Greg Prato of the Long Island Pulse spoke with Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian about his forthcoming book, Access All Areas: Stories from a Hard Rock Life, out December 12th. Highlights from the interview appear below.
LI Pulse: How is Access All Areas different from I’m the Man?
Scott Ian: I’m the Man is an autobiography…This one fills in the blanks. It’s 23 stories from my life. Some of them from when I was a kid and most of them from my years in the band, touring, experiences I’ve had, crazy places I’ve been and situations I’ve been a part of, most of which I call my “Who the hell let me in here?” moments.
LI Pulse: Something that you touch upon in the book is while KISS is now a widely-admired rock band, back in the late 70s/early 80s, non-fans of the band would often voice their disapproval of those who wore Kiss shirts in public.
Scott Ian: Like any other kind of time in music, it’s generational. And KISS really tapped the vein of a younger crowd. When you had a bunch of 13 year olds, 14 year olds, 15 year olds who all of a sudden are wearing Kiss shirts and yelling Kiss lyrics and buying Kiss records, well, of course, that makes it completely uncool for the older teenagers who were listening to Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Aerosmith and so on…If you look at it on paper, a four-year age difference, big deal. But 13 and 17, that means everything. [Laughs]
LI Pulse: It’s been a few years since you appeared on the reality TV show Supergroup. What are your thoughts on it now?
Scott Ian: I had a blast doing that. I really have nothing bad to say about it. I got to live…as a rock star, for a couple of weeks in Las Vegas and really just had no responsibility. We had limousines on call for us 24 hours a day…It’s an experience that is very much an anomaly in my life. And I just kind of went with it the best I could. I don’t think I betrayed myself and became somebody different on that TV show. I was very much myself. I’ve had a lot of people tell me, “You and Jason Bonham were like the voices of reason on that show.” And I’m like, “Well, I don’t know about all that, but I was just myself. That’s who I am.” I didn’t feel like I needed to put on a bigger personality to be on that TV show.
Read more at the Long Island Pulse.
source: lipulse.com
2 Responses
I love the passion Scott Ian has for his musical influences, and the way his band pays homage to these influences by playing great covers of their songs. And I’m sure his stories of KI$$ are very similar to all of us who were introduced to Ki$$ in the 70s. For me, personally, no band ever topped the love and devotion I had for that era of KI$$. Fire, blood, explosions, costumes, characters, rockets, risers, loud music, etc…when you’re a young teenager, how could you not love this stuff??!! :o)
Totally agree, Rattlehead. KISS was larger than life (no pun intended)! Before LICK IT UP came out, you didn’t even know what the guys looked like under the makeup! There was a mystery about them that just didn’t exist with other bands. The makeup, costumes, fire, blood, and explosions made them more than just a rock and roll band. When somebody would give you crap about them, and say something to the effect of “KISS sucks! Their music sucks! You should be listening to Boston or Journey!”, you could look at them and say “Those guys are so boring! They just stand there and sing and play their instruments. Where is the spectacle? Where is the show?” Back in the day, KISS really inspired a dedication in their fans that other bands just didn’t. I wouldn’t even buy another bands’ music for the longest time. Back then you just didn’t have the access to music that you have now. You actually had to go to a “record store” and buy your music! It was a different time!