WHITESNAKE Parts Ways With Longtime Bassist MICHAEL DEVIN
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WHITESNAKE has parted ways with longtime bassist Michael Devin.
The David Coverdale-fronted outfit shared the news of Devin's departure in a social media post earlier today (Sunday, November 21).
The band wrote: "WHITESNAKE & bassist Michael Devin have decided to go their separate ways after an amazingly successful decade together…
"We all wish Michael every success in his life & all his endeavours. Apart from numerous tours, Michael applied his talent to studio albums 'Forevermore'... 'The Purple Album' & 'Flesh & Blood'. We sincerely thank him for being part of our journey & for all his exceptional gifts he brought to WHITESNAKE...
"God speed, Michael... Know we love you & will miss you...& we wish you well. Once a snake...always a snake...
"WHITESNAKE have secured a new bass player who will be announced very soon."
In a 2015 interview with Heavy Metal Hill, Michael spoke about how he landed the gig with WHITESNAKE. "I became a member of WHITESNAKE in 2010 while I was on tour with LYNCH MOB," he said. "Brian Tichy was the drummer and my good friend. He had already secured his position with WHITESNAKE and they were already talking to another bass player — a friend of ours. And it looked very promising for this bass player and I just assumed that he was going to be the guy. I was also working toward going out with Jason Bonham in the LED ZEPPELIN EXPERIENCE. I had two jobs going on. I was pretty happy with that. I never even imagined my name would be put in the hat with WHITESNAKE. Long story short, David Coverdale decided to keep looking for bass players and Brian had mentioned he was out and about with LYNCH MOB and David asked him who was on bass. Brian mentioned me, so I sent some video of me playing live and then one thing led to another and I found myself up in Tahoe auditioning for David live. Then he called me while I was in Seattle and asked if I wanted to join the band. That was a great day… I had three jobs, WHITESNAKE, LYNCH MOB and the LED ZEPPELIN EXPERIENCE with Jason [Bonham]."
Coverdale, who turned 70 in September, recently confirmed that he plans to retire from touring after WHITESNAKE's next batch of concerts around the world.
David discussed his plans to stop performing with WHITESNAKE while accepting the inaugural "Rocks Honours" award as part of The Rocks 2021 awards ceremony in June.
Speaking to Planet Rock's Wyatt about his five-decade-plus career, which included a stint with legendary British hard rockers DEEP PURPLE, Coverdale said: "I've been very passionate about what I do. I try not to let my audience down. We've got a really loyal hardcore fanbase around the world.
"Last year, we were supposed to do what was gonna be my farewell tour, and it was sold out; it was amazing. Of course, everything was canceled due to COVID. So, God willing, I'll be able to do it hopefully next year. I'm gonna show my appreciation and gratitude for the support that I've had, 'cause you can't do it without an audience supporting you — it's that simple. And they know — the hardcore [fans] who follow me know — I do my best, the best I can do at that time. And that's been my work philosophy for as long as I can remember."
After Wyatt brought up other bands who previously announced "farewell" tours, only to change their minds, David replied: "Mine's gonna be the farewell tour 'cause I'm knocking on 70. Are you kidding?! It's hard enough now to get into my jeans."
Although Coverdale will no longer perform with WHITESNAKE, he is still planning on writing and recording fresh material once he has retired from the road. "I'll be still involved in music," he said. "We've got a relatively long-term deal with Warners. We have a poopload of projects to do under the WHITESNAKE banner. It's just the touring. It's not the performing so much that is exhausting, it's the touring, and I can't tour any more comfortably than I do. So I spoke to my agent and said, 'I wanna do this [farewell tour] more than anything. It's after 50 years of incredible support for me.' Not to be able to say thank you to the U.K., not to be able to say thank you to Germany, to Japan, Brazil, it would be heartbreaking.
"I'm getting up there for this kind of stuff, and so it's gonna have to be an easier tour schedule for me to be able to handle and recharge the batteries so I'm not hobbling around or doing wheelies in a chair," he explained.
"I play guitar every day. The moment I start playing, I come up with ideas for songs. It's impossible for me not to [play music]. It's like my hobby. It's something that I'm supposed to do; otherwise, I think I wouldn't receive all these amazing ideas for melodies and naughty lyrics, including 'Slide It In', darling."
Early last year, WHITESNAKE was forced to cancel its U.S. tour with SAMMY HAGAR & THE CIRCLE and NIGHT RANGER so that Coverdale could undergo surgery for bilateral inguinal hernia. Eventually, all of the shows were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Coverdale had both his knees replaced with titanium in 2017 after suffering from degenerative arthritis. He later explained that he was in so much pain with arthritis in his knees that it hampered his ability to perform live.
WHITESNAKE had been touring in support of its latest album, "Flesh & Blood", which was released in May 2019 via Frontiers Music Srl.(Source: www.blabbermouth.net)
