Dm138: The same song Glenn wrote for Johnny Cash?
Location: Josh Lazie's TopFuel Coffe Shop - Hollywood, CA
Angelfuck138 and I had talked with bassist Josh Lazie and drummer Joey Castillo of DANZIG. We met them @ TopFuel on Sunset Blvd. Here is how the interview went. Enjoy!
Dm138: This past summer you guys played 3 German festivals. How did that go?
Lazie: We played the Full Force Festival, a double-bill w/ Rammstein, and the Bizarre Festival.
Dm138: Was this your first time playing "live" w/ Jeff Chambers on guitar?
Joey: First time. Our first show w/ Jeff was the Full Force. He's a great guitar player.
Dm138: How did you acquire Jeff?
Joey: Jeff did the Halloween "Blackacidevil" show in '97 at The Whiskey. He was in one of the opening bands called 57Crown. We were looking for a new guitar player. We tried out some people and eventually we went w/ Jeff.
Dm138: Was that the first time you saw Jeff play?
Joey: That was the first I saw him play "live." I had heard about the band, but that was the first time.
Lazie: I was at that show, but I missed the opening bands. The first time I remember seeing Jeff play "live" was on stage in front of 30,000 at the Full Force Festival in Germany.
Dm138: Your done w/ your new record Danzig6?
Joey: We're finishing the final mixes on it.
Lazie: This week it will be finished. And then we master so it will be about 2 weeks.
Dm138: How many tracks did you guys do?
Lazie: We did 21 songs in 6 days. With 13 songs on the record. Ending w/ "13."
Dm138: The same song Glenn wrote for Johnny Cash?
Joey: Same song.
Dm138: How did your version come out?
Lazie: It's cool. It's the same song, but played by a band in '99.
Joey: Not real loud. Has the same mood.
Dm138: It sounded great by Johnny Cash
Joey: I thought it was the best song on the record.
Lazie: There was also an extra verse in the song that Johnny Cash didn't sing, but we did it.
Joey: A little surprise for everybody when they hear it.
Dm138: When you went into the studio...did you have some songs completed or did you write most in the studio?
Joey: I'd say about half and half.
Lazie: Yeah about half and half.
Joey: We take it from Glenn's ideas. Even before we were in the band he was doing that. Glenn never limits himself. He gets ideas for songs all the time. The day before we were going into the studio we were at the Guitar Center getting equipment. We were in the drum department and Glenn said "I'll be right back." He came back and said "I just wrote a song." I was like what? I said ok and by the time we got to the studio he had the song ready to go. It turned to be one of the best songs. The song is "Satan's Child."
Lazie: Glenn truly is a musical genius. The guy has been writing songs since late '75 and consistantly making killer songs. Not many people can say that. With the Misfits and Samhain and DANZIG...he lives and breathes it. It's really amazing
Dm138: Who is mixing the record?
Joey: We mixed a few w/ Jay and Amir from Orgy. And we're mixing a few w/ some guy named Camron.
Dm138: Any release date?
Joey: Hopefully March maybe April.
Dm138: And then from there will you be touring?
Joey: We will be doing Europe first. We'll let the album come out and then coming back to the states.
Dm138: What are your favorite tracks from Danzig6?
Lazie: "Five Finger Crawl," "Unspeakable," and "Belly Of The Beast."
Joey: Yeah I'd say "Five Finger Crawl." I love "Satan's Child." I dig "Firemass."
Dm138: Any theme to this new record?
Lazie: It's heavy, dark, and satanic. It's Danzig.
Joey: It's very Danzig. This is a record where the new band has taken on a new flavor, but still Danzig. It's changing and evolving. The old Danzig was great and love those guys, but this is new and very exciting for us.
Dm138: This record must be a very personal record for you guys.
Joey: Absolutely.
Dm138: So you will be playing alot of new stuff for the tour?
Joey: Hell yeah!
Lazie: We will do some old songs, but we can't wait to play the new.
Joey: From what we've learned from the fans....they really want to hear the new stuff. They are excited.
Lazie: It's different for us because this is our record. I mean we can all play "Twist of Cain" and "Bringer Of Death." They are great songs, but they were us playing what the previous band played. Now we're going to be playing songs that we recorded. We think the older stuff is classic. Even if you play the older Danzig records 10 years from now they will always sound awesome. But the new stuff is more personal for us. We dig it and I'm sure the fans will too.
Dm138: Were you guys able to contribute more to this record?
Joey: Yeah well he's always been cool like that. He's always open to suggestions, but he always has a good idea of what he wants or how he wants to get it to sound.
Lazie: He encourages us to bring our own personalities to the band.
Joey: That is the only way it probably would have worked. Since I joined the band Glenn always wanted me to play like me as opposed to Chuck. He said the reason I was in the band is because he likes the way I play. That's why on this record it feels like the way we play.
Dm138: One of the best drummers in the world! Joey Castillo!
Lazie: Fuck yeah!
Joey: Thank you, thank you.
Dm138: Anything you want to say to the fans?
Lazie: I just want to thank all the fans that have been supportive. Thanks for sticking by us and we're not going let you down.
Joey: We couldn't thank everyone enough. We're really excited about
this and we can't wait to go out and play.
Dm138: Please keeping making music.
Joey: Hell yeah!
Lazie: We'll keeping doing it until our arms fall off.
Dm138: Can't wait to see you guys on tour!
Lazie: We've talked about it and we are going to try to do a world tour. Probably starting with Europe first and then coming back to the states. We also want to play Australia and Japan.
Dm138: Can't wait for that!
Dm138: angelfuck138 and I thank you. From all the fans @ The7tHouse we thank you.
Joey: Thank you.
Lazie: Thanks! See you on the road!
"FANGS" to Josh Lazie & Joey Castillo for the interview.
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