Pennywise: Jim Rejoining Was ‘Meant To Be’

In a recent interview, Pennywise guitarist Fletcher Dragge has outlined the unusual happenings that led to the departure and then return of the band's longtime vocalist Jim Lindberg. Lindberg left the band in 2009 and not without the scent of bad blood. But as Dragge recalls:

“A few things led to Jim coming back to Pennywise. I guess the first step was me getting back in touch with Jim to settle some of our unresolved issues. There was no intention of Jim coming back, it's just we hadn't talked for three years and it needed to be done. I did say to him that we missed him and it wasn't the same without him but it didn't go any further than that.”

The catalyst in Lindberg's return to the fold was, bizarrely enough, was replacement Pennywise vocalist Zoli Teglas, who's recurrent back injuries had fouled the band's international touring schedule. Dragge explains:

“At this point he [Teglas] suggested that we get Jim to fill in for him. And we were like 'If Jim comes back you know you'll be out of a job?' Strangely, at that point Jim actually bumped into Randy [Bradbury, bass] and Byron [McMackin, drums] at a bar in our hometown and I got a photo texted to me with those guys together and the caption 'Pennywise motherfucker'. And from that point it was done. Zoli was actually pretty instrumental in the whole thing – he'd talked to Jim and I guess this strange sequence of events shows that it was meant to be.”    

You can read the full interview here.