THANKS to my Old Metal brothers Tom and Micki for sharing their war stories!
From Midwest Metal Tom:
On February 2, 2002 I got to see Dave Lombardo back in Slayer. At first it was only a few weeks thing with Dave and they (Slayer) were having drummer tryouts in several cities. This show was in Peoria, IL. I watched the drummer tryouts during the day and saw a few hacks as well as Joe (Soul-Fly) Nunez. Joe actually played Dave's kit on stage for his tryout. The others brought their own kits and had to set up in front of the stage on the floor.
Right after the drummer tryouts I got to interview Dave in the front seat of my truck...memorable as all hell. After we were done talking he told me to come watch the show from "his angle" and that's where this picture comes from.
The show was fucking great! I actually got freaked out during the show as it was beyond packed and the barrier between the stage and the crowd was not doing the job..it was like the people were in constant motion working the barrier. The security guards up front actually had to put their backs to the stage and use their legs to hold the barrier up and it was pretty intense.
A year and a half later while they were playing the whole Reign In Blood album, Dave saw me and I gave him a copy of the mag with our interview..He then remembered me and asked if I'd like watch the show from his point of view again. So I did and got to watch the master perform Reign In Blood...unfucking real.
From Brazilian Metal Micki:
When I was living in England in 1990, I got to interview Slayer in a hotel. I had my girlfriend at the time with me (she was also a Metalhead).
The guy who the band's manager gave me to interview was Dave Lombardo, and during the interview he was very simple and very, very nice and friendly. I took one of my Slayer bootlegs for him to autograph, which he did, but then he screamed to Kerry (who was being interviewed by another Brazilian journalist): "Hey Kerry, you got this one?". Kerry finished the interview quickly and jumped on the couch with Dave. I had a Slayer bootleg that he'd never seen before! The title of the bootleg was Flood of Blood, which had an iron cross with Slayer written in the middle.
They both stayed talking and soon Kerry said I could go after the other two (Tom and Jeff) to look for autographs (which I wasn't allowed without the manager - or him saying so). We also weren't allowed to take pictures, but Dave and Kerry said: "Bullshit!" and asked the other Brazilian journalist to take our picture (me, girl, Dave, Kerry).
Soon, Kerry left and Dave's wife Theresa arrived. The four of us talked awhile, and then they said my girlfriend and I could have passes for ALL the UK concerts!
Well, months passed and we took our word and went looking for them backstage. They not only remembered us but they also gave us the passes (every concert we went to), allowed us to see all the soundchecks (it was the 1990 Clash Of The Titans tour), and gave us all the different Slayer picks and a pair of drumsticks.
After one of the concerts, I saw Kerry alone sitting on an amp (later he declared that during that time he was having problems with the band) and I went to talk to him. He remembered the bootleg thing (it was months after that!) and I thought it was very cool that he was wearing an AC/DC cap!
Oh, by the way, thanks to Dave, I am in the 'War Ensemble' video clip!
SLAYER... FOR LIFE!
'War Ensemble' video - 1990
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Umlaut's Addendum:
I had forgotten that I "interviewed" Slayer once too; it was done in late-1983 prior to the release of their debut album. Back in those pre-Internet / expensive long distance phone call days my "interview" was done via the U.S. Postal Service; the questions were sent and returned by Mr. Postman. Quaint, innit?
According to the short band bio that was attached to my "interview" when it was returned, the album "will be released December 21, 1983" (just in time for Christmas!) and that "Metal Blade Records will be sending out copies of the 'Show No Mercy' LP to all fanzines. I have submitted your name to the list so you should be receiving a copy in the near future."I had already received an advance cassette of 'Show No Mercy' from Brian Slagel, which was why I wanted to "interview" Slayer. Unfortunately my questions were very lame, but I was only 19-years old so cut me some slack! If anything it's an interesting time capsule.
Kerry: "The L.A. scene is fucked."
Jeff: "Kerry and I don't get inspired."
Bio: "Clubs have started banning Slayer because of their excessive use of fire and smoke."
The "Interview":
The Bio:
Despite the lameness of my "interview" Slayer did thank me on the 'Haunting The Chapel' record as a result.
The bio mentions their tour starting in San Francisco in January 1984. Click HERE to see what that gig looked like.
To find out what happened to Steven Craig / Platinum Mangement click HERE.
