HAIL!: Rock And Roll High School

HAIL! the supergroup featuring a rotating list of musicians, including current and former members of SEPULTURA, TESTAMENT, DREAM THEATER and MEGADETH played a festival at Kucukciftlik Park in Istanbul, Turkey on Saturday, October 15.

The band's lineup for this performance consisted of the following musicians:

* Glen Drover (MEGADETH, TESTAMENT, KING DIAMOND) - Guitar
* Whitfield Crane (UGLY KID JOE, LIFE OF AGONY, ANOTHER ANIMAL) - Vocals
* Mike Portnoy (DREAM THEATER, AVENGED SEVENFOLD) - Drums
* James Lomenzo (MEGADETH, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, WHITE LION) Bass

HAIL! has posted the following update on its MySpace page:

"In an unexpected twist of fate, HAIL! invaded the education system.

"Following our concert in Istanbul, singer Whitfield Crane and band manager, Mark 'Abba' Abbattista, received the gracious invitation to be guest speakers at one of the most prestigious private high schools in Istanbul. Speaking to Mrs. Babaoglu's ninth-grade class provided the unique opportunity to interact with the students in a fun, informal way and a wonderfully insightful experience was had by all."

"How cool was this?" asked Whit. "It was absolutely amazing! The fact that the school provided us with this opportunity to meet these 15 year old kids at a time in their lives when they are just starting to really experience music and the world was incredible I loved it! Sure, we can play our music to our fans but being able to connect, interact, talk and share our life experiences to a group of teenagers, especially in a formal school setting like this, was super rad. My high school never provided anything like this."

"Mixing humor with sage advice, the guys shared their personal experiences of music business careers, road stories and world travel (along with their opinions of Justin Bieber).

Said Abba: "Our life experiences are obviously different from most people because some of our choices have been less than traditional. In my case, education is the key that provided me with the opportunity to travel the world and live the lifestyle that I do. Education provided the freedom to follow my dreams and live my life in this very special way.

"Developing your own personal skills, talents and desires, whether they are music, law, art, science, athletics, love or whatever, and passionately embracing your dreams should be the ultimate goal in life. So many people get sidetracked or disillusioned along the way and unfortunately they wander off their own path to true happiness."

Added Whit: "It was a huge inspiration for me to be with them and hopefully we touched these kids in a personal way that will inspire them and help reaffirm and validate the life choices that they will ultimately make."

As previously reported, HAIL! will embark on an eight-date tour of Russia in December with a lineup consisting of vocalist Tim "Ripper" Owens (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, JUDAS PRIEST, ICED EARTH, BEYOND FEAR),drummer Paul Bostaph (TESTAMENT, SLAYER, EXODUS, FORBIDDEN) bassist James Lomenzo and guitarist Glen Drover.