"No matter what happens with these elections, it's gonna be better than what we have now!"

A year ago, when W.A.S.P.'s "Dominator" came out, we had a quite intriguing conversation with the Californian metal band's leader - Mr. Blackie Lawless. Now, just a few days before W.A.S.P.'s headlining show at the Lovech Party Fest 2008 in Bulgaria on May 11, we caught the talkative American musician on the phone again...

Vassil Varbanov: Hey, Blackie, hello! How are you?

Blackie Lawless: I'm doing good, thanks!

V. V.: You just got back from a tour in Australia. How has it been?

B. L.: It was really good. It was our first time there, and it was a really, really big success.

V. V.: Did you feel any difference when getting in front of these people for the first time?

B. L.: Actually, we have been to Australia back in the 80's on a promotional tour, and I found it to be very similar to Southern California. Going there these last two weeks confirmed what I had thought the first time. It's very similar - not just to America, but specifically Southern California, so we felt right at home.

V. V.: There's gonna be a W.A.S.P. show in Bulgaria in about two weeks - on May 11 - in the small town of Lovech, which is right in the middle of the country. What do you expect from the gig?

B. L.: Well, hopefully because it's in the middle it will be easier for everybody in the country to get there. The thing we remember the most is the first time we played in Bulgaria a few years ago - it was a small basketball arena...

V. V.: The 3,000-capacity Hristo Botev Sports Hall.

B. L.: It was unbelievable! There were people outside, trying to look through the hallways what is going on on the stage... We still talk about that night, because that crowd was rockin'! That was one of the best shows we'd ever played! Whenever we look to go back to Europe, we wanna know if we're gonna be able to get back there, because that was really one of the highlight not just of that tour, but of any tour we've done.

V. V.: The last time we talked was exactly a year ago - in April 2007. What has happened to the band since?

B. L.: We've been on a tour that has been almost an entire year. As a matter of fact, in the last 3 years we've done 355 shows. We've not played this many shows since the first 4 years the band was together, so we've been really busy. I can't remember how many times we've been to Europe during the last 3 years, but especially the last years was really intense. Last year alone we did 140 shows.

V. V.: The band is still the same, right - Doug Blair on guitar, Mike Duda on bass and Mike Dupke on drums?

B. L.: Yes.

V. V.: You have your bandmates, you have your crew, you have your fans... Do you have friends among the other musicians, or it's like everybody's taking care just of his own band?

B. L.: Everybody in the band has outside friends. The friends we and most of the other bands had a long time ago are still the friends we have today. The old friends are the ones that you trust the most, but you also have to understand that a band, if they have a good relationship with each other and their road crew, you sort of become a family when you're on the road as much as we are. Everyone trusts each other and you rely on each other, and that creates a tightness - just like soldiers going to war, or a sports team...

V. V.: Yeah, but do you have friends among the other bands?

B. L.: Yes - like I said, the people that you've known the longest - musicians or not - are usually the people that remain your friends. So yes, I have many musician friends. The biggest problem is that we don't get to see each other as much as we'd like, because everyone's lives go in different directions. If you remember back when you were at school, everyone saw each other every day and you had a really tight relationship with the friends you had there, but when you graduate, everyone's lives go in different directions, so sometimes it's hard to maintain these friendships, because you just don't see each other very much.

V. V.: I asked you this question because in a few months, on July 4, we'll have Whitesnake and Def Leppard playing together here in Sofia. If you had to choose, which band would you pick to go on tour with W.A.S.P.?

B. L.: Oh, I don't know, there are so many... The best way to answer that is by trying to give you a little bit of the flavor and the atmosphere of what it's like when you do a big festival and there are a lot of really big bands on the same bill. In these cases there's a pretty good chance that everybody knows everyone else. When we get there you'd be surprised, because most of the bands are like little kids who have great respect for those big names that are on the bill... When we do these festivals, it's kind of like having a school reunion - everybody is usually really excited when you're there, and that's the part of it that the fans never see, as it happens backstage. It's a fantastic atmosphere!

V. V.: The last question is gonna be political. America's thinking of the president elections now, and we can see that bands are choosing between the two main candidates - Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Are you happy with what's happening now in the USA? Are you an optimist or a pessimist?

B. L.: I'm always an optimist. However, I could not tell you what's going to happen, because America is really divided as to where it wants to go. To be completely honest, I don't think America is completely satisfied with any of the 3 candidates that are still there, and this creates a situation where there's going to be a lot of division. I wish it wasn't that way, but no matter what happens, it's gonna be better than what we have now.

V. V.: In this connection, on July 12, 2008 we're gonna promote a show in Sofia by a band that got very much involved in the anti-Bush campaign - Ministry. They're doing their farewell tour now. Do you know Al Jourgensen?

B. L.: I don't believe so, no.

V. V.: Why - because America is a huge country or because you two belong to very different scenes?

B. L.: Well, that's like saying that someone who lives in Bulgaria has never met someone that lives in Japan. America is a big place, and again, I don't see my friends as much as I'd like to... It's very difficult when you're on the road - it's an isolated existence sometimes... And when I'm not on the road, I don't go out much - I just try to stay at home, get my head together and see the people that I know and care about.
As for Ministry, I have awesome respect for them, that's why I'm shocked to hear that this is their farewell tour. Ministry is one of the best bands that have come around in a very, very long time.

Copyright: Tangra Mega Rock