Superjoint Ritual - DOWN - Phil Anselmo Projects

[muthagoose]

In a brand-new pre-Ozzfest interview with Metal Edge magazine, SUPERJOINT RITUAL frontman Philip Anselmo was asked if much of the band's last album, "A Lethal Dose of American Hatred", was a response to the events of September 11, 2001. "Parts of it, for sure," Anselmo replied. "I think we got to do what we got to do, and unless you are making these particular decisions… I mean, yeah, we are a country, we are people who are allowed an opinion. 9/11 was a horrific thing, definitely the lowest point in American history, as far as us taking one on the chops. I cannot help but be sympathetic to families who lost people in that tragedy, on the planes and in the buildings. To every person who is anti-war, I have to point out the importance of us definitely showing a very, very strong front, not looking vulnerable, and also redeeming some of… I mean, Christ, look, we still have the death penalty. That's all I have to say. In a perfect society, none of that would have happened. There would be no 9/11, no executions, Christ, there would be no jails. But I'm just saying, if you fuck with the U.S., no matter what we do, you're going to have to pay at one point or another."

Asked if he happened to see the footage of Nick Berg, an American contractor in Iraq that was executed, Anselmo said, "Oh yeah, that was miserable, man. I mean, they try and whatever, the interrogation pictures are humiliating and whatever, but me? If you want to know where Osama Bin Laden is, or where Saddam Hussein is, or where any of those crazy motherfuckers are, do what you must to get an answer. I know for a fucking fact that every other country, for the most part — especially in the Third World and the Middle Eastern countries — shows a lack of regard when it comes to human life and the value of it. I mean, I'm not saying' Let's lower our standards to their level,' you know?! But we need to restore some order with authority, and if it is war that we have to endure, then so be it, if it's the only language they understand. Because they obviously are not privy to just stopping at our request, 'Knock this shit off, you motherfuckers!' You know, they have been warring since the beginning of time. Don't drag us into your shit. Maybe there's a question of us putting ourselves in there, but if you harbor these terrorists, and you damn well know about it, then you pay the fucking price as well. It's time to make a parking lot — put a flag in the ground and call it the United States of the Middle East. I mean, definitely… Fuck them! I mean, if you know the facts about the al Qaeda, they come across like a bunch of paranoid homosexual fucking Arabs, whatever the hell they are. The way they treat women and their entire attitude towards the subject is homo, man. They fucking just seem gay. I mean, obviously people are great or shallow in one way or the other, it's men and women — but they are not doing themselves any favors by fucking humiliating every woman in sight. That's Hitler-type shit. That's dictator, fucking hatred right there. None of that floats. Nobody puts up with that shit. You're begging to get your ass blown away."

[stallion]

What an insightful individual. I wonder if this statement was made after some bong hits and a fifth of Jack? He does make some good points, though.

[Üncle Snake]

Wow. When he's not falling asleep during an interview Phil can actually string together a few coherent sentences.

[LotB]

What the fuck? What is becoming of America's citizens?

[Stomper]

Philip Anselmo for president!

[muthagoose]

Cleveland, Ohio's "The Metal Show" (TheMetalShow.com), which airs on 92.3 FM WXTM (Xtreme Radio), recently asked former PANTERA and current SUPERJOINT RITUAL frontman Philip Anselmo to record a message for the troops overseas.

A transcript of the audio message, which can be heard at this location, follows:

"You guys, overseas... My Lord, this is Philip H. Anselmo from SUPERJOINT RITUAL. And I do nothing — nothing — as of late but write about our situations in a military light, in a political light. We are backed into a corner, and the reason I say 'we' is because there's a lot of people out there that want to protest the war, and this and that, what-not… Look, the Middle East has been a pile of shit for over… seven decades? I don't know, I have no idea [maybe] it's longer than that. I guess all we're trying to do is show them… first of all, there is a way, there is a way to make your country work. Secondly, if you don't catch on to the way, we'll kick your ass some more. And as far as your terrorists and that [goes]. Only that, and pretty much that only, is going to get even deeper and deeper into the Middle East, and WE – WILL – KICK – YOUR – ASS. Deep into the Middle East. I suggest you take heed — any of you — and if you are out there, and you're a plotter, and you're with the al Qaeda, you are my enemy, and I dare you to face me one on one — EVER! 'Cause I will fucking destroy you. Thank you."

[Ponyone]

Original post by Snake

Here's a great interview with Phil from www.knac.com ...

Ozzfest Special: Interview With Superjoint Ritual Vocalist Philip Anselmo

By Sefany Jones, Editor
Saturday, August 14, 2004 @ 3:07 PM

A Candid Coversation With One of Metal's Most Versatile Vocalists, Philip H. Anselmo of Superjoint Ritual


Here I am at Ozzfest on July 31st, in San Bernardino, CA. It’s fucking sweltering hot, I'm drenched in a thick coat of dirt head to toe from the desert moshpits, and I think I’ve got a contact buzz from being on God Forbid’s bus. I’m scheduled to interview Philip Anselmo, the self-proclaimed King of Metal, the vocalist of Superjoint Ritual, two hours after their performance. I actually had a few bets running backstage on whether or not this would actually take place. No one had confidence.

Promptly at 7 pm, Phil’s assistant/ girlfriend shows up to take Junkman and I to the bus. We chill out with Superjoint drummer Joe Fazzio for a few while she ushers some people off the bus. More clouds of smoke engulf us.

We sit down in the back with Phil and his newly shorn head, just a mohawk striping his skull. He’s slowly sipping on a Beck’s, while this weird, creepy “mood” music is playing softly over the intercom. He smokes his Marlboro reds down to the filter. He’s in a great affable mood, extremely pleasant. We’re offered some beers, and start rolling tape.

After the hour-long interview, as I stood up and thanked him, Phil says, “Drop your purse. Sit your ass down. The mics are off, right? We’re not finished.” We’ve already missed Slayer’s performance. Judas Priest was about to take the stage now. What to do? Fuck it. We talk for another hour, in which he reveals some pretty incredulous stuff, which I swore not to divulge, and I won’t. Now, there are certainly arguable conceptions about Philip’s personality, and definitely questions about his sobriety, drug use, state of mind. I’ve known Phil since 1995. I’ve seen him then, and I’ve seen him now. He swears he’s been off the drugs –clean – for three years, and I believe him. I can see the difference.

What you may not know about him, however, is that a while back he crushed two vertebrae in his back – just from years of headbanging on stage, and other self-inflicted abuses. It causes him great agony on a daily basis, and he does take pain medication once every morning to relieve this pain. The only other option is surgery, which would require – and let me paraphrase Phil here – for his guts to be removed from his body through a large incision in the front of his body. They operate, and stuff his guts back in. Then they flip him over, do another operation, and stuff his guts back in. What he is left with is the 50/50 chance of being permanently paralyzed for the rest of his life. Behind where Phil is sitting, there is a shelf with over 30 bottles of vitamins, which he says he takes every single morning. He works out every single day to keep his back healthy. If he misses a day, severe pain wreaks havoc in his body and he is unable to function.

Anyway, the pain meds make Phil speak a bit slowly – in addition to the fact that he is a very deeply-thinking person. He’s constantly searching through his mind for the right words to express himself. He doesn’t just brush off questions, or give quick answers to appease. He treads back and forth across the line of humility and a God complex. He stays true to his self, whether it’s popular or not. The conversation that follows is filled with great emotion and emphasis, pride, contentment, sorrow and regret, but mostly, an optimistic outlook on the future of Superjoint Ritual.

Onstage at Ozzfest, Phil began to talk about his other band, Pantera, that “maybe you’ve heard of” and that maybe we “had some lingering questions” – “We’ll here’s the answer to one of them – where is he? Rex Brown everybody!” So the question posed was whether this was a reunion of sorts, or had they been close this whole time…

ANSELMO: Me and Rex have always remained tight. Once you’re in a band like Down, you become a “lifer” and that we hold completely sacred, and our lives may divide, they may take their own course, and you may do things without your brother… But every time you see your brother, or you’re around your brother, he is somebody that you love and respect and that’s what a lifer is. And your brother can be a person, music, anything that makes you… just… exist in the now. Just sit there and…and just love it, you know, instead of thinking about, “Oh… I’ve got this to do and that to do, I’m nervous, I’m paranoid, where’s my Zanax, give me a Valium, ohhhh no no no no no… the world, the world, the world…” -- coming down and crushing you on the head. When you play your music, and when you see people that you love, that’s good stuff.

We discuss the beginning of formation Superjoint Ritual. We’re trying to figure out when the first song was written, which I believed to be “Ozena” in 1989, which Phil says is incorrect, although that is what is says on the CD booklet. Here’s Phil’s take on how SJR got going…

ANSELMO: Superjoint… it was songs that I had written about myself for… God knows what, when or… [for] whenever I would run into the band that the style would fit, and Superjoint Ritual fit that particular music style. Put it this way: I wrote maybe 3 songs in the ‘80s, and Superjoint Ritual got together in ’93, so since, since ’93. Period.

I then prompted the question about the disappearance of original bassist Mike Haage (pronounced HAY-gah) which brought Hank III into the fold….

ANSELMO: It’s was just a way—way better move. Well, if you want to know about Mike Haage, basically, he and our drummer [Joe Fazzio] had a big time falling out, and I think from that point on it was an absolute falsitude [sic] to think they could ever jam together [laughs] … Forget it, you know. And I understood where Joe was coming from.

So, I then wanted to know if this is where Phil was “at” – was this the band for him permanently…

ANSELMO: I am at the now, I feel great, man. [Holds out his arm.] Feel that arm; feel that shit. I am a 190 pounds of fucking sheer… revenge. I am a walking Slayer concert. I am one explosion after the next. Philip H. Anselmo is so--- I am returned… When I say revenge, I mean… anyone who doubted me in the first place and anyone who has the gall or the nerve to say anything but – that I did it my way. They’re wrong. They’re absolutely wrong. I did do it my way, since I was 13 years old. I moved out of my house, finally, at 15, and since I was 15 years old, I slept in a back seat, snuck in a friend’s house when their parents went to work, ate candy corn and stuff like that, you know, just sneaking the stuff, you know, shit they wouldn’t really miss, you know. I know what it’s like to starve. I know what it’s like to be zero. And all I had in my life to give me joy was my band. And my band would play seven nights a week. I would make no money – and this is back when I was 14, 15, 16… I wouldn’t make anything. Of course it was in the New Orleans scene, which stretched probably through Shreveport, LA and about three different points in Texas: Houston, Dallas… and somewhere else – I’m not sure. That’s how the Pantera connection became. You know, they were looking for a singer, and I was looking for a way out. You know, I think my band wanted to be more commercial, and I have always been starved for that particular style of thrash that moved me, you know. I don’t care if a band plays fast or [technical] – I don’t care if it’s over-technical or anything like that… it has to have a certain thing about it that moves me or that makes me smile to myself and makes me think, “Okay, I think I love this.” You know. And it can be the simplest thing, or you know it can be something complex, or considered… I can’t even think of the word, sorry.

[Ponyone]

I’ve heard Phil say onstage before that he doesn’t understand why the press always wants to know what the song “Ozena” is about. The actual definition of the word ozena is: “A chronic disease of the nose characterized by intranasal crusting, atrophy, and a fetid odor.” Well, as a fan I wanted to know who the hell this person or thing was…

ANSELMO: Disease can be anything, and if you let it go – even if it’s an aching heart or suffering mind, and you don’t fix it, that’s when bad things happen. [laughs] So, ozena basically is the latter stages of syphilis, and what syphilis does in the end is eat away at your nose, of course, maybe you’ve seen pictures – it’s incredible looking – the really disgusting part of the whole matter is you are noseless. The breath that comes out of your nose, is supposed to be so– [“Vile?”] Vile is a kind way to put it. It is disssgusting and tough to be around, so you become a suicide candidate, as far as I’m concerned, you know. I’m not catching the “ozena” for fuck’s sake!

Then I wanted to know about the song “The Horror” -- The line “one short fuck does the trick” – was that about AIDS?

ANSELMO: Maybe it is. A lot of my songs I write… it’s not about one subject; it can be… about a variety of things – all entrenched into one song. You also have to understand that shock value and reality are just a fraction away from each other so… You can say some of us have been lucky, or you can say some of have been unlucky – it depends on what has happened to you, if anything, so you know… I know for a fact there’s a lot of people out there in the general public that are susceptible and are either spreaders – they are sick from one type of STD or another, and it’s a lot more than you would ever think, and man, it’s a scary thing. I feel good, you know. I just got a divorce, man. I’ve been with 2 girls– 3 women in 5 years or something.

So the big question is, when will the third album from Superjoint arise?

ANSELMO: Well, we have done an extensive amount of touring since then. I think we’re going to shoot for early next year. It’s a very, very important LP– listen to me, “LP” for God’s sake – oh man, I’m stuck on it. I have a record player at home, and I have like Necrodeath and Darkness on vinyl. Necrodeath was black metal in 1987, before a lot of bands. But I’m not bragging, I’m loving it. But what were we talking about? Early next year. Early next year, because I want a great record. It needs to be the essence of – of violent, over the top lesson in life. The cruel world. View. And it must be, because in my mind there will be way more horrific – horrific – attacks by the Al-Qaeda and copycat terrorist groups, and I think that after a while of chasing their tail, the American government will have to start looking for new sources of information and new sources of power, and that’s where some of this could come into play. If we think logically to defend our country-- is the most noble cause. Period. I could write music all day and all night, and yes I believe in my heart and soul, that is what I was put here for. But, my mind is telling me, and has been telling me, lately, that not only should I organize something tremendous, as I have things in the past, I should have it be absolutely dangerous and our objective – and main objective – would be to gain all the information and counter attack any Al-Qaeda. It’s time to rise, my brothers and sisters. Mark my words.

Um, I’m without a comeback after that speech. By the way his eyes were closed, seemingly chin-deep in the subject, I continue to query the subject. I want to know where his views came from – did he have family members or friends in wars, etc…

ANSELMO: This is something I’ve felt since a young age. That’s an impossible question to answer – “where did it come from.” It’s as natural as hair growing under your arms [laughs]. It’s part of you always, and maybe you have suspicions, destiny – everybody has those – and it just beats in my heart… that one day there has to be a way for all of us to get along, and all of us to have peace. That’s a hard thing to do. Yes, I do believe it is possible. Well, people can look at me and say, “Well he doesn’t make any difference anyway.” Look at the guys running, for God’s sake. Look at them. They are propped up, hairspray jockeys who aren’t going to make any difference AT ALL, and perhaps make things worse. AND, if I were another world leader, I would look into the eyes of these men, and I would know they were not leaders. I would know they were not true leaders. They were not made of strength. And the United States of America needs just that. Especially now.

I need to change the subject. I ask about why Phil would take his seemingly underground thrash band on the Ozzfest tour.

ANSELMO: Listen, the Osbournes have asked me in general, my bands in general… Pantera—they asked us twice to be part of Ozzfest. Of course we said yes. I have a band called Down that they-- we had just put out a new record, and they asked us if we’d want to do it, and we were like, “Of course.” You know? So we ended up headlining 2nd stage. The they asked us to headline 2nd stage, and I believe you asked if that bothered me – you gotta understand, now that I’m in Superjoint Ritual… we’re playing small places—and that is stuff that we expected all along, and wanted. We wanted that Black Flag feeling of small, energetic, intimate audience that could get up on the stage at will, dive into the audience – everybody’s dancing counter-clockwise in the pit – the original pit. That part of the mission of Superjoint Ritual is complete. That is as fun as it gets.

But do they enjoy being on a large package tour such as Ozzfest?

ANSELMO: It’s definitely a big part of [doing it for] the Osbournes. When they asked us to be on the mainstage, where we were at [this year] – we were like yes, of course we’ll do it – but there were definite doubts in our minds that our particular show would definitely not come across as anything like our other shows. Our other shows are-- one after the other person flying off the stage, complete violence, complete -- and I do mean complete – I mean everyone in the place.

Phil has said one time -- on stage at a headlining show in Los Angeles that was particularly rowdy -- that the audience was responding exactly the way he had pictured it when he was writing the songs. What did he mean by this…

ANSELMO: If it was an acceptable, violent crowd, a lot of stage diving— I write music lyrically to destroy by. Music to… shoot your best friend in the back by. And… I wish it were a different thing sometimes, but it's something that I’m good at and it’s a gift for me, and it comes out of me so easily, and obviously it’s coming from somewhere, and I realize that there’s no way these particular lyrics can come from nowhere. There could be a lot of, uh… huh… (pause)… despair in question. But generally, especially now, I am a happy man. I am a strong, happy man that is just good at his job, and if I have to write that way—it just comes out of me naturally, and it’s always easy to reflect on the past—always easy to reflect on the past – and maybe that’s where a lot of it’s coming from. Because when I think of myself now -- I am 100% more of a man now than I was in the last couple of years.

One last question then: will there be another tour following up Ozzfest?

ANSELMO: We have just toured and headlined for like three different tours before Ozzfest, you know. I think we will rest briefly, then look at the scope of things and if a tour happens to come up, even if it’s briefly after the Ozzfest… if a tour happens to come up or anything like that, you know, umm… any reason to make more money to put back into the band, we would take that for sure. And other than that, I think we’ll take a brief amount of time off otherwise, and take a look into our options…

[Ponyone]

THE SHOW:
SUPERJOINT RITUAL
LACUNA COIL
DEVILDRIVER

FRIDAY, AUGUST 27TH at JAXX

www.jaxxroxx.com

Ponyone, Muthagoose & Snake are all confirmed for this show and we have already ordered our own tickets. If anyone else wants to go, visit www.ticketmaster.com and type in JAXX for venue. From there, your well on the way for your ticket.

We will of course post a full report with lots of pics after the show...

[stallion]

Phil Anselmo-Pot smoker, alcoholic, terrorist fighter. Sounds like a poor man's John McClane. Yippie ca-yeee, motherfucker.

[Ponyone]

SUPERJOINT RITUAL are scheduled to release a new live DVD, entitled "Live At CBGB's: Changing The Face Of Music Through Uncompromising Images", on October 5 through Sanctuary.

[muthagoose]

SUPERJOINT RITUAL bassist Hank Williams III had his vest stolen last Sunday (Aug. 29) at thee band's show in Virginia Beach.

The vest was one that he's worn for years and it has a lot of sentimental value to him. If anyone has any information on the theft, you can post it on the Hank III message board.

www.hank3.com

Hank 3's website has been recently updated.

[Üncle Snake]

BLABBERMOUTH.NET has obtained the complete track listing for the upcoming SUPERJOINT RITUAL live DVD, "Live At CBGB's: Changing The Face Of Music Through Uncompromising Anti-Image", due on October 5 through Sanctuary.

"Live At CBGB's: Changing The Face Of Music Through Uncompromising Anti-Image" will contain the following cuts:

01. Antifaith
02. Fuck Your Enemy
03. The Introvert
04. Personal Insult
05. The Destruction Of A Person
06. Permanently
07. The Alcoholik
08. Waiting For The Turning Point
09. One Song/Ozena
10. Stealing A Page Or Two From Armed & Radical Pagans

An official press release announcing more details about the upcoming DVD is expected before the end of the week.

[Ponyone]

Read the concert review of Superjoint/Lacuna Coil/Devildriver on ponyone.net:
www.ponyone.net/SuperjointLacunaDevildriverReview.html

[Ponyone]

There is a new live concert clip on www.superjointritual.com in media - check it out in Windows or Quicktime

Concert clip from the "House of Blues" - Chicago '04

[Üncle Snake]

Here's the cover of the new DVD scheduled for release Oct. 5:

[Ponyone]

Superjoint Ozzfest 2004 Pics:

www.metalrefuge.com/gallery/sjrof04.html

Lots more Ozzfest 2004 also!!!

[muthagoose]

SUPERJOINT RITUAL bassist Hank Williams III recently spoke to KNAC.com about the band's appearance at this year's Ozzfest and the group's future plans, among other topics. Several excerpts from the interview follow:

KNAC.com: How different is it onstage when you are fronting your band versus when you're onstage with SUPERJOINT and Phil [Anselmo] starts one of his infamous speeches? What do you think about?

Hank III: "I'm payin' attention to what he has to say — it's almost like I'm in class listening to the teacher. That's just part of Phillip that's always been there, and as good or as bad as it may be, you could put fifty bands against each other, and there won't be a guy with a presence like he has when he's onstage. That's just kind of his thing. On some nights I've seen him run it pretty quick, and on other nights he may talk for twenty minutes in between songs. It just depends. I may smoke a cigarette or something, but I ain't gonna go, 'C'mon, let's go motherfucker.' The drummer and the guitar player are always the ones screaming at him."

KNAC.com: So you're just basically able to let it go?

Hank III: "Hey, you know, when I came into this group, the boss is the boss. I know how it works all the way around, and he's the damn boss. I just kinda go by what he says. What he says is what we do. There's no way I'm gonna try to tell him what to do on his own damn stage."

KNAC.com: How hard is it for you to play the [Ozzfest] main stage with SUPERJOINT? Is there a part of you that would rather be on the second stage and closer to the audience?

Hank III: "Well, SUPERJOINT has always been about the underground, so I've always been a big fan of the second stage. SLIPKNOT basically owns that slot, though. If we would have gotten where HATEBREED or LAMB OF GOD was, that would have been nice, but things work out for a reason. I think SUPERJOINT would have been a little more intense over there because you aren't as restricted over there. People aren't beating you down as much security-wise. It's a little more to the street. It's just one of those things though. I've always said that the real stuff is on the side stage. The main stage is mostly about people who have been there a long time and have paid their dues, and Phillip has. Where he's at, he's just a bit in the middle. He's 36, and he's been in some pretty big bands, but he still wants to stay underground. He's been in the amphitheatres, and all that did is move the crowd twenty-five feet away from him. We're doing basically what we could get. Basically everybody already had their bids in, and we just got in a little late. We are just happy to be playing with everyone on this bill though."

KNAC.com: Is SUPERJOINT going to continue to tour after Ozzfest?

Hank III: "I think after Ozzfest that we're finally going to take a break. Everybody's been talking about taking a break after this, and if they do, I'll just be going back out."

[muthagoose]

In a lengthy interview published in the "Xmas 2004" issue of Metal Hammer magazine, ex-PANTERA/curent SUPERJOINT RITUAL frontman Philip Anselmo spoke the status of his DOWN project and the House of Shock haunted house in New Orleans in which he was an investor.

"With DOWN, there would have to be a whole lot of soul-searching and a whole lot of looking at each other and a whole lot of people coming clean about their lifestyle in order for me to even consider doing anything with DOWN again," he said. "And that hurts. It hurt as well when House Of Shock was usurped from me [by] a friend who I haven't spoken with for a very long time. I feel slightly bitter because the House Of Shock was at one time an extremely spiritual place as well as a place of entertainment. Such incredible power was conjured there, so much energy, so much ecstasy, it was incredible. I'm talking about the real ecstasy, not the drug. Now, to me it's commercial, maybe a better show than most but they're not scaring anyone, which was the main point of even having a house of horrors. It's overpriced to get in, and I haven't been there in three years."

[Ponyone]

From www.smnnews.com

Crowbar - Kirk Windstein Speaks About
Philip Anselmo - New Project: Body in Blood


In an interview conducted with CROWBAR frontman Kirk Windstein by SMNnews.com at the Boardwalk in Orangevale on February 24th, Windstein spoke up about the whereabouts of SUPERJOINT RITUAL mastermind Philip Anselmo, who is currently involved in a new "ambient" project called BODY IN BLOOD.

An excerpt from the interview, which, along with MP3 snippets, will be up shortly, is below:


SMN: If you don’t mind me asking, how is Phil doing?

KIRK: Doin' actually very good! I’ve talked with him more, he’s been callin. He’s got a new project called BODY IN BLOOD. I spoke to him more since the Dime thing. He’s putting together this BODY IN BLOOD thing and I kinda dabble with him a little bit. It’s all his songs, I wrote like one. Sid Montz plays drums on it and I might try to get with them and play guitar. He plays acoustic and I’ll play electric.

SMN: What’s it like?

KIRK: It’s super fuckin ambient, super mellow, real breathy, real melodic, real eerie, real dark. Every song is like, completely, all acoustic, clean electric, pretty laid back, great songs. He’s got himself together physically which is very good! His biggest thing is, he even told me, when you’re doin these interviews if people ask, he wants everyone to know how difficult it is for him because of the way things went down with the press and everything else and all that. And he said, it’s difficult for him cuz he can’t have any closure he wasn’t able to mend everything with Dime and Vinnie before it happened. He said in a couple more years they would have gotten in a room together, fight it out or whatever, makeup, make a PANTERA record and fuckin reunion tour and everything would be cool. It was just one of those things where the timing of it was so bad because of all the press shit that was goin on and all and the poor dude passes away he just felt that he had no closure.


CROWBAR are currently on tour with ENTOMBED, PRO-PAIN and THE MIGHTY NIMBUS.

[Ponyone]

Joke for ya:

Q: What did Phil Anselmo do when his record label said they didn't like his tracks......









A: He bought some long sleeve shirts!

[muthagoose]

REBEL MEETS REBEL, the collaboration between former PANTERA members Vinnie Paul, Dimebag Darrell, and Rex Brown and country/western outlaw musician David Allan Coe, will finally see the light of day during the coming months. Coe wrote all the songs with Dimebag back in 2000, a few years before the guitarist was murdered onstage last December.

"His brother [Vinnie Paul] is tryin' to get that together," Coe told RollingStone.com. "That's gonna be a great thing."

Songtitles set to appear on the CD include "Heartworn Highway", "A Man With Nothin' Ain't Got Nothin' to Lose", "One Night Stand", "New York City Streets" and "Get Outta My Life". The title track, "Rebel Meets Rebel", was previously said to be a duet with PANTERA singer Philip Anselmo.

"Being from Texas, not only do we have rock roots, but we listen to country and blues," Paul explained to MTV News in early 2000. "Before our shows, we'd play 'Jack Daniels, If You Please' off of one of [Coe's] CDs.... He caught wind of it, and we went out to see him when he played Billy Bob's. He was just a super cool dude. It was fun to check him out, and we hooked him up with a couple of our home videos, and he called us back a couple days later and just said, 'Man, these f***ing videos are incredible. I really dig what you guys do.' He knows more about PANTERA than I do now."

The fast friendship soon yielded a creative partnership, as Paul explained. "We started hooking up and jamming and doing some tunes, and they're pretty unique. Some of them are just like an up-tempo thrash metal hoedown with a country and western singer," the drummer said.

PANTERA's career overview CD, "The Best of Pantera: Far Beyond the Great Southern Cowboys' Vulgar Hits!", sold 406,000 in the United States since its September 2003 release, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The 16-song "Vulgar Hits!" CD was packaged with a bonus DVD boasting 12 videos, including two live performances. The bulk of the material was culled from the band's six major-label releases, but also included are non-album cuts "Cat Scratch Fever" (a cover of the TED NUGENT song that originally appeared on the Polygram soundtrack to "Detroit Rock City") and the BLACK SABBATH cover "Hole in the Sky", previously available only on import.

[muthagoose]

In a recent interview with Metal Maniacs magazine, EYEHATEGOD/SUPERJOINT RITUAL guitarist and DOWN drummer Jimmy Bower revealed that he is "sure we'll do another DOWN record. I've talked to Phil [Anselmo, DOWN/SUPERJOINT RITUAL/ex-PANTERA frontman] and everybody else. Everybody's expressed interest in wanting to do a DOWN record, so that's basically all it takes. Hopefully within the next year or two that can happen. DOWN records are fun. Phil's doing a lot better as far as handling [Dimebag's death]. It's been a big wake-up call for a lot of people over the the last five, six months. People are doing cool things with their lives; cool, positive things. Let's save metal!"

DOWN is the New Orleans "supergroup" featuring Anselmo, Bower, Pepper Keenan (guitars, C.O.C.), Rex Brown (bass, ex-PANTERA) and Kirk Windstein (guitars, CROWBAR). The band's sophomore album, "Down II", was released in March 2002 on Elektra Records.

DOWN headlined the second stage at the 2002 Ozzfest.

[muthagoose]

SUPERJOINT RITUAL's publicist, Maria Ferrero of Adrenaline PR, has issued the following statement on the band's behalf:

"SUPERJOINT RITUAL made it out of New Orleans safely prior to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. The band wishes the best for family, friends and fellow citizens of New Orleans who have had loss due to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina."

Frontman Phil Anselmo is reported to be in Texas. He may possibly be having the worst year ever.

Pony One Dot Net wishes all the best to Phil, Superjoint and all the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Donate... www.redcross.org/

[Ponyone]

Interview with Jim Bower 09/08/05: Hurricane Katrina, Down, Pepper.


Justin: Ok let's start from the beginning... how seriously were you taking the hurricane warnings?

Jim: Well if you live in New Orleans, you're used to being on a two or three day alert. This one concerned us a little bit before those two or three days because of it's size and power. Four days prior to the storm, the Hurricane Center pretty much had it headed for New Orleans.

Justin: So even though you get warnings every year, you knew this was something special?

Jim: Yeah, they were calling this a "one in a hundred years" storm. We had Hurricane Camille and Hurricane Betsey back in the day... I mean, we've been hit by some small category hurricanes that set us back and did some flooding, but what people don't understand is that when these hurricanes came through 40 or 50 years ago, we had a lot more land and a lot more marsh to, so to speak, soak up the storm. Now we don't have all that. Knowing that helped us anticipate some of the damage.

Justin: So how organized was your evacuation of the city? Did you plan it out or did you bolt?

Jim: Me and my mom talked about it on Saturday night and decided we were going to leave, so we left Sunday at about noon and it hit Monday at noon. There were pros and cons to leavin' when we left. We shoulda left earlier, but you know "shoulda, coulda, woulda"... I actually thought of staying home and trying to ride it out, and that probably would have been the stupidest thing I ever did... but then there's Kirk (Crowbar), he rode it out man! He eventually got out, but he was there when the storm went through.

Justin: So what were you able to take with you?

Jim: Well I don't have a hurricane survival kit, so I grabbed my two expensive guitars, my new recording machine, my fours and stuff like that. My girlfriend passed away in March, so I filled a big box of memorabilia of her, grabbed my dog Rags, and that's about it man!

Justin: On the way out of town, were you caught up in that line of traffic that was miles long?

Jim: Oh it was ridiculous, any rout you could take had big delays. Basically we took highway 90. A 4 hour drive took us 9 hours. That's route that not many people would travel. Now we're in Lake Charles and I'm staying at my aunt's house. I feel fortunate because I have family here for me. For those who don't, my thoughts and prayers are with them. When the city was being evacuated, a lot of families got separated, and it didn't help that out governor didn't declare a state of emergency until Sunday night.... which is ridiculous. She should have called it on Saturday.

Justin: Why do you think she waited?

Jim: Inexperience. Maybe she was told to wait. It's kind of a hard call to make to force an evacuation on an entire city that damn big. I'll tell ya what though you are always going to have those people who say "I ain't leavin'" no matter what you say. It's not just New Orleans. Poor Mississippi. The whole southeastern part of the state looks like an F9 tornado ripped through it. Everything is gone!

Justin: Have you heard anything about your particular neighborhood?

Jim: I live right across the bridge from The House Of Shock on the West Bank and we didn't get any water, just wind damage. Hopefully my drum set is ok. I just finished setting it up, I was just about to start recording some new riffs and working on a new record...

Justin: Never a good time for this sort of thing eh?

Jim: Yeah, especially when you're trying to accomplish something. I'm not going to lie to anybody. I've been down in the dumps for the past five months, and I finally felt myself coming out of it, and I keep getting knocked over again y'know?

Justin: Pepper's up there with you right?

Jim: Yeah, Pepper, his mother, his grandfather, his uncle, and his girlfriend. My family accommodated him with a 35ft trailer so they're lookin' really pretty. Well, they're not lookin' pretty, but he's comfortable and safe.

Justin: So when are you going back to New Orleans? I see they are letting people run in and out of the city to check on their stuff.

Jim: Well they were giving everybody Monday through Friday of this week to go and assess the damage. I don't know if you'll believe this or not, but I don't have a penny to my name. So for me to go to New Orleans and not even know if I'll have money for gas to get back out really doesn't make sense. So, I'm gonna wait a little longer, make a little more money working for my cousin. Thank god they have a business I can work in. The Louisiana government is also stepping up, giving $2,000 vouchers to every adult from New Orleans to help people get back on their feet, put food in the fridge, and pay for hotels or whatever they need... which I think is a really good thing.

Justin: Any thoughts on not moving back to New Orleans?

Jim: If I move anywhere, it'll be here. I can always go back and forth to New Orleans from here... but new Orleans is where my heart lies. For me to say I'll never move back is plain ignorant. I mean, I've heard reports of e-coli breakouts, there's bodies floating around, there are probably 15-20 chemical plants underwater...

Justin: Yeah Duke (thankgodforsatan.com) was tellin' me right down where he lives in in St. Bernard Parish they have a nursing home they found 30 bodies in and an oil refinery had a tank lifted off it's foundation and spilled oil all over the place.

Jim: Yeah, that's what people are dealing with. Extremely contaminated water and things like that. I hate to compare it to 9/11 because that was a terrorist attack, but they're projecting 15,000 deaths. That's a lot of goddam people. Anyway, my until I go back, I'm lucky my aunt's involved with the church here at Lake Charles and we were donated an acre of land with a mobile home on it... so now I'm strictly... bona fide pure trailer park trash! I'm movin' up. I'm gettin' a mullet next week, a pair of rustlers and I'll be fuckin' happinin' y'know?

Justin: Bahahahaha

Jim: I'm just sayin' ya gotta laugh at some point....

Justin: So what are you doin' musically?

Jim: I'm workin' on my solo record. It's gonna be on the lines of Dubeinterlude on Down II, kinda Allman Brothers-ie, no vocals, kinda like Clearlight. I've been really wanting to do that, I'm finally now motivated to do it, and I've got my equipment up here too, at least to start. Other than that, another thing that sucks about this whole thing... a week or two before Katrina, all the guys in Down, we were supposed to all have have dinner. We were gonna get together and talk about possibly touring Europe in January. Now all that's gotta be put on hold y'know?

Justin: *gasp*

Jim: Yeah, I know I said this before, but Pepper's here with me. Hopefully we can do some writing out here as well y'know? As far as Philip with the lyrics, I don't think he's gonna have a problem finding any.

Justin: *gasp*

Jim: Philip's house was spared, from what I understand. Justin I know you've been to Philip's house but for those who haven't, it's surrounded by trees. They all fell, but not one fell on his house. Not one. The Lair is fine. So out there is fine, but get into the city and it's more like a third world country. Disease, hunger, looting... they're shooting looters, finally. I mean if people broke into my house for food or water I wouldn't care at all, but if you walk out with my t.v., I have a problem with that. There's no need for that shit.

I would like to say that everyone has been accounted for except Mike Williams (EYEHATEGOD). Man, it really hittin' me hard because I've known Mike longer than anybody else I know in New Orleans. He introduced me to the whole scene. I guess no news is good news. Mike's a survivor, but if anybody reads this and has heard from him, please get in touch with Justin or make a post on one of the message boards. I'm really worried about him and now is not the time for jokes.

My heart goes out to the people in Florida too. It's all surreal man. I'm hoping for the best.

I want to thank everybody on the boards for their thoughts and prayers. We're gonna pull out of this... and when we do, look out bro... Down III gonna be vicious, like a pit-bull. It's not gonna be a pretty album, it's gonna be mean. That's the attitude everybody's in. I'm pissed. Hey... Pepper just rolled in.

Justin: Throw 'im on!

Pepper: Hello?

Justin: Watchu doin?

Pepper: Huh... well... we got a lot of stuff to figure out but we'll be alright. I just had to find a nurse for my grandfather 'cause one of his legs is infected. So we were here, then the nurse called so we had to haul ass over there and had his leg all wrapped up, now we hauled ass back here...

Justin: You guys can't catch a break.

Pepper: We went from being the Jetsons to being the Flinstones in about 48 hours hahaha.. you know what I mean? I ain't catchin' no breaks. Ain't nobody gonna make it easy on you son, you know that. I'm writing some songs daddy-o I'll tell you that! Aight, we'll talk soon...

Justin: Later!

Jim: Alright man, I'm gonna eat some Mexican! Thanks!

Justin: No, Thank you!