Just a remembrance of original Exodus vokillist Paul Baloff who passed away on this day back in 2002. Here's an interview with Paul from 1997. This was on the Midwest Metal site for a while, so it has the 2001 notes as well.
2001 Notes: I remember setting this interview up, I'm not too sure if I was supposed to speak to Baloff originally, but when the phone rang it was Rick Hunolt. God, what a disaster dude was a total mess and the interview just sucked. So I called Marco who I believe was still doing publicity stuff, told him that Rick was a shitty interview and what else can we do.
A few minutes later the phone rang again, this time it was the man himself, Paul Baloff. This interview is short and to the point and was cool to do and an honor to have Baloff in Midwest Metal. While their reunion didn't last long at all, it was worth it to have gotten the 'Another Lesson In Violence' album.
When the original line up of Exodus split with Vocalist Paul Baloff many felt it was the end of an era, the end of a special time for Metal. Now some twelve years later he has returned with the terror twin axe team of Holt/Hunolt, Drummer Tom Hunting a new bassist and a new live album.
Midwest Metal: What have you been up to for the past few years?
Paul Baloff: Well for a few years I had my band Piranha, we had a demo tape produced by James Hetfield and I pretty much beat that dead horse into the ground. I then played in Heathen and then after that I wanted to take a break from music altogether. I went to Carmel, CA. and I turned into a surf bum, and that lasted a while, but at one point I figured I had about seven years of wildness left in me so I decided to give Gary (Holt-G) a call to see what was up.
So I called him and he said he was doing an Exodus project and that I should move up right away, so I was like "Seven more years of wildness? Might as well be with Exodus!"
So you move to the Bay Area and how was it at first?
At first it was kind of weird but now it's even more insane than it was before. These guys may be a little bit older but they're just as insane as ever. Especially when they're away from their steadies.
You had a reputation like few others, both on stage and off, what I want to know was it all true? I mean anyone who say's they want to see a dead poser, that's classic!
It all depends on how much you've heard! But I suppose a good 90% of it was true, we've played in pools of blood on stage, we've cut ourselves open during "Bonded By Blood" in clubs before. The "dead poser" stuff was true, dead people in the streets but like I said, it all depends on how much you've heard (laughs)!
What was the first tune you guys jammed on when you regrouped?
Ummm, I don't know (laughs), I guess "Exodus" or "Bonded By Blood" maybe it was "Deliver Us To Evil" something heavy like that.
Let's talk about the new live album, 'Another Lesson In Violence'. The record is so clear yet brutal, how long did you have to soundcheck?
Oh a million years or so (laughs)! There were people in vans, mobile units and everyone communicated by walkie-talkies and if there was a sound problem it was hell. But the performance part was killer we were and are so into it it's not even funny, the tour is gonna crush!
You just returned from Europe where you played the Dynamo Festival, how'd that go?
Killer. It was the most people I've ever played before in my life, I usually never look at the crowd before we go on, there I peeked out like, two minutes before we went on and I freaked. For the first time in my life I freaked before a show but it was cool.
How's Jack fitting in? Was he all nervous in Europe, this being his first tour and all?
Jack rules. He rages, he's a chick magnet and he simply rules. He's the only guy on stage that doesn't move one million miles an hour, he just sort of stomps around in his little circle, Jack rules.
I know there's been talk of a new album for Exodus, what's the new stuff sound like?
Sort of like a 1990's 'Bonded By Blood' with, what I call, "Jungle Thrash" kind of stuff. I call it that because I don't know how to describe it, we've got some killer rhythms and stuff, all I know is it's heavy.
What are you looking to accomplish on the US tour? Is it a re-introduction, of sorts?
Just playing the best we can every night. I just saw a schedule of our dates and it say's we play twenty-six shows in a row, I hope someone told my voice that! And even though that's a lot of shows in a row, we'd like to get a grip on the scene you know, be at the point where we get to call our own shots I mean I don't even know if we'll be on the same record label next year. Who knows? We just want to be the heaviest we can be.
After you left Exodus, when the band continued on with Zetro what did you think of them?
I was really busy with my Piranha thing, and one of our goals was to try and catch Exodus, at one point I even had a song called "Crush Exo-Metal" (laughs). It's all kind of silly now, but it was heavier than they were!
