Newsgroup: it.arti.musica.metal
Titolo: Virgin Steele: DeFeis e Jack Starr... e' guerra!

Ecco le ultime notizie sull'epic band americana.
Sembra che David DeFeis consideri i primi dischi dei Virgin Steele troppo
"poveri" dal punto di vista della qualita' del suono e poco adatti a
rappresentare i Virgin Steele per quello che sono diventati in seguito: di
conseguenza ha scelto di far uscire una _raccolta_ dei brani migliori dei
primi due album, completamente risuonati dalla line-up attuale. Jack Starr e
gli altri membri originali della band hanno cercato di bloccare questa
operazione (uscira' per la Sanctuary Records), ma non c'e' riuscito:
tecnicamente la raccolta sara' a tutti gli effetti un "album di cover", su
cui Starr non puo' porre alcun veto. Pero' lo stesso Jack potra' comunque
pubblicare i primi due dischi _e_ le nuove canzoni, o, almeno, e' questo che
promette di fare.
Ecco la lettera incazzatissima che Starr ha fatto girare su tutta la rete,
facendo capire che lui continua a considerare i VS da Noble Savage in poi
come una sorta di progetto solista di DeFeis:
I want to close this crap
Jack Starr Press Releases
Dear Heavy Metal Supporters, this letter is for all the fans
,writers,magazines,record companies and anyone who is interested in heavy
metal.
My name is Jack Starr in 1982 I started a band called Virgin Steele, in the
coming weeks in October of 200l the record company Noise/Sanctuary will be
putting out a record called The Book of Burning or The Best of Virgin Steele
this is an attempt to fool fans of the band into thinking that they are
buying the original recordings of Virgin Steele that have never been on cd,
this is deceptive, the record is a compilation of new recordings by whoever
happens to be in Dave Defeis band this week ,and as Sanctuary records states
in their answer to my lawyer it is a "covers record" this is important to
note and fans who want to hear the original recordings will soon be able to
do so. The cd that Noise/Sanctuary is putting out is a way of getting around
the fact that they have no rights to use the original music of Virgin Steele
that I wrote and they also have no right to use the Virgin Steele reunion
songs that were recorded in 1997 so they have choosen to rerecord these also
again depriving the fans of hearing Jack Starr, Dave Defeis, and Rob
Demartino toghether which is as close to a Virgin Steele reunion as we will
probably ever see. I have enclosed the letter from Sanctuary which states
exactly what this cd release is, to all our fans across the world please be
patient the original albums will be released soon.
WE JACK STARR JOE OREILLEY AND JOEY AYVAZIAN THE ORIGINAL MEMBERS OF VIRGIN
STEELE IN NO WAY AUTHORIZE OR RECOGNIZE THE NOISE SANCTUARY CD WE ASK YOU
NOT TO SUPPORT IT OR BUY IT THE ORIGINAL REMASTERED CD WITH EXTENSIVE LINER
NOTES AND ORIGINAL VIRGIN STEELE SONGS THAT WERE NEVER RELEASED AS WELL AS
RARE PHOTOS AND ARTWORK NEVER SEEN BEFORE IS COMING AND THAT IS THE REAL
STEELE NOT A DECEPTIVE COVERS ALBUM WHICH IS A DISGRACE AND AN INSULT TO THE
TRUE FANS OF THE BAND FOR MORE INFO CHECK OUT THESE FINE PUBLICATIONS
ROCKREUNION HEAVYWEIGHT AND SNAKEPIT MAGAZINE ON LINE LOOK FOR MORE
INTERVIEWS WHICH WILL REVEAL THE WHOLE VIRGIN STEELE STORY AND DAVE DEFEIS
ATTEMPT TO FOOL THE FANS!
Keep the Flame Burning,
Jack Starr, Joey Ayvazian and Joe O' reilly {the original members of Vigin
Steele} 
DON'T BUY A COVERS ALBUM WHEN YOU CAN BUY THE ORIGINAL RECORDINGS BY THE
ORIGINAL MUSICIANS!!!
----------------
Ed ecco la risposta di DeFeis:
"Dear Friends, VIRGIN STEELE FANS & Ever Faithful, Eternal Metal Listeners,
As regards the comments made by a certain Jack Starr, here is the true
account of things. Yes in 1982, I did get together with Jack, to form the
early version of the band. Yes we did record two albums and an EP. However,
that ... was a very long time ago, and in the intervening years, I made 9
(nine) other recordings with Edward Pursino on guitar, toured Europe
extensively, achieved greater success both artistically and commercially,
and in general became much more well known than the early lineup ever was.
Jack seems to have forgotten that he was only in the band for about 2 years.
Edward has been with me for 18 glorious years! So... as far as the ultimate
presentation of how those early works were to be revealed ... I will reserve
that right! I have been the guy who has been in the trenches the longest and
who has made the name mean something to people all over the world with my
music, not Jack. He wants to now ride down the road that I paved with my
serious efforts and hard work!
In truth, most of the VIRGIN STEELE Fans today have little or no knowledge
of the sound of the early band. For many our NOBLE SAVAGE album is thought
to be the first album. I encounter this fact every time we tour. Therefore,
I did not want to confuse any of our Fans by putting out something that I
felt would not be a true representation of who and what we are now/have
achieved. So my plan was to reissue those works in an updated light. As I do
own/possess all of the original master recordings, I began to re-master, and
in some cases re-mix some of the first album. All was turning out quite
well. I had informed Jack on many occasions of my plans, but for some
reason, as I was nearing the completion of the first album's rebirth, he
began making very unreasonable demands.
He wanted me to basically take the old vinyl records and burn a CD master
from them! He cares nothing for the quality of the sound reproduction, he
just wanted to take the budget I was to have for the re-mastering, and
pocket that. So in essence he is quite foolish, as I would have put out a
quality release that the early members all could have been proud of and ...
could have received earnings from. Jack's unprofessional attitude and
outlandish demands and his insulting remarks made me say forget it. It was
not truly worth the aggravation. I have a superior band now and decided to
re-record those songs that I liked the best from that period. We have done a
killer job of re-recording tracks like DON'T SAY GOODBYE (TONIGHT), A CRY IN
THE NIGHT, GUARDIANS OF THE FLAME, etc. I have every right to do this, as I
am the composer! Yes, some songs were composed with Jack and yes if he
wishes, he could re-recorded them too. I don't care.
So in conclusion, THE BOOK OF BURNING is a collection of 8 early songs
re-recorded, and 8 new songs. This work is 77 minutes long! It is not a rip
off, it's a well recorded, well performed collection of cool songs that I
have composed. Some of the new songs are composed by me and Edward and some
are songs that were written by Jack and myself in 1997. Those 1997 songs
have been newly re-written by me this year, and are vastly different than
the demos I made with Jack. I certainly have every right to use those songs,
as my name is on the copyrights because I wrote them! So there is no
deception here. I am telling you exactly what I intend, a rarities album
made by the True members of VIRGIN STEELE, those members who have been in
the group for a very long time and have done serious roadwork with me. The
old band never toured the world the way we do now! Those members were not
really interested in keeping things together for the long duration or the
long haul. 
So once again to clarify in everyone's mind, THE BOOK OF BURNING is a new
creation, not a re-kindling of the past, but an exploration of older songs
that I have composed, seen through new eyes/ears & technology today. The
other album, HYMNS TO VICTORY, is the "BEST OF". As you see Jack is
seriously out of the loop! HYMNS TO VICTORY, contains tracks which date from
NOBLE SAVAGE to today, and does included some re-mixes of classic songs,
plus re-masters and bonus tracks. All is stated very clearly for the fans
who are interested in knowing about these recordings. As far as Jack
revealing the whole VIRGIN STEELE STORY....... Well...Jack has no knowledge
of the whole VIRGIN STEELE story, because he was not around for it! He was
only in the band for 2 years!!!
I was there at the beginning, am still here now, and I always will be.
Edward, has been around for 18 years. And...We here in VIRGIN STEELE today,
have created a beautiful family like situation. The chemistry between Edward
and myself is legendary. The contributions of Frank Gilchriest are enormous
& multifaceted. Our new member Joshua Block is a real talent and our
sometimes drummer Frank Zummo is fabulous as well. We all get along well and
respect each other tremendously. It has been no secret all these years that
I have been carrying the VIRGIN STEELE Banner these many long years with
help from the extraordinary family I just mentioned.
Why has Jack not been able to sustain his career, or keep a band together,
or land a record deal? We, VIRGIN STEELE, maintain our career, because of
the honesty, integrity and quality we inject into every release, tour,
interview, etc...!!! The Fans know the score, the facts, the truth and
acknowledge this. 
We Thank you Sincerely, The Fans, The Friends, The Ever Faithful Eternal
Metal Listeners, for your never ending support, faith, honour and belief.
Stay well and remain Forever........INVICTUS!!!
BY THE HAMMER & THE NINE LET VICTORY BE THINE!
BY THE GODS & GODDESSES,
DAVID DEFEIS, VIRGIN STEELE
October 30th, 2002
-- 
"Iron striking metal, the sound of racing steel
 It's all I ever wanna hear, It's music to my ears!" (Saxon)
www.stargazer.it
 - Guarda anche tu le stelle del metal!
Remove _avatarofchaos_ to write me!


Lasciate perdere. Jack Starr e' solo un patetico morto di fame che spera di
raccattare tre lire dal piccolo successo che i VS hanno ottenuto in Europa.
Le sue ristampe merdose non vedranno mai la luce, e i primi due album
verranno a tutti gli effetti ristampati e rimasterizzati piu' in la' nel
tempo (per ora resta un progetto in cantiere quindi, assicurano fonti
attendibili...).
Jack Starr e il suo patetico progettucolo Guardains Of The Flame... la
miniera!
Niccolo'.

De Feis e' forse il mio singer metal preferito, e una delle persone
che piu' ammiro sulla faccia della terra.
Pero' questa volta sono d'accordo con Jack Starr... Odio tutto cio'
che e' remastering o peggio ancora reincisione di pezzi storici,
quando viene negata la possibilita' di accedere anche agli originali
per fare dei confronti.
E' come se i primi 2 album degli Iron venissero reincisi con Bruce
alla voce solo perche' Paul "e' stato nella band solo 2 o 3 anni"!
E anche, se dopo la reincisione i primi 2 album degli Iron non venissero
piu' ristampati "perche' la vera band e' in giro, cosi' com'e' ora, da
piu' di vent'anni, quella delle origini non conta perche' e' durata
troppo poco".
Ma ci pensate... che casino e che rivolte da parte dei fan?? ;)
Eppure e' cio' che David vuole fare con i suoi VS: cancellare il passato
e riscriverlo in chiave moderna.
Ma io amo i VS e voglio sentire tutto cio' che hanno prodotto nel corso
della loro storia! I pezzi ORIGINALI pero'!!!!!
Ho dovuto cacciare piu' di 150 carte per avere finalmente i primi 2 album
piu' l'EP che costituiscono l'epoca Starr. Devo anche dire che Guardians
of the Flame era un signor album cosi' com'era concepito e registrato, pur
nella sua poverta' di mezzi. E anche il primo album non era affatto male.
Pursino e' un grandissimo (e sottovalutato) chitarrista, ma il primo mitico
chitarrista dei VS era Jack Starr, gli assoli fulminanti del primo periodo
erano suoi, erano molto belli (Children of the Storm!!!) e io non voglio
comprare delle reincisioni suonate da Pursino. Cosi' come non comprerei mai
un remake di Killers cantato da Bruce.
De Fais e' un semidio, ma come ogni dio si e' ubriacato della sua stessa
potenza.
pollice verso, De Feis....
^M0rk^
-- 
"We are among millions, and still alone" - AT THE GATES


JS e' una testa di cazzo e un morto di fame, ma il suo lavoro era parte
FONDAMENTALE dei primi e sconosciuti VS. E questa e' una cosa di cui nessuno
ha diritto di privarlo.
Un'opera (disco, romanzo, film) e' cio' che viene dato alla luce la prima
volta. Le riedizioni (remasters, reincisioni, director's cut, capitoli
addizionali, montaggi rifatti, quant'altro) sono d'interesse solo per i fanatici
e i tuttologi.
Io ascoltavo i VS quando c'era Jack Starr. E i primi lavori li rivoglio IDENTICI
a come li ascoltavo allora. Dal vivo facciano quello che vogliono, ma le opere
in studio sono uscite cosi' e cosi' devono restare. A costo di ricomprarmi
una trasposizione 1:1 dei master originali su cd.
ciao


 una trasposizione 1:1 dei master originali su cd.
MA credo che alla fine rivedrannno la luce pure quei dischi, visto anche
l'ottimo remastering fatto per Noble Savage ed Age Of Consent...
Niccolo'.

 contro che glielo vuole impedire. 
Questa e' una versione incompleta dei fatti.
Io ero rimasto con De Feis che andava all'indietro con le sue ristampe
rivedute e corrette, e con Starr (via Metal Blade) che intendeva
far ristampare in parallelo i primi 2 album cosi' com'erano (vale a dire
grezzissimi, ma pur sempre fedeli all'originale).
A De Feis l'operazione di Starr ha fatto girare i cojones, perche'
sarebbe andata in collisione con la sua riedizione tanto a lungo attesa,
e allora ha preso questa nuova direzione: bloccare Starr e rifare tutto
a la "Blast from the Past", reincidendo i pezzi che preferiva e aggiungendo
nuovo materiale, in luogo di remixare gli album originali mantenendo pero'
tutti i titoli che li componevano.
Che Starr sia un imbecille non e' cosa nuova, ma e' l'operazione di De Feis
che mi urta oltremodo: le ristampe paro paro di Starr le avrei prese molto
volentieri.
Che si scannino tra di loro. L'ultima Vinilmania ha placato le mie ansie,
e le note di A Cry in the Night tagliano le pareti del mio salotto.....



Uè, Purronz! Come hai fatto ad avere la lettera che DeFeis scriverà
l'anno prossimo? ;-)
Guardian

 l'ottimo remastering fatto per Noble Savage ed Age Of Consent...
Infatti... e sono davvero due grandi riedizioni!
Qualcuno protesta per la scaletta modificata di Age Of Consent, ma cosa
impedisce di programmare il lettore CD in maniera da fargli seguire l'ordine
originale? :-)
Daniele


 l'anno prossimo? ;-)
Merda! Ho di nuovo sbagliato strada con la macchina del tempo!
Daniele


Merda! Ho di nuovo sbagliato strada con la macchina del tempo!
Beh ora basta eh? Altrimenti mi ridai la patente che non posso avere
allievi somari come te! :D
___
TheJack
Long live and prosper.
On Air: "Silent thunder" - BELIEF - Dare (capolavoro!)
www.stargazer.it
 
www.iammol.com
ICQ# :86312829   IAFo #161   Club 7di9: Nr.22