20 QUESTIONS WITH…

Ex-Anthrax Bass Player Danny Lilker

VH-1 might have forgotten about him, but not Metal Sludge! In our never ending quest to interview a past or present member of Anthrax each month, we are now doing 20 Questions with Danny Lilker! As you might know, Danny was a founding member of Anthrax along with Scott Ian. He was also in S.O.D. and Nuclear Assault. Danny emailed us after our 20 Questions with John Bush and volunteered to do 20 Questions, so here they are. Enjoy!

1. What are you currently up to? This is your only chance to plug whatever it is you do.
If we ever do another The Ravenous record, I will be on it. Same with S.O.D., but we’ll see about that. Currently Nuclear Assault has reunited for a few shows, besides that, nothing to plug as in something completely new.

2. How long have you been worshipping Satan and do you think that God will forgive you? I’ve been worshipping Satan since I first heard Venom, and it’s way too late to be forgiven. Actually, I’ve always been an atheist, therefore I’m off the hook regarding holy judgement… 3. What hard rock/heavy metal band should give it up and call it a day? Ozzy. The Ozzfest has turned into a yearly showcase for nu-metal bands, which I don’t like. 4. Who do you idolize? No one these days. If you’d have asked me 20 years ago, I might’ve said Steve Harris or Cronos.

Lilker in Nuclear Assault

5. Rate the following bass players on a scale of 1 to 10. 1 being somebody with no rhythm and 10 being a bass god.
Gene Simmons = 7
Jason Newsted = 6
Dave Ellefson = 9
Nikki Sixx = 5
Bobby Dall = 3
Jerry Dixon = ?
Fieldy = 1
Rex Brown = 6
Frank Bello = 7
Mike Inez = 6

6. What are your thoughts on Billy Milano’s 20 Questions he did with us and where do you stand in the Scott/Billy feud?
Billy put a lot of stuff aside in his life to do S.O.D. again, and was quite pissed when the touring fizzled out, which is why there is a “feud”, as you put it, in the first place. He has a right to be pissed, and he expresses himself as only he can.

7. Who thought up the name “Anthrax”?
Knowing you, you already know the answer. Of course, it was me.

8. Do you have any (music industry) regrets?
Not really. I’ve always done whatever the hell I’ve wanted when it comes to making music. Of course, some labels I’ve been on in the past have pulled a lot of bullshit, but that’s just the fucking industry…

9. Black Metal, Death Metal, Speed Metal, Thrash Metal. What does it all mean?!!!
People have to be able to categorize things to understand them, unfortunately. It’s human nature.

10. The last of Danny Lilker:
Last time you attended church = Charlie’s wedding, May 2001
Last CD you purchased = Immortal “Sons Of Northern Darkness”
Last movie you saw = Lord Of The Rings
Last VH-1 show you were left out of = Hahahahaha, Anthrax
Last drug you did = Weed, if that counts
Last time somebody asked for your autograph = 3 weeks ago when N.A. played the Metal Meltdown festival in Jersey.
Last porn magazine you looked at = Barely Legal
Last band you played in = ? Nuclear Assault
Last time you were kicked out of a band = 1984
Last time you saw a corpse = Never up close. Sorry to disappoint you.

11. You have the reputation of being very knowledgeable and passionate when it comes to “Metal”. Do you have any idea when the first “blast” beat was recorded?
1983, on the song “Makes No Sense”, on the first D.R.I. release.

12. What rock star deserves a smack in the mouth and why? I’d have to say Courtney Love, ‘cos she’s a pretensious cunt. (Did I spell that right?) 13. You’ve been in a lot of different bands. Why do you move around so much? I have a short attention span. 14. How did you get that insane bass tone on “Milk”? The bass tone on the first S.O.D. album was acheived by playing through Scott’s TC Electronics distortion pedal in combination with a very loud Acoustic bass amp. Killer tone + ample volume = Death.

Danny in S.O.D.

15. Has Danny Lilker ever:
Killed a goat = Not personally
Used Scott Ian’s name in vain = No, but I’ve used it in pain after one of his egg salad farts
Drawn a pentagram in blood on a wall = A little one, yes
Owned a Trixter or Winger CD = No
Thought Mudvayne looked like a glam band = No
Had sex in a cemetery = No
Wished Frank Bello would get hit by a truck so you could rejoin Anthrax = Ha, no.
Jacked off in the bathroom of an airport = No
Thought Charlie Manson is probably a cool guy if you just get to know him = No
Sacrificed a small child in the name of Satan = No

16. Can you explain the different meanings of corpse paint?
I prefer the old smudgy Hellhammer-style corpse paint to the intricate, fashion-orientated shit people did in the 90’s. I heard once that Dani Filth
used a protractor to make sure his paint was symmetrical.

17. Do the black metal bands realize they are all just copying an oversexed, cake eating, super rich Jew? Gene Simmons, that is. Duh.
What’s wrong with eating cake?

18. Have you ever gotten through a day without being stoned?
Yes.

19. Do you really think that you or your Mom were left out of the VH1 Anthrax Behind the Music by accident?
Sorry, but I am not going to speculate in public anymore about my exclusion from the show.

20. Time for Metal Sludge’s Word Association. We mention a name and you give us your thoughts.
Dan Spitz = Born-again watchmaker?
Paul Crook = Very cool guy even if he looks like Billy Idol
Sebastian Bach = Dude looks like a lady
Lars Ulrich = Greedy little fuck (I enjoyed Napster)
King Diamond = Metal God
Dave Mustaine = Nice to me always, but generally arrogant
Nikki Sixx = Seems cool, never met him
Anton LaVey = Wrote a book of atheistic principles and called it the Satanic Bible
Stryper = Bible banging bumble bees
Charlie Benante = Awesome drummer

Thanks to Danny for doing it and giving us some death metal credibility. Well not really, but it sounds good.

According to our count, the only Anthrax members we haven’t done 20 Questions with are Joey Belladonna, Frank Bello, and the new guitar player guy. Are we missing anybody? What about old Anthrax tour bus drivers? We don’t want to leave anybody out!