When I wrote the last post, I had no idea that over the course of the next couple days, I’d be in close proximity of Blackie Lawless. I also had no idea that my friend is his guitar tech, that WASP was on the bill for the next two shows, or that I’d end up on a three hour ferry ride with the whole band. Maybe it’s time to start checking our itinerary.
We arrived in Kilefords, Sweden for the Rock Weekend Festival. After a quick workout and shower, I headed to the catering area, where I loaded up on Swedish salmon, artichoke soup and a variety of salads. This was such a feast, how come no one else is out here? I went to the table area, and it was empty except for Blackie, having lunch with his girlfriend of ten years, who has similar jet black hair. “Oh no.” I thought. “I hope he hasn’t read my blog.” He looked over for a second, realized he didn’t know me, and went back to his plate. I felt like I could have come up and say hello, but decided against it for now. On his way out, he recognized Chuck, our singer, who had just walked in, and gave him a quick hello and handshake. “At least he talks.” I thought.
After lunch, I ran into Blackie’s guitar tech Kyle, who is a friend of mind. I told him about this blog post. He laughed and confirmed that Blackie wants the dressing room areas cleared, that he’ll throw a fit now and then and wants people kept away from him. “The guy prefers to be alone. It’s true.” He pointed out “But he’s got my back and everyone else’s that works for him.”
One time, for example, there was a show where the crew wasn’t fed. Blackie told the promoter to go to a Burger King right now and coming back with a dozen hamburgers or he wasn’t going on. Kyle has worked for Blackie for five years and describes him as a “good boss.”
Claudia, one of several young women in charge of coordination at the Norway Rock Festival the next day, told me that she was specifically instructed not to address Blackie directly. All correspondence and questions for him had to be done through someone else. I should point out that the rest of WASP went out of their way to say hello. Doug Blair, the guitarist, is my new buddy. We’re already e-mailing each other.
I have to admit, when I saw WASP live, it was captivating. Blackie had a sense of dynamics and clarity that a lot musicians don’t have, including some who play much more ‘serious’ and ‘respectable ‘ music. This was especially true in the slower quieter moments of the show. Blackie believed every note he sang and played and it was coming from a real place. Doug and the rest of the band are great players and singers and the songs are extremely catchy.
On the other hand, I’m still not crazy about the music. I admit playing the role of ‘snooty rock critic,’ here and I respect that there are others who seem to feel differently. I’ve just never been a fan of that style of vocals. I like an occasional scream in my music, but don’t like it when the song is sung in a scream, especially a high pitched one. WASP, Quiet Riot and a lot of lesser known LA metal bands had that sound and as a result, was never a fan of those bands.
I appreciate those on this blog who have defended W.A.S.P’s music and tried to enlighten me too it. At one time, if you tried to tell me that KISS wasn’t the greatest band on the planet, I would have ripped your face off. I have more appreciation after seeing the live show, but don’t expect my jazz arrangement of a WASP song anytime soon.
Last night I spent three hours on a ferry with WASP. From about 12:30am to 3:30am, we all sat in a crowded lounge area, WASP at one set of tables Testament at another. Some of their band and crew would come over and hang with us, or we’d go over there and say hi, but usually Blackie never even looked around to see who was walking up. Finally I said to Kyle, “Can I say hello to him?
“Sure” he said.” He introduced me. We walked over to his chair a few feet away. “Blackie, this is Alex Skolnick” he aid.
“How ya doing?'” Blackie said directly. I felt like we were interrupting him but didn’t care. I asked how his show went. “Alright” he said. He asked how ours went.
It was a quick, curt and abrupt. No smile. Not overly friendly but not unpleasant either.
Here’s my final assessment: just because someone is closed off and requires being closed off in order to function as an artist, doesn’t mean he’s a bad guy. Just not someone I and others I know would like to spend a lot of time with. We have some real characters in our world of hard rock/heavy metal. Part of what we do is add color to our fans lives. Some of us have higher needs in order to achieve that and that’s ok or not, depending on your individual perspective and experience with that person.
I mentioned in my comment that I am fascinated by Blackie. I don’t think I’m jealous of him as one person mentioned. I have no desire to be an aging LA Glam Metal singer. I’m quite happy in my role of someone who plays metal and jazz guitar, travels and writes. But sure, I admire that someone named Steven Duren was able to create this wild on-stage persona of Blackie Lawless.
The last band on the bill, Manowar, took half the dressing room area for themselves, forbid anyone from speaking to them and tried to limit the volume level on all the other bands so they could be louder. Suddenly, Blackie Lawless seems like a pussycat. That’s another story…