Ronnie James Dio to tour in hologram form

Associated Press (AP) reporter, John Marshall, Came to the Dio Returns Press debut on May 26th. John had a chance to speak with Eyellusion CEO, Jeff Pezzuti, Wendy Dio, as well as the Dio band!

 Images of explosions, fire and dragons stream across a massive digital screen set behind a band playing the opening chords of Dio’s “King of Rock and Roll.”
The screen switches to an apocalyptic scene of nuclear power plant smokestacks spewing against a molten-colored sky. The center section goes dark and flames appear, transforming into an image familiar to fans of hard rock/heavy metal music: the diminutive figure of Ronnie James Dio.
The singer died nine years ago, but advances in hologram technology have made it possible for fans to watch him perform and hear his voice with a live band in the “Dio Returns” tour.

“It’s something that we want to do for the fans that never got to see Ronnie and the band or want to see them again,” Dio’s widow, Wendy, said. “This is a show, bringing Ronnie back and the memories, but also the band.”

Wendy Dio first had the idea of a Ronnie hologram when she was approached by Eyellusion CEO Jeff Pezzuti in 2015.…

“It’s the closest thing you’re going to get from the original,” Pezzutti said. “There’s nothing closer, really. You want to create some of the excitement from back then.”

“We wanted him to be himself,” said Wright, who played with AC/DC in the 1980s. “We wanted it to feel like it’s him, it captures his spirit when he was on stage and I think they did a great job with it.”