Joe Holmes Is Back! Well, He Never Really Left
Today’s post is from our friend HIM.
For a guy with such an interesting resume, I am surprised that more people don’t know about guitarist Joe Holmes.
He took lessons from Randy Rhoads! He played on Lizzy Borden’s Visual Lies (1987), one of Metalboy!’s personal favorites. He toured with David Lee Roth on the A Little Ain’t Enough tour in 1991 after Jason Becker’s ALS diagnosis. He replaced Zakk Wylde on Ozzy’s Ozzmosis tour in 1995 and stayed with him through 2000, while also having co-writing credits on several songs. He also started a band called Terriff and one called Farmikos, the latter of which released a self-titled album in 2015.
Then, in 2024, I heard a song called “Cross Eyed Stare.” I thought, “This darn thing slays!” It featured Robert Trujillo of Suicidal Tendencies fame (oh, and he is also in ‘Tallica now), Mike Bordin from Faith No More and Ozzy’s band, and Robert Locke on vox, who played with Holmes in Farmikos. It was co-written with his longtime collaborator Brent Moffort and produced by Richard Mouser (at his studio that unfortunately burned down in the Eton Fire last year).
Well, now that song is part of an eight-song eponymous release. And I couldn’t be happier! This guy shreds. He surrounds himself with talent. He brings it! Sure, you can tell from “Cross Eyed Stare” that he is not an attention-seeker (head down, guitar blazing). But it would do the world we live in a bit of good if lots of people picked up this CD or LP (and/or even the Farmikos CD).
Joe (not that he is reading this), this is just me doing my part. I hope some of you Bring Back Glam! fans do your part as well. If you don’t, I just might give you a cross-eyed stare!