RHINO BUCKET Frontman: AC/DC 'Made The Right Move' By Hiring AXL ROSE

RHINO BUCKET frontman Georg Dolivo says AC/DC did the right thing by ignoring calls for him to replace Brian Johnson instead of eventual appointee Axl Rose.

Since 1988, Dolivo has been widely described as the man who sounds most like Bon Scott, and when Brian Johnson departed the Australian behemoths in 2016, there was much support for the RHINO BUCKET founder being employed by sole surviving original member Angus Young.

But Dolivo tells the latest episode of “White Line Fever”: “If you really want to get serious about it, the thing is: these guys are playing stadiums. People are spending a lot of money that they’ve saved up for this big occasion to go to a stadium to see this band that they worship, AC/DC, which is a phenomenal band.

“When there’s fifty thousand people at a stadium anywhere in the world and Brian is not there for medical reasons, you are going to need a frontman who can satisfy that they’ve spent all that money — because the tickets are expensive now — and not some guy who … a name a few of us, if you were a true diehard fan of AC/DC from a long time ago, you would remember. Like, ‘Oh, yeah, him, him,’ and all that. So they made the right move and Axl sounded great.”

Dolivo adds that “it was flattering, really flattering, when people thought” he would make a strong replacement for Johnson. “But I’m really happy to be in my own band where I can write all the music, write the music I want to play and sing, not sing someone else’s stuff,” he says. “And on top of all that, yeah, you’ve got to keep a level head on your shoulders at times. People go, ‘It should be that,’ or, ‘It should be him’. No!”

Asked what he things of the current iteration of AC/DC, Dolivo says: “I didn’t see them, other than the stuff you see on YouTube. But I thought Axl did a great job. Those songs aren’t easy to sing and he had really big shoes to fill with Brian not there. They sounded good. I mean, part of you … You wax nostalgia and wish that Malcolm [Young] was well enough to be up there on stage and that Phil [Rudd] was there too. I’m not going to get into that. But they still sounded great. Angus is still the rock god that he always has been. Obviously, Cliff [Williams] is still there and Stevie [Young] did a great job.

“I always look forward to hearing anything AC/DC do so if they get a new album together with Axl singing, or whoever, definitely I will buy it.”

RHINO BUCKET‘s seventh studio album, “The Last Real Rock ‘N’ Roll”, was released in April. The disc was produced by SUPERSUCKERS frontman Eddie Spaghetti, whom RHINO BUCKET first met when the bands toured North America together in 2006.

“The Last Real Rock ‘N’ Roll” is RHINO BUCKET‘s first album since 2011’s “Who’s Got Mine”. it features founding members Dolivo and bassist Reeve Downes; renowned guitarist Brian “Damage” Forsythe (of KIX fame), who’s been with the BUCKET for more than 15 years; and drummer, Dave DuCey.