 Well, yeah, I mean it's it's it's interesting because it's it's some of it's the same just like it used to be but the parameters are a lot more a lot different now because It's still if we see a band and we really like them We're gonna sign and that hasn't changed in 41 years that we've been doing this But you there are different parameters. I mean you would like a band to have some something going Because that really is a really big help for us like if there is you know You guys have a social media platform or you're really big in your own town or you know You've got a international buzz whatever it is that sort of stuff It doesn't mean that we would sign a band just because they have big buzz There's a lot of bands that I've seen that have you know tons of social media and spotify numbers But it's not our our style But there are other bands that don't like me send it back home. This is a guy I'm so excited But they're so amazing exactly, but it does help and you know we do Because there's so many bands out there now, there's so many good bands I think there's more good bands now that I've ever seen before here We can't sign everything so you have to look at that and go I'm gonna use these five bands They're all really really good really really really like we can probably only sign two of them And that's where well, you know, they've got stuff going on. So so that's a big help All right other questions for anybody on the panel by the way So So if you haven't if you haven't heard what she said he asked she asked Brian What would he be doing if metal blade haven't happened? Well, I was so in school I was really good in English and I was creative writing and stuff. So I Was doing I did the first ever US heavy metal fancy. I was ready for Craig I was ready for sound so I was doing journalistic stuff That's where I thought I was headed and then this record label thing kind of got in the way So I would hope that I would have been able to stay in the business somehow But more than likely probably doing doing the journal stuff. Hopefully because that's a really good skill Otherwise, I don't know I could do anything else Anybody else questions go ahead right there, sir in the gray shirt. Yeah, John Want to ask him something, but I want to tell you something first Let it go No, I wanted to compliment you a couple weeks ago on your that rock show on your Pickin stranglehold is number one Love the ten music songs. Yeah, yeah, and you get a killies last stand you put victim of Jane I was just like very good People don't know myself any trumpet Jim Florentine used to do the show called that metal show and now we're doing a show On YouTube called that rocks, so that's what he's referring to right every Wednesday night So if you haven't checked it out, please do thank you sure now you can ask Brian I just want to know okay, so I grew up with Jim's. I'm from Downey, okay What what was the deal when you first met him you met him at the country club at Michael shaker was it? No, so the story That's all your clothes your clothes So no it was Lars actually at the Michael shaker show Oh, that was there, but none of us he didn't know Lars or anything So the big story was Lars was wearing a Saxon European t-shirt my buddy John corner ins He helped start the fanzine and help with the metal mask for one We were both at the show and he was in the parking lot afterwards and saw this kid with the Saxon European t-shirt This is December 1980 no one in LA knew who Saxon was let alone had a Saxon European t-shirt She runs up to this kid. He goes, you know who Saxon is and he goes. Yeah, you know who Saxon is So yeah, so basically that was Lars. He just moved here from Denmark And you know, they started talking and we're both in the same thing and then two days later I can't remember the law since my house ours at his house and we just all became really good friends because we were all I was 18 and Lawrence 16 are all just big fans of them new membership metal and I think for him You know moving from Denmark over he didn't owe anybody Didn't ever expect that anybody would be into the music he was in this week. We bonded over that I don't I didn't meet James until after Metallica had had existed that they put this song on a metal massacre But I remember the first couple times I met him. I might even talk about in the book I don't think he said more than two words. They were so shy Yeah No, but yeah, he was so shy at the first He barely said anything and then he he obviously became more and more social and not become very very Amazing person, but the Metallica thing is so they brought the tape For that song at literally the last second like John and I were waiting for Lars to show up with his tape because it was like three o'clock and I think we're Mastering the whole thing and it had to be done by like five and he didn't get there They were gonna be on the album because that was like and I hadn't heard anything I didn't know what they're doing. So my friend was starting a band. So yeah, whatever I need bands So they got there at the very end and he gave me the tape which went up the bump up to a real-to-real tape There's no another story and he gave me the credits so Back in those days that you get a typesetter for those that don't know Google it you'll see but some Somebody has to sell the type for the back of the album and this we didn't see Prince or proofs or you that so they just kind of came out the way it was And his writing wasn't very great Hence the McGovney misspelling as well And I think that the typesetter thought that there were two Metallica wasn't a word So I think she thought there were two keys in there But that was one of the most horrifying things my entire life I get this record like the biggest high of all I got this this record was like 2,500 sitting in the record store. We're dead and I open the box and look at I go Ron Lagoon he should have been way bigger Hey guys doing there Congratulations John and congratulations Brian and a real quick question I just kneel turban with the metal voice just wanted to ask you back in the 80s, you know when you were of course doing the metal massacre albums And you work with Metallica already Did you ever have a I know you were friends with John and Marsha Zula Johnny and Marsha Z So did you ever have a band that you guys were? I guess doing a tug of war over in other words You loved them and they loved them and you're I don't know if it's a bidding war or something like that Yeah, I'm sure that by the way Neil is out him was the same on the very first anthrax He's playing down the street late, too You know, I'm pretty sure there was but what's interesting about the early days is that you know I've talked to people a lot about you know what's happening You know why bands would sign the mega force my best for fundamental play and you know mega forces basically sign bands in the New York area and Also in Europe and then we were signing basically bands in Southern, California because if a band from New York would sign with us This is back of that. There's no faster sheets and no internet or nothing So to communicate you have to call like long distance calls in the early 80s. We're not cheap 20 minutes on the phone $120 something so bands just tend to stay there like we I was good friends with Kurt Vanderhoof for metal church We talked about signing them, but they ended up signing with a public label in Seattle same reasons like hey I can you know drive 15 minutes But I think it's as both You know both labels kind of kind of grew up, you know us in mega force There are definitely times I'm sure we had had some bidding words of stuff Not that often though because of the geographical thing and I can't think of anything off the top My head where we really would fight over look I'm much would have rather had versatile fate, but they got to him first which is great, but yeah I don't think there's it wasn't a whole lot of I Guess we're competing more or less But there wasn't a whole lot of competition back there because none of us had really a lot of money So it wasn't like, you know, we were bidding on stuff But I think probably towards the you know mid 80s There might have been a couple bands that we might have been bidding on Yeah I just saw Mike in Vegas like a week ago. He's doing very well Yeah, Shrapam. No, because see the thing with Varni was that he was saying mostly the guitar hero guys And I wasn't really freed man. Yeah Was it really my scene is as much so we Combat for sure because they were Oh There was a couple people that ran I mean combat became our steward now, which is much snap That was there for a while, but there's a guy before him Steve Sinclair, thank you. Yeah, he ran it for a while So there was definitely we definitely had some tug-of-war over a lot of things. Maybe that was one of them as well So about John Zulu from Megaforce. Yes. Yeah Yeah Yeah, I mean honestly Yeah We did we were one of those they were nice enough to allow us to reissue some stuff Got to yet that was kind of part of the deal So we did three Alice Cooper records 3d purple records and five Then Lizzie probably the ex-iron maid is my favorite band of all time So being able to reissue those were great and I was in this we remastered all of them to it The great Eddie Schreyer master of a million amazing albums was our guy and we would go in there remaster these things and one of those crazy stories about that did lizard we were doing a Black Rose and you know, this is real real tape stuff and we're doing it I look over and the tape is like falling apart So I start freaking out because I can use in the master tapes I like got them out of the water for those library this thing breaks. They're gonna kill I'm in big trouble So he just got a laugh said no, this is you just baked the tape She put in an oven and bake them and that fixes it so so we fixed it But the Cooper stuff is really fun and by the way if you guys are ever in Vegas We have a metal blade museum out there. It opens every Saturday Starting I think mid August will be open every Saturday And one of the coolest things in there is when we did the three Alice Cooper records We're trying to we were redoing everything on CD and we're trying to you know add stuff to it There wasn't a lot to it But I asked Alice if he would like handwrite like just a couple paragraphs about each record So which he very nicely did and we've got the original Originals and That was a lot of fun working with Alice All right question over here Yeah, oh, yeah, so So God's condiment is Was one of the head riders for rock art magazine Which is one of the biggest metal magazines in all of Germany and we have a very similar Glass as a whole thing especially when I weigh about 50 pounds more And I would go to these festivals in Germany if people come up to me spot start speaking in German So until God's dad and he he laughed and then he would come here for shows in the US And people go up to him thinking that he was so it was a whole thing in fact we did I think it was like Rock art was doing they're doing these video things for a while I think they did like a whole little thing where he he played me I played him or something funny like that. So no, that's true story that happened me I don't I countless times people come up to me and talk to me during And I eventually when they did that I go I'm not If you don't hear there's some cool German shit But yeah, that's a good t-shirt on my guts. Yeah, I wish I would love that Alright right down here in the front you can even use the mic Something she mentioned actually made me think of a question I didn't really have one but um as far as the you know the metal massacre series like obviously a lot of those were used to showcase bands and the excess from How would you decide with the bands that were yeah, there are a lot of factors for that I think with the excess I love that I don't think they had a deal in time So we kind of were able to pull them to just to get a song a lot of times the bands over had deals But we were like in a mental church and I mentioned before and you know over to kill There are a lot of bands that it either had deals or are about to sign deals But we it was a good vehicle for them to be on against in some extra publicity and I loved all those bands So other than that it was I don't know that there was a real specific Reason why we did some or some some other ones I mean we like all I wish I could have done all of them But it's just visiting a possible so we kind of picked in shoes It just depended on a lot of the circumstances like where you know where the fans were if they had you know Managed to sustain stuff that measure we knew they were all that sort of stuff. So that's by the way great So Betsy go down the line Betsy talk about where can people find out information on your band John? I want to talk about what's going on with Armored State these days and then we'll be close to wrapping it up Okay, well, I'm pretty old-school so I post everything on Facebook I'm sure you guys have had your fair share of selfies Everything that we do I do post on Facebook and we all promote it it gets promoted on you know, Instagram and Twitter and you know all the the social media I do have a kick-ass band two of which are here today Chris Cardenas my guitar player and her Remington my bass player my drummer is in Orange County playing cover songs tonight West But we you know, it's anywhere you want to look on social media, you know, you'll see you know The shows that we have but we have some cool ones coming up We actually have a really kick-ass metal show coming up on November 4th with high racks the mentors they will Descension that's that's Saturday the 4th out in Long Beach a place called supply and demand and You know, just like I said, just you know Facebook. That's where I promote everything and We're writing some new material We're playing some gigs, you know, we're still alive and kicking ass Thank you. Good night Weird guy in the sense that I have absolutely no social media Yeah, it's that's the way it is Old-school, I got it, but in any case Right Well What's happening is actually we're we're doing a tour another run actually would have lost Last year and now we're going to do another one and it's gonna be great and we had a lot of fun going out there on the road with Blackie and because of waspin So we're gonna do another one and that's like kind of the focus right now of what we're doing Music well, I mean we kind of started writing some songs with Aron saying a little bit Joey Brown myself We kind of move slow very slow But usually I say it's quality of the quantity so even though there's not a lot of armor saying records They're all great, but um true story, but in any case, so we should but I mean Tracy Who's Joey's wife who's the president of double play? No, he's an amazing person This kind of try to get his kick in the ass to like bring up a little bit and I am gonna be turning 60 next month 66 Brian going forward with metal blade obviously still signing bands lots of great newer bands You could mention right now. I'm sick job for a cowboy Yeah, there's a lot of stuff I mean I mentioned the ass and the whole thing which is really cool Traumaturing There's a lot of good stuff. I mean there's a ton of good bands like I mentioned this the doc before It's really great. We've got a couple newer bands Capra is a really cool band. It's doing a bunch of stuff Yeah, to establish is the one that Secret psyched about there. I saw that Psycho Fest in Vegas last summer and like I look I love going to shows. I love seeing bands, but I seem I don't know somebody asked me how many shows I've seen it Estimated to be somewhere around 6,000 But they just blew me away and they're really cool They're kind of a if you haven't heard them they're like cross between their young kids and they're really good They're kind of like to me they remind me of like a cross between Cannibal Corpse and Power Trip because they got the death metal thing But there's a lot of fresh in there. It's really really really good There's a lot of really cool bands out there ingested Just go to metalblade.com and listen to all of them And I love them when they asked one of the guys from 200 stab wounds about the name and he said well, you know 100 wasn't enough 300 was too much They said all about 200 stab wounds and I love that. Yeah And I'm glad that you signed them. I do love Vomitory But obviously again and Brian alluded to this earlier Sort of whatever your style is and you're all here because you do like the music on here Brian signs what he likes So you're always going to find a great variety of stuff and like you said go to metalblade.com Any last question before we wrap things up right down here What's the status on the documentary which is off? Armand saying documentary I Know we did but I know that It's showed at a few different Festivals and he's just trying to get some It is really cool. It's it's great And Brian is a lot talking about saying a lot of various people from from a walk of life Years in the business So hopefully one day I'll come out And One more one more. Yeah, I just want to say that I love Betsy And I would ask her a question if I could think of one quick But I got one for John kind of a split in half one for John Yeah, well so So for Brian I just wanted to ask you know between for the sake of heaviness and swing of the blade the impetus or the key differentiators between you know what? You know drove you to write a second book and kind of the purpose of that versus you know the difference between the first and second book And so the single way I talked about it earlier It just you know, there was such a great response to the first book Which again just is very humbling and blew me away and just a lot of people said you know Why don't you do a second book as they're all like that? And then it kind of just everyone had more stories about you know Some of the bigger bands and they also wanted more stories about the obscure bands, so it kind of led Like well, I was talking to my co-writer Mark Eglinton who's Phenomenal and does a great job and he was saying yeah, let's let we should definitely do something So he's starting same process the first one It's a little bit different because the first one is basically a chronological order of the history of the label This one is more just more in-depth about you know the amount of art in armor-saint and King Diamond and You know all those sort of bands and then a lot of stuff about newer bands a lot of stuff about obscure bands There's some great boring nonsense about the music industry that people seem to like to ask me about so so it's just kind of a Overall thing like this the title is you know more stories from metal Thank you So real quick so John, thank you so much I wanted to ask you know My question was going to be about writing new material for the you know the next album But I you already answered that but I do want to ask you as far as the tour that's coming up with wasp Do you think with Blackie's? You know health situation if his back is going to be okay because I know he's up for surgery and we wish him well by just one of the Well, you know the temperatures. I think we certainly hope so of course You know we we want him to do the whole tour and I think the last five shows in European actually sit in a seat Yeah, I'm gonna still pull it off and prove us to him for that Yeah, I mean I think you know lost is they had a great European tour And real successful and I was kind of one of the people who was pushing to do another leg because I was like Doug we can do another 30 cities that we didn't even do and Of course, we're doubling up a couple one being a way of course, but Filly or something, but in any case, I'm hoping he's gonna be fine and he's blackie for me. All right All right, hey everybody have a nice hand for Structural how to get on the line