Ex-W.A.S.P. Guitarist On His Departure: 'I Felt Like It Was Time To Go Out On My Own'

September 19, 2006

W.A.S.P. fan site WASParmy.com recently conducted an interview with ex-W.A.S.P. and current FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH guitarist Darrell Roberts. A couple of excerpts from the question-and-answer session follow:

WASParmy.com: Talk a little bit about your decision to leave W.A.S.P. and subsequently to join 5FDP (FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH).

Darrell: Blackie and I both knew from the beginning that I would eventually leave to do my own thing. After five awesome years with W.A.S.P. I felt like it was time to go out on my own. Blackie was very fair to me and taught me more about the business in five years than most musicians would learn in a lifetime! But for me to truly be successful and set myself up financially for the future I have to do my own thing. The sobering reality is that I am not getting any younger and music is what I have dedicated my life to. I have no "retirement plan."

WASParmy.com: In regards to joining 5FDP. Did you get the gig through an audition?

Darrell: No, I did not audition...The drummer (Jeremy) has been a good friend of mine for a few years. He had played on some tracks for me and almost toured with W.A.S.P. a couple years ago. He basically called me up and said his new band had just finished a complete CD and was ready to start showcasing and playing live, but they weren't really happy with their lead guitarist. He knew I had recently left W.A.S.P. and asked if I would be interested in playing with FIVE FINGER. To be honest, I wasn't really interested at first because I really wanted to do my own band… but after hearing the CD (and the song "The Bleeding") I could not say no! I was blown away.

WASParmy.com: What is your most memorable W.A.S.P. moment?

Darrell: There are many… But probably the first time we played in Moscow. It was a magical night. The people were so happy and grateful to be seeing us play it was overwhelming. There was a girl sitting on a guy's shoulders in the middle of the crowd with tears running down her face, singing EVERY word to "Raging Storm". It was one of the most moving things I have ever experienced. Blackie sang the song flawlessly and this girl sang along to every word and the record had just came out.... It was unbelievable!

WASParmy.com: Would you ever work with Blackie/W.A.S.P. again?

Darrell: Yes, if scheduling permitted it.

Read the entire interview at WASParmy.com.

Find more on
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).