3-Wind with Scott Ian, 5/5/03

 

3-WIND WITH…

Anthrax’s Guitarist Scott Ian

We first talked to Scott on March 7, 2000.

We then did his ReWind March 21, 2001.

Since that time, Scott has done a few Tour Diaries for us, won a Super Balls Award for wearing a Metal Sludge shirt on VH-1, and been a frequent contribute to our sorry little page. In fact, Metal Sludge is even thanked in the new Anthrax CD, “We’ve Come For You All” which is currently in a record store near you! Naturally, we thought it was time to his Scott up for a 3-Wind and this time we had Jim Bob Dwarf call up Scott and do it over the phone! Everybody loves a phoner and this time we got our favorite Jew on the line. This 3-Wind went down on April 7, 2003.

1. What are you up to? Blah blah blah….

Well I’m at home doing promotion for the U.S. release of “We’ve Come For You All” which comes out on May 6th. And we just got back from Europe. We had a killer tour over there. Just lots of promo all month for the release of the record, and uh, we want people to get off their asses and go out and buy a record that I guarantee it will be listening pleasure for the years.

2. In the bible, what came first, the old testament or the new testament?

In the bible what came first? Well the old testament and the new testament are different books of the bible, right? So…..then the old testament came first. That’s a strange one. And I guess it depends on what you believe in, cause I don’t believe in either, so….

Jim Bob: Agnostic type? Atheist?

Nah, I don’t categorize myself at all.

3. Why does Anthrax have so many problems with record labels?

Uh, well, because we’re picky and we’re perfectionists. (chuckles)And uh, it’s kinda hard to have any control of situations when you’ve got labels that go out of business. We’ve been through that now twice. So I would say we would have had a lot less problems if the labels themselves had better foundations but we were with Ignition for “Volume 8″ and they went bankrupt. Well not bankrupt, Tommy Boy pulled their funding so they had no more money. And then we were with Beyond and Beyond went Bankrupt. So we were on two labels that basically couldn’t keep their doors open. And you know, we didn’t want to be in those situations. When we went into those deals it was with the best intentions because we thought both of them were going to work out great. Then it just basically ended up wasting years of our lives, so that’s a huge frustration for us. And even going into the release of this record, where we thought it was going to be Beyond, and then we had something together with Artists Direct and they were nice enough to come to us and tell us that they didn’t think that it was going to go so well and they thought we weren’t going to be able to release the record when we wanted to. And at least they were cool enough to come and be straight with us instead of holding up our career for another year. And then we were able to end up on Sanctuary.

4. At this very moment, are you even sure you have a record deal? Can you prove it?

(laughs) Actually I can!(laughs) I’m actually sitting here looking at what was the final whatever you want to call it…the final draft of the Sanctuary contract which I just signed today and I’m waiting on John Bush to sign it. But yeah, the record is 100% go and I guess unless the world ends before May 6th, I’m sure the record will be out.

5. Last of Scott Ian:

Last time you trashed a house = uh, last time I trashed a house? (pause) Good question. Uh…..when’s the last time I trashed anything? Uh, not in the recent past but go to the next one them Maybe at some point it’ll pop in my head.

Last CD you purchased = Johnny Cash, the most recent one with the Nine Inch Nails cover on it.

Last time you strapped on your old school = just a couple of night ago. I busted out Whitesnake “Slide It In” vinyl and cranked it.

Last move you saw in the theater that you thought sucked = (pause) in the theater, God, I haven’t been to the movies…..I’m trying to remember the last movies I saw. Uh….(pause) God, what would it have been? It’s been a long time, it’s gotta be uh(pause)….wow, you’re stumping me. Godzilla!

Jim Bob: Godzilla?

Yeah, the re-release with Matthew Broderick. It’s been that long. I go to the movies a lot but I generally see things that I know I already want to see ‘em and I kind of have an idea that I’m going to be into it. And I went into Godzilla thinking I was so stoked to see it and I was so pissed I wanted to walk out. But the people I was with wanted to stay and I was driving.

Last time you talked to Billy Milano = right before we left for Europe. Right at the end of February, beginning of March. Actually I got an email from him today.

Last time you needed a watch fixed = (laughs) I haven’t needed one fixed in a while but I know who not to call.

Last time you were Caught In A Mosh = In Japan. In Japan at the Beast Feast in December when Slayer was playing.

Last concert you saw from the audience = Scorpions, Whitesnake, and Dokken.

Jim Bob: Dokken!

I missed Dokken though. Well I purposely missed Dokken.

Jim Bob: I understand.

Last piece of sports memorabilia you stole = That would be, well, see I never actually stole anything. So never. I never actually took it. I left it there.

Jim Bob: (laughs) Ok.

It was attempted. I failed.

Last time you wore a yamika = uh, last Passover, so about a year ago.

6. Recently there was a petition for Anthrax to get on OzzFest, but that didn’t end up happening, again. How frustrating is that?

If it was just the petition’s fault, then you know, at least I could be frustrated about that. But sadly it’s much……it takes much more than an internet petition to get on OzzFest. It’s really frustrating. We think we would be great on OzzFest. We think we fit right in with that concert whether it’s on the main stage or on the second stage. We had managers and agents pushing really hard to get us on it this Summer and it was this wall. Yeah, it certainly is frustrating but hopefully we’ll be out all Summer anyway on something else that might even be cooler.

7. Which would you rather have happen to you (and you have to pick one):

a. You wake up to discover a naked, sweaty Frank Bello standing over you, beating off, and just as you realize what’s going on, he blows his wad and it hits you in the eye;

or

b. You are chased down an alley by a pack of rabid dobermans towards a barbed wire fence, and as you jump the fence, it catches between your legs and rips your nutsack open.

Hmmm, what a choice to have to make. Uh,(pause as Scott seriously thinks this over) and I have to choose one.(long pause) I’ll say B.

Jim Bob: B!

Yeah, why not?

Jim Bob: (laughs) Christ!

8. Iann Robinson, of MTV fame, said in his 20 Questions that “Anthrax suck and they should just stop it.” How does that make you feel?

It doesn’t make me feel anything. That’s Iann’s opinion. I actually get along just fine with Iann and we speak quite frequently over the internet, so I respect people who can speak their mind and listen to something and say whether they like it or not, and not have to bullshit it or candy coat, or blow smoke. I truly believe that. Because if people ask my opinion they’re usually gonna get it. So it doesn’t mean anything to me. I like the fact that people can accept themselves.

9. Let’s get totally silly and pretend “We’ve Come For You All” blows up and goes Gold or better. What three other bands would you guys want to take out on an arena tour. (pause) Tenacious D, The Upper Crust…. Jim Bob: Are they those cats that dress up in powdered wigs and shit? Yeah, yeah. They rule. Tenacious D, The Upper Crust, and uh….Dimmu Borgir. They’re a black metal band.

10. Rate following chicks on a scale of 1 to 10. 1 being a horrible mess and 10 being the ultimate hottie.

Wait, I have to share these with my girlfriend.

Shakira = I’ll give her….her voice makes me wanna puke. I’ll have to give her….(Pearl asks “is it just based on looks?”) Yeah, is it just based on looks?

Jim Bob: Yeah.

5.

That chick from Lacuna Coil = God, I mean, I don’t know. Uh, 6.

That chick on Uranium = oy, like a 3. 2. 1. 0.

Molly Sims = I don’t know if I know who she is. (Thanks Brent Thompson from Anthrax.com! Good suggestion….NOT!)

Monica Belucci = she’s hot. 10.

Jennifer Garner = not a big fan of…..4.

Sofia Vergara = I don’t know who that is.(Thanks Brent! See above comments) Should I look her up on the internet and rate her?

Jim Bob: If you want.

How is her name spelled? (Jim Bob spells out the name and Scott does a search on the internet for her.) Ok, here’s her official website. And…(Scott waits for a photo to appear.) Photo album.

Jim Bob: Now I wanna look.

Who is she?

Jim Bob: I don’t know. (Neither do we but Brent told us to ask so we did. Last time we listen to him.)

A model or an actress.

Jim Bob: I have no idea. Lets take a look. (Jim Bob goes to the website.)

She’s got a big fish mouth. (laughs) Monica Belucci is better looking than her though.

Jim Bob: I have no idea who that is.

I’ll give her a 7.

Avril Lavigne = I don’t know. I don’t think 9 year olds are sexy.

Tyra Banks = yeah, she’s hot, but I’m not into the big, inflatable boobs. So I put her at like 6.

Jessica Alba = is that that dark….she’s the one that was on that shoGive her a 6.

11. What are your thoughts on Kiss still touring and Tommy Thayer wearing Ace’s makeup?

Oy! There’s my thoughts. Oy! Jewish fucking……that’s the Jewish sound of I don’t even know what to do with that information. It bums me out, truthfully. Look, I mean Gene Simmons is Gene Simmons, and (sighs) you know, I understand why he doesn’t want to…..if I was in Kiss I think I would still do it no matter what too. But I’m a Kiss fan and my Kiss window is a very small window of time. From 75 to 78 and then again in 96 with the initial reunion tour when they first did it. You know, I went to see it a bunch of times but then that was it. And now it’s 2003, 7 years later, and they’re still doing it and it doesn’t have Ace in the band. Look, who am I to tell Gene Simmons what to do, and he certainly could give a fuck, but as far as I’m concerned it should have just been 96 and done, and go on and do other things in your life. Every time I see him, “I’m a movie producer,” I’m this, I’m that, well I wish he would go do those things and stop doing Kiss. Leave it alone. Especially without Ace in the band. It’s hard for me, being the Kiss fan that I am, it hurts me.

12. Having rapped with Public Enemy and filled in for Danny Boy of House of Pain for a few shows in the mid-90s, what’s your take on rap and why does it suck so bad? Not rap-metal mind you but hip-hop yo yo bling bling? Do you think it’ll get the kind of backlash hair metal and disco have gotten?

I think it will, eventually. Yeah, I actually do think it will for sure, get that same type of backlash at some point because it’s really just become completely over the top, all image driven type of thing. Like, I don’t know, I can actually say I haven’t heard any hip hop that I’ve been into in years, outside of maybe like the Jurassic Five, a little bit of Notorious B.I.G. Hip hop totally lost me. And Missy Elliot. Her records I dig. Outside of that, hip hop really lost me. I can’t say, I’m not into any of the stuff that’s so huge and think is the greatest thing on Earth. I don’t hear anything that’s even ever come close to Public Enemy or N.W.A. and you know, or even like maybe the first Dre record or the first Ice Cube solo record. I mean, I haven’t liked any hip hop really in years and years and I’m kinda hoping there is backlash against it because I think there is so much crap out there and it all sounds the same to me. And at least that might weed out a lot of it and then whatever is good will remain.

13. Who, among the following, is the bigger bitch, and who has the biggest balls?

a. Joey Belladonna

b. Neil Turbin

c. Paul Crook

d. Richie Scarlett

e. Zakk Wylde

Who’s the biggest bitch and who has the biggest balls?

Jim Bob: Correct.

Well Zakk Wylde definitely has the biggest balls. And the biggest bitch…..Richie Scarlett. I don’t even know Richie Scarlett.

Jim Bob: He’s like an Ace Frehley wanna be or something.

I mean I know who he is, but I’ve never said more than “Hi” or “How are ya?” I don’t know the guy at all. And as far as….who was left?

Jim Bob: Paul Crook, Neil Turbin, and Joey Belladonna.

Right. I can’t…….Neil Turbin has some pretty big balls. Well I’d have to say out of all of them when we offered Joey to do that tour in the beginning of 2000, and he ended up deciding not to do it, I’d have to say, if I have to use the word bitch, that would be a bitch move for him to do that. I just think that he made a big mistake and it definitely would have been better for him to come out and be on a sold out tour and get out there in front of fans and rock rather than sit home and not do that. So that’s something I never really understood on his part.

14. Really, what’s Billy Milano’s problem?

(laughs) You know, Billy is definitely just……how can I say this? I mean, I know Billy Milano and uh, and most people will only know him from the stuff that gets posted on the internet or interviews that they read, and I know the guy, so over all the time of stuff being posted, and crap being said, you’ll notice that I rarely ever really answered any of that stuff other than once in a while because it’s just something that I’m not gonna get into. You know, I’m not going to get into a fight with Billy over the internet. Anything that we have to say to each other we say to each other. There is no problem talking to each other face to face. And that’s it. Billy really doesn’t have a problem other than he really likes to express himself and express himself frequently. And you know, that’s ok with me. It has pissed me off and it has hurt my feelings, some of the stuff that’s been said, but at the same time it’s like hey, if he needed to say that, he needed to say it. And the two of us have been able to work it out between us. The last thing I’ll ever do is get in like some stupid pissing match on a website. I can’t be bothered to ever do that.

15. Which do you prefer and why?

New England Clam Chowder or Manhattan Clam Chowder = (laughs) Uh, lets see. I like ‘em both but if I had to pick, uh, New England Clam Chowder. I like it with Tabasco in it. That’s the weirdest question ever!(laughs)

Nuclear Assault or T.T. Quick = Nuclear Assault.

The bathrooms at Grand Central Station or the bathrooms at the Port Authority = Grand Central. Much nicer bathrooms.

Tenacious D or Ronnie James Dio = oooh. That’s a battle right there. Tenacious D or Ronnie James Dio. Wow. The path towards Tenacious D.

Bagels or blintzes = bagles.

Joe Pantoliano or James Gandolfini = Joey Pants or James Gandolfini. Uh, Joey Pants.

David Bowie or Iggy Pop = Iggy Pop.

Pork chops or spare ribs = spare ribs.

Anna Nicole Smith or Kelly Osbourne = Anna Nicole Smith or Kelly Osbourne. Which one do I pick? Oh my God. I’ll have to say Anna Nicole Smith.

The Beastie Boys or Gefilte Joe and the Fish = (laughs) Never heard of Gefilte Joe and The Fish but I like the name.

Jim Bob: Never? They’re like a Jewish senior citizen hard rock band in the 70s or some shit.

No.

Jim Bob: Dr. Demento type stuff.

Never heard ‘em so I’ll have to go with the Beastie Boys.

16. Does anyone still blow you any shit about your band’s name? Let us know so we can have them whacked.

(laughs) Yeah, we can send them an envelope! You know, no, nobody, other than people still asking…and I don’t mean this question, but other than people still asking questions about it and us changing our name, nah, nobody. Nobody at all has given us any hassles about it in a while. Although, on a related note, the last show we did in Europe, and we spent a whole month over there, you know with the war breaking out and everything, a lot of people were wondering if there was anti-American sentiment towards us over there, and you know, no. Not at all. We’re playing rock shows. People are coming to have fun and go nuts. Not in the least was there any anti-American sentiment and then we get to our last show, in Grenada, Spain, and at some point while we were on stage, someone had snuck into our dressing room and in like a black magic marker and wrote on our mirror saying, “We love Iraq, Americans go home.” And we were just like, what…..well we are going home it’s the last show….like what the fuck? I mean the ignorance of that. All it would take would be like someone to have the balls to come talk to me to my face and say that. At least be able to have the interaction of a human being expressing himself saying, you know what, why don’t you come talk to me and ask me how I feel about it other than just being an ignorant asshole and writing something like that on the mirror. It really pissed me off.

17. Yes or no, has Scott Ian ever:

Had a guitar burn your hands = (laughs) never.

Wanted to play guitar for Warrant = never.

Met Britney Spears = never.

Been to Ozzy’s house = never.

Gone on an easter egg hunt = yes!

Been mistaken for a neo-Nazi = (laughs) uh, probably.

Let a chick piss on you = nope.

Experienced a premature ejaculation = nope.

Gotten a massage with a “happy ending” = nope.

Missed having hair on your head = ah, yeah, sometimes.

18. You’re en route to Rio De Janerio when the plane you’re flying on suddenly loses all engines and crashes in the middle of the Amazon jungle. The only survivors are a blonde chick in a S.O.D. shirt, a brunette in a M.O.D. shirt, a redhead in a P.O.D. shirt, and yourself. You are hundreds of miles from civilization and night is fast approaching. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the wreckage is soon surrounded by savage natives with spears, poison darts, and all kinds of scary pointed things. Their leader communicates to you that you must offer up one of the girls as tribute or you’ll all be hung from trees and disemboweled. The spears pointed in your direction indicate that he’s not fucking around. You have seconds to make up your mind. Which chick do you choose?

What are the shirts again? Jim Bob: A blonde chick in an S.O.D. shirt. Right. Jim Bob: A brunette in an M.O.D. shirt. Right. Jim Bob: And a redhead in a P.O.D. shirt. Right. Huh. And I have to offer one as a sacrifice to who? Jim Bob: To the natives with the pointy sticks. The natives with the pointy sticks. It has nothing to do with Jesus then. So P.O.D. wouldn’t appease anything.(laughs) Jim Bob: Nope. Uh….God. Well, I would still do the one with the P.O.D. shirt. I wouldn’t have to look at that shirt.

Scott with Anthrax.com webmaster and May 2003 Sludgeaholic Of The Month Brent Thompson

19. What’s the best and worst part of being a recognizable C-list celebrity?

Uh, am I C-list?

Jim Bob: I think you are.

Have I made it that high?

Jim Bob: You have.

Wow. I didn’t know I was on the C-list. That’s only two away from A. (laughs)

Jim Bob: That’s right!

God, I don’t know. I guess the best part is some of my friends call me Laminate Face. Because basically we can go anywhere and get in because it’s like my face is like a laminated all access pass. It can get us into any show or any club anywhere. So I guess that’s the good part. I don’t know what the bad part is about it. The bad part about it is when you’re taking a piss at the airport and the guy in the stall next to you is trying to shake your hand cause he used to listen to you in high school.

20. If you called anybody in the Metallica camp, would they return your phone call?

Yes! I talk to Kirk regularly.

21. Bands that go gold these days are treated like multi-platinum acts from just a few years ago. With music sales all around in the toilet, what would you do if you ran a major label to boost sales?

Well probably drop 90% of the bands on the label and do like they used to do before 1995 and actually focus on a few good acts and try to develop their careers rather than release 500 records of shit and wait for one to sell 10 million to pay the bills for the next 6 months. I would concentrate on the less is more theory.

21. Time for Metal Sludge’s Word Association. You know how it goes.

Lonn Friend = great guy. A sage.

Riki Rachtman = glad he’s still around.

Dee Snider = ah, Dee. Metal hero.

Whitfield Crane = my best friend.

Metal Shop = so much fun.

Fred Durst = annoys me.

Vince Neil = (laughs) sad.

Gene Simmons = still my hero.

Dimebag Darrell = insane.

Kirk Hammett = my bro.

Dave Mustaine = wish he was still around.

Meatloaf = the king.

22. Who’s the man?

(laughs) Am I supposed to say I’m the man? (laughs)

Jim Bob: Say whatever you want.

Uh, who’s the man? Johnny Cash.

Jim Bob: All right. That’s it for you.

I still don’t know when’s the last time is I trashed a house.

Jim Bob: No idea?

No.

Jim Bob: It’s been a long time?

Yeah. You know, you can go way back, we once trashed a house on Headbanger’s Ball back in the 80s. That’s the last time I can actually remember trashing a house.

Jim Bob: And it was on film?

Yeah. It was a mess.

Thanks to Scott and Jim Bob for giving us an entertaining interview!

Anthrax’s new CD “We’ve Come For You All” is in stores today, so don’t sleep on that. Get your ass to the store and show some support. For more info on Anthrax, you can visit www.Anthrax.com!