Former Exodus frontman Rob Dukes says he was sacked by the band – while he was on his honeymoon.
The singer’s last gig with the group was at the Rock On The Range festival last year, after which he got married and went on honeymoon. It was then that he was told over the phone that he was to be replaced by Steve ‘Zetro’ Souza.
It was a particularly hard blow to take as Dukes had only an hour earlier received some great news – that his other band Generation Kill was to team up with rap icon Darryl ‘DMC’ McDaniels.
Dukes bumped into DMC at the airport as he waited for his flight back to New York following Rock On The Range. The pair discussed collaborating on a song, but eventually decided to do an entire album together – produced by Guns N’ Roses guitarist Ron ‘Bumblefoot’ Thal.
Dukes says: “The last Exodus show I ever did, I leave and I get married. I’m on my honeymoon and Darryl calls me on Friday morning at 9am and I was like, ‘Ah shit I’m gonna work with DMC. He’s a Hall Of Fame Artist, this is an outstanding moment. Look how weird my life is.’
“Then at 10am, Exodus called me and fired me. It just ruined the moment. It was a bittersweet pill that I had to swallow.”
When DMC arrived in the studio to record vocals for one track, both sides were so pleased with the results that they recorded an entire album. Bumblefoot later agreed to to produce the album and also plays guitars on the record.
DMC says: “Yo a funny thing happened on the way to Rock On The Range. I ran in to Rob Dukes – that boy can sing. That boy’s voice is crazy. He was like, ‘Yo DMC what’s up, I wanna give you my CD.
Next morning I’m in the airport and Rob Dukes is in the airport. I say, ‘We should make a song together, I’m serious.’
“Then I run into Bumblefoot. He wanna write, he wanna produce, he wanna play on the damn record. This is crazy. this is rock ‘n’ roll, this is metal, this is hop hop. I am fired up, so you better stay out of my way.”
Work continues on the as-yet-untitled DMC & Generation Kill album.
