VR Forum #6: Rick Fusco

I discovered VR back when "Soldiers Of The Night" was first released thru Shrapnel Records. I didn't know much about them except that Dave Starr use to be in Laaz Rockit (I was a fan and heard the demo's). I bought the SOTN album and listened to it 24/7. None of my friends could understand why I was always listening to this all the time. That is until they heard it.
Now, I live out New Mexico, not exactly the Metal epicenter. We had a killer radio station always playing Saxon, Priest, Maiden etc...but never new, unknown bands. I always called in during the evening when they played the heavier metal and kept requesting "March Or Die". After about two weeks of this the DJ finally gave in and played that song. Guess what? People loved it and requested it every single night. VR VICTORY!!!!

In Oct 1991 a friend of mine had asked me if I wanted to fly to Germany with him. He was from there and didn't want to go alone. So, I we got our visa's and off we went.
The moment we arrived in Germany I saw concert posters galore. The one that outshined all the rest was the Savatage/Vicious Rumors flier. I couldn't believe it. Savatage is my favorite band and I never saw VR in concert before. I was in shock to say the least.
My buddy and I found out that the show was still two days away but was sold out. I felt the blood leave my face as the excitement I was feeling turned to disappointment. I figured that the only thing we could do is go to the venue where the concert was being held and beg for tickets (Hey, I was 24yrs old at the time...no shame here).
To our surprise there were still tix available. I bought four tickets. Two for my bud and two for me. Why two? One's going to get ripped so I wanted one that was un-ripped for a souvenir (I had priorities...LOL).

The night of the concert arrived and I had the time of my life. I couldn't believe the amount of power VR showed in their live performance. They played tight and had this integrity that only few bands possessed back then. Carl blew my mind though. His voice was so much stronger than what was recorded on their studio albums. He sang with every ounce of energy in his body. I always knew VR would annihilate in concert but they went far beyond my imagination.

After the show I met both Savatage and VR. I hung out w/Dave and Criss and told them how I was from the US. Criss laughed and said I went overboard by flying to Germany to catch the show...LOL I approached Carl and told him that he just became my favorite singer that night. He told me that I spoke English real well for a German. We had a good laugh about that.

Needless to say, this is one of my fondest memories of VR (w/a little Savatage). Unfortunately, I never saw VR in concert again. I still have the un-ripped stub from the concert and the vinyl albums (plus the Laaz Rockit stuff). =)

Long live the real VR!!!!!!

RICK FUSCO
33yrs old and still ROCKIN'!!!!!!
Albuquerque, NM
email: RFusco@aol.com