20 QUESTIONS WITH

THE ZEROS bassist DANNY DANGEROUS!

You are probably wondering why we would choose a comic book character for this week?s 20 Questions, right? Well, make no mistake about it ? Danny Dangerous is a cartoon character come to life. In case you?re worried, we?ll tell you that he is indeed on the side of justice, liberty, and the American way. Plus he’s the bass player for The Zeros!

For those of you not in the know, The Zeros were infamous for their trademark purple hair, custom made thigh-high Converse sneakers, and wacky stage show. They formed in New York in the early 80s, wrote the theme song for the Howard Stern show, then relocated to Hollywood and became one of the hottest bands on the Strip in the late 80s through the early 90s. The Zeros were managed by the famous Howie Huberman, who helped them to share the stage with all the other famous Hollywood bands like Faster Pussycat, L.A. Guns, and even Guns N? Roses.

In June 2005, The Zeros reunited and played at the Hollywood Rocks box set release party, being that they?re one of the many fine and talented bands to grace the 4 CD set (which you can buy RIGHT HERE). We did do 20 Questions with The Zeros? frontman Sammy Serious a few years ago, but that was then and this is now. So let?s meet the purple-haired bassist of The Zeros, the one and only Danny Dangerous! Here he is.

1. What are you currently up to? This is your one and only chance to plug your shit.

http://www.thezeros.us/ | http://www.theslowtimemondays.com/

2. The Zeros track ?Kokomo Joe? is featured on the Hollywood Rocks Box Set. That?s not really the most stand-out Zeros song. Of all the songs that could have been chosen, why the fuck is ?Kokomo Joe? on there?

I agree, we had way better already recorded unreleased stuff to offer, but that?s the song they asked for. Oh well maybe they will want to put the other stuff as well.

3. In the mid 90s you quit The Zeros and you were replaced by Toy Staci. After your departure, Joe Normal and Mr. Insane left the band as well. Rumor has it there was a lot of fighting between band members, and Sammy Serious alluded in his 20 Questions with Metal Sludge that there was a lot of smack talking going on. Can you shed some light on this feud?

If I have smack to talk, I will tell it to the persons face, Sammy wasn’t directing that at me, he told me later. The Zeros are like real flesh n’ blood brothers, that like went to war together, know what I mean? Through all our great times and through all our epic battles the bottom line is we are always there for each other, like family, a REAL band.

Old-ass promo shot of The Zeros

4. The Zeros also recently reunited to play the Hollywood Rocks CD release party. What was it like being together again and was there any hair pulling, bitch slapping or punches thrown?

Hair pulling & bitch slapping sounds gay, and punching sounds a little extreme for 1 show. The only problem we had was if we should do the purple hair or not. Joe felt strongly that we should go on & play it straight, I’m glad we did & it worked. We will save the purple hair & all our props & stuff for another day.

5. Rate the following bassists on a scale of 1 to 10. 1 being a broken-fingered hack, and 10 being the bomb diggity.

Jerry Dixon = Warrant had us play the Santa Monica Civic with them & I would like to say Thank You to them.
Gene Simmons = KISS is the band that got me into rock’n’roll. If you?re a KISS freak like me you feel strongly about this. To me Gene Simmons in 1974 & 75, NO ONE could touch him. Buried so deep in his demon persona it was like he wasn’t human & his bass lines rocked. He was hungry out to conquer the word & did. Ace Gene Paul Peter ? That?s KISS in my book!
Nikki Sixx = Not an influence on me personally…. Pete Way from UFO, now your talking my time line. But I still have my leather records lp, saw them early on.
Duff McKagan = Duff was cool.
Lesli Sanders = Doesn’t ring a bell, So I will dedicate this spot to some of MY influences, Graham Maby – Joe Jackson band, Pete Fardon -the pretenders, John E.-the who, Chuck Dukowski – Black Flag, Steve Harris -Maiden, Andy Rourke – the smiths, how about some non bass influences, Foghat, The Wildhearts, Spock, Joan Jett, Johnny Thunders, B.O.C., The Jam, Punky Meadows of angel & Rik Fox for the hair alone! Mick Ronson, & all of escondido california.
Chip Z?Nuff = cool, Chicago is cool but alot cooler when you?re in Wilco or Cheap Trick. Jon Brant, pete comita, all cool But we will give the Chicago best bass award to my biggest bass influence “the man” Tom Petersson!!!!!!!!
Toy Staci = Todd is a great guy & I like him alot. While I was gone The Zeros were lucky to have him in the band.
Geezer Butler = I love Black Sabbath, I am taking my kid to see them this summer at ozzfest. Some dads take their kids to ball games. Some take their kids to see Social Distortion, Kiss, The Adicts & Black Sabbath.
Chuck Bernal = Doesn?t ring a bell. So we will dedicate this spot to A.K.K. from the New York Dolls & Phil Lynott from Thin Lizzy … We miss you both.
Dee Dee Ramone = All the Ramones are heros in my book. I am looking at the framed autograph I got right now.

6. Is there anything really dangerous about Danny Dangerous?

At the time I joined the Zeros, my old boss nicknamed me Danny Dangerous, said I was like a “bull in a china shop”. I changed my last name to Dangerous because it fit the band & I felt it fit my 6’3″ 100 pound (at the time) self. It also fit my onstage energy, cause I jump around & knock into stuff. So, comedy outlook, Ya it fits. Serious outlook like “Hey…I?m Dangerous…watch out”..NO thats not what I was saying. If that was the case I should be (deliverance style)”Sqeeling like a Pig”. Zeros were fun, not made for people without a sense of humor.

7. The Zeros established a massive underground following throughout Southern California in the 80s and 90s, as well as a decent following across the Midwest and even in the UK, but it?s no secret that your stage show was the big draw and not the musical talent of the band. Do you think this is why The Zeros weren?t more successful?

The Zeros have talent & Sammy wrote alot of Great Songs that never got released. To our credit we never sold out, (meaning changed for the sake of a deal), and we had offers to. The problem was majors didn’t know how to market us. Too glam for 120 mins, not heavy enough for headbangers. We should have taken the inde deal way more early on & been touring the middle America more consistently. We always won on the live front & we eventually would have built
up our own market.

8. Name the 3 highest points and 3 lowest points of your career to date:

When we focused our attention to the Sunset Strip, Glam was way gone. Even Poison stopped wearing make up. The strip was all Metallica & Slash & Slayer. That first day of flyering the strip, Joe & I went there & it was the worst! Violent night, people were mad at us for being there looking like that…Fast Forward…We conquer, Headline.. we go flyering now & boots our converse high tops, manic panic is not uncommon & there are plenty of Zeros Clone bands doing there best to act cartoon style. Whiskey painted purple was the cherry on top….Long far away from that first day of flyering the Sunset Strip. I remember feeling proud I played a major role in changing the Strip back to glam. Also our manager Howie Hubberman got us on the cover of Los Angeles industry mag Music Connection, Industry dropped their guard after that & started giving us a chance.

Low point … Headlining The Palace on a Friday Night here in Hollywood. Early that morning (5:am) I was at the Bus Stop across the street waiting for the bus to take me to work. Looking at our name on the marquee, thinking…Something isn’t right with this picture.

9. Did you cry when the Coconut Teaser painted over the The Zeros logo and replaced it with Gilby Clarke?

No I was happy knowing we did something NO ONE else had done. That whole painting the club purple with logo in tow was a GREAT idea, & I know every band wondered why they didn’t think of it sooner. (Zeros lets take a moment here to pat each other on the back … just kidding.)

15. Of the following, which do you prefer and why:

Jetboy or Fizzybangers = Jetboy
Venice Beach or Malibu Beach = Malibu with a good swell & if you connect with the inside section rules! As long as it isn’t too crowded.
Manic Panic or Punky Colors = Manic Panic
Getting spit on by the audience or having eggs thrown at you = That?s what it was like that first time Joe Normal & I flyered the Sunset Strip!
Morgan Freedman or Samuel L. Jackson = Jet Li
Old Style or Pabst Blue Ribbon = Diet Coke
The Hamburglar or Grimace = The Joker
Shaun Cassidy or Leif Garrett = Wendy O Williams
Grass skirts or lais = Yes I lived in Hawaii, but it was boardshorts & flip flops, Shaved ice,& The
Pixies Doolittle cassette.
Alice Cooper or KISS = KISS (Sammy will disagree, Well Sludge, I think you just instigated the next Sammy vs Danny argument…Thanks)

11. What hard rock/heavy metal band should give it up and call it a day?

Who am I to judge? If anyone says it’s The Zeros… Go F*CK yourselves.

12. Give us your fondest memory of the following Hollywood clubs from back in the day:

Coconut Teaser =
Whisky-a-Go-Go =
Country Club =
X-Poseur 54 =
Cathouse =
Troubadour =
Gazzarri?s =
The Central =
Rajis =
Scream =

I headlined all these clubs & packed them all. Should I feel proud, like I accomplished something. Or should I feel like I failed & it was all for nothing because I didn’t make it to headline the Los Angeles Forum? Go on http://www.thezeros.us/ and post your answer on our guestbook.

13. What Zeros song could go into a vault called ?Songs that Fucking Suck??

Any song by the bomp records mex Zeros. F*CK THEM! We own the name The Zeros and in the early 90’s.Through lawyers we agreed they could reform release stuff play live as long as they Called themselves The Zeros 1977 or something like that as not to confuse anyone.1977 thru 1979 played local shows put out 1 inde single, west coast. 1982 east coast New Jersey Sammy starts The Zeros (long before internet). Eventually copywriting the name. I’m glad that the Offspring & Green Day injected interest in the history of the So Cal underground punk beginnings so bands way dead in the water like The Zeros from 1977 could sell a few cd’s Glad to see bomp be sold to W.E.A.. But they didn’t stick to our agreement & that?s wrong. Those cd’s that are out there from them came after we had worked so hard pushing that name, once again breaking agreement. Sammy has got emails for years .. “Hey I just bought a C.D. thinking it was your band but I think it is some other band?” All our accomplishments that were hard earned of being a band for 15 years of touring recording now there is this confusion, when it comes to the name The Zeros & it seems that?s the way they want it. Thats just one of the reasons we started the Official Zeros Website http://www.thezeros.us/ And we will be working together hard to protect what we accomplished.

C.C. DeVille joins Danny Dangerous on stage!

14. Out of all the bands that the Zeros ever shared the stage with, which ones were the coolest to work with, and which ones were the biggest bunch of jackasses you?ve ever met?

I hate when people try to be something they are not & in that process judge, belittle, put down, or make fun of others to try to fool themselves that they are not insecure & weak & no better than the next phony. That is a Jackass to me.

Jetboy was cool. L.A. Guns were great & helped us out a lot. I was friends with Paul Black the orig singer, Traci & Nikki Beat Alexander (weirdos ruled). We shared the same manager as TUFF & did a lot of shows with them. The bassist & guitarist were party guys, I am not so it was hard to relate. The Drummer & Stevie the singer had their act together big time & is the reason they were at that level. I liked Stevie & still do. C.C. from Poison was someone I looked up to, not from what he achieved, but from the fact he was always himself 24/7, no one could change him from being him & I love that! He always includes me in his world when I run into him,& I respect him for his talent & his onstage giving it all he has got.

Billy Zoom was out of X at the this time & my manager hooked me up with him to fix my Ampeg bass rig. He hot roded it out & made it sound amazing! I was a big fan of his & still am. I was star struck getting a chance to talk to him. The guy was smart, hard to read, & had a clever sense of humor.

I grew up in So Cal..in high school I loved the band STEELER I once asked Ron Keel (innocently) why all the local L.A. metal bands copied each others image, why didn’t they didn’t try to look different from each other? WOW? Did He Lose It!!!! I am just a dumb kid asking a innocent question, trying to make conversation from a local I looked up to. It is funny when I look back at it now…

I met John Waite at the Cafe De’ Grand one time, told him I loved his power pop band the Babys back in the day… He told me to “get the f*ck away from him”.. Sammy later that night asked why I seemed bummed out? embarrassed I told him the story.. It was funny how mad Sam got, running around the place looking to rip Waite a new ass hole, never found him. When one of us was down the other was right there to pick you up…That was what it was like in the Zeros back then.

15. Yes or No, has Danny Dangerous ever:

Been shot out of a cannon = OOOOHHhhh if the Zeros would have made it you would have seen that, we had a lot of ideas like that we were out to make Rock’N’Roll history!
Worn a HazMat suit = ???
Banged a fat chick for purple hair dye = I always looked down on rockers who lived off there girlfriends, I had a job & could buy my own hair products ..Thank You!!
Received a blowjob while wearing thigh high Converse = Had Offers…Looking Back I should have accepted some of those.
Gotten a brain freeze from a Pina Colada Bang = Sammy was into Pina Col Bangs .. I was a Big Gulp guy.
Ate at Popeye?s and El Pollo Loco in the same day = Search for the perfect slice of Pizza, the perfect pastrami dip, The best mex food stand (ala Albertos San Diego, Benitos L.A.), Come on player!!!!
Smoked crack out of a beercan = Drugs suck next….
Shit your pants on stage = I think the Sludge should do a new feature.. every month have a rocker or 2 or 3 tell a great shit story.. I wonder if anyone other than me would be honest enough to step up & let every one gather by the fire & have a laugh on them … Let me know. Or how about a Sludge feature old rockers that can’t get chicks anymore list there favorite porn site to beat pud to????? Or ask old metal kings a few 4th grade math & spelling questions & see what happens.. I know I would fail spelling .. Look I won’t use spell check on this so you can see what I’m talking about. A few sugestions from your old pal Danny Dangerous.
Spent the night in jail = No. The Zeros would get pulled over in the Zeromobile alot…But you can’t get arrested for trying to make it in a rock’n’roll band….yet anyway.
Touched another man?s penis = No..Is the part of the poll were you ask me what i will do for a million dollars????

16. Name one good thing about:

Girls = Fun at first, then more trouble than it’s worth
Drugs = Seems like I can use that answer again…I was never into drugs, & saw alot of people get fooled by them & sink down way down.. If Johnny Thunders would have never got into drugs he could have accomplshed so much more. We would still be able to go see an Alice N’ Chains Show. I could go on ? but why, you get it.
Clowns = The Zeros looked a bit like clowns …evil clowns…. didn?t we?
Basketball = I’m a rocker that likes to collect Kiss, Cheap Trick & vintage clothes from the 1950’s….Other than watching the UFC..I don’t watch sports.
Giant squid = Sharks are way more scary!
Teletubbies = Should not have been a t.v.show for kids…And should have started a guitar driven rock band!
Howard Stern using a Zeros song for his theme = Benefited The Zeros, I got to play Webster Hall in N.Y.C. in 97″ packed as all hell because he played that song. I listen to him in the mornings & will follow him to sirus radio.
Nuclear energy = I wouldn’t have to use purple hair dye if it polluted my water reserve, my hair would be purple normally!
Gilby Clarke = IZZY STRADLIN … was the man in my book. Not a Candy fan & Kills for Thrills didn’t have the songs that kept me singin. Never met him, sure he is a nice guy.
Donuts =

17. Fuck, Kill and Marry: Of the following people, which one would you fuck, which one would you kill, and with which one would you enter into holy matrimony?

Betsy Bitch, Dinah Cancer, Pauly Shore

Have to kill Pauly (which isn’t fair, you set it up like this because you know I work with him, but I know he will understand)

Marry = I love Dinah Cancer saw 45 grave alot also her new band the grave robbers. I would gladly take her as my wife & ask her to marry me.

F*ck = Betsy Bitch for sure if I could survive the night I would show her the autographed Bitch e.p. I bought in highschool & still have.

18. For a quick $1000 in cash, which of the following would you do (and you have to pick one):

a) Find a dead, stinky, rotten trout covered with flies, maggots, and all kinds of nasty creepy stuff, then pick it up with your bare hands and eat the entire fish;
- or -
b) Lick the snot out of Mr. Insane?s nose, one nostril at a time, and you have to swallow everything your tongue finds up there.

Which will it be, Danny boy?

b. That sucks, but hey … he is a bud.

Danny Dangerous (on left) in his Rockabilly band The Slowtime Mondays. Haroo!

19. The Last of Danny Dangerous:

Last book you read = Hollywood Rocks & couldn’t understand why they didn’t give us a feature page? No really the book I read was “Broken Summers” by Henry Rollins & a book called choosing Death a book about the start of Death Metal.
Last CD you purchased = I bought 3at the same time The new Napalm Death cd called “the code is red”, The new Teenage Fanclub cd called “man made” & A cd from a San Diego Rockabilly band called The Lucky Stars called “stay out late”. Right now I am listening to Jethro Tull the “Stand Up” cd, while I am misspelling this.
Last concert you bought a ticket to see = Judas Priest reunion next Friday! Com on big-imp’n’
Last vegetable you ate =
Last bass you purchased = The new Ventures signature model, see it on the Slowtime Mondays site.
Last place you jacked off = In front of my high def-t.v. watching a porn called “Ass Worship 5″ the scene with a Slowtime Monday fav …. TIFFANY MINX.
Last time you got a speeding ticket = Didn’t
Last time you got a prostate exam = I was bummed, I have a woman doctor that?s Asian & I thought that would be cool, but she didn’t do it…Oh Well…
Last time you singed an autograph = At the last show!
Last time you barfed = when I saw our time slot for the Hollywood Rocks show & I had already committed to doing it. I guess I should have worked that out I just thought it was understood that Jetboy, Odin, & The Zeros were the only ones that were actually part of it back in the day.

20. Time for Metal Sludge?s Word Association! We mention a name and you give us your thoughts.

Jani Lane = Hope he will let the Zeros open for him when he puts a show together here in town.
Tracii Guns = I have to add Traci to my local Hero list, i looked up to him & learned alot watching him. He was always positive & supportive! He is awesome & a great player. I am glad to say I know Traci Gunn!!!!!!
Paul Stanley = KISS or solo or phantom of the opera, I don’t care what he does I will always buy a ticket to see this man & buy whatever he puts out on cd.
Steven Adler = When you saw G’n’R flyering he was always cool & the most approachable one & was always nice to me.
Mr. Insane = a complex person that I respect to all hell & when I see him he brings a smile to my face. I will always be there if he needs me.
Randy O = When it comes to Odin Randy is cool but my fav members were The Duncan brothers Great Drummer & Great Guitarist..Jeff Rocked!
Tommy Lee = Always said he loved our artist Butch Lukic & loved the cartoon ads. Met a couple times, cool guy.
Sammy Serious = The big brother I never had. I am lucky to have found Sammy & he is lucky to have found me. We are both into alot of the same things (music pizza hangin out). He honestly seems like a brother to me. We fight we laugh we cry (about not making it to the big time… just kiddin) we play music we complain we talk on the phone we go out to eat we always get asked by other people what the other one is doing. All the Zeros have that in common.
Howard Stern = Big Fan I wish I could have been there when the Zeros were on his show.
Ted Nugent = Another childhood fav. A Ted show when I was a kid was a religious event. I took my kid to see Ted also. Ted Rocks!

Like the man said, if you want more information about The Zeros or The Slowetime Mondays, visit the following various Web sites: www.thezeros.us & www.theslowtimemondays.com. The Zeros are back together again and playing shows, so be sure to check them out if you get the chance! Trust us, you’ll hate yourself if you don’t.

And please don’t forget, you can also hear The Zeros’ track “Kokomo Joe” on the Hollywood Rocks Box Set. And luckily for you, we happen to that have available RIGHT HERE! Tell everyone you know!