Atlanta Native Julian Dorio Was Playing at Paris Theater When Attacks Happened

There were conflicting reports Friday on the whereabouts of the American rock band Eagles of Death Metal after the Paris concert venue where they were scheduled to play was attacked by terrorists.

“We are nonetheless presently trying to decide the safety and whereabouts of all our band and crew”.

“He said they were playing, about six songs into the show, they heard, before they saw anything, they heard automatic machine gunfire”, Michael Dorio told WSB.

A Facebook post by another band playing at the venue Red Lemons says that the band members are safe.

Officials with the French police said of the many people taken hostage inside the building, 100 were killed during the attack.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution (http://on-ajc.com/1Qn8Y60 ), quoting the brother of the band’s drummer, reported Friday night that all band members escaped the concert hall unharmed.

So far, there has been no official word from Julian Dorio or the band on social media, but Dorio’s wife, Emily, has told the Washington Post that he and the rest of the band are ok.

“As they got up to try to evacuate they saw men with machine guns just shooting anything and everything in the venue”, Dorio said.

The band is led by singer Josh Homme, well-known for fronting his other band, Queens of the Stoneage.

The band, shaped in 1998 in Palm Desert, California, was celebrating the October launch of “Zipper Metal” with an European tour. It’s their first album in seven years.

The band’s name, while frequently misunderstood, was initially chosen ironically as the artists – longtime friends – imagined a cross between hard-charging death rockers and the quintessential Americana band the Eagles.

The band’s website lists about two dozen dates slated for the year, including gigs in Rome, Stockholm, Barcelona and Munich.

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In an interview in June with The Associated Press, the band spoke excitedly about releasing new music and heading on tour. “Right now I’m sitting in an interview with my greatest good friend in London at Koko’s Ballroom speaking about myself”.