Michael Fischer remembers Carl Albert

Every time I've had the opportunity to see the original "Vicious Rumors" live, it was an explosive concert experience like no other! Absolutely un-f**king believable performance from all ends!!!

Later in 1990, I saw the original"Vicious Rumors" play an L.A. rock club called "FM Station" in North Hollywood. They opened with "Don't Wait for Me" and went right into "World Church" just like the record. Classic "VR" tunes such as "On the Edge" and "Hell Razor" just roasted the crowd! That show was the only time I saw everyone in "FM Station" facing the stage in shock! "Vicious Rumors" proved once again they were the shit! They had gained some serious material muscle! "VR" was a band that went "In for the Kill" from the first note. What an incredible ass kicking show! Seriously, I was lifted off my barstool several times during the show from "VR's" powerful performance! In classic fashion, after the show "Carl" was at the bar sporting a glass of Orange Juice smiling as everyone complemented his stunning performance.

The last time I saw Vicious Rumors was at the "Troubadour" in Hollywood. It was aka. "Welcome to the Ball Tour". Man, did anybody get the license plate number of that truck? That show was the topper! They opened with "Abandoned" of course and covered classics as "Minute to Kill" and "World's and Machines". The band was really on that night! I just soaked in the power as "Carl" and the band ripped me apart live with their higher octane material. "VR's Out of the Shadows Finale" was not to be believed. What a classic ending to the set from hell. In that moment, I stood like a frozen statue drowning in musical splendor. My ears rang for three days straight after that thanks to "Dave, Larry, Mark, Geoff and Carl".

The original "Vicious Rumors" lead by "Carl Albert" 's stunning front manperformance took true rock fans to a quality level unheard of. "Carl's" vocals really opened the flood gates to my heart. He just casually blistered from song to song with pure ease. For a little guy, "Carl" had a big heart, and he stood mighty in the center of all the bands power. He sacrificed a piece of his soul everytime he graced the microphone. "Carl" always smiled like he knew something you didn't. He spoke like a true God!

Seeing "Vicious Rumors" live four times was unreal to say the least. I had the honor of watching the most incredible performances I've seen since "Van Halen's" first tour in 78'. "Carl" graced the stage ripping high notes like it was a walk in the back yard and the band was always flawless. Their livesound was as equal if not more captivating than the studio versions of their material. A "Vicious Rumors" show was a heavy-duty roller-coaster ride with lots of scary dips and speed!
After the "Troubadour" show. The band like always came down off the stage to say a quick hello to their stunned fans to say thanks for coming to the show. I remember the first person I walked up to was "Carl" drenched in sweat. Like the rest of the band members, "Carl" was always friendly and excepted my compliments with kind sincerity. Most musicians that talented usually carry a strange arrogance or rude nature like "yeah I'm awesum and I know it". Not the original "Vicious Rumors"!
The original "VR" reminded me of friends I grew up with jamming to "Kiss" records in the neighborhood. The band was always polite and very loyal to their fans.

That was the last time I had the honor of seeing "Carl Albert" perform his infamous "Out of the Shadows Finale". I would have never imagined in amillion years, that was going to be the last time I will ever see "Carl" again!

It's Wednesday, May 17th, 1995 around 3:00 PM. The phone suddenly rings. It's my friend "Mick" from "Malice". In a low voice, Mick said "Bro, Carl was killed in a car accident". In that one second heart wrenching moment, my world instantly turned into the twilight zone. I couldn't believe it! What a tragic loss of a great friend and musician. I had just spoken with "Geoff" in January. He invited me to a "VR" show with "Dokken" in Oakland. Now I'm really sorry I didn't go.

After I hung up the phone. I put on my headphones, popped in my "Word of Mouth CD", turned the volume up REAL loud and drifted into Spiritual Space. For the next 50 minutes, I listened to that C.D like never before. I cried like a baby as "Thunder and Rain" and Sense of Security" ripped and tore at my unrestful soul. I sat in my personal twilight zone wondering how the Godz could have taken "Carl" so soon from us. I reminisced about the timesI saw the band live and had a laugh with "Carl" and remember him saying "Cheers Mate"!

"Carl" was one in 99 billion. To this day, It's hard to believe he's gone forever. Much like the passing of "Ray Gillen". "Carl Albert" died young and never received the opportunity to reap what he had sown. "Carl" earned the right to be the most influential singer in the world. He was, and always will be one of my favorite singers. I wished more people would have recognized his talent. He was without a doubt the greatest rock singer in our life-time!!!

After "Carl" died, I phoned a close friend to share a few old "VR" stories with her. She joked about a funny encounter with "Carl" in 89' after her first "Vicious Rumors" show. "Carl" said "When I was on stage, I saw you guys singing the lyrics, so I knew I had to hit all the high-notes"! That was the friendly quality of "Carl". He was always grateful to his fans, on and off stage. I'm sure there's still a few old blown speakers and monitors out there somewhere with "Carl's" name on them. ( "The lil' Brown Mushroom" ) via Southeast tour.

A close friend once said to me" Hey dude, what are friends for"? That always stuck with me because a few days later that friend died in a horrible car accident. I believe "Carl's Spirit" is always with us. I sometimes wonder how the angels responded to "Plugging in and Hanging on" when "Carl" entered the gates of Rock n' Roll Heaven. "Move over Rover, cuz Carl's taken over"! Here in life passed by a great friend who will remain close in my heart forever.
"Carl Albert" left an everlasting impression on my life as a person and singer. I will remember his spirit, faith and friendship forever.