Interview with Steve Zing of Danzig

Interview by: Louie Bones
Big Wheel Music Scene Reporter

Big Wheel was fortunate enough to meet Steve Zing backstage at the Danzig show and somehow lucky enough to talk him into letting me interview him before he got ready to warm up for the nights big sold out show ! Though to those of you unfamiliar, let me give you a basic run down on Steve. He’s been a part of the East Coast Punk scene since the early 80’s having drummed for the bands Implosion, Mourning Noise and The Undead (featuring Misfits guitarist Bobby Steele). He then joined Glenn Danzig in his post Misfits band SAMHAIN. He’d later play Bass and Drums with Samhain again on their reunion tour in 1999, and in 2001 he would record with Davey Havok & London May on the album “Songs From The Earth“ for their side project band “Son Of Sam“. In 2006 he once again found himself alongside Glenn playing bass in Danzig. Steve was kind enough to spend some time away from the backstage madness and do an interview on the bus alongside friend and former band mate London May (Samhain, Tiger Army, Son of Sam) and other people in the Danzig camp.

Hey Louie Bones here from Big Wheel With Steve Zing, bassist of Danzig… We’re sitting in the front lounge of Danzig’s tour bus just before you guys get warmed up to hit the stage at tonight’s sold out show!! Thanks for taking the time out to do this interview Steve! I really appreciate it!
Steve Zing: Hey! Thank you Louie, it’s a pleasure!

So first things first, the new Danzig album “Death Red Sabbaoth” just came out last week, I’m loving it, been listening to it pretty much non stop man, I think its his best album since 1999’s “Satan’s Child”! You’ve done a few shows on this tour since it’s release, what is you’re favorite song to play off the new album live ?
Steve: Hmm, I’m gonna say right now it’s the song “Hammer Of The Gods”

That’s a good one.
Steve: Hey! You’ve got white socks on!

I do! I’m bringing em’ back, Haha. These days everyone’s wearing black socks, I thought I’d change it up.
Steve: Johnny Kelly (Danzig’s drummer) wears white socks too! Hey you remember that first Adam & The Ants album - “Dirk Wears White Sox”??

Haha, no, I’ll look into it tho! Ha! So on to my next question, Since you’re a multi-instrumentalist I’ve wondered what band or musician initially influenced you to pick up an instrument and start playing?
Steve: Dude Oh man, yes! The original Misfits. Watching them in 1977 rehearse, right there and then when I saw it, I decided I wanted to be apart of that. And Umm that was it !

So you played drums first ?
Steve: Yeah! About a year later I picked up my first drum kit. I told my friends that some day I’d be in a band with Glenn, and they laughed at me! Haha

oh hell !!
Steve: Yeah man! Doyle (Misfits guitar player, brother of Misfits bassist Jerry Only) had come to school one day saying “Hey remember I told you my brothers in that band on bass, well they’re gonna rehearse later on at my parents house, so after school come by!”

That far back?!
Steve: Yeah! So I started going to watch The Misfits rehearse regularly, and ya know Glenn had this whole attitude and image, and I’m like I’ve gotta be in a band with that guy! Right then and there I just knew it. That’s what I wanted to do!
So about the end of 77’ beginning of 78’ my “MOTHER” bought me a $40 drum kit.

About how old were you at that point ?
Steve: Ummm maybe I was 12, or about that..

London May: Dude you went to see The Misfits when you were 12?!

Steve: Yeah! Well to their rehearsals.

London May : Fucking great!

Steve: So yeah, I got a drum kit and ya know from then on I’d make every attempt I could to be around and hang with Glenn. We had a mutual friend who produced The Misfits and later Samhain. So yeah I guess about 5 years later we started Samhain and recorded Initium.

Wow that’s amazing, I didn’t know you guys went so far back.
Steve: Hahaha yeah ! Be careful of what you wish for, because sometimes wishes do come true! (insert very sinister laughing)
 
So, Danzig has a vast back catalogue of solo material dating back to 1987, are there any songs in particular that you’d like to play live and that could make it to the set list regularly ?
Steve: Umm oh yeah ! There are a lot of songs that we always kind of bring up and rehearse. Like for instance “Snakes of Christ”, that’s always a fun song to play in rehearsal, but we never really go out and play it live. There’s just a lot and we know probably about most of the catalogue of songs, but ya know we just can’t play all of them because of the time we have onstage.

Of the songs from the new album that guys haven’t gotten a chance to play yet, what song are you looking forward to playing the most ?
Steve: Ohhhh I’d say Death Red Moon!

Ahh that’s another good one! So what song do you find the most challenging to play live on bass?
Steve: Actually probably the new song “Wicked Night”

I know you guys recently played some humongous festival shows all over Europe, there were some really awesome bands sharing the bill with you guys, bands that you grew up listening to and bands that grew up listening to your music, Are there any bands that since you were a kid you’ve always dreamed of being able to play with ?
Steve: You know man, we recently got to do shows with KISS, Slayer and Aerosmith in Europe, and to me that was great just being on the same bill as those bands, and I really can’t think of anybody else who we could play with who could top that!
Cos when I grew up I went from listening to 50’s rock n roll to KISS and to Punk Rock.

That’s rad, So out of all the records you’ve recorded on, what are you most proud of to have been apart of ?
Steve: Probobly the Samhain album Initium. It was definitely a break thru album at the time, especially for the style of music that it was. It was such different thing from what Glenn was doing with The Misfits, and I thought that was really cool.

Oh totally, that album is great, it was the first Samhain record I picked up, one of the most evil looking album covers of all time! So you worked with Glenn on 2 Samhain releases in the 80’s, again in 99’ on the reunion tour and then again in 2006’ as a member of Danzig on bass, how did all of that come about ?
Steve: A phone call ! That was it !

Wow, so up at that point where you playing bass much at all and were like up to speed with the songs ? Or did you have to like lock yourself up in a room for a few days and start learning all those songs on your own in time for rehearsals ?
Steve: I hadn’t picked up a bass since I’d played with London in 2001 when we did the Son of Sam record !!

So in the time that you’ve been playing bass for Danzig there have been a few guitar players involved … which has been your favorite to play along side of ? And for what reasons ?
Steve: Well each one had their own style ya know. Kenny had his own style, Todd has his and Tommy has his own too.

You’re a bassist and a drummer a rhythm man, what instrument would you say you are best in 2010 ?
Steve: Well I haven’t really played drums in a long time , well just for myself ya know at home, but London, he’s the drummer right there, I aint no reptile house! (early hardcore band from Baltimore that London drummed for before joining Samhain)
 
**** Everyones laughing at this point ***

So is it easier for you to play bass for Danzig than it was to play drums in Samhain ?
Steve: In Samhain because there were all these different types of beats, and London can attest to this, it was much different playing that kind of stuff with those beats.. It wasn’t just straight beats, there were a lot of beats with less cymbals and more so floor toms and tom tom’s

Like tribal beats ?
Steve: Yeah Tribal beats! Glenn wanted to a lot of tribal beats and to shy away from using cymbals. And really the stuff we were doing really it was like before there was double bass stuff going on, before it was more common.

Do you happen to have a studio at home where you work on your playing, or writing songs ?
Steve: I just invested in pro tools HD ! Its at home sitting in boxes because I haven’t been home in a few weeks !

At this time it was getting close to the time for the guys to take the stage, so we had to finish up about the interview right there.

I want to send a huge thank you to Steve for taking the time to sit down and chat, also a huge thanks to Danzigs management for hooking it up!