When did you decide that a career in music was for you?

 

The minute I discovered Kiss.  It’s all their fault.

 

Who are your musical inspirations and why?

 

Obviously Kiss as a kid, but I really can’t call anyone else a direct inspiration.  I am a music fanatic, but I can’t point to a single person or band as an inspiration in how I write.

 

Can you tell me 3 things about yourself that people might not already know?

 

I like playing sports but hate watching them.  I love Dr. Pepper.  I’m still pissed at David Lee Roth for leaving Van Halen in 1985.

 

What song of yours best describes you and why?

 

I have done a lot of interviews over the years with different writers from many different countries, I don’t think I have ever been asked this question before.  It is hard to pick just one.  I say this because most of my lyrics are about how I feel about subjects that aren’t just personal to me alone.  I don’t write love songs; you know what I mean.  None of my lyrics are about break ups, or subjects like that.  

 

I don’t think I can pick one song.  My lyrics are a way for me to expose injustices in the world from bullies to politics.  I write about seeking truth and asking the listener to question everything and never just buying what they feed you at face value.  In a way each song is meant to represent who I am as a person just trying to seek truth and spread some knowledge.  So it isn’t possible to just pick one song.  

 

What are the highlights for you about Eyes of Tomorrow and what can you remember from the making of the album?

 

The highlight is that I am still really proud of the songs and music on that album even more today than when we finally originally released it in 1994. We wrote those songs in 1988 and 1989 and we were at the beginning of what went on to be called technical/progressive thrash.  For those that don’t know we formed in 1985 and we were at the beginning of crossover thrash with our first two demos.  To build that fan base and then to completely change direction on the Eyes stuff and do it that quickly is something most bands wouldn’t do. To do it right in both subgenres is a highlight.   

 

I remember when we were working on the song “Words That Echo Fear” in the studio and we got to the middle part and it sounded like a song for a movie, we were all like, “wow this is special.”  That moment really stands out for me.  That and all the smoking and 7-Eleven Big Gulps.   

 

What has been the best gig you have done to date and why?

 

It is hard to pick just one because a few stand out for different reasons.  But, one from back in the 1980s was a show at a place called the Cubby Bear, which is across the street from Wrigley Field.  We opened for the Crumbsuckers.  It was packed and it seemed like they oversold the venue.  The crowd was an incredible mix of punks and metal heads and the pit was insane for us.  We had wild pits after that show, but the intensity at that gig was insane.  It was early on when pits were different.  

 

If you could perform a gig at any venue, where would it be and why?

 

We haven’t played the Metro in Chicago as Aftermath.  We have played there under our alter ego Mother God Moviestar, but never as Aftermath.  That needs to happen.  I also want to play a show in Athens, Greece.

 

What has been your best achievement to date and what would you like to achieve in the future?

 

We have written songs with no outside pressure.  We write what we want as the band, no label telling us what to write. Early on our demos Killing the Future and Words that Echo Fear made a lot of Top Ten lists for best demos of the year that was an early achievement that was really cool.   The biggest achievement would have to be that we are working on our fourth album.  We released Eyes like I said in 1994 and for 25 years we only had one album to come back to and now have a catalog is it – that’s the biggest achievement.

 

Tell me a story from backstage or after a gig?

 

I never really hang out backstage. 

 

What do you like best about being a musician and why?

 

I really never wanted to do anything else but play music and to be able to do that is cool.  It wasn’t about being a rock star; it was always about being in a band with guys that made the music I love to listen to.  We are doing that and it’s what makes it cool.  

 

If you were not in the job you are now, what would you be doing?

 

I work like 3 hours a night for UPS.  Not sure what other job would be possible or one I could stand doing.  This job is a great workout. That’s another benefit of it.  If I had to pick a job one to survive, then I would be in trouble.  

 

What has been the best gig you have been to as a fan, and can you tell us about it?

 

1981, 7TH row center Van Halen during the Fair Warning tour.  It was at the International Amphitheater in Chicago.  Our Mom bought me and my brother scalper tickets for $28 a ticket.  That was a lot back then.  We stood on the backs of the chairs for the entire show, we were shorter than the people in front of us.  We lost our voices from screaming the entire time.  The greatest show ever. I have been to almost 1,000 concerts since then and nothing else comes close.   

 

What would your ideal festival line-up be and why?

 

There have been so many festivals with great lineups I would go back to one of those and just pick one.   It all depends on whether it is genre specific or is it a fest with different genres?  

 

Here is one: The Beatles, The Stones, Queen, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Van Halen.  

 

 

What would you say is the best piece of advice you have ever been given?

 

When drinking beer don’t piss too early – can’t turn off the faucet.  

 

What things make you happy and what things annoy you?

 

Way more things annoy me than make me happy.  

 

What things do you like to do when you are away from music?

 

Not much.  

 

Do you think social media and the internet are a good thing in the music industry?

 

Both have been great for the music industry.  The business owners are making more money today than they were 15 years ago.  Streaming and the internet make it so much easier to get the product out there.  So much cheaper for labels also.  You don’t need to move 1 million physical CDs anymore.  Put the album on a streaming service, synch it to a movie or commercial and sell 65,000 physical copies and you made more than you did when you needed to press and print 1 million.  The officers of one company own shares in the others – it’s all incestuous in the end.  The artists have these followers on their social media pages, and they promote their albums at no cost to the label.  Free advertising.  The labels win again, right?   

 

Social media and the internet can be a huge benefit to bands if they know how to work it.

 

How important do you think your look and image is when it comes to being in the music industry?

 

We personally don’t play by those rules.  As a kid and a teen, I did feel the look and image were important.  Don’t get me wrong you could be a fan of Kansas or some other band like that, but the bands that could nail the music and look were at a different level.   Even later on we didn’t want to see a bunch of short hair dudes playing thrash metal, it wasn’t as cool back then.  

 

Can you tell us about any tattoos you have and the significance of them to you?

 

I feel like I am the only person left in any band without a tattoo.  Never got into them.

 

If you ran the country for a day, what would you change about it and why?

 

Running the country for a day would not be enough.  The puppets on both sides really run nothing.  I would need to run the world for one day and get rid of the globalist elite.

 

What would your ideal day consist of?

 

Coffee, cigarettes and weed with some great songs and a hot brunette in a summer dress.  Pretty simple, right? 

 

If you could say one thing to your fans, what would it be and why?

 

Thank you.  I say that because with the millions of bands out there thanks for listening to ours.

 

How would you answer the question Who are Aftermath and what are the differences between you as a music artist and you away from music?

 

Aftermath the band is four musicians that love playing and writing together.  We play music that we love and want to hear.  We don’t follow and rule book or formula, not even our own.   I’m basically the same person.  There is no persona or fake image or voice.  The lyrics are things I discuss in everyday life.  I dress the same on or off stage. 

 

What was the first record or song you purchased and why?

 

Rock and Roll Over by Kiss.  It was a Kiss album and the cover ruled.  

 

What would say to someone thinking about becoming a musician and getting into the music industry?

 

Do it because you really love it.  If you are doing it to get laid or make money the odds are you may get laid, but you probably won’t make money. But if you really love music and writing your songs then do it.

 

If you could collaborate with any other band/singer or musician, who would you choose and why?

 

I would not pick anyone else besides the guys in the band.  But, if it was a dream scenario it would have been Eddie Van Halen.

 

If you could have written one song from history which would it have been and why?

 

I wouldn’t be able to pick a song.  What I mean is if the song is a song I love, it is because the guys that wrote and played it made it right.  It wouldn’t be a great song or special if it was done by someone else.  The magic of a great song comes from that moment in time and by those writers.  Pick your favorite Van Halen or Slayer song.  It wouldn’t be nearly as great by someone else.  Don’t get me wrong there are great covers of songs, but the original needed to be written by the ones that wrote it.  I am talking about songs that I believe are great.  Then again, who would ever want to write a shitty song right?

 

What things make you uncomfortable?

 

The woke.

 

If you wrote a book about yourself, what would it have in it?

 

It would be really short. I don’t really write in paragraphs.  It would be in lyric form.  

 

What has the rest of the year got in store for you?

 

We are writing our 4th album and then planning to go into the studio.  We want to play some shows in between.