Exclusive Interviews Only Found Here at MetalCore!

Marco Barbieri

I wrote to and saw Marco Barbieri a lot way back in the print days of my zine and would see him in CA when we would go to the Concrete Foundations Conventions and he also did No Glam Fags and ILL Literature zines and then moved on to Metal Blade Records and then Century Media Records and now is he doing his own label and managing bands. This man will never stop. I re connected with him on Facebook and hooked up with him with a simply amazing interview so sit down and pop in a double CD and read this awesome interview:

MC: I know you lived in CA when we were writing each other back and forth in the stone age. Did you grow up in CA when you were younger and what do you remember about your days as a child? Were you a good little boy he he?

MB: I was actually born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada. I left Vegas in 1987 to go to college in California. I had a good childhood, and yes I was actually quite a good boy. I’m an only child and my parents are from Europe, so my upbringing was a bit different but in hindsight I liked being exposed to the different cultures. Las Vegas was much smaller then, a mix between a gambling town, a cowboy town and a small town. I actually miss those simpler times.

MC: Did you have many friends when you were young or more of a loner? What kind of student were you in school and did you ever go to college?

MB: I had a few good friends, and ironically still know most of them, but I’d say I was a loner. Being an only child you have to sort of entertain yourself and be imaginative. I loved to read, draw and listen to music growing up. I was actually pretty good at school, and when I was in high school I realized I didn’t have the patience or talent to learn an instrument, and I’m a bit shy too, so I realized being good academically I could maybe help those more gifted and outgoing by helping promote their bands.

MC: When did you start to get into music? Who introduced you into music and what were some of the first bands that you listened to?

MB: My mom always had music playing in the house and she had a record collection that I used to marvel at, despite it being but a yard wide. Granted, her musical tastes were different with a lot of classical, opera, crooners, European folk music but I still liked to pull the albums out and look at them. When I was in the second grade (1977) I was discussing comic books with a friend of mine and he told me about KISS. He said they were like super heroes that also played music and the next day he brought in a picture of the band. Shortly after I made my mom take me to the store and we picked up Alive II and my life changed overnight. It was all about KISS for awhile, but in the couple years that followed I also got albums from Aerosmith, Ted Nugent, Angel, Rush, Black Sabbath and the Bee Gees.

MC: At what point did you discover the wonderful world of metal. What were some bands that your ears heard early on and you were into it right away or did that sort of music have to grow on you? Now some of the early bands that you listened to and became a fan of are you still into those bands today?

MB: Continuing on from the answer to the previous questions those

bands took me through the late ‘70s. When I was in 6th grade, John Lennon was shot and then I really got into The Beatles. Also, a friend of mine’s older cousin relocated from Minnesota and was staying with his family. He turned us onto a lot of ‘60s and ‘70s classic rock, like The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Deep Purple, Blue Oyster Cult, David Bowie, etc. so I was really into that for about a year. When I was in Junior High School I noticed the concert tees some of the older kids were wearing like Judas Priest, Ozzy, so I started getting into all those early ’80s bands and picking up Circus and Hit Parader magazine and hitting the record store on a weekly basis getting records from the above plus Iron Maiden, Quiet Riot, Def Leppard, Van Halen, Saxon, etc. I was just all over the heavy metal genre basically trying to pick up every album possible. And yes, I’m into all of the same stuff to this day, even the Bee Gees (ha,ha).

MC: Now how did you end up discovering the underground side of metal. What were some of the first bands that you heard and was it like a dug that you wanted more and more of?

MB: Naturally I began to get ravenous about each and every band and finding out about the next ones on the horizon and craving more information and more obscure, indie stuff. I started writing bands, getting fanzines and living close to Los Angeles my family would go out there a few times a year and I would pick up the weekly entertainment papers and there would be all these smaller bands playing the clubs and being advertised – some made it, some didn’t. Also going to Europe to visit family allowed for picking up European metal magazines and more obscure, heavy metal titles or comps that featured bands like Anvil, Metallica, Venom, Raven, Mercyful Fate, etc. and it just grew from there.

MC: Did you go to see many concerts at all at this point? Did you like seeing bands live a lot? What were some of the venues you went to and were you more into seeing bands in a big arena or did you prefer club settings?

MB: Growing up in Las Vegas didn’t provide a lot of opportunities. The clubs were 21+ and I went to my first arena show on April 1, 1983 seeing my favorite band KISS on the Creatures of the Night tour, with Motley Crue (Too Fast For Love-era). Amazing! I also saw bands like Black Sabbath, Quiet Riot, Iron Maiden, Ozzy in those high school years. My first local club show was seeing Hirax. I tried to see Slayer and Dark Angel on their first albums when they came out to Vegas but the all-ages club was called Dirty Mama’s so (ha) my mom wouldn’t let me go, plus I was a bit young. Obviously after I moved to California I saw a ton of shows.

MC: Now Mtv began exploding the early 80’s. Were you a big fan of the channel at all and what did you think of Headbanger’s Ball ha ha and did you ever watch it?

MB: We didn’t have cable tv growing up so I had to go to a friend’s to see any of the metal videos that were played during that time. When Headbangers Ball started I’d ask friends to tape it for me so I could borrow the video tape and check out the videos. Naturally I preferred the heavier stuff they randomly played like Nuclear Assault, Sacred Reich, Sepultura. Yeah, I liked it. I was happy, also, when they brought it back a few years ago but yet again it’s gone.

MC: Did you ever think of being a musician and if you did what instrument would you have played?

MB: Naturally I fantasized about that and considered singing for a band or learning to play guitar or drums but I never put in the time necessary and it just didn’t seem like I had that gift. As I stated earlier, though, I was good at school and felt I could have a career helping those more gifted than I was so I pursued that direction, working behind the curtains so to say. I’m actually thankful for the direction I took as I’ve been able to enjoy multiple careers and genre shifts, which musicians often times can’t weather.

MC: When you hear a song for the 1st time what do you listen for?

MB: I guess I like to get an emotional connection to a song. Naturally if it’s catchy and infectious or has some cool parts it’ll also stand out. Maybe some unbelievable playing.

MC: Was there any local bands around the early 80’s that you became a fan of and started going to their shows? What were some of the clubs that you went to see live bands?

MB: Living in Las Vegas the scene was small but yes, there were some bands I liked in high school. As I mentioned before most club shows were 21+ so I missed a lot of bands perform here but that doesn’t stop young kids from throwing their own gigs in the desert with a generator, which is how I saw most of the underground bands and locals. Some of the local bands I liked were Papsmear, Pestilence (LV, later The Horde of Torment), Fallacy, 5150, The Atomic Gods, Lethal Injection, Little Sister, Xcursion, Substance D and Area 51.

MC: Was there any cool local stores that stocked metal releases? If so are any of the stores still open? Are you a fan of vinyl and cassettes or do you prefer cds? What do you think of MP3 files as well?

MB: Yes, thankfully we had a couple good stores here. First there was The Underground, which was just up the street from my junior high. It was essentially a used record store that had a good punk section and some metal. When I was in high school there was The Record Gallery, which was a specialty metal store and I would go every week and pick up the latest releases and imports. They also hosted a weekly metal radio show on the university station, KUNV, that I would listen to and that would turn me on to new bands. Unfortunately, both stores closed long ago. Nowadays in Las Vegas your best bet is Zia Records that have two locations and stock new and used and have a pretty good metal section. Traditionally I preferred vinyl, but nowadays I buy CDs – just cheaper and easier to take with you and play in the car, which is where most of my listening happens. MP3s are great and easy to access versus waiting for a package in the mail but I don’t illegally download MP3 files. I want the actual physical product and still spend about $100 a week at Zia, Amazon, or an underground metal distro to fill my habit. I also understand how this supports the bands, stores/distros, labels and will ensure the continued availability of music.

MC: Did you ever manage to travel up to the Bay Area and see some shows? If so what were some of the bands that you saw and were the shows as wild as I have heard? What did you think of bands like Metallica, Motorhead and Exodus the first time you saw them? Did you ever get a chance to visit The Record Vault in SF, CA?

MB: I lived just outside the Bay Area between Aug. 1987 – Dec. 1990, as I attended the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California for college studying music business. I used to go to Bay Area shows all the time and became friends with a lot of bands. I was there during some of the best years of that scene and highly value that time and those memories. That’s also where I started managing bands (The Horde of Torment and Epidemic), booking shows, and started my fanzine. I used to always go to The Stone and The Omni, as well as some other spots like Gilman Street, The Berkeley Square and One Step Beyond. I saw a ton of shows in those years, and as far as locals I witnessed Vio-lence, Forbidden, Exodus, Mordred, Heathen, Autopsy, Sadus, Hexx, Testament, Laaz Rockit, Ulysses Siren, Bacchus, Demented, Kaos, Annihilation, Slambodians, and so many other great bands. The first time I saw Metallica was in Las Vegas when they opened for Ozzy on their Master of Puppets tour. No one there really knew who they were and me and my best friend were freaking out, headbanging and thrashing about going crazy. I first got turned on to them via a European compilations album with the track “Motorbreath”. I saw Motorhead for the first time on the Orgasmatron tour when they opened for Alice Cooper. That show was ironically at my university and I worked for the concert crew that day and helped build the stage, carry in all the lighting and gear for that show and then later enjoyed the concert. And the first time I saw Exodus was at the Fillmore in San Francisco on the Pleasures of the Flesh tour. I was so excited and bought tickets the morning they went on sale so we got first row center. Within minutes of Exodus’ set the first few rows of seats had been demolished. Finally, yes, I did get to go to The Record Vault in SF a few times.

MC: When did you discover the wonderful world of demo tapes? Did you buy your first demo directly from a band at a show or did you order through the mail or get it at a record store? Do you remember the name of the band?

MB: I got turned onto demos probably from Metal Forces magazine. I started writing bands while in high school and ordering their demo tapes. I can’t recall exactly which was my first but some early ones I got were Legacy (later Testament), Annihilation and Quickchange. I mainly got my demos through the mail, I only picked up a couple through stores.

MC: Did you tape trade much at all? If you did around how many people did you trade with and did you end up discovering many bands that you liked that you would not have heard of otherwise?

MB: I did get into tape trading when I was in college. I was getting quite a collection of demos and was living around the Bay Area and doing my zine and wanted to share and get more tapes, especially from Europe or other parts of the US. I loved tape trading and writing letters to people and bands, even though it was all very time-consuming. I got a lot of great trades in those years. I mainly traded with about 4-5 guys. I sought out bands I heard good things about or early or live recordings of signed, recognized bands. Sometimes someone would include something they wanted to share as a bonus and try and turn me onto a band. I would naturally do the same.

MC: Now how did you end up discovering the world of fanzines? Did you buy one directly from an editor or did you order one or get one at a store? Do you remember the name of the first zine that you brought?

MB: I think the first true zine I picked up, not a Metal Forces, Metal Hammer or Kerrang!, was World Metal Report and Sledgehammer Press from The Record Gallery store.

MC: What made you decide to start up your own fanzine? Did you do any writing for other zines before you started your own? Looking back do you think you were a pretty good writer? What were some early zines that you read that you really liked?

MB: I loved magazines/fanzines and reading about metal. When I was in college and managing Pestilnce (LV, later The Horde of Torment) I sent their demo out to a lot of zines to get reviews and zines would hit me up requesting a demo. My whole world opened up and one night in my dorm room I was thinking, I could do this, this could be fun and that was the start of No Glam Fags. The only thing I had done prior was I wrote a piece about the Las Vegas scene for Creem Metal magazine. Every issue they would focus on one local scene so I wrote asking if I could do one on Vegas with some writing samples from school and they commissioned me to do the article, which I wrote and turned in. Unfortunately, the mag went under before my piece ran. I did think I was a pretty decent writer and felt I had a wealth of knowledge and an opinion on metal that I wanted to share with the readers. Later I got asked by other zines if they could reprint some of the interviews I did, which I always agreed to, as well as writing for mags like Metal Maniacs, Raygun, Screamer, Rox, and Huh. I liked a bunch of zines in its heyday, in addition to Metal-core, I liked Metal Meltdown, Morbid, Ripping Headaches, Curious Goods, Metal Curse, Eclipse, Comedy of Errors, Atmosfear, Doomhauled, Manic Reaction, Isten, Feh, Stay Ugly, Grey Matter, Necropolis, Midwest Metal, Requiem, Thornado… there were so many good ones.

MC: How did you come up with the name “No Glam Fags” and did you ever get any shit over it? How long did it take before coming with the idea to do a zine until it actually came out? How many copies did you print up and around how much did it cost you and did you sell out of the issue pretty quickly?

MB:I did get some shit over it and I lot of people didn’t understand the concept, especially in the San Francisco area (ha,ha) but I chose it because it was bold, funny and I felt that glam bands received enough attention in the supermarket mags like Metal Edge, Rip, Circus, and Hit Parader and I wanted to focus on bands unlike that. A lot of people assume that I didn’t like glam but I’ll be honest – I do like a lot of that stuff but it was doing well without any further attention from me and I wanted to do interviews and reviews on underground, heavier bands. The first issue came together pretty quickly. It was only like 12 pages and I sold it for $1 at shows. I reviewed stuff from my personal collection and did some interviews with bands like Sacred Reich, that I knew. I photocopied 30 and when I sold through them, I made another 30, and another 30 until it was time to release issue #2. Each issue got thicker and the font got smaller as I had more and more to cover as more bands and labels would send me their stuff for review and ask me to do interviews. I think I printed a little over 100 of issue #1 and maybe a few hundred of issue #2, and it continued to increase. Ultimately it was too many to photocopy and by issue 4 I went to a printer for 2000 copies and some of the biggest issues had a print run of 20,000 issues. I did shorten the name to NGF along the way (issue #6), as it was no longer as funny with glam dying down and in order to get it stocked in more stores and newsstands I ultimately changed the name to Ill Literature for issue #8 and adopted the full color glossy cover and more pro look.

MC: What was in the first issue? Was it pretty much a few band interviews and some demo and record reviews?

MB: Yes, that’s exactly what is was. I think there was 3 interviews – Sacred Reich, Pestilence (LV) and maybe Hexx? Then there were just CD and demo reviews from my personal collection and some live reviews. Unfortunately I can’t find a copy. I know I have one around here somewhere. It came together quickly.

MC: How many issues did you end up putting out? Did you circulation grow with each issue? Were labels starting to send you promos after the first issue and also were bands sending you demos to get reviewed as well? How did you try to promote the zine?

MB: I put out 22 issues. I ultimately stopped as it was becoming such a burden to do, remember I had a full-time job too, and the Internet was beginning to come into play and magazines sales were decreasing. When my wife got pregnant I ultimately decided to trade one baby for the other. I promoted the zine by trading ads, lots of underground flyers, reviews, and just getting good distribution via a bunch of newsstands, bookstores, music stores and metal distros.

MC: Did you make up flyers for the zine and have them passed around the underground like every other fanzine and band was doing at the time? Did any bands from overseas send you stuff?

MB: I did make up flyers advertising the zine and included them in zine orders, demo orders and to my tape trading buddies. I also traded ad space with other zines. Yes, I definitely received a lot of music in the mail from overseas. The first was Thanatos (Netherlands), Headcrasher (Italy) or Poltergeist (Switzerland) as they’re all reviewed in issue #2. Speaking of the second issue it already jumped up to 40 pages from 12.

MC: I know at some point you managed a band and they were called The Horde of Torment if I am not mistaken. How did you come to manage them and did you know what you were doing as far as managing a band? How long did this last with them for and how much music did they end up putting out and did they just break up or did you at some point terminate your relationship with them and do you still have contact with them and do you still have their material tucked away somewhere?

MB: I was going to college for music business. When I came home to Las Vegas for the holidays I went over to The Record Gallery and they had this demo there from a local Vegas band, Pestilence. I had just read a good review a week prior in Kerrang! for the demo so I bought a copy. I loved it! I thought it was great, so I reached out to the band and expressed my enthusiasm and told them a bit about myself and how I was in the Bay Area and studying music business and was hoping to work for labels when I got out of school. I said maybe I could help them get a show in SF or Oakland and that I could spread their demos out to some other bands and fans there. It just sort of rolled from there and before long I was managing the band and doing their promotion. Eventually the guys moved up to The Bay Area, changed their name to The Horde of Torment (due to the Dutch band getting signed to Roadrunner) and they played a ton of shows all over the Bay Area and released a couple more demos, Product of a Sick Mind and Inherit the Sin. They had their demos pressed onto vinyl in Europe by a couple small labels, but we never got that elusive record deal. The Horde of Torment had some interest from Roadrunner and Combat and we had some discussions with each but never got offered a deal. Eventually the band began to fall apart, the scene was changing and I had moved to Los Angeles. I’ve kept in contact with the guys ever since and we’re still friends. A couple of them moved back to Vegas so we see each other now and then. We talk about issuing their demos onto CD so I hope that will happen by the end of the year.

MC: Did you manage any other bands besides them? Why do you think they never got signed by a label and what were some of the bands that they played with any would you ever like to see their stuff re-issued on CD?

MB: By managing The Horde of Torment I was able to apply some of the things I was learning in college and I was able to network with club promoters, bands, labels, zines, radio shows, etc. Despite being unsigned The Horde of Torment did very well in the underground and we sold a lot of demos, got a lot of underground zine press and played a ton of high-profile shows. A few other Bay Area demo acts asked for my help and ultimately I began working with Epidemic. They had sent me their first demo, Immortal Minority, for review and I really liked it. I got friendlier with the band and saw their explosive live show. After recording Demo ’89 I started to also manage them. I did the same things – booked shows, did promotions, sent demos to zines and radio shows and tried to secure a record label. Epidemic recorded a demo in ’91, called Extremities. By this time they were more active than The Horde of Torment and they had a more aggressive sound, which is the direction the scene was going with death metal gaining more interest. Metal Blade offered the band a deal and they recorded two albums, Decameron and Exit Paradise, and did some tours with Suffocation, Malevolent Creation and Unleashed. It was a difficult time, though, as the scene was completely death metal by then and a band from the bay area that still had some thrashy elements was not in vogue and they ultimately decided to throw in the towel. Just like The Horde of Torment, I am still friends with most of the members and we keep in touch. We just worked on a demo reissue package, Pandemic, released on Dive Bomb Records. It contains all 3 demos remastered by Jamie King and includes a nice booklet with lyrics, photos and show flyers. Since returning to Las Vegas 5 years ago I have started managing bands again and in that time I’ve worked with Warbringer (Century Media), Bonded by Blood (Earache), Pathology (Victory), Abigail Williams (Candlelight) and Decrepit Birth (Nuclear Blast).

MC: How many issues of No Glam Fags did you end up putting out? What were some of your favorite interviews that you did? Did you do any horrible interviews where the bands wasn’t into it all?

MB: I did 22 issues in about 11 years. Not the timeliest magazine, but it’s difficult when you’re doing it all yourself – that includes most of the writing, as well as I did the layouts for most of the issues and all of the correspondence, shipping, business, accounting, promotion, etc. Some of my favorite interviews were Autopsy, Death, Sepultura, Vio-lence, Celtic Frost, Morbid Angel, Dark Tranquillity, Paradise Lost, Cemetary, Entombed, Black Sabbath, Cathedral, Kreator, Cannibal Corpse, Iron Maiden, COC, Broken Hope, Thought Industry, My Dying Bride, Emperor, Judas Priest, Dio, Slayer, Marduk, and Impaled Nazarene to name a few. It was always cool to spend some time with your heroes and to do some interviews in-person like I got to attend a Slayer rehearsal and interview the whole band beforehand, I did the interview with Bruce Dickinson over breakfast at a small, private airport and Rob Halford was one-on-one in his hotel room. All were very special. It’s also cool to be early on championing certain bands and help get the word spread. I usually tried to cover some standout demos bands in some of the earlier issues like Sindrome, Kinetic Dissent, Confessor, Dark Tranquillity, for example.

MC: Now at some point you changed the name of the zine and went with a color cover, etc. What led to you coming up with this decision? How did you come up with the name Ill Literature? What was your circulation with this new zine? Where did you get the mag printed and around how much was each issue costing you to print? Around how much time were you putting into putting each issue out and how many other writers did you have helping you put together an issue? Were you still doing the flyer thing through the mail still?

MB: Yeah, I touched on some of this earlier. I was enjoying doing the zine, there was a demand and each issue was selling more and more copies and I was getting better and better distribution. I decided a name change was necessary to take the next step. Like I said, the name was shortened to NGF for two issues and glam was dead and the statement behind the original name was just no longer funny and relevant for the time and I wanted the zine to be taken more seriously. I considered a ton of names and looked at a bunch of song titles but in the end I decided on Ill Literature. I wanted something that was a play on words but wasn’t so cliché and wasn’t genre-defined (which was probably a mistake in hindsight). With the name change I also went to a color cover and newsprint interior. I got that idea from Flipside, maybe even Maximum Rock ‘n Roll. I printed them in Los Angeles; newsprint was cheap so I could jump up to 5,000-10,000 copies without spending much more. I think I was paying about $1 per issue. I tried to be more aggressive and got some national bookstore and record store chains to carry it, and got a newsstand distributor (versus me just going to local newsstands). As circulation grew to 15,000-20,000 I tried to be more aggressive getting advertising and eventually traded in the newsprint for glossy paper and more and more color inside. That got expensive and also made the mags heavier but I was trying to compete with some of the bigger mags but I was unable to do so with my sporadic print schedule. It was also getting too big to just do as a hobby on the side, as I was working full-time at Century Media, and a bit of a conflict of interest. I was sinking a lot of money into it and I started to see my sales decline and my distribution decrease and distributors and advertisers were having trouble paying. I was ultimately happy to let it go and pleased that mags like Decibel, Brave Words and Bloody Knuckles, Unrestrained, Terrorizer were all doing a great job covering the scene and getting the word out. Sadly a couple of those no longer exist, but their back issues still rule.

MC: How many issues did you end up releasing and what led to you deciding to stop doing the zine? When you put out your last issue did you know that it was going to be your last issue? Are there any extra copies lying around somewhere of either zine? When you look back what are some of your favorite memories as far as doing a zine?

MB: I really questioned doing the last couple issues and I knew going into the last that was it, especially with our baby on the way. I do miss it at times, as it’s cool to give your opinion on things or to really champion a new band you like and aim to get more people turned onto them. I also enjoyed speaking to band members and picking their brains for interviews. I have toyed with the idea of starting a small zine again just for the spirit and to cover bands I personally really like and am interested to know more about and to help spread the awareness but it just seems like there is so little interest nowadays with so much available for free on the Internet. I do have some back issues that I’d love to sell off so if anyone is interested please email me – salemrosemusic@aol.com

MC: How much mail were you getting every day? Did at some point were you amazed at how much mail you were getting and how much stuff you were getting to review?

MB: I received mail every day, either orders, or music for review. It was great in the beginning, especially when labels started sending stuff and when packages and orders arrived from overseas. After a while it was a burden as I just couldn’t keep up.

MC: What great shows were you getting to see at this time? Did you go to any or most of those Concrete Marketing Conventions out in CA? Did you manage to get to go see any of the Milwaukee Metalfests?

MB: I saw a lot of great shows in the Bay Area while going to college and even more when I moved to Los Angeles. I did attend the Concrete Marketing Foundations Forum events. Those were great in the beginning. The first couple I attended while in school, and later went as a Metal Blade or Century Media representative. It was cool how everyone traveled in and hung out for 3 days over the weekend listening to the panels during the day and seeing bands showcase and perform, as well as a fair share of partying going on. Those were very good times indeed. I also attended several Milwaukee Metalfests. Those were great too in the beginning as it was the mecca of metal and people would travel in from all over the country. As more fests sprouted up it watered down the impact Milwaukee made but I still have good memories of attending those. I was also able to attend some European festivals too while working at Century Media, such as Dynamo, Wacken and Keep It True Fests.

MC: Who is your favorite band and why are they your favorite band? What is your favorite release by a band and why is it your favorite release?

MB: My favorite band would have to be KISS. They were the first band I was really exposed to and I just loved them and they’ve had such an impact on me. Some other standouts include Motley Crue, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Ozzy, Dio, Led Zeppelin, Rush, Scorpions, Def Leppard, Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax, Slayer, Exodus, Testament, Vio-lence, Kreator, Sodom, Destruction, Death, Morbid Angel, Entombed, Carcass, Obituary, I could go on and on…

Favorite release is tough to narrow down, and I doubt I can take the chump way and say Alive II or We Sold Our Souls for Rock ‘n Roll (ha,ha).

MC: OK now onto another phase of your story ha ha. How did you end up getting a job at Metal Blade Records? Now were you still doing the zine when you worked there? Did putting the zine out help you land a job there? Did you contact them or did they contact you? Did the thought of working at a label intrigue you?

MB: My goal was always to work for labels. I grew up on Metal Blade and worshipped the label, and was also a fan of Combat, Noise, Megaforce at the time. Anything with one of those logos was purchased without question. I was finishing up my college degree, doing the zine and managing the two bands. I was speaking to labels, like Metal Blade, about promo stuff, as well as trying to get The Horde of Torment or Epidemic signed. The senior publicist at Metal Blade was offered a job from a major label at one of the Foundation Forum conventions. Jim Filiault was her assistant and he told me she might be leaving and hoping he might move up. I expressed my interest in being his assistant and to keep me in mind. At the time he was unsure if she would accept and what impact it would have on his job. In the end, Metal Blade decided to make Jim the new national publicity guy and was seeking a new assistant so I officially threw my hat into the ring for consideration and was given the chance to interview with Metal Blade President, Mike Faley, while I was off from school during Thanksgiving break. I was so excited and so nervous. It took awhile for them to make a decision but ultimately I was offered the job and started on Jan. 3, 1991. The only issue was I still had a semester of college to do but luckily it was just GE classes so I worked at Metal Blade and went to UC Northridge at night and on the weekends to complete my requirements and graduate with my UOP class that spring. It was great, and I learned a ton and met a lot of people. I stayed at Metal Blade for 5 years and worked my way through the ranks adding A+R to my title about 6 months in, and when Jim left the company to go to Law School in 1994 I was made the National Publicity guy, and was able to hire my own assistant, Matt Bower.

MC: What was your first job there and what was it like walking into their offices for the first time? What was it like meeting Brian Slagel and Mike Varney for the 1st time? About how big was their office and how many people were working their at the time?

MB: It was amazing, especially being such a big fan. At the time they had a nice office on Ventura Blvd in Sherman Oaks and you’d take the elevator up and there was a reception area and then a long hallway to get to the actual offices. I started in a shared cubicle clipping press and talking to fanzines but in time I had the cube to myself and eventually my own office. I remember the first time I met Brian I was overwhelmed. I remember I’d have a question a day about a classic album or band he released. I think at first he liked my excitement but after a bit it became annoying. (Ha, ha). Brian wasn’t always there and didn’t work closely with the staff. He more presented the idea, goals, bands and we’d have to come up with the plans and details on how to develop the group, gain opportunities and exposure and sell records. I was there is some tough years as the glory ‘80s was gone and metal became a bad word in the ‘90s so sales and interest dried up and everyone was a bit lost as to the direction of things. When I started there was over 20 people working there but as the scene diminished a lot of the extra staff were let go and not replaced so we had about a dozen. We worked some cool bands in those years, such as Cannibal Corpse, Gwar, Atheist, Fates Warning, Armored Saint, Paradise Lost, Anacrusis, Mercyful Fate, Grip Inc. and the Goo Goo Dolls. I did meet Mike Varney of Shrapnel Records fame a few times, mainly at Foundations Forum and I recall we had a meeting of some label reps that he was there. Seemed like a good, fun character.

MC: How long did you end up working there any what are some of your favorite memories of working their? Around how many hours were you putting in there at any given week? When you weren’t there did you just want to get away from metal music at all?

MB: I worked at Metal Blade for 5 years. At the end it just wasn’t as much fun and I didn’t see any further room for growth. I was at a loss as to what new ideas to bring to another Gwar, Cannibal Corpse, Fates Warning album cycle. I worked full-time 5 days a week and usually put in about an hour or 2 of unpaid overtime, in addition to all the shows I had to attend. I never wanted to get away from metal – I loved it and if I didn’t go to a show I’d usually go home to work on the zine or to listen to and read about metal. I was fortunate, I saw a lot of my co-workers completely burnout on metal but despite all my years in the business I have retained my love for the style.

MC: Now if I am not mistaken you were doing publicity there at one point. Now how hard was it for you to have to work and promote a band that you weren’t into at all? What were some of the bands that you did publicity for?

MB: I did do publicity for my entire tenure at Metal Blade. I liked to talk about the bands and get people excited to check them out and hopefully cover them via a review or interview. I think I was very good at my job. Generally I liked most of the stuff we released, but I also understood I had a job to do and sometimes you needed to hype or champion bands that I may not have liked so much. You just try to find the redeeming quality each release had and try and promote those points. I worked a lot of records in those years that were hard to work and different from what Metal Blade was known for, some examples include Ignorance, Johnny Law, Scat Opera, Mouth, Beats The Hell Out of Me, Libido Boyz, Rapscallion, Junk Monkeys, not all were bad bands just harder to work.

MC: How did you end up going from publicity to doing some A/R work there? What bands did you have a hand in signing? Was there any bands that you liked and brought to the label’s attention, but got turned down and they were on to become big? Takes me through the steps of what it is to be an A/R guy and how a band would end up getting signed to Metal Blade? Are you at all surprised that Metal Blade is still around?

MB: About 6 months in, Brian asked me to help listen to the demos that were being sent in. I think he saw my passion and my knowledge about metal and knew of my opinions through the zine. I listened to everything and passed along the tapes that stood out. As time went on I started reaching out to bands to get their material, meeting up with bands, as well as initial negotiations if we were interested in doing a deal. I also had to take care of the day-to-day for several smaller bands and help them make the albums, pick producers, studios, artwork, get a booking agent, land tours, etc. That felt natural as it was an extension of my management days, and I could use what I learned in college. I signed a number of acts to Metal Blade, such as Broken Hope, Desultory, Decoryah, Skrew, Ancient, and Paradise Lost. There were several I brought to the label that Brian just didn’t care for or we couldn’t work out the deal, including Morbid Angel, Non-Fiction, Biohazard, Autopsy, Dark Tranquillity, In Flames, Moonspell, Immortal, and Enslaved. Usually the process would begin with a demo submission, or more likely by the time a band is ready to be signed there would be a lot of underground zine press or a strong regional buzz due to their live performances and local promotion. Back then we had bands on tour looking for bands, promoters, record store employees as people we could get opinions about a local area band. There was no Internet, no youtube, no easy way to send music or video files aside from the mail. We’d express interest and start conversations and if still interested we’d send a short one-page deal memo outlining the basic deal points. If agreed we’d have our lawyer send out a formal longform contract for further review/negotiation and ultimately signature. I’m not surprised Metal Blade is still around. They had some tough times again after I left but they’ve been able to make a strong comeback, especially when they went after and released newer bands like As I Lay Dying, Black Dahlia Murder, Unearth, as well as develop European bands like Amon Amarth and have continued to develop bands and branch out musically. They continue to be a powerhouse and I am glad that I was a part of the company’s history.

MC: Give me your thoughts and opinions on the following labels: Combat, Noise, Roadracer, Megaforce, Earache, Wild Rags, New Renaissance.

MB: Combat – One of the labels that I really admired when I was in high school. Anything with a Combat logo was an essential purpose -- Exodus, Megadeth, Nuclear Assault, Death, Dark Angel, Possessed, Agnostic Front, Crumbsuckers, Agent Steel, Heathen, Blind Illusion, Forced Entry, etc. I loved thrash metal and Combat was pretty much specializing in that. I was sad to see the label falter in the early ‘90s when they distanced themselves for the style they were known for and branched out too far as Relativity Records. The resurrection of the Combat brand a few years back was a joke, with lackluster bands of a wrong style.

Noise – Another classic. Noise was there early on and had some of the greatest signings and really helped expose the world to a lot of quality German/Swiss metal – Kreator, Helloween, Celtic Frost, Coroner, Rage, Grave Digger, Tankard, Running Wild, Deathrow and even international bands like Finland’s Stratovarius, Canada’s Voivod, England’s Sabbat and from the US Watchtower, Mordred and Virgin Steele. It was great while I was working at Century Media that we were able to take on the Noise catalog and we worked that label and reissue a lot of great albums and work the company. Its owner Karl Walterbach is a really cool guy, although I’m surprised meeting him that he was into and able to sign such cutting edge heavy stuff as it’s totally not his persona (at least not now). They too lost their direction in the ‘90s and ‘00s and lost some of the greats and in the US focused on trying to get into the nu metal game with a run of non-exciting domestic signings (Mind Heavy Mustard, Face of Anger, Pissing Razors, Manhole/Tura Satana, etc). We were encouraged by Karl to work that stuff as he wanted to compete with what was happening at the major label heavy acts but ultimately we were able to convince him that the true fans of metal and Noise Records wanted real metal so the pendulum swung back that way towards the end and he saw the renewed interest in his catalog but ultimately he sold off the company to Sanctuary Records.

Roadracer. Roadrunner has been established in Europe for some time and distributed/licensed a lot of stuff in the early- to mid-eighties but didn’t open up shop here until about 1987 with the release of King Diamond, Whiplash and Carnivore. I dug all of those records and became a supporter of the label. Obviously they really took control of the scene in the ‘90s especially with death metal and such greats as Sepultura, Obituary, Malevolent Creation, Suffocation, Decide. I was surprised they turned their back on that style and really adopted a more potentially mainstream direction, but unlike most of the other metal labels it worked for them and there were a lot of standouts (Last Crack, Life of Agony, Type O Negative, Biohazard, Fear Factory, Machine Head, Slipknot, Nickelback, etc) and Roadrunner’s success helped other labels like Metal Blade and Century Media.

Megaforce – another great one in the mid-eighties that could barely do no wrong and issued classics from Anthrax, Metallica, Raven, Exciter, Overkill. They had more of the northeast vibe versus the west coast labels. Unfortunately, success brought the aim for commercialism and they turned their backs too on the more thrashy stuff in favor of something more commercially appealing but nothing really broke through (Hotel Hunger, Frehley’s Comet, Prophet) ultimately leading to the demise of the label.

Earache – made a huge impact in the early ‘90s and changed the scene. Earache was unstoppable in those early days and there is no denying great records from Napalm Death, Entombed, Carcass, Confessor, Godflesh, Morbid Angel, Cathedral, Nocturnus, etc. Again, the same problem, with major label connections and the necessity to broaden their scope the label lost direction by moving into techno, nu metal, etc. They also screwed over a lot of key, cornerstone bands who didn’t want to re-sign to the label and opted to go elsewhere. While they still have problems promoting and distributing bands they have gone back to being a pure metal label and have good A+R. I like how they were integral in bringing back thrash with their Thrashing Like a Maniac comp and the signing of Municipal Waste and Bonded By Blood, as well as promoting traditional heavy metal with bands like White Wizzard, Cauldron. Or just other cool shit like Hour of 13, Woods of Ypres. I like their bluesy rock band, Rival Sons too.

Wild Rags – I liked Richard and enjoyed making the trip down to his store. He didn’t have the best business practices but he was doing his part to help the local and underground scene. Not really a fan of his releases but it was an outlet for some bands to get further recognition for the demos and self-financed recordings.

New Renaissance – Fairly hit and miss label run by Hellion vocalist Ann Boleyn. This was pretty second-rate compared to the premiere metal labels and the art and production was inferior. I believe all of the releases the bands paid for themselves but New Renaissance would market and distribute. There were a few cool records to note, Dream Death, Blood Feast, Post Mortem, Executioner, Medieval, Deadly Blessing, At War, Anvil Bitch being some. I know she tried a couple times to make another go of it but it’s never really gotten out of the gate again.

MC: Did you have anything to do with Death Records, which was a part of Metal Blade?

MB: Death Records was done by the time I got to Metal Blade in ’91. Ironically Death Records was a hardcore/crossover imprint and early releases by DRI, COC, Beyond Possession, Ugly Americans, School of Violence, Angkor Wat was on the Death sub-label. We continued to get a lot of questions about the label and when death metal became the new “in” thing discussion was made about using that as a sub-label again, I think the Death logo may have been on a couple releases in the mid-90s?

MC: What are some bands that you are surprised that never “made it” or that never got signed by a label?

MB: I loved the old way of developing a band. It allowed time for the band to make a story for themselves and pay some dues before issuing an album. There were a lot of great demos that showed a lot of promise and I would have expected greater things from Sindrome, Stygian, Aftermath, Kinetic Dissent, Confessor, Potential Threat, Exmortis…

MC: So after you left Metal Blade what did you end up doing with yourself? Did you get out of the music business for awhile?

MB: Ha, ha… no. I left Metal Blade on a Friday and Monday started at Century Media. I began there as a publicist in Sept. 1995 and a few months later started running the label. I did that for 12 years. It was an amazing time and it was fantastic to take a step back, a lot of people thought I was crazy to leave Metal Blade to go to a smaller, developing label like Century Media. I wondered too, but I believed in the roster and the ideas and ambitions of the owners and I thought there were some great people on staff. It took a year or two to sort out a lot of things as they were in a bad spot financially and didn’t have the know-how to develop bands here but with my leadership and experience we really get the label on the right direction and it just grew and grew, we started a massive mail-order business, and developed some great bands that did some great things and sold a lot of records along the way. We also began working with labels like Noise, Nuclear Blast, Inside Out, Olympic and taking them under our umbrella and started to work and make those label profitable. Unfortunately my last couple years were no longer as much fun. The label got so big and I had to deal with a lot of H.R. and legal/business issues and not so much on the creative, marketing, music development side. Also, the business was changing and I was sad to see chains like Tower, Virgin, Warehouse, etc closing down. I felt the writing was on the wall so I decided to leave the business. Things also changed after my son was born in 2002 and he was going to start Kindergarten in 2007 and L.A. wasn’t the best place to raise a kid so we decided to move back to Las Vegas, be closer to my parents and have him start school here. I decided to get into something I believed to be more logical and got into real estate, property management, commercial development, investing, the stock market. (Ha, ha.) Talk about the writing on the wall. Shortly after moving to Vegas in 2007 the whole economy crashed and it’s been a struggle dealing in that business the past 5 years. I was hoping it would be gravy but it’s been tough, especially in Nevada with the highest unemployment and rate of foreclosures but I’ve been forced to learn a lot dealing with the challenges and appreciate that it’s all worked out. In the meantime, it’s difficult to give up the metal as it’s what I’ve known, loved and done for so long. I wanted to go cold turkey and just be a fan but Century Media kept me onboard for awhile and helped with some reissues, greatest hits and DVD packages. Also a lot of bands and labels approached for help so I’ve done some management, publishing, shopping, consulting deals so I still feel involved in the scene.

MC: Now recently we have re-connected so to speak and you are now managing or working with a band called Blessed Curse, who I am a big fan of. How did you end working with them and tell me about this label your working for or with now? How bands are on the label now? How do you plan on going out and promoting the band?

MB: After returning to Las Vegas I met up with a lot of old friends, including some of the guys who used to be in Papsmear, which was a local thrash metal demo band I loved when I was in high school. We discussed the idea of reissuing their demos so I started up M-Theory Audio as an imprint to help them get that collection of remastered demos, along with a bonus DVD of 3 live shows out. A couple years went by and I was working with Blessed Curse (formerly Devastator) from Northern California on the music publishing side of things. The guys had recorded a full-length that I thought was killer and it was being issued outside of North America through Cyclone Empire. We couldn’t find a good home for it here so I decided to help them out and release it through M-Theory. I hope to reissue The Horde of Torment demos, and we’ll see what else the future holds. As far as the promotion, I’ve sent review copies to press, metal radio to help spread the word on the band and the guys are doing dates regionally all over the west coast. They’ve already done a couple west coast tours, one with Sacrificial Slaughter and the other with Apothesary. It’s understood it’s a small d.i.y. label and I’m just getting some distro through some underground mail-order distros and doing some consignment deals with shops in CA, NV and AZ. It’s also available to legally download at sites like itunes, amazon, rhapsody, emusic, etc.

MC: How did you come up with the name of the label and are you looking to sign other bands and is the label a full time thing for you?

MB: A friend of mine, Lance Swain, actually came up with it. He was talking about the theory of how the universe began, with the big bang – the m-theory. I liked the ring of it, and I liked the meaning behind the name and considering my first name begins with an M was also cool. No the label is far from a full-time thing and I have no intention in making it so. I enjoy doing it but it’s just a hobby. I’ve been asked many times over the years about starting a label and coming from companies like Metal Blade and Century Media it’s difficult to start something that can compete with those companies and the history and manpower they have. I’m just doing a one-man d.i.y. bedroom, underground label, which I’ve always liked as a fan.

MC: If you could sign any 5 bands which would they be, but 2 have to be underground type bands.

MB: Bearing what I stated above about my perspective on the label I will just go all-out fantasy for this question with no regards to money, time, etc and sign KISS, Metallica, Black Sabbath and since 2 have to be underground – Demon Lung and Desecrate (I’m assuming underground here means currently unsigned?).

MC: Now the music business has changed big time since the 80’s. How do you go about promoting this band? Do you feel like yours truly, that there is way too many bands and labels thus it makes it harder for a good or great band to get noticed?

MB: There are too many bands, too many labels, too many genres, too much history of recorded music to compete. It also takes a lot of time, money, leverage, connections, staff to properly promote an artist. Distribution is another essential, as is advertising. Like I said, at this time I am periodically on old demos reissues and maybe some developing acts that need a little more push to ideally get the attention of the bigger labels.

MC: What are some things you like to do when not doing music related things? Have you ever had a chance to go overseas and if you have where did you end up going and how did you see?

MB: Outside of all my music interests, I do have a regular day job in the Property Management field and I oversee over 500 apartments, in addition to some other investment opportunities. I also have a family – a wife and a 10-year-old son so I try and spend as much free time with each of them hanging out, working on homework, watching him play basketball, playing videogames. I like to watch TV, go to movies, read comic books. I do enjoy travelling and have driven all over the US and Canada. I have travelled outside the country and been to Mexico, Bahamas, Jamaica, Caribbean islands, all over Europe several times, Egypt, Israel, Cyprus, and I’ve toured Asia (Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines). While I’ve seen a bunch, there is still a lot more to see. I really like different cultures, religions, food, history and traveling brings all that together.

MC: What goals do you have with this new label you are working with and do you see yourself being involved with music one way or another for a long time to come?

MB: The label is not a priority for me. Of all the related music things I do the management and the working with Warbringer is my priority. I’ve worked with the guys for the last 5 years, we’ve done 5 records together and the band tours most of the year all around the world so coordinating making the albums (producer, studio, artist, photographer, video director, etc) to the promotions and all of the merch and touring is my most consuming music-related task nowadays. I can’t imagine music never being a part of my day. It’s what I love most and at the core is who I am and I have been a fanatic since 2nd grade – that’s 35 years ago. I hope there are always opportunities for me to be somehow active in the scene. I wouldn’t be surprised if I might someday go back to Los Angeles and work for a label again.

MC: Do you miss the day of fanzines and are you a fan or webzines?

MB: Yes, I definitely miss the days of the fanzines. I know it was a lot of work and money for the editors but I liked the honest commitment zines made to the scene and the network of development for a band. Sure this is a lot online but it’s easy for bands to manufacture hype. Naturally I like the price and immediacy of online news and reviews. I think people search now and only read about things they are already interested in, whereas with zines you’d read them cover to cover and learn about a lot of bands you’d never normally come across.

MC: Are you a big fan of social networking sites and how many people have you reconnected with many bands or people from back in the day? What do you think of You Tube?

MB: I do spend a good amount of time online daily and it’s a great way to get information quickly but I’m not a huge fan personally of all the social networking and b.s. comments that comes with all that. Naturally things like Facebook are great for immediate news and to find and reconnect with old friends and to easily keep family and friends aware of things going on in your life and vice versa. For a band these social media sites allow for a more personal connection with fans and it’s much easier and cheaper than mailing out bulk newsletters and personally writing back everyone a letter.

MC: What is your opinion on the following: thrash metal, death metal, black metal, hardcore, nu metal, and glam metal ha ha?

MB: Oh, I’m a big fan of metal across the board. Maybe of the above thrash would be my favorite of the sub-genres listed. I just like the pure speed and intensity, the aggression and the emotion, the crispness and crunch of the sound. Thrash also developed as I was getting into the underground scene so I really feel a part of that movement with bands like Metallica, Raven, Anvil, Exciter, Exodus and then as it blossomed with all the California, New York and German thrash bands and so on. I also lived in the Bay Area and went to a lot of thrash metal shows and witnessed that scene firsthand as bands like Vio-lence, Forbidden, Defiance, Mordred, etc were getting signed. I was sad to see the lack of interest in thrash metal as fans moved on but I understand everything is cyclical. I was excited by the young retro thrash bands that came into existence around 2006, especially in LA with Warbringer, Fueled By Fire, Merciless Death, Bonded By Blood and others like Municipal Waste on the east coast. I believe each brought their own take but the nostalgia, tongue-in-cheekiness of it waned thin after a bit and the more serious, like Warbringer, that have that influence but add in other inspirations is more exciting than just retreading the sound, even though it’s a good sound. I was also happy to see a resurgence of interest in some of the classic bands and some reformations. Obviously a few too many have joined that band wagon that didn’t even do well saleswise or weren’t musically appreciated the first time around but everyone wants to re-live their youth and hope for a second chance at success.

I liked a lot of the early death metal, like Sodom, Possessed, Impetigo, that sort of crossed over and then a bit later the band Death was the most pure and spawned followers like Autopsy and so many others in Florida, NY and Sweden. Death Metal was very exciting in the early nineties, especially with a lot of European influence from labels like Earache, Nuclear Blast, Peaceville. My top bands were Entombed, Obituary and Morbid Angel. Like every genre the danger of it got watered down and too many followed the trend and it lost its impact but some of that has since been weeded out. Again I like a lot of the retro, old-school death metal, especially out of Scandinavia or even Cali bands like Fatalist and Dethevokation that play that style.

Black metal, again I was into the originators at the time – Venom, Bathory, Hellhammer so it was cool when it circled back around in the mid-nineties and the way the international scene became exposed to it via the murders and church burnings was sensationalism at its best. While some of the uber necro or nationalist stuff is not my bag as I do like some good production, playing and full bands that can perform live I still like the genre. Naturally it hit a wall and I appreciated that some black metal bands took a chance and really pushed the limits and created some new terrain for themselves.

I do like a lot of hardcore and I enjoy the energy of the shows and the positivity of a lot of the music. My faves would be the NY bands Agnostic Front, Sick Of It All and Madball. I have a lot of hardcore in my collection but I don’t tend to reach for that as much as the metal. I also find that scene a bit shallow sometimes and I don’t like the overly tough guy angle and immensity of breakdowns that plagued the scene the past decade which replaced a lot of the songs of the classic bands listed simply for impact.

Nu metal would be by far by sub-genre of least interest. I enjoyed some of the crossover/alternative sounds of bands like Jane’s Addiction and Faith No More but how metal became so negative in the early nineties and so many turned their backs on the genre was tough and it all seemed to happen overnight with Nirvana. Again I liked some of the Seattle stuff like Alice in Chains, Mother Love Bone, Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog and I like Stone Temple Pilots. I just hated how all thrash and classic metal was abandoned. I know the above aren’t true nu metal bands but these bands and that alternative mentality and the influence of rap ushered in bands like Korn, Deftones, Rage Against the Machine, System of a Down, Linkin Park, etc. Some of it I liked, some of it I can’t stand. I didn’t like the look and the attitude but I was happy that there was some heavy music being released at the time on a more mainstream level that attracted the attention of a new generation of fans and a lot of these bands were a gateway for these kids to get into more music and find out about heavier, underground bands or to explore the history and for that nu metal was good as it helped replenish the interest and give metal another boost. In hindsight musically I can’t stand a lot of this stuff, again so little depth to it and the whole dysfunctional, woe is me, negativity and ugliness of the lyrics and themes wasn’t my thing.

And finally you want my thoughts on glam. I explained earlier the ideology behind the name No Glam Fags but truth be told I personally liked a lot of it. I always liked the theatricality of hard rock/metal – the image, the stageshow and bands like Kiss, Alice Cooper and then later groups like Motley Crue, Wasp, Lizzy Borden was easy to appreciate. By being a fan of a lot of classic hard rock it was very logical that I would follow bands like Van Halen, Ozzy, Sabbath, Priest, and Maiden into LA bands like Ratt, Dokken, Great White, Poison, Guns ‘n Roses, Warrant, and so on. You also have to remember my close proximity to Los Angeles. I’ll come out and say I’m a big fan of a lot of that commercial glam/hard rock/hair metal – then and even very much today. Naturally I lost interest in that scene through the nineties as it was overdone and manufactured by major labels, MTV and rock radio and once grunge hit bands were dropped, broke up or completely lost their way making dark, down-tuned, grungy hard rock albums of which most were not very good. But as some of these bands realized they couldn’t compete and just went back to being nostalgia bands and embraced their roots it became fun again, especially as everything else was so negative, depressed and downtrodden with little to no image or show. For the most part none of the classic bands of the style have been able to make anything competitive with their early hits but I still like to go back and listen to those albums, as well as the more obscure ones like Pretty Boy Floyd, Icon, Heavy Pettin’, Wrathchild UK, Sweet Pain, Wildside, and so many more. I also like tracking down some of the demo bands from the time that didn’t get the chance to record proper albums. There have been some good new bands doing the style some justice, such as Reckless Love, Crucified Barbara, Crashdiet, Wildstreet and Mama Kin.

MC: Marco thanks a million for doing this long ass interview. Plug anything you wish and thanks for your time.

MB: Thanks for the opportunity Chris. Took a while to do this lengthy piece but it was fun reflecting back on some of this stuff. Just wanted to say you’re a lifer man, and thank you for all you’ve done and continue to do for the scene. Anyone can email me at salemrosemusic@aol.com and check out the Salem Rose Music page on Facebook or the label site at www.mtheoryaudio.com