Video: KINGDOM COME Performs At MONSTERS OF ROCK Cruise Pre-Party In Miami

February 26, 2019

Video footage of KINGDOM COME performing at the Monsters Of Rock cruise pre-party on February 23 at Magic City Casino in Miami, Florida can be seen below.

Singer Lenny Wolf is not involved in KINGDOM COME's current reunion tour, which kicked off last September in Seattle, Washington. The trek — which is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the release of the band's self-titled debut album — features drummer James Kottak alongside guitarists Danny Stag and Rick Steier, bassist Johnny B. Frank and vocalist Keith St. John (formerly of MONTROSE and LYNCH MOB). The tour marks Kottak's first run of shows since embracing recovery after a longtime battle with alcoholism got him kicked out of the SCORPIONS.

Asked if it was difficult to assemble four of the five original KINGDOM COME members for the tour, Kottak told Eonmusic: "No, actually. I originally started talking to Lenny in 2008. I knew the SCORPIONS farewell tour was coming, and we got everything together in about 2012, 2013. We had all five here in L.A., went to rehearsals, had conversations, we had shows, offers on the table, things were good, and then I got a call from the SCORPIONS camp saying, You know what? We decided not to say farewell. We're going to do the album, another world tour, and can you not play with KINGDOM COME and your other projects?' And I was, like, 'Well, okay,' because my allegiance was always with SCORPIONS. I love those guys, I love the band, so I pulled the plug. I had to put everything on the back burner. And here we are now; I had this opportunity, and everything kind of fell into place, so it's wonderful to be where we are now."

Kottak went on to say that he had been talking to Wolf about taking part in the tour "off and on, since about [2017]." He explained: "Things move really slow sometimes. Then suddenly, in January [2018] he just called and said, 'You know what?' — because he announced his retirement [in 2017] and didn't want anything to do with KINGDOM COME — but he said, 'I just really don't want to deal with all the chaos and the manic, crazy rock and roll.' He just wants to quietly retire and live in Hamburg, and I respect him, and he can do that. However, he has given us his blessing. I wish he was here, but it is what it is."

The drummer admitted that he and his bandmates were initially concerned about whether people would accept KINGDOM COME without Wolf. "Absolutely," he said. "And when we first put the word out to promoters and buyers, at first they were going, 'Oh yeah! KINGDOM COME!' Then we had to go back a few weeks later and say, 'Sorry. Unfortunately, there will be no Lenny Wolf.' So, out of the 20 or so offers we had from different buyers, only three actually pulled out. I was surprised; I thought we'd get a little more backlash. But so many bands, especially bands with longevity, they change members; look at THIN LIZZY, how they changed, or name any band that's been around for 25, 30 years, and there's very few that have all the original members."

After its early run of success in the '80s, KINGDOM COME released several albums, with Wolf remaining the only constant member of the band. The group's most recent effort was 2013's "Outlier".

Find more on Kingdom come
  • 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).