band who has worked, emphasis on the word "worked", to achieve success in music has had to pay their dues. When we first started this last tour with Dio Disciples, our tech Shotty (who we met when we toured with Crowbar and Prong last spring while he was working for Tommy Victor and those guys) had gone out one day and picked up a vinyl copy of AC/DC Fly On The Wall and then gave it to Mischa at the show that night, because Simon Wright (who played drums on that record and was in AC/DC for 8 years) was on the tour playing drums with Dio Disciples, after having played with Ronnie James in the band Dio for many years, all the way up until Ronnie passed away. So, Shotty gave Mischa this record and was telling her that she should get Simon to sign it, but Mischa isn't really the type of person who asks for autographs very often, so she was being kinda shy about it. Then after the show, as we were all just hanging out chatting and stuff, one of the guys who knew that Shotty had given her that record asked her if she had gotten Simon to sign the thing yet, as Simon was standing right there next to her. So Simon, being the absolute sweetheart of a guy that he is, grabs a sharpie and asks what she's got, and of course he's more than happy to sign it and all that, then as she was saying thank you, she told him that she's been into AC/DC and Dio since she was really young and so when she feels like she is among childhood heroes, she tends to get a little bit shy. At that point, he just smiled and put his arm around her and said, "Well, you're one of us now... you're on tour
with us." All of the guys in the Disciples treated us that way, on that whole tour, and they often mentioned that Ronnie was the same way, saying that he had always made it a point to treat the opening bands on every tour with respect. Actually, Crowbar and Prong both treated us that way as well on the month long tour we did with them the previous spring. We've been very blessed to have been treated like gold on the tours we've done as an opening act. We know that doesn't always happen for bands, so we do feel lucky to have gotten to experience touring as an opener the way it ought to be, according to the gospel of Ronnie James Dio. CVNW: Metal guitarist and violinist, how does Mischa feel those instruments complement each other? They express different emotions in the music, so she uses them to convey different aspects of a song. She says the violin can bring across a sleeker sound, sometimes a softer and more tender feeling, often more of an eerie tone or a dramatic feel, sometimes it can stir a sharper more unnerving sense. To her, it's like using different colors and textures in a painting, as opposed to just monochromatic shadows and shading, in order to add more depth and dimension for example. There is a lot you can do with just one color, varied technique and tools, etc. but if you want to take it further and add a new medium to create with, using other "colors", other instruments, can bring a new breath of life to your art.