ASKA News-11/04/2003

ASKA wants to thank all of you that came out to their last two shows and made them both such great fun for everyone involved. Big kudos to the bands on these bills as well and to the magazines/photographers that came out and supported and/or covered the event.

News:
There have been some recent developments in ASKA land that the band want to share with you but can't quite discuss yet.

To clear any confusion; there will NOT be an ASKA show this saturday Nov. 8th at Division 1. ASKA had been slated to play the ROCK4XMAS show at the HARD ROCK CAFE in Dallas, Texas on this same date but when the original venue cancelled the show, ASKA dropped off the bill. From what we hear ASKA members may show up to support the ROCK4XMAS event but the band will NOT be appearing live as some may have seen advertised at DIVISION 1's website and other places. Hope this clears things up.

Some of you may also have noticed that the ASKA Forum and Guestbook are down. These will be back online soon. .


Thanks for your patience
ASKA HQ

ASKA News-10/28/2003

Boo!
Are you ready for the costume party of the year?! This Saturday Nov.1, ASKA haunts DIVISION ONE in Arlington with their spectacular HALLOWEEN show. And they've managed to find 3 of the scariest bands on earth to help them do so, Muthalode, Equal By Six and Fame 15. Everyone is encouraged to wear costumes and there will be prizes for the best ones. We hope you can join us. This is ASKA's first Halloween appearance since the infamous Cliffhangers appearance in Ft. Worth several years back where George came as Ace Frehley, Keith came as The Beast, Daryl Norton came as Darren Knapp and Jason Sweatt came as Cat in the Hat! It's also their first appearance at Division One and the band intends to make this night a special one.
So be there!
A special thanks to all of you that attended TOMMY'S SHOW last Saturday too. Everybody had a blast and we thank all of you for the love and generosity extended to Tommy's loved ones.

See you at the show and "I'm scared Pa!!!!!'"

The ASKA

ASKA News-10/21/2003

Dear ASKA friends,
We recently lost a longtime member of our extended rock n roll family. Tommy "Crew Chief, Tudetone" Baumgardner passed away suddenly on Sept 16th.
Many of you that have been coming to our shows for some time knew Tommy well. He'd been with us since the early 90's and was original guitarist Darren Knapp's guitar tech. He later became Daryl Norton's guitar tech and was considered an integral part of the behind-the-scenes functions of the band's live performances. He took his responsibilities with the band very seriously going so far as to read us the riot act when he thought we were "messin' up". We loved him for that, for his loyalty, but most of all...for his friendship. We miss him greatly. That can only pale in comparison to how much his family, his wife, and the four young children that survive him are missing him now.
Thus, we are dedicating this show on Saturday, OCTOBER 25th at J. Gilligans in Arlington, TX to the "Crew Chief's" memory. "TOMMY'S SHOW" will not be a place to grieve. Instead it will be a celebration of his life with ASKA and we will remember him, honor him, and toast him in the way he loved best-- with some heart-filled, honest-to-goodness, kicking and screaming rock n roll!
All proceeds this night will be donated to Tommy's immediate family to help them defray any expenses or hardships they may be suffering at this time. We hope you can join us in celebrating Tommy's life and help us reaffirm our brotherhood for each other. We've asked our friends, MUTHALODE, to start off the evening so be sure to arrive nice and early and support them.
Tommy's funeral saw practically everybody who'd ever been in the band or worked for the band in attendance. His show will no doubt be one we remember for years to come and we get to help his family too. In the words of the mighty SAXON "To absent friends; this one's for you."
Your presence is requested,
George, Keith, Daryl & Danny

ASKA News-08/20/2003

ANTHRAX ENLIST ASKA TO HELP “MOSH” DALLAS -
ASKA were invited to “do the honors” and open the show recently when Anthrax came to Dallas in support of their new album. The show was held at The Underworld in Dallas, Texas and was the venue’s highest attended event in the history of the metal club. The sold out, capacity crowd noted many local music luminaries in attendance and was by all accounts a triumphant show of metal prowess and might by ASKA.

ASKA LISTED IN CENTURY MEDIA’s SUMMER 2003 MUSIC CATALOG-
There are millions of metal bands across the planet but only so much room to advertise and talk about them. Sales, popularity, talent, notoriety; all of these play an important role in which bands get signed, sold, listed, and featured. Unfortunately for most bands, this barrier can be nigh-impossible to break. ASKA have broken it. Century Media, one of the largest metal record companies in the world have included ASKA “Avenger” in their holiest of holy books: The Summer 2003 Music Catalog. This catalog which gets a worldwide mail distribution to metal fans around the globe is the “be all, end all” of who is “happening” in the metal world. ASKA is in the ranks. We hail our heroes without question.

BABY DOLL T-SHIRTS AVAILABLE –
Through a special licensing agreement there will be ASKA “Baby Doll” T-shirts available in two different styles. These shirts feature the band’s logo On a female “baby doll’ shirt and will be available, initially, at ASKA shows only. The shirts retail for $20 and have an extremely limited print run so they probably won’t last long. Make sure to pick one up. You’ll not only get to wear the band’s name proudly on your chest but you’ll have no trouble deciding what to put on from now on for all of your evening events!

NEW ASKA DISC TO BE RECORDED AT VARIOUS RECORDING FACILITIES -
On their past releases, ASKA have exclusively recorded their music at Patrick McGuire Studios in Arlington, Texas. Well, no longer. Not exclusively anyway. The new disc will feature cuts recorded in several different studios, including their own, or so we’ve been told at this time. “The new disc will sound like ASKA musically, a more technical “AVENGER” (the band’s fourth CD), but the sound, the production will be somewhat different. Meatier I think than what we’ve done in the past. We’ll see” said George Call, ASKA’s frontman/guitarist. ASKA had worked on their last two releases with Producer/Engineer Gary Burkhart at Patrick McGuire Studios and there was a definite chemistry between him and the band. When he passed away unexpectedly of a heart attack shortly after the completion of Avenger the band didn’t feel they could carry on there without him at the helm. “Gary was in many ways just as big a part of AVENGER as we were”. states Call. “He had a diminished control over those sessions and I’m sure we drove him batty each and every night with our bullshit and our horsing around in the studio but he handled it night after night. He helped us make and temper some magic in that studio.” states Call. “We went and recorded some songs there afterwards, which have yet to see release, but it just wasn’t the same without him.” No word as to what specific studios are being used or considered at this time.

DANNY WHITE GETS VATER DRUMSTICKS ENDORSEMENT –
Danny White continues to receive product endorsements, this time in the form of Vater sticks. His sticks will feature a Danny White signature making them extra collectible. Danny informs us that he will be tossing these out into the audience after performances so make sure and hang out until the end of the night for the chance to take home one or a pair of these special sticks.

NEWS ARCHIVES