Y&T's DAVE MENIKETTI Says It Will Be 'Easier' For Him To Work On New Music After Recently Moving To Italy

During an April 15 appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Y&T frontman Dave Meniketti was asked about the possibility of a follow-up to the band's latest album, "Facemelter", which came out in 2010. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, the [other] guys [in the band] would love me to say, 'Okay, let's get together and start writing for the next record.' They're secretly — [or] not so secretly — talking behind my back and saying, 'That motherfucker.' [Laughs]"

Meniketti, who recently moved to Italy with his wife and manager Jill, continued: "No. I have been in flux the last couple of years with my life as far as where I'm living and what I'm doing. And it's a little bit tougher for me to sit down in one spot and just concentrate on writing. Now it's gonna be a little bit easier 'cause I have indeed sorted that situation out."

Referencing his new home in Italy, where he previously identified the medieval hill town of Gubbio as his ancestral homeland and frequently visited family there, Dave said: "When we first bought this place, my wife and I said, 'We're not gonna tell anybody.' Because first off, I don't wanna make it sound like, 'Oh, you bastards,' that kind of thing. But then everybody comes up to us and says, 'Hey, man, I heard you moved to…' And I'm, like, 'Oh, Jesus.' You you can't keep anything a secret. [Laughs]"

Earlier this month, Dave told Bill Kopp of Metro Silicon Valley about the likelihood of new Y&T music: "Album releases don't mean what they used to mean. In the '70s and '80s, you made a big release, and it was part of getting airplay and booking a tour." And while diehard fans would likely enjoy hearing some new music from Y&T, "Will that sell more tickets?" Dave asked rhetorically. "And will it make us any money? No, not really."

Despite this, Meniketti didn't completely rule out a new Y&T single or album in the future, saying: "It's not as simple as saying, 'Hey, let's go to a rehearsal studio, get together and write some songs.' But it's absolutely a possibility."

In February 2023, Meniketti, who went public with his prostate cancer battle a year earlier, said that he was in complete remission after receiving radiation.

In July 2022, Y&T was forced to cancel its previously announced European tour in order to allow Meniketti more time to recover from the radiation treatments.

Meniketti discussed his diagnosis and treatment during an appearance on an April 2022 episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk". Dave said that while prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer in men, with one in eight men getting it, it is also one of the most treatable, with a survival rate of over 90 percent after 10 years. "This is one of those cancers, if you catch 'em early, you can be one hundred percent fixed — it's over; it's done; you're sorted," he said. "I mean, sure, it could come back at some point, but even if it does, they can treat it again. You usually outlive this cancer, if you get it early enough. So, luckily, I have gotten it early enough."

Meniketti is the only surviving member of the Y&T lineup — then known as YESTERDAY AND TODAY — that recorded the band's self-titled debut album.

Original Y&T rhythm guitarist Joey Alves died in March 2017 at the age of 63. Two founding Y&T musicians — drummer Leonard Haze, 61, and bassist Phil Kennemore, 57, who both had left the lineup — died from complications of lung cancer: Kennemore on January 7, 2011, and Haze on September 11, 2016.

Y&T's current lineup is rounded out by guitarist John Nymann, drummer Mike Vanderhule and bassist Aaron Leigh.

"Facemelter" came out in May 2010 via Frontiers.

An EP featuring acoustic arrangements of Y&T classics, "Acoustic Classix Vol. 1", was made available in 2018.