Danzig on Danzig

Glenn Danzig talks with his MySpace alterego

The new album is a compilation of lost and rare Danzig tracks.

I’m not a journalist. I'm a local musician, who, like a majority of my generation, has a MySpace page. I have my own personal page, sure, but I secretly maintain a Glenn Danzig page. You see, I'm a huge fan of Danzig—from The Misfits to his solo career to his Verotik comic book line, he's a rad and hugely influential artist.

As MySpace Glenn Danzig, I write evil blogs and comments, post Danzig videos and generally infect the MySpace community with unhealthy doses of Danzig. Never in my bloodiest dreams could I imagine I'd actually get to speak with the real Glenn, but in preparation for his Nov. 10 show at the Sunshine Theater, that's exactly what the Alibi asked me to do. What follows is a phone chat I, MySpace Glenn Danzig, had with Mr. Glenn Danzig as he was preparing for a show in San Francisco.

So you’re coming back to Albuquerque. You just missed the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.

Were there any explosions?

A balloon crashed into a telephone wire. The gondola tipped over, some people fell out and a lady died.

Danzig snuggles one of his furry minions.

Ballooning is very dangerous. There are so many variables up there that you have no control over.

I was thinking next year you could sponsor a balloon and get the Danzig skull or the Verotik comic book insigniaon on the side of it.

Nobody had a black balloon?

No, you have to come and put your claim on that. So, your comic line is so cool. I love “Death Dealer" and "Devil Man.” How’s the rest of Verotik going?

It’s going good. Some of the other companies went out of business, but we’re still around. I just did my version of Countess Báthory [google: “The Blood Countess”]. It’s going to be a coffee table art book. It’ll be three or four pages of my free verse and then it will be biblio illustrations and full-page illustrations.

I just got your new album, The Lost Tracks of Danzig. What led you to decide to put all these rare tracks together?

Really, a lot of fans had heard demos—or really bad cassette copies of stuff—and were asking when they were going to get to hear these songs. I kept saying I should put something together for everybody, and when I eventually scaled back my touring schedule and now do just a couple of live shows, I actually found the time to put a lot of work into it. Everyone seems to enjoy it. I’m glad.

I was stoked on the Bowie and Germs covers. Who else have you thought of covering?

Well, we covered "The Hunter" [by Albert King] and, of course, I change shit around. We did Black Sabbath's “Hand of Doom” on Danzig 5 ... I mean, there’s so many.

I see [ex-Misfits guitarist] Doyle’s band [Gorgeous Frankenstein] is opening for you guys. How does it feel working with him again—have things changed a lot?

Uh, no, we’re just older. (both laugh)

I heard a rumor you’re working on a movie.

I wrote this one script based on a Verotik character for this one production company and we’ve been meeting with a couple of studios.

Do you start your day with a well-balanced breakfast or exercise?

Nope.

I heard you study Jeet Kune Do [the martial art system developed by Bruce Lee]. How did you get into it?

I was doing Muay Thai and a friend of mine was trying to get me an introduction to one of Bruce Lee’s old core people in Chinatown for training and it was very selective. So I expressed interest in trying to get an introduction to him, and he secretly came and checked me out when I was at the academy. He said, "Yeah, I’ll meet this guy." Then my first meeting became my first lesson. That was 1992.

You have a great vocal range. Did you ever take lessons?

No.

How did you start with music?

I started out as a drum tech and a roadie for bands. I was learning to play bass and eventually I got asked to audition for this band who heard I could sing, I don’t know how. So, I went down and auditioned and they were like, “Man, you rock,” and I was like, "Cool."

Do you have any pets?

Yeah.

What do you have?

Uh, a bunch of cats. (laughs)

I have a cat—he’s a polydactyl cat with extra toes and I named him after you.

You have a Hemingway cat?

Yeah. He likes to kill pigeons.

That’s what cats do! (laughs)

I thought with such a dark, brutal cat, the name "Little Danzig" fit very well.

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