Bassist Dino Dimitrouleas Announces Hiatus From The Werks

This year started off with an emotional roller coaster of a week for Ohio jam-rockers The Werks. The quartet laid down a pair of top-shelf performances aboard Jam Cruise 14, which was The Werks’ first appearance on the boat. Just hours after the second Werks set on JC14, the band learned former keyboardist Norman Dimitrouleas had died. Norman was not only a former member of the band, but he was the brother of current Werks bassist Dino Dimitrouleas. Dino has announced a hiatus from The Werks as he takes time to grieve the loss of Norman.

Dino Dimitrouleas posted a statement on The Werks’ Facebook page:

It’s with a heavy heart that I am announcing that I will be taking a hiatus from The Werks and will not be joining them on this upcoming tour. Believe me when I say that this was not a decision I came to lightly but after long discussions with my family, friends and band mates I have decided that my place is at home with my family right now. Instead of canceling shows and disrupting this tour our good friend Jake Goldberg “Baby Hands” will be filling in for me during my absence. Although he doesn’t have the height I possess he certainly has the chops and I am confident that he will keep the low end bumping for all you werkers while I’m gone. I hope to return after this tour but at this junction in my life I am taking things one day at a time.

I want to thank Jake for keeping the show on the road as well as thank my family, friends, band mates and fans for being so supportive during this difficult period in my life. I also want to encourage all of our fans to support The Werks in my absence as this is a very difficult time for them as well.

Thank you for your love and understanding,
Dino

As Dino noted, Jake “Baby Hands” Goldberg will be filling in for him on The Werks’ Winter Tour which starts at The Loft in Lansing, Michigan January 27. The bassist shuffle has left SassafraZ, Jake’s Columbus-based funk/rock band, without a bassist, so the group called upon Doni Jai (K’Naan, Bono, Drake, Justin Bieber) to fill Goldberg’s shoes. SassafraZ kicks off a 30 show nationwide tour on February 20th in Cleveland at the Grog Shop. Read a statement from SassafraZ:

Dear SassafraZ family,

We have some news to deliver. Unfortunately Jake is leaving the band at the end of the week. He is going to join The Werks. It’s a huge opportunity and we are really happy for him, but we are definitely going to miss him a lot, as a musician and especially as a friend.

His last show will be Friday January 22nd at the Grog Shop in Cleveland.

We’ve been lucky enough to watch Jake grow immensely as a player in the last 3 years. I’d like to think we helped him along a little bit, but he’s a really talented guy and he is more than ready for this next step in his career. We can’t wait to see what he brings to the table with The Werks and we know he’s going to fit in great with that band. Dino has big shoes to fill, but Baby Hands has some big feet of his own and he’s going to be an excellent addition to their group.

So now you may be wondering who will be playing bass for SassafraZ. We are very excited to announce that the incredible Doni Jai will be taking over for Jake. Doni is a multi instrumentalist who previously was the musical director for K’Naan. He has also played with Bono, Justin Bieber, Drake, and many, many more. It’s pretty incredible that he is available to play with us, and we can’t wait to get to work with him. We are so excited to learn from DJ and with his help, take our music to the next level.

While this a pretty crazy change for all of us, everyone is excited about the future of both bands, and we are all still great friends. Look out for lots of SassafraZ/Werks collaborations this year. We plan on having Jake back as much as possible (especially since Doni can just switch over to guitar, keys, or drums).

So if you can come out to one of the shows this week, we highly recommend it. We’re going to be bringing the heat.

Love,
SassafraZ
Jack, Zach, Thane, Dave, and Ian

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