Mr. SawBladehead and Queensryche’s Casey Grillo unveil the “Lotus”

Casey Grillo and “Lotus” ( Photo-Jordan Raiff )

Queensryche and Sawbladehead Designs

With Casey Grillo, Todd La Torre, and Shawn Lowery

“Presenting ‘Lotus’ before ‘Crazy World Tour’”

Casey Grillo and Shawn Lowery ( Photo-Jordan Raiff )

             One of the biggest parts of any tour is the presentation on stage. Everything from the lights, to the microphone stands, the clothing worn on stage, and the props help set the stage for the show to come. One of the biggest challenges has been for drummers to stand out. Often put on the back of the stage, they need something special to really pop. For Queensryche, their tour drummer Casey Grillo wanted something to really set off his kit from Drum Workshop, something to make it extraordinary for their ‘Crazy World Tour’ with Scorpions. With only 11 days until the start of the tour, something needed to come together and quickly.

Lotus ( Photo-Jordan Raiff )

Enter the creative spirit from Sawbladehead Designs from ‘Mr. Sawbladehead’ himself Shawn Lowery. A long time extremely talented drummer, and a master fabricator of tables, keyboard risers, microphone stands, and of course drum kits (just to name a few). From his ‘Life Tree’ and ‘Maximum Overdrive’ drum sculptures, this newest piece is another work of art that truly showcases not only the strength of Shawn’s imagination and fabricating, but it also compliments Casey’s precise, deliberate, and calculated drumming style.

Casey Grillo, Shawn Lowery & Todd La Torre ( Photo-Jordan Raiff )

It’s easy to see why Drum Workshop has Casey as one of their featured artists. Known most recently as the tour drummer for Queensryche for the last year and a half, Casey was previously the drummer for Kamelot for over 20 years. These years of experience has given him his own style and sound. Now Casey’s kit has its own unique look as well. One that simply compliments him.

( Photo-Jordan Raiff )

Making its debut to Casey and Queensryche lead singer Todd La Torre at Channel Fluxx studios in Clearwater, FL on August 24^th, you could see the ‘Blood, Sweat & Steel’ (also the name of Shawn’s upcoming show), Shawn had poured into this new sculpture. Titled ‘Lotus’ this intricate and versatile piece left Casey and Todd with their jaws on the floor. Featuring hand rolled steel tubing, slanted open edges, room for LED accents in the middle, and the capability to be closed in and narrowed down, or spread out and showcased at full bloom, ‘Lotus’ really lives up to its name.

( Photo-Jordan Raiff )

Lotus with the Electronic Bass Drum Covers ( Photo-Jordan Raiff )

After an initial look over and taping for the upcoming show, Casey introduced his new and one of a kind LED bass drum covers. They don’t just show small images, but controlled from a laptop at his drum kit, he is able to switch on live feed from cameras and showcase the live images on them with a snap of his fingers. They really complete this new addition to the Queensryche arsenal. As family and friends filed in, the sculpture was making its initial debut and you could not ask for a better way to get ready for the tour. You could see the looks of pride, admiration, and in some cases even a hint of jealousy for Casey’s newest acquisition.

Casey Grillo ( Photo-Jordan Raiff )

The ‘Crazy World Tour’ with Scorpions is a short debut for ‘Lotus’, but it covers a lot of the southwest US. Opening up August 31^st in Stateline, NV, and pushing through Irvine, CA, before coming to an end September 14^th back in Tampa, FL. Missing this tour and this outstanding sculpture would be doing yourself a disservice.

Casey Grillo and Shawn Lowery ( Photo-Jordan Raiff )

To make a piece of Mr. Sawbladehead your own, visit http://www.sawbladeheaddesigns.com/, SawbladeheadDesigns on Facebook, Sawbladehead_designs on Instagram, or if you’re in the Tampa area at the Florida State Fairgrounds form August 31^st until September 3^rd. His custom work and pieces he has available on hand are all handmade and something you won’t find in any store. If you have a vision of what you want, Mr. Sawbladehead is who you’ll want to see. He can make your dreams into your reality.

Casey Grillo and “Lotus” ( Photo-Jordan Raiff )