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Date:
October 2007
Interview by:
BillyBadBreaks
(BBB)
An interview with Billy Milano of M.O.D.
I spoke with Billy on the verge of the release of his latest masterpiece “Red, White And Screwed” and I was blown away by what he had to say. If you are a fan of S.O.D. and M.O.D. you may think you know him, if you are a hater you probably don’t want to know him. I hope this interview shows there is a lot more to Billy than meets the eye…
How you doing?
Good. I just got hold of a
copy of the new record (“Red, White And Screwed”) and I have to say it is the
best thing you have done since the first album (“U.S.A. for M.O.D.”).
Billy – I
appreciate that.
What kind
of feedback have you had?
Billy – Nothing
but amazingly positive. At the end of the day I’m happy with the record and if
other people aren’t I’m still happy. I’ve never been one for waiting for
people’s accolades, it’s not me.
This is
more brutal and in your face musically than usual. Did you write the music?
Billy – Yeah, I
wrote the whole record with the exception of a couple of songs with Scott
Sargeant and I. Really it developed as a band thing as we rehearsed it. Everyone
brought their own perspective to what we were doing, and being able to play bass
made me more in tune with the music. If you read the lyrics to
“Red, White And
Screwed” you might come to the conclusion that the record has a common thread. I
really wrote the lyrics about myself, it is an introspective record about where
I come from and the things I was taught in my life. The title “Balls On Bread”
is really misleading as basically it is saying I am here, this is what was
taught to me by my father, my lessons in life, this is what I embody, and damn
the torpedoes if I am going to change. You go from that song to “Alphabet City
Stomp” where the song is about when I was a kid and being a bouncer at CBGB’s
and how I got into hardcore. There is a whole litany of things on each song
which reflect on me personally. The title track is not me saying “America is
fucked” or “People think America is fucked,” this is me saying “I’m fucked
because I believe in what I believe and I’ll be damned if I’ll change my beliefs
to make people happy, accept me or sell more records. I am not a politically
correct person because if you look it up you will see what is happening is the
opposite. When you talk to people and they hate George W. Bush, mind you I hate
George W. Bush, look at Hilary Clinton; they are just two sides of the same
card. It is the same political machine; it has nothing to do with us as human
beings.
I know who I am and why sometimes my lyrics are brutal, and why sometimes they make you look at something you think is sensitive. The reality is I am making you take a look at that subject and not through the eyes of a left or right wing politician. I mean there is no left or right in this country. We are not a democracy, we are a republic, but what do I know?!
You hit on two things that really struck me: how personal the album is and the
political thread through the songs. Do people not understand that you usually
write as a character and now this is first person commentary?
Billy – I don’t know what they get and that is the problem as
they don’t get much about me or life. This record is more of a personal first
party introspective of what I am, what really bothers me and what I feel should
be recognized. I think there is a political theme through the record but a lot
of it is me being true to who I am. I would be a liar if I said I thought
everything was going great throughout the world, I see a lot of things going on
in this country and with our Middle Eastern policy which I don’t agree with.
I’ll give you an example; do I think we should have bombed Iraq and Saddam
Hussein? Fuck yeah! The guy was a fucking scum bag; he killed hundreds of
thousands of people in the war with Iran. Incidentally, this was a war which we
(America) also backed, but so did France, Germany, Spain and Russia, China and
North Korea, on opposite sides of the fence cashing in on the chaos. The reality
of it is we shouldn’t be forcing democracy on people who don’t understand it at
this point. They come from a religious stylized government and their culture has
to be honored for what it is. Now, jump forward, do I want Iran to make nuclear
weapons? Personally I don’t give a fuck because Pakistan has them, France is the
same. I don’t have a problem with Iran having a nuclear weapon. At first I
thought maybe they shouldn’t as they are threatening Israel, but then again,
Israel has nuclear weapons so who is going to lose? I believe in a nation’s
sovereignty, not just ours, but Iraq’s as well, I think they have a national
identity they need to maintain or it gets lost. I don’t want us to go in and
bomb Iran because I know that deep down
inside the Iranian people are, for the most part, begging to be allies with
America. They are a self-developing democracy, why should we go in and fuck it
up because of a couple of lunatics with turbans on their heads?
I
know you don’t care, but don’t you think people would be surprised how deeply
you think about these? I get the impression that people see your characters and
your great sense of humor, but don’t realize there is a lot more to it?
Billy – I won’t
speak for other people. I can speak succinctly for myself; I can articulate my
exact motivations for what I say and what led me to that conclusion. I don’t
just go “Yeah, he’s bad” because that is what everyone else is saying. The
shortcomings of other people are not my fault. If they are not willing to take
the time to discover who I am, then that is OK, but don’t critique me from a
point of ignorance. I am as self educated as you can be at this level, I read
voraciously, 6-8 hours every day. I read two Middle Eastern newspapers and the
BBC, CNN, New York Times and the Washington Times. I have a college level
education and scope on what is going on in the world, but it is limited to what
I have chosen to look at. I have studied religion as a hobby for many years. I
am not a religious person; I just want to understand it and the difference
between the religions and some of the prophets and mouthpieces of different
times. These people were enlightened and were only touched on in history. There
is a lot of wisdom in some of these people.
One of the things I have really liked about the stuff you have done is you have
managed to use humor to tackle some really difficult subjects,
especially on the new record, for example “Jose Can You See?.” As an immigrant
myself I have a problem with people not wanting to assimilate.
Billy – I have a big problem with that because my grandfather’s
side of the family came over in the 1900’s. A member of my family has fought in
every major war since the Revolutionary War, so this is where I get my
patriotism. There is a social commentary hidden in my music for the enlightened
mind, I think that is what still motivates me, I am teaching without preaching
and that is important.
Is America better off for letting people into this country that we don’t know? No! You can’t walk on George W. Bush’s front lawn, but you can walk across the border! Why is that, there are laws in place? We have spent $200 billion on protecting our borders, where did that money go if it didn’t go into new border guards?
I am realizing more and more that the people who claim to be the progressive party (the Democrats) are not progressive at all, as they are actually hindering progression. This is a country based on values and a way of doing things, so the word of law should apply to everyone equally. This is a constitutional guarantee. If we don’t apply the law equally to people entering then what have we achieved? Nothing? Bill Clinton and George Bush signed treaties that opened up out borders to trade. Basically the population is unable to understand what laws and principals are important to this country. I don’t care if 100 million Mexicans want to come here to work and live, I really don’t. They should have to do it legally. To think this Congress and Senate haven’t repealed the Patriot Act, or reinstated the Sedition Act or the Fourth and Fifth Amendments. They haven’t done or changed anything. I don’t follow this political charade; I just wanna know why these people have changed nothing. They should be held accountable by law and our constitution. We have the ability to remove our government from power, not by guns, but by voting as a nation. It is constitutionally guaranteed to us by Thomas Jefferson. The problem is we have a nation of uneducated people. In school no-one teaches how our government works, or how to be involved in government. They have dumbed down the population so much with their curriculum that they have destroyed this country. That is exactly what they want so they can milk every nickel.
They have turned us into a consumer society.
Billy – It is ridiculous, this is why we have all this illegal
immigration. They say it is because we want cheap labor. No, it isn’t, it is
because when they are here they want to tax the piss out of them.
My opinion of you was based on what I had read and heard, but after meeting you
I found you to be very different, very articulate and very funny. Do you feel
S.O.D. has been a millstone around your neck as people don’t take you as
seriously as they should?
Billy – Let me tell you a funny story;
one time a reporter went up to a wrestler, Dr. David Schultz, and asked if
wrestling was fake. He smacked him in the face and the guy fell to the floor.
The wrestler said “That is an open hand slap, did that feel fake?” and then
smacked him again, breaking his nose! The bottom line is this, Hulk Hogan
doesn’t walk into a food store in yellow trunks and say “If you don’t pack my
eggs right I’ll snap you in half!” He is a normal human being. The problem with
society is they cannot separate me from what I have done. It is not an issue of
me, it is an issue of them, and so your question falls on them. It is not
something I let bother me because I know the average I.Q. out there is 80 points
less than mine when it comes to the world and its events. I think on a much
higher level, and multiple dimensions, and these people would never sit down and
allow me to express that in a way that might enlighten them because they would
be intimidated by that. Let’s be honest with ourselves, I am a Sherman tank with
a brain, I not only have the muscle power I have the brain power. You see, if
you come out like a Cro-Mag gorilla people say “That is what he is” because they
can take it at face value. But when I show I have an educated and enlightened
mind, then I become a threat, not just because I am enlightened, but because I’m
powerful in mind and body. Look at some of these people out there talking about
politics, they are skinny kids. People think they are intellectual because they
cannot fight. They can only use their bands as a means to an end to express
themselves. It’s like Hollywood, you gonna sit here and tell me that people are
intimidated by Sean Penn? I am not saying beating people up is a great idea, but
when people who are educated are also physically imposing, that makes other
people nervous and safeguard their own well being and it puts them on edge.
People don’t see it coming with me and that is what bothers them, they feel
slighted and that it is personal. The world doesn’t want me to be anything more
than a character but I happen to be more than that.
It must be frustrating as music journalists, and your average listener, are
really lazy. Why bother to take the time to think about issues? They hear you
do a song like “A.I.D.S.” and it is funny…
Billy – They say it is offensive,
but the reality of it is that song was way ahead of its time, not just because
it was funny; it was a question of a cultural identity that was never criticized
for what it had done. What is the song really about? It was about a lifestyle
choice that could be hazardous to your health. It is a question of morality
versus humanity. Listen, sticking a hamster up your ass, whether gay or
straight, is ridiculous. Where was the ASA? That was a big trend back then. I
was like who the fuck does this shit? You know, those people deserve AIDS and
deserve to die. You know, I am an animal rights activist and that is really
offensive to me, and not one fucking person in the music industry that touts
itself to be the progressive think tank of the world, said anything about it.
I
think it is easy to dismiss you because people don’t think about the message and
just look at the subject matter. People say “He’s just being offensive.” Back in
the UK people used to put stickers on S.O.D. and M.O.D. records saying you guys
were Nazis and they totally missed the point. I found it frustrating so it must
be tough for you?
Billy – If people want to challenge me intellectually, have at
it. Take your best shot because you are going to lose. If you are going to come
at me physically, take your best shot because you are going to lose. That is why
people are offended by me, not because I am an 80 pound weakling saying these
things, but because I am a 280 pound wrecking ball saying these things. I have
never claimed to be more than I am. I’m not racist but I do have bigoted points
of view because an individuals thoughts may not generally apply to a consensus
of people, but people tend to look at things in a focused microcosmic way. It is
not my fault people don’t agree with
me, but it is my right to speak what I want to speak. I will give you an
example, on “U.S.A. for M.O.D.” I used the word nigger on the record. Why did I
say it? I’ll tell you why, because NWA was saying all this crazy stuff like “I’m
a nigger with a big dick, fuck with a nigger like me and I’ll kill you.” I was
like “Why isn’t the music industry saying anything about this, why aren’t they
saying wait a minute what are you saying?” What gives you the right to say that?
It is offensive. I remember the guys from Roadrunner Records laughing about it,
saying NWA were great, but they were offended when I used the word. I thought
everyone was allowed to express themselves, but I guess my freedom of speech has
to be kept under check because you don’t agree with what I said. Basically I
said the same thing as NWA. It is all perspective, because the bottom line is I
am white and conservative, and not a liberal. Liberalism is pretty sick as a
philosophy as it forces lifestyles, and people you don’t want to interact with,
on you. I personally don’t have a problem with anybody, but I don’t need to be
told what to do. That is not liberalism that is fascism. It is one of the most
misunderstood points of our modern age as it is forcing all these ideals on us
while taking away the rights of people to say “Enough!” People don’t understand
me because they want to look at me and take me at face value because they need
to have someone to blame, because they are too afraid to say to themselves that
they didn’t have the time to understand or learn. That is also a problem with
journalism in the world and music.
People are always looking for a quick quote and they want to be able to gloat
and say “This guy is bad, and aren’t we all great for not agreeing with him?”
Billy – That is the conundrum of liberalism, it sets out to free
your mind, but it ends up controlling it. It really is a self-defeating system
as they feel they know more than you and so they become the fascists, and not
the other way round. Ninety nine percent of the population is led and told what
to do by the one percent.
Most people are happy to live their lives with their heads in the ground.
Billy – Of course they are.
Who wants a life where you have to think and struggle?
Billy – The whole thing is this, I don’t believe in God, but I am
a very spiritual person. I believe in good living and good karma. It doesn’t
mean because there is no God we should run amok in the world. I think if we can
come to terms with our humanity as a species we would be better off.
Unfortunately, people who claim to be the enlightened minds are usually not. It
is the people going against the grain, taking the tough path, who are the ones
usually considered to be heretics at the time they lived. But they are hailed as
philosophers or statesmen in their later years or after they have died. Maybe
that is my legacy, I am not looking to be praised or held as a statesman, but I
am 99% more enlightened than the world of the entertainment industry. It is easy
not to care, it is easy not to educate yourself, and it is easy to just say “Oh,
I agree with him,” because it is safe. I won’t bend to the whip of the
taskmaster. Just because a thousand people are screaming at me doesn’t make them
right.
Can I ask you a few questions about your old records?
Billy – Sure.
Your
stuff has been notoriously difficult to get hold of in the US; in fact it was
always easier picking them up in Europe. “Devolution” and “Dictated Aggression”
were re-released in 2004…
Billy – Yeah, they came out on my friend’s record label Blackout
Records.
Are they still available?
Billy – They are but not in the retail chain, you have to order
them. This is a sign of our times and it reflects a different philosophy in
Europe than America. Europe is a lot more progressive in the way it does
business with stylized fads and long term bands. In the US it is basically what
is hot at that second; if it is not hot it is off the shelves. We have such a
huge eclectic marker here; do you know how big a record store would have to be
to hold everyone’s back catalogue? It would have to be as big as a fucking Wal
Mart, and how would you find anything at that point! In a way that is why these
records are hard to find, not because people don’t want them, it is because you
cannot service everyone and everything they have done. Believe me; I have just
as many problems finding Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles and The Beach Boys as I do my
own stuff. As there is not a huge demand for it, it doesn’t warrant having four
or five copies on the shelf.
Part of the thrill is finding things, making some effort to track a record down.
Billy – I went home to my mom’s house back in New Jersey and
spent a couple of days there. I went through my old 45s; UK SUBS, THE EXPLOITED,
ANTI PASTI and DISCHARGE, I had records by all these great fucking bands. There
were so many good records! I still hearken back to my days of punk rock and
listen to STIFF LITTLE FINGERS. I loved that era, it was so innocent and yet
political in a smart way. Let’s be realistic, America is a very selfish society;
the critics and fans want to be fed right now, they want to download it right
now, not wait until next week for it to arrive. They don’t want to appreciate
it, they don’t want to pay for it, they don’t want to go out and earn it, they
want mommy to go out and get it for them. Everyone wants if for free or on a
deal, everyone wants it because they think they deserve it. They want the
Internet, they want an Xbox, they want a motorbike; it is such a fucking
ridiculous cycle of self-affirmation that it is really destructive in the end,
because we have lost our music scene.
So, I assume you hate downloading as much as I do? You don’t get the artwork
and lyrics…
Billy – Certainly
you don’t get the pride of ownership. What it comes down to is it really shows
the level of hypocrisy in the base of fans that buy music and movies. It really
shows in a very succinct way what is wrong with America: no-one wants to fucking
go out and earn it; no one wants to go out of their house, go down the street
and find it. I remember driving two to three hours to stores looking for
records. Today if you cannot have it in your living room now you don’t want to
know it. Now there is no sense of self-worth with anything. Everything is a
reward. You go to school now and if you do a good you get points towards
something in the school store! What the fuck is that? When I was a kid and you
did well in school, you came home and your dad said “Good job,” and that was
that. Now it is what do I get for being good? Here is my credit card, what is my
reward? Do I get any frequent flyer miles? What the fuck is wrong with people?
They want rewarding so they can feel alive and have self-worth.
Thank you for the fan website
www.sod-mod.com,
where there are numerous free downloads of concerts and demos.
Billy – I met Sjouke online and he had this website. He has done
some artwork for me; I brought him into the fold to be involved with not only
S.O.D. but also M.O.D. He did the new M.O.D. album cover and he helped me put
together the S.O.D. “20 Years Of Dysfunction” DVD package, as well as the S.O.D.
“Rise Of The Infidels” package. I was more than happy to sponsor him for the
unofficial site. The truth is he has the passion for it that supersedes anyone
in the band, including myself.
I
hate to ask about S.O.D. because the last time we spoke you were pretty pissed
off with them.
Billy – Feel free.
I
know that people will want to know if S.O.D. is really over.
Billy – Absolutely. In 1999 I was approached for 6 months to do
the S.O.D. reunion, which I did not want to do unlike certain members of the
band. I have worked for a living and had quite a lot going on in my life that I
gave up to do that record to help Scott Ian personally. Now fast forward; we on
the road to Europe and the drummer quit the band on the first day of the tour,
for whatever his reasons were which are really incidental. Scott and Charlie are
not nice to the fans and are disrespectful to the band. It is not where I am at;
I didn’t come from that philosophy of treating people that support you like they
are fucking cannon fodder. In the same breath I will say this; I had a great
time with S.O.D. when the times were really good. When the times were really bad
I had a good time because I chose to have a good time with people that were
around me. I’ve done all I can to put it out of my life. I feel totally
comfortable that it is done, I have given the fans everything they need to say
thank you. Not only do they get another DVD (“20 Years Of Dysfunction”) there is
the EP with a live record and live video (“Rise Of The Infidels”). They also
have the S.O.D.-M.O.D. website that will feed their needs as much as possible.
The thing is I have made my peace with it. I don’t know where M.O.D. is going to
take me but I have no illusions that I am going to do it. I am going to go out
and tour with this new M.O.D. record and have some fun, and if I keep getting
tours that make sense I’ll go and do them. If I don’t I have other things that I
want to do including producing records. I’m really comfortable with my life
mentally.
I
guess people don’t understand that you could easily make more money with S.O.D.
than M.O.D.
Billy – Without a doubt I would make more money just for
recording a new S.O.D. record, and they want to do it, I said absolutely not. I
would have to tour all year with M.O.D. and I still wouldn’t make the same money
if I spent 3 weeks in the studio with S.O.D. I don’t feel I wanna go down that
route; it is like fucking an old girlfriend. It was good at the time. I feel I
have done what I need to do with that band, but more importantly I feel like I
left it on a good note with the fans. Believe me I don’t like Charlie Benante,
I talk to Scott occasionally with an email, and that is it. They know I am not
coming back which is why they are not talking about an S.O.D. reunion, although
they would really like to as they really have nothing going on in the ANTHRAX
camp.
The first S.O.D. album was an undeniable classic but after awhile I felt the
reunions were starting to tarnish the legacy.
Billy – Yeah, but that is someone’s opinion and that is OK. The
only thing I was worried about on “Bigger Than The Devil” was Scotty had lost
his guitar sound, Charlie lost his enthusiasm and drum tones and Danny’s bass
sounded like cock! The only thing that sounded good on that record was my
voice.
Your new album reminds me of “Bigger Than The Devil,” but has the sound that
“Bigger Than The Devil” should have had. I was really disappointed when that
record came out, for the reasons you just mentioned.
Billy – You have to realize that Scott and Charlie only did that
record for money, whereas Danny and I did it because we wanted to. There is not
an amount of money that would make me do it again, so I choose not to do it.
“Bigger Than The Devil” was a let down because the other people in it were a
total let down. There were so many negative vibes with Scott and Charlie.
Charlie was very distraught that ANTHRAX was failing and floundering. Everyone
seems to think I am bitter about it, I am not bitter, I protected those guys.
Shit, the moment I met those guys I was saving their asses when some Nazi
skinheads wanted to beat them up for having long hair. They are their own worst
enemies and now everybody sees it. You know, I did all the business for S.O.D.
Scott is a very genuine guy and he enjoyed making that record because Scott and I have that kind of childish fool inside us when it comes to having fun. He doesn’t take himself too seriously. Charlie was a real bummer, like when we played Chicago. If you hear the unedited version of the live DVD when I am going to announce one of the ballads someone yells “The ballad of ANTHRAX!” and Charlie literally ran off stage and hid! S.O.D. will always be a very significant thing in my life and I am truly thankful for that.
Was the ANTHRAX reunion all about money?
Billy – Absolutely. I had a problem with it because after Daryl
from PANTERA was murdered in 2004 ANTHRAX announced they were going to do a
reunion because of that event alone. This is fucking bullshit because I have the
same business manager and he was talking about it none months before Daryl was
murdered. That is why I started all this shit with them. It is really offensive
to me that they would cash in on their friends death.
They changed back to Joey after their record sales dropped with John Bush. They had a great career, they had played together for a long time and they should not be complaining that their career is gone; they should be doing something about it. That should be a new band; it’s time to do something new. The reason you don’t have anything happening in their camp is because Scott Ian is finally doing something on his own. I think he doesn’t wanna do S.O.D. either; he wants to do something of value to him.
I want to
ask you about “The Rebel You Love to Hate.” Was that the one where the record
label did nothing with it?
Billy –
Nuclear Blast, who do a great job in Europe, don’t have the network to get it to
the stores and sell it in America. It isn’t a priority to them if their bands
don’t sell here. I had a product that I couldn’t sell in my own town. How do I
survive? It came down to when I was going to tour in 2004. They had done a
miserable job with S.O.D. We did seven interviews for
“Bigger Than The Devil,” can you
tell me you ever read any of them? Never! They had no ads; we did two tours, but
nothing. Nuclear Blast had their heads up their own ass. I had sat on
“The Rebel
You Love to Hate” for a year and they promised to help me. By 2004 I had spent
my own money to make my own video, which they wouldn’t play on Fuse because it
wasn’t metal enough! Anyway, Nuclear Blast did nothing for either of my records
and after Daryl was killed Scott Ian called me and said “Let’s bury the
hatchet.” He said “I’ve known you don’t like Charlie, but I’ve known you for a
long time” and I thought he was genuine. I love the guy, but the fact is when
he’s around Charlie he’s a c@nt because Charlie’s a c@nt. Charlie doesn’t want
anyone to be friends with anyone else because he’s intimidated by people. I got
a phone call from Nuclear Blast and they were getting ready to promote the M.O.D.
tour and they were like “Now you are talking to Scott can we get another S.O.D.
record?” I said “Why do you want an S.O.D. record when you haven’t promoted
either the S.O.D. or M.O.D. records?” Basically it came down to if we didn’t
give them a new S.O.D. record they wouldn’t support the M.O.D. tour.
When it came
time for me to do that tour my records weren’t in the stores. Megaforce Records,
who I didn’t have a record with, gave me tour support against my back catalogue!
Nuclear Blast left me high and dry as this was not just their product it was my
livelihood and my art. So I wrote them a letter and asked them to place ads and
put my record in the stores, but they wouldn’t do it so I put it online for
free. If they weren’t going to make it available why not give it away? I wasn’t
taking away from sales! I put it online for that tour so people could say “Hey,
I just saw this band, let me check out the record.”
Any tour
news?
Billy – The
best thing to do to figure out what I am doing is to go to
www.Billymilano.com.
Thanks
Billy, great to speak to you!
Billy – thank
you!
© Copyright 2007 BillyBadBreaks