The Dead Daisies guitarist Doug Aldrich has addressed the circumstances surrounding John Corabi’s departure from the band, clarifying details in a recent interview.
Corabi had previously stated on social media that he was unsure of his standing with the band, expressing surprise over the “Purple Daisies” concept. Aldrich was asked directly about Corabi’s comments and whether the exit had been handled fairly.
Asked, “Your previous singer and friend, John Corabi, has been making headlines on social media. In July, Corabi stated publicly that he didn’t know if he was still a member of The Dead Daisies. He seemed surprised by the whole Purple Daisies concept,” Aldrich responded:
“He knew about it. I saw that too. I saw him on social media saying, ‘I don’t know what’s going on.’ But that’s only cause he’s got a manager; he doesn’t actually call anybody. First of all, I love John. He’s my bro since we were kids. But he does have a manager and if he wanted to reach out, he could.”
“But he did know about the date with Glenn because we asked him about it, are you cool with this? At least that’s what I was told. You know John’s doing a world tour right now. His solo record is doing really well, and everybody’s really happy about it. I think there’s some killer stuff on there. I even wrote a couple things for him; there was a riff and a song idea that I sent to him.”
Aldrich went on to explain how the timing of events may have contributed to the confusion.
“He liked them both, Marti (Frederiksen, producer) liked them, but they didn’t end up getting on the record because I think they had enough material. But, cutting a long story short, I think the bottom line is, once that second Purple Daisies gig was announced, I think that’s when John got upset, and that’s when he started doing more social media. It was just a little bit unclear as to what happened.”
“So, immediately the fans start jumping on sides. They’re only hearing that side of it, which is fair game. That’s up to John. But it wasn’t made clear what went down. Fans already don’t like it when there’s change. Then when you’ve got the exiting member putting out a little bit of promo; not on purpose, but it wasn’t made clear. I love John. John wouldn’t do anything facetious at all.”
He then detailed the exchange he had with Corabi at the time of the departure.
“But maybe he was a little unclear about it. The bottom line is, John sent me a text – he didn’t say why, so I can only speculate as to why, but he said, ‘I’m leaving the band. I just want you to know.’ I wrote back, ‘This is a shock! But I will stay in my lane on this one.’ And he goes, ‘As you should, buddy.’ That’s what he wrote. Then I said, ‘Love you.’ And he goes, ‘Love you.’ He sent that off to the band, and then the band made a statement: ‘John has decided to leave the band.’ But everybody said that ‘John had been done wrong, and John was a victim. It was really uncool what The Dead Daisies did to John.’ And I’m thinking, what happened?”
Aldrich firmly denied any suggestion that Corabi had been forced out.
“They were not fired. I don’t know what the status of anything is or will be in the future. But we support John, and like I said, he left the band. It was so funny cause I read that, and it didn’t really tell the story. But it’s ok, I didn’t think anything of it. But then there starts being blowback from some fans: ‘What did you guys do to John? Why would you fire him?’ People thought we got Glenn, we did one gig with him, and now we’re going to kick out John. That’s not it at all.”
He concluded by emphasizing the band’s positive relationship with Corabi and dismissing claims of wrongdoing.
“To be honest, a lot of times I’ll text John or reach out to John, and I won’t hear back from him – not because of anything bad, because he’s busy. As far as the communication goes, he’s got a manager, The Dead Daisies has a manager. There was some other business that I think they were probably working on… negotiations and whatever. But the bottom line is, nobody did nothing wrong. John was not done wrong on anything. To the contrary, we’ve all been very lucky to be in this band together, making music, having fun, having laughs. We go on the road and we’re taken care of. It’s a blessing to be working in a band at this point. And John, as far as I can see, was really happy.”
Aldrich’s account offers one side of a story that has continued to evolve in the weeks since the split. Both Corabi and the band’s inner circle have weighed in publicly on how things unfolded.
Corabi himself has pushed back on the notion that his exit was a clean, mutual decision. He has stated plainly that his departure “did not happen by mutual agreement.” This characterization stands in contrast to Aldrich’s framing of the split as amicable and John-initiated.
The Glenn Hughes situation, which Aldrich referenced as a flashpoint in the controversy, has also shifted since the initial “Purple Daisies” announcement. What was originally billed as a one-off performance with the former Deep Purple frontman was later expanded to a second date. Those plans were then scaled back again as Hughes stepped away from touring commitments.
That retreat wasn’t related to band politics. Hughes has since announced he is retiring from touring altogether due to ongoing health issues. He revealed on social media that he is set to undergo open heart surgery. The timing of his announcement has added another layer of complexity to a situation that fans were already struggling to fully understand.
Meanwhile, Corabi has stayed active on his own terms. He is currently in the midst of his “European Shuffle Tour 2026,” bringing his new solo album “New Day” to audiences across the continent. This run of dates lines up with Aldrich’s comments about Corabi’s solo career gaining strong momentum independent of The Dead Daisies.
Fans are still piecing together the full picture behind The Dead Daisies’ recent lineup shakeup, weighing Corabi’s insistence that the split wasn’t mutual against Hughes’s health-related withdrawal from the “Purple Daisies” plan.
