HUGHES, BONHAM, SHERINIAN, BONAMASSA Supergroup May Have Imploded

The new supergroup featuring ex-DEEP PURPLE bassist/singer Glenn Hughes, LED ZEPPELIN reunion drummer Jason Bonham, DREAM THEATER's former keyboardist Derek Sherinian, and guitarist Joe Bonamassa may have imploded before the release of the band's already completed debut album. The CD's producer, Kevin Shirley, writes on his Facebook page,"We set out as friends and lovers of music, to make something special. Then the managers got involved... and kept changing their wants, ultimately demanding EVERYTHING!"

He adds, "I can't absolve all the musicians — but one I can completely absolve is the one who actually has a career and has just been voted 'Best Guitarist In The World' (Joe Bonamassa) — who was 100% open ALL the way. And he doesn't ride on anyone's coattails...

"Maybe they'll come to their senses.... [But] I'm not holding my breath."

The band was originally known as BLACK COUNTRY but learned that name was taken and has since been forced to come up with something else.

Bonamassa recently spoke to VH1 Radio Networks' Dave Basner about what is going on with the group.

"The band has a name and I won't say it until it's trademarked and on a CD," he said. "The record is done and it'll come out in September. And after that, whatever comes of it is great.

He continued, "People are going, 'Is it gonna tour? Is it gonna tour?' I don't even want to address that because at the end of the day, nobody wants to see a band that made a bad record. So my concentration in the short term is always make the record as good as it can be because there's a lot of expectation."

Joe elaborated on what expectations he felt were out there for the band.

"They expect the sum of its parts and then some," he said. "It's gotta be 'Led Zeppelin I' and DEEP PURPLE 'Burn' and DREAM THEATER 'Pull Me Under' plus whatever bits I've put into it. So for me, I'm really proud of it. It's an unabashed rock record in the truest sense."

The supergroup featuring Bonamassa, Hughes, Sherinian and Bonham made a surprise debut appearance during the encore at Bonamassa's March 17 concert at the Riverside Municipal Auditorium in Riverside, California. The band performed two songs — "One Last Soul" and a cover of the DEEP PURPLE classic "Mistreated".

Fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be viewed below.