What’s that noise?! (part 1)

Can you do the Milano Mosh? Good, because now you are ready to take your second step in S.O.D.-ness. I found back this 2001/2002 interview with Dan Lilker about the old days of the New York hardcore and metal scene, about the origins of S.O.D., Anthrax and Nuclear Assault and about other related stuff. A pretty interesting read I’d like to share with you. It’s a pretty long interview, so I’ll be posting this in different parts. Here’s part one of the extended interview I took from Sit Home And Rot issue #2, a hardcore fanzine done by early 00s east coast scene star Dolloff The Rat. When I approached him recently to ask some sort of permission to reprint this interview this is what he replied to me: “Do it fag…I’m hard as hell.” So I guess that meant it was a go!

What was your first show? What were some of the bands you grew up seeing back in the day? Craig Ahead told me about you taking him to his first show…

Well, since I came from the metal side of things and this interview appears to be mostly hardcore orientated, I’ll give you a twofold answer. My first metal show was probably Priest and Maiden in ’81. The next year I saw Riot, Anvil and Raven at a show put on by Johnny Z before he started Megaforce. My first hardcore show was Adrenalin O.D. and some other bands at CBGB’s at the end of ’83. I think this is the show Craig is talking about. Other bands I saw back then are too many to mention, but include Agnostic Front, Metallica, Cro-Mags, Possessed, The Psychos, Dark Angel, Murphy’s Law, Exodus, etc.

How did S.O.D. get started? Are there any unreleased S.O.D. songs from the Speak English Or Die days? What were you thinking when you first played March Of The S.O.D.?

Scott started S.O.D. because he wanted to play fast hardcore. He called me in April ’85 and offered me the job on bass. No, there aren’t any unreleased tracks. The first time I played March Of The S.O.D. (at the rehearsal for the record) I liked it, but I had no idea it would come out so heavy on tape.

How do you do the Milano Mosh? Have you ever seen it? Describe it.

I think the Milano Mosh is more of a mindset than an actual dance style. It was part of the S.O.D. mentality of being plain obnoxious. Everything we did should have been taken with a grain of salt since a lot of it was pretty much tongue-in-cheek. Not everyone got that…

Did anyone ever try to fight or hassle any of you because they thought you were racist?

That depends on your definition of hassle. No one ever got in my face or anything, but we certainly got a lot of flak from people in the hardcore scene. I learned from the whole thing that there are certain subjects you shouldn’t joke with. Then again, a lot of people who dissed us were probably almost happy that we were around because it gave them something to moan about so they could have a platform to prove how ‘down’ they were. I think about twenty English crust bands wrote songs like Fuck Off Billy Milano.

How did Nuclear Assault come about? Was it much different than being in S.O.D.?

Nuclear Assault formed in early ’84 after I was no longer in Anthrax due to the then-vocalist hating me for some reason. So I said ‘OK’ and formed a band to do more intense shit anyway. John was there from the beginning and we eventually found Glenn and Anthony, signed to Combat and the rest is history. It was quite different than being in S.O.D. We played all the time and put out a few albums. And of course our lyrics weren’t an obnoxious sociological experiment, as in ‘Let’s see how many people we can piss off.’ Similarities would be the crowds we’d draw and their reaction to our live music.

Who are some of your favorite NYHC bass players?

Dude, it’s been a while since I even paid attention to NYHC, so I’ll try to remember the oldies: Harley Flanagan, Chuck Valle, Craig, of course, but since I taught him everything he knows that’s like complimenting your own son. Outside the NY scene other good bassists were the dudes from MDC and The Offenders.

Who’s Kill Yourself about?

Although Scott wrote the lyrics to this I’m pretty sure it’s not about anyone in particular. It’s just a nihilist proclamation intended to rid the over-populated world of useless losers.

Are you proud that you wrote the song Fuck The Middle East? Explain if your opinions have changed since you wrote it in the mid 80s.

As mentioned before, our lyrics were made to be taken with a grain of salt. However, it’s tragically iron how that song is always in vogue! I can certainly see how some people would see the lyrics as some racist, mindlessly patriotic knee-jerk rhetoric, but once again I must emphasize that we were just having fun and went a little far with the shock value. Scott wrote the lyrics, but I stand behind them as long as what I just said is kept in mind.

What year did you first tour and who’d you play with? Were the shows violent? Any good stories you’d care to share? Did you ever play with Carnivore?

I believe we started touring in late ’86 when Game Over came out. Please keep in mind this was a long time ago and I’ve smoked a lot of weed since then! I think we toured with bands like Overkill… The shows were violent only in a good way, no fights, just thrashing, moshing and diving. My friends are encouraging me to write a book like Tom G. so then I’ll try to remember all the stories. And yes, we played with the mighty Carnivore.