Report: More Details Emerge About Night Of RUSH Guitarist's Arrest

January 12, 2004

John Henderson of the Naples Daily News is reporting that Freddy Cole, the 71-year-old younger brother of the late, legendary performer Nat King Cole, was hired to play the $650-a-couple, black-tie Ritz-Carlton Naples New Year's Eve's bash, where a dispute began between RUSH guitarist Alex Lifeson (a.k.a. Alex Zivojinovich) and Collier County Sheriff's deputies.

Cole said he had no idea that the man in a white suit who jumped onto the stage where he was performing was the son of the lead guitarist for the internationally known Canadian rock band RUSH.

The son's action started a chain of events that resulted in a clash between deputies and Alex Zivojinovich, as well as his son, Justin.

Cole said over his decades of performing, he has seen his share of people walk up on stage and act crazy, and he usually tries to ignore them, just as he did that night.

"The less you say, the better," the 71-year-old said. "I have learned over the years not to lend credence to people acting crazy, and to continue doing what I'm doing."

Likewise, Cole said he tried to tune out Justin Zivojinovich's remarks after he grabbed the microphone.

"He said something like, 'How about a nice round of applause for this Count Basie.' I wouldn't even look up. He knew damn well my name ain't Count Basie."

He said he clearly remembers Justin Zivojinovich being extremely intoxicated.

"You could see the way he was stumbling all over the dance floor," he said.

Cole recalled another person in a dark suit getting onstage with Justin Zivojinovich before the microphone was turned off. Read the rest of the article here.

Find more on
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).