Speaking to Bobby ‘Blitz’ from Overkill back in January of 2017 ahead of their latest album release “The Grinding Wheel“, there was a sense that the band were clearly not ready to throw in the towel just yet and why would they? The last few albums including the latest release has been some of Overkill’s strongest material yet and from what we hear, they still pack a mean punch live too. Australia gets to experience that live show this March when Overkill return down under for another killer tour so we catch up with Bobby again to talk about the upcoming shows and what fans can expect.
Andrew: It seemed like just yesterday that we spoke because we spoke just before you dropped your latest album “The Grinding Wheel” which was back in January and we talked about the possibility of you coming down to Australia and the reality is now you are coming down in 2018!
Bobby: Well it’s exciting! I only mention the rumors when they’re heavy handed which I mean we’re pushing for it and ourselves and our agent who’s located in Europe said, ‘We have to go back there, it’s been quite some time and this will only be our second time through’. So it seemed necessary, it seemed like another exciting moment or another feather in the cap to come back.
Andrew: Yeah it’s good to see you back. What was it like last time? That must of been around 2010 or 2011 I guess?
Bobby: Yeah it was the Electric Age tour which was 2012 so it’s a five year difference. We actually released some recordings live from us which had gone on an extended version of “The Electric Age” so because it did just entail our first time on your beautiful shores and of course I always enjoy the virgin voyage when you have the opportunity to experience something new no matter how familiar it is to you and that four count is in and you hear that first chord, everything becomes familiar. But over the 5 year time frame between first and second meetings, it’s obviously something we want to repeat. The excitement is that the band even after all these years still seems relevant through out the world, it’s still a dirty, fight it out in the clubs sort of band and I think there’s something exciting to be said about that for not only the band but also to the attendees of those gigs.
Andrew: Yeah and I guess after all these years because you have been doing this for such a long time now that’s it’s probably getting difficult to find those new horizons so to speak, to keep things fresh for yourselves.
Bobby: I got my eye on Iceland [laughs].
Andrew: [laughs] That would be an interesting gig certainly!
Bobby: You know what it is, I’m really just looking for a place to hide when I stop all this shit [laughs].
Andrew: [laughs].
Bobby: I think Australia would be at the top of the list, definitely ahead of Iceland that’s for sure. But you’re right, there’s not a lot of places we haven’t been. There’s some Pacific Rim countries we haven’t hit like Indonesia, Malaysia, we haven’t been to Thailand and we’ve never been to India for instance. We’ve had walkers that we’ve tried to bang it out and make it happen but it always seems to fall through but I think that doesn’t necessarily speak for the rock n’ roller or the headbanging population but probably for the country itself. That it’s not going to be easy to make that happen in those conditions, it’s obviously not one of the wealthier countries that can get this stuff happening. But sure there are some places on the bucket list but to be able to go out to Australia and let’s say, re-experience or re-live that first rush we had because obviously we’ve been in this for over the 35 year period we’re still chasing that high we had 35 years ago. So you’re next, let’s put it that way. You are next!
Andrew: And even in Australia you have something new happening here because you are also coming to the west coast of the country which last time you did not make it over. So if you know anything about Perth then you know that the Bon Scott memorial is on that part of the country as well.
Bobby: Always important to do some sightseeing and that was on my list also. We’ll be at the Rosemount Hotel on March 4th I think the date is, so yeah some good stuff to see. Obviously a half countrymen of yours recently passing so there’s some rock n’ roll down in that part of the world and that hemisphere that has affected and inspired all of us who bow our heads to this day. But yeah I gotta see the memorial when I get to Perth.
Andrew: Definitely and not to bring things down or anything but obviously the recent passing of Malcolm was such a big thing and big news here in Australia obviously. What are your thoughts on him and the influence he’s had on many guitarists over the years?
Bobby: I think those 2 brothers first and foremost, their heads were rocking on that hinge all the way to the latest records, or the last one Malcolm had played on and I think there’s something to be said about that just in that body movement. That it inspired headbangers from my generation to the newest generation so pure simplicity, a sound that can never be matched only by themselves. As simple as it was, you knew the copies next to what was the real thing. I think a great testimony to be able to spread themselves over different genres and sub-genres in hard rock and rock n’ roll and heavy metal. We salute you I suppose would be the best thing to say.
Andrew: Yeah and it seems like in the last couple of years we’ve lost a lot of big names, obviously Lemmy was a huge one. It seems like everyone is disappearing on us, it’s a weird time at the moment.
Bobby: Isn’t that life itself, you know. Enjoy it while it’s here, it’s real simple! There’s a comedian here and he was actually just accused of some kind of sexual harassment, his name is Louis C.K…
Andrew: Yeah I know the man!
Bobby: He does this stand up where he says, ‘Hey man you’re over 50, you’re fair game’ [laughs]. Speaking in the fair game category myself, come see us, you just never know! But let’s look at the bright side is my point, not just some cheeky snotty humor.
Andrew: [laughs] Yeah exactly. Well you had “The Grinding Wheel” come out earlier in 2017, what kind of feedback have you been getting from the fans? Because it was a great Sabbath inspired kind of album so I’m guessing the fans must have been really digging this one.
Bobby: The band has never been afraid to play the new stuff live, we never wanted to be considered a tribute band. We don’t tributise ourselves, we were never that big to tributise ourselves. I think the idea is, we talked earlier on a few minutes ago about fighting it out in the clubs, it’s kind of our motif, it’s kind of our philosophy so we play the new stuff. There’s a great freedom in saying I don’t give a shit, it frees you up and you actually mean it and just go out and do it as opposed to that energy or let’s say, positive vibe that comes from not giving a shit, can be very contagious to people who have that same type of attitude. And I think that really describes Overkill so when we’ve been out on the road, we’ve been opening with “Mean Green Killing Machine” and “Goddamn Trouble” was in there and “Our Finest Hour” and “Shine On”. So it’s not like it’s, ‘Ok let’s throw one in and we’ll just kind of put it down here in the middle’, we’re coming out of the box with the new stuff probably of our pride and the other half in not giving a shit what the naysayers say. So I do think that the response has been a high level and not just based on our attitude but based on the quality of the material. It’s still vibrant, it still has a current day value and is still relevant and you put all that together with the thousand people within the confines of the Rosemount Hotel when March 4th becomes, it could be explosive. That’s really the key to wanting to do this, that you still want to explode, you still want to create havoc. So it’s been a positive response and hopefully continue that in Australia this coming March.
Andrew: So you mentioned putting the new songs together in the set, is that getting more difficult now with so many albums in the back catalogue to pick from or do you have a bit of a routine or formula that you work from?
Bobby: I gotta tell you, for me it’s never been that difficult. There’s always a classic appearance that you want to throw in there, you want to throw the new stuff in because that excites the band because the newer the tune we’ve played the least amount of times and then throw some classics in. But the biggest issue that we have now over the last few months is Jason Bittner (drums) has joined this band and this guy knows more Overkill than all of us put together, he knows every song. He’s one of these guys that will just call them out and we”ll find them, [but] we don’t know as many songs as he does. So he’s a little bit of an inspiration for us to, let’s say pick up our game and learn some of this stuff that we’re involved in. But it is hard to pick a set especially with Jason around.
Andrew: Well we are looking forward to it, it’s going to be exciting stuff. I’ve been a fan for over 20 years and I’m sad to say I’ve never actually seen you guys live before so I’m really excited to see you. Do you have any last words for the Aussie fans before you come over?
Bobby: I always say I always appreciate the welcome and say we’ll be back and obviously we meant it. So looking forward to seeing some of the same faces and some new ones. Let’s have a good time, let’s do it in March.
TOUR DATES
Wednesday 28th February – Adelaide – Fowlers Live
Thursday 1st March – Brisbane – The Zoo
Friday 2nd March – Melbourne – 170 Russell
Saturday 3rd March – Sydney – Factory Theatre
Sunday 4th March – Perth – Rosemount Hotel
Tickets
metropolistouring.com/overkill
