Former OZZY OSBOURNE Guitarist JOE HOLMES' FARMIKOS To Release Four Digital Singles

FARMIKOS, the new Los Angeles-based band featuring former OZZY OSBOURNE and DAVID LEE ROTH guitarist Joe Holmes and vocalist Robbie Locke, will release four digital singles on Tuesday, March 18.

A sampler has been posted on the band's YouTube channel and can be seen below.

"Scapegoat", "Kings Of Dust", "Exit Stencils" and "The Sound Of My Gun" mark Holmes' long-awaited return to the music scene after taking a lengthy break following his five-year stint with Ozzy Osbourne. Recorded at the Mouse House in Pasadena, California with engineer/mixer Rich Mouser (SPOCK'S BEARD, TRANSATLANTIC, VAST),the songs feature guest contributions by Holmes' former Ozzy bandmate, bassist Robert Trujillo (METALLICA),drummer Brooks Wackerman (BAD RELIGION),and writing collaborator Brent Hoffort (MY OWN MACHINE).

States Holmes: "We've been thinking long and hard about the best way put our music out. Rather than going the conventional route and putting out an album, we are releasing these four tunes digitally and plan on making additional singles available at regular intervals.

"We want people to experience our music as we create it instead of holding it to release all at once. We're excited because this approach allows our audience to grow with us." Holmes goes on to say, "We had another really productive session recently when Robbie was back in town to lay down vocals and work on new material, so more music is in the pipeline ready to be unleashed, leading up to a full-length album later in the year."

FARMIKOS is Joe Holmes' first venture under his own flag since first attaining local notoriety with TERRIFF, an L.A. band he formed after taking guitar lessons as a teenager from none other than original Ozzy axeman, Randy Rhoads. Holmes eventually went on to replace ALS-stricken Jason Becker on the 1991 David Lee Roth "A Lil' Ain't Enough" world tour. In 1995, Holmes was brought to the attention of Ozzy Osbourne who was looking for a new guitarist to take over Zakk Wylde's spot for the "Ozzmosis" album touring cycle. Holmes would go on to co-write three songs, "Facing Hell", "Junkie" and "That I Never Had", which appeared on Ozzy's 2001 album, "Down To Earth".

Holmes spent the last several years raising his family and eventually started to put together ideas for what would become FARMIKOS. Holmes began collaborating and creating material with Brent Hoffort and then joined forces with vocalist and Arkansas native Robbie Locke in 2011. "I really wanted to do my own thing and once Robbie came into the picture things really started to fall into place," he says. "It's taken us a bit longer than anticipated to get to this point but we're proud to finally present FARMIKOS to the world and letting people hear what we've been working on."