Y&T Part Ways With Drummer LEONARD HAZE, Announce Replacement

June 8, 2006

Legendary California rockers Y&T have officially parted ways with drummer Leonard Haze. The group's statement on the matter reads as follows:

"After numerous attempts at trying to resolve a musical performance difference, we (Dave, Phil and John) regretfully inform you of our split with Leonard Haze. This decision was painstakingly hard for us because of our love for Leonard as a brother. However for Y&T to continue performing and functioning as a band, it was a change we had to make. We want you to know that we didn't take this decision lightly, especially knowing how popular Leonard is with Y&T fans.

"Over the course of the last week and a half we auditioned many fine drummers from all over the country. We have selected a bay area drummer to fill the seat for the upcoming shows. His name is Mike Vanderhule and he’s a straight-ahead drummer with great chops. Mike is a student of Steve Smith and has been a favorite for many years in the local music scene. More info about Mike will be released in the coming days.

"While we know this will be a big shock to many of you, we hope after the initial reaction, you will indulge us the respect of having made a tough but necessary decision in order for the band to stick together and move forward into the future."

Y&T recently re-released their classic "Black Tiger" (1982) and "Mean Streak" (1983) albums with bonus cuts. Along with the original songs, each album contains an additional bonus track that was taken right from the 24-track master reel from the "Black Tiger" recording sessions and finished in 2005 with new lyrics, vocals and guitar solo, and then remixed.

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