Drummer Leonard Haze en de rockers van Y&T zijn officieel uit elkaar. Volgens de achtergebleven groepsleden hebben ze Haze ontslagen wegens "verschil in muzikale performance". Anders gezegd: de drummer presteerde onder de maat.
"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."
De afgelopen weken liet Y&T met succes een aantal drummers auditie doen. Inmiddels hebben de heren een vervanger voor Leonard Haze gevonden in de persoon van Mike Vanderhule (foto):
"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."
Y&T bracht onlangs een re-release op de markt van hun klassieke albums "Black Tiger" (1982) en "Mean Streak" (1983), aangevuld met bonustracks.