Carlos Santana performs at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, Calif. on June 21, 2022. Original photo: Derek Tobias/STAFF. I got a call this week to be on dead rock star alert. I’m not sure how it happened, but I’ve become go-to rock star obituary guy. Actually, I’m pretty sure…

Chuck Billy (center) and the rest of Testament. Courtesy photo. If these were typical times, East Bay thrash metal rockers Testament would have been in the middle of a tour of Australia, Thailand, New Zealand and Singapore right now. An American headline tour would begin on April 20. Titans…

I Images courtesy “Murder in the Front Row.”Decades after their release, countless fans still furiously debate whether Ride the Lightning or Master of Puppets is the best Metallica album. But the Bay Area spawned an entire thrash scene in the ’80s, including successful bands like Exodus, Testament, Possessed and…

Dublin Death Patrol band members Willy Langenhuizen and Chuck Billy pose for a photo at Dublin HS.(Jay Solmonson/Tri-Valley Herald) This story originally appeared in the Oakland Tribune. DUBLIN — In the late’70s, Dublin was farms, barns and backyards. At night these would fill with teens, alcohol and rock and…