I must say that when I first read about this reunion tour and read the comments from Anthrax fans that were Anti-Joey at; http://www.reunionbashers.com/list.html, I was really skeptical about Joey being able to sing/hold a note on all of the classic stuff from Anthrax perfectly, due to these reviews. I was expecting some "old guy" not being able to sing, but not only was I impressed with Joey and his ability/capability to sing like he used to, it had come to my realization that these Anthrax fans were just taking this whole exchanging of John B. for Joey a tad bit personal. But then again, when Joey was kicked out of Anthrax, I also took it kinda personal as well, so I see where these individuals are coming from. I have no John B. era Anthrax in my collection due to Joey, in my humble opinion, being the TRUE vocalist and voice of Anthrax, not John, not Neil, Joey. When I bought/heard the new Anthrax with John B. as vocalist, I gave it a chance (or did I?), but I just couldn’t listen to it when I heard the change in sound. What was once Anthrax, I had felt the music/voice had morphed into something I just wasn’t into, so... 

My only complaints about this show were; 1) No big old-school circle pit and 2) and the most disappointing, not knowing ahead of time that I wasn’t going to be allowed to use my flash on my camera and not having a faster film speed with me, making 95% of all the photographs taken - complete crap. But guess what? When the bouncers weren’t looking I did indeed take a few shots that are somewhat okay, but I should have had some better shots. Sorry fellas if my flash blinded ya, but shouldn’t you all be used to camera flashes by now? Oh well, can’t "shoot" them all. And finally; 3) Not coming out and hanging out with the fans (or those who had passes to see/meet them). Don’t forget guys that WE (the fans) made you what you are today, just for future reference. 

 

Conducted by Michael Coles - Photographs by Michael Coles (1-12-06) - Picture of Charlie B. - S.O.D. - 1999 at The Galaxy (Didn't have any good ones from this show, so....) 

Thanks go out to Brian and Andrew for coming up with some questions. And thank you Jensen for hooking me up!! 

The Outcast: Well, what the hells up man? What have you been doing for these past 13 years? 

Joey: I’ve been working on material, giggin’, writing, you know, taking care of business, but music has been with me pretty much all of the time. 

The Outcast: What have you been listening to these past few years? 

Joey: I listen to a lot of stuff, I’m definitely into a lot of new stuff and I’ve got a lot of old stuff I’ve got to catch up on. 

The Outcast: Like what? What’s your favorite band right now? 

Joey: I like Seven Dust, I think they’re a good band. I don’t have any "favorite-favorites", you know? I like Fear Factory a lot, Foo-Fighters, all of those aren’t new bands, but there’s a lot of good stuff out there, but I still love a lot of old stuff too. 

The Outcast: Venom, Mercyful Fate, Exodus, Destruction, SOD, Nuclear Assault - Anthrax, how does that feel, man? I think it’s awesome!! 

Joey: It’s good, that’s a hell of a roster. 

The Outcast: It’s just weird how all of these bands are coming up again. 

Joey: But isn’t that cool that, it’s sorta’ like, uh, it’s almost as if, uh, if they could play, like some old football players coming back, or somethin’. It’s just neat to see people that can actually love it and actually do it. 

The Outcast: Come back and do it and not have any negative feelings towards each other, forgetting the past and moving on. 

Joey: If you get a band that is a little bit, um, hating each other, it’s definitely strange because you can actually see it’s not that quite real there. But there isn’t that with us, hell, we’re better than ever I think. It’s like we’ve rejuvenated, recharged the whole system. It’s great. 

The Outcast: Do you have any crazy or memorable stories from the Priest tour? 

Joey: I don’t have any stories from the Priest tour that I can think of that are crazy, you know? I’d have to think about it but I don’t recall anything nutty. 

The Outcast: Going back a little, how was it being on Married with Children and why/who decided to use the song; "In My World" for the show? 

Joey: I don’t know where the song came from or why we chose it. 

The Outcast: So you guys did choose it, no one said; "You have to play this song."? 

Joey: I don’t know, I really don’t know, in fact, when I got there I didn’t even know what I was doing (laughter). I had no idea, we sat down and the script was being read within an hour, where’s my line at, you know? What am I doing? Everybody was around a table talking and.. I really don’t even know how we got the show. It was something we got offered to do in L.A. and we were there shooting for 5 days. 

The Outcast: The "Not" man, what does he represent, if anything at all? Who came up with that? 

Joey: For some reason that little town was found in a store and somehow the label got a hold of that and used it and had that ad. "By George I think he’s got it!", whatever the hell that means. 

The Outcast: I know you’ve said in other interviews that you are all taking this tour and this reunion one step at a time, but are any videos from old songs or anything of that nature in the works? 

Joey: Videos are like the furthest thing from every bodies mind. Even though we have live stuff coming out, from concerts, the downloads, the German shows, we’ve got a live DVD, we’ve got all of that, so we’ve got plenty of videos floating right now, so.. Eventually maybe there will be. Videos are kind of weird these days because you don’t see them that often, but of course if we did a song off a brand new record I think you might see us shoot something. Old, I don’t know, that would probably be the last thing we do as far as video. 

The Outcast: I have a friend named Mike who thinks, no offense, that Neil and Danny should be here, not Frank and Joey, which I think is totally absurd due to only having one album with them on it. What is your message to my friend Mike and to all of those who take this a bit too far and personal, especially since it has been that much longer since they were even in Anthrax. 

Joey: That’s just wishes, you know, unfortunately that’s not what’s in the cards for anybody. 

The Outcast: It was only ONE release, you know? 

Joey: There hasn’t been a big bond from that length of time like me and John B., and the length we’ve been in the band and the success we’ve had. They happened to be a part of it (Anthrax), maybe someone would like to see that, but chances for that are pretty slim, but nice. it’s a good thought. I see where he’s coming from. 

The Outcast: I wanted to punch him (just kidding!). 

Joey: Some people are very emotional; (In a funny sounding voice) "He’s not the original singer." 

The Outcast: They take it personal. 

Joey: I can’t read it, I just don’t get it. What can you say? What are you going to say? 

The Outcast: Now going into more of what the magazines theme is focused on (Life, God, Love, Satan, etc.), "Make Me Laugh", you guys never really had a lot of anti-religion songs, with the exception of that one. A lot of other bands (black-metal/satanic-metal in general) pretty much just focus on this theme. 

Joey: Personally, for me, when I wrote stuff I never went there because it’s such a controversy. 

The Outcast: Who wrote the lyrics to that song? 

Joey: Scott. 

The Outcast: Does anyone in the band believe in God or are any of you guys Christians? 

Joey: I’m a Catholic, Danny’s different, he’s got a born-again thing going on and I don’t know if Frank, Joey, or Scott, I’m not sure about their philosophies or what their religions are. 

The Outcast: You are a Native American, correct? 

Joey: Yeah. 

The Outcast: Do you have any beliefs from that that you carry with you in your philosophies? 

Joey: I carry the pride of the whole thing and everything, but I don’t push it or anything. I don’t speak for everyone, or make bold statements, or whatever, but I have thoughts and feelings towards the whole thing. Same with religion, I don’t pass it around to everybody or whatever, I don’t get into that whole pushing philosophies, you should do this, you should do that, you know? 

The Outcast: So you do you believe in God and Satan as actual beings? 

Joey: Well, I don’t even know if I want to go that far, I really don’t even try to figure all of that out. I’m slightly mild about everything; I mean I’ve gone to church with my parents. 

The Outcast: So you were raised Catholic. 

Joey: At this point I don’t get involved at all, I don’t even think about it, I just.. There’s always a spirit, there’s thoughts, but I really don’t know enough about everything to really talk about it. Everybody has their inner thoughts. 

The Outcast: Did your parents ever give you crap for listening to metal and for playing metal? 

Joey: Well, my father thought that maybe I was wasting my time, that I should get a job, but I said; "Hey, this is what I like to do and I’m going to do it." Of course in the end he was really proud of me. He was going to get me a job at the plant with the guys, you know, but it wasn’t me. I thought I had the talent to be a musician (He was right!! - Mike) and it makes me feel good. It’s not about the chicks, the drugs, and shit, I just love to play. 

The Outcast: Was it back then (chicks and drugs)? 

Joey: No, not at all, but there are girls, there are drugs, but I really, it wasn’t why... I love music, I love playing, I love drumming, the whole atmosphere of playing in a band. 

The Outcast: I wasn’t here (Pop’s) when you played in your solo act, but I was told that you played the drums and you sang on top of that? 

Joey: That was kick ass. It was cool. It was nice being able to do it, but that’s something that maybe not anyone would be into and may not have tried that, but I liked doing it, it was off, it was lose, it’s hard to find anybody who might be serious enough, which I’m serious enough, to even do it. It’s challenging. (Let us not forget about Deceased and Autopsy!! - Mike) 

The Outcast: What’s your number one philosophy in life? 

Joey: (Long pause) I don’t know, just enjoy your self, be good, and think straight. 

The Outcast: What do you hope to find after you die? 

Joey: I don’t know. I haven’t really thought about that. 

The Outcast: You try to not think about that? 

Joey: I just...., it’s a hard thing to even put in my mind. I don’t know how.., I really don’t know how..., it’s just all a mystery really to me. 

The Outcast: What do you think about the people who claim that metal is the devils music? 

Joey: I don’t know, I just think that’s silly. I don’t even, when it gets down to that, I’m not even really sure what to think of that. Again, I never really get that far into it. It’s about the chords, the amp, and the sound, everything... The meanings are there but I really don’t get into the point that it has "got to be that nutty." Even if it is about death, evil, and stuff, it’s more like a fun thing to me, a fantasy, if anything. 

The Outcast: What about the extremists in the black metal community who burn churches and commit murder and what not? 

Joey: It’s crazy! Does it have to go to that extreme? 

The Outcast: But can you see why people are so quick to judge metal in general due to these extremists? 

Joey: If somebody wrote a song and it made me feel good, or that it would make me want to do something, you might want to think twice about it. 

The Outcast: So do you think that some metal can influence people in a negative way? 

Joey: Anything can influence somebody if they really wanted it to. I guess if they have that kind of thought. I mean look at the Priest songs that made somebody kill. It’s just nonsense, if you really wanted to "go" (kill?), you don’t even need to hear that song I don’t think, I think that there’s other things going on somewhere that are making you want to "go" somewhere. 

The Outcast: Do you think Christian Metal is a contradiction? 

Joey: I don’t know much about the Christian stuff, I mean. when I hear a Christian song I think Amy Grant, she’s a Christian. I listen to her songs and for the longest time I forgot that she was even into the Lord until I start hearing the song, but I don’t pay attention to the lyrics, I just hear a good song. I don’t pay attention, I really don’t. I might hear the lyrics, I might hear some of the meanings and stuff like that, but it kinda goes (hand-gestures- in one ear and out the other). I can’t get caught up... For the longest time I don’t even hear lyrics, I don’t even know Rush, some of the songs, I love their songs but half the time I don’t even know what they are saying. Led Zeppelin, I had no idea what they are saying. Sometimes I don’t even know what they mean. Up to this day... 

The Outcast: I usually look at vocals as just another instrument. Certain bands I try to see what they are trying to say, but I try not to look into the words too much, especially if they (the bands) preach negativity. 

Joey: It’s weird when you find out, it can be like; "No shit." 

The Outcast: My friend Bill and I looked up the song, "Blinded by the Light", we could never figure out... 

Joey: What’s he saying? 

The Outcast: (Pause, trying to recall the verse) "Revved up like a deuce, another runner in the night" 

Joey: I always thought he said something about douche. 

The Outcast: (Laughter) That’s what EVERYONE thinks he’s saying!! That’s what we thought, we were like; "We have to look it up and find out." 

Joey: It’s cool, you know, a blinding light, it could be a spirit for that matter, in which that may be it, no? 

The Outcast: I don’t know man. 

Joey: You know what? I write lyrics and I don’t even... I may start a story because I was saying a word in a line and I’m like; "Wow, this could be about a guy driving a car", so I’ll start writing about that. Why, I don’t know, it just felt good. It was somewhere to go. It could mean nothing, absolutely nothing. 

The Outcast: Well, that’s pretty much all of my questions, but my friend Andrew wanted me to ask you these silly questions, which I hope you don’t mind. What do you prefer, creamy or crunchy peanut-butter? 

Joey: I like the creamy. That crunchy stuff is just too much to handle. I like it nice and smooth and just gummy, you know, I like peanuts, but not in the peanut-butter. 

The Outcast: If you were Santa Clause, what would you bring the kids? 

Joey: Uh, just bring them everything they need man, bring that list out and start hauling that shit in. 

The Outcast: Cool man. Well, that’s pretty much it but I have a huge favor I want to ask you personally. When you get on stage dude, you’ve gotta’ tell the crowd; "Old school circle pit!!" 

Joey: We do, we get that. It’s pretty much old school most of the night.