SP: I read an interview with Josh and Joey recently and they talked about how you always seem to be writing new material. How fast do the ideas come?

GD: It depends. You know, if I’m into writing a new song or if I get an idea or stuff like that. But yeah, I’m always writing.

SP: How do you record new ideas during the moment? On bar napkins? Do you have a tape recorder?

GD: Everything. I’ll write it down if I’m at home. Also, I’ve got a microcassette recorder, and I’ll just hum into it or tap beats into it. If I’m at home though, my guitar and my piano are pretty handy.

SP: A number of people associated with Orgy worked on your new album [including Orgy members Jay Gordon and Amir Derakh, and Orgy engineer Josh Abraham]. Were there some Orgy-esque qualities that you were looking to incorporate into the music?

GD: No. When Joey [Castillo] joined the band in ‘94, Jay [Gordon] was always around. And Joey would tell me, “Jay’s really good with sounds and dubs, and he’s a producer.” And then when the Coal Chamber record came out, I heard that. Of course, Josh [Abraham] worked on that, and Jay produced it. We took Coal Chamber out for about three or four weeks on the “Blackacidevil” tour. Then we got an advance copy of the new Orgy record, and I heard the sounds on that. We were already in the studio with Josh doing the basics. When it came time to pick mixers, Jay’s name immediately came up. So we decided to give him a shot.

SP: Is Todd a permanent member of the band?

GD: For right now, yeah.

SP: You’ve compared your musician situation to Ozzy’s, with people coming and going.

GD: Yeah, I guess we haven’t had as many people as the Chili Peppers.

SP: Will Josh, Joey, and Todd be on your next release?

GD: We’ll have to see. I’m pretty sure Joey will be there. You never know what’s going to happen in people’s lives. So on my end, they’re welcome to stay.

SP: You’ve commented in the past that you thought people were ready for the change in sound that started on “Blackacidevil.” How do you feel that album was received by your fans?

GD: Some people loved it, and some people hated it. Which is pretty much just like any other Danzig record, which is good (laughs). I’d rather people either love it or hate it. I’d rather that than somebody just going, “Ehh” (dismissively). I’m not into that at all. I like to do extreme stuff. And it’s just one record in the repertoire.

SP: On “Blackacidevil,” that was pretty much you playing everything but the drums, right?

GD: I think Lazie’s on a track or two. Joe Bishara did most of the programming. And then of course Jerry Cantrell’s [Alice in Chains] on a couple of songs. But, yeah, that’s me.

SP: After “Blackacidevil” came out, there was talk about an EP to follow. Then you left Hollywood Records and the EP was shelved. Did any of those songs make it on to “Satan’s Child?”

GD: No, some of those songs ended up on the reissues [of “Blackacidevil” and the “Sacrifice” EP] that just came out.

SP: Is Sabbath the only band that you’ve covered on an album [referring to “Hand of Doom” on “Blackacidevil”]?

GD: Well, we did “Trouble” [the Elvis Presley song] on the “Thrall” record. And that goes all the way back to Samhain days. It’s actually on the new Samhain box set. On the first Danzig record, I revamped “The Hunter.” That’s an old blues song.

SP: Okay, I was just checking that out last night, but I noticed on the CD cover that you’re given writing credit for that.

GD: That’s Rubin [as in Rick, Danzig’s first producer]. He still hasn’t changed it. I don’t even get consulted on the album designs anymore, which is a big problem for me. I’m freakin’ out, and I may end up suing him again.

SP: I was curious as to why you changed the lyrics on “Hand of Doom.”

GD: That’s why I call it a “version.” My take on covers is that unless you change it and give it a whole new life and a whole new vibe, then you should just leave it alone. If you’re going to do it exactly the same way as the band who made it popular, then leave it alone because you’re not going to do it any better.

SP: The lyrical content of your songs seems to have remained consistent through all six of the Danzig records. Would you agree that you’re conveying the heaviness on “Blackacidevil” and “Satan’s Child” in a different way than on the first four?

GD: One of the reasons I started playing guitar as far back as the “Thrall” record was that we were never really happy with John’s guitar sound. I don’t think he was ever really happy with it either. But I ended up starting to play guitar on “Thrall” and then on “4,” and it was to bring a heavier, more crazy guitar sound to the mix. That’s how I play.

SP: It seems like without the huge lead guitar presence, the focus is even more on your voice now.

GD: I think it’s always been that way. I’m not trying to be egotistical about it. When we had John in the band, we got slammed for his guitar playing by “Spin” [magazine] or whoever. They would say “doofy metal guitar.” So I think the emphasis might have always been on the vocals.

SP: In a “Seconds” [magazine] interview, you shed some light on the departure of Chuck Biscuits from the band, but I’m still unclear as to what happened with John Christ and Eerie Von. Would you mind clarifying that? Eerie claims that he and John left on the same day.

GD: No, that’s not true. When we still had Chuck in the band, me, Eerie, and Chuck were trying out other guitar players because we weren’t really happy with John on guitar. So we tried out Dez [Cadena], who used to be in Black Flag. Then the whole thing erupted with Chuck on the [1993] Metallica tour. He tried to kill himself and the whole routine.

I thought Eerie and I would stay together. And I just told John, “Look, we’ve been looking for a new guitar player. You probably knew that already. I don’t want to keep anything from you.” And he said, “Well, I played on the ‘Danzig 4' record, and when it comes out, I’d like to do the tour.” And I said, “Okay. After that, that’s it.” And it was pretty amicable.

SP: How long did you and Eerie play together?

GD: Since about ‘83. Until about ‘95. And anyway, I thought Eerie was still going to stay in the band and just do side stuff. But he ended up leaving, and that was on his own.

SP: Was that a surprise?

GD: It was kind of a surprise because he didn’t tell me that he was going to leave. But in retrospect, I think it was a good thing because it allowed me to get a more solid bass player. One of the reasons that I kept Eerie so long was because, well, we’d been together so long. When I put together Danzig, Rubin didn’t want Eerie in the band. Quite honestly, neither did Chuck.

Actually it’s really a weird situation because throughout the whole career of the band, John and Chuck didn’t want Eerie in the band because they thought he couldn’t play bass well enough. Up to their talent. If Eerie would get a good review for playing bass, Chuck would show it to him and laugh. So it was kind of a weird situation because, on the one hand, Eerie and Chuck didn’t want John in the band because they thought he was too stiff. And then John and Chuck didn’t want Eerie in the band because they felt he couldn’t play bass well enough.

It was strange being in that [situation]. Even people who hang out with the band now are like, “Wow! This is so much of a better vibe than before.” Because nobody really talked to each other before. Now the band hangs out. We talk to each other. People come on the bus, and there are no big attitudes or anything. And it’s a much better touring situation. I like it. And most people who come hang out with us tell us how much they enjoy it too.

SP: And Chuck actually quit and rejoined the band for a time?

GD: No, when he tried to kill himself, every night on the Metallica tour, we had to sit and wait to see if Chuck was going to go on or not. We were on a night-to-night basis with him through that whole tour.

SP: How did that situation end?

GD: The tour ended. And he said, “If I end up doing the whole tour, after that I quit.” And we were like, “Fine.” And he called up and wanted to be back in the band, but he had a list of demands and all this other stuff. And we were like, “You quit. And we don’t want you back.” So that’s the story.

SP: Did you work on any new songs for a fifth Danzig album with the Christ, Von, Castillo lineup?

GD: No, because I knew what was going on with John. I hadn’t shown any of the people in the band any of the new songs for “Danzig 5.” And I had a bunch of them written.

SP: Could you talk about your early working relationship with producer Rick Rubin? What did he bring to the band’s sound?

GD: At the time we started working with Rick, we were technically still Samhain. What he brought to the whole Danzig situation was that he became very focused, and “this is what I see as the strong points of the band.” It was like, “Let’s strip some of this [sound] down.” And some of it I agreed with, and some of it I didn’t agree with. We would constantly battle. But that’s common for the artist and the producer to battle. And usually the things you feel strongly about, you won’t capitulate on, and he’ll have to capitulate on them. Stuff really important to him, he’ll win on. And that’s what a producer does.

SP: You’ve indicated that his interest seemed to wane after the second album.

GD: He wanted to be playing Hollywood producer, and he wasn’t showing up at sessions. And he wanted to be credited as the producer. So on “Lucifuge,” me and one engineer started the record. His name is Jim Scott; he worked on Danzig 4. He’s a really good engineer. And then all of a sudden, we come in one day and there’s Brendan O’Brian, who, at the time, had just been ousted from the Georgia Satellites. He’s a really famous producer now. So there’s Brendan O’Brian, and he’s our new engineer. And we were like, “Who are you?” And Rick is nowhere to be found.

So we’re working with Brendan now, and Rick is calling in his production notes from the Rainbow, a famous club and restaurant out here in Hollywood on Sunset Strip. It just became ridiculous, and eventually he’d be calling at midnight or 1 a.m. and saying, “Hey, what’s going on?” And we were like, “Where are you? Come down here.” And he would say, “Play me something over the phone.” And I’m like, “You’re not going to be able to tell over the phone.” And he’s on a car phone. You know what I mean? It was obnoxious. We were mixing and he was still doing the same routine.

Eventually, the next record, the band said we didn’t want Rick. I got credit as producer on the third record. And he’s executive producer. So he was pretty much out of the loop on “How the Gods Kill.” Coincidentally, that’s when we started to actually get some radio success. [The label] didn’t want to put that record out [at all]. That’s the record that really broke Danzig. And I had to fight with them to put that album out. We took almost no advance on that thing.

The reason we put it out was because we came home from the “How the Gods Kill” tour, and Chuck had spent all his money. He was broke. So to get some money back in Chuck’s pocket, I had this idea to put out this EP, stay on the road, and set up a little trust account for Chuck. And he would get paid out weekly once we were off the road. And that’s really why we did “Thrall.” And it ended up being one of our biggest records. I mean I had to fight with [the record label]. They were like, “EPs don’t make any money. There’s never been a big EP.” And I said, “That’s bullshit.” And they said, “Name at least one.” And I said, I’ll name you two--Metallica’s “Garage Days Revisited” and Nine Inch Nails’ “Broken.” And then they shut up and put the record out (laughs).

SP: What was your impression of the recent Danzig/Samhain reunion tour?

GD: It was a lot of fun.

SP: Will Danzig be heading out again soon?

GD: Yeah, we’re leaving at the end of March for about six weeks here in the U.S.

SP: Did you have any problems singing both sets like that?

GD: No. In fact, when I came back off the road, my voice was stronger than ever. It’s really wild.

SP: I know Eerie wasn’t involved in the reunion. Would you mind running through who was on stage with you for Samhain before and after the changeover?

GD: Originally, it was supposed to be me, Steve [Zing], Damien [Pete Marshal], and London [May], because nobody wanted to use Eerie anyway. I guess myself, Steve, and London had a problem with Eerie. But anyway, Damien couldn’t do it because he was going on tour with Iggy--he’s the guitarist in Iggy’s band--and the tours conflicted. So Todd, our guitar player, filled in. For the first half, Steve played drums on the stuff he originally played drums on, and London played bass. We did a quick changeover and played “Misery Tomb,” and came back out covered in blood. And London was now on drums and Steve was on bass.

SP: And that was a one-shot deal?

GD: That was it. Never see it again.

SP: Did you tape any of those shows?

GD: No, we did not. I’m sure there’s some tapes out there, but we didn’t tape any of them.

SP: You’re probably the most outspoken artist I know of on the subject of bootlegs. Could you talk about that a little bit? Where does that come from? I saw you go after a guy at a DC signing because I guess he was stupid enough to hand you a bootleg to sign.

GD: Well, I just said, “Man, I don’t sign bootlegs. Normally I smash them or take them away.” And he goes, “You’re not taking this one away.” And I go, “You’re lucky I’m not killing you right now for handing me a bootleg.” And he’s like, “Oh yeah?” And that was it. It ended up being a bait. The guy wanted me to punch him so he could sue me or some shit.

But anyway, yeah, I’m really not into people making money off someone else’s hard work. When people wonder why their favorite bands break up, it’s because, whether you realize it or not, these bands live on the road for almost no money. [People might think], “Oh, you get this big advance from the record company.” But you have to pay lawyers, managers. You have to pay for the recording of the album, and then everything else gets billed to you, like ads in magazines. You end up with no money. And people don’t understand that when you support bootlegs, you’re supporting people who aren’t paying a cent to the artist. So it’s all this hard work, and they’re not seeing any profit from it. And that’s why bands break up. Because they can’t support themselves doing what they do, so they have to go get another job. I’ve known so many artists who’ve had to stop playing music because they just can’t support themselves.

SP: What’s the status of Verotik Comics at this point? All I see in stores these days is the occasional issue of “Satanika.”

GD: Let’s see . . . We have “Morella.” Morella is this satanic witch or priestess from the “Satanika” comic. And she’s got her own one-shot coming out in May. And that’s got Tim Vigil artwork, and it also has an artist from Spain doing her origin story; his name is Rafael Guerrez. He’s done like “Slain” and “Lobo.” He’s a really good artist.

We’re doing “Grub Girl” with Hustler Films. It’ll have a full rock soundtrack. It will be a live-action movie, and it will be a cross between the whole “Grub Girl” story and a full adult movie. There will be two cuts here in America--the X-rated one and an R-rated one for cable. We’re scheduled to start filming in mid-March.

SP: What happened with the “Satanika” movie?

GD: We’ve got half the funding for it on the American side. So now we just have to get the funding on the Japanese side, and that’ll be happening.

Then I think I’m going to direct this “Venus Domina” direct-to-video series. Live action with special effects. No sex in it, just all mutilation, torture, fetish . . . It’s going to be very creepy, like a Cronenberg. A cross between that and the most twisted Japanese direct-to-video thing you’ve ever seen.

SP: “Verotika” was probably my favorite book. Has that been discontinued?

GD: Yeah, unfortunately. The artists we used were always really flaky. And eventually the book got so off-schedule that it was hard to put it back. And now the comic market is so conservative. There’s so few comic stores to begin with, and then there’s even fewer that will carry adult product. There were a lot of hurdles with that book, but I think we made a statement though.

SP: So it sounds like the Verotik output is toned down for right now.

GD: We made our statement in comics. We’re still going to publish comics and other related stuff, like toys. There’s a Marty Emond “Satanika” portfolio coming out. But we’re moving into the other media, which is film, and video, and animation. We want to do everything. We want to take our stuff even further.

This article originally appeared in the March 2000 issue of Snap Pop!, a DC-area music paper. If you'd like a copy, send a buck to: Doug Roemer, 3906 Tedrich Blvd., Fairfax, VA 22031

Danzig Discography:
1988 Danzig Def American
1990 Danzig II: Lucifuge Def American
1992 Danzig III: How the Gods Kill Def American
1992 Dirty Black Summer EP Def American
1993 Thrall: Demonsweatlive Def American
1994 Danzig 4 American
1996 Danzig 5: Blackacidevil Hollywood
1996 Sacrifice EP Hollywood
1999 Danzig 6:66: Satan’s Child E-magine/Evilive

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