Glenn Danzig Displays Lighter Side on ‘Portlandia,’ Embraces Darkness on ‘Skeletons’

(photo: Paul Brown/Evilive)

An unlikely mutual admiration society has developed between enigmatic hard rocker Glenn Danzig and Portlandia stars Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein. It started at a party for Rob Zombie’s 50th birthday last January, when Armisen noticed Danzig and asked Zombie if he would introduce the two.

“Rob brought him over and said, ‘Fred really wants to meet you. He’s a big fan,’” Danzig recalls. “I’m actually a big Fred Armisen fan, dating back to the stuff he did on Saturday Night Live. Some of his characters are just incredible. So it was really cool to meet him.”

The relationship between the entertainers didn’t end there. When Danzig returned home from the first leg of a tour to support his upcoming covers EP, Skeletons, there was an email waiting for him.

“Fred got my email address from Rob Zombie and he said, ‘I want you to come up and do a part on Portlandia,’” says Danzig. “I got back to him and said, ‘I just got home. When would this be filming?’ He said, ‘Tomorrow.’ So I said, ‘Send me the script. I’d like to do it, but could we do it at a later date?’ And he said, ‘No, it has to be tomorrow.’ I liked the script, so within two hours I was on a plane and then we shot the scene.”

Danzig doesn’t want to describe the episode – which will air during Portlandia’s sixth season, which launches Jan. 21 – but he says he’s in five pages of dialogue. “Carrie leaves in the beginning of the scene and then I come in and it’s just me and Fred,” Danzig says. “There’s one money line that’s so funny. After I said it the first time, I cracked up. I held it as long as I could, and then the whole crew cracked up too. It’s really good.”

(photo: Paul Brown/Evilive)

For those who only know Danzig as the muscular, mystical, dour-faced crooner who founded the horror punk bands Misfits and achieved a flicker of mainstream attention when a live version of his song “Mother” received regular airplay in 1993, the idea of Danzig on a comedy show is, perhaps, absurd. But there’s another side of the terse, moody performer with which his fans are already familiar. He’s a charismatic antihero with a subtle sense of humor, which he revealed during the recently released Danzig Legacy special, a show filmed in 2012 that was loosely based on Elvis Presley’s ’68 Comeback Special.

He also demonstrated gallows humor by modeling the cover art of Skeletons after the 1973 David Bowie covers album Pin Ups – only instead of depicting a naked woman in heavy makeup leaning on the shoulder of the androgynous Bowie, Danzig presents a made-up zombie corpse leaning on Danzig, whose face is made up to resemble a skull… a look that immediately conjures a classic Misfits image.

Skeletons features an eclectic batch of covers that offer insight into both Danzig’s music collection and his personality. There’s a chugging, metallic version of Elvis Presley’s “Let Yourself Go”; a crashing, guitar-squealing take on Black Sabbath’s “N.I.B.; a wistful, delicately performed take on the Everly Brothers’ “Crying in the Rain”; a couple rough ‘n’ tumble biker movie themes; some old-school garage rock; and uncommercial takes on ZZ Top’s “Rough Boy” and Aerosmith’s “Lord of Thighs.”

Yahoo Music recently spoke with Danzig about why he recorded Skeletons, the next original Danzig album, his forthcoming Danzig Sings Elvis record, the horror movie he plans to direct, and the legacy he has created.

YAHOO MUSIC: You’ve spoken for years about recording a covers album. Why now?

GLENN DANZIG: I realized if I didn’t make time to do it that it would never get done. I started in 2012. I like to record albums over the course of a year or two. For a long time now I’ve done a couple songs and then I’ve sat back and listened to them, added stuff to them, and then gone in and recorded some more. So that’s what I did.

Were any of these songs particularly challenging to arrange or record?

No, because I came up with all the ideas in advance. I have to have an idea to start with. I hear it in my head, and then I have a clear picture of what I want to do. Unless I have that idea, I won’t do it.

Why did you choose these songs?

It started with the title. I came up with Skeletons, which is a multi-level theme. A skeleton is a framework for something, but it could also be a skeleton in your closet – like songs people didn’t think I liked or knew. So, the skeletons could be songs that helped in the formation of who I am as an artist. Elvis and Black Sabbath are two examples of that.

“Devil’s Angels” and “Satan’s Sadists” are both themes from old biker movies. Are you a big fan of B-movie soundtracks?

I like biker movies. There’s a lot of good stuff on soundtracks that just got ignored. These days, I think more people are hip to soundtracks, but a long time ago I don’t think a lot of people even knew that they were available. Some of that biker stuff is only on vinyl. So I wanted to reinvent a couple of them and get them out there so people could hear them.

Your versions of ZZ Top’s “Rough Boy” and Aerosmith’s “Lord of the Thighs” are drastically different than the originals.

If you’re going to cover something, you should put your own stamp on it. Otherwise, what’s the point?

You did a cover of Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra’s “Some Velvet Morning” with Runaways vocalist Cherrie Currie. Why did you decide not to put that on Skeletons?

I didn’t decide anything. The people who own the publishing – I think it’s Lee Hazlewood’s widow – wouldn’t let us use the song. They didn’t like what we did with it.

What inspired you to make the album art a tribute to David Bowie’s Pin Ups?

I first had to decide if I was going to do another photo cover or a painted cover. I decided to do a photo cover since I haven’t done one since [2002’s] Danzig 7:77: I Luciferi. Once I figured that out the image came to me in a flash. One of my favorite covers records is Pin Ups. So I said, “You know what? Maybe I’ll do a take on this and put on skull face and have the girl in skull face and do a nod to that album, only much darker.”

When was the last time you wore the skull face?

Actually, we did a Halloween show in L.A. and I put on the makeup for the show as a surprise. Before that I hadn’t done it since I was in the Misfits in 1979 or 1980. Alice Cooper did makeup, but he just did his eyes. And when KISS did makeup it was very glitter. When I did it, it wasn’t glittery and it wasn’t just eye makeup. It was the full skull face. I only did it three times or so, and then I just moved on. But it’s kind of cool that later on a lot of black metal bands started doing it. I always appreciate it when artists take control of their image as well as their music.

Does that often get overlooked?

People forget that musicians are also artists, especially in this age of Internet bulls— where the corporations own everything. There are so many bands that don’t even design their record covers. They just go out in their T-shirts and the label says, “Here’s what your record is going to look like.” And they go, “OK.” And the label says, “We hired a director for you and here’s what your video is going to look like.” And they’re like, “OK.” I just think that sucks.

You’ve said you’re done touring. Is that just for now? Will you tour for the next Danzig record or your upcoming Danzig Sings Elvis album?

Pretty much I’m done. I’ll probably do a show here and there, but I’m not going to tour anymore. I just did two months on Skeletons. And I’m tired of it. I stopped touring around 2005 and then I started up again. But I can’t stand being on the bus and not being around all my s—. I’m a workaholic, so I’ve always got to be working.

It’s great being up onstage. That’s the best part of it. I love interacting with the audience and feeding off their energy. There’s nothing else like it. But it’s the other 22 hours in the day – bouncing around on the bus, being bored, sitting in a hotel somewhere not working and wasting time – that I hate. You’re away from home. Forget it, I’m over it. I used to fly home between shows, and that worked for a while, but it’s just not working anymore.

What’s the release schedule for Danzig Sings Elvis and the next Danzig album?

I’m not sure yet. The Danzig Sings Elvis record is all recorded and almost done. I just have to mix a song or two on it. And the next all-original Danzig record is about 80 percent done.

Is the Elvis song “Let Yourself Go,” on Skeletons, a teaser of sorts for Danzig Sings Elvis?

No, because it’s going to be much different than that. It’s probably going to be more like the Everly Brothers track that’s on the record.

So, it will be more faithful to the original Elvis music?

Well, it’ll be closer to the original, yeah, but it’ll be in my own style. Sirius XM Radio has an Elvis channel that’s live from Graceland and I was a guest on “The Elvis Takeover.” Not only did I premiere “Let Yourself Go,” I took over the station and played a bunch of my favorite Elvis tracks. Then I premiered “Always on My Mind” from Danzig Sings Elvis. That was very cool.

What other songs will be on the album?

As we get closer to release date I’ll start announcing that stuff. Right now we don’t know if we’re releasing Danzig Sings Elvis first or the new Danzig album.

Will the new Danzig album be more like your earlier material, or your darker, denser, more recent songs?

It’s pretty heavy. If you’re a Danzig fan, you’re really gonna like it. As it’s closer to being finished and I start mixing everything, I’ll have a clearer idea of what it sounds like. But right now I’d say it’s probably like the next step after [2010’s] Deth Red Sabaoth.

How far into the process are you for your directorial debut, Ge Rouge?

I’ve done this dance so many times in Hollywood. Right now the script is approved and we’re just waiting for funding. Once that’s all in place, I have a list of people who I’d like to talk to who I think are right for all the parts. I’d like to begin shooting as soon as possible. The best time to do it would be after Mardi Gras. I don’t want to be there during Mardi Gras. We have to do at least a week of shooting in New Orleans to capture certain things that you just can’t do somewhere else. And it would be too hard to do what we need to do while Mardi Gras is going on.

The script follows a voodoo-based comic book series about resurrection and revenge released by your company, Verotik?

It’s about turn-of-the-century New Orleans voodoo. But it’s real voodoo, not Hollywood voodoo. There’s a lot of really crazy, wild s— and it’s very violent, but there’s lots going on in the plot as well. If people aren’t familiar with the comic, they’ll still get a great horror movie.

Are you a fan of The Walking Dead comic book and TV adaptation?

I dig The Walking Dead. I actually wrote a song for the soundtrack. I don’t know if it’s going to get used or not. I don’t even know if they’re still doing the soundtrack. But if it doesn’t get used in The Walking Dead, I’ll probably use it on the next Danzig record.

Will you write music for the Ge Rouge soundtrack?

I’ve already actually done some songs for it. They’re voodoo drums and screams and stuff like that. It’ll be really authentic.

Looking back at your career with Danzig, can you pinpoint the moment where the public grasped your artistic vision?

I don’t think that ever happened. The first album, of course, was a critical success and then it was like, “OK, we don’t get it anymore.” And I don’t think they ever got it again, which is funny because with each record we sold more copies and played in front of more people. And I think it shocked a lot of people when Danzig III: How the Gods Kill came in the top 20 its first week out and we sold out [Southern California’s] Irvine Meadows [Amphitheater] – which, at that time, for a band with no radio airplay and no MTV attention, was pretty good. That was a place where bands like Bon Jovi would play and sell out. And we weren’t anything like those bands. That made people sit up and take notice.

It must be vindicating to still have a loyal audience almost 30 years after Danzig’s first show.

When I was starting Danzig [in 1987], I met with a bunch of different labels and when I met with [Def Jam Records co-founder] Rick Rubin, he got it. He said, “I see you as an album artist. People will come back to your music years and years later.” I said, “That’s what I want! I want to be like the Velvet Underground, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, or Elvis. That’s the kind of records I want to do.” And Rick said, “That’s exactly the kind of records I see you doing.” And he was right. That’s one of the reasons I signed with Rick.

Why didn’t MTV give you any serious attention?

We were banned. The original “Mother” video had a scene with a sacrifice. It was all implied. You don’t ever see it. MTV wanted us to censor it, and I wouldn’t do it, so Rick took care of it and then he sent them the copy he thought was censored, but in actuality he sent them the uncensored one. They played it and then MTV flipped out on him and blacklisted us from the station, which was just fine with me. They never did anything for us.

How do you feel about streaming music services? That seems to be the way many people listen to music these days?

I hate them. They steal your music and don’t pay you. The Internet f—ed up everything. The worst offenders are the bootleg sites that come out of Russia and China, and it’s also scumbag places like YouTube that just hijack your stuff. People are stealing copyrighted material like they own it and the government doesn’t back anybody up in court. It’s a battle, and I still don’t know how they get away with it. But under this current government in the United States, I don’t think anybody knows what’s going on. The government is almost like not even a government anymore, and the laws aren’t laws anymore, but they still want you to pay for your copyright trademarks. It’s a big pain in the ass and a real nightmare. Somebody should be held accountable.

It doesn’t sound like you’re a big Obama fan?

He’s probably the worst president we’ve ever had. Has he ever once gone into a ghetto or an urban area and said, “I’m gonna fix things?” Has he ever once addressed a gang problem? He’s never addressed anything and he’s just, like, the Teflon president. He’s like John Gotti except everything just rolls right off of him.

Who do you like heading into the next election?

You know what? They’re all crooks [laughs]. I think they all want everyone to be apathetic so that they can just roll in and do whatever the hell they want. They control everything. There is no real news because they don’t really tell us what’s going on. They tell you what they want you to hear. It’s another symptom of the dumbing down of the world.