Devil's Island featuring Krusher
We're back on our tropical desert island, in the middle of the ocean, hundreds of miles from anywhere. This is Devil's Island! Every week we maroon a band or superstar on the island and seeing what they get up to. It's not your average desert island and we'll see just how each band copes with the extreme conditions.
This week when we arrived at Devil's Island we found none other than Krusher, legendary figure in the heavy metal world, sat on the beach having been recently shipwrecked! How did he cope with life on Devil's Island? Find out now...
Welcome to The Razors'e Edge and our somewhat lovely, warm desert island. Don't worry about it's name I'm sure it's not as bad as that would suggest.
So you're marooned here on this island, but before you ended up shipwrecked you each chose one album that you couldn't live without. Which album did you each chose and why?
Krusher.: I know it's not rock or metal, but I love the soundtrack to A Clockwork Orange which was released in 1971. It comprises of a few quirky songs, "Singing In The Rain" and "I Want To Marry A Lighthouse Keeper", classical music from Beethoven, Rossini and Elgar and electronic synthetic music composed by the then Walter Carlos, who is now Wendy Carlos, which was outstanding and way, way ahead of its time. The main theme is an electronic transcription of Henry Purcell's Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary, composed in 1695, for the procession of Queen Mary's cortège through London en route to Westminster Abbey and is heavy and evil as fuck! "March from 'A Clockwork Orange'" (based on the choral movement of the Ninth Symphony by Beethoven and if you don't like Beethoven's Ninth you're a heathen) was the first recorded song featuring a vocoder for the singing; synthpop bands often cite it as their inspiration. Every time I play this record I still find bits that truly take my breath away, especially in the production of the Wendy Carlos pieces. All in all an outstanding compilation of music and songs.
Just behind that palm tree is a shack for each of you to stay in, with enough space for you to put up a poster on the wall of one album cover. What album cover do you each chose?
Krusher: I wouldn't choose an album cover, as my album of choice would mean that I already have it, instead I'd choose a poster that I bought May 30th, 1970, when I went to see Black Sabbath for the first time at Malvern Winter Gardens and managed to not only get it signed by the band after the show, but got it resigned by all the band bar Bill Ward when I interviewed them in 1998. It's a treasured poster from a life changing gig.
There's also a bar on this here island. But alas each of you only get to chose one drink for the entirety of your stay. What's your tipple of choice?
Krusher: Spirytus Duch Puszczy! It's a rectified spirit weighing in at an incredibly imposing and very dangerous 95% ABV. It's not a drink that should be ingested neat, but as long as the island has drinking water I'd use it in very small amounts and dilute it. Not only would one teeny weeny amount get me stoned to the bone immaculate, but one bottle would last a bloody long time, cheers.
There's a walkman in your pocket, on the tape inside is the recording of the one live show that stands out for you. It could be any show, from any band, anywhere in the world. What show is on that walkman?
Krusher: Deep Purple and Taste, it was a double headliner that I saw at Malvern Winter Gardens in 1969, and the contrast between the two acts was mindblowing!
Taste played first and their set up was simplicity itself, hardly any equipment on the stage and if my memory serves me well Rory Gallagher had a small Vox amp resting on a wooden chair, but the sound was outstanding as was the set. During the interval before Deep Purple took to the stage I went to the bar for a pint or two and as I was supping away this almighty roar came from the hall where the stage was, I threw the remains of my pint down my throat and went in to be greeted by a stage full of Marshall amps, strobe lights flashing and Richie Blackmore swinging a guitar around his head that was on fire and that was just for starters. The set included quite a few songs from their fortcoming "In Rock" album, it was like being hit in the face with a twenty pound sledgehammer.
It was after this show that I decided that I wanted to work in the music industry.
You're getting desperate, you decide the only course of action is to put a message in a bottle and hope someone finds it. Your message could be to any member of any band, but should be the one musician most suitable for a rescue attempt. Who is it?
Krusher: Philip Anselmo! I've known Philip for many years, he's a great person to have as a friend, his musical knowledge is outstanding and I could spend forever talking to him, but not only is he great conversationalist he's a strong fucker and I know if you ever needed someone to help someone who is wasting away on a desert island Phil is the man.
Finally, when the ship sank you each managed to save one person from the wreckage. That person is the one musician that has influenced your career the most, shaped your way of thinking and your outlook on life. Who did you save?
Krusher: Lemmy, no questions asked! I started working for Motorhead in 1979 when I designed their first tour programme for their Overkill tour. I'll openly admit that at first I was terrified at the thought of meeting the band and especially Lemmy, but once I'd met them I realised that they were great guys to hang with, I realised that my fears were unfounded.
I continued working for them until 1983 but my friendship with Lemmy continued until his sad passing. He not only taught me how to handle myself, especially within the music industry, but he gave me tons of advice that I still follow and I can honestly say that he saved my life on more than one occasion. A one off, there will never be another and I feel blessed that he was part of my life and the main reason for ruining it.
Thanks for your time. We hope to see you back on the mainland soon!
Krusher: HAAAAAAAAAAARGH! Cheers amigo!
As we sailed away from the island, leaving Krusher on the beach, we felt sadness seeing the legendary noisy mother sat on the beach waiting on Philip Anselmo to come and rescue him... See you soon Krusher!
Images supplied by Krusher!
