Danzig US Tour Special 1994 Part 4
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00:00bringing you an exclusive and rare interview with Danzig and as you know
00:06we've joined the guys on their US tour and now we're backstage down at the Geek
00:10the Mesa Amphitheatre and as you can see I've got John joining me now and Glenn
00:15still with us so we're going to talk a little bit more about the four album
00:19that's what we're here for and actually Glenn first questions going out to you
00:22and on the album you actually we talked a little bit about this earlier you
00:26played guitar and piano I don't know like the way I play guitar he looks at
00:32me and just goes you know it was just a strumming stuff to you but then I'll you
00:37know I do the thing where I bend the neck and push the guitar back and he
00:40likes to do the out of tune stuff yeah I make it moon and say put me down and he
00:47you know I make it scream he makes it sing and I make it go out but I mean I
00:52was just wondering that why you don't want to play guitar in the live
00:55situation John is the guitar player and on stage that's how I feel and he's the
01:02guitar player I'm the singer and on stage I have to be you know free to sing
01:08and you kind of you know get in his way yeah I'm getting my way to it's true and
01:13also he's just a ten times better guitar player than I am so you can like it but
01:18the thing he did on the record the stuff I like was the sitar guitar yeah
01:24it was cool you did something too well a little bit but you already started you
01:29came up with the idea and then the sounded like you use your old Les Paul
01:33in the beginning of Little Whip or something you know with a microphone not
01:36the guitar was not plugged in it sounded like they put a mic right in front of
01:39the guitar strings like he was sitting at home in his living room playing is
01:42what it sounded like I've heard that before and it's those same strings
01:46I changed the strings on that in the studio a couple years ago that was on
01:51parole remember he's like I got to change your string he takes my guitar
01:54and he strings it yeah it's just yeah because I'm also I wanted to talk a
02:00little bit about Rick Rubin's role on the album because when I spoke to Slayer
02:05a few weeks ago I asked him about what he contributed to their album and they
02:09said not a whole hell of a lot so what's what's what was his perspective on I
02:13think it's a little different for us Rick is he's a good guy to bounce stuff
02:18off of if I didn't think we needed him down there I would just produce it you
02:24know you know or hire an outside producer he brings just a lot of ideas
02:32sometimes and different ways of mixing things or sending things through the
02:36board and bringing them back and it's always good to have somebody there to
02:39keep your ego in check do you know what I mean he's what I see besides that like
02:45his Rick seems to focus on basic tracking with the drums make sure all
02:50the drum beats got the right feel you know a lot of times I'll come in and
02:54what are you doing on listening for the feel you know he wants to make sure the
02:58feel is right the drums have to be perfect and the guitar stuff and a lot
03:01of overdubs he kind of does his own trip or works with other people and then when
03:05it comes back to the vocals and the mixing stuff that's when he and Glenn
03:10really start nitpicking and making sure everything every single note every line
03:14is right the way they want it and that's when he's talking about the interaction
03:18the ideas he throws out a lot of stuff then you know because he's trying to
03:22perform yeah you know at the same time you can't think of everything so it's
03:27good to have the outside and in some of the some of the early arranging in the
03:30studio we're still putting some songs together and they just both sit there on
03:33acoustic guitars and go what about this what about this what about that so he
03:37helped there as well I mean would you describe him as your mentor because he's
03:41been with the band in some ways and some I mean you know there you know of course
03:47in any kind of relationship like that there's times we go back and forth and
03:50you're like I'm gonna kill him you know or whatever but then I would have to say
03:54overall he has been a great help yeah I think so the first album I mean he we
04:00didn't even know each other really when we were still playing and we had to
04:04start somewhere and get some sort of sound happening and he took these you
04:09know you and Erie been together but Chuck and I and playing he made it at
04:13least he made it sound like a band yeah you know getting it took a while and it
04:17actually probably not until the second record we really hit it but he did an
04:21awful lot to get things rolling the first record well we'll talk to John and
04:26Glenn's more but we've got some more music on the way for you right now and
04:29this video has been chosen for the show by the Danzig guys I'm sure you'll
04:34approve of it well we're seeing again a brilliant video from tool from their
04:39album undertow we're going to show you a look at prison sex exclusive coverage of
04:46the Danzig US tour and you can see up there Elvis poster providing a nice vibe
04:52here in the dressing room backstage in Phoenix and as you can see John and
04:56still here and in this segment guys I'd like to touch a little bit on the lyrics
05:00so see you need to talk to Glenn about that but I'd value your perspective as
05:04well John if you know being in the band for a long while and seeing changes in
05:09lyrics and so on and Glenn some common themes on the album are um I would say
05:16please correct me if you disagree I will I'm sure you are sexual and personal
05:21power and also we seem to be quite interested in kind of death on this
05:25album as well um would you say that these album this album reveals a lot
05:29about you as a person and your inner thoughts not just me about the world of
05:35course about me because I'm singing sometimes a lot of people don't
05:39understand that songwriter is a storyteller yeah it's it's literature of
05:44a sort and you can put yourself in another person and sing as them and it's
05:49so many times people just don't even understand lyricists that way and so
05:56this record spirituality inner strength
06:02you know just standing up against oppression just each person themselves
06:06you know personal freedom which then means if it goes on down the line to
06:12each person everyone's free it you know the more people think that that's
06:17impossible it really isn't it just means that everybody stands up and tells
06:21whoever the government or when you guys have the Queen and I don't know how many
06:25countries over there but just telling them basically you know leave me alone
06:30so I mean everybody has these same problems all over the world in some of
06:35the way yeah of course everyone has to deal with death a song like going down
06:37to die is just about making your peace you know you're gonna die but this is
06:42more like a person who actually has found out they're gonna die and can feel
06:45it or senses it and they're just making their peace and just getting ready it's
06:49it's part of the whole cycle of this world and the universe so I mean do you
06:54think then people should always question things whether it be issues about the
06:58government or the environment well I don't think people necessarily should I
07:02mean or have to maybe they should but I don't know if they have to it's like
07:07telling people what they should or shouldn't do I don't do that I just know
07:11what I like singing about and I like to raise people's interest in things and
07:17then get there so yeah exactly if there's so inclined later on maybe what
07:22I've said is a springboard for them to learn you know I like nothing better
07:29when we do a show and afterwards a son on the bus all the autographs and stuff
07:33and people tell me that because of me or because of us the song or whatever they
07:38read now and they've been learning about all this different stuff and they
07:41see other worlds out there that must be one of the most satisfying things about
07:46being a songwriter for sure to get that feedback it is and songs like son of a
07:51morning star and let it be captured I felt that they showed they revealed a
07:55softer more sensitive and caring side of you would you think that's really great
07:59because son of the morning star is about Satan but there you go if I didn't tell
08:06you that and someone else if I didn't tell him that but it's basically about a
08:10more biblical Satan it's about here's a guy who's like saying what did I do I'm
08:17you know once I was sitting you know next to God it is it's a lament for sure
08:22and and that's really what it's about we have certain factions for Satan yes I
08:28know but we understand his plight but I mean that song let it be captured is
08:33probably the nearest thing you've come to like a love song would you agree
08:37Sistinas and blood and tears yeah people you see we get pigeonholed in this whole
08:44Satanist thing it's like if I sing about Satan I'm a Satanist but if I sing about
08:48God I'm not a Christian or religious at all it's only and it's like it's like if
08:56I sing about Satan I'm responsible for Satan that I created him or something
09:00well excuse me your God created Satan I had nothing to do with it it's like I
09:04sing about things that drive people to do the things they do it's God or Satan
09:09you know God is responsible for more you know deaths and wars than Satan is
09:17religion you know I want to talk about that in more depth a little bit later on
09:23actually but I mean why do you think that Danzig has been so misunderstood
09:28by the media in general do you think it's that they don't look further than
09:31the song titles or whatever I think a good part of it word-of-mouth and people
09:38say Danzig and they see a little bit of the choice symbolism that we use and
09:43that's it they turn it right off some people only takes a second I think it's
09:48more deep-rooted than that I think that we pose a problem to them if these
09:55issues are to be dealt with you know yes it's definitely a contrasting view
10:00from what yeah you know used to in society yeah it's it's the other thing
10:06is that we're pretty much I guess I would consider the truth is subversive
10:13do you know what I mean I'm not saying anything that isn't actually in books
10:20documented and it's this is actually the way it was and because I say that I'm
10:26the troublemaker I didn't write history and people who try to rewrite history to
10:33me are the heretics well it needs to be said because you know organized religion
10:38has caused wars as you said well yeah you live a lot closer to the Middle East
10:42than we do well we're gonna talk to the Danzig guys a lot lot more but we have
10:48another break on the way now and if you can bear with me guys we had a very
10:52special event in Europe this past week and that was the MTV European Music
10:57Awards taking place for the first time
11:02right now we are going to show you a little report from the European Music
11:07Awards and this is brought to us by Dave Mustaine of Megadeth of course Megadeth
11:12played at the Marquee Club in Berlin earlier this week courtesy of backstage
11:16in Phoenix Arizona with Danzig and let me just quickly tell you that we just
11:20saw the new video from Ritchie Cotson that was his debut video remember him
11:24from Poison and that was the title track of his new album mother's head mother
11:30heads family reunion so there you go Ritchie Cotson stepping out into the
11:36solo limelight so we've got John and Glenn here from Danzig and they're
11:42laughing their heads off at that one Ritchie Cotson from Poison and go Rich
11:46absolutely pretty pretty good actually it's pretty good but we talk a little
11:51bit more because we were talking a little bit earlier how Danzig has been
11:58misunderstood and misrepresented by the press a lot there does seem to be a lot
12:03of intrigue and mystery surrounding the band and you haven't been doing many
12:08interviews lately and so on do you think that four kind of continues that that
12:13keeps keeps keeps this air of mystery you know what the people that follow the
12:18band they know what the real deal is yeah you know and that's not just here
12:22in America that's also in Europe yes in Japan everywhere they know what the real
12:26deal is as far as not doing a lot of interviews
12:34it's a combination of I'm tired of being misquoted people making stuff up you
12:41know why even do an interview with me just write it on your own yeah you know
12:45what I mean you don't need me you have preconceived ideas yeah they have an
12:50agenda that they want to achieve and whether I'm there or not they're gonna
12:53do it anyway and also I mean I don't really like talking about myself that
12:57much you know same questions try and change up the answers a little bit yeah
13:03you're tired of talking about it I'll let these guys do it now and I'm sure
13:08they're gonna come to me like two days he's done a lot of you know he has done
13:11a lot of press recently so I understand why he wants to take a break from it I
13:16let these guys have the headaches now you know they're coming go look at this
13:19I never said this people that don't dig in very deeply to the lyrics and the
13:31music and really sit themselves down alone and try and understand what's
13:35going on if they get it then all the light goes on you understand and then
13:41it's much easier to interact with them if they don't get it or if they get
13:46thrown an assignment then a lot of times they come in cold and I know right
13:51off the bat whether they've even heard of us or when they say which one are you
13:55and things like that I'm gonna go here we go again
13:58better ways are you the satanic one yeah I'm sure that's when they start but when
14:03they start off that way you know then it's sort of like you have an idea what
14:07what the interview is gonna be like so either play along you just leave well I
14:14hope you're not gonna leave me on this interview this is it could be worse it
14:18could be Ricky rap now I mean you're out on the road with typo negative at the
14:24moment and I'm just wondering what other bands around at the moment do you feel
14:29an affinity with if any it's it's not so much that it's a lot of times when we
14:35get ready to go out on the road we look at bands we think are not getting
14:40exposure that they should and that people should be here when we took
14:45zombie out we did a double bill a long time ago with Soundgarden COC I mean
14:52Jenna tortures I know you don't like but it's a band I thought you know people
14:58should see what they're doing and just stuff like that and so I'd known about
15:05typo for a while and they get better with each record that's a good sign and
15:10so that was a tour for American Godflesh I think it's a great lineup okay well
15:17we've got to go into our next short break right now but after that we are
15:21going to be talking to the guys some more and in fact in the next segment I'd
15:25like to talk to Glenn about his interests outside of Danzig because
15:30contrary to popular belief I don't think you live and breathe Danzig 24
15:35hours a day you've got some other things that interest you so it's kind of me I
15:44mean I kind of it is me what you see what inside me that's me you know it's
15:50not like I put it on and take it off when I go home but there are some other
15:56things there are no colors in his closet yeah black only all right well
16:01we're going to go into that break right now and we're going to show you a little
16:03bit more exclusive live performance Danzig live on tour in America and you
16:09won't see this anywhere else except headbangers ball so enjoy it and we'll
16:13see you after the break with more from