This interview was very exciting for me. I am a fan of the 80’s and these guys rocked it out!! When you think of true heavy metal the name Anthrax just goes with it. I was a little nervous because it isn’t every day I get to talk to the original lead singer of Anthrax!! Yeah!! I mean these guys are 2 time Grammy nominees, have 3 greatest hits CD’s and have played for crowds larger than 90,000 people!! Needless to say I loved doing this interview!!
Barbara: Let’s talk about how this reunion of Anthrax came about. Who made the first call?
Joey: Charlie mentioned to management about having me come on board and asked if they could get a hold of me. Management ended up calling me up and I made some room to make it work and from that point on we started talking a lot and went forward with it. We thought it would be a great idea, again I don’t try to look into it too much as far as why and when and how. I know it’s the 20-year anniversary and I know that the band may have felt hey why not? I mean that’s how I feel, why not? It’s a great thing and nobody had to twist anybody’s arm to do it I mean we’re really, really happy to be a part of taking it on.
Barbara: We’re really happy that you are too. On June 3, you will be performing a show at the Starland Ballroom in New Jersey, where you will also be filming for your live DVD. Why was New Jersey chosen over the typical New York, Los Angeles, or Philadelphia venue?
Joey: I don’t know, I really don’t know. Maybe availability, we have to go to Europe 2 days from that time. I don’t know if anything was really actually available for us at the time.
Barbara: Anthrax has survived the music industry for 20 years, which is a major accomplishment. Why do you think Anthrax is such a household name for everyone from the kids of today to the grandparents of yesterday?
Joey: You know, I just think we have a way of being different and have our own style. We really do know how to get it done in many different ways so it’s a real cool thing. We really work hard at what we do, it just comes across you know. It’s fun.
Barbara: It seems like this is the time to have bands reunited. Judas Priest and Iron Maiden just came back and now Anthrax. What band would you like to see reunite?
Joey: Oh god, you don’t want to go there do you? *laughs*
Barbara: Sure!
Joey: For me, as a kid I would have loved to have seen Led Zeppelin with John Bonham, which I never got to see. That would have been nice. I never got to see The Who, you know I wish Moon was around and Entwistle was around, that would have been nice. I’ve seen Priest reunite, I’ve seen them before but it will be neat to see them again. There are so many different eras of music that I’d like to embark on but sometimes I’m afraid to go too light for the metal crowd *laughs*
Barbara: That’s alright though, it takes all kinds of music.
Joey: Yeah, there’s just a lot of cool stuff that could actually get on track and do something again that would be real neat. Of course I’d like to see the Beatles once, but obviously that’s a far cry from ever happening.
Barbara: For this reunion are you doing anything differently with the sound of Anthrax? Any new style?
Joey: We’ve grown over the years, it’s a heavier sound we’re definitely going for the tight, strong you know, get it done with the aggression that we want. All that stuff working real good because as a new style of music they’ve grown into that. I’ve evolved in the way I sing so everything in that end is a good thing.
Barbara: How are things different than before?
Joey: I think everybody has grown mentally and I think physically everyone is just feeling good about doing it. I don’t think that anybody is compromising friendship, I think everyone is working hard at being close and again everybody is happy to be here so it makes for a really good, complete package just full fun and just being able to carry it out a lot nicer and easier for everyone. I think the split was just over time, just everyone was looking for something a little different to attack and I guess for me, the way they were heading at the time really didn’t help me be able to be involved with that. Now at the same time I feel like they are really happy to have me around. I definitely work hard at what I do so I’m definitely not going to let anybody down.
Barbara: Who came up with the name Anthrax?
Joey: I believe Scott Ian and Danny in school. They came up with that name. Maybe they were studying it in class or something and they thought it was a good name. That’s what I recall.
Barbara: Over the years, Anthrax has been around the world and back again. Where would you say was your favorite place you toured and why?
Joey: I don’t know if I have any favorites, there’s just certain crowds that leave you in awe. Some places are just real comfortable to be, food-wise, travel-wise. It’s hard, there’s so many cool places to go. I can’t begin to say one place is better than the other because every one has their own style, the way they present themselves to offer you into their city.
Barbara: What is your take on the current music scene and where does Anthrax fit in?
Joey: Oh gosh, where do we fit in…I think we fit right in any because we can do just about anything, we can be heavy as hell and we can be as cool as possible as far as the style and the actual edge that we have. The spontaneous type of playing that we have, we also can be very fun to watch. We’re not standoffish, we’re a band that really kind of take on a good evening of really packed entertainment.
Barbara: Anthrax is known for their aggressive mosh pits, if you had the chance, would you get into your own band’s mosh pit?
Joey: I’m not too sure about that.
Barbara: *laughs* I can understand that one.
Joey: When I sing I watch it all go down.
Barbara: Do you have any pre-show rituals that you had before and still hold strong?
Joey: Basically what we try to do is just try to stretch out a little bit, just listen to some music, put on some energetic music to get ya pumped up. Basically I just kind of go out there and go, that seems to be trend pop a tape or CD in and jam to that before we roll on.
Barbara: What is your favorite song to perform live?
Joey: I like “NFL”, “Medusa” is cool, “Got the Time” is kinda neat. There’s so many cool tunes, “AIR” is fun to play, it’s nice and fast, it’s got cool range in it. “Indians” of course is one of my favorites, one of those songs that stands out for me.
Barbara: Did any of your band mates have bad habits in the past that they still have now?
Joey: Bad habits…I don’t know if anybody had any bad habits. Maybe long ago, Frankie was later than usual and now it’s more Danny *laughs* I don’t know. Everybody holding their thoughts sometimes a little too close to themselves, now they’re opening up, I think we’re a lot more open to conversations and try to work together.
Barbara: Describe each member of the band including yourself in one word.
Joey: Scott, I’d say…I’m really at a loss for one word.
Barbara: You can use two.
Joey: Charlie’s got a lot of thoughts, Frankie is full-steam ahead, Scott is intricate, Danny has no sense of time *laughs* and I’m just happy-go-lucky.
Barbara: *laughs* The Internet is really starting to play an important role in the music business. How many members of the band are computer savvy?
Joey: Me, no. I think Frankie maybe not. The three, Danny, Scott, and Charlie yeah.
Barbara: What is the biggest crowd you have ever performed for?
Joey: ’87 I believe, 97,000.
Barbara: 97,000? Oh my god! That must have been intimidating.
Joey: Many yards of people, yeah it was pretty wild.
Barbara: What was the first concert you ever attended?
Joey: Aerosmith Rocks tour.
Barbara: In your opinion, who is the best frontman of all time?
Joey: I’m not going to say for sure because there’s too many, I like a lot. Freddy Mercury was something, he was quite the entertainer. He had a great voice, he could play keyboards, he had a lot of charisma there.
Barbara: When you’re not on tour, how do you spend your spare time?
Joey: Right now I’m counting vitamins *laughs*
Barbara: Alright! *laughs*
Joey: I do a lot of normal, everyday things. Like run around, I’ll water plants, I’ll cut the grass, I do all the normal things.
Barbara: You just live life.
Joey: I just do like everyone else. It’s not a whole lot of difference to me. I’m not running the speedboats and driving the drag strip, I don’t get crazy.
Barbara: Well that’s alright, you get to do that on stage.
Joey: Yeah, right. I get enough there *laughs*
Barbara: What’s your most embarrassing on-stage moment?
Joey: Maybe just singing for a while and not knowing the mic isn’t on, that’s kind of embarrassing. Just last week it was Australia, I saw this kid looking at me and he’s pointing to his mouth and his ear and saying “I can’t hear you” but I hear myself. But apparently during the first song there were no vocals. Then I saw the road crew guy come out, he runs out and hands me the mic. That one was working, and as soon as I started singing everybody roared. I was like oh ok, the mic was off. Hey that’s cool, what a gimmick.
Barbara: *laughs* When I think of Anthrax I think of a bunch of ordinary guys that are a lot of fun. Which leads me to some fun questions. If you were a cartoon character, who would you be and why?
Joey: I was thinking I could be like, Bugs Bunny.
Barbara: If you were stranded on an island and could only listen to one Anthrax CD, what would be your choice and why?
Joey: I’d say, “Spreading the Disease”, it’s my first record, it’s so embedded and it was such a really great moment. The whole process, joining the band, doing that record and just going through the whole process. There are some really cool songs that mean a lot to me.
Barbara: What are the plans for the future of Anthrax?
Joey: We’re just gonna roll, we’re going to take it day by day, piece by piece, and bit by bit. Keep plugging along and being positive I think that’s the best thing we can hope for. Hopefully we can roll.
Barbara: Do you have a message for your fans?
Joey: It’s great to be back and I’m thankful for everyone that considers the time that we spent in this and getting back together and I really appreciate everybody. It’s gonna be great to be back.
Barbara: We’re really glad that you’re back too. Thank you for taking time out with us today.
Joey: You’re welcome.
A special thanks to Joey Belladonna for taking the time to do the interview with us. It was definitely a great experience. Welcome back guys!!
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