{"id":8877,"date":"2012-02-08T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-02-08T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southeastofheaven.com\/?p=8877"},"modified":"2012-02-07T20:22:59","modified_gmt":"2012-02-08T01:22:59","slug":"blowin-wind-with-rob-caggiano-of-anthrax","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/?p=8877","title":{"rendered":"Blowin’ Wind with Rob Caggiano of Anthrax: “As a kid did I ever think that I\u2019d be playing on stage with Scott Ian? It\u2019s a crazy world and anything is possible.”"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Anthrax has been on a US headlining tour supporting their latest masterpiece Worship Music.\u00a0 Unfortunately, the tour has been hit with a series of curve balls.\u00a0 Scott Ian was forced to sit out to dates of the tour due to being hospitalized for an illness and then both drummer Charlie Benante and bassist Frank Bello left the tour to be home with a terminally ill family member.\u00a0 Instead of packing it in, Anthrax moved forward in true “show must go on” fashion by recruiting Testament drummer Gene Hoglan to do double duty (playing for both Testament and Anthrax each night) and Armored Saint bassist and good friend Joey Vera to step in for Bello.\u00a0 Before their performance in Atlanta, I was happy to have the chance to talk to lead guitarist Rob Caggiano.\u00a0 I had a great time with Rob as we discussed the shift in dynamics on this tour playing with other guys, his opinion on how the music industry needs to change, and his feelings about the new album Worship Music among other things.\u00a0 This was a great time for me and I hope you’ll enjoy this one as well!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Rob, thanks for taking the time out to do this interview today.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Awesome man. No worries at all.<\/p>\n

================================<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>This tour has been a bit stressful for you guys. You had Charlie (Benante; drummer) leaving the tour because of a family emergency and now Frank (Bello; bassist) has left as well for the same reasons. With this sudden shift in dynamics having to work with fill in players with little to no notice, how has this affected your playing or the band\u2019s playing as a whole?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Well, it first started when Scott got really sick and ended up in the hospital. The first show we played without Scott (January 26th) we had Alex and Eric from Testament and the Death Angel guys helping us out on that show. The next show (January 27th) Charlie left so we had no Charlie and no Scott and that was a little nerve racking. We even put up a sign letting the fans know that Charlie and Scott weren\u2019t there and offered refunds. We expected to go out to an empty room, but it was packed and the crowd loved it. For me, it wasn\u2019t that big of an adjustment but it\u2019s just playing a lot of Scott\u2019s intros to songs like \u201cCaught In A Mosh\u201d and \u201cAntisocial\u201d but it was fine.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

================================<\/p>\n

So you just kind of shifted roles basically.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yeah. Pretty much. As a metal guitarist you\u2019re playing rhythm guitar 95% of the time regardless so for me it was the exact same show, but when I\u2019d kick into a lead there was no rhythm underneath it so it was kind of like Van Halen style which I don\u2019t mind [laughs]. It was cool. I mean obviously it wasn\u2019t Anthrax without those guys, but the spirit was still there and I think the crowd respected the fact that we didn\u2019t cancel the shows. There was a lot of love in the room.<\/p>\n

================================<\/p>\n

Kudos to you guys for keeping it up. I know a lot of bands that have cancelled tours for a lot less. From what I could see, there was a lot of mixed emotions from the fans as to whether you guys should keep touring, but I could see the people in line tonight and they were just as pumped to see this show. It almost makes you want to see it more to see how these other guys do filling in. I mean, you\u2019ve got Gene Hoglan on drums. Holy fuck man.<\/strong><\/p>\n

[laughs] Gene\u2019s amazing. He\u2019s a monster and he\u2019s doing two sets a night (drummer for Testament and filling in for Anthrax\u2019s Charlie Benante) and that\u2019s just insane [laughs].<\/p>\n

================================<\/p>\n

You guys better hire him a masseuse or something.\"\"<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

[laughs] That\u2019s just so crazy. I mean, we\u2019re not trying to pull a fast one on anyone. We post a note at the front doors of the venues letting them know what the situation is. If you want to come in and hang and watch a good rock show, come on in, but it\u2019s not what you bought a ticket for and we understand that. So far, the rooms have been packed. Scott\u2019s now back so it\u2019s alright now, but tonight we\u2019re missing Frankie (Bello; bassist) tonight [laughs]. Joey Vera\u2019s a great bass player and he\u2019s played with us before and he rules. It\u2019s fucking Anthrax man. You never know who\u2019s going to show up on stage. We like to keep it interesting [laughs]. It\u2019s fun!<\/p>\n

================================<\/p>\n

Worship Music<\/em> is definitely a return to form for Anthrax. It\u2019s without a doubt my favorite Anthrax record since Persistence of Time. You guys were on one hell of a roller coaster ride making this album though. Am I correct?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thanks man. We\u2019re really proud of the album. The recording of this album was definitely a roller coaster. There were moments where everyone was so excited and getting along and then all of the sudden we didn\u2019t even know if the band was going to exist anymore. There were some dark moments. We braved the fucking storm and got through it all. I think Joey Belladonna coming back into the band was the best think that could have ever happened. We needed to go through all the stupid shit to get to where we are right now. Lesser bands would\u2019ve definitely called it a day a long time ago. It\u2019s just something that we\u2019re really proud of and the reaction from the fans and critics have been so positive. It\u2019s a really good feeling.<\/p>\n

================================<\/p>\n

You produced this latest masterpiece. Is it hard to remove yourself from the performance aspect of the music to change hats and be a producer?<\/strong><\/p>\n

No, not really. I\u2019m kind of used to it at this point. It\u2019s just learning how to let go and keep the spirit intact and not over produce stuff. I hate over produced stuff. One of the things with this album that I tried to capture sonically production wise was that classic Anthrax sound, but I also wanted it to be modern and cutting edge as well. That\u2019s kind of the vision we all had and I feel like we definitely hit the mark. It\u2019s definitely not over produced. It\u2019s loose and it\u2019s got that classic Anthrax sound with Joey being back. The band is just in top form at this point I think.<\/p>\n

================================<\/p>\n

Anthrax has had its busiest couple of years in a long time. With all the Big 4 shows and the Jaggermeitster tours behind you, do you feel like Anthrax has some new found energy?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Oh yeah. I do. It just feels really good. We did that first Big 4 show in Poland and that was actually my first gig with Joey Belladonna and I didn\u2019t know what to expect. I remember half way through the first song we were on stage and we all just looked at each other like, \u201cThis is fucking awesome\u201d [laugh].<\/p>\n

================================<\/p>\n

Lately we\u2019ve seen bands playing full albums live like Megadeth\u2019s Rust In Peace<\/em> and Slayer\u2019s Seasons In The Abyss<\/em>. Would you ever like to see Anthrax do a full album live and if so what album would you like to perform?<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are some bands that I would love to see do that kind of thing. I\u2019d love see AC\/DC do Back In Black<\/em> from top to bottom. That would be killer. I never got to see Pink Floyd and I would\u2019ve loved to have seen them do The Wall<\/em> but with Anthrax, I don\u2019t know. In the Metal world it can either be really cheesy or it could be cool. I guess it depends on the band and the album. I think we have such a blast mixing up the set list that we don\u2019t really feel the need to do that right now.<\/p>\n

================================<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>That\u2019s so true. Anthrax has over 20 years worth of material to pull from for a live show. Is there a particular song that didn\u2019t make the setlist on this tour that you would love to see?<\/strong><\/p>\n

There\u2019s one song that we never played with Joey that I really miss. The John Bush (former Anthrax vocalist) song \u201cRoom For One More.\u201d I really like that song a lot and it was always such a blast to play. I love everything that we\u2019re playing live right now and we try to mix it up from night to night too.<\/p>\n

================================<\/p>\n

So I have to ask you Rob. How does it feel to be playing in a band that you were a fan of as a kid? I mean, you\u2019re living the dream, man.<\/strong><\/p>\n

[laughs] Man, Anthrax has been one of my favorite bands for as long as I can remember. As a kid did I ever think that I\u2019d be playing on stage with Scott Ian? [laughs] I never thought that. It\u2019s a crazy world and anything is possible.<\/p>\n

================================<\/p>\n

It seems to be a trend in metal for bands to go out on the road and perform \u201clive\u201d to backing tracks. What\u2019s your opinion on bands who do this crap?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think that to some degree the art of being a good musician is kind of waning at this point. I can talk for days about this shit. I think computers on one hand really helped music progress and on the other hand it completely destroyed the business of music, the making of music, and the writing of music. It\u2019s so easy to make somebody sound good but in reality they can\u2019t really play or sing [laughs]. You can just click the mouse a few times to finagle it and make someone sound great. I believe that if you can\u2019t pull it off live it shouldn\u2019t be on your record. I mean there\u2019s always bells and whistles that happen on a record that you don\u2019t need live.<\/p>\n

================================<\/p>\n

You mean like certain sound effects and what not?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yeah. That or it might be an overdubbed guitar part that\u2019s not crucial to the song, but adds something cool on the recording, but you don\u2019t miss that live.<\/p>\n

================================<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve expressed in the past that there needs to be a serious change in how the industry is doing things. In your opinion, what needs to change to make things better again?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Well, it\u2019s hard to say. This new generation of kids just doesn\u2019t seem to respect music. They don\u2019t respect it as an art form like they did years ago. To these young kids, they don\u2019t understand the concept that this is our lives. This is our career and it costs a lot of money to make a good record. When you go on the computer and hit a fucking button and download something for free you\u2019re stealing, but the kids don\u2019t realize that. Somehow that needs to change and I think it will. I think musicians need to take the power back at some point soon because it\u2019s just getting worse and worse. This is how we make our living and pretty soon bands won\u2019t be able to survive and then what? [laughs]<\/p>\n

================================<\/p>\n

Do you think that bands have started to take that power back by not going with major labels and starting their own record labels and handling distribution and what not?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yeah. I just think that everything is going to be different at some point soon. I don\u2019t even know what \u201cmajor labels\u201d are any more [laughs].<\/p>\n

================================<\/p>\n

Oh yeah. That\u2019s because so many major labels are gone and independent labels are now the new major labels with different names and so on. It\u2019s confusing.<\/strong><\/p>\n

[laughs] Major labels these days have like 10 people working for them [laughs]. It\u2019s just a huge mess. There just needs to be a way for them to figure out how to make sure the musicians are getting paid properly and this whole Internet piracy thing needs to be controlled.<\/p>\n

================================<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve talked about how you feel about the piracy aspect, but how about buying music online. How do you feel about that? It\u2019s like the magic of going to a record store is long gone so this is the only alternative it seems.<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are barely even any record stores left anymore. In New York City, there\u2019s Bleeker Bob\u2019s and Generation Records. Those are the only two record stores I know of and they\u2019re around the corner from each other so that\u2019s convenient [laughs]. Other than that, I don\u2019t even know where to go. I mean, WalMart carries music, but they don\u2019t carry the music I want. Best Buy. Same shit. It\u2019s all online. These days I buy most of my shit on iTunes.<\/p>\n

================================<\/p>\n

How do you feel that this seems to be the best way to get music these days?<\/strong><\/p>\n

My only problem with downloading music from iTunes is that the music doesn\u2019t sound good. The files are not full bandwidth. That to me is just weird. It\u2019s like we go through all of this trouble to make an album sound really awesome and then it goes on iTunes and it gets compressed and then it\u2019s playing on someone’s broken iPod and shit so what\u2019s the point [laughs]. Honestly, I have no problem with iTunes, but I do miss going to record stores and picking up the CDs, feeling it in my hands, and seeing the art work.<\/p>\n

================================<\/p>\n

OK Rob let\u2019s loosen things up a bit here. I\u2019ve got a few fun \u201cget to know you\u201d type of questions if that\u2019s cool.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Of course man. Go for it.<\/p>\n

================================<\/p>\n

If Hollywood was to make a movie on your life, who would play you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

[laughs] Wow! Now that\u2019s a good question [laughs]. Hm, hopefully it would be De Niro [laughs].<\/p>\n

================================<\/p>\n

Man, that would be great. [In my best De Niro] You… want me… to play in Anthrax?<\/strong><\/p>\n

[laughs] That was pretty good [laughs].<\/p>\n

================================<\/p>\n

Are there any bands that I would be surprised to hear that you were a fan of?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Oh yeah. I listen to so many different things. There\u2019s this guy from the UK named James Blake. He\u2019s kind of like a real cutting edge electronica artist. Phenomenal voice with a lot of soul. His record is fucking smoking. I\u2019ve been listening to that one a lot. It\u2019s so not metal that it\u2019s not even funny [laughs]. It\u2019s a really good album though. I\u2019m really into the new Skinny Puppy album too. I\u2019ve been rocking out on the bus to that one every night [laughs].<\/p>\n

================================<\/p>\n

What was the defining moment for you where you knew you wanted to play music?<\/strong><\/p>\n

When I first heard Eddie Van Halen that sealed the deal for me. When I was a kid I wanted to be a baseball player and that was my dream. My mom took me to the local flea market one day at Yonkers Raceway and they had a little record vendor there. I bought an AC\/DC record and I bought a Van Halen record and that was it. I was fucking done [laughs].<\/p>\n

================================<\/p>\n

If someone came up to you and asked you to define Heavy Metal, what album would you give them to answer that question?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Oh man. That\u2019s another really good question [laughs]. For me, it would have to be Iron Maiden\u2019s Number of the Beast<\/em> [laughs]. That\u2019s one of my favorites. That one or Judas Priest\u2019s British Steel<\/em>. That\u2019s another awesome record.<\/p>\n

================================<\/p>\n

What is your most prized music memorabilia possession?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Man, I don\u2019t really have anything cool like that. I don\u2019t really collect music stuff although I should [laughs]. I do have something cool but it\u2019s not music memorabilia. I was playing somewhere once with The Damned Things and this kid brought us a couple of cells from the actual Star Wars<\/em> film. I\u2019m a huge Star Wars fan [laughs].<\/p>\n

================================<\/p>\n

So am I. So then which movie reigns supreme?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Actually, Empire Strikes Back<\/em> is probably the best one. Man, Empire\u2019s fucking amazing.<\/p>\n

================================<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next for Anthrax?<\/strong><\/p>\n

This run of the American tour ends on February 8th in New York City. I go home for a night and sleep in my bed and then the next day we fly to South America [laughs]. We\u2019re doing the Mayhem tour this summer and I\u2019m really excited about that one.<\/p>\n

================================<\/p>\n

Rob, thank you so much for doing this interview man and best of luck tonight and for the rest of the tour.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thank you Don. This was a lot of fun.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Anthrax has been on a US headlining tour supporting their latest masterpiece Worship Music.\u00a0 Unfortunately, the tour has been hit with a series of curve balls.\u00a0 Scott Ian was forced to sit out to dates of the tour due to being hospitalized for an illness and then both drummer Charlie Benante and bassist Frank Bello left the tour to be home with a terminally ill family member.\u00a0 Instead of packing it in, Anthrax moved forward in true “show must go […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[194],"tags":[29,731,729,730],"class_list":["post-8877","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-interviews","tag-anthrax","tag-anthrax-interview","tag-rob-caggiano","tag-rob-caggiano-interview"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8877","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8877"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8877\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8877"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8877"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8877"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}