Guitarist TRACY G Has 'Nothing Bad To Say' About Time He Spent Playing With DIO

June 14, 2011

Ex-DIO guitarist Tracy "G" Grijalva has commented on a recently published interview with his former DIO bandmate Vinny Appice in which the drummer said that the reason he decided to leave DIO back in 1997 was that "the band mostly played in small shitty clubs and with every show it was going downhill."

In a statement released to the Russian Dio Fan Club, Tracy said, 'For me it was different. Vinny had played many years with Ronnie [James Dio] from the start of the '80s. When I got in the group in '93, it was not as big as when it was in the '80s. It was a different time but for me it was my first time making music with Ronnie so it was great no matter what size place we played and I just did my best on whatever Vinny or Ronnie wanted to write or work on the songs. Ronnie and Vinny had already played together for many years. Jeff [Pilson, bass] and me were new in the band so we did our best with it all. I have nothing bad to say about that time. For me it was amazing and I loved the music we all made together. I am sure if I had joined the band in the '80s or in 2000s it would have been a different thing. I am grateful for the time and a chance to play with all those people at the time."

Tracy left DIO in 1999 after he claimed he was "asked to play in a dual-guitar situation" in Ronnie's band. According to a posting on Tracy's web site, DIO was "looking for more of a Ritchie Blackmore style . . . and wanted [Tracy] to step back and just play rhythm guitar. That's when [Tracy] knew it was time to leave, freeing him to more diligently pursue his home studio projects."

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