DEFTONES have parted ways with their longtime bassist Sergio Vega.

The 51-year-old musician, who officially joined DEFTONES in 2009, confirmed his exit Tuesday night (March 8), just days after a new photo of the band without him emerged online on various digital service providers (see below).

In a video message posted to his Instagram, Sergio said: “Hi everybody. I hope this finds you well. I didn’t wanna have to make a video about this, but after the recent band photo posted on DEFTONES’ Spotify, I feel the need to clear the air. I’m not very good at this, so I wrote out a statement and I will read it to you now.

“To give a brief history about me and my friendship with DEFTONES. We met in 1995. I filled in for [late DEFTONES bassist] Chi [Cheng] — rest in peace — in 1999 and was asked to work with the band after his tragedy in 2009. Because of the love they have for QUICKSAND, I was asked to bring the same approach as a songwriter and arranger to them as well. I was also told that, similarly to Frank [Delgado, DEFTONES keyboardist and turntablist], I would be brought in over time to become an official member. I had worked with the band for 12 years, and at the start of every album cycle, I asked about becoming an official member, but the contract would be improved instead.

“COVID was a breaking point for a lot of people and I started to question my place in the band and the future that I wanted for my career. I really started to need something stable, because, at that point, my contract with them was canceled. One day I got a call from the guys about an internal band situation, and they asked me if I was solid and that I would have to fly out to L.A. to help work it out right away. I said, of course, I was all in, and ‘we can handle my situation later. But I can’t go back to my old contract.’ Our respective management had a conversation to discuss a new contract and they offered me the same deal. At that point, it was clear there was no opportunity for growth for me, so I declined the offer. And then I called the guys immediately to see where the miscommunication was to resolve it but there was no response. A couple of days later, I received an e-mail from their lawyer that their offer was withdrawn and that they wished me the best. So I left the band early last year and since then I’ve been focused on my band QUICKSAND as well as working as a producer and writer for other artists and projects. And I’m mentioning this because there was some speculation about me selling my gear and quitting music altogether.

“Out of respect for the people who have held tickets for this tour the past couple of years and everyone who supports the band, I felt it important to bring some clarity to the situation.

“Lots of love and thanks to DEFTONES’ amazing fanbase for always being engaged and supportive of the band through good times and bad. I appreciate every single one of you. All my love to the fans that have become friends, the people that have supported my other projects. It brought me so much joy to see DEFTONES shirts at QUICKSAND shows and I will cherish this forever.

“Lastly, thanks so much to the ‘TONES. I wish they had the chance to tell you this in person. I want you to know that I appreciate all the years we spent together, writing, performing, being taken into your worlds. I learned a lot from each one of you. When you brought me in, you created a new sense of passion for music that I will always cherish and carry with me. You truly changed my life.”

Vega cut his teeth in the New York City hardcore scene in the late 1980s before going on to play in the influential post-hardcore trio QUICKSAND. QUICKSAND released two major-label albums (“Manic Compression” and “Slip”) before calling it a day. Soon after, Vega found himself filling in with the DEFTONES and eventually joined the band as the full-time replacement for Cheng.

QUICKSAND reformed in 2012 and released a comeback album, “Interiors”, in 2017, ending the band’s 22-year interval between LPs. A follow-up effort, “Distant Populations”, arrived last August.

Chi died in April 2013 at the age of 42. He had been in a semi-comatose state for more than four years after being seriously injured in a car accident in November 2008. In addition to not recovering full consciousness, Cheng had been in and out of hospitals for various infections as his family has struggled with the mounting costs of care since he had lost his health insurance a few months after the accident.

Cheng required surgery after the car accident to remove part of his brain, but his recovery was strong enough that he was taken off life support seven months later.

Over the course of the last couple of years of his life, Cheng emerged from his coma for brief intervals. He was able to open his eyes and apparently could see and hear things going on around him but could not respond verbally.

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KITTIE guitarist/vocalist Morgan Lander has confirmed to Anne Erickson of Audio Ink Radio that the band will play more shows beyond the already announced appearances at the Blue Ridge Rock Festival in September and at the When We Were Young festival in October. “That’s it for this year,” Morgan said. “But next year, we definitely will. But I think those opportunities will come later on.

“We don’t have anything set in stone, but I think it’s something that, like I said before, once these doors are open, I think we can expect to feel comfortable doing a few more little things here and there and hopefully we’ll be able to do some more one-offs in the States and Europe and that type of thing,” she explained. “So the possibilities are endless.”

Joining Morgan and her sister, drummer Mercedes Lander, at the above-mentioned shows in the fall will be guitarist Tara McLeod and bassist Ivana “Ivy” Vujic.

Asked in a recent interview with the “Talk Toomey” podcast what led to Vujic returning to KITTIE for the upcoming dates, Lander said: “Ivy played on two of our albums, the last two albums that we did. She left the band right before the very last big tour that we ended up doing; she did the Soundwave Festival [in Australia] with us in 2012, and those were the last shows that we did with her. And she just kind of settled into her life, started a family, got married, and so that’s sort of been what she’s been up to. But Ivy’s a metal girl at heart and she’s always been super, super easygoing about stuff. I just sent her a message and I was, like, ‘Hey, can we talk?’ And we had a really, really great phone call and I just sort of explained the situation, explained what was going on. I asked her if she’d be into doing it, and she was, like, ‘Yeah. Sounds great.’ … It’s very much one of those things where you don’t talk that often anymore, you don’t see each other that often, but then, when you all get together again, that chemistry and that vibe is always there.”

Morgan continued: “I feel like that lineup of KITTIE in particular was always very super pro, super chill — no stress, no drama. Just, like, ‘You know what? We’re gonna go out there and we’re gonna sound amazing.’

“She’s an incredible bass player. I don’t think that Ivy gets enough credit. She is absolutely incredible. So it’s gonna be great.”

Vujic joined KITTIE in 2008 and appeared on the band’s fifth studio CD, 2009’s “In The Black”. She also wrote and recorded bass for KITTIE’s sixth album, 2011’s “I’ve Failed You”.

When We Were Young will be held on the Las Vegas Festival Grounds on the Strip on October 22, October 23 and October 29.

Officials said the “emo” festival will feature the same lineup on all three dates, with the exception of Alex G replacing Wolf Alice on October 29, and La Dispute will not perform on October 29.

The lineup also includes MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE, PARAMORE, AFI, THE USED, BRING ME THE HORIZON, TAKING BACK SUNDAY, DASHBOARD CONFESSIONAL, ALKALINE TRIO, MANCHESTER ORCHESTRA, THE ALL-AMERICAN REJECTS, AVRIL LAVIGNE, WOLF ALICE, STORY OF THE YEAR, JIMMY EAT WORLD and many others.

When the lineup for When We Were Young was first revealed, KITTIE said: “Thanks for your patience with our silence friends. The truth is we’ve been in full on crisis mode the past week and weren’t sure if we’d actually be able to make this happen but it’s true and we’ll be there to melt your face off and we hope you got your tickets.”

After the third When We Were Young date was announced, KITTIE wrote: “Third show added! Super stoked that @whenwewereyoungfest has decided to add yet another date! October 29th 2022. We’ll see you there…tickets on sale January 31st”.

KITTIE has not performed since its reunion show at London Music Hall in the band’s native London, Ontario in 2017, celebrating the group’s documentary “Kittie: Origins/Evolutions”.

In January, the original lineup of KITTIE — Morgan, Mercedes, Fallon Bowman (guitar) and Tanya Candler (bass) — reunited for an online chat to celebrate the 22nd anniversary of its gold-certified 2000 debut album, “Spit”.

Candler left KITTIE after the release of “Spit” in order to finish high school and was replaced by Talena Atfield.

Bowman exited KITTIE in 2001 and started her own industrial/electronic project, AMPHIBIOUS ASSAULT.

After KITTIE completed the touring cycle for 2011’s “I’ve Failed You” album, the band entered a long period of inactivity during which Morgan focused on a marketing job for a chain of fitness clubs while Mercedes worked in real estate and more recently at a software company. The group also began work on a career-spanning documentary, “Origins/Evolutions”, which finally saw the light of day in 2018 via Lightyear Entertainment in North America.

“I’ve Failed You” sold 3,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 178 on The Billboard 200 chart.

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In celebration of their 50th anniversary, Ibanez releases a collection of anniversary guitars.LACS5 “Root Beer Float”Over time, this model has become the quintessential metal guitar, but the luthiers at Ibanez’ LA Custom shop aimed to strike a warmer, more vintage note with this design. A Light Root Beer Burst finish rests atop a stunning, roughly half-inch-thick Flamed Maple top, delivering a color combination that blends perfectly with the Maple fingerboard, a rarity on any modern Iceman. The styling is more reminiscent of designs from the late 70’s, rather than the menacing metal machines of today. This throwback motif is further enhanced by Flamed Maple neck binding, gold hardware accents and a custom made Flamed Maple truss rod cover emblazoned with the classic Ibanez “spaghetti” logo. The LACS 5 Iceman is an exquisite example of what happens when the skills of Ibanez’s best modern-day luthiers are matched with a longstanding symbol of the brand’s enduring legacy.SpecificationsNeck: 3pc Maple / KorinaNeck Width: 43mm @ Nut, 57mm @ 22nd FretNeck Thickness: 20mm @ 1st Fret, 22mm @12th FretGrip Shape: RoundFretboard: MapleFretboard Radius: 12”Inlays: Block Pearloid / AbaloneSide Dots: LuminlayScale Length: 24.7”Neck Joint: Set NeckBody: MahoganyTop: Flamed MaplePickups: DiMarzio PAF 36th AnniversaryControls: 2 Vol, 2 Tone, 3 Way Pickup SelectorTuners: Gotoh Magnum LockingBridge: Gibraltar 1 Finish: Light Root Beer Burst JPCS32 “Sakura”Ibanez’ Japanese Custom Shop team opted for the name ‘Sakura’, ‘cherry blossom’ in Japanese, for this very special bass. The reason for the name is fairly obvious: the entire span of the top of this bass is inlayed with many cherry blossoms made from various types of wood and seashells. The inlay work on this bass involved individually cutting, sanding and seating well over 90 individual pieces of shell and wood. Not to mentioned the extra time involved to seat, level, and dress the stainless steel frets. The end result of all the hours that went into this bass is absolutely stunning. The inlay work, combined with the Maple Burl top, and Yozakura Blue finish, combine to form an exquisite piece of functional artwork. Other unique features found on this instrument include matching pickup covers with cherry blossom inlay work and a Maple Burl “mountain ridge” headstock inlay.SpecificationsNeck: 5pc Maple/Purpleheart (Timeless Timber Maple core)Neck Width: 38.0mm @ Nut, 60.0mm @ 24th FretNeck Thickness: 19.5mm @ 1st Fret, 22.5mm @ 12th FretGrip Shape: Atlas-4 HPFingerboard: EbonyFingerboard Radius: 12”String Spacing: 19mmInlays: MOP & AbaloneSide Dots: WhiteScale Length: 34”Neck Joint: Bolt-OnBody: AlderTop: Maple BurlPickups: Nordstrand Big SinglesTuners: Gotoh RES-O-LITEBridge: MR5SEQ: Ibanez Custom Electronics 3-Band EQControls: Vol/Blend/Treble/Mid/Bass/EQ Bypass/Mid SelectorFinish: Yozakura Blue LACS18 “Hang 10″This surf wagon-themed Talman inspires visons of the beaches of Southern California from which it hails. This spectacular instrument doesn’t only evoke vintage imagery, but also delivers a vintage-style sound, capitalizing on a classic tone wood mix of Alder, Maple and Rosewood. This wood combo, paired with the three lipstick-style pickups, delivers a highly-stylized design that’s totally impossible to overlook.SpecificationsNeck: 3pc Maple/PurpleheartNeck Width: 42mm @ Nut, 57mm @ 22nd FretNeck Thickness: 20mm @ 1st Fret, 22mm @ 12th FretGrip Shape: Half RoundFretboard: RosewoodFretboard Radius: 16”Inlays: Mother of Pearl DotsSide Dots: LuminlayScale Length: 25.5”Neck Joint: Neck-ThruBody: AlderTop: Quilted MaplePickups: Seymour Duncan Strat LipstickControls: Vol, Tone, 5-Way Pickup Selector SwitchTuners: Gotoh Magnum LockingBridge: Gibraltar Std. IIFinish: Turquoise Blue Stain GlossAdditional info at ibanez.com.

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