What is the most important thing you've learned musically in the 20 years Overkill has been together?
It's about impact. We're here to exploit certain emotions, to bring them out and take them to the highest height we possibly can. So for me it's always been about the hills and the valleys. In a live set you can hit as hard as you can for four songs and then bring it down into a valley and then come back and bring it up to the top of that hill and hit as hard as you can. It appears that the next time you reach the height of the second hill, it's more intense than the first. I really think that's one of the musical things I've learned, the peaks and valleys in individual songs and in sets.
How about on the business side?
Keep good people around you. D.D. and I manage the band. We're involved in every aspect of this, but we have good people around us. I think that's the key to it. It's a good team. You can't go the Super Bowl with a shitty front line. You can have a great quarterback, but you're still not going to the Super Bowl without that great front line. We've made mistakes in hindsight, but I do think that for the most part it's always been a positive business learning experience.
How did you get started in music?
I think, like everyone else, you grab a broom and stand in front of the mirror. I think it was probably something by Judas Priest. The broom became a guitar very soon thereafter. And then it was a love and I continued to pursue it. I think I had some confused issues at the beginning. There was free beer and girls, which was one helluva motivator also for somebody who has their hormones raging. Now I find the motivation is really all about the music.
How is your health? You've had some issues in the past few years.
I had cancer in 1998. I went through about six operations. I've been cancer free since. It got out because we had to cancel tours. I wanted to keep it private, but when I look back on it it's probably best that people knew because it was really inspiring to be able to hit the internet while there were pieces of me being cut out and get some well wishes from someone I didn't even know. It was really positive.
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