As previously reported, Vicious Rumors recently parted ways with drummer Larry Howe over his right-wing political views. Despite this, he doesn’t regret his decision to be outspoken about his beliefs.
Howe told Hart O’ The Matter the following about his departure from the band:
“Well, you go way back to the beginning, it’s been a rather rocky, a tumultuous affair from the beginning. VR came from a place, from the Bay Area in the ’80s. We were just all on board. We just wanted to rock out. We wanted to make great music. We had an incredible lineup. People call that the classic. Dave [Starr, former VICIOUS RUMORS bassist] calls it the ‘real’ VR. It was — it was an incredible lineup of talented dudes, and we got lucky we signed to Atlantic. We didn’t get as big as some of the other bands. We weren’t in the thrash club. Nobody sold their soul to the devil. Well, Geoff [Thorpe, VICIOUS RUMORS guitarist and leader] probably did, but he probably should get a refund. I didn’t. I’ve always had a day job, so it was always my glorified hobby. But it was an incredible way to see the world and meet all types of different people, and I’ve appreciated it and loved it forever. I mean, it’s been an incredible thing. And I was in and out of the band a lot throughout. I left after Carl [Albert, former VICIOUS RUMORS singer] died. It was really rock, and it was tough. I hung around for a bit. I met a woman, fell in love, and she wound up having an affair with me and with Geoff behind my back. So I just forgave them both, and I thought I’d have it all. But that didn’t turn out so well either. The marriage ended in 2004… I’d quit in ’98, and I tried the whole marriage thing, gave it the old college try, and she divorced me anyway. She was carrying on with her stuff. And so then I came back in, and then we went through a bunch of different singers. Replacing Carl was always impossible. It’s been a little rocky throughout the years. Geoff always hated that I called it my glorified hobby. If we got rich doing it, if it was my real living, maybe I would’ve shut up more about things. But I was looking at the world around me crumbling.”
He went on to discuss his political views:
“I was a patriot way before [U.S. president Donald] Trump ever came on the scene. For people, all these people infected with this TDS [Trump Derangement Syndrome, a pejorative term used to describe negative reactions to Trump in order to characterize them as irrational and disconnected from Trump’s actual policy positions], it’s just insane. They just believe the stupidest things. I saw it in California happening, the rampant illegal immigration. I was hoping [actor and former California governor Arnold] Schwarzenegger was gonna stop that, but no, he didn’t. He’s another globalist. And that stuff just went crazy. And the crime of illegals, and protecting them. I couldn’t believe it. You know, Kamala Harris [former U.S. vice president who represented California in the United States Senate from 2017 to 2021 and was the attorney general of California from 2011 to 2017] … she let cop killers free because of this stupid sanctuary city crap. So, yeah, I go online, and I post a few memes here and there, showing my support for our president and ICE.
A lot of these Germans, they’re very ‘woke’ today because they believe… They’re still in 2016 state of mind. You know, ‘Oh, Trump’s a pedophile,’ blah, blah, blah. ‘Russia, Russia, Russia.’ They believe all the low-hanging fruit off the dumbass tree. They’re just sucking it right up. And I just don’t understand it. It boggles my mind. I lost a lot of friends because of it, ’cause they’re just all on board with it. They’re, like, ‘Oh, yeah.’ They’re calling Trump a felon. But you’re going along with a crooked court. It was a corrupt system. They changed laws. They changed rules to make that happen. And so people going along with a corrupt court is supposed to be okay? I just can’t believe the crap going on today. And so I talk about it.
Geoff’s been yelling at me for years: ‘Larry, shut up. We gotta sell T-shirts to liberals, too.’ And I get that, but I got kids. I live on this planet. I hate seeing the corruption happen, and I say something about it. And these Germans just are all pissed off at me saying, ‘Oh, Larry supports ICE. He’s a fascist.’ I have people in my DMs hassling me. They’re just, like, ‘You’re a fascist.’ I’m, like, ‘Well, give me one example. Name something fascist.’ They could never answer these questions ’cause they’re wrong and they believe lies. And I don’t shut up about it. What can I say? And so a [German] magazine came out, Deaf Forever. They put an article, a hit piece out on me last year, I think around near the mid or end of the year, and it really highlighted… They threw me under the bus, Frank [Gilchriest] from RIOT. They even talked about WARLORD [featuring ex-FATES WARNING drummer Mark Zonder] — they got canceled from the Rock Hard Festival. The three metal MAGA drummers driving these woke, spineless Germans’ nuts, and it was all in Germany. So Germany canceled eight shows for the European tour, and Geoff’s losing his mind. And I’m, like, ‘Dude, what can I say?’ Their country’s [Germany] falling apart. They’re all on board with it. I’ve watched it happen there, too. I’ve been going there over 30 frigging years. I’ve seen the inundation of the rampant immigration. It’s the globalism. They want to blend the lower hemisphere. They’re going to blend the Southern Hemisphere with the Northern Hemisphere to bring on globalism, and I see it happening. It’s not just a conspiracy. No, it’s really happening. When you see it happen in real time, you can’t shut up about it, and that’s me. Maybe if I made a lot of money and sold my soul to the devil and got really rich and famous, I would shut up about it, but then I’d be at a Lady Gaga party eating babies. So that’s not me. I’m just little old Larry, and I’ve always been a patriot. What can I say? So anyways, Germany cancels five or six, seven shows, and Geoff’s like, ‘What are we doing, man? I can’t handle this.’ He goes, he tells me, ‘I’ll make you an offer. You can stay with the band if you pay them 5,000 bucks,’ to make up for the lost shows. So they have a lot of time off now.”
[via Blabbermouth]
Metal Anarchy 
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