This is a excerpt from Strange Death #9, the now-defunct Bruce newsletter written by Jeremy Haines.
The ACCIDENT OF BIRTH Listening Party
May 10, 1997 - Los Angeles, CA
I'd heard Bruce mention earlier that some of the other band members were at the party; but since I'd never seen any pictures of them, I didn't know where to look. I asked Adrian if Roy Z. was around, and he pointed over toward one end of the room and described him for me. Walking over there, I saw Roy hanging around a group of people who were talking among themselves and didn't seem to know who he was. I started a conversation with him, and he seemed excited to talk to someone who was into his work. The first thing I asked was how he felt about Alex Dickson's live re-interpretations of the material from "Balls to Picasso". Roy said that he'd actually seen their live show in person, and that Alex was "doing his own thing with the songs, and that's cool." He thought that the biggest difference was in the guitar tone, which came from Alex's use of a Stratocaster instead of a heavier-sounding setup. I asked if Roy would be re-interpreting any Skunkworks songs on the upcoming tour, and he said that anything along those lines would be "up to Bruce". Given that they haven't decided on a setlist yet, I guess the question was a bit premature.
Next I asked him about the rumor that the Tribe of Gypsies had released an album in Japan. He said that the rumor was true: their full-length, self-titled debut album was written in late 1992 and released in Japan in 1996. He didn't know of any importers off the top of his head that carried the album, but I'm sure it wouldn't be too difficult to order it. Roy said that the Tribe was a 7-piece unit, and he described the music as "psychedelic 70's hippie rock". Sounds interesting... Then I mentioned that his rhythm sound seemed noticeably different on "Accident of Birth" as opposed to "Balls to Picasso"...only a few passages on the new album reminded me of the old sound (the guitars under the chorus of "Darkside of Aquarius" come to mind). Roy's expression turned a bit grim, and he said that he wasn't happy with the guy who recorded "Balls to Picasso" [Shay Baby] because that album didn't faithfully capture his "metal sound"; but "Accident of Birth" apparently does...and it should, since Roy produced the album himself.
Finally, I asked Roy where he stood with Bruce's band and his own band. Was he in with Bruce for the long haul? Would he alternate working with Bruce and the Tribe? Roy said that he'd really enjoyed working with Bruce, and that it meant a lot to him that Bruce had let him produce "Accident of Birth", since that was essentially placing his entire career in Roy's hands...and whenever Bruce wanted to call on Roy in any capacity, he'd be there for him. But beyond that, Roy was pretty noncommittal about working with Bruce in the future or being a permanent band member. He's still pursuing a domestic record deal with the Tribe of Gypsies; and as soon as Bruce's tour is over, that'll become his #1 priority again. I enjoyed talking to Roy; he's a really nice guy, and I think he was genuinely amused by the idea of people wanting to have their picture taken with him, etc. He even gave me his email address, though he said it would be deactivated in a few days, and all of my attempts to send mail to him wound up bouncing. (Roy, if you're reading this and you have a new email address, *please* drop me a line...thanks.)
I only spoke with Eddie Casillas briefly...he spent most of his time horsing around and videotaping the party for posterity. Let me tell you, this guy is HUGE...he could kick Lou Ferrigno's ass easily. When I introduced myself, he asked semi-menacingly, "Do I know you?" I said, "Uh, no...but you're the bass player, right?" At that point he relaxed a bit and wound up telling me that he and the drummer were just waiting to find out what was happening with the tour, etc. I think he was pretty disinterested in the scene at the listening party, and I can't really blame him for that. Speaking of the drummer, I never encountered Dave Ingraham at the party...I'm not even sure he was there. But I got a chance to meet most of the band, so I was pretty happy about how things went.