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An exclusive interview with
Billy Milano about M.O.D., the new S.O.D. DVD & CD and his move to Texas
October 2004 - Interview by
Sjouke Bakker
On October 26, 2004, Black Out records is going to
re-release 2 M.O.D. cd's; 'Devolution' (1994) and 'Dictated Aggression'
(1996). Why will these 2 albums be re-released?
BM: Well both of these old releases were very difficult to get when they came
out. I finally got the rights back for these records and to be honest I love
these records. I am very happy that these records are going to be available to
the hardcore M.O.D. fans. I know I am going to have these again in my collection.
Do you
have plans to re-release more M.O.D. albums?
BM: Well all the records are available on the labels that put them out.
Megaforce has 'USA for MOD', 'Gross Misconduct', 'Rhythm of Fear', 'Surfin MOD' and
Loved by Thousands, Hated by Millions'. Nuclear Blast has 'The Rebel you love to
Hate' and Blackout has these 2 records. That is 8 records in total.
The
CD's will have different artwork. No more Corporal Punishment but some other
character is on the frontcover. What happened with Corporal C.?
BM: We finally got the cd's together when we decided to put some new artwork
together to make it more of a worth while buy for the fans. We also included
the original artwork and some liner notes to the records inside the package. I
just wanted to modernize the package.
By the
way, I like the new artwork. Who did this job?
BM: This kid Eric that does work for Blackout records. I like his shit also,
very dark and very street.
There
will be some bonus footage on both CD's. I was told that these bonus parts
were recorded in France. When was this footage recorded and who were in M.O.D.
at that time?
BM: The shows that are on the cd were recorded in 1994 in Toulouse France at le
Club Bikini. M.O.D. at that time was Rob Moschetti, Tony Scaglione and Tony
Potero. We were on tour for 3 weeks in a stinky bus with 21 people on it and
we got to club Bikini and had a food fight on stage, it is very fun to watch.
Who's
in M.O.D. right now?
BM: Jon Aaron on guitar, Danny "DNA" Burkhardt on drums and Scott Sargeant on
bass.
Are you
going to tour with this line-up? I heard there were plans for a tour, is this
correct?
BM: Well we are talking about touring but we have no solid plans. We just
finished our video for the song "WIGGA" and from there it's anyones guess. I
would love to do a tour but it comes down to making it happen.
M.O.D.
never recorded a live record, will there be a live CD? There will be some live
footage at the re-releases - I know - but I mean a full concert on CD. M.O.D.
has enough good songs to create a great setlist!
BM: I really don't see a need to make a live M.O.D. record. I would rather give
the fans new material than giving them something that they can bootleg for
free off the internet. But I could come up with an amazing setlist.
How do
you see the future of M.O.D.?
BM: We just finished our video so anything is possible.
Recently you re-located to Texas. You had lived there
before, went back to New York and now you're in Texas again. What made
you decide to leave New York again?
BM: I have to be honest about this. After the 9-11 attacks you would think
that people would have learned to be more nice to each other, instead the
tension is so thick in NYC you can slice it with a knife. I originally moved
back to NYC from Dallas Texas when my mom got sick and when I moved home we
got attacked on September 11 that was 7 days after I got home. So the whole
dynamics of NYC changed after that. The music scene suffered tremendously and
there was no Production work for me. That is my bread and butter when I am not
touring. I honestly had enough of the bad attitude in NYC and to top it off,
these Arab fuckers think they can talk shit about America and no one is going
to say or do anything. Well I was the one guy who had enough. So I packed up
and moved to Austin Texas. Now I got as gun to match my big balls.
Is
Texas a better place for a musician than New York?
BM: Austin Texas is one of the biggest music scenes in America. It has the
biggest music convention in it, South by South west. It is far better than NY
and more importantly way more diverse.
You told me once that you would start a new band with Scott Sargeant, when you had moved to Texas. Is this still on? Or is it too early to talk about that? You want to do an old school thrash/hardcore band right?
BM: We are deffinately doing a new band. I'll talk about it in the future.
What
else will you do, besides starting a new band?
BM: Well, I am producing and helping as many bands as I can get involved in
the music scene. It is my duty as a successful musician to help others out and
give them the best advice I can give them.
A short while ago there was a message at your
Messageboard and at Blabbermouth that Scott Ian allowed you to release another
S.O.D. live DVD/CD set. Who came up with this idea? And why did Scott have to
give you his permission?
BM: Simply put - The last DVD "Kill yourself the movie" sucked - It was the
last straw for me with those guys. It was such a wannabe Pantera ripp off that
it was embarrising. Scott put that together and you know he is in love with
Dimebag or something. It wasn't my idea. I wanted to put together a 20 year
anniversary dvd for the fans which will have some much stuff in it that it is
the final Finale to S.O.D. and a tribute to the best fans in the World. Scott had
to give a sign off because it has video footage he shot and owned.
Will
the CD and the DVD be released together as some kind of box-set, or separately?
BM: The new 20 year anniversary DVD that I put together will contain a live
record from a vintage show as well as a ton of slamming footage, interviews of
ME, Alex Perialis, 2 actual videos of S.O.D. classics and a ton of mini concerts
from all over the world.
What
will be released first then, the CD or the DVD?
BM: They are going to be released in the 20th anniversary package together.
Tell us
more about the DVD. Is it finished already? And will it be released
worldwide at the same time?
BM: The DVD is done and will be released worldwide next year. It has a live
concert, funny shit in between the songs, I introduce each member of S.O.D. and
even wrote new music to introduce them. It is a very funny video and more
importantly, It Crushes the Killyourself the Movie.
Together with the release of the DVD, a new website will be launched, right?
BM: Well I am putting up a website that the fans can enjoy and get some
history about the band on it. It is not going to have anything on it other
than S.O.D. stories and relative material. It is NOT my site and NOT an Anthrax
site and NOT a Nuclear Assault site. IT IS THE OFFICIAL SOD SITE!!!!!
Why
have you chosen not to use the old domainname: www.stormtroopersofdeath.com?
When will this new official website be launched?
BM: First of all some Anthrax Fan boy owns it. So rather than deal with
someone else I felt why not do a new name.
www.Sgt-D.com is the site and it says it all. I am lauching
Christmas eve 12:01 am.
I'm
also very curious about the forthcoming S.O.D. live CD. Is this also something
we can expect this year? Will it be some kind of compilation CD with
livetracks from different shows on it, or do you have a full show available
that will be used? Something from the 1999 'Killith Fair' tour? Or even newer
stuff from 2000? Tell us all about it...
BM: Well the CD that is in the DVD box is a vintage bootleg concert from 1985.
We actually bootlegged the bootlegger. Haha. But there is an entirely
different show coming out from Seattle and it will contain:a live concert, 4
studio bonus tracks, as well as a surprise.
Will
this CD be the final S.O.D. release? Is Sgt. 'D' really dead after this, is
this - so to speak - The Ballad of Sgt. 'D.'? Or can we expect more in the
future?
BM: It's done after this, but at least the fans win with what I have put
together.
Thanks
for your time! Is there anything that you want to add to this interview?
BM; I actually want to thank you for having a website dedicated to S.O.D. and M.O.D.
It's people like you who make it all worth while in the end and I also would
like to thank everyone who reads this for Supporting S.O.D. - M.O.D. - BillyMilano.com
and this website. Cheers. Milano
© Sjouke Bakker,
October 2004
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