to] hip-hop. And I just don't play that kind of music." Holmes added: "I was talking to one of my friend's kids — he's in high school — and I asked him, 'Why don't you listen to rock, like DEEP PURPLE or something?' And he said, 'Man, that's pussy music.' This is a white kid. So I thought, if people don't listen to this kind of music anymore, why should I even be here? I'm in my 50s, but I want to still keep on going, kind of. So I talked to my wife and we decided to move. They listen to rock more over here. There's lots more concerts and stuff." Holmes joined W.A.S.P. in 1982 and remained with the group until 1990. In 1996, Holmes rejoined W.A.S.P. and stayed with the band until 2001. Holmes has not played with W.A.S.P. since. Holmes in 2013 released a solo album called "Nothing To Lose". Chris composed, performed, and produced the music and vocals, and teamed up with former MOTÖRHEAD drummer Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor to perform on and engineer the effort.
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