Devilman138 talks with Josh Lazie of DANZIG

DATE: 01/09/97

LOCATION: Ground Zero Cafe - Hollywood, CA

D138: How did you get started with Danzig?

Lazie: Before Joey (Castillo) started in Danzig I was his tech. When Joey joined Danzig I went with him. On last tour, before John and Eerie left, I was playing in a lot of sound checks. To make a long story short when Eerie split, Glenn gave me the job.

D138: So how long have you been with the band now?

Lazie: I've been with the band...about a year now. I knew Glenn from the Danzig 4 Tour. I actually met Glenn years back when The Misfits played with Black Flag.

D138: So you knew the history of the band. It was nothing new to you. You knew what you where getting into.

Lazie: Yeah, well kinda.

D138: So Joey started on the Danzig 4 tour correct?

Lazie: Joey's first tour with Danzig was the Danzig 4 Tour. That was right after Chuck Biscuits left.

D138: You guys have done one tour so far?

Lazie: We've done the OzzFest Tour. We did the Halloween show in Detroit, the one you where at. And we also did a 5 city radio tour.

D138: I remember the OzzFest show at the Blockbuster Pavilion. I was freezing!

Lazie: It was windy and it was freezing. When I first walked on stage my hands where so cold I could barley play.

D138: I felt like I was miles from the stage. It was a huge show.

Lazie: They said it was around 45,000 to 50,000 people. I was nervous because it was the hometown crowd. A lot of our friends where there. But I thought the show turned out great. It's really good to go out there especially in a town like L.A. where Danzig is so well known and then coming out as the new band with the new material. The people where really into it. It gets you pumped to see the crowd's reaction.

D138: So the kids are into the "live" shows?

Lazie: The "live" shows are getting crazy. The Halloween show in Detroit was nuts. When we played in Minneapolis it was a weird bill. It was a radio fest. It was us, Tracy Bonam, The Violent Femes, and a bunch of other bands. We were the heaviest band on the bill. When we played the place went nuts. And then when The Violent Femes came on people where like "whatever." We went on before them so it slowed down the pace quite a bit after our set.

D138: The "sacrifice" video was filmed while you where on the OzzFest. Where did you guys film that?

Lazie: It was filmed in Culver City. We played the night before in Seattle and we flew home to L.A. We did the video all day until about 3:00am went home to sleep a few hours. We got up at 7:00am and flew back out and played Portland the same evening. It was brutal.

D138: I was in the "It's Coming Down" video a few years back. I went with my friend Gaston, who owns Meltdown Comics in Los Angeles.
(Great place to find Verotik comics 213-851-7223)

Lazie: That's a wild video!

D138: So you guys are heading out on the road again?

Lazie: We're leaving Monday the 13th and our first show will be in Alabama. The Blackacidevil Tour will last about 8 weeks. And it's gonna end around the first week in March. The last show will be in Los Angeles. We got Powerman 5000 and The Electric Hell Fire Club on this tour.

D138: Glenn always seems to get goods bands for the tours.

Lazie: That's one thing about Danzig. He always gets good bands. All the bands he has taken out, have done very well. Soundgarden, White Zombie, Marilyn Manson, Korn, and Type O Negative have all toured with Danzig. All great bands. Good things come bands that tour with Danzig.

D138: Do you feel pretty comfortable being part of Danzig?

Lazie: Yeah, we're all working together really well. The band is really tight. Glenn has given us a lot of freedom. He doesn't want me to play exactly how Eerie played. He wants me to play a song the way I would play it. He wants Tommy to play a song the way Tommy would play it. Which is really cool. We get to bring our own elements to DANZIG.

D138: Before you actually joined the band did you know some of the songs?

Lazie: Yeah because on the Danzig 4 Tour I was playing at the sound checks. Before I actually was in Danzig I knew about 10 songs just from the sound checks. We used to do songs like "Little Whip," "Left Hand Black," and "When Death Had No Name."

D138: What songs are you playing from the new record?

Lazie: We're playing "Blackacidevil," "7th House," "Sacrifice," "Hint of Her Blood," "Power of Darkness," and "Hand of Doom."

D138: You guys are doing "Power of Darkness?"

Lazie: Yeah and it sounds really good!

D138: Any meaning behind the "Power of Darkness?"

Lazie: You're going to have to ask Glenn about that one.

D138: Where you at the studio when Glenn recorded "Blackacidevil?"

Lazie: I was there for a good portion of the recording.

D138: Did Glenn have an idea of what he wanted?

Lazie: Well he said, "I want to make the album I want to make." He knew that the true DANZIG fans would recognize the change and that they did see it coming. He said, "This is what I want to do. If you guys want to be a part of it, then come on man and if not then.." I'm real happy with the new record. Some people are shocked at this new record. But it's happend in the past. Just like the first Samhain record everyone was shocked, same thing with the first Danzig record. The new stuff sounds great "live."

D138: Yes, I agree. The first time I heard the first Danzig record I was expecting to hear a similar sound to the last Samhain record.
I am looking forward to see you guys play the new stuff "live." Do you have any idea where you will be playing in Los Angeles?

Lazie: There has been talk about doing the Santa Monica Civic or the Hollywood Palladium. I would like to play The Palladium because people get to go crazy. And Glenn really likes to get intimate with the crowds.

D138: Any new videos on the way?

Lazie: There is talk about doing a "Serpentia" video. There is a remixed version of "Serpentia" which is awesome!

D138: Anything you want to say to the fans?

Lazie: Thanks to everybody for their support. Come up to us after the shows and say "hello." I definitely want to say "thanks" to EvilDieff in the Danzig newsgroup, you, and EVB. See you guys on the road!

"FANGS" to Josh Lazie for the interview.

THE END