Opinion: Family of deceased Power Trip singer Riley Gale not consulted about Austin reunion show, reacts negatively

A statement issued by the Riley Gale Memorial Foundation has expressed disdain for the recent live reunion in Austin on Friday, December 1. The 5-song reunion set took place at Austin’s premiere Red River Cultural District venue, Mohawk, as a part of the billed headliner Fugitive’s encore for the evening. The surviving members of Power Trip, guitarist/vocalist Blake Ibanez, guitarist/vocalist Nick Stewart, bassist Chris Whetzel, and drummer/vocalist Chris Ulsh joined each other on stage while Skourge’s/Fugitive frontman Seth Gilmore filled in on vocals.

The unannounced Power Trip set marked the first time the above collective performed original music from the Dallas-Fort Worth act since the untimely passing of Riley Gale in 2020, resulting in the apparent indefinite hiatus from the group. Gale’s family was neither invited nor notified of the reunion before the Friday night performance. A statement issued on the matter criticized the reunion for lack of consultation relating to activities of playing music with a new vocalist or the location of where the performance was taking place. Read the statement below:

“December 2, 2023:

The Riley Gale Memorial Foundation & Gale family are aware of the event that took place at Mohawk in Austin, TX on December 1st, 2023. It caught us entirely by surprise.

At no point in the planning or lead up to that moment was anyone in the Gale family consulted, or even invited.

We were not asked our thoughts or feelings about it taking place.

If we were, we would have liked to discuss who would fill in on vocals, since Riley had laid out very specific requests for this exact scenario.

We would have requested it take place in Dallas, where Riley and Power Trip were born, and where Riley was instrumental in building up the Dallas hardcore and metal community before even setting foot on stage as a performer.

We would have liked it to be a surprise and wonderful addition to the Riley Gale & Friends Day concert, the main fundraising event for the Riley Gale Memorial Foundation, a 501(c)(3) that supports the causes Riley cared about as well as aiding up-and-coming bands through the Riley Gale Band Touring Grant.

Riley’s family would have liked the opportunity to show our appreciation to you, Riley’s fans who continue to support him by listening and buying albums because we know how much his lyrics and music meant to his fans.”

As Blake said on stage at Mohawk, they owe a lot to Riley, and the Gale family agrees wholeheartedly.

Riley’s family was not included, and that’s unfortunate, but for those among you who love Riley and what he stood for, you can show your love by buying albums directly from Southern Lord Records and becoming a part of the Riley Gale Memorial Foundation at the link below.

Keep an eye out for our announcement of Riley and Friends Vol. 3 early next year–it will feature bands that Riley knew and loved along with hundreds (hopefully thousands) of Riley’s fans and family.

“Birth. Life. Death. Repeat. The goal is to manifest higher than before.

REST IN POWER.

www.rileygale.org ” -via Lambgoat.com 

This incident is not the first time the Riley Gale Foundation, has clashed with the surviving members of Power Trip. The Gale family filed a lawsuit in 2021 against the surviving Power Trip members. The lawsuit expressed concerns regarding Gale’s legacy, the band’s actions after Riley Gale’s passing, and claims of unpaid financial committments during Riley’s lifetime and other adjacent financials of Gale’s estate and more to the family. The surviving members of the band have since denied these claims. The legal filing remains unresolved as of the date of this article. (Read the full court filing here)

These claims put forward by The Riley Gale Foundation on the Mohawk reunion show are an extraordinarily unfortunate, close-minded, and tone deaf point of view to hold. The members of Power Trip and Fugitive are hellbent on finishing what Riley Gale started. This isn’t a band that’s playing Madison Square Garden, it’s the former members of a semi-famous thrash metal band coming back together and playing five songs that the fans in attendance know and love. Gale’s parents aren’t in the band, nor do they have anything to do with the music they made together or the success Power Trip enjoyed when they were touring and making music together before Riley’s passing. I think they can do better, and be glad that their son’s music is living on to be heard for generations of metal heads to come. 

All of this aside, I was in attendance at the Friday night performance and felt it was a worthy homage to the impact of Riley Gale and his influence on the current state of metal. The audience reveled in the brief reunion, prompting a passionate mosh-pit and explosive singalongs to a band’s music that hasn’t been forgotten since its frontman’s passing. While we hope the family gets to honor Gale in the way they see fit, this was a welcome surprise for what was a massive occasion for the Power Trip diehards that made for a live performance that will be on my mind for quite some time.

“This was a pivotal moment for all that is Texas heavy music,” The Cosmic Clash contributing writer and fan, Robert Dean remarked.

Listen to Power Trip on Bandcamp.

Listen to Fugitive via Bandcamp.

Featured photo by Andreas Lawen