Tag: Blackie Lawless

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The Making of W.A.S.P.’s 1984 Self-Titled Album Pt 1 – Blackie Lawless, Don Costa, Chris Holmes, Tony Richards, Randy Piper, Ric Browde

full in bloom’s INSIDE THE ALBUM:

W.A.S.P. The 1984 Self-titled Album PART 1

DESCRIPTION:

Brief documentary on the recording of W.A.S.P.’s 1984 Self-Titled Album – The band’s first show with Don Costa (Ozzy, Great White) on bass. Comments from Blackie Lawless, Chris Holmes, Tony Richards, Randy Piper, and Ric Browde.

YOU CAN WATCH THE DOCUMENTARY VIA THE EMBEDDED YOUTUBE CLIP BELOW. You can also access the video directly on YouTube @ this location.

PART 1

Sources:

Blackie Lawless Interview

Blackie Lawless Interview

Blackie Lawless Interview

full in bloom Interviews w/ Chris Holmes, Tony Richards, Randy Piper, Ric Browde

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W.A.S.P. Coffee Table Book by Photographer Ross Halfin – Only 300 Copies Available – Signed by Chris Holmes – Rufus Publications – VIDEO

ORDER HERE

WASP the new book by Ross Halfin.

WASP by Ross Halfin starts at the very beginning in Hollywood CA where Ross shot the band for the first time at The Troubadour – the famous club on Santa Monica Blvd which launched the careers of many artists including Motley Crüe, Guns N Roses and Elton John to name just a few.

This book offers a unique insight into the classic period of WASP with an array of Ross’s fantastic dramatic live photos, coupled with candid offstage reportage capturing the humor and spirit of the characters behind the instruments, as well as studio sessions that would become iconic and defining for the band.

“It’s time to meet the group who the moral majority would most like to murder and the only group I can remember who’ve had a record banned by their own label… this is WASP!” Andy Kershaw.

Having sold over 12 million albums worldwide, WASP were one of the pre-eminent major label American heavy metal bands of the 1980s. Formed in 1982 in Los Angeles California, the band built a large and dedicated global following with their eponymous debut album and subsequent releases including The Last Command, Inside The Electric Circus, The Headless Children and more.

Managed by legendary Iron Maiden manager Rod Smallwood, the band played some of the seminal concerts of the era including multiple visits to the renowned Donington Monsters of Rock festival in England in 1987 and 1992 and also toured the globe with other seminal acts such as Kiss, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Metallica, Dokken and many more.

In addition to the photography, former WASP guitarist and co-songwriter Chris Holmes provides anecdotes and memories throughout the book, sharing insights and stories for the very first time that provide a truly exceptional commentary that is an absolute must for all fans of the band.

There are also forewords from the band’s original manager Rod Smallwood and photographer Ross Halfin sharing their own perspectives and experiences with one of America’s most notorious and influential metal bands of that era.

This 300 page plus coffee table book features a 3D lenticular cover, is bound in red recycled leather and presented in a protective slipcase. Only 300 numbered copies are available worldwide and each copy is personally signed by guitarist and songwriter Chris Holmes.

SHIPPING NOW

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W.A.S.P.’s Blackie Lawless on Breaking His Leg 10 Years Ago: “I screamed the loudest I’ve ever screamed in my entire life” – VIDEO – 2022

W.A.S.P. Nation:

Blackie Lawless Talks About Breaking His Leg 10 Years Ago

Blackie Lawless:

I broke my leg about ten years ago, and I put on a bunch of weight. I did something really stupid. We lived out in the sticks. So, there was a couch and a love seat that I wanted to move. Where we live is all ranch properties, and so they’re all pretty big pieces of land. I had guys that were working up there, and they asked me if I needed a hand. I said, “Nah, I’ll do this; you guys keep doing what you’re doing.”

So, I got one of those kind of redneck trucks that’s jacked way up in the air, and I had this couch and love seat in the back of it. They didn’t weigh much; they were made out of suede. The love seat was on top of the couch, so the two fabrics, when they were together, were gripping each other, almost like Velcro. I get up in the back of the truck, and I go to move the love seat, and it doesn’t want to move. I thought, “Well, if you don’t want to move, I’ll make you move.” I reached over to grab it to manhandle it, and when I pulled it off, it hits me in the chest. Off the back of the truck, I go. Now, the truck is jacked up about five feet in the air, but I went backwards over the rail. So, I’m probably falling about eight feet. It wasn’t just that I fell on the ground, there was a pile of bricks all sticking up at different angles. I fell in that pile of bricks. I went to get up, and I couldn’t get up. I thought, “I’ll just lay here another minute; I’ll be ok.”

One of the guys there calls an ambulance. They get me in the ambulance, and I look up. There’s this netting, over the top, where they put it over people if they’ve got to airlift them in a helicopter. I asked the guy, “Will that netting support me if I reach up and grab it?” He said, “Yes.” Like I said, there’s cows and horses out there, so there are a lot of cattle grates. He had to drive over this cattle grate. He said, “Alright, I’m coming up on the cattle grate.” He’s driving 5 MPH. I reach up and pull myself up in a reverse push-up position, and my leg went backwards. Everybody knows I’ve got a set of pipes on me. I almost put his ears out. I screamed the loudest I’ve ever screamed in my entire life.

I am now the proud owner of an 18-inch titanium rod that will more than likely be with me for the duration. The Orthopedic surgeon comes in the next morning and says, “I’m not going to lie to you,” he says, “it’s going to be at least six months before you’re up walking around again.” Well, a year later, I was still not where I needed to be. Consequently, the weight came on, so you work to get it off.

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W.A.S.P.’s Blackie Lawless on the 2022 Tour, NEW MUSIC, & Defending Free Speech: “Few things are more important than that” – INTERVIEW

W.A.S.P. NATION: Highwire Daze #145 is now online featuring an interview with Blackie Lawless!

You can read the entire interview @ this location. An excerpt from the conversation has been provided below.

You recently had a show out here at The Grove Of Anaheim. How did that one go and how surprised were you that it was sold out?

Blackie Lawless:

Well, it sold out in less than 24 hours. And it’s the dedication of this fan base, because what happened – about three years ago the fan base starting petitioning promoters around the country. And because of social media, they were able to get a strong base together. And it really wasn’t hundreds of them – it was thousands of them. And quite honestly, I’ve never seen a fan base do that before for any band ever. So, it’s remarkable.

On the 2022 stage show:

There are three videos that go on behind us simultaneously – and in some of them you’ll see what were promo videos from the original sources. But also, there’s a thing where when we do the song Animal, you’ll see the PMRC hearings that went on in Washington DC, because that is historical. We hadn’t played that song in so long, and we wanted a way to showcase it that had what we felt was a real meaning. And the idea that that song was originally a part of that list of what was called The Filthy 15 and the dog and pony show that surrounded the PMRC hearings. We thought it was the perfect way to showcase this.

In addition to behind us, you see all the other things we had been doing for 40 years – with the blood and the meat and all that stuff. It’s a true retrospective.

But in addition to that, you see this giant circus banner. You’ll walk in, it looks like – and it smells like – you’ve walked into the midway of a carnival. What we do is we set up fog machines that go around the room, and we have one scent that’s cotton candy and another one that’s fresh baked popcorn. No one we know of has ever done this before. These giant circus banners – they’re 16 feet high and they go all the way across the stage – and it looks like you’ve stepped into this gigantic 1930’s midway or carnival.

We’re taking an arena-sized show into theaters, and it looks gargantuan when we go into these places.

Being a born again Christian – and looking back on your old songs and censorship, would you defend any forms of metal today as you did back in the days of the PMRC and Tipper Gore? Metal has changed and expanded quite a lot these days.

First of all, I wouldn’t go as far to say that I defended every style. Someone would have to give me specific examples, but I would say this. That any form of speech – and for me this is what this is about – if you’re talking about somebody doing some really heinous acts in a song, no I can’t support that. But the concept of speaking about it – that’s a different issue. Whether I like an idea – that’s my personal opinion – or anyone’s personal opinion. But the ability to verbalize it – that should be allowed at any cost. Because this whole idea of censorship rears its head about every 20 years – and we’re in it right now – with what social media has been doing. This goes back to – I can’t remember if it was Aristotle who said talking about the Greeks – “He who controls the speech controls the people.” So, this has been going on forever. It’s nothing new – but the idea of defending the concept of free speech – which is the reason why it is the First Amendment that we have. Few things are more important than that.

Is there any new W.A.S.P. music on the horizon?

Not that I would really want to go into right now, because we’re so deep into this tour – that’s what we’re concentrating on.

You can read the entire interview @ this location.

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Meet Blackie Lawless on the 2022 W.A.S.P. Tour – VIP TICKETS – VIDEO

W.A.S.P. Nation: Don’t miss your chance to meet Blackie Lawless, get your VIP tix today @ this location.

Darrell Roberts:

I am seeing a lot of posts from joyful, overwhelmed, excited WASP fans who are attending the meet and greet/Q&A sessions on their current tour…Call me an old sap, softie or whatever, but this makes me happy to see!

I constantly had an uncomfortable, anxious feeling in my stomach when I was on tour with them, and I would see fans waiting for hours (sometimes in rain or snow) to meet Blackie…and I knew it wasn’t going to happen. I’m not here to debate whether that was wrong or right…I’m just saying it makes me smile to see your posts and smiling faces meeting him (and Mike, Doug and Aquiles).

I remember being totally overwhelmed the first time I met Blackie…(and I wasn’t even a huge WASP fan at the time). He just had/has that vibe/aura about him. I know the paid “VIP” experience is controversial… have no interest in debating that. I’m just saying I am loving the posts! Keep’em coming,,,I wish they would have happened when I was there.

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W.A.S.P.’s Blackie Lawless Talks “The Real Me” & What It Took for Frankie Banali to Nail the Drum Track – 2022 – INTERVIEW – The Who

Metal Edge: Exclusive: W.A.S.P.’s Blackie Lawless on death threats, getting shot at (twice) and the worst mishap he’s ever had with the sawblades.

You can read the entire interview @ this location. An excerpt has been provided below.

INTERVIEW EXCERPT:

W.A.S.P.’s cover of The Who song “The Real Me” off The Headless Children album was so great. Not everybody can sing Roger Daltrey, but you nailed it. Did you ever hear from The Who guys about what they thought about that cover? Because for many teenagers in 1989, the W.A.S.P. version was their introduction to that song.

Blackie Lawless:

In ’89 after the record came out, the Who came back to America and were doing Tommy and it was the first time they’ve done it in many, many years. They were playing in New York, and I was going to be in New York at the time, and so we did a thing where I presented [The Who guitarist and songwriter Pete] Townshend with a gold record, after the show. And we talked for, I don’t know, 20, 30 minutes.

We talked mostly about songwriting. But he paid me what I think is a pretty high compliment. He says, “A lot of people have covered my songs, but no one has ever done to one of my songs what you’ve done.” And he had this look in his eye when he was saying it, and then he followed it up. He said, “Must have taken a lot of courage to do that.”

Now, I knew exactly what he meant when he said that. That band, when you listen to Live At Leeds, was a freight train out of control, musician-wise. I mean, these guys were unreal. So for another band to come along and think that they could do that justice, you’ve either got to be able to do it or you’re totally insane and you’re gonna embarrass the hell out of yourself.

So, I told him, “Well, we weren’t trying to emulate exactly what you did on the record.” We chose that song for two reasons. Number one, we had another song from Quadrophenia we were thinking about doing, “The Punk And The Godfather.” But “The Real Me,” we felt the song was a hit that never was a hit.

And so I went into rehearsal the first day, and everybody was already there. It was in a big room. And when I walked in, the lights were only on the stage where they were at, so when I walked in nobody could see me. And the crew was all in there.

They started rehearsing the song without vocals, and I just remember standing there at the door listening to what was happening. And the ferociousness of it, what was coming off of that stage, I mean, it was there. I don’t know how long they had been working it up, because I was about an hour late getting there, because I was doing an interview or something. But when I walked in, they had it pretty much as you hear today, and I listened to it. And it literally was blowing my hair back. And we never attempted “The Punk And The Godfather.” There was no reason to even do it.

I always thought there’s two reasons to do a remake of a song. One, you think you can do it better. Or you can do it different. So what I told Pete was, “We weren’t trying to emulate what they did exactly. We took the spirit of what we thought was Tommy, Live at Leeds, Who’s Next, Quadrophenia,” that period, which is really the peak of The Who, “and we went for the spirit of what that was.”

You know, I remember when we were in the studio recording it, Frankie [Banali, drummer] was frustrated with his performances. And for a song like that the drums have got to be right. So he got mad, and he says, “I’ll be back in a few minutes.” And he took off and I didn’t know where he went and so I went back into the control room. He came back about 45 minutes later, he goes, “I’m ready.”

And so we went in, and we played and there it was. That was the take. And he told me later, I said, “Where did you go?” He goes, “Well, I went down the liquor store and I got myself a half pint of Jack Daniels, and I drank it, and I came back.” That’s the take that you hear on the record to this day.

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Blackie Lawless on Ace Frehley, Bill Aucoin & W.A.S.P.’s 2nd Troubadour Show: “From that moment, with every gig we played, you could feel that ‘magic and tension’ in the air”

W.A.S.P. Nation: Blackie Lawless Remembers… 40th Anniversary of Our Troubadour Shows

You can read more W.A.S.P. history via our previous post @ this location.

September 21st and 28th Troubadour Shows…

Blackie Lawless:

After the first show W.A.S.P. did in August we were trying to move up to Hollywood. That was the place if an artist wanted to really get noticed was the only place to be. From as early as the 1960s, Los Angeles was the place to be if a record deal was an artist’s ultimate goal. Yes, it could be done elsewhere, but L. A. was the place that was the real seat of power in the music world.

But the day after our first show we had a major problem. There had been a serious disagreement between Chris Holmes and Don Costa the bassist. The next day Chris called me and said, “Either he goes, or I go. I won’t play with him anymore.” This was serious. I felt strongly we had the personal chemistry as a band with these people as players and performers. I spent 6 years in L.A. trying to find this combination of guys that had that special magic…that “chemistry.” Chris was the guy I was starting the band with but when he gave this ultimatum, I had little choice. I knew how hard it was to find people like Don, and this was no small problem.

I had known Randy Piper from a band we worked with before, so I gave him a call. The 4 of us rehearsed and it was seeming to work but we had another big problem…. 3 guitar players and no bass player. This combination of chemistry I keep referring to might work, so as opposed to trying to find this “unicorn” of a bass player, I decided to do it myself. First and foremost, I’m a guitar player, so switching to bass wasn’t hard, but playing bass and singing took a bit of time to get it feel of it.

Prior to our first show I had sent demo tapes of what ended up being mostly our first album to both Ace Frehley and Bill Aucoin (manager of KISS), and they were scheduled to come out to this first show at the Troubadour. So let’s see, all I need to do is find another guitar player with that magic, learn the songs on bass guitar and start putting a show together, all in just about 3 weeks. What could possibly go wrong? I felt like I was trying to build the pyramids in less than a month, and that’s not an overstatement. I’ve often said, ‘We never had any intention of ever playing live’ because we were concentrating on recording, but there’s also an old expression that says, ‘You only get one chance to make a first impression.’

I knew we weren’t ready to showcase ourselves as a band so I called both Ace and Bill and asked them if they could postpone coming out from New York for another week to September 28th. But now we have another problem. We had no track record as a band for selling tickets. To get into a venue like the Troubadour and have them book us in the first place was a huge deal. The Troubadour was world famous. The show on the 21st was at 8 PM on a Tuesday night. Considering the place is closed on Mondays, the 8 PM slot on Tuesdays was the worst spot in the week. The talent buyer at the Troubadour was Mike Glick, and he booked all the shows. He booked us for the first show on the 21st on the strength of our demo tape. So when I asked him if he would book us again the following week on the 28th, it meant he was putting his butt on the line. Usually that venue was booked months in advance, but fortunately he still needed a band for that slot, so he gave it to us. I cannot describe how unusual this series of events came into being and how everything needed to fall perfectly into place. Getting that second date, for an unproven band was an absolute miracle!

The first show on the 21st was OK. Fairly uneventful with no real Hollywood-type movie beginnings or ending. There was a whopping 63 people in the crowd that night. For the show on the 28th, both Ace and Bill were there. As a band we were better, but we had none of the big stunts or visuals the band would later be known for. But the one thing we did have, we had those songs. “Love Machine,” “Hellion,” and “I Wanna Be Somebody,” and our look and image were also starting to take shape.

After the show, they both came up to the dressing room and we talked late into the night. I remember getting the feeling from Bill that he felt we still needed work. As much as I hated to admit it, he was right. As he put it, we were “still developing.” I distinctively remember him saying that, and the sick feeling I had in the pit of my stomach thinking, ‘Well, we had our shot and now we’ve blown it.’

But looking back Bill was absolutely correct. We needed time to “develop.” To develop the visuals that perfectly matched those songs. To get “tight” as a band, that only playing live gigs can do for a group. As disappointed as I was after that night, I really started to mentally dig in and stretch my imagination. The whole band did. Thinking back, that development happened very, very quickly. Over the next 2 to 3 months, we would come up with the “saw blades,” “drinking blood,” the “raw meat,” the naked girl on the “rack,” and a “sign that exploded into flames” and the show the world would be assaulted with, reviled over, banned and condemned by 18 short months later. From that second Troubadour show we grew at “light speed” and doubled and tripled the size of our crowds with every show we did. Both visually and musically we had become a dangerous band, and from that moment, with every gig we played, you could feel that “magic and tension” in the air, and every time we took the stage it was so thick you could cut it with a knife.

Not bad for a band that “never had any intention of ever playing live”!

The excerpts below are taken from our full in bloom interviews with Randy Piper, Tony Richards, and Chris Holmes.

Randy Piper

full in bloom: Whose idea was it to drink blood and chop meat on stage?

Randy Piper:

That was Blackie’s gig. I didn’t want to drink blood.

full in bloom: Blackie would even put the raw meat in his mouth.

Randy:

Oh yeah, wherever we could find it. We’d send the roadies to the store for meat. They would come back with some pretty bad cuts, too. (laughs)

Tony Richards

On the early W.A.S.P. shows:

Tony Richards:

The first shows were just absolutely awesome. They were unbeatable. There was no one else in town that could touch us. We were madmen. It came across and it worked great. If you didn’t see those early W.A.S.P. shows in L.A., you missed out because it was never the same, and not just because I was out of the band. Mainly, once members were changed and they had to go to different venues, there were, of course, restrictions. It changed, but those early shows in Los Angeles were tops. If you didn’t see one of those shows, you don’t know what you were missing. We got away with murder in those early days. It was crazy and a very, very exciting time.

On Blackie chopping the meat and drinking the blood:

Tony:

A lot of Blackie’s ideas, a lot of good ideas coming from that man; movies, tv, and shit. He incorporated it into the stage, and boy, let me tell you, it worked. I can’t remember a show that we did, that the Fire Marshal’s weren’t out there inspecting before we started the show.

full in bloom: So W.A.S.P. was pretty much a sensation as soon as you guys start playing shows?

Tony:

I will tell you what, I’m not going to say any dates because I’m not really for sure. But the story is, we played around town, about a year, W.A.S.P. existed about a year, and we got signed. That was kind of unheard of. I think it was ’81 through ’82 we played and by the beginning of ’83 we were negotiating our contract. We got signed, by ’84 the album is out, and we were like BOOM, we were gone. We packed everywhere we played, us and the Crue.

Read more W.A.S.P. history via our previous post @ this location.

Chris Holmes Talks W.A.S.P. History, Blackie Lawless, Randy Piper, Don Costa, 1982-1983 Era

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W.A.S.P. The Early Years 1982-1984 According to Blackie Lawless, Chris Holmes, Randy Piper, Tony Richards

The Classic W.A.S.P. Lineup Looks Back on the Early Days 1982-1984

The first W.A.S.P. gig took place on August 28th, 1982.

The first W.A.S.P. album was released on August 17, 1984.

Blackie Lawless

Blackie Lawless:

40 Years ago today my life changed. To change in ways I had dreamed, but also to end up different than I had imagined. It’s impossible for anyone to foresee the totality of ways life will change when those dreams become reality. It was 40 years ago today W.A.S.P. played its first show, Aug. 28th, 1982, at a long-gone club called the “Woodstock”.

The lineup at that time was Tony Richards on drums, Chris Holmes on lead guitar, myself on guitar and vocals and Don Costa on bass. This was our humble (if you wanna call it that) beginning. Many of you have heard me say that when we first started, we never had any intention of ever playing live shows. In Los Angeles at the time, it was mostly impossible to get a record deal from only playing live. Ironically, our true intention was only to make records and we knew from having lived in L.A. for such a long time that the only real way to get a record deal was to make the best demo tape you could make. So that’s what we did. We made a demo of songs that would end up being mostly our first album, but we had sent those tapes out to labels a couple of months earlier and we got no response from any of them. So, in our impatience, we said, well we think these songs are pretty good, why don’t we take them out and play them live a see what happens. So again, that’s what we did! A month later we would move up into Hollywood at the Troubadour.

For us that were part of this historic night, the importance of this show cannot be overstated. We were a group of musicians that had no idea of what or how we would look in a live show. All that would come later over the course of the next few weeks. I would like to personally thank the band and all the crew that were involved that night for that first show. All of our destinies would change that night.

I’ll explain more next month in a segment that I’ll do to mark the first show we did at the Troubadour. For what most of the world knows that’s really where the band began, but this show too is significant because it was the real beginning of the band in its 4-decade long journey. This show would be the first night anyone would hear, “Love Machine, “On Your Knees”, “Hellion” and “School Daze”. I remember taking the stage that night and thinking, nobody knows who we are and nobody knows these songs. From this night, almost 2 years to the date of the release of our first album, all that would change!

Randy Piper

full in bloom: What was the recording budget for W.A.S.P.’s 1984 self-titled album?

Randy Piper:

(laughs) It was a lot. I know we spent a lot. It was about time. I mean, we probably got one of the biggest deals that any of those bands had gotten. Everybody had gotten signed in Los Angeles. We were the last ones with like Motley Crue, Ratt, Dokken, Black ‘n Blue, Great White, all of us got signed pretty much at the same time, and we got one of the biggest deals. Our deal was like a two (album), plus four option. So, it was two guaranteed and our deal was for three million dollars. It was a huge deal. Of course, they don’t do that anymore. It’s a lot tougher now. Kind of miss the old days. The digital revolution changed everything. I don’t think it will ever be the same again.

full in bloom: So, you guys got a nice, fat signing bonus?

Randy:

Oh, yeah, big time. I remember Tony and I got new cars, and we were driving down the freeway and we were just slamming beers, looking at each other with our feet hanging out the window. I mean, it couldn’t have gotten any better than that, you know what I mean?

full in bloom: What was it like working with Mike Varney?

Randy:

He’s an awesome guitar player. He finds all the good guitar players. Actually, a couple of years ago, I found an album by Leslie West that Mike Varney produced. Yeah, Leslie is talking about him, he goes, “Mike Varney, that fat bastard” (laughs). It’s called “Blues to Die For” and it’s Leslie West playing all blues. I’m a big Leslie West fan.

full in bloom: Once the band officially becomes W.A.S.P., how soon after did you guys sign your record contract?

Randy:

I don’t think it was that long. Things were really rolling at that time, but Blackie and I were together five years previous to that.

full in bloom: So, maybe a year after you guys named the band.

Randy:

I think less than that. We had already been recording. We just started going to better studios. We were in A&M and then in Capitol, we were all over the place. Baby-O, I think at the time. Then we were going to release the first single and Capitol said, “No.”

full in bloom: Which was F**k Like a Beast.

Randy:

Yeah, they said, “No, you can’t release that on Capitol Records,” so then they got us a deal with Restless Records overseas. They were going to print it in London, then the Queen’s Council got a hold of it and said you can’t do it here, either. I think they ended up pressing it in Belgium and importing it into England. Once it got into England, it was on the charts for like 110 weeks, which I think was a record at that time.

full in bloom: Any memories from that tour stand out?

Randy:

We went out and toured the first album. Then we’d come back two weeks, and then leave again for a couple of months. Then we’d come back for a couple of weeks, and then leave again for three months. It was pretty crazy then. When we did come back, we immediately went into rehearsals for the second album. Once the album was written, and we were halfway in the middle of recording it, we had to go out and support Maiden. So, we went out in the middle of recording “The Last Command” and had to put the first show back together. Even though the second show had already been put together, we’re out doing the first show again. We had to forget everything we had just learned and start playing the first show again. We did a bunch of festivals and shit like that and then we went back and finished the second album and then we were out on tour for that one.

Tony Richards

full in bloom: What was a typical day like for you during that time?

Tony Richards:

At first it was fun. Typical, you’d wake up, have some breakfast or whatever. I would make it down from Long Beach. Randy’s (rehearsal) studio was in between Blackie and I, so we would pretty much make it there at the same time. We would hang out there. Randy would block time out on other bands, so it would just be us. We would rehearse and write and spend hours in there. It was pretty fun. We would go get something to eat, or go shoot pool, or drive up to Hollywood to hang out. Pretty much, they were good times. When we were just getting to know each other and writing, it was kind of exciting. Then seeing the other up-and-coming bands in the clubs. It was a cool thing. Once the business end came into it, it was rush, rush, rush. Hurry here, hurry there, sign this, sign that, you have to be there yesterday. Things really started to roll fast after that.

full in bloom: What do you remember about recording Animal “F**k Like a Beast”?

Tony:

I remember the excitement of that song and being in a nice environment, being in that studio. Other people coming in and out from the studios next door. I think Quiet Riot was recording their album at the time. I just remember going from, sort of, I wouldn’t say rags to riches, but just having the respect and being in there working – putting something together that was very exciting. For me, it was just about being really excited about the whole thing. It was neat to be there and be included. And then you finish a good night’s work, getting some tracks down. Then step out on the streets, get something to eat, pick up some girls, and just hang out.

full in bloom: Any memories of Mike Varney?

Tony:

Not really. Like I said, I didn’t hang out a lot, and I think that used to bother Blackie. I just wasn’t the “hang out, play the rock star” musician. I would hang out for a little bit, have a drink, flirt a little bit, do whatever, and then BOOM, I was off to someone else’s house…private, you know? I don’t know, I think it might have rubbed him the wrong way. I think he wanted it to be more like the Crue. Hang out, go to strip clubs together, live and die together, so to speak. But Varney, I don’t think I ever got too close to him because I think he was more in Blackie’s ear.

full in bloom: I always thought he was a strange choice for a producer. You guys were signed to Capitol, and you chose a guy who hadn’t really proven himself.

Tony:

Yeah, I know, and I didn’t have any say. I remember hearing the mixed tracks. Well, first I remember hearing what we had laid down and the drums were just thunderous. They sounded great. Now, I know this is coming from a drummer, but it’s more than just that. The tracks that we laid down, the guitars, Randy’s guitars, they were out there, and everything was crisp and clean. I then remember this big WASH of disappointment when I heard the final mixes. They played it back, and the drums had been tweaked, to where they just sounded like shit. Randy’s guitar was buried. Everything had changed. And that was probably part of the reason I distanced myself from Varney because I had no say. I didn’t hang around, so I didn’t have a right to say anything.

It was a big circle, yet I knew things were fucked up. Something wasn’t right, and Varney is supposed to be behind the helm. So, I just had a feeling that’s Blackie calling the shots, wanting his man Varney in there, and it didn’t work out. And that was an important thing, that first album. That first album should have smoked more than it did. I mean, Capitol Records. Iron Maiden’s management. We had unlimited money, we had unlimited resources. There were a lot of bad decisions made, and Blackie made sure that he was in charge of a lot of shit and that was the beginning of the end. The rest of the guys in the band felt the same way.

full in bloom: In my opinion, that first lineup will always be the best W.A.S.P. lineup. I remember thinking, as a kid, that it was a big mistake to part ways with you.

Tony:

That was the problem. Blackie. I keep saying Blackie and I shouldn’t, but mainly it was. Him and whoever else he had involved with him in the band decisions, they all jumped the gun too soon. The best thing for a new band to do with that kind of money and resources behind them is to handle whatever fucking problems everyone has and keep it between the group. Whatever happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas in other words. What happens here, stays here and you do everything you can to glue this together. Do the first world tour and come back, then you start hashing out problems. That’s the time to work on it, but they made changes way too soon and that’s what ultimately killed the band. Greed fucked this band up. It was greed. Blackie was looking out for number one.

full in bloom: Do you remember doing the two videos for LOVE MACHINE & I WANNA BE SOMEBODY?

Tony:

Yeah. Those ended up being kind of corny looking. Shit like that used to bug me. The make-up, the corny videos and shit. I wanted to be cooler. I thought we were going to be cooler, more like the Crue, bad boys, but we weren’t that. Even if we were more Alice Cooper or partly KISS or something, but we were kind of in between and nowhere on any of that.

full in bloom: I didn’t even realize, before my Randy Piper interview, that you didn’t do the tour for the first album.

Tony:

NOPE. I got screwed out of it all, royalties, too. And they continue to sell t-shirts, posters and buttons and all that shit with my likeness on it.

full in bloom: Why were you kicked out of W.A.S.P.?

Tony:

I think I scared Blackie. I really lived the rock n’ roll lifestyle. I lived up in Hollywood. I was a madman. I was high every other night, every night. But I was always there, always on time, always did great shows. I just scared him; he was not that way. His was more of an act, mine was too real, and I think I was just too scary for him. I think he thought I was going to be trouble down the line, so he thought he was doing the right thing by nipping it in the bud.

full in bloom: How were you told you were out of the band?

Tony:

They called a meeting at Rod Smallwood’s house up in Beverly Hills. We all sat around a big table and talked about a few things. All of a sudden, that came up and before I knew it, it was like BOOM – the fingers were pointing at me and I just kind of stood up and said, “Whoa, ok.” I think I was in shock, and I just kind of walked away, walked down the driveway and got in my rental car, which I totally trashed. It was a brand new ’84 Cutlass with glass T-tops. Man, that thing was on one wheel when I brought it back. No glass left in it. I didn’t sit there with an axe and bust it up on purpose, I was just reckless in it. I fucked it up because I didn’t care.

Somebody had taken something away from me that I had worked my whole life for, and I was on a roll. I was on a binge. I was pissed. But yeah, I was devastated. I couldn’t tell you exactly what had happened or how, but I was the first to go. He used me as an example and had to put the fear back into Randy again because Randy had come and gone a couple of times. One by one, that’s what he was working on, he wanted control. It’s greed, man. The guy is a greedy, lonely person. The last few shows that I have gone to see him, he will not send his road crew down to escort me up, he won’t come down to see me or nothing. I haven’t seen him in years.

Chris Holmes

Chris Holmes:

When I joined the band W.A.S.P., before I joined, Randy was in the band and there was a bass player named Don Costa. When I joined W.A.S.P., it was Don on bass, Blackie on rhythm and Tony on drums. Randy was in the band, but they threw him out to get me in the band. Don was an outrageous player. He played with his fingers.

What happened was, we played the first show and Don was playing his bass out of tune on the last two songs. I flipped out. It really pissed me off. If you’re out of tune, you shut your guitar off or your amp, whatever. You don’t play out of tune. But I told him: “Don, if you ever play out of tune again, I’m going to chew your balls off and spit them in your face. Don’t you ever, ever do that with me again.” He quit. So, we had some shows lined up and Blackie freaked out and blamed me for it. He goes, “Well, we can bring Randy back in, he knows the songs, and I’ll just switch over to the bass.” That’s what happened. That’s how Blackie went to bass because Randy could sing, and he already knew the songs. Plus, I told Blackie that I was only going to be in the band for seven months to a year, and I was going to be gone because I didn’t want to be in a band like Sister. I didn’t want to work like that where I wasn’t happy. I didn’t want to play music and be unhappy. I wanted to do what Van Halen had done and be like them.

full in bloom: What was it like working with Mike Varney as a producer?

Chris:

Mike was enjoyable. He was a great guy to get along with. He used to play in a band called The Nuns. He was just starting to produce things. I love Mike. I saw him about ten years ago at some show in Vegas. It was cool seeing him again. I appreciated the guy.

Then, of course, Blackie got into a fight with him halfway through doing the record. So, Mike’s gone, and Blackie produces it. But Mike’s name had to go on it.

full in bloom: Oh, shit. I didn’t know that. I didn’t know they got into a fight at some point. I thought he was there through the whole thing.

Chris:

Well, he was there for the whole thing, but doesn’t it say that Blackie mixed and produced it.

full in bloom: I think it has both of them listed as producers.

Chris:

Right, not just Mike Varney. It had to be the narcissist himself. It should be that on every record – Blackie Lawless, the producer.

full in bloom: I think it is, pretty much. I guess Spencer Proffer produced the next one and then, from then on, it’s Blackie, right?

Chris:

Yeah. The Headless Children, Max Norman started doing the album, but halfway through, Blackie got into a fight with him and made Max leave.

full in bloom: How long did it take to record the first W.A.S.P. album?

Chris:

Two and half weeks. Two to three tracks a day, so the drums were probably done in three days. We were at the Record Plant. I went in and busted ass and laid down the rhythms, Blackie did the bass, and Randy came in and did a few solos. I did a few solos. He was singing in one studio while we were tracking the guitars in another.

full in bloom: And at this point you guys think that “F**k Like a Beast” is going to be on the record, right?

Chris:

No. We signed the record deal and before we found Mike Varney…We couldn’t put “F**k Like a Beast” on the record because Capitol wasn’t going to let it be on the record. Even if we called it “Animal” because it said “F**k Like a Beast.” That was released by an independent label in Europe. It was recorded at Cherokee, and it was done for Music for Nations. That’s the name of the record company. They put it out in England.

Some guy had commented on my YouTube channel, he said that Tony was kicked out because the record company made you guys kick him out. Is that true?

Chris:

No, Tony was kicked out because of Blackie and Blackie alone. That was it. You’ve got to remember that we were with Rod Smallwood, our manager. Rod had just moved to L.A. and Iron Maiden had just gotten rid of Clive Burr and changed singers, Bruce Dickinson. Tony liked to get high. They threw him out because they didn’t want someone who was addicted to drugs on the road. That was the only reason.

I always thought that once we got Tony on the road, he’d stop doing drugs. When you’re in L.A. and you ain’t got nothing to do, you go get high (laughs). You get drunk or fucked up in those days. When Tony was kicked out, it was like losing my left arm, man.

Out of everybody, you got along best with him?

Chris:

Yeah, Tony was great. I’ve got nothing but respect for the guy. I love the guy, he’s a great person, man.

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Listen Music Top Stories Tributes

W.A.S.P.’s Blackie Lawless on Elvis’s Death: “It was the gifts that took him away,” – Master Bedroom Furniture – 2022 – MOVIE

Blackie Lawless:

This August 16th will mark the 45th year of the passing of Elvis Presley, the undisputed “King of Rock and Roll”. There is really nothing that I can say about him that has not already been written about his life or his genius. Those that know me know I am a huge, huge Beatles fan. The basic 2-part vocal harmonies that they did would become the foundation of what W.A.S.P. has done for 40 years. They too had a multi-generational genius that will resonate as long as there are people with ears to hear.

But I’m writing this to mark the passing of what myself, and many, many others believe was the greatest single entertainer and influence of our time and possibly in the history of the World. We look at images of him, movies and documentaries about him, the recordings that have been soundtracks to all of our lives (whether we’re conscious of it or not) and most of us understand that we were seeing something we will most likely never ever see again.

I mentioned the Beatles earlier. They and Elvis Presley are the only artists to sell over 1 billion records each. There is a small, rarified group of artists that have broken the 100 million sales mark, but none of them are over 200 million.

Those are remarkable careers and numbers that few will ever obtain. With the current state of record sales, it’s doubtful any future artists will ever break 100 million again. Elvis Presley record sales now sit at approximately 1.8 billion. None of us will ever witness anything like him ever again. Whatever anyone may feel about him, we were, without question, privileged to see this truly supernatural force of nature.

About 15 years ago I had the opportunity to buy the house he owned in Palm Springs, CA. I kick myself now for not buying it when I had the chance. But I was privileged to buy the furniture that belonged to his master bedroom. I bought the master bed, the chest of drawers, end tables, chairs and lamps. I have it set up in one of the rooms in my house and sometimes I’ll go in there and just look at it and try to imagine what may have been going through his head at that point in his life.

I never had the chance to meet him, but I’ve studied him all my life. My mother told me that when I was 2 years old, she would take me to the grocery store, and I’d crawl down out of the cart and there would be a crowd of people standing around me as I was performing “Hound Dog” complete with all the moves. She later said she should have known then what I was going to do for a living.

The new movie “ELVIS” is terrific, and Austin Butler should without debate, win the Oscar for Best Male Actor. But the movie tells a sad, but accurate account of a man that was just given way too many gifts. No human being should ever be cursed to carry that monumental degree of burden. Some say it was the drugs that took his life at such a young age. But I believe those were only the symptoms. It was the gifts that took him away.

“Without Dreams Men Perish”. The Bible also tells a cautionary tale of another King. King Solomon. The description of him is eerily similar to Elvis. He also was given way too many gifts, and they too eventually took his life. Another historical account says, “And Alexander wept, seeing as he had no more worlds to conquer” speaking of Alexander the Great. These were men who suffered this “thing” most of us aspire to be. But as humans, we can resist anything… except temptation.

There have many, many great rock and roll artists that without whom rock as we know it today would never have happened.

But none greater than “The King”. Without him, it just simply would not exist… Long Live the King!

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Interviews Listen Music New Releases Podcast Podcast Excerpts Top Stories

Motley Crue/OUI Magazine Model on Dating Tommy Lee, Chris Holmes, & Blackie Lawless Interview

This is PART I of a full in bloom interview with adult magazine model Suzi Hoppe.

LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW VIA THE EMBEDDED YOUTUBE CLIP BELOW. You can access the video directly on YouTube @ this location.

DESCRIPTION:

Suzi was one of the models in the 1982 Motley Crue/OUI Magazine feature. In this segment, she talks about Rob Halford, David Lee Roth, and dating Tommy Lee, Blackie Lawless, and Chris Holmes.

INTERVIEW EXCERPT:

There was one night that me and a girlfriend of mine, from Camarillo, we were going to go out with Tommy Lee and a friend of his. He was probably like a bodyguard friend. I think we went to the Troubadour and then we went to somebody’s house, and I don’t know what happened. But something crazy happened, and my girlfriend started acting kind of weird. Tommy was upset. Tommy ended up punching a brick wall. It was really crazy. My girlfriend took off, and we couldn’t find her.

It ended up that, Tommy and his friend, they went back and searched the streets, and I guess they found her and brought her home. I don’t know what happened, but this ended my relationship with this girl. I think something happened to her. I think she might’ve been drugged or something. I don’t who did it, but I’m certain it wouldn’t have been Tommy.

I don’t know what happened to her. It was just really, really strange stuff. Yeah, she was like my best friend in high school. It was unfortunate what happened.

WHAT IS THAT ON MY FLOOR?:

I was out with Tommy. This is one of the first times we were together. So, he came up to Camarillo with me, and I was living with my mom and my sister. I was so excited because he was coming to my mom’s house. It was late at night when we came in, and I didn’t want to wake anybody up. So, I just grabbed some blankets, and we crashed on the floor.

My mom got up in the morning and she taps me on the shoulder, and she’s like, “Come here.” I go with her into the kitchen, and she’s like, “What is that on my floor?” I go: “Oh, my God, mom. It’s Tommy Lee.”

To get the complete interview clip, watch the video below.

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Music New Releases Top Stories

Blackie Lawless on the W.A.S.P. Song “I Wanna Be Somebody”: I always thought the song was, quite honestly, mediocre – 2022 – NEW ALBUM NEWS

Ultimate Classic Rock: W.A.S.P. frontman discusses 40th-anniversary U.S. tour, new album and more. You can read the entire interview @ this location.

INTERVIEW EXCERPT:

If you look at any of the biggest rock acts throughout history, I think they understood from a very early stage that they had to play the long game, and they weren’t interested in scoring one or two hits or being the flavor of the week and then disappearing. They wanted to turn this into a career. I think that takes a completely different mindset than just having your 15 minutes.

Yeah, because you know, what is it you have to say? I mean, what makes you different? What makes you so cool that you can actually verbalize something in lyrics? So what is it you’re trying to say? Do you have some unique perspective? Because there’s a lot of people that can play instruments out there. What sets them apart? What is it that they’re saying?

When [Pete] Townsend says, “I hope I die before I get old,” when you make a statement like that, that’s substantial. And it’s either going to endear people or it’s going to repel them. But you want to stand for something, so what are you saying that everybody’s thinking but has never really figured out a way to put into words yet? Is there something that you’re really moved about that you can say that other people are going to identify with?

“I Wanna Be Somebody.” That’s a pretty comprehensive statement. I always thought the song was, quite honestly, mediocre. But I get the sentiment because the sentiment is what moved me in the first place. And I think that’s a pretty fair example of what a fan base would latch on to and say, “That’s something I can identify with.”


How’s the new record going? How far along are you in that process?

Well, I could tell you it’s pretty far, but I’ve learned in the past that that doesn’t necessarily mean anything. … I was convinced where I thought this record was going before we [started], and now I’m not so sure. It doesn’t mean that the material is gonna change; it’s the way you treat the material. You know, how do you want the mix to sound? There’s a number of factors that go into it. So these things, a lot of times, I’ve learned you’ve got to get out of the way and let it take its own direction. I mean, you can force anything if you want to, but if you let it go where it wants to go, then that’s a big part of the beauty of the discovery process.

You can read the entire interview @ this location.

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W.A.S.P. with Producer/Guitarist Chris Laney – Skogsröjet Festival – 2022 – Rejmyre, Sweden July 30th – WATCH VIDEO – Blackie Lawless

Chris Laney:

W.A.S.P. look out Skogsröjet, they gonna kill as always! 🤘🏻

 

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Health Listen Music Top Stories

Chris Holmes of W.A.S.P. Health Update: “The comedown off the morphine was radical” – 2022 – GoFundMe Page

Former W.A.S.P. guitarist Chris Holmes talks about his battle with cancer. Watch the video below.

The Chris Holmes GoFundMe Page

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History Listen Music New Releases Top Stories

Blackie Lawless on W.A.S.P.’s Quick Rise to the Top in Los Angeles, “It was meteoric” – Interview – The Troubadour

Ultimate Classic Rock: Blackie Lawless still remembers the moment he knew he was gonna be somebody. You can read the entire feature @ this location.

EXCERPT:

It didn’t take long for W.A.S.P. to reach their Troubadour sell-out status. Lawless and guitarist Randy Piper formed the band in 1982 and quickly recruited guitarist Chris Holmes and drummer Tony Richards. At first, W.A.S.P. “never had any intention of ever playing live,” Lawless says.

“We had been in California for quite some time, and we understood that to get a record deal, you had to make the best demo tape you could make, and you had to showcase that material that way. That was the way to do it, not playing live. So, we went in and recorded — four times, we demoed that first record — and it ended up being effectively what you hear on that first album. So, after we had done all those sessions, we looked around and we said, ‘Well, you know what, we think these songs are OK. You want to try to take them out and play them live?'”

W.A.S.P. played their first show to about 50 people at the Troubadour on a Tuesday at 8 p.m. — “the worst slot of the week,” since the club was closed on Mondays, Lawless says. Within six weeks, they had graduated to the prime Saturday-night slot, doubling or tripling their audience each week and developing their legendarily depraved stage show, which included roaring flames, half-naked women tied to torture racks and the band throwing raw meat into the crowd.

Eleven months after making their Troubadour debut, W.A.S.P. was playing the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium to 3,000 people, all without management or a record deal. “It was meteoric,” Lawless says of the band’s rise.

Lawless specifically cites Quiet Riot’s Metal Health, the first metal album to top the Billboard 200, as a watershed moment for the scene, which had reached a boiling point.

“I remember telling people at the time, I said, ‘When rock encyclopedias are written 20 years from now, you’re gonna see the ’50s are gonna have its own chapter, the British Invasion will have its own chapter, the ’69 San Francisco movement will have its own chapter, but the ’82-’83 L.A. movement will have its own chapter.'”

You can read the entire feature @ this location.

 

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Interviews Listen Music Podcast Excerpts Top Stories

W.A.S.P. Guitarist Chris Holmes on the Time Blackie Lawless Knocked Him Out – Interview – VIDEO

This is a full in bloom interview with guitarist Chris Holmes.

LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW VIA THE EMBEDDED YOUTUBE CLIP BELOW. You can access the video directly on YouTube @ this location.

DESCRIPTION:

Chris talks about the time Blackie Lawless knocked him out during a W.A.S.P. show.

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Music New Releases Top Stories

Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider: Graphic Novel on the 1985 Senate Hearings – 2022 – He’s Not Gonna Take It – Z2 Comics

Dee Snider:

Did I mention I’ve got a graphic novel on the 1985 Senate hearings being announced soon? So, there’s that…

Z2 Comics and I have teamed up to bring you my first graphic novel, Dee Snider: HE’S NOT GONNA TAKE IT. “When I look back on that historic day, I think, how did I fit balls that big into those skintight jeans!? Then I reflect on the fact that I still stand for everything I stood for all those years ago…and I’m ready to do battle again.”

SIGNED copies available for pre-order now at this location.