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Dave "The Beast" Spitz (born February 22, 1958 in New York) is a musician best known for having played bass guitar for the heavy metal group Black Sabbath from 1985 to 1987, appearing on the albums Seventh Star and being credited for (but not playing on) The Eternal Idol. Dave also helped discover the late Ray Gillen, the vocalist who joined Black Sabbath mid-tour in 1986, following the sudden exit of Glenn Hughes.

He is the brother of musician Dan Spitz, a co-founder and original lead guitarist of the American thrash metal band Anthrax.

Spitz has also been a member of Great White, having recorded the albums Psycho City and Let it Rock with the Californian hard rock band during the 1990s. He played in albums of the bands White Lion, Impellitteri, Americade, Slamnation, Insomnia, Nuclear Assault, Purple Heart, Kuni, Deepset, War Pigs and others. He is also a member of McBrain Damage, featuring Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain and tours with this band when Nicko has time off.

Dave Spitz graduated from SUNY Geneseo in upstate New York in 1979, and during his college years he played in bands around that area, including Freeway and Buzzoleo.

In addition to being a musician and performing artist, Spitz has been practicing law full-time since 1999 as a Civil Trial Attorney in South Florida, and has his own law firm.

Beyond this, Dave is a second degree black belt (Nidan) in traditional Okinawan Gōjū-ryū Karate-dō. Beginning his karate training at the age of 14 in New York, Dave initially studied under the U.S.A. Kata champion sensei Chuck Merriman, and fought in numerous karate tournaments. Following his Black Sabbath years, he continued his martial arts training in California, undertaking training with the highest ranking practitioner of Gōjū-ryū in the world, sensei Morio Higaonna, President of the International Okinawan Gōjū-ryū Karate-dō Federation. Spitz also studied and trained with sensei Mel Pralgo, sensei Rodney Hu, sensei Stan O'Hara, and sensei Miko Peled, and had the distinct honor of being Dai Sempai (highest ranking student and assistant instructor) for many years at sensei Pralgo's dojo in Thousand Oaks, California, before moving to Florida in 1996 to attend law school.

See also[link]

	Book: Black Sabbath
Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print.

References[link]

• Spitz on Black Sabbath Online

Nicko McBrain
Nicko McBrain in Costa Rica during the Somewhere Back in Time World Tour
Background information
Birth name	Michael Henry McBrain
Born	(1952-06-05) 5 June 1952 (age 60) Hackney, London, England
Genres	Heavy metal, blues rock, hard rock
Occupations	Musician
Instruments	Drums, percussion
Years active	1975–present
Associated acts	Iron Maiden, Pat Travers, Streetwalkers, Trust, The Entire Population of Hackney

Michael Henry "Nicko" McBrain (born 5 June 1952) is an English musician, best known as the drummer of the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden, which he joined in 1982.

Having played in small pub bands from the age of 14, upon leaving school McBrain paid his bills with session work before he joined a variety of artists, such as Streetwalkers, Pat Travers, and the French political band, Trust. He joined Iron Maiden in time to debut on their fourth album, Piece of Mind (1983), and has remained with them ever since, contributing to a total of twelve studio releases.

Biography[link]

McBrain first wanted to learn the drums at a young age after watching Joe Morello performing with The Dave Brubeck Quartet on television.^[1] At the age of ten, he started to play drums with pots, pans and other kitchen utensils, before, to his parents' dismay, he began drumming on the gas cooker with a pair of knives and chipped off the paintwork.^[1] McBrain recalls that he was eleven or twelve before his father bought him his first drum kit, "which was basically one snare, one tom-tom, one cymbal, two drumsticks and a pair of brushes."^[2] He soon started playing The Rolling Stones and The Beatles covers with school bands, before he began regularly playing "pubs and weddings" by the age of 14.^[2]

Upon leaving school, McBrain paid his rent by undertaking session work, before deciding to join his first "proper" band, "The 18th Fairfield Walk", later known as "Peyton Bond".^[3] A small pub band, which he decided was "never gonna go anywhere" as they only performed Otis Redding, The Beatles and The Who covers, McBrain soon left to join "The Wells Street Blues Band", which renamed themselves "The Axe" in 1969.^[3] Although this group would play their own material, the band split up after an argument between the singer and the guitarist, and McBrain began playing with Billy Day, a singer and keyboardist, and Michael "Mickey" Lesley, a guitarist, in 1971.^[4] At that point, he was known as "Nicky", a nickname given to him by his parents after his teddy bear, Nicholas,^[1] until an intoxicated Billy Day introduced him to Dick Asher, head of CBS Records, as "Neeko", while they were recording at CBS Studios, Whitfield Street.^[4] McBrain liked the name, changing it to Nicko "so that it sounded more English," and decided to keep it even after leaving the group.^[5]

In 1975, he began playing with Streetwalkers,^[5] before joining Pat Travers and then the French band, Trust,^[6] with whom he met Iron Maiden for the first time, while touring together in 1981.^[7] In 1982, the band asked McBrain to replace their previous drummer, Clive Burr,^[6] and, as news of Burr's departure had not yet been announced, made his first appearance with Iron Maiden on German TV disguised as Eddie.^[8] He formed a close partnership with bassist, Steve Harris,^[8] and completed what many critics consider the band's "definitive" lineup,^[9] releasing a series of gold and platinum selling albums throughout the 1980s.^[10] Although the band's lineup altered drastically in the 1990s, McBrain remained in Iron Maiden and, since the return of Adrian Smith and Bruce Dickinson in 1999, the group has undergone a resurgence in popularity,^[11] and are now considered by some as "bigger than ever".^[12] Although he writes the drum parts for all the band's songs, McBrain registered his first and only songwriting credit for "New Frontier," from 2003's Dance of Death,^[13] which expresses his opposition to human cloning, arising from his religious beliefs.^[14]

Drumming style[link]

McBrain's drumming has been an important element of Iron Maiden's sound from 1983's Piece of Mind onwards, with guitarist Adrian Smith remarking that, "he always had the chops and the technique, but in Maiden he really exploded, to the point where a lot of stuff we did after he joined was then founded on his playing, all those busy patterns he does, displaying tremendous technique."^[8] As described in detail on the band's 2004 The Early Days documentary, the opening track of "Where Eagles Dare" famously displays McBrain's ability to use the single drum pedal very quickly, plus his rapid tom fills.^[15]

He is often considered among the best and most influential heavy metal drummers.^[16][17][18] In the 2008 Live After Death DVD, Steve Gadd, McBrain's then drum technician, comments that, on the World Slavery Tour, drummers such as Tommy Lee would refer to McBrain as an 'octopus' after witnessing the way in which his stamina gives him the ability to use all of his large signature drum kit in concert.^[19]

McBrain often employs the back end of his left hand drum stick to allow for more powerful "snare hits".^[20] He is known for not using a double bass pedal, with Bruce Dickinson commenting that he refused to use one on "Where Eagles Dare", considering them 'undrummerish'.^[15] He claims to have only ever used a double pedal once on "Face in the Sand", from Dance of Death, preferring to use a DW 5000 Accelerator single pedal.^[21] Since switching to the DW pedal in 2000, McBrain plays barefoot, stating that it gives him "more freedom."^[22]

Steve Harris remarks that "...he can play all kinds of music. Drummers from other bands sit round the back of him to see what he’s doing, but he’s got his kit set so he doesn't even look at what he's hitting half the time"^[23] After McBrain joined the band in 1982, Harris also noted how much easier playing with McBrain was for a songwriter,^[24] with Adrian Smith claiming that, "Steve loves playing with him. [They] used to work for hours going over these bass and drum patterns."^[8]

Equipment[link]

McBrain currently uses Premier drums and Paiste cymbals.^[25][26] For A Matter of Life and Death he used his Ludwig metal shell LM 402 snare drum which was purchased in 1975, making it the oldest drum in his kit.^[27] He endorses Vic Firth signature drum sticks, also using them for his own drumming.^[28]

Tour Kit[link]

McBrain's drum kit and cymbals do not bear the standard Premier and Paiste logos. They are labelled with the brand name using the Iron Maiden logo font.

Personal life[link]

McBrain converted to Christianity in 1999 after an experience in the Spanish River Church, near his Boca Raton, Florida home.^[29] His wife, Rebecca (from Whitman, West Virginia), had been asking him to attend with her, and upon entering the church, McBrain soon found himself crying as he experienced a "calling". Recounting the tale, he said "I just sat there thinking, 'I didn't drink last night…why can't I stand?' I had this love affair with Jesus going on in my heart."^[30][31]

In an interview, McBrain was asked if he felt it was appropriate to be a member of Iron Maiden in light of his Christian views. He responded by saying, “When you become a Christian, you don’t become sinless. The idea is to sin less. We’re all sinners. We’re never going to be clean till the day the good Lord is standing in front and judgement comes. But to me, I try to live my life. I do fall off, and occasionally I fall off hard and I have to get down on my knees and beg forgiveness. So it’s not an easy ride, and it’s not professed to be either.” He was also asked if he shared his religious views with his band mates, and if so, how they felt about it. McBrain responded, “We’ve had some incredibly deep conversations amongst each of us. I can’t say to you that I’m trying to convert all these guys in my band to be Christians. I’m leading them on my route, and if they choose to follow what God’s plan is in the Bible, that’s up to them. I say to them all, you know, look, in my belief, at the moment, if you turn to your saviour Jesus Christ, I’ll have eternal life in Heaven with you! … We don’t talk about it every time we get together, but we’ve had some interesting conversations over the years.”^[32]

In 1988, McBrain appeared as a guest on the The Sooty Show, in which he played drums with Sooty and Sweep.^[33] In reference to his appearance on the show, McBrain's drum kit has since been decorated with a Sooty puppet, which is often dressed accordingly with the band's corresponding tours.^[34] He also has a pilot's license, for which he has a twin engine rating,^[35] and in 2009 opened a restaurant called Rock 'N' Roll Ribs in Coral Springs, Florida.^[36] In 2003, McBrain was arrested for allegedly striking a parking attendant with his car after refusing to let him into the Jones Beach Theatre in Wantagh, New York, where Iron Maiden were due to play a concert.^[37][38] McBrain has two sons: Nicholas (born 1983) and Justin (born 1992).^[39][29]

Discography[link]

Streetwalkers Downtown Flyers (1975) Red Card (1976) Pat Travers Makin' Magic (1977) Putting It Straight (1977) Trust Marche ou Crève (Original French Release)/Savage (English Language Version) (1981) WhoCares "Out of My Mind" (2011)

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden portal Main article: Iron Maiden discography Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Nicko McBrain Piece of Mind (1983) Powerslave (1984) Somewhere in Time (1986) Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988) No Prayer for the Dying (1990) Fear of the Dark (1992) The X Factor (1995) Virtual XI (1998) Brave New World (2000) Dance of Death (2003) A Matter of Life and Death (2006) The Final Frontier (2010)

Notes[link]

References[link]

National Zoo & Aquarium, Australia.

White Lion - Bratislava Zoo, Slovakia.

Adolescent white lion in Kruger National Park, South Africa.

White lion in Belgrade Zoo, Serbia.

The white lion is occasionally found in wildlife reserves in South Africa and is a rare colour mutation of the Kruger subspecies of lion (Panthera leo krugeri). It has been perpetuated by selective breeding in zoos around the world. White lions are not yet a separate subspecies and they have been said to be indigenous to the Timbavati region of South Africa for centuries, although the earliest recorded sighting in this region was 1938. Regarded as divine by locals,^[1] white lions first came to public attention in the 1970s in Chris McBride's book The White Lions of Timbavati. Up until 2009, when the first pride of white lions was reintroduced to the wild, it was widely believed that the white lion could not survive in the wild. It is for this reason that, now, a large part of the population of white lions are in zoos. Another large part, however, are bred in camps, for canned hunting trophies.

It is hard to determine exactly how many white lions there are today, because they are held in captive breeding and hunting operations which don't keep adequate records. Based on available evidence, The Global White Lion Protection Trust estimate there are 500 White Lions world-wide.^[2]

White lions are not albinos. Their white colour is caused by a recessive gene known as the chutiya or color inhibitor gene, distinct from the albinism gene. They vary from blonde through near-white. This coloration, however, does not appear to disadvantage their survival. The white lions of the Global White Lion Protection Trust (GWLPT) have been reintroduced into their natural habitat and have been hunting and breeding successfully without human intervention for a significant amount of time. White lions in South Africa are currently being bred almost exclusively for hunting, but Linda Tucker (the founder of GWLP] and author of The Mystery of the White Lions) and her team are trying to change the South African hunting laws.^{[clarification needed]}

Breeding white lions[link]

The chinchilla mutation, a recessive gene, gives white lions their unusual colors. A similar gene also produces white tigers. White lions can therefore be selectively bred for zoos, animal shows and wildlife park. Such breeding involves inbreeding of close relatives and can result in inbreeding depression (genetic defects, reduced fertility, and physical defects) although this has not yet been recorded in white lions in zoos as it has been in white tigers. According to Tucker, white lions in canned hunt camps have been found to have hind-limb paralysis and serious heart defects, indicating a severe level of inbreeding involved in mass-production although they are rare in the wild. People are concerned about the White Lions mating with other lions of other alleles, because of possible extinction of the white lion. However, this is not valid as the offspring will inherit the white gene and therefore make it possible to produce white offspring in a later generation. Some critics maintain that white lions should not be introduced in to the wild because of the inbreeding that has taken place over zoos and breeding camps. However, ethical reintroduction programs such as The Global White Lion Protection Trust have ensured through the use of scientific methodologies that the lions in their program are not inbred.

White Lion cub at Kromdraai, South Africa

Kruger and Umfolozi white lions[link]

In 1979, three litters containing white lions were recorded in Kruger National Park. In March, a female lion with three white cubs was observed near Tshokwane. In September, three white cubs (from two different lionesses) were seen. Another litter of white female cubs was captured from Kruger National Park and treated for sarcoptic mange. A white lion was observed in the Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Game Reserve in Zululand.

White lions of unknown ancestry[link]

• A white lion breeding program is currently underway at Inkwenkwezi Private Game Reserve in South Africa's Eastern Cape province.
• Four white lion cubs were born at the Papanack Park Zoo outside Ottawa, but did not resub-adults have since been released into the main reserve with the other tawny lions. Queen has since given birth to a further 3 white lion cubs. Continuous monitoring by the Wildlife Department at Sanbona has ensured their white lions are still wild, well, and free.

Jurques Zoo in France[link]

In May 2007 four white lion cubs were born at Jurques Zoo in France. The cubs consisted of one male and three females. Each cub weighed approximately 1.5 kilograms (3.3 pounds) at birth, and all four were in good health. However, they needed to be hand fed because their mother was not taking proper care of them.

Belgrade Zoo in Serbia[link]

Belgrade zoo in Serbia has 12 white lions. In 2010 four were born by two female lions, each of weight about 1.5kg (3.3 pounds).^[3] Four new white lions were born in April 2011.^[4] The zoo was awarded in 2009 for its professional care for animals.

West Midland Safari Park[link]

In 2004 West Midland Safari Park had 4 white lions arrive at the park the only white lions in the UK and they settled into the Kingdom of the White Lion exhibit at the park very well, 4 years later one lioness had 4 cubs in the space of 9 hours, Doubling the total of the 4 to 8 in the UK. The pride at the Park in Worcestershire are they only pride of white lion in the UK and are breeding very well.

Genetics[link]

White lions are not albinos but are leucistic. They have pigment visible in the eyes (which may be the normal hazel or golden color, blue-gray, or green-gray), paw pads and lips. Blue-eyed white lions exist and may be selectively bred. The leucistic trait is due to the chinchilla mutation that inhibits the deposition of pigment along the hair shaft, restricting it to the tips. The less pigment there is along the hair shaft, the paler the lion. As a result "white" lions range from blonde through to near white. The males have pale manes and tail tips instead of the usual dark tawny or black. The Latin name of Panthera leo krugeri is not limited to white lions. It applies to all South African lion subspecies; the prides of which are mostly located in Kruger National Park and nearby game reserves.

White specimens usually have a yellowish-brown or golden eye color which is very similar to their tawny cousins, though some have bluish coloring like the white tiger.

Belgrade Zoo has become known as a center of natural reproduction of white lions. The first specimen arrived in 2005 and Belgrade became the first zoo in Europe to have the rare animals.^{[citation needed]}

Six years later, the "Garden of Good Hope," boasts that in his area currently has ten white lions.^{[citation needed]}

In the wild within their natural endemic range[link]

In 2003, the Global White Lion Protection Trust (WLT) initiated the first ever reintroduction of white lions to their natural endemic range - the Greater Timbavati region in South Africa. Preliminary results have shown that the hunting success of the white lion pride was comparable to or higher than the wild prides ('normal' coloured / tawny) of the Timbavati itself (Turner 2005, Turner in prep.). This pride of "all" white lions has shattered the misperception that white lions cannot hunt successfully (within their natural endemic habitat) due to a perceived lack of camouflage. The long-term objective of the WLT is to restore the natural balance by reintroducing an integrated pride/s of white and tawny lions within their endemic range. White lions are a unique contribution to the biodiversity of the region and are revered by the local communities that hold them sacred.^[5]

See also[link]

• Kimba the White Lion

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: White lions

• Global White Lion Protection Trust
• West Midland Safari Park - Kingdom Of The White Lions
• Volunteer Work with White Lions South Africa
• Article regarding the reintroduction of White Lions
• White Lions - History, Mythology and Geneticshe:עברית