Age of Evil has been booked to play the warm up gig at Bang Your Head festival in Balingen Germany. The show will take place on June 21, and will include Lethal, Onslaught, and Vicious Rumors. They may be the youngest band (ave age 16) to ever play BYH.

A big congrads to Age of Evil for securing opening spots for Symphony X, Edguy, and Slough Feg!

Hour-of-speed interview transcription from broadcast-

L: Hello Tom, this is of course our third interview on air. Tell us has there been any progress on the Ballistic front?

T: No it’s pretty quiet. I just got back from a week on the Mexican peninsula on the beach for some much needed rest. We stayed in a 3 story house right on the Gulf of Mexico about an hour and a half south of Cancun, very nice. I’ve just been working hard as hell. Age of Evil has been going well. We have moved to a large rehearsal studio with staging and PA.

L: But no Ballistic yet?

T: Unfortunately no. I’d make time for it if it came up but so far it hasn’t. Actually there is a very good reason for this that is non-music related, but I can’t go into that here. I am very sorry that we cannot play. I miss it.

L: So you do not think there will be any festival appearances this summer?

T: That is something I’d rather not talk about just yet. When the time comes I will let everyone know.

L: What can you tell me about the state of the metal scene back in the US? Is heavy music like the music of AOE that you mentioned last interview coming back into style there?

T: It’s hard to tell but I cannot remember a time when I saw so many high school kids walking around with Iron Maiden t-shirts on…and with very long hair. I mean, I knew it would come back into style because that is just the cycle. The cool thing about AOE is that they are who they are, and the style has come around to what they like to play. By the way, AOE is being bombarded with record companies, and are in LA doing a series of showcases. Very happy and proud of the kids. They should be mind-blowing amazing once they all graduate high school in a few years.

L: Do you think that things would have been different if Wardog or better yet Tension could have held on this long?

T: No, this is a young person’s field. These kids are 15 and 16 and full of vinegar, which is perfect for a breaking band. No one is interested in a new band full of old men who can’t tour.

L: But your other bands were far from unknown I think? And what does this mean full of vinegar.

T: Yea but we all were used to a certain lifestyle, and the band thing is better suited to young kids. Another thing is that I rarely listen to anything new in the pop world. I listen to classical music now and that is about all that gets me off anymore. Everything else is something I have already heard, with a guitarist that is sub-par, or a singer that has no range, or music that is either completely un-catchy or so catchy that there is no musical substance to it. It’s just gotten really, really boring to me. And being full of vinegar is like being really angry or frustrated and letting it out in the music.

L: So you are no longer into metal, for instance what is that I hear in the background?

T: Mozart, the king. But oh no, I still put in Stained Class, Reign in Blood, or Taken By Force, but nothing new. I put in some old punk like the Dead Boys when I want to break something. I think this is a great example of why the music business is for the young. It’s much harder to convince older people that what you are trying to sell them is worth a crap.

L: Oh you listen to Slayer have you heard the new one?

T: no I have not, yet.

L: Have you seen the artwork?

T: Yea I like that a lot. But truthfully, it is not shocking to me.

L: It is not?

T: No. They mock Christianity which is not very dangerous at all. Let them put a picture of Muhammad without arms on the cover and I’ll give them credit for having balls. I mean, the far Christian right may be screwed up, but they aren’t going to lop Slayers’ heads off on TV. The radical Muslims have the whole world petrified, scared to death about saying anything about them. That is why I liked the cartoons form Denmark. That is free speech and I am 100 percent for that. The people who penned those cartoons are no cowards.

L: You are not religious then?

T: Yes I am, but my religion belongs to no group. I understand there is a God and there was a man called Jesus who may have been his son, but as far as organizing the whole works…no….I guess it is people I don’t trust and it is people who wrote the Bible and the Koran. They not only wrote the Bible but it has been edited to meet the needs-of-the-time throughout history by various religious leaders of the church. I just don’t trust it like I trust God. I know many people have suffered in the past for the sake of Jesus, like the Crusades, and more recently for Muhammad via the Muslim wackos. I don’t believe it is religion that is evil, it is people who make it that way. Sometimes it does make me wonder weather or not the leaders of the world know there is no God. They do act as if there was none.

L: So you are an anti-Bush or pro-Bush person?

T: I was pro Bush because he did something about a situation that should have been resolved 12 years ago when Iraq broke the cease fire agreement of the first gulf war, and then diverted funds from the UN for Saddam’s military and denied access to many of his facilities by UN inspectors. Clinton let this happen throughout the 90’s. Now I realize that Bush was wrong in trying to wage a “humane” war with all of these smart weapons, and all. We should have gotten it over with in a year at most. If you have talked and talked for 12 years, and nothing works like the UN did, then go in with full force, not half assed. Clinton also cut the budget of our intelligence program, which certainly didn’t help us avoid 9:11. One of Clinton’s cronies got busted taking documents from our National Archives that would have linked him with the negligence that led to 9:11. This happened before a huge report on 9:11 came out.

L: Oh, we did not hear about this here.

T: Don’t expect me to be surprised.

L: So you did not like Clinton? I think he was very popular in Europe?

T: Clinton did things as long as they were easy. Sometimes things are not easy. He abandoned the Kurds and the Shiites in Iraq, let them get brutalized. This world is still full of barbarians, cultures that treat there women worse than their animals, people who differ in their beliefs and use that as a reason to not only kill but TARGET hundreds of innocent people who just want to go to market or to school. This has to stop in order for the world to progress.

L: I think Bush has killed many innocent people in Iraq yes?

T: I have said this before; before the older generation dies out completely, you please ask them what World War II was like over there in Europe, and then get back to me on killing civilians. Also as far as targeting civilians, I am not sure it is accurate to say Bush does that. We know who does.

L: So again, you are pro-Bush.

T: Again, I used to be. In 1999 Bill Clinton, the darling of the civilized world, said Saddam had weapons of mass destruction and that he was an un-acceptable threat to the world, but he didn’t do shit. We know he used WMD on the Kurds and on Iran’s army, in comes the Syrian connection and a place to send them. Then our bases had to go from Saudi Arabia, and complete containment was no longer possible. Bush tried to do something about it, but I think he got some bad advice on how to win this war, by going in with far less than full force. I think if the people who were in charge during World War II were in charge now, this would have been over long ago and many less people would have been killed by their own brothers in Iraq. So no, I am not really happy with Bush. If I were Al Qaeda, I would be happy as hell that the media hates Bush and that soon our troops will leave Iraq. It is a fucked up world.

L: Do you think some of this is the US fault for being so dependant on mid east oil?

T: Yep, but this is the situation we are in. We must become independent of mid-eastern imports. Once we do that we can end support for corrupt regimes like the Saudis, and we will send an entire region into poverty on an un-imaginable scale because there will be no more oil exports for them. The thing that many people do not realize is that Bush is a moderate. The REAL right wing here in America did not want us to go to war, and they also want us to completely cut off all aid to anyone, this is multiple Billions to poor nations. They want us to mind our own business and help absolutely no one but ourselves.

L: WOW! This is things we hear nothing about here.

T: Once again, I am not surprised.

L: Lets get back to music.

T: Please!

L: of some of the older bands, you played with many of them with your time in Tension. Can you tell us some interesting stories?

T: Well I think the best gig I have ever played was on my 21^st birthday when we opened for Queensryche on their Warning tour. It was an absolutely flawless performance. I remember we were all sitting in our dressing room and Jeff Tate stuck his head in our door and introduced himself. I think we were all taken back by his forwardness and frankly, his politeness, which was rare for rock stars. Very very nice guy! I do remember wondering what happened to him though; his face was really screwed up. My dad is a doctor, and I remember seeing pictures of people who were on steroids and their faces looked a lot like Jeff’s….puffy. He looked much different than the first time I saw him on the tour for the Queensryche EP. I thought maybe he had bad allergies or something.

We played with Megadeth back in 1985 I think, and I remember their drummer was AWOL. I also remember saying hello to Dave backstage and he seemed really miserable. Maybe it was because his drummer was missing.

When I was in Wardog we played with Black Label Society and the amazing thing was that Zakk actually got on a ladder and helped us put up our banner! I thought that was incredibly cool, and sure enough he was a damn nice guy. Then he got up on stage for sound check and started playing and melted our faces off. Stunning guitarist and a fantastic guy.

Most all of my experiences with big bands have been very positive. One bad one was another time in Wardog when we actually opened for L.A. Guns. It was absolutely incredible that in one night we could see everything that is wrong with the music business wrapped up into one band. Basically, we were treated like sub-humans by their crew who were oblivious to the sham that was going on. When the time came to play, we roasted them first, then physically called them out on stage. After we played the tone of the crew was noticeably different….”oh you guys were fantastic…...oh we didn’t know….etc.” Here in America, being a piece of garbage is justified if you make money at it, and the public has gobbled up this concept like eating turds. It is by no means confined to L.A. Guns, and thinking back I really don’t blame them, and it would have been a shame if we had pummeled them after the gig. It’s the whole music business culture and the mindset that wealth and or success gives you a license to abuse.

L: I think every band has to go through this yes?

T: Unfortunately yes, and not just small bands. I remember it happened to Megadeth not too long ago on the Aerosmith tour. Aerosmith wouldn’t give them stage room or lights or P.A. some shit. I don’t understand why bands do that. I mean, they are Aerosmith for God’s sake! What the hell do they have to be afraid of? I can almost see L.A. guns doing everything they possibly can to diminish their opening band’s set, but Aerosmith? Are you kidding me?

L: Is this getting better now or worse?

T: Oh much, much better. Most modern bands aren’t afraid of what the opening act might do. I remember seeing Udo opening at a festival and they had, by far, the best sound of the day. Now, I did hear some PA being used for the headliner that was not used for Udo, but that didn’t matter. That was in Germany and they tend to treat bands much better than here.

L: Yes here I think the technicians take more pride in what they do?

T: You said it exactly. It seems like they are personally offended if they can’t get things working exactly correctly.

L: Is there anything you regret doing during these times as far as the live shows?

T: Just turning down a tour with Fear Factory. That led to me quitting Wardog. As far as regrets otherwise, I don’t know. If things had been any different I may not be doing what I am doing today, so I am hesitant to call something a regret. I mean I think Dave Mustaine, Lars Ulrich, etc. all do what they have to do to be successful. So the question is would I have liked to be more like them? As much as I admire what they have accomplished, I can’t honestly say yes to that question.

L: Would you have liked to play music more like Metallica?

T: No I know that is not true. I think Megadeth’s music is much better, and Rust in Peace is light years ahead of any Metallica album. I am not saying I don’t like Metallica, it’s just I think Megadeth was better. But once again, the brainwashing of the American public comes into play in that dollars means quality, and it just isn’t true.

L: Do you like Megadeth because Marty was in the band?

T: No. I liked Megadeth before he was in the band. Marty just took them to a whole new level and added a really exciting dimension to the guitar duo in Megadeth. And I’d like to add that anyone out there who thinks Marty is anti-metal is full of shit! They need to hear his work on this AOE cd, and listen to his last album. Both are un-believable. I am so happy that Marty is doing well! He is going on tour soon with my old bassist of Wardog in Europe and I hope you can catch him.

L: Yes it has come out that Chris Catero will play bass on this.

T: Yea that is very cool. I am glad I could get those two together years ago. Chris is a good bass player and I am sure he appreciates the work. Chris and I are on complete ends of the spectrum on how we view music, but I think that is what Marty needs, I think he fits perfectly. I thought Chris would fit perfect in Metallica too, but the bass wizard Trujillo got that gig. I remember playing a gig with a band that had Trujillo back in the 80’s and he was a monster then, just amazing! Everyone in the audience was watching him, not the rest of the band.

L: Now in your recording of the Ballistic album you had Dave Brokie from Gwar sing on a song. Can you tell us about that?

T: Yea, believe it or not when I wrote that song about 15 years ago, I wrote it thinking of his vocals. When we were in recording I just got the notion to ask him to lay down the track and he came out and did it. The guy is a total pro in the studio, and some of the fucking loudest vocals I have ever heard. He did an amazing job.

L: Do you still hear from Dave?

T: No I think he has forgotten about me now that GWAR are on a new label and have started getting successful.

L: Ok Tom, I want to thank you again for this very interesting interview and I really hope to see Ballistic again, or you with AOE would be good. Maybe I will run into you this summer?

T: Yea we shall see. I’d love to get with the guys again, hopefully soon. Thanks!

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©hour-of-speed 2007

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Once again we have Tom Gattis from Ballistic on the phone for our audience.

L: Tom since our last interview how have things been with Ballistic?

T: Slow actually. I have been writing a bit and selling songs, but we have been pretty dormant for the holidays.

L: Last time we talked about a new cd, can you tell when we can expect this?

T: I’d like to get one out by mid 2007. The company has been pushing a bit which is not relaxing. I am really interested in doing the festival thing in 2007, but it may have to wait until the year after. I don’t think you have too many winter festivals?

L: There are a few, but in general all the large ones are in the Summer.

T: Most of my free time has been spent working with a band called Age of Evil. The Ballistic producer here in Phoenix, John Herrera introduced them to me. John is pretty convinced that they will really do something substantial and I have to agree. It is of course, always a long shot but given their cd I think they have a shot.

L: I am not aware of this band, can you tell me about them?

T; Well first of all their median age is 16, and for as good as they are it is amazing and frankly not fair…laughs. They are old school based, Maiden, Slayer, etc. which is something I see a lot of in kids these days here in Arizona. Also, I have not seen a child prodigy like their lead guitarist, Jordan, since I first heard Marty Friedman at about that age. John Herrera first described Jordan to me as “unstoppable” and that is pretty much what I heard. And by the way Marty lays down some absolutely monstrous leads on one of AOE’s tracks.

L: Oh Marty is on their album then?

T: Yea and it is some serious metal leads he lays down. As good as Jordan in AOE is I think Marty laid down the law in a hard way. Personally, with his latest solo record and the sheer out-of-his-mind shredding he does on this AOE cd, I have never heard Marty better.

L: Can you tell me where our listeners can get the cd?

T: It is not out yet but AOE has a site on My-Space and there is a company working on their official website. For me, I’m not interested in the web thing so I’m not sure what is on there and how to work it. It is all very new to those guys and they are really just getting started. Scary. I know they want a record deal but I question whether they need one. The good thing is that they are young, and the amount of time that a band must spend to become substantial when they are on a label fits them well. If they have to be on the road for 200 days a year they can do that now. Later in life, maybe not.

L: A record deal would get them exposure, yes?

T: Yea, but I’m not sure if they couldn’t do everything themselves. I see advantages and disadvantages for this particular band to be on an outside label. For some bands I think it is absolutely the right thing to do. It was great for Ballistic, and a 100% blast!

L: I still don’t know what you mean. Ballistic did well with a record company, but AOE would not do well under a record company?

T: No no, I never meant that at all. Its just the circumstances are a bit different for them. They need help as other bands do, but in different areas. It is complicated. I need a drink.

L: I think companies are concentrating on more Metalcore bands now?

T: Oh I don’t know. Styles change so much I can’t get caught up in what is “in” this year and “out” the next. You just do what you do and wait for things to catch up with you.

L. So what can you tell me about what the other guys in Ballistic have been up to?

T: I’m not too sure actually, I rarely hear from them. I would love to start up in the early new year but as far as getting things together, that is not something I do anymore. I really miss jamming with them, but honestly, my days are jam packed as it is with my work and now my baby girl. I am putting all the energy I can into her education, counting, letters, etc. My goal is to get her to be able to play competently in an orchestra by age 8, and have a rudimentary grasp of the principals behind Calculus and Physics by age 10! Then by the time she is in 10^th grade or so she can breeze through those subjects.

L. Wow that is an ambitious plan for you and your daughter, but what will happen to future albums?

T: I’d love to keep recording and most importantly to me, playing out. But honestly it is much lower on my list than it used to be. Many of the songs I come up with go out to other artists right now. I can’t really “stop” the ideas from coming as I don’t really know where it is they come from, but as far as implementing them in Ballistic, that is something I have handed to others to take care of. I just don’t have the time.

L: Ok Tom we are going to sign off for this week but I would like to discuss more with you next week about you view of some of the newer metal coming out. I think you began to describe this with the AOE band but I would like you to go into more detail about what you meant by old-school being more popular now in the states.

T: Well it is an old-school influence I meant. I can’t say they sound exactly like the old bands but the influence is unmistakable.

L: Ok Tom please join us again next week will you?

T: No problem!

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©hour-of-speed 2006

L: Hello Tom, First off congratulations on your new record deal. Can you tell us something about it?

T: Yes thank you. First off I have little to do with it because between my work and my new family I don’t have the time to deal with anything else besides the actual playing. However, what I know about it is that it is a group of investors and record industry people who really like metal and would like to see it return to its roots. The main guy is in Scottsdale Arizona with offices in Phoenix and other valley locations. The main record guys are from LA. I don’t know who they have worked with, but I know they are looking very hard to sign a new band later this year. They will be doing a lot of bar hopping the next few months from what I understand.

L: You don’t know who they have worked with?

T: No, I just saw the money amount and it was too good to pass up.

L: How did they hear of you?

T: Well one of them saw us at Bang Your Head festival in Germany. I talked to him without knowing who he was and he was really appreciative of our set. About a year later a record guy from L.A. called me and said that he was going to be a part of this new label and one of the people was the person I talked to in Germany. The money-part is located her in Phoenix though.

L: From the Bang Your Head festival it was obvious to anyone with a brain that the more you played out the more fans would you have. That along with a strong debut cd that made the top of the cd-of-the-year releases on a few soundchecks, so I have to ask that with 3 years break will it be difficult to come back or even top? I mean why the long break?

T: I don’t know, maybe. I know I am not going to rush anything. If it is done in 2007 then great, if not then the next year. I am not in a rush.

L: Maybe we are in a rush.

T: Too bad.

L: Can you tell us what kind of deal is this?

T: Complicated in that music is only one part of it. Basically you have a dozen guys shelling out a chunk of change and expecting an old-school thrash record. These days that means pocketing lots of money and keeping the recording cheap. I won’t say that it will sound raw like the last Metallica, but I will say that it will be like a live recording.

L: Wouldn’t the company be upset if they heard this?

T: Not from what I understand. They just want a thrash band right now and they really like us. Besides from what I saw they could care less what we do with their pocket change as long as they get what they want.

L: It sounds like you will make some money off this in addition to getting a new CD out? I think this is difficult to do in the music business today?

T: Yea the money is nice but the big thing is the CD. These guys are in a position where money is not something they worry about. Also I’m lucky enough to be in a position where I don’t really need the money. It works out fine.

L: What will you do with the money then?

T: I don’t know, maybe buy into some high yield stuff with a high initial investment, who knows..IPO’s? Maybe I’ll buy a refrigerated warehouse full of beer and live there.

L: Much has been written about your past so I won’t get into it here, but tell us please about your connection with Marty Friedman.

T: We were in our first band together in high school back in Maryland. Marty was a guitar prodigy; by 16 he could out-play most professionals. Child prodigies are a dime a dozen these days, but back then it was pretty rare…in popular music, TONS of them in classical music like youth orchestras…. and certainly it was more difficult to promote then. We used to open for these big bands and I can remember their guitar players not wanting to get on stage after Marty had ripped it up. He would go off and it would be jaw dropping…like you could literally see people in the audience staring with dis-belief. After we split up he continued to develop his own style until now I would rank him as one of the world’s best metal musicians.

L: What did you think when you heard Marty was in Megadeth?

T: I got a letter from Marty telling me to go to a show where Megadeth was opening for Priest in Albuquerque, and he was in Megadeth! I thought it was cool but in actuality it wasn’t too much of a surprise, because everyone who knew Marty pretty much knew something like this would happen. At the time I was 100% consumed with engineering and mathematics studies as well, so this was a nice diversion.

L: And after Deuce there was Tension. This was a popular metal band here but can you tell us what happened to them?

T: It was basically a case of everyone saying they wanted to make it bad and no one actually knowing what that meant. We always found excuses not to do things and it became pretty apparent that we were all too comfortable in our daily lives to sacrifice anything substantial.

L: Do you hear from the guys in Tension?

T: Well Tim , the Tension Bassist, now plays bass in Ballistic, and I do hear from Billy Giddings the Tension drummer every now and then. Interestingly, we were going to do a Tension reunion for Keep It True festival at one point, but when we got together some problems came up, being side issues standing in the way of playing. It was a shame because the rehearsals were ripping!! The gig would have been amazing!

L: There was a Tension reunion scheduled for KIT? Oh man…I think this would have been fantastic!

T: Yea, originally Ballistic got the offer if we did older material, but not all of us could make it to Germany for the show given the financial situation. That was no problem for Tension though.

L: Then the old members of Tension are doing well?

T: You could say that. Put it this way, if everyone had the ambition for it, there would be absolutely no need for record companies or tour support or anything.

L: After Tension you played in Wardog and were signed to Metalblade. Can you tell me how these times were?

T: The playing part was fun because we were a good live band, and we all pretty much got along. Unfortunately we fell victim to the same problems that plagued Tension, but no one else really noticed. Interestingly, now that I am in a professional occupation and cannot travel much, the whole Wardog plan of attack would have worked. But at the time I was just too overly ambitious for what was going on. As far as Metalblade, they got us fantastic gigs which, in looking back, is really what I wanted.

L: You mean Wardog was not ambitious?

T: Well it’s a matter of perspective; one person’s hard work is another person’s easy day at the office. It all depends on what you are used to.

L: Are you still in touch with the Wardog members?

T: No, but I see them about now and then. We are just in music for two different reasons and the two really are not compatible, which is fine. I think we are all happy with the way things have worked out.

L: What new bands are you listening to at the moment?

T: I honestly have listened to very little popular music. I attended a concert of the Phoenix Symphony last year and was stunned at how incredible those musicians are, and frankly, I am hooked. It has been very difficult to listen to anything else since then. I watched an octet with all the first-chairs and they were playing things that were unbelievable, and doing it like they could do it in their sleep….perfectly clean, perfectly felt……just amazing.

L: Do you like symphonic metal?

T: No. But I admit I have heard little of it.

L: So back to Ballistic, are you in the process of writing for this new cd and if so can you tell me some of the song styles?

T: I am hoping to go into the studio early next year. The style is pretty much the same as the first cd but Petio and I have been planning to do a lot of writing together.

L: Petio is the guitarist, yes simply an amazing lead guitarist and I think if you put out an album like your last it will be a must-have.

T: Thanks. Again it is probably going to be very raw sounding so who knows. Petio did an incredible job on that cd given the circumstances. He was under a lot of pressure and came through great.

L: Rikard is the drummer and for Jag Panzer as well. I think the latest drumming on the Jag Panzer album is great, is this because of the speed of Ballistic and his drumming there building his speed?

T: I don’t know, maybe. Rikard tore it up in the studio, he is a fantastic drummer. He was when I met him.

L: And Tim O’Connor, I think upon first listening to the debut cd his bass playing is what stands out to me as being great and it is not often you hear bass players at this level in metal?

T: Yea Tim is one of the most fantastic people I have ever met, 100% committed to making great music. As long as he is playing you can count him in. He and I are really allot alike in many ways and it makes it real easy to write and record. His recording sessions for the cd were great. Everyone was blown away by his performance.

L: And I think live he sounded the same?

T: Yea, he had a great time in Germany. But how can you not have a good time in Germany?

L: And finally Tony Taylor from Twisted Tower Dire sang at this show and made many believers I think.

T: If I had to describe Tony it would be a brawler…he has a real tough stage persona and really takes over. I knew he would do a great job, I just knew it. Don’t ask me how I knew it, I just did. The guy sounds great with TTD, but his vocals are different from mine. At the show I couldn’t tell much difference.

L: Yes that is what I would say as well. I heard before that Harry Conklin was going to sing but did not go, but I think Tony may have been better for Ballistc? I mean he was all over the stage and hitting all the notes.

T: It all worked out didn’t it? I admit it was tough but we pulled it off. I just hope we have more years in us.

L: Ok Tom we all thank you for the interview and look forward to your new release.

T: Thanks for this opportunity and it has been my pleasure.

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©hour-of-speed 2006

Ballistic is now in final negotiations with a newly formed international record/management company based in Scottsdale Arizona. The newly formed outfit is comprised of business-banking-engineering professionals, athletes, and music industry insiders that have combined their resources to form this venture. It is our understanding that this company will focus primarily on the development of a very limited number of acts, and therefore we are very excited to be involved from the start of this project. More details coming soon.

Interview from www.alternative-zine.com and www.metalist.co.il

1. Hey Tom! First, the latest news posted in your site is about Tim O'connor going into surgery, how's he doing now?

1. Great as far as I know. The thing about Tim is that he is the best bass player I have ever played with and one of the best I have ever seen. He got that way by playing every day for hours a day, and it has taken it toll. He had to get both hands operated on to fix years of use. The guy is simply amazing though, and even better than his ability is his attitude, 100% into music, no crap. All he wants to do is play and he is as fed up as I am with people who get easily distracted from the main focus of being in a band.

2. What is the current status of the band, what are you currently doing?

2. I am currently a father for the first time. You hear the winning quarterback in the Super Bowl say: “this is the greatest thing that ever happened to me next to the birth of my child.” Up until now I thought they were saying it in order to appease their family watching at home, but in fact they are serious. There is nothing that can compare with the birth of your child, not even in the same league. It really is like watching a miracle happen, i.e. life from lifelessness.

3. Is there new material to be released following 2003's debut album?

3. Yea there is but it simply is not the priority now. Once Tim’s hand heals we’ll start up, but that probably wont be until well into Feb. 2006. We have all the gigs we could ever want, and with some national acts too. I’d give them all to play for our troops overseas though. The negative media coverage doesn’t give them a realistic assessment of just how much they are appreciated back here.

4. What do you do when not active with Ballistic?

4. Work…allot! I have a KILLER job. I have been lucky as hell for the past 6 years

or so.

5. Why did you step down as the vocalist for the band?

5. I started getting really bad headaches during the recording of the Ballistic CD. It was so bad that I got sick on several occasions, and it was at that point that I was just standing in the control room and shouted out “I’m done singing”…just like that. And with that I was done as a singer. (Minor stroke in Oct. 2004)

6. Now to the history lesson, you started out with Deuce, back in 1978, how did that start out, and how did come in contact with Marty Freidman who played with you?

6. I put an ad in the local paper that I was starting up a band, I think I was 15 at the time. Marty answered so I went to his parent’s house to jam with him. He really had a noticeable amount of talent even back then. We started practicing in a barn that my mom had constructed for us. I also was lucky enough to have the best drummer in the area in the band as well, Billy Giddings. We were the only band in the DC area that played high energy metal and borderline punk. We loved kicking the snott out of the lightweight bands of the day, (like today’s nu-metal). We were about 5 years ahead of our time and in the wrong spot to really do much though.

7. Why did you change Deuce's name to Tension?

7. We were out in Hollywood in 1985 recording our debut album when an employee of Capitol Records came down to their basement recording studio and told us that there was another Deuce, so we had to change it. Tension was the perfect name for what we were going through.

8. Tension is considered one of the forefathers of thrash, what influenced your music back then?

8. A lot of stuff really, but by far the NWOBHM (note: Deuce formed in the summer of ’78, a bit before the NWOBHM hit in the states). It remains today the only real modern music I listen to. Other than that I just listen to classical music. The other guys in Tension had various influences, Tim had Yes, and Billy had Rush and both of those guys were HEAVILY into jazz music. I never cared as much for jazz as I did for classical.

9. Why did the band eventually break up?

9. It got to a point where we had to leave Maryland and go play everywhere and anywhere, play every night no matter what it takes. Unfortunately the guys in the band did not want it bad enough to do that. We just weren’t meant to make it big, we all had too many other things going for us.

10 .I understand you went for an engineering degree after that, why did you choose to study that?

10. Well first off if I went back to college I wanted to do something difficult, not easy like Sociology or Journalism….and it was pretty hard. I think I started out with about 300 kids in my class, and by the time I graduated there were about 40. I enjoyed the hell out of it though, lots of math and tons of work, just what I like.

11. How did you create Wardog after that?

11. I actually joined that band, didn’t really start it. We were all in school and it was a good outlet for me. I was content to do the covers thing, but the more the guys got to know about my past the more they were interested in joining me to go for something interesting.

12. I heard that during 1998's Bang Your Head festival you had a guest appearance from Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson, what can you tell us about that?

12. I can’t really remember how that exactly came about, but I think we got a call from our record company that we would be doing a song with Bruce. They set it up. It went over real well too. Wardog was a killer live band, despite our cd’s. If we each practiced harder at our instruments I think we would have eventually gotten to be as good as Tension live, but that didn’t happen. In Tension, we used to fucking destroy headlining bands, like totally wear the audience out to the point they were laying outside covered in sweat in their cars when we were done. Wardog was not quite that commanding, but we were pretty good live.

13. Why did Wardog break up?

13. We broke up for the exact same reason that Tension did (see question 9). I wanted to play everywhere and anywhere just to get us to break out. In addition to that I thought Wardog had a most disturbing trend where making good music was not the primary goal. Also I think they wanted to narrow their music styles to a more commercial sound, which I wasn’t into. Now they are rid of me I think they should be on their third world tour by now. Oddly enough, after I left I was the most optimistic about their chances of anyone I knew, and I honestly thought they really had what it took to make it (take that anyway you choose). They had that sound that is so popular (I guess) on the radio. It’s one thing to sell your soul, but how much would it suck to find out it isn’t worth anything. In looking back I think it was basically that they wanted something I wasn’t really interested in, and visa-versa. At this point in my life I’d rather live well and release music on my schedule, than bop around the country in a 100-degree tour bus for months on end. But they want that rock star thing and I honestly hope they get it. Better them than me at this point.

14. How did you form Ballistic?

14. When I left Wardog I really wanted to get with a bunch of musicians that could not only play what I wanted to write cleanly, but also had the same focus as I did where the music came first. This naturally led me to Tim from the Tension days, and I was greatly relieved to hear he was still playing….and was even better than he was then…a scary thought. Also our producer John Herrera led us to Rikard, who played for the mighty Jag Panzer. Not only did I like the cd’s Jag Panzer had done, but I knew I was getting a seasoned musician. John Herrera has been a huge help for us and I doubt if there would be a Ballistic without John. Anyway, I went to Rikard’s place and he played about for about 60 seconds and I was blown away….a clear pro in every aspect. Petio was a local guitarist who had a name through other bands for being the best shredder in the area. Some friends led me to him and we got together and it worked amazingly great! For As John our producer put it: ”Dude, those guys are major players…..” I’d never seen him react to studio “takes” like that before. He used to draw stars on pieces of paper and put it on their chairs. Then I’d get in there and he’d start giving me the business….”why cant you be more like Tim…etc..” It was hysterical! For a while I (we) tried to get Tim into doing some bigger things, but he is really turned off by the music business, thereby isn’t into becoming a blowjob-hack.

15. Why did you originally recruit Harry Conklin as the vocalist, and why didn’t he stay with the band?

15. Harry was brought in after I stopped singing. We played one gig with him and from where I was it sounded great!!! The band was REALLY on and tight, and he was hitting killer notes and all, but admittedly I couldn’t hear everything he sang that clearly. Then I get this call from Tim and he says, “hey man you probably should hear the recording of the gig. So, upon further review, I made a mistake with Harry. Unlike Rikard who came in and dominated from the start, Harry just wasn’t keeping up with the pace, syncopation, and the emotion of the music. I was terrified but I couldn’t lead on; not something you want to do…stay positive. Then about a month later he said his mom fell ill and he claimed he could not fly to Balingen for the two days necessary, which put us in a bad, bad position since we had tickets for him…but we got real lucky with Tony stepping in. Later on he emailed me and said that the reason was he couldn’t get off work. Harry is the coolest, nicest guy when you meet him, but unfortunately he has major, major issues. At least God gave him a great (understatement) voice for certain types of metal…so it all equals out in the end I guess. On our flight to the gig he was telling me how he wanted to see Celine Dion in Vegas, and I could really see him doing that type of thing later in life, like a metal Celine Dion or something. Don’t laugh! That would be a killer $$$ gig,. Beats baking bagels at Safeway; ”Hey aren’t you that famous singer?....yea?....I’ll take a dozen croissants.”

Hmmm… I think copies of that live demo are floating around somewhere….let me see…

16. Why did you choose Tony Taylor to replace him as vocalist?

16. I was checking out a bunch of singers and I was listening to tons of cd’s over the phone from my friend Jim Powell in Maryland. He was playing cd’s at random and we went through a bunch, and one made me say “stop there…who is that?” He said it was Twisted Tower dire and they even lived in the Maryland area. He had the voice and most of all had the aggressive style we needed. Tony is an ex-college football player/wrestler/military ball of muscle, and he came through great. Put it this way, at BYH 2004 when I got off stage, some of the harshest music critics I know were saying “keep that guy” to me. I know he was all over the stage from one end to the other, fucking maniac!!

17. Your debut received great reviews, how would you describe the album's music?

17. As a purging and purifying of my soul. It was the record I have been waiting for my whole life to do, and (please excuse me Tension fans, and with much respect) the only record I have ever done that I liked. But that is just me. Some people don’t like it. I don’t like Danzig, but some people would give their life for that band. It’s just personal taste.

18. What has the band been doing since its release?

18. Really sealing other aspects of our lives. Music will always be there but we all have many other things we are doing.

19. What made you stick to your guns and continuing doing this kind of music for so many years?

19. It goes back to why I’m playing music. I don’t have to worry about money and work, so I have the advantage of never being held under anyone’s control when it comes to music. Therefore I can do what I want with no fear of anything. I know I get a lot of resentment from people who are at the mercy of other people, but that is too bad. There is always more than one way to get what you want out of life. You just have to be smart and think creatively. In my case it also helps that the old Wardog stuff has paid off recently, nice supplement there. I think I have to state at this point that I know I have been lucky as hell. How many people have done what I have done and still made it to where I am today?? At the same time, when I go to meetings with a bunch of high price colleagues I can honestly say that I have also done more than they have. Not only that, but I can keep doing what I do for as long as I want. This country is fucking great, its like living like a king but really only being an average person! Unbelievable!

Another reason of why I have stayed with the type of music I’ve been doing since the 70’s is that I have established a loyal cult following that I’m not into disappointing. But again I am fortunate enough to be able to make that decision. Some people cannot because they are stuck to HAVING to do something. I can’t imagine living like that.

Metal to me has always been horrifying and violent, and at the same time beautiful and trance-like. I can sit and listen to Reign In Blood and practically meditate to it, it is so relaxing and exquisite in its imagery. But if I listen to something like Nickelback nothing happens, its like staring at a sidewalk….absolutely nothing…. emotionless. I’d rather have a great job and play the music that sets my blood on fire than spend 100% of my time doing something mundane. Life is too short to put up with that crap.

20. What is your take on the current state of metal music?

20. I don’t know at all about the state of anything having to do with popular culture these days, nor do I care to learn.

21. Any last words, vows or messages?

21. Just thanks for the interview and a big hello to the fans that have been so damn loyal and great for all these years. I really cherish them and share their love for sincere metal. We’ll be back on track soon!!

7/25/05- Well it’s all in the timing I guess…We got the chance to play and entire month’s worth of shows (30 total) with a major Japanese metal band here in the U.S. in the fall, but if ever there was a bad time this is it. Both me (going to be a dad in late Sept.) and Tim (operation) are out of commission (and Tony is recording the new TTD album, which should be done soon). We are being handed opportunity after opportunity on a silver platter, but unfortunately there is little we can do about it right now. We greatly appreciate all the offers from everyone involved. We are hoping to be able to play early next year.

7/17/05- Tim O’Connor will go in for an operation on his hand in August:

The blinding speed, complex runs, and most importantly the flawless-clean execution of Tim’s bass parts are the foundation of the band’s music. He sets the absolute highest standards for himself, and that necessitates that he is in 100% top playing condition to be able to play his parts to his satisfaction. To that end, Tim will be going in for an operation in August on his right hand (he is recovering from a similar operation to his left hand) to repair damage that years of constant playing has done. This will relieve him of a great deal of physical pain. We all wish Tim a speedy recovery and a quick return to the stage.

6/27/05 We want to say a big thanks for the opportunities to play with Hammerfall, Testament, and Overkill here in Phoenix. I sure wish we could take the gigs as I am itching to play, but it just isn’t possible right now. For those of you I’ve talked to lately, sorry we can’t play these three shows, I know it’s been a while (yea it’d be a murder-fest at the Testament show, maybe it’s for the best? HA!). Hopefully something will come up that is workable very soon.

5/28/05- Hey It’s been quite a while! First I’m going to be a dad, finally! I had been working on it ever since Frankfurt last year and it finally took. Words can’t express how excited I am.

We are currently shopping new deals and have three back on paper, still deciding on a course for the next album. Basically it comes down to being a small band on a big label or the primary band on a small label. The old Wardog stuff has certainly helped out financially, and it is just a matter of making a choice at this point. If this were a different time the choice would be easy, go for the biggest deal. But things are different for all of us now and factors must be weighed.

I want to thank all those who helped us get these deal offers from both sides of the pond(s), without your help it couldn’t have happened!!

The support and reviews from BYH last year have been overwhelming, a big thanks from me for all the support! We’d just like you to remember that playing overseas isn’t easy (especially after 9-11) so you can’t just pick up and go. Please understand it does take allot of work. But it isn’t impossible. As some of you may know, Tension was scheduled to play a reunion show in Germany later this year, but we all had too much stuff going on to make that happen, very unfortunate. Ballistic also got an offer but wasn’t workable. Hang in there, we’ll get over again!

We’ll see ya soon!

12/03/04- I am going to be starting up a project for gigs in the Phoenix area. We are going to be doing some old punk (and cross-over stuff like ’76-78 era Dead Boys, Damned, Clash, Dictators, Motorhead) and possibly some original stuff that we could put out. We should be out playing locally by this spring. I’ve got some killer psychos who are into this, and this should be a drunken blast.

THE YEAR 2004, The positive: in retrospect was everything I had hoped for. Once again Europe did not fail to deliver the metal-fans they are so famous for, and the fantastic people that I have come to love so much. It is looking good that I’ll be at BYH 2005 for the ten year show. There has been some talk as well of a Tension reunion. This would be tough to work but not impossible, we’ll see.

It is also very gratifying for my back catalog to be seeing interest. They were tough years but this certainly helps.

The negative: A mini-stroke. Joe Gibbs.

Moore thoughts on 2004: