Interview - Phil Anselmo
11/7/03

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Sam: How's the tour going so far?
Phil: "Real good, reeeal good"
Sam: Do you guys have any more plans after this tour? Maybe head over to Europe?
Phil: "No, no I'm going to avoid Europe for as long as possible...until...I guess until all the soldiers get sent home and shit and all the airlines are chilled out a little. That whole thing is a fuckin' headache and I don't feel like strip searching for nobody. We're scheduled throughout December anyway, and then we've got January off and we're gonna see what, probably the best thing is. I honestly would like to go on a bigger tour, but I just don't see...I can't even imagine what bands would have the balls to take us on tour, I really don't..."
Sam: That is a bit of a problem right now...
Phil: "A bigtime problem, and if that doesn't happen then, we'll either do the next record, or another one of our tours. And that's all we've been doing man, just keeping shit our way and it's worked out beautiful I think."
Sam: Is this the only project you see yourself concentrating on in the next few years?
Phil: "For awhile yeah, I mean I'll fuck around with music here and there, but as far as putting anything else out, I'm not doing it. I'm not going to confuse anybody. I want people to realize and know that they can basically just count on me, especially these days when heavy metal is a real curious subject. It's like, what they are calling heavy metal is not what I grew up with."
Sam: Not at all...
Phil: "You know, it's awful, you know so, the fact that we packed up Anal Cunt for tonight, yeah, it's always a favorite, and fuckin' Morbid Angel, that's always a favorite. And we give Dez' band a fuckin' chance, you know?"
Sam: How long have you known those guys (AC)?
Phil: "I've known Seth probably since about '94"
Sam: I know everbody has been asking you about Down and everything and you're probably sick of it, but I was just wondering if the acoustic album and the DVD are ever coming out?
Phil: "As long as we're entrapped with Elektra records, which we seem to be, I'm not doing another fucking thing for Elektra records unless they...they'd have to promise me...alot of money, real fuckin' quick, and alot of promotion. And their gonna have to do better than promises, I want it fuckin' so to the fuckin' T, contracted to where they don't have the upper hand on the band. As they have in the past...I ain't doing nothing for Elektra records 'cause they ain't done nothin' for me but fuckin' waste my time. Aside from the other band which I ain't ever doin' nothin' with again...and I don't want to talk about it."
Sam: I figured that...any chance Elektra might release you guys so you could..
Phil: "You know, it's like... it makes me really wonder what kind of ego...and what the fuck did I do to fuckin' Elektra Records except deliver a platinum fuckin' record every fucking time. For them to hang on to my fuckin' career and all this fucking shit you know. Whatever, you know, play 'who's got the bigger dick' and, everybody knows I've got the bigger dick, you know, it's time for them to fuckin' chill out and let bygones be bygones. Let me fuckin' go on with my fuckin' life and I won't ever fuckin' bug you again."
Sam: How's the label been so far with Superjoint?
Phil: "Look man, I've gotta give all credit to Sanctuary because they are doing what they said they're going to do to a certain point. And they are the only ones that are fuckin' doin' it. Yet, I think they are understaffed, they could be bigger hitters. I don't think they know necessarily how to break a band, they know what to do with a band after their careers are over and shit like that, they make sure the product comes out. But that is not the fuckin' issue with Superjoint, I want Superjoint Ritual to be everyfuckin'thing that people maybe missed in Pantera. Because I knew that, you know, Pantera, not to talk about 'um, because I'm not going to, but if it weren't fuckin' for me, in that fuckin' band...what I fuckin' taught those motherfuckers. You know, you'll see on their new shit, the singer is gonna come out and imitate me, the best he possibly can. He's gonna have to end up singing songs that I wrote when I was fuckin' 20 years old, and their gonna sound like Diamond Darrell and Vinny Paul's killer sound, you know, they're not doing anything different. Whereas with Superjoint, yeah, we're doing something fuckin' different. I'm not saying it's never been done before, but what I'm saying is, is it's definately a genre of music that changed my life forever. This is where I've wanted to be for so long, musically, you know, 'cause we've been writing Superjoint shit for oh god, since '93, and you know, long time coming man. I mean to fuckin' be with them, with this fuckin' band for damn sure."
Sam: It's like you guys have brought back all the old school hardcore shit that's missing in heavy music right now
Phil: "Fuckin' right man... it's true though, it's the fucking truth, give me a pedestal, I'll fuckin' preach"
Sam: Do you know if any of the material you did with Tapeworm will ever surface?
Phil: "See, I've gotta let you know, straight up, that that...#1 never was a project, so to speak, like, something that we would sit there and think about. Danny from NIN was a cool motherfucker, and he lived in New Orleans and he'd call me up and say 'man what are you doin'?' and I'd say 'nothin' today, something tomorrow' and he'd say 'well, you wanna sing over this trippy, freaked out shit that you don't ever do?' so, you know I recorded 2 or 3 songs with him and that's the last I've every heard of it, so I don't know if it's ever coming out or not. It was interesting, you know, it was different than anything I've ever done, but I wouldn't call it commercial. It's different from what I'd do 'cause you know the dudes in NIN use so many different types of sounds and all the synth programs and all kind of shit. It's like 'whaat'? just give me a guitar and I'll plug it in, you know? I don't know half of what they're doing, but whatever."
Sam: I know you write alot of riffs on some of the albums, are we ever going to see you playing guitar onstage?
Phil: "I do it every now and again, and I'll fuckin' grab a guitar and play a song, but as far as me playing onstage, I can't...I don't think I've got the..I haven't practiced singing and playing, you know. So I'm much more at ease with just the microphone really"