February 16, 2026 • 32 mins
Thrash metal legends Exodus have announced "Goliath," out March 20th. Guitar great Gary Holt talks the new album, first time seeing Guns N' Roses, status of Slayer, experience at Ozzy's final show, thoughts on the Super Bowl halftime show, and more!
More info:
https://exodusattack.com/site/
https://napalmrecords.us/collections/exodus
https://lnk.to/Exodus-Goliath
Our website:
www.afdpod.com
More info:
https://exodusattack.com/site/
https://napalmrecords.us/collections/exodus
https://lnk.to/Exodus-Goliath
Our website:
www.afdpod.com
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Wa mm hmm. Hello, Hey Gary? Good, how are you doing, sir?
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Doing good?
Speaker 1 (00:13):
Good? Cool? Thanks for taking the time, my pleasure. Not
recording just yet, so just making sure you hear me. Okay, yeah, yeah,
no problem, all right? Cool? And uh, heads up? Do
you want to say hi? As my son? Do you
want to say hi to Gary Holt? Come here? Yeah? Thanks?
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Hey, what's up buddy?
Speaker 1 (00:35):
You say hi Gary?
Speaker 2 (00:38):
How's it going?
Speaker 1 (00:40):
That's us? So I was just about to say I
record from home and my wife is around watches him,
but she's not feeling well today, so she's in the
other room, so he may join us. But he's been
playing Can daddy talk for a little bit? Peepeep? Sorry?
(01:00):
He was playing? And of course is so as soon
as I start, like, I appreciate, do you what when's
your next I figured like twenty minutes a half an
hour once we get going, because I'm sure you have
another one scheduled right after this, right, Okay, Hey, buddy,
do you want to sit with me while I record?
Or do you want to start playing with your your
slide and stuff? What do you want to do? Alright,
so sit here with me. I could always edit it.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
We're not gonna do.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Oh is this his first time? All right, let's get that.
He just wanted to get that out. He just wanted
to get that out, okay around all right. I showed
him the other day how you can see his voice,
and now he likes to do that. He goes, not
la la la, and he's because I have a second recording.
So all right, he got that. I was just gonna
(01:47):
casually warn you about my two year old, but he
decided to show you that he's here. All right, So yeah,
twenty minutes, half an hour, we can make it work.
And not like I'm that kind of person. Anything you
don't want to talk about. I'm not that I have
any the questions like that, just any questions. So I'm
not like that kind of interviewer, but anything you don't
want to talk about, just out of curiosity.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
And I'm an expert deflection anyway, So all right, good,
I'm not that kind of interviewer.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
But just doing a I don't know if you could
tell guns and Roses themed podcast. I don't know. It's
just been it's hard sometimes talking about this band me
record recording in progress. Welcome to the podcast Appetite for
(02:35):
Distortion My name is Brando, Episode number five hundred and
fifty to my name again is Brando? His name is
Gary Holt. Welcome to the podcast. How are you, Sarah?
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Awesome?
Speaker 1 (02:48):
You know a little behind the scenes, you know, I
was you already met him. My suit to be three
year old Harry Harrison Rex just popped in so hopefully. Uh,
he's not quite ready for prime time just yet, so
he may join us, he may not. Just want to
put it out there, have you?
Speaker 2 (03:05):
It's okay, so it's welcome.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
Have you ever had a toddler join an interview? Has
that ever happened?
Speaker 2 (03:11):
The first daughter? She'll jump up in the middle of anything.
You know, it's not shy.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
You know, Oh I love that, all right?
Speaker 2 (03:18):
First Player reunion shows. I dragged her and my grandson
out on stage at the end of it, and they
didn't hesitate. I say I dragged him out as not accurate.
And they were there and they're out there throwing up
the horns and they loved its awesome.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
How old were they at the time?
Speaker 2 (03:36):
Traill was seven, I think, and James's five.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
Okay, okay, he'll be three. I teach him it's rock
and roll. He puts up the metal horns. I don't
want to teach him this is it's the sign the
devil just yet. Well he's knowing what that means. So
h Anyway, before we get into why you're here in
the new Exodus record, something else that's kind of funny.
It's I don't know if you were or it's an
elephant in my room, in my head. So I hope
(04:04):
you're feeling better, because we were supposed to speak the
other day and you lost your voice.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Yeah, I just layngius. I didn't feel really that sick.
I couldn't talk. I mean, I'm only now getting it back,
and I still sound like I have a two pack
of day habit. I couldn't squeak out hardly a word.
It was fodle to even try. Well, I meds for
it and everything right now.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
Oh wow, Well, I'll try to take it easy on you.
I won't ask you to do any Sam Kinnison impressions
or anything like that. But a few years ago you
may remember the incident, but we had an interview meeting
you scheduled with scott Ian when you were on tour
with Anthrax and Exodus and all that, and you fell
(04:46):
on some black ice and you couldn't make the interview.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Oh, I hurt myself really bad.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
I know it's three years later or whatever it was.
How are you doing good?
Speaker 2 (04:56):
I mean, that was the most I've ever worst, I've
ever hurt myself. I've been hit by a car, a
lot of things, you know. But I was coming off
the bus at the Canadian border and I slipped on
the step of the bus and got about three feet
in the air, completely horizontal, and landed on my hip.
I thought I shattered broke my pelvis. Oh oh man,
(05:17):
it was that bad for like weeks. You like you'd
roll over wrong, incorrect, like turn in your sleep, and
the pain it wouldn't be like a sudden sharp pain
that just stops. It would be like two minutes of
it and then you had to get out of that
position and repeat it. So it was. It was rough.
But I went and got X rays and didn't break anything,
(05:39):
but I did some kind of internal deep damage. But yeah,
that was sucked. But I could stand up and walking
was okay. It was sleeping and sitting down, like the
drive to the clinic to get the X rays. Sitting
in that van that the runner drove me in was
the most excruciating thing I've ever known. And they told
me this away. I'm flying home because I'm in a
(06:02):
seat for like ten minutes and I can't take it. Terrible.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
Oh that's insane. Well I'm glad. I know again a
few years removed from that, but I could it's almost
like a two B continued from three years ago in
an interview. Oh it, Scotty, interesting, what happened? I mean,
do you have like PTSD from from that? Because it's
it's cold out, snow that still hasn't melted here in
New York City.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
It's tour in Canada and the cold. But like now
I'm holding onto that and we all getting on and
off the bus like my life depends on it. See.
The problem is I had proper boots, but I got
woken up to go through the border, so I just
slipped on my tennis.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
Yeares Oh okay, well you know, like.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Just flat bottoms and yeah, I didn't get far.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
Well, I'm glad you're doing okay again. And with large
it has fallen on black eyes, so you've had quite
a quite a life. But Exodus announcing their twelfth studio album, Goliath,
coming out March that they're getting set for a tour
and a massive single. Get to tell me how to
the correct pronunciation though of it? Of is it three
(07:07):
one one one one or is it three?
Speaker 2 (07:11):
Okay, you don't have to read it out. Listen to
Rob we go three one one one. A lot of
people go thirty one eleven whatever.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
I just wanted to make sure I got my math right. So, uh,
tell me about the process of making this album and
how long it took from start to finish? And how
do you feel, I mean, you've obviously accomplished musician and
this is just this is another awesome output. And how
do you feel when this happens? Is it always anxiety?
(07:42):
Is it nervous? Is the excitement at this point in
your career? How do you feel about a new record?
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Well, we write for an audience of five ourselves, you know,
any legitimate band, that's what you're supposed to do. You
write for yourself, and you hope other people like it too,
you know, But like, were we right to make ourselves happy?
We were in the studio for two months. But the
way Exodus Records is we like leave everything set up
(08:07):
for the whole time and we write through the whole process.
We went in with I think I had five done
and we recorded eighteen songs. You know, leave like contribute
a lot for this album, and it was the biggest
collaborative effort we ever had. But we write the whole
way through. You know why, we've learned, why limit yourself
(08:28):
to like going in with like a finished set of
songs and just recording them. We write some more of
our stuff in the last week.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
Oh okay, we.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
Just Tom go get back on the kit. You know,
we don't tear him down anymore. And uh, you know
a lot of our favorite bands in the seventies worked
like that. You know, Deep Purple went to Lake Geneva.
The last album we did, we went to Lake Almanor,
where Tom lives, you know. So and you know, bands
and a queen would go to some chateaus somewhere and
(08:58):
they'd walk in with nose songs work on an album.
And and we like working like that because you know,
we'll live together and in a rental house and we
right the whole time. You know, there's guitars everywhere, and
when we're done in the studio, we go in barbecue
and we hang out and we continue to play and
it just keeps the creativity going twenty four to seven.
(09:21):
You never stop, and why put the brakes on it.
Our goal was to finish this in the follow up
album all at once, and we came like two songs
shy for the next album, we have eight in the can.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
Oh wow, Well that's that's cool. So I mean, that's
cool how you phrased at the audience of five, which
at first I didn't understand what you meant, but now,
of course now I get it, so they say, and
I fall into this category. Your harshest critic is yourself.
So do you put pressure on yourself for that? Or
is it just because you've been there, you've done that,
(09:54):
you're with your you know, your friend, bandmates, you you're barbecuing.
Is there pressure that you put on yourself?
Speaker 2 (10:00):
I mean, in a way maybe, but were not. But
in a way also not really, because we're having so
much fun when we do this, that is no pressure.
We're just like we're still the same kids we started
out as and we're just jamming and like, see what happens.
You know, we don't prescribe to preset rules. We're going
(10:21):
to do whatever we want, for better or for worse.
You know, whatever we think is cool, and when everybody's
on the same wavelength and is equally focused, you know,
great things happen. And we knew this album was special,
like you know, I mean not like all my albums.
They're like children, right, But I never listened to them
past the mixing stage because I've heard it a thousand
(10:43):
times and I'm also bored. I want to do a
new one and it's not even out and I still listen.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
Oh wow, Okay, that's that's very cool that you don't
really rest on your laurels and you're just ready to
So there must be a new excitement when you do
get sick of these new songs, even at the mixing stage,
when you play them live, right, is it kind of
just fight?
Speaker 2 (11:04):
It's totally I'm ready to play him live, and as
far as the studio, I'm ready to like create again.
But we were on a creative tear on this record
that just why stop it? You know. We were like,
if we could finish the next album, we could like
take a little break in between albums, you know it's done,
get some artwork together, go on vacation, relax or getting older,
(11:27):
you know, put shorten the gap. In between the albums substantially,
and we almost got there and it's gonna make our
job a lot easier. We need two more by then,
Lee and I'll have ten more. But you know, there's
worse problems to have, you know, too much music, you.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
Know, Yeah, exactly. How is it working with Rob again?
Rob Dukes?
Speaker 2 (11:48):
Awesome? He came into this record and he completely blew
our minds. We knew he could do adro violent thrash
better than anybody. He came in and showed he as
a whole, a whole another bag of tricks, you know
that he had developed in because of the fact that
we create as we go. When we saw these new layers,
(12:10):
he was unappealing. It will change the way I write,
and you know way everybody writes, And so it opens
up all these doors that're just up to you to
like turn the handle and walk in. And we just
were super thrilled with what he did. It's like fucking amazing.
Speaker 1 (12:28):
How did you phrase it? The the agro thrash, violent
agro violent thrash.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
I like that that sleep We knew that.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
That in itself is a band name. But I guess
because I wanted to come up with a correct phrasing,
and I'll use that agro violent thrash as far as
because one of the best things about Exodus is that
even though they could have members come in and out,
Rob is back the sound. You know what you're getting,
and it's a consistency there. You know, that's loyal to
the fan base. How do you feel about that state
(12:58):
of that agro violent thrash in twenty twenty six? You know,
back it wasn't it's still obviously it's never gonna be
like mainstream. We were not meant for that. It's not
meant for that. But compared to when you first started,
you know, because in today's world, people were talking about,
especially with the halftime show that just happened, what's real music?
(13:18):
And it's just, I don't know, just be true to yourself.
So I'm just curious how you feel about the state
of your genre of music in today's world.
Speaker 2 (13:26):
I think the state of our genre of music is amazing.
Right now. Our audience is mostly kids, like predominantly kids,
and if there's someone even approaching my age in the
front road, they're usually surrounding their twelve year old who's
in front of them at the barricade, you know, like
Dad's playing security awesome, you know, like a good father should.
(13:47):
And it's amazing, you know, like, yeah, you mentioned the
super Bowl shuit have been Metallica. It's a whole nother
fucking ball out of it.
Speaker 1 (13:53):
Yeah, yeah, I know, I know that I missed opportunity there.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
I'm sorry, you know, And I do not hate bad Bunny.
I did no problem with a Spanish ladyured singer. But
find a singer, you know, because that was terrible. And
my biggest complaint on that halftime shows now is they
don't perform for the audience. They performed. Where's camera one camera.
It's a giant musical play, and it's not the great
(14:18):
performances like Prince the Greatest of all time. When a
great performer is connecting with an arena and you're watching
at home, you're connecting to he performed. It wasn't a skit,
and it's a fucking skit. They round the corner, there's
the next camera waiting. There's like you said, I saw
a point of view from the crowd. They couldn't see anything.
(14:38):
It was all going off behind a bunch of human
sugarcane plants. Like it like it was terrible and it
was off key and and but you know, but I
haven't done that. You know, people say, oh, you hate
it at you're racist, not like just give me Mark
Anthony Weeds.
Speaker 1 (14:56):
You know, Yeah, in the half times, there's.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
A million of them. You know, they're like true performers,
put a stage out there and perform on it.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
I hear what you're saying. Yeah, said it was.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
Fucking Metallica's turn. It was their hometown super Bowl. They're
the fucking biggest band in the world. Is bad Bunny
gonna headline stadiums in forty years?
Speaker 1 (15:22):
No, I I agree with you. I'm not one of
those people. I didn't I used to care about like
more rock acts. I used to be one of those,
but now just the way it's become, you know, versus
and politicized, I'm just like, I'm like, they're a bigger
fish to fry. But you're you're one hundred percent right
about this was the time to have Metallica. Yeah, for
years I was clamoring for gn R. But I don't
(15:44):
want to I'm sorry I say that again.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
I would have rolled out of stage at the center
at the fifty yard line and just rocked and it
would have been rad and uh you know, I love
the salute to hip hop was fucking great.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
Yeah, No, I agree with you, And I have no
issue with bed Buddy either. I think he's he was
funny and like happy Gilmore too.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
You know, it's like it has nothing to do with
but rock mean under represented. It's just it was Metallica's time.
So I'm bitter about it.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
Yeah, I don't think I care more No that that's
a separate thing, which I agree with you, is Metallic
is time and also a different artist. I said this,
it's not my my recatone is not my my thing,
but it's obviously a lot of people's think so. But
I'm not gonna switch hate on her or switch it.
But you're right, there could have been other people who
were singers and performers and just different. But whatever, you know,
(16:36):
it is what it is. We'll complain about the same
thing next year when it's some sort of pop act.
Then it should have been you know or something.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
You know, they're the soundtrack of every football game that's
ever played.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
Isn't that amazing? Uh? I noticed for the sacond.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
Every single game, you know, like it would have been awesome.
Speaker 1 (16:54):
You know they had during the the lineups, the announcing
of the lineups, underneath, you know, announcing for the Patriots,
they played Arrowsmith, of course, and underneath the when they're
announcing the Seahawks they played Alison Chains Seattle. So, like
you said, rock was throughout the show, it just wasn't
the halftime. It's just it's kind of funny how that
(17:14):
works out. Uh, but but I digress.
Speaker 3 (17:17):
I guess the I think next year they're gonna have
to go in a rock direction, otherwise you will not
be able to escape the accusations jay Z that you
just only care about John are similar to you all.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
M hm uh. They did for many years. I mean
Tom Petty rolling Stones, Chili Pepper's time ago, I know,
I mean.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
Even Lady Goggle was awesome.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
You know, I'm a fan.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
Uh you know, like I said, my beef is just
because it should have been metallic.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
Yeah, no, this was this was the year. But we'll
have we'll have some sort of fun rock pop argument
again every year that this happens.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
To make the guest funny. Sounded like shit. Yeah, sounded
like his nose was all stuffed up and like just
didn't sound good. If you liked the message, that's cool.
You know, it was totally made for the cameras. It
wasn't made for the people there, and he sounded terrible.
You know, I'm sorry it didn't sound good.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
The biggest thing I think that that gets lost is
what you said for the people there, that it's it
is kind of like a skit that you're watching at home.
And I was like, am I watching your performance? Or
am I watching some sort of mini documentary kind of
thing where it used to be just set up the
stage and watching them rock out? And it's crazy that
it takes a half an hour and half an hour
for the whole thing. So how does that the effect
(18:38):
that has some players? But I mean that's a that's
where a sports podcast conversation. It's but it's I appreciate
your your your insight.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
Uhlmar was pretty fucking cool. But I also thought that
was the real start of like where's camera one and
where's camera two? And the performance instead of connecting with
this fucking eighty thousand people that.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
Are there, it's about the viral moment.
Speaker 2 (18:59):
Now, yeah, yeah, I'm gonna go left, there's my camera
and that and it was cool. It wasn't to the
level of this one. But yeah, he was really like
focused on the feed for the television audience.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
That was definitely the biggest change. And I'm glad you
said that. I mean, that's something I hadn't articulated yet.
So yeah, that's I noticed that.
Speaker 2 (19:19):
Just no one's ever gonna top fucking print. And now
you know, in this day and age, I've seen that.
I think Rolling Stone said ranked bad Bunny is number
two over Michael Jackson, who fucking launched up out of
the stage and stood there for what like fucking seemed
like an attorney.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
That's not that's not real, Like that was God, that
was Godlike that's no, that's that's just like that's just
wanting to get clicks.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
Because I thought that who were ill fitted for the
halftime show? I didn't think it was that good.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
Yeah, you know, I thought it was Okay, Well, I've
I've changed my mind. This is the good place to
pivot because I know you're you're I appreciate I've loved
the fact that I got to talk to you a
little bit about the halftime show and express just like
as two of rock fans talking to fans talking but
the pivot is I used to really clamor fry. I
want guns and Roses of course to play the halftime show,
(20:13):
and now I do not want that because they're just
the hyper focus put on there. I know Axel would
get a viscerated, so I guess with that pivot obviously
appetite for distortion, I use the six degrees of gen R.
Bacon is what I like to call it. You can't
he hasn't been late, like a decade, but the game
because he's.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
Not quite ready yet, not by going on when they
fucking say you or you're gonna get fucking mass here?
Speaker 1 (20:39):
Could you imagine that?
Speaker 2 (20:40):
I have not seen guns Rows a long time, but
it seems like he's on time nowadays for all the shows.
Speaker 1 (20:45):
Yes, since their reunion, if anything, they've actually been early,
so that he's been a good boy the last decade.
Speaker 2 (20:50):
I saw them when they did like a one off
like super rad show at the Warfield Theater in San Francisco,
and that was many years ago and they went on
hours late.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
What else do you remember about that? Because those are
legendary shows.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
I think you went on around midnight and doors are
like at fucking eight o'clock.
Speaker 1 (21:11):
Wait, did you think?
Speaker 2 (21:13):
So?
Speaker 1 (21:13):
What did you think though? When they finally hit the stage.
Speaker 2 (21:15):
It was fucking awesome. Awesome, they were great, you know.
And I'm young and Warfield Theater my manager at the time,
Bill Graham Management owned the building, so you know, I
had a string of drink drink tickets about like four
feet long. So I was partying, having good times a lot.
I mean, that was a long time ago.
Speaker 1 (21:32):
I was in my twenties, you know, so I know
you're in your thirties now, right, that's cool. Have you
ever crossed paths with any of the dudes since then,
you know, being a fellow guitar players.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
The nicest guy I've ever met. He's just super nice.
I met him over the years a couple of times,
you know it with Slayer, and he's always like, been
really nice to me. And I'm still shocked at him.
But even knows who I am. Couldn't I have no idea.
My guitar tech TechEd for him when he did that
thing with Baron McCreery, okay, something he said, you know,
(22:08):
I told him I worked for as and Slash pay
me compliment like that's awesome. And when I saw him
back to the beginning. He was walking one way from
the stage and he stopped say hi, and and caught
my attention, you know, like I don't want to bother anybody.
And he's just awesome, and it's one of my favorite
guitar players. It's just his intonation's perfect. It's always perfectly
in key with his solos.
Speaker 1 (22:29):
Right, I mean, coming from you, I mean.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
Notes, it's easy to fucking miss that that that that
landing note. You know, he's just intonations everything, And I
try to take that from his playing because I'm the
king of over bending. You old man, just keep going,
bet it up more. You'll eventually find a note, you.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
Know, since you brought it up, you're I mean, it's
probably hard to made him time. Yeah, that's what I hear.
That's what I hear, and it's it's really cool to
keep hearing that, especially from you know, such accomplished players
like yourself, you know, talking about them that way, and
(23:10):
it's cool. It's one thing from a fan like me
who's not a musician, who doesn't really know anything, but
to hear it from you know, a peer is always
cool for I think the other fans like me, just
to hear that, it's not just us. It's not just
you know, some sort of looking through guns and rose
colored glasses sort of thing that we get to hear
from people like people like you. Uh, since you, I know,
gus a couple of minutes, you brought it up back
(23:32):
to the beginning. It's probably hard to sum up the
feelings and the experience there in a few minutes, But
are are you able to just to maybe what Ozzie meant?
Speaker 2 (23:41):
It was remarkable just you know, being a part of
that and paying homage to like a man and a
band that meant so much to me, you know, And
you know, I still pinched myself over. It's like the
greatest musical moment in my life. And I was honored,
and you know, I had no idea we're going to
lose them things? What was it seventeen days later? And
(24:02):
you know, you go down to the stage and all
these legends are all check their egos at the door
and they're just watching each other, you know, like, and
I'd have to remind myself that I do have to play,
so go sit down from sometimes, you know, and warm up,
because I wanted to crush it, you know. Yeah, I
also wanted to watch every band play, you know, like
and people I'd never met. Like I was watching Tool
(24:23):
and Adam Jones came over to the side stage and
fistbam man. I fucking love Adam Jones. I've never met
him and I didn't meet him that day, but he
saw me over there came over to acknowledge me for
like watching him, and like that means a lot, you know,
because I still consider myself just this fucking workingman thrasher
and he doesn't belong in that crowd.
Speaker 1 (24:43):
Oh that's I mean, the humility coming from you is
also very cool to hear that.
Speaker 2 (24:49):
You know, I will never consider myself in that group
of people. You know. It's like, I don't know. People
tell me I'm crazy, but I'm.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
Just that makes you who you are more than even
as much much as you're playing. And I'm not trying
to blow smoke or anything. It's just it's very cool
to this just to feel that again as a fan.
As I said before, you know, they hear the stuff
about Slash and then just to interact with you, and
it's you know, checking egos and it's just people who
write pieces of music that live on forever and they don't.
(25:19):
It's almost like, yeah, I did that, no big deal,
and it's just it's very cool. It makes you accessible,
it makes your music more accessible. I think. So that's
part part of exoduses in your success throughout the years.
Is that I'll just wrap up. I want to get
a question, because I do have questions from listeners who
are excited to hear from you. This is from Cast Sunshine,
(25:41):
of course, the New Exodus incoming. You can watch the
new album for three one one one one, I said,
added an extra one, there didn't I three one one
three three and three ones. You should call it that.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
Three three three basically you can.
Speaker 1 (25:57):
Call it Yeah, so new Exus incoming. But I'm I'm
sure this is a no but new Slayer. But I mean,
is there anything in the Slayer front that you're able
to talk about or is that just you know, kind
of semi retire.
Speaker 2 (26:09):
Came back for some shows and we were really good.
We worked really hard to get there. You know, we
hadn't played in years, and we had fun and everybody
was just the vibe was great, and I think it
under those circumstances, I think that was the most important thing,
is is everybody going to have a great time? And
do this, and I think, you know, it's a take
(26:30):
it by year thing. Whether we do a couple of
shows at one show, two, three a year, who knows.
But it's cool because a whole generation that never got
to see it get the chance to see it. And
as long as we're having fun, maybe we will continue.
I don't know. It's a play it by ear thing
right now, but there won't be any tours, no new records.
Speaker 1 (26:50):
Okay. I like the way it's from.
Speaker 2 (26:53):
Carry and Tom I'm Paul, I mean sorry, and I've
got mine and it gives me most of my time
free to work on Exodus Baby number one, and then
I get to go out and celebrate the legacy of
Slayer and Jeff Hannerman with Family number two.
Speaker 1 (27:09):
You know, what a cool what a cool life you
got man, Gary, And I like how you phrased it
in Instagram semi retired from Slayer and one last thing
because on your Instagram as well, I got a say
can influencer.
Speaker 2 (27:23):
I mean, I threw away most of my career at
one point, you now, through drug addiction and bad decisions.
Speaker 1 (27:31):
Yeah now though you're here now, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:33):
Survived it and well preserved in a lot of chemicals,
you know, like a big mac. I don't get moldy.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
Well. I was going to wrap up by saying, you
just on your posting on your Instagram, congratulations you just
celebrated seventeen hundred days soldier.
Speaker 2 (27:47):
Yeah, it'd be awesome, no regrets. It's not like I
don't know what most liquors taste like. The funny thing is, though,
that's actually not true. I'm super particular drinker and there's
a million alcohols, but you never had that, oh never?
You never drive bill those No what's in it? I
see you know, someone will mention a drink on a
(28:07):
TV show and I ask my wife, like, what's in that?
I don't know. I was very particular, mostly beer, lots
of vodka, some tequila. Later in Live Jaeger and I
think I've had two glasses of Scotch in my life.
Never liked whiskey. Okay, it tasted some want a sip,
and I was surprised and shocked how sweet it was,
(28:31):
Like candy. I never drank that shit. I've never I've
had one shot of Crown Royal in my life.
Speaker 1 (28:36):
I'll I'll say this as my son is calling me
over because he would not be possible if I kept drinking.
I'm more of am I'm ten years without a drink.
I say, I'm not thank you. I say I'm not
sober because I still smoke weed, which is legal. I
got my legal license, and my life's.
Speaker 2 (28:52):
Been sold sober for years and years that she still
makes her own adibles.
Speaker 1 (28:58):
Different life. Because I you said that you're particular drinker.
I kind of was too. But when I was living
with my grandparents taking care of my grandfather, he had
a bar downstairs and he wasn't a drinker, just had
to get gifts because he was a pharmast of fifty years.
I cleaned it out. I cleaned it. It didn't matter
what it was, whether it was like sambuca, whether it
(29:18):
was like a liquor, whether it was a whiskey. It
was just whatever it was to like knock me out.
That's what I was doing. Like it was bad. He was,
And I hated drinking. I didn't even like doing it.
So no way, if I kept up that lifestyle, would
I be talking to Gary Holt? Would I have my
near three year old son here? So I mean, it's
(29:38):
a chance to say congrats to you because I know
there are a lot of rockers. We lose to this.
So we're glad that you're here. When you we're glad
to exodus this show here.
Speaker 2 (29:46):
It makes really great non alcohol beers. Now I drink
water too. I don't drink ten of them.
Speaker 1 (29:52):
Yeah, fair enough.
Speaker 2 (29:53):
I come home from tour with like cases, you know,
because they get them every day every show, and I
don't drink them all. And I come home and stash
them away. And our last tour was April of last year,
and I still have like a like almost a case
of non alcohol beer from from almost a year ago.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
My grandma used to love o'dules.
Speaker 2 (30:12):
She is pretty good. Now Heineken is the worst I
don't like. And the new one, acohol one doesn't even
taste like like shitty. Heinegan just tastes like shitty something.
Speaker 1 (30:25):
Well, you look great, if anything, I don't know if
the reference would be lost on you. You look like aj
Styles who just retired from WWE the wrestler. So you
look like you're in good shape and everything.
Speaker 2 (30:35):
Yeah, I try to. I'm gonna lose a few pounds,
but it's because inactivities sit at home because I have
tons of joint problems. You shoulders and knees. And every
time I'm like, all right, I'm about to go back
to the trainer, I'm gonna start playing basketball again, then
something else happens. But they're all joint based. I'm in
great shape, except for I'm like a car with a
rebuilt engine, but really fucked up shocks and strucks. You know.
Speaker 1 (30:58):
Well, we're all as in forty two were.
Speaker 2 (31:00):
Get Achilles tendon itis from time to time.
Speaker 1 (31:03):
I'm trying to build you up. Gary, don't keep telling
me all the things that wrong.
Speaker 2 (31:07):
Fingers, and now I'm getting injections in my shoulders. So yeah,
kind of a mess.
Speaker 1 (31:13):
All right, well, Frankenstein.
Speaker 2 (31:15):
But I haven't eaten a frozen meal in years. You know,
I don't eat fast food like on tour. I'll eat
it like once, you know, cook our meals here in
this house.
Speaker 1 (31:25):
Oh, I used to live off fast food. Now it
actually violently hurts my stomach. But that's a story for Yeah,
it shouldn't be food anymore. It shouldn't be classified food.
It's not food. But this is rock and roll, this
is Gary Halt Exodus. Thank you so much for coming
on today. I'm so glad it happened. That you didn't
fall in black. I see and lose your voice. We
(31:46):
third times a charm. We made it happen. Thanks for
your time, and I hope we get to do this again.
Speaker 2 (31:52):
Sure got it, Thank you, you got it.
Speaker 1 (31:53):
So that does it? Put this episode of appetite for distortion?
When will you see the next one? The words of
Axo Rose concerning Chinese democracy, I don't know as soon
as the word, but you'll see it. Recording stopped
Wa mm hmm. Hello, Hey Gary? Good, how are you doing, sir?
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Doing good?
Speaker 1 (00:13):
Good? Cool? Thanks for taking the time, my pleasure. Not
recording just yet, so just making sure you hear me. Okay, yeah, yeah,
no problem, all right? Cool? And uh, heads up? Do
you want to say hi? As my son? Do you
want to say hi to Gary Holt? Come here? Yeah? Thanks?
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Hey, what's up buddy?
Speaker 1 (00:35):
You say hi Gary?
Speaker 2 (00:38):
How's it going?
Speaker 1 (00:40):
That's us? So I was just about to say I
record from home and my wife is around watches him,
but she's not feeling well today, so she's in the
other room, so he may join us. But he's been
playing Can daddy talk for a little bit? Peepeep? Sorry?
(01:00):
He was playing? And of course is so as soon
as I start, like, I appreciate, do you what when's
your next I figured like twenty minutes a half an
hour once we get going, because I'm sure you have
another one scheduled right after this, right, Okay, Hey, buddy,
do you want to sit with me while I record?
Or do you want to start playing with your your
slide and stuff? What do you want to do? Alright,
so sit here with me. I could always edit it.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
We're not gonna do.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Oh is this his first time? All right, let's get that.
He just wanted to get that out. He just wanted
to get that out, okay around all right. I showed
him the other day how you can see his voice,
and now he likes to do that. He goes, not
la la la, and he's because I have a second recording.
So all right, he got that. I was just gonna
(01:47):
casually warn you about my two year old, but he
decided to show you that he's here. All right, So yeah,
twenty minutes, half an hour, we can make it work.
And not like I'm that kind of person. Anything you
don't want to talk about. I'm not that I have
any the questions like that, just any questions. So I'm
not like that kind of interviewer, but anything you don't
want to talk about, just out of curiosity.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
And I'm an expert deflection anyway, So all right, good,
I'm not that kind of interviewer.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
But just doing a I don't know if you could
tell guns and Roses themed podcast. I don't know. It's
just been it's hard sometimes talking about this band me
record recording in progress. Welcome to the podcast Appetite for
(02:35):
Distortion My name is Brando, Episode number five hundred and
fifty to my name again is Brando? His name is
Gary Holt. Welcome to the podcast. How are you, Sarah?
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Awesome?
Speaker 1 (02:48):
You know a little behind the scenes, you know, I
was you already met him. My suit to be three
year old Harry Harrison Rex just popped in so hopefully. Uh,
he's not quite ready for prime time just yet, so
he may join us, he may not. Just want to
put it out there, have you?
Speaker 2 (03:05):
It's okay, so it's welcome.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
Have you ever had a toddler join an interview? Has
that ever happened?
Speaker 2 (03:11):
The first daughter? She'll jump up in the middle of anything.
You know, it's not shy.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
You know, Oh I love that, all right?
Speaker 2 (03:18):
First Player reunion shows. I dragged her and my grandson
out on stage at the end of it, and they
didn't hesitate. I say I dragged him out as not accurate.
And they were there and they're out there throwing up
the horns and they loved its awesome.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
How old were they at the time?
Speaker 2 (03:36):
Traill was seven, I think, and James's five.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
Okay, okay, he'll be three. I teach him it's rock
and roll. He puts up the metal horns. I don't
want to teach him this is it's the sign the
devil just yet. Well he's knowing what that means. So
h Anyway, before we get into why you're here in
the new Exodus record, something else that's kind of funny.
It's I don't know if you were or it's an
elephant in my room, in my head. So I hope
(04:04):
you're feeling better, because we were supposed to speak the
other day and you lost your voice.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Yeah, I just layngius. I didn't feel really that sick.
I couldn't talk. I mean, I'm only now getting it back,
and I still sound like I have a two pack
of day habit. I couldn't squeak out hardly a word.
It was fodle to even try. Well, I meds for
it and everything right now.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
Oh wow, Well, I'll try to take it easy on you.
I won't ask you to do any Sam Kinnison impressions
or anything like that. But a few years ago you
may remember the incident, but we had an interview meeting
you scheduled with scott Ian when you were on tour
with Anthrax and Exodus and all that, and you fell
(04:46):
on some black ice and you couldn't make the interview.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Oh, I hurt myself really bad.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
I know it's three years later or whatever it was.
How are you doing good?
Speaker 2 (04:56):
I mean, that was the most I've ever worst, I've
ever hurt myself. I've been hit by a car, a
lot of things, you know. But I was coming off
the bus at the Canadian border and I slipped on
the step of the bus and got about three feet
in the air, completely horizontal, and landed on my hip.
I thought I shattered broke my pelvis. Oh oh man,
(05:17):
it was that bad for like weeks. You like you'd
roll over wrong, incorrect, like turn in your sleep, and
the pain it wouldn't be like a sudden sharp pain
that just stops. It would be like two minutes of
it and then you had to get out of that
position and repeat it. So it was. It was rough.
But I went and got X rays and didn't break anything,
(05:39):
but I did some kind of internal deep damage. But yeah,
that was sucked. But I could stand up and walking
was okay. It was sleeping and sitting down, like the
drive to the clinic to get the X rays. Sitting
in that van that the runner drove me in was
the most excruciating thing I've ever known. And they told
me this away. I'm flying home because I'm in a
(06:02):
seat for like ten minutes and I can't take it. Terrible.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
Oh that's insane. Well I'm glad. I know again a
few years removed from that, but I could it's almost
like a two B continued from three years ago in
an interview. Oh it, Scotty, interesting, what happened? I mean,
do you have like PTSD from from that? Because it's
it's cold out, snow that still hasn't melted here in
New York City.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
It's tour in Canada and the cold. But like now
I'm holding onto that and we all getting on and
off the bus like my life depends on it. See.
The problem is I had proper boots, but I got
woken up to go through the border, so I just
slipped on my tennis.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
Yeares Oh okay, well you know, like.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Just flat bottoms and yeah, I didn't get far.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
Well, I'm glad you're doing okay again. And with large
it has fallen on black eyes, so you've had quite
a quite a life. But Exodus announcing their twelfth studio album, Goliath,
coming out March that they're getting set for a tour
and a massive single. Get to tell me how to
the correct pronunciation though of it? Of is it three
(07:07):
one one one one or is it three?
Speaker 2 (07:11):
Okay, you don't have to read it out. Listen to
Rob we go three one one one. A lot of
people go thirty one eleven whatever.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
I just wanted to make sure I got my math right. So, uh,
tell me about the process of making this album and
how long it took from start to finish? And how
do you feel, I mean, you've obviously accomplished musician and
this is just this is another awesome output. And how
do you feel when this happens? Is it always anxiety?
(07:42):
Is it nervous? Is the excitement at this point in
your career? How do you feel about a new record?
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Well, we write for an audience of five ourselves, you know,
any legitimate band, that's what you're supposed to do. You
write for yourself, and you hope other people like it too,
you know, But like, were we right to make ourselves happy?
We were in the studio for two months. But the
way Exodus Records is we like leave everything set up
(08:07):
for the whole time and we write through the whole process.
We went in with I think I had five done
and we recorded eighteen songs. You know, leave like contribute
a lot for this album, and it was the biggest
collaborative effort we ever had. But we write the whole
way through. You know why, we've learned, why limit yourself
(08:28):
to like going in with like a finished set of
songs and just recording them. We write some more of
our stuff in the last week.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
Oh okay, we.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
Just Tom go get back on the kit. You know,
we don't tear him down anymore. And uh, you know
a lot of our favorite bands in the seventies worked
like that. You know, Deep Purple went to Lake Geneva.
The last album we did, we went to Lake Almanor,
where Tom lives, you know. So and you know, bands
and a queen would go to some chateaus somewhere and
(08:58):
they'd walk in with nose songs work on an album.
And and we like working like that because you know,
we'll live together and in a rental house and we
right the whole time. You know, there's guitars everywhere, and
when we're done in the studio, we go in barbecue
and we hang out and we continue to play and
it just keeps the creativity going twenty four to seven.
(09:21):
You never stop, and why put the brakes on it.
Our goal was to finish this in the follow up
album all at once, and we came like two songs
shy for the next album, we have eight in the can.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
Oh wow, Well that's that's cool. So I mean, that's
cool how you phrased at the audience of five, which
at first I didn't understand what you meant, but now,
of course now I get it, so they say, and
I fall into this category. Your harshest critic is yourself.
So do you put pressure on yourself for that? Or
is it just because you've been there, you've done that,
(09:54):
you're with your you know, your friend, bandmates, you you're barbecuing.
Is there pressure that you put on yourself?
Speaker 2 (10:00):
I mean, in a way maybe, but were not. But
in a way also not really, because we're having so
much fun when we do this, that is no pressure.
We're just like we're still the same kids we started
out as and we're just jamming and like, see what happens.
You know, we don't prescribe to preset rules. We're going
(10:21):
to do whatever we want, for better or for worse.
You know, whatever we think is cool, and when everybody's
on the same wavelength and is equally focused, you know,
great things happen. And we knew this album was special,
like you know, I mean not like all my albums.
They're like children, right, But I never listened to them
past the mixing stage because I've heard it a thousand
(10:43):
times and I'm also bored. I want to do a
new one and it's not even out and I still listen.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
Oh wow, Okay, that's that's very cool that you don't
really rest on your laurels and you're just ready to
So there must be a new excitement when you do
get sick of these new songs, even at the mixing stage,
when you play them live, right, is it kind of
just fight?
Speaker 2 (11:04):
It's totally I'm ready to play him live, and as
far as the studio, I'm ready to like create again.
But we were on a creative tear on this record
that just why stop it? You know. We were like,
if we could finish the next album, we could like
take a little break in between albums, you know it's done,
get some artwork together, go on vacation, relax or getting older,
(11:27):
you know, put shorten the gap. In between the albums substantially,
and we almost got there and it's gonna make our
job a lot easier. We need two more by then,
Lee and I'll have ten more. But you know, there's
worse problems to have, you know, too much music, you.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
Know, Yeah, exactly. How is it working with Rob again?
Rob Dukes?
Speaker 2 (11:48):
Awesome? He came into this record and he completely blew
our minds. We knew he could do adro violent thrash
better than anybody. He came in and showed he as
a whole, a whole another bag of tricks, you know
that he had developed in because of the fact that
we create as we go. When we saw these new layers,
(12:10):
he was unappealing. It will change the way I write,
and you know way everybody writes, And so it opens
up all these doors that're just up to you to
like turn the handle and walk in. And we just
were super thrilled with what he did. It's like fucking amazing.
Speaker 1 (12:28):
How did you phrase it? The the agro thrash, violent
agro violent thrash.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
I like that that sleep We knew that.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
That in itself is a band name. But I guess
because I wanted to come up with a correct phrasing,
and I'll use that agro violent thrash as far as
because one of the best things about Exodus is that
even though they could have members come in and out,
Rob is back the sound. You know what you're getting,
and it's a consistency there. You know, that's loyal to
the fan base. How do you feel about that state
(12:58):
of that agro violent thrash in twenty twenty six? You know,
back it wasn't it's still obviously it's never gonna be
like mainstream. We were not meant for that. It's not
meant for that. But compared to when you first started,
you know, because in today's world, people were talking about,
especially with the halftime show that just happened, what's real music?
(13:18):
And it's just, I don't know, just be true to yourself.
So I'm just curious how you feel about the state
of your genre of music in today's world.
Speaker 2 (13:26):
I think the state of our genre of music is amazing.
Right now. Our audience is mostly kids, like predominantly kids,
and if there's someone even approaching my age in the
front road, they're usually surrounding their twelve year old who's
in front of them at the barricade, you know, like
Dad's playing security awesome, you know, like a good father should.
(13:47):
And it's amazing, you know, like, yeah, you mentioned the
super Bowl shuit have been Metallica. It's a whole nother
fucking ball out of it.
Speaker 1 (13:53):
Yeah, yeah, I know, I know that I missed opportunity there.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
I'm sorry, you know, And I do not hate bad Bunny.
I did no problem with a Spanish ladyured singer. But
find a singer, you know, because that was terrible. And
my biggest complaint on that halftime shows now is they
don't perform for the audience. They performed. Where's camera one camera.
It's a giant musical play, and it's not the great
(14:18):
performances like Prince the Greatest of all time. When a
great performer is connecting with an arena and you're watching
at home, you're connecting to he performed. It wasn't a skit,
and it's a fucking skit. They round the corner, there's
the next camera waiting. There's like you said, I saw
a point of view from the crowd. They couldn't see anything.
(14:38):
It was all going off behind a bunch of human
sugarcane plants. Like it like it was terrible and it
was off key and and but you know, but I
haven't done that. You know, people say, oh, you hate
it at you're racist, not like just give me Mark
Anthony Weeds.
Speaker 1 (14:56):
You know, Yeah, in the half times, there's.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
A million of them. You know, they're like true performers,
put a stage out there and perform on it.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
I hear what you're saying. Yeah, said it was.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
Fucking Metallica's turn. It was their hometown super Bowl. They're
the fucking biggest band in the world. Is bad Bunny
gonna headline stadiums in forty years?
Speaker 1 (15:22):
No, I I agree with you. I'm not one of
those people. I didn't I used to care about like
more rock acts. I used to be one of those,
but now just the way it's become, you know, versus
and politicized, I'm just like, I'm like, they're a bigger
fish to fry. But you're you're one hundred percent right
about this was the time to have Metallica. Yeah, for
years I was clamoring for gn R. But I don't
(15:44):
want to I'm sorry I say that again.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
I would have rolled out of stage at the center
at the fifty yard line and just rocked and it
would have been rad and uh you know, I love
the salute to hip hop was fucking great.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
Yeah, No, I agree with you, And I have no
issue with bed Buddy either. I think he's he was
funny and like happy Gilmore too.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
You know, it's like it has nothing to do with
but rock mean under represented. It's just it was Metallica's time.
So I'm bitter about it.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
Yeah, I don't think I care more No that that's
a separate thing, which I agree with you, is Metallic
is time and also a different artist. I said this,
it's not my my recatone is not my my thing,
but it's obviously a lot of people's think so. But
I'm not gonna switch hate on her or switch it.
But you're right, there could have been other people who
were singers and performers and just different. But whatever, you know,
(16:36):
it is what it is. We'll complain about the same
thing next year when it's some sort of pop act.
Then it should have been you know or something.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
You know, they're the soundtrack of every football game that's
ever played.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
Isn't that amazing? Uh? I noticed for the sacond.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
Every single game, you know, like it would have been awesome.
Speaker 1 (16:54):
You know they had during the the lineups, the announcing
of the lineups, underneath, you know, announcing for the Patriots,
they played Arrowsmith, of course, and underneath the when they're
announcing the Seahawks they played Alison Chains Seattle. So, like
you said, rock was throughout the show, it just wasn't
the halftime. It's just it's kind of funny how that
(17:14):
works out. Uh, but but I digress.
Speaker 3 (17:17):
I guess the I think next year they're gonna have
to go in a rock direction, otherwise you will not
be able to escape the accusations jay Z that you
just only care about John are similar to you all.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
M hm uh. They did for many years. I mean
Tom Petty rolling Stones, Chili Pepper's time ago, I know,
I mean.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
Even Lady Goggle was awesome.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
You know, I'm a fan.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
Uh you know, like I said, my beef is just
because it should have been metallic.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
Yeah, no, this was this was the year. But we'll
have we'll have some sort of fun rock pop argument
again every year that this happens.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
To make the guest funny. Sounded like shit. Yeah, sounded
like his nose was all stuffed up and like just
didn't sound good. If you liked the message, that's cool.
You know, it was totally made for the cameras. It
wasn't made for the people there, and he sounded terrible.
You know, I'm sorry it didn't sound good.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
The biggest thing I think that that gets lost is
what you said for the people there, that it's it
is kind of like a skit that you're watching at home.
And I was like, am I watching your performance? Or
am I watching some sort of mini documentary kind of
thing where it used to be just set up the
stage and watching them rock out? And it's crazy that
it takes a half an hour and half an hour
for the whole thing. So how does that the effect
(18:38):
that has some players? But I mean that's a that's
where a sports podcast conversation. It's but it's I appreciate
your your your insight.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
Uhlmar was pretty fucking cool. But I also thought that
was the real start of like where's camera one and
where's camera two? And the performance instead of connecting with
this fucking eighty thousand people that.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
Are there, it's about the viral moment.
Speaker 2 (18:59):
Now, yeah, yeah, I'm gonna go left, there's my camera
and that and it was cool. It wasn't to the
level of this one. But yeah, he was really like
focused on the feed for the television audience.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
That was definitely the biggest change. And I'm glad you
said that. I mean, that's something I hadn't articulated yet.
So yeah, that's I noticed that.
Speaker 2 (19:19):
Just no one's ever gonna top fucking print. And now
you know, in this day and age, I've seen that.
I think Rolling Stone said ranked bad Bunny is number
two over Michael Jackson, who fucking launched up out of
the stage and stood there for what like fucking seemed
like an attorney.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
That's not that's not real, Like that was God, that
was Godlike that's no, that's that's just like that's just
wanting to get clicks.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
Because I thought that who were ill fitted for the
halftime show? I didn't think it was that good.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
Yeah, you know, I thought it was Okay, Well, I've
I've changed my mind. This is the good place to
pivot because I know you're you're I appreciate I've loved
the fact that I got to talk to you a
little bit about the halftime show and express just like
as two of rock fans talking to fans talking but
the pivot is I used to really clamor fry. I
want guns and Roses of course to play the halftime show,
(20:13):
and now I do not want that because they're just
the hyper focus put on there. I know Axel would
get a viscerated, so I guess with that pivot obviously
appetite for distortion, I use the six degrees of gen R.
Bacon is what I like to call it. You can't
he hasn't been late, like a decade, but the game
because he's.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
Not quite ready yet, not by going on when they
fucking say you or you're gonna get fucking mass here?
Speaker 1 (20:39):
Could you imagine that?
Speaker 2 (20:40):
I have not seen guns Rows a long time, but
it seems like he's on time nowadays for all the shows.
Speaker 1 (20:45):
Yes, since their reunion, if anything, they've actually been early,
so that he's been a good boy the last decade.
Speaker 2 (20:50):
I saw them when they did like a one off
like super rad show at the Warfield Theater in San Francisco,
and that was many years ago and they went on
hours late.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
What else do you remember about that? Because those are
legendary shows.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
I think you went on around midnight and doors are
like at fucking eight o'clock.
Speaker 1 (21:11):
Wait, did you think?
Speaker 2 (21:13):
So?
Speaker 1 (21:13):
What did you think though? When they finally hit the stage.
Speaker 2 (21:15):
It was fucking awesome. Awesome, they were great, you know.
And I'm young and Warfield Theater my manager at the time,
Bill Graham Management owned the building, so you know, I
had a string of drink drink tickets about like four
feet long. So I was partying, having good times a lot.
I mean, that was a long time ago.
Speaker 1 (21:32):
I was in my twenties, you know, so I know
you're in your thirties now, right, that's cool. Have you
ever crossed paths with any of the dudes since then,
you know, being a fellow guitar players.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
The nicest guy I've ever met. He's just super nice.
I met him over the years a couple of times,
you know it with Slayer, and he's always like, been
really nice to me. And I'm still shocked at him.
But even knows who I am. Couldn't I have no idea.
My guitar tech TechEd for him when he did that
thing with Baron McCreery, okay, something he said, you know,
(22:08):
I told him I worked for as and Slash pay
me compliment like that's awesome. And when I saw him
back to the beginning. He was walking one way from
the stage and he stopped say hi, and and caught
my attention, you know, like I don't want to bother anybody.
And he's just awesome, and it's one of my favorite
guitar players. It's just his intonation's perfect. It's always perfectly
in key with his solos.
Speaker 1 (22:29):
Right, I mean, coming from you, I mean.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
Notes, it's easy to fucking miss that that that that
landing note. You know, he's just intonations everything, And I
try to take that from his playing because I'm the
king of over bending. You old man, just keep going,
bet it up more. You'll eventually find a note, you.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
Know, since you brought it up, you're I mean, it's
probably hard to made him time. Yeah, that's what I hear.
That's what I hear, and it's it's really cool to
keep hearing that, especially from you know, such accomplished players
like yourself, you know, talking about them that way, and
(23:10):
it's cool. It's one thing from a fan like me
who's not a musician, who doesn't really know anything, but
to hear it from you know, a peer is always
cool for I think the other fans like me, just
to hear that, it's not just us. It's not just
you know, some sort of looking through guns and rose
colored glasses sort of thing that we get to hear
from people like people like you. Uh, since you, I know,
gus a couple of minutes, you brought it up back
(23:32):
to the beginning. It's probably hard to sum up the
feelings and the experience there in a few minutes, But
are are you able to just to maybe what Ozzie meant?
Speaker 2 (23:41):
It was remarkable just you know, being a part of
that and paying homage to like a man and a
band that meant so much to me, you know, And
you know, I still pinched myself over. It's like the
greatest musical moment in my life. And I was honored,
and you know, I had no idea we're going to
lose them things? What was it seventeen days later? And
(24:02):
you know, you go down to the stage and all
these legends are all check their egos at the door
and they're just watching each other, you know, like, and
I'd have to remind myself that I do have to play,
so go sit down from sometimes, you know, and warm up,
because I wanted to crush it, you know. Yeah, I
also wanted to watch every band play, you know, like
and people I'd never met. Like I was watching Tool
(24:23):
and Adam Jones came over to the side stage and
fistbam man. I fucking love Adam Jones. I've never met
him and I didn't meet him that day, but he
saw me over there came over to acknowledge me for
like watching him, and like that means a lot, you know,
because I still consider myself just this fucking workingman thrasher
and he doesn't belong in that crowd.
Speaker 1 (24:43):
Oh that's I mean, the humility coming from you is
also very cool to hear that.
Speaker 2 (24:49):
You know, I will never consider myself in that group
of people. You know. It's like, I don't know. People
tell me I'm crazy, but I'm.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
Just that makes you who you are more than even
as much much as you're playing. And I'm not trying
to blow smoke or anything. It's just it's very cool
to this just to feel that again as a fan.
As I said before, you know, they hear the stuff
about Slash and then just to interact with you, and
it's you know, checking egos and it's just people who
write pieces of music that live on forever and they don't.
(25:19):
It's almost like, yeah, I did that, no big deal,
and it's just it's very cool. It makes you accessible,
it makes your music more accessible. I think. So that's
part part of exoduses in your success throughout the years.
Is that I'll just wrap up. I want to get
a question, because I do have questions from listeners who
are excited to hear from you. This is from Cast Sunshine,
(25:41):
of course, the New Exodus incoming. You can watch the
new album for three one one one one, I said,
added an extra one, there didn't I three one one
three three and three ones. You should call it that.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
Three three three basically you can.
Speaker 1 (25:57):
Call it Yeah, so new Exus incoming. But I'm I'm
sure this is a no but new Slayer. But I mean,
is there anything in the Slayer front that you're able
to talk about or is that just you know, kind
of semi retire.
Speaker 2 (26:09):
Came back for some shows and we were really good.
We worked really hard to get there. You know, we
hadn't played in years, and we had fun and everybody
was just the vibe was great, and I think it
under those circumstances, I think that was the most important thing,
is is everybody going to have a great time? And
do this, and I think, you know, it's a take
(26:30):
it by year thing. Whether we do a couple of
shows at one show, two, three a year, who knows.
But it's cool because a whole generation that never got
to see it get the chance to see it. And
as long as we're having fun, maybe we will continue.
I don't know. It's a play it by ear thing
right now, but there won't be any tours, no new records.
Speaker 1 (26:50):
Okay. I like the way it's from.
Speaker 2 (26:53):
Carry and Tom I'm Paul, I mean sorry, and I've
got mine and it gives me most of my time
free to work on Exodus Baby number one, and then
I get to go out and celebrate the legacy of
Slayer and Jeff Hannerman with Family number two.
Speaker 1 (27:09):
You know, what a cool what a cool life you
got man, Gary, And I like how you phrased it
in Instagram semi retired from Slayer and one last thing
because on your Instagram as well, I got a say
can influencer.
Speaker 2 (27:23):
I mean, I threw away most of my career at
one point, you now, through drug addiction and bad decisions.
Speaker 1 (27:31):
Yeah now though you're here now, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:33):
Survived it and well preserved in a lot of chemicals,
you know, like a big mac. I don't get moldy.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
Well. I was going to wrap up by saying, you
just on your posting on your Instagram, congratulations you just
celebrated seventeen hundred days soldier.
Speaker 2 (27:47):
Yeah, it'd be awesome, no regrets. It's not like I
don't know what most liquors taste like. The funny thing is, though,
that's actually not true. I'm super particular drinker and there's
a million alcohols, but you never had that, oh never?
You never drive bill those No what's in it? I
see you know, someone will mention a drink on a
(28:07):
TV show and I ask my wife, like, what's in that?
I don't know. I was very particular, mostly beer, lots
of vodka, some tequila. Later in Live Jaeger and I
think I've had two glasses of Scotch in my life.
Never liked whiskey. Okay, it tasted some want a sip,
and I was surprised and shocked how sweet it was,
(28:31):
Like candy. I never drank that shit. I've never I've
had one shot of Crown Royal in my life.
Speaker 1 (28:36):
I'll I'll say this as my son is calling me
over because he would not be possible if I kept drinking.
I'm more of am I'm ten years without a drink.
I say, I'm not thank you. I say I'm not
sober because I still smoke weed, which is legal. I
got my legal license, and my life's.
Speaker 2 (28:52):
Been sold sober for years and years that she still
makes her own adibles.
Speaker 1 (28:58):
Different life. Because I you said that you're particular drinker.
I kind of was too. But when I was living
with my grandparents taking care of my grandfather, he had
a bar downstairs and he wasn't a drinker, just had
to get gifts because he was a pharmast of fifty years.
I cleaned it out. I cleaned it. It didn't matter
what it was, whether it was like sambuca, whether it
(29:18):
was like a liquor, whether it was a whiskey. It
was just whatever it was to like knock me out.
That's what I was doing. Like it was bad. He was,
And I hated drinking. I didn't even like doing it.
So no way, if I kept up that lifestyle, would
I be talking to Gary Holt? Would I have my
near three year old son here? So I mean, it's
(29:38):
a chance to say congrats to you because I know
there are a lot of rockers. We lose to this.
So we're glad that you're here. When you we're glad
to exodus this show here.
Speaker 2 (29:46):
It makes really great non alcohol beers. Now I drink
water too. I don't drink ten of them.
Speaker 1 (29:52):
Yeah, fair enough.
Speaker 2 (29:53):
I come home from tour with like cases, you know,
because they get them every day every show, and I
don't drink them all. And I come home and stash
them away. And our last tour was April of last year,
and I still have like a like almost a case
of non alcohol beer from from almost a year ago.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
My grandma used to love o'dules.
Speaker 2 (30:12):
She is pretty good. Now Heineken is the worst I
don't like. And the new one, acohol one doesn't even
taste like like shitty. Heinegan just tastes like shitty something.
Speaker 1 (30:25):
Well, you look great, if anything, I don't know if
the reference would be lost on you. You look like aj
Styles who just retired from WWE the wrestler. So you
look like you're in good shape and everything.
Speaker 2 (30:35):
Yeah, I try to. I'm gonna lose a few pounds,
but it's because inactivities sit at home because I have
tons of joint problems. You shoulders and knees. And every
time I'm like, all right, I'm about to go back
to the trainer, I'm gonna start playing basketball again, then
something else happens. But they're all joint based. I'm in
great shape, except for I'm like a car with a
rebuilt engine, but really fucked up shocks and strucks. You know.
Speaker 1 (30:58):
Well, we're all as in forty two were.
Speaker 2 (31:00):
Get Achilles tendon itis from time to time.
Speaker 1 (31:03):
I'm trying to build you up. Gary, don't keep telling
me all the things that wrong.
Speaker 2 (31:07):
Fingers, and now I'm getting injections in my shoulders. So yeah,
kind of a mess.
Speaker 1 (31:13):
All right, well, Frankenstein.
Speaker 2 (31:15):
But I haven't eaten a frozen meal in years. You know,
I don't eat fast food like on tour. I'll eat
it like once, you know, cook our meals here in
this house.
Speaker 1 (31:25):
Oh, I used to live off fast food. Now it
actually violently hurts my stomach. But that's a story for Yeah,
it shouldn't be food anymore. It shouldn't be classified food.
It's not food. But this is rock and roll, this
is Gary Halt Exodus. Thank you so much for coming
on today. I'm so glad it happened. That you didn't
fall in black. I see and lose your voice. We
(31:46):
third times a charm. We made it happen. Thanks for
your time, and I hope we get to do this again.
Speaker 2 (31:52):
Sure got it, Thank you, you got it.
Speaker 1 (31:53):
So that does it? Put this episode of appetite for distortion?
When will you see the next one? The words of
Axo Rose concerning Chinese democracy, I don't know as soon
as the word, but you'll see it. Recording stopped
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