New DANZIG Guitarist Speaks: 'I Really Worked Hard To Do Justice To Everybody's Playing'

The official DANZIG fansite The 7th House recently conducted an interview with the band's new guitarist Joe Fraulob (also of Sacramento's DECONSTRUCT). An excerpt from the chat follows:

The 7th House: When and how did you get the call to play on the "Blackest of The Black Tour 2005"?

Joe: "I've known Jerry Montano [DANZIG bassist] since were just kids playing in bands around Sacramento, so I've just kept in touch with him over the years... He called me sometime in August I think, and told me DANZIG was gonna be getting a new guitar player, and would I be into trying out. I told him 'Fuck yeah,' and he gave me a list of songs to learn. I got totally obsessed with learning it all just spot-on note-for-note, all the solos and everything, then started learning stuff that wasn't even on the list. Especially the first four albums, 'cuz my style is real similar to John Christ, so it was like real natural for me to play like him, and cop what he was doing. I told Jerry I was learning all this shit note for note, and was just gonna come in and kill it and get the gig.

"Anyway, I get to the audition and Glenn's like, 'Jerry says you can play everything just like the album,' and I'm like, 'Yeah, totally, let's do it.' I'll never forget we played 'Do You Wear The Mark' and it sounded dead on the damn album. I'm rocking my ass off like I'm in a stadium or something, and when we were done, Glenn Danzig says, 'Dude, that was awesome" What the fuck? Am I dreaming?' That was a trip! Anyway, I pretty much nailed everything, and they told me on the spot that I was IN. I really worked hard to do justice to everybody's playing, I wanted to do [John Christ] like [John Christ], Tommy Victor like Tommy Victor, you know, 'cuz the guitar playing on the albums is so great, why mess with it? It's that way for a reason! I think the fans want to hear it like that. I've got tons of respect for the history and the fucking legacy of DANZIG and everybody that's been in the band, so it was important to me to stay true to that. Of course, I was able to throw a bit of my own style in there."

The 7th House: Playing on the same stage as Danzig must be intense enough, but to play with both Glenn and Doyle....what was that like?

Joe: "Let me just say, it was a total honor to play with everybody in the band. Jerry and Johnny [Kelly, drums] are two of the best players in the world, and Glenn Danzig is such an incredible showman and singer and a legend, that it inspired me to kill myself every night to give the show of my life... I can't even describe how intense it is to be on stage with DANZIG, the music is just on fucking FIRE! Just this unreal evil energy that consumes everything! And man, when he would just point at me, and I'd launch into the opening chord of 'Mother'... pure ROCK AND ROLL...

"When Doyle came out, it was beyond insane, the energy on stage and from the crowd was the most brutal thing ever! It was completely unbelievable to be a part of something historic like that. So many fans told me, that was the coolest shit they've ever seen in their life... honestly, most of the time being on stage with those guys was so intense, that it didn't even seem real, just totally surreal, like a dream..."

Read the entire interview at www.7thhouse.com.