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damageplan.com

Christine Natanael: So, when did you leave Halford?

Pat Lachman: I decided to leave the band after the summer tour in Europe.

CN: Uh-huh.

PL: I sort of, I sensed the Judas Priest reunion coming and I decided to pursue this because obviously it’s pretty fucking cool.

CN: Hell, yeah. Why not?

PL: Yeah, so you know, I’m in a better place. I bowed out gracefully and I still keep in touch with Robert but you know, he’s back in Priest and the Damage Plan is in effect, so…

CN: There you go; you saw it coming.

PL: Yeah.

CN: Besides, you get to hang with some good ol’ boys and have some good down home fun.

PL: Hell, yeah!

CN: You were playing guitar for Halford, did you always sing?

PL: Yeah, I’ve always sang, always wrote lyrics, always sang backups and worked directly with all the singers that I’ve ever played with. I guess, you know, my musicality goes beyond the guitar.

CN: That’s good.

PL: But I don’t think it’s really that much of a shock. I mean, some people think it’s a huge deal. I guess it kinda is, but for me it was actually a little more weird playing the guitar rather than, you know, picking up the mic. Singing just kind of comes natural to people. Just not having the guitar in front of me is, I guess the real shock.

CN: Yeah, but judging from your performance in the videos, you know, you’re kind of like, like Chris Cornell could put down the guitar and still look right, but Gavin Rossdale still just couldn’t pull it off, you know what I mean? You know how some guitar players, when they put down the guitar just don’t know what to do with their hands? You don’t seem to have that problem, so that’s good.

PL: Naw, no.

CN: Yeah, definitely. So, as a vocalist, who are your influences?

PL: Well, you already said it, right? There’s Chris Cornell. I mean, huge respect to him and Audioslave. I think that’s probably one of our, collectively one of our favorite records that’s out right now. I definitely think it was the best album of 2003.

CN: So who else? Other vocal influences, or that’s just the main one? ‘Cuz you obviously don’t have the same style.

PL: Yeah, I’m not really trying to cop anyone’s style in particular, but, you know, some just come from being an influence. Um, you know, I’m glad all, all people can be an influence. Definitely, uh, Cornell is up there. You know, Jerry Cantrell, Layne Staley--Alice In Chains, had an amazing melodic impact on my life.

CN: Yeah?

PL: Yeah, working with Jerry was a really fucking cool experience.

CN: I was just going to ask you about that, I read your little blurb on your site about that.

PL: Yeah, it was pretty killer. He’s a really cool dude, and he’s a musical genius.

CN: So how did all that happen? Tell me the whole drawn-out story.

PL: Well basically, he came down for Thanksgiving, to hang out. Vinnie’s always got you know, turkeys and the whole spread going. And so he popped down and uh, you know, this track that just never got finished um, we weren’t sure what to do with it and Jerry heard it and just went and did his thing. It got rearranged and catered to the vocals, and I just grabbed the ball and ran with it and finished it off with the chorus and the bridge and it’s a beautiful thing. And if we woulda had time, we woulda put it on the record, but the record was pretty much already done by the time he came down and put that on it. So it’s going to go on the Japanese import version of the record and it’s also hopefully going to be on the soundtrack for The Punisher, which comes out in April.

CN: I love The Punisher.

PL: Yeah. I saw the previews. It looks awesome.

CN: Oh, that’ll be cool.

PL: Yeah.

CN: Funny how they’re taking all the comic books that we loved and making them into movies now. ‘Cuz I think they’ve just really run out of good ideas.

PL: Sure.

CN: What can you say? Or maybe it’s just people that are making the decisions are all our age and now have the power to do that.

PL: Exactly.

CN: So is that the first time you worked with Jerry?

PL: Yeah. Yup. It’s kind of nice, you know, getting to play with some of my heroes. You know, Halford, I played with Tommy Victor from Prong many a time, Jerry Cantrell, Zakk Wilde, Corey Taylor, it’s just ridiculous.

CN: How old are you?

PL: 33.

CN: I like the fact that you’ve kind of stepped in to continue on with them after, you know... just after.

PL: These guys are like the Van Halen brothers of metal, you know? So, it’s not the same thing, which I’m actually really happy about because, you know, Pantera had sort of painted itself into a corner.

CN: Right.

PL: You know? The former vocalist is sort of getting a little more stylized I guess.

CN: Mmm- hmm.

PL: I think the element that we’re trying to bring to it is back in the Cowboys Vulgar days when things were a lot more dynamic and melodic, and there’s a lot more to sink your teeth into instead of just that, you know?

CN: Well you do have a lot of different dynamics going through the different songs on the CD. I mean, “Crawl” is a lot different from “New Found Power”.

PL: Right. I mean, well “Crawl” was the first song I wrote, and the idea with that was that it was taped like a vocal audition. So I took that one, and I tried to make sure that I did as much as possible with my voice within that one tune because, you know, I wouldn’t want to do just one thing and have them not like it and that would be it. So it was sort of a vocal demo in itself, you know. The original tracks that I recorded are the ones that stayed on the record, and I’ve never had to go back and redo it.

CN: That’s cool. Actually “Crawl” is my favorite because I can hear the dynamics of your voice, to actually hear you sing and not just growl and scream.

PL: Sure. I think that too much of any one thing gets pretty repetitive, so I try to just go across the whole range. I mean, do you have the whole record?

CN: I have the whole record, yes. You were saying that too much of any one thing can what?

PL: It just gets monotonous.

CN: Yeah, I mean, much as I love hardcore, that is the downfall of the hardcore genre.

PL: Right.

CN: Just lack of dynamics, and if you’ve got the vocal range and the chops, by all means use it. Work it.

PL: Oh yeah, I guess, you know, there’s a lot of stuff. The substance of the record is just good music and good heavy, heavy metal for lack of a better term. But it’s not, it’s--the needle goes to both sides of the spectrum with say, “Fuck You” being the extreme on one side, “Soul Bleed” being the extreme on the other side and there’s a whole lot of other shit in between.

CN: Which one being the extreme on the other side?

PL: “Soul Bleed”. That was sort of inspired by Jerry Cantrell, too.

CN: Oh yeah? Well how so?

PL: Well, I met him in Los Angeles, and I was so impressed with the show that I went down to Anaheim and saw that show as well. Just his work, in and out of Alice in Chains, and his solo stuff is great, and you know, just had Jerry, you know, at like 4:30 in the morning, a beer, like that was the whole thing with the crowd scene and the Alice in Chains stuff at the end, and I couldn’t sleep. I had that inspiration, and I picked that track and I just wrote the whole thing.

CN: So, your favorite song on the record is?

PL: Well, my good friend Nick Bowcott from Guitar World--

CN: I remember him from Grim Reaper...

PL: Oh yeah. Well, he said it best, he goes, “Well I only have one problem with this record: I can’t decide which song is my favorite.”

CN: Uh huh.

PL: But it’s hard to say. I mean, one of my favorite tracks I think is “Cold Blooded”.

CN: I like that one, yeah.

PL: It’s you know, just the pinnacle of my aggression right there.

CN: I do love aggressive music, especially first thing in the morning. It’s one of those good things. It gets your blood moving. Really does.

PL: I gotcha.

CN: You going to Japan soon?

PL: Yup. End of February we’re going to Japan, one of my favorite places in the world to tour.

CN: Everyone says that. What is it about Japan that’s so different from The States that everyone just falls so in love with it?

PL: The unrelenting dedication from the fans. I mean, they basically treat you like royalty. They’re very respectful, very very hardcore, and it’s just a great place to go, you know, a great place to visit much less you know, play music. Always just treat you red carpet all the way. It’s a nice feeling to be appreciated sometimes.

CN: Yeah. I’ve heard that the audiences are really polite too.

PL: I wouldn’t say that.

CN: Not anymore?

PL: I think that used to be the case. They’ll be quiet while you’re playing, you know, but not anymore. I mean they’re pretty much just as crazy as anyone else now.

CN: In the 80’s when bands that I would interview would tell me about going over there, they would be like, “Oh yeah, they would just sit there in their seats and they don’t even stand up and scream and holler.” It’s so bizarre you know? But I guess that’s--

PL: Who was playing?

CN: Everyone from Testament to Yngwie used to tell me stuff like that, so.

PL: Yeah, I think it’s changed a little bit, but uh, don’t underestimate the crazy Japanese fans, that’s for sure.

CN: That’s true. Did they still camp out in the lobby of the hotel and stuff and bring you gifts?

PL: Yup. I mean, it’s kind of frightening. You get off the plane and there they are, and then you go to the hotel and there they are, and you come down from the hotel room and there they are, and you get to the venue and there they are. One time I was playing over there with Halford and we left the venue and the fans got there before we did. I went, “what, were you hanging from the bumper or something?”

CN: Whoa man. That’s pretty trippy.

PL: Yeah.

CN: They had the bullet train to the venue or something, you know?

PL: Yeah, something like that.

CN: Teleportation or something.

PL: Yeah.

CN: Then are you doing more dates here? I think I just missed you in New York. Didn’t I?

PL: Yeah, we came through there.

CN: Aw, I just sucked then because I missed it. I’m sorry.

PL: We didn’t play though, we just, you know, ran a radio promotion.

CN: Oh, I know I saw you up on MTV2 with Jamey (Jasta).

PL: Right, right.

CN: Right. Jamey’s good people. I like him a lot.

PL: Yeah, he’s a great guy. I made him say “hi” to my buddy Jim Florentine. I don’t know if you’re down with the Special Ed from Crank Yankers.

CN: I know who they are but don’t know them personally.

PL: Right, it’s good stuff.

CN: Yeah. I like to watch that a lot. My son loves that.

PL: “Hey lady!” (in character voice--laughs)

CN: It kind of reminds me of the tapes that we used to have back in the 80’s. The first place I heard about them was on uh, I was hanging out with Antrhax I think, and they had these cassette tapes of people making crank calls.

PL: Right.

CN: Jerky Boys stuff…remember them?

PL: Oh yeah.

CN: We used to, I mean way before they came out with the record, The Jerky Boys, at least by 2 years these guys had tapes of them on their tour busses. And we used to just sit around and crack up to those things.

PL: Before they were famous.

CN: Yeah, well yeah. I don’t know if they were friends of theirs or what, but they always seemed to have tapes of them. So, that’s where I first got turned on to that kind of stuff.

PL: S’arright.

CN: I like that they use the puppets with it though. The Special Ed is really cute.

PL: Oh yeah.

CN: You gonna do Crank Yankers? You think?

PL: I’d love to.

CN: You should talk to your friend about getting up on it man.

PL: (laughs) Actually, we are.

CN: That would be excellent.

PL: He loves Damageplan, that’s for sure.

CN: That would be most excellent. So you’ve done the first video, how many more you figure you’re gonna do?

PL: We have another one in the works. Should be coming out soon.

CN: For which song?

PL: It’s for “Explode”.

CN: Uh-huh.

PL: And I think we’ll probably be doing a video for “Save Me” as well.

CN: Oh, okay. Any particular people you--

PL: Which as of today I think has made number 28.

CN: Wow.

PL: So, climbing up the charts.

CN: Well you kind of figured you were gonna get a big push behind you with the people you’ve got in your band, so…

PL: Right, right.

CN: People have been chomping at the bit to hear that new stuff for a while.

PL: Yeah, but I think this band has the capability for modern rock radio, you know, active rock, because Pantera just, I don’t know if it really had that element to it, you know? Whereas this stuff kind of lends itself to that a lot better, so I think people were sort of pleasantly surprised.

CN: I know I was. I was glad that it wasn’t a Pantera rehash.

PL: Yeah, that’s the last thing we wanted to do.

CN: Well, you know, some people can only think in certain musical phrases and they can’t get outside of it. It’s good to see that these guys are much more dynamic than that.

PL: Right. Well, it’d be sort of unfortunate if we were trying to do the same thing again, you know?

CN: Yeah, because then I’d unfortunately have to tell you really how bad you suck and god I hate doing that.

PL: Right, I mean that…

CN: That hurts people’s feelings.

PL: Yeah, to get yourself compared to, you know, what it was. It’s something totally different. It’s really apples and oranges.

CN: Yeah, but you’re always going to have those fans that’re just like, “Oh it’s not like you know, whatever whatever.” . Like even if it’s their favorite band and they put out a new record they hate it automatically because it’s not like the old record.

PL: Of course.

CN: You know, you’ve always got those.

PL: Right. I have to say, overwhelmingly everything has been very very positive. If you believe everything you read on the Internet then you might as well just hang it up now. But in my experience, especially in this promo tour, everybody’s been extremely cool and very supportive.