Phil was diagnosed just last August, and was taken off the band’s “Facemelter” tour while starting treatment; War & Peace’s Brad Lang filled in so that the tour could continue as scheduled.
Now, Y&T have officially announced the addition of Lang to the group.
Guitarist/vocalist Dave Meniketti shared some of his thoughts with fans:
"I have been thinking a lot in the last eight months as to how I would feel about Y&T and what might happen to this band when Phil were to pass. I've had so many feelings and scenarios that have gone on in my head, tearing at me in many different ways, but I always seemed to come back to the same conclusion. However, before I was prepared to make any hard and fast decisions I also wanted to know how Phil felt about this as well. So we talked about this exact thing, alone, during his last months of life on this planet. I suspected what he would have said, but I wanted to hear it from his lips and feel it from his heart.
Put simply, Phil expressed to me with no uncertainty that he wished Y&T to go on, no matter what happened to him. I understood, because we are lifetime Y&T people and lifelong musicians. This is what we know and where we have received much of our joy throughout our lives.
There is so much of us invested in Y&T, and I don't mean monetarily, but emotionally and spiritually. This band has always had a special life force that is hard to describe, but has had a hold on us for almost four decades. This relationship we have had with ourselves, the band members, and the fans is what everyone always hopes for in their lives — a job to be proud of and look forward to.
Now, having said that, I also questioned any decision to continue, regardless of all of the above, simply because I know how I had felt about other bands that have continued to play with only one remaining original member and wondered if I wasn't going to be a hypocrite by holding this band to a different criteria. Well, maybe I am, but the bottom line, as many of us have come to as a life lesson, is that many times you can't truly understand a situation until you actually experience it first-hand.
So . . . with current experiences in hand, I have made my decision to continue with Y&T. As quickly as I say this, I am also a realist, and if the fans seem to lose interest in the band, so be it, I will move on and do something else. However, if we continue to go along how it has been without Phil so far, then I feel privileged to continue to bring the music to the people, along with John, Mike and Brad.
The bottom line in all of this is that if the band weren't up to the task of presenting a valid and compelling show every night, then I wouldn't be inspired to go forward, no matter the other reasons. But the plain fact is that this band in its current form is as good a band as Y&T has ever been. Sure, different in ways from previous iterations of the band, but equally as good, if not better with what experience brings to seasoned performers. We mean business and our passions are still on that stage with every performance.
So come on out to the shows and let's share in some great moments together. Now, more than ever, we all need to have some happy and positive experiences in our lives and music is one of those things that has the ability to deliver that in spades, especially at a live performance.
There's nothing that says it better than as Phil so eloquently coined on our new CD — on with the show!"
Y&T Y&T – Summertime Girls
Download Festival – London, UK – June 12, 2010
See also:
Y&T’s Phil Kennemore loses battle with cancer, dies at 57
