S. Samuel
The Beastie Boys' Adam "MCA" Yauch recently addressed his battle with cancer last summer and the status of his group's upcoming Hot Sauce album.
According to MCA, a September 2010 release could be realistic depending on his health.
“It was touch and go there for a while, but I am finally getting my energy back,” Yauch said in an interview. “It was really disappointing to have to hold the record and postpone the tour, but doctor’s orders. We may or may not [release the album] depending on how my health is come September. We want to but we have to play it by ear. I was just talking to Adam [Horovitz] and Mike [D] today on the phone and we were talking about working on it a bit. We finished the record over a year ago, so we want to take a look at it and re-evaluate and make sure it is what we want to put out there and that we are still happy with it. I don’t think we will change it up too much.” (Entertainment Weekly)
Last August, Yauch discussed his surgery.
“I haven’t taken any of the pain meds, which supposedly speeds along the healing process, or should I say, taking them slows it down,” he writes, noting that it took several days to get the anesthesia from the operation out of his system. Yauch reveals he’s experiencing stiffness in his neck and jaw, but his condition is improving with each day. Radiation treatments, a “torture,” MCA says, which will involve “blasting you with some kind of beam for a few minutes a day, 5 days a week, for about 7 weeks” begin in several weeks. (Rolling Stone)
He also commented on the mainstream support he received from artists like Jay-Z and Coldplay’s Chris Martin.
Yauch said he heard about or watched on YouTube the various tributes paid to him during last weekend’s All Points West, including Coldplay’s Chris Martin playing a solo piano version of “(You’ve Got to) Fight For Your Right (to Party)” and Jay-Z busting a bit of “No Sleep Till Brooklyn.” “Good sh*t,” Yauch wrote, “and I heard Karen O (of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs) wore a “get well MCA” armband, and that Q-Tip gave a shout out too…Very kind of them.” (Billboard)
Reports of MCA’s cancer was initially announced via a statement from EMI Music last summer.
Yauch was diagnosed last week as having a cancerous tumor in his left parotid (salivary) gland. Luckily it was caught early and is localized in one area, and as such is considered very treatable. It will however require surgery and several weeks of additional treatment. Fortunately the cancer is not in a location that will affect Yauch’s vocal chords. Beastie Boys have canceled all upcoming concert appearances to allow time for Yauch’s surgery and recovery. The release of the band’s forthcoming album Hot Sauce Committee Part 1 will also be pushed back. (Statement)
Check out Jay-Z’s “No Sleep Till Brooklyn” Beastie Boys performance down below:
