Guitarist TRACY G Working On Book About His Time In DIO

Former DIO guitarist Tracy "G" Grijalva is working on a book that will chronicle his time in DIO (from 1993 through 1999). According to a press release, "The book will talk about everything from his initial tryout for the band, how he got that chance and also the end of the line for him in DIO. G will talk about the writing process, the touring, his feelings on the band and also his own private thoughts about working with Ronnie James Dio during this time.

"For the first time since his departure in 1999 Tracy is putting it all out there for the fans to live through him the experience of being in a band with the biggest influential singer of modern history. He will go through the process of writing, getting ready for the tours and also only things he would know about that time."

Tracy recently released a new CD with his band THE TRACY G GROUP called "Controlled Chaos", available on his own Spooky G Records. Tracy is joined by Johnny B on drums and vocals and Eddie Frisco on bass.

Grijalva earlier in year commented on an 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."

On August 19, Jason Saulnier of the MusicLegends.ca web site conducted an interview with Grijalva. You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below.

For more information, visit www.tracyg.com.