Rock drummer rolls back into Winnipeg

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/07/2012 (5070 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ROCKER COMING HOME: Brent Fitz, the drummer for Slash, who plays the Burton Cummings Theatre Saturday night, is excited to be coming home to Winnipeg.

Fitz graduated from John Taylor Collegiate in St. James in 1988, and has played with Streetheart, The Guess Who, Harlequin, Econoline Crush, Alice Cooper, Union and Vince Neil. The 42-year-old rocker, who lives in Las Vegas, says he’s looking forward to seeing his parents, Audrey and Mervyn Fitz, who still live in St. James. He recently did some recording with Bruce Kulick and Gene Simmons for Gene’s son, Nick Simmons, who has rocker aspirations.

The Slash show is rumoured to have extremely heavy security, possibly because of an enmity with Axl Rose, his bandmate from Guns N’ Roses. Fitz says Slash never says a bad word about Axl, but they do need heavy security in some places.

“In Brazil, when we got back to our hotel, there were 100 kids waiting in the lobby!”

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THE PROUD PARENTS: So what’s it like to have a son who’s a rock ‘n’ roll star? Says momma Audrey: “We get to look at his tour schedule and follow him across the world.” She says Brent got a taste for world travel when he was in a high school band, went to a festival in England and saw six countries in 17 days. “He was recently in Beirut, Lebanon, which is a scary place to be, but he said there were no problems for them.”

“We’ll be at the concert on Saturday with earplugs on. We used to go to every gig he played in Winnipeg bars,” dad Merv says. “He’d be playing in the Royal Albert. Ladies of the night would pass us, going through to go to the bathroom!”

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RENTAL RACECAR: Derek Pollock, owner of Rental Racecar, says he decided it might be fun to rent souped-up cars to daring people who want to try the sport at Red River Co-op Speedway. Winners get $150 and an $18 trophy.

“That’s why we do it — to have those plastic dust-collectors when we’re 80 years old,” he says with a laugh. Tayla Rae McCombe, 26, raced on a Christmas gift certificate from her dad Greg McCombe, who tried it last year. “She finished in the Top 10 and was very happy!” says Pollock.

Want to try? Go to www.rentalracecar.com .

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RARE GARAGE SALE: Once in a while, there are garage sales that are art treasure bonanzas. Former Cream gallery owner Leala Hewak is moving to Toronto and has to get rid of a house full of high-end art treasures and vintage furniture, clothes and art supplies. It’s Friday, 4-9 p.m., and Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., at 41 Kingsway.

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SPOTTED: People tapping their toes at the bus stop at Main Street and McDermot Avenue, half a block down from a band jamming to a Latin beat. ‘Twas The Flaming Trolleys marching band practising for two festivals out west — the ArtsWells Festival in Wells, B.C., Aug. 3-5, and Shambhala in Salmo, B.C., Aug. 9-12. Says Kristen Andrews, “They’re paying us an honorarium and offering us free room and board because they realize how special it is to have a community orchestra. We also do workshops on things like radical street theatre and puppets for protest.” Today, the Trolleys head to the Brandon Folk Festival.

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