Exclusive! Interview With Overkill's Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth
By
Krishta Abruzzini,
Pacific Northwest Writer
Tuesday, June 3, 2003 @ 0:10 AM
| Overkill Vocalist Bobby "Blitz
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Screw compromises. Overkill has and will remain on the forefront of metal composition, superceding many their peers who have given into the commercial promise of celebrity; only to succumb to a quiet demise, or worse, selling-out to their fans.
With years of experience, integrity and honesty, the boys from Jersey are back with their 13th album, titled Killbox 13 (Spitfire, 3/2003). While the tunes still provide the familiar metal these boys have given us over the past couple decades, they succeed in breathing a more modern approach with the latest release. Tracks like “Until I Die” and “Crystal Clear” are vibrant examples of head-bashing, heart quickening songs that have enabled Overkill to remain one of the longest standing metal bands still around.
Between his busy schedule, Bobby (Blitz) Ellsworth took some time out to chat with me…
ELLSWORTH:: Hi Krishta, how are you doing?
KNAC.COM: Hey, Bobby, I’m well.
ELLSWORTH:: Hey, have we spoken before?
KNAC.COM: I don’t think so. This is my first interview with you.
ELLSWORTH:: Well, it’s a very familiar voice that you have. All of a sudden bells and whistles went off.
KNAC.COM: Nah, I would remember you. You get lots of interviews and haven’t a clue really who your talking to. I’ve got the advantage in that I know what you look like, and with a little research, hopefully a little about you as well.
ELLSWORTH:: [laughing] You probably know more about me than I do.
KNAC.COM: Do you like the interview process?
ELLSWORTH:: Well, I don’t dislike it. I’m certainly used to it being 20 years in this business and 13 releases. I’ve actually been the main promo guy since the beginning. I think I’ve done 2500 shows in the career of the band and probably done about 2510 interviews. So at the very least, that means I’m well versed at them.
KNAC.COM: Same old questions have got to get old occasionally.
ELLSWORTH:: Occasionally, I’m surprised.
KNAC.COM: Unfortunately, I’m afraid I’m not that clever.
ELLSWORTH:: I personally review the interviews.
KNAC.COM: Good God, no pressure on me. Well you were right on time with calling me today—so you’re proving to be great on the business end.
ELLSWORTH:: Not only smart and good looking as my mother says, but punctual as well.
KNAC.COM: Well that doesn’t really go along with the rock & roll lifestyle though, does it?
ELLSWORTH:: There are a lot of things that don’t. That probably accounts for our longevity.
KNAC.COM: So a little about your history—you guys have been together about twenty years?
ELLSWORTH:: Overkill has existed, releasing professionally, since 1985. Feel the Fire was our first release on Megaforce Records. I met my partner D.D. Verni in 1981, through musicians classified; bass player looking for… and it said, singer looking for—we matched up adjectives and it seemed like a pretty good match and we’ve had a relationship ever since. I don’t necessarily recommend [the classifieds] for love, but for finding a band, it’s a great idea.
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"...we eliminated popularity from the equation. It was just really simple. This is what we like to do, and who gives a rats ass what anybody else thinks about it."
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KNAC.COM: So you were the typical young boy interested in music, playing in a garage band?
ELLSWORTH:: Pretty much. I think it starts standing in front of a mirror with a broomstick doing guitar riffs—usually in your underwear before school. The specific reason I got a paper route, was because I joined the Columbia Record House and got my 14 records for a penny, and I needed to pay these people and my old man wouldn’t do it. So I actually put work into this at an early age, you see. I look back and really, that’s the first time I worked for music. I needed that Black Sabbath collection.
KNAC.COM: Did you actually pay for the whole thing, or are they still haunting you today?
ELLSWORTH:: Yeah, I think I did. At least there not chasing me down anywhere. It’s funny though, I still get letters from them that say, “Come back to us.” [laughs]
KNAC.COM: So, given your longevity, and success, do you guys have a formula?
ELLSWORTH:: First and foremost, it’s something we love. We’ve always had a very high standard in how we present it. So our values are the values—and this is in hindsight, because I don’t think we really had them in the beginning—we don’t release anything that we’re not into or satisfied with. I also think that a long time ago, before the nineties, we eliminated popularity from the equation. It was just really simple. This is what we like to do, and who gives a rats ass what anybody else thinks about it. The bottom line is that whether we knew it or not, we kind of instituted purity into it. By having that in there, it gives us the opportunity to make music that’s really honest. I think that also translates when people listen to it. It was never really about what the fashion or style was, or what band X, Y and Z were doing, it had more to do with what we were doing and how we could further ourselves as opposed to the scene, or the fashion fads.
KNAC.COM: I interviewed a guy once, who had been in several popular bands; who now plays with various ‘projects,’ as the media would so quickly categorize it, but who is so much happier with playing what he essentially feels. Interestingly, he told me that even if you’re not making a million dollars, or selling a lot of albums, if you’re doing what you love to do, there is a way to make that your career. It won’t be measured monetarily perhaps, but again, you can make a living doing what you love.
ELLSWORTH:: In our case, that success is more in days than in dollars. And some people think, and in the beginning it was predominately my family, that I did this to avoid manual labor. Which is probably true. Dad says, “If you’re going to live here, you’re getting a job,” …well okay then, I’m starting a band [laughing].
KNAC.COM: I’ll do that gypsy thing.
ELLSWORTH:: My father says it was about beer and girls, and he was probably right about that, too. But the point is that as it becomes something and we recognize the value in it, whether that be to the people who listen to it, or to ourselves, then you kind of protect it. What I mean by protecting it is that you seize opportunity, you take the day and put as much as you can into it. It’s not about tomorrow, it’s about today. I think Overkill has strung along twenty years of history based on today as opposed to the grand scheme of world domination. Really what comes out of it is this bombastic, aggressive offering, album after album that evolves at its own rate as opposed to what the popular opinion dictates. Or the short version is called, “Fuck ‘em!”
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"Let’s be honest, grunge kind of stepped all over [metal], but never killed it. It doesn’t make sense. Usually when one genre comes in, it kills the genre that precedes it."
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KNAC.COM: I like that version best. Does categorizing within this industry ever drive you crazy? I mean today its metal, tomorrow it’s emo and who knows what it’ll be next week.
ELLSWORTH:: Well, you know it’s on a clock. I mean, sometimes it’s six-thirty, other times it’s midnight and it’s awesome, you know? I think that [metal] always had its best and its purist in the underground. So when it comes to popularity and whether or not it’s celebrated on wide level or scale, it’s never how we perceive it to be. Let’s be honest, grunge kind of stepped all over this, but never killed it. It doesn’t make sense. Usually when one genre comes in, it kills the genre that precedes it. But metal has kind of always been here. When Marshall speakers were ripped by Hendrix and you got this whole distorted vibe coming out of his amps, it’s been around ever since. It never really goes away. The thing I like about it is that from where we sit, it’s always been underground. In the underground, it’s really easy to have the philosophies I have because if I’m talking about purity -- who cares about whose feelings I hurt. It’s not about shaking hands with some big wig record execs. We can say, if you don’t like us, we’re going to another label. I don’t really care where it goes or what subdivisions it’s divided into, or who’s listening to it. Rolling Stone wrote an article I think in ’94 that said, “Metal’s dead, why don’t you guys pack your bags and go work for your dad.” Well quite obviously 95% of the bands did. But out of the 5% who stayed, grew kind of a newer movement.
KNAC.COM: Are there ever days that you think it would just be easier to pull a pop song out of your hat and reap the benefits?
ELLSWORTH:: I’d rather work for my dad. The way we write music, the end result is music. We know we’re a metal band, we know our end results when writing will be metal songs. But with that, when we are writing songs, they are just songs. Good songs are good songs across the board; it’s just how you present them. I don’t think for instance that Tony Bennett could sing anything off of Killbox 13, but somebody might be able to take it and rearrange it and say, “Wow, under different circumstances and arrangements, this could actually be a popular song.”
KNAC.COM: The genre of metal itself seems to be really emotionally serious. Are there ever times you want to tell your audience, “Hey kids, lighten up a little, would ya?” I mean, there’s a whole lotta man heat going on out there during a show.
ELLSWORTH:: Isn’t it great to see that emotion evoked? That’s one of the things I look at it as; is that if you can bring that emotion out in people, it’s great. And let’s be serious, I’m a headbanger. I was in Row 3 giving Lemmy the sign of the devil during the ‘Ace of Spades’ tour, and then five years later, I’m touring with him. This is awesome. So I consider myself lucky to be in this position. I think there’s a good sense of community around metal-heads. I mean, you’re going to get a jerk out there every other week, but these are predominately people who will pick you up when you fall down based on your common love of the same music.
KNAC.COM: That’s true. But you’ve had your teeth knocked out by that jerky, zealous fan before, haven’t you?
ELLSWORTH:: Well yeah, among a few other things [laughing]. I’ve have a few battle scars. Given a few too—all in self-defense, I’d like to add. But that’s all part of it. It’s the emotional high and the adrenaline gets going, it goes through the roof. And everybody explodes and once, being the band and the audience, it’s a force to be reckoned with. That’s the excitement about doing this stuff.
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"...most of the [decisions made by members who have left], have been about life decisions. These guys are out starting families and businesses."
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KNAC.COM: Your band has had quite a few personnel changes through the years. Do you feel like it’s has gotten better—realizing that you can’t really say you’re unhappy with your current line-up, because that would be un-cool, but was there a personal favorite line-up you’ve had?
ELLSWORTH:: Each line-up through the years has had its high point for me or been endearing for me. Strong points, weak points; the line-up we have right now, Dave Linsk, has brought us back something we haven’t had in quite a while and that is the rebirth of the lead guitar, the overdub. I think it’s something this band needs. So I am happy with this lineup. Really, when it comes to lineup changes, it’s a misconception about D.D. and myself, being here for a long time; we don’t chop heads. There’s only been one head chopped in this band and that was the first member that left, who was Bobby Gustafson, and he was asked to leave. But everyone else has left of his own accord. So our rule is that you have to want to be here. So if you can’t really commit to it the way that everyone else is committed, then it’s probably best you leave. But most of the [decisions made by members who have left], have been about life decisions. These guys are out starting families and businesses. I mean, we’ve been doing this a long time and to expect people to stick with us over that twenty-year period, I think is irrational.
KNAC.COM: I think a lot of people are into the instant gratification of it being a success overnight also.
ELLSWORTH:: A lot of guys think like that, but the bottom line is that when a new guy comes in, like Derek Tailer who’s are newest member, and Dave Linsk who joined in ’99, they really raise the level of the whole band. Because they come in with this drooling hunger, and it really reenergizes everyone else.
KNAC.COM: Now personally, you’ve gone through quite a bit, just to be where you are now. From my understanding you had quite a struggle with alcohol and substance abuse—and now, onto sobriety. How long has it been for you, being sober?
ELLSWORTH:: Eight years. I’m on my ninth year now. It was something necessary for me, a personal choice. It became a rebirth. I’ve had the opportunity to do Overkill on both sides of the fence, and if I had to look back as to which side I would choose personally, of course it’s clear headed. It’s the way to fly for me. I don’t like to sound like a preacher, and that’s why it’s personal and very near and dear to my heart.
KNAC.COM: Being in this industry, you probably see a lot of people still going through abuse. Is that ever frustrating for you, or how do you deal with it?
ELLSWORTH:: I never see people who need the help, but then again, who am I to judge? The point is that the industry, let’s say has always been known for upping the vices. It’s acceptable. It was the only job I could have through the eighties and half of the nineties where I could show up loaded, and no one could tell me to go home. The show must go on. My nickname, being Blitz, is actually an endearing part of my past. It was actually shortened from, ‘Oh My God, He’s Blitzed Again.’ My life has certainly changed, though. And the music industry has certainly claimed its fair share of casualties.
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"My nickname, being Blitz, is actually an endearing part of my past. It was actually shortened from, ‘Oh My God, He’s Blitzed Again.’ My life has certainly changed, though."
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KNAC.COM: It seems like its so glamorized in rock & roll, though. It’s almost like a badge of honor when a guy dies of a heroin overdose—it becomes somewhat romanticized in the public eye. And yet it’s tragic. We’ve probably lost a lot of very good music because of it.
ELLSWORTH:: It does up your status. Again, when it comes to a personal view on this, I don’t need my status upped. I just simply had enough and turned it around. I mean, first of all, when it was gone, I found that it had nothing to do with the booze. The sickness was me. Now I just couldn’t hide it behind the booze. The positive thing that I found is that Overkill didn’t exist because of the reason I thought it did. It existed because I loved it. Overkill took precedence over it, which was great for me. And I write introspectively, I do the lyrics and the melodies. And I’m going to write about me, because I don’t think it’s necessary for me to write about things I’m unqualified to speak about. I may have political or social opinions, I may have gone through personal crises’, but when it comes to how I think and how I’ve changed, that’s what I’m most qualified in. I’m not just speaking about alcohol abuse; I’m speaking about me as a person individually. When this stuff comes out in the lyrics, I think it become identifiable across the board to a lot of people. It’s that connecting element between ‘us’ collectively.
For instance, on Killbox, I wove the ‘seven deadly sins’ through what I found and how it affected me. In many cases they are character downfalls or flaws, but with many of them, I seem to celebrate them also, and have no goddamn problem with that, either. I find myself to be a combination of many different things, which I think this becomes an identifiable link between the people who listen to it and who create it.
KNAC.COM: It’s very therapeutic to have an outlet such as this; to be able to write your words and life on paper, in songs, and have people listen to it and identify.
ELLSWORTH:: It’s quite a unique situation to be in for a guy like me, because I’ve used Overkill for years as sort of twisted therapy. It’s not something that everyone wants to read about, because quite obviously, the beast exists. But he is recognized. He’s not laying necessarily in wait, let’s say occasionally he’s chained and trying to break those chains, but the other side of it is that it is a vent. And by venting, it doesn’t stay inside. I had a guy ask me once how I feel after writing a record. And I said, it’s like I’m sweating and with a sigh, I go, “Ah, I got that out.” Not everybody has that opportunity, and I consider myself lucky to be able to pen a couple of words that are from the heart and the mind.
KNAC.COM: On Killbox 13, did you guys do anything new that you haven’t from the past?
ELLSWORTH:: The first time in ten years we used a producer from soup to nuts, Colin Richardson. He’s mixed for us in the past. In ’97 he did our record, From the Underground and Below, Bloodletting in 2000, but this is the first time we’ve actually had a guy from pre-production, through the mix. So there was really no double-duty. It was really about concentrating on the tracks. I mean, I couldn’t believe it, I was in the studio for only six hours and then I was back with my wife on the Jersey shores watching the waves crash. But it’s really awesome, because we do not have to do both. It’s really about concentration and it was up to Colin. There’s a big element of trust when you give this to someone to do. And we had it with Colin. Back in ’97, Colin had just flown in from London, and he walked into the studio and we’d be updating him with demos and he wanted to hear the tracks and get something to eat. I had only known him for five minutes and he asked if we could give him an hour to listen to the tracks. My partner D.D. and I left the room, and I looked back through the glass and he’s standing on a chair playing air guitar. And I said, we either made the biggest mistake of our lives, or this guy’s going to be brilliant! But in any case, it was the latter, and that’s where that level of trust came from. That’s the way Colin approaches music. I picture that day in my head and realize that he loves this shit as much as I love it. As much as D.D., Dave and Tim and Derek love this shit. I think for us it paid off because there was somebody there to mind the store, where wouldn’t do it as thoroughly.
KNAC.COM: Are you guys going to be touring soon?
ELLSWORTH:: Sure. About mid-May in the States. It will start in the East Coast and take us out for about a month, then onto European festival season, which is my favorite. Then we’ll be back in July through the mid-west and push our way west from there.
KNAC.COM: Do you enjoy touring?
ELLSWORTH:: Yeah, I enjoy the shows. It’s a lot of waiting. It’s twenty-two and a half hours to do an hour and a half show. When I think back, now I know why I drank.
KNAC.COM: A lot of time to waste—or get wasted between shows. I hear you like motorcycles a lot. Do you ever get to take one out on the road with you?
ELLSWORTH:: No, I don’t get to take one out. It’s mainly for financial reasons, but I’d love to have it with me. Somebody told me, “You know, you’d be lost on it all the time if you had it with you,” and I just say, “But you don’t understand, that’s the whole idea. You don’t buy a bike to get somewhere; you buy it to get lost.”
KNAC.COM: So what do you do to fill your days?
ELLSWORTH:: I do a lot of press. The band is self-managed. Myself and my partner D.D. do it. We do have some partners who help us overseas, because we don’t have an ear to the ground there. As much as we do love it, it is like running a business and that does take up a lot of the time. I’ve also been lucky enough to separate the hour and a half from the business, and kick it out and enjoy it.
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"I think there’s a different approach to [touring], in that when they find something in Europe that they love, they most certainly hold onto it, whereas in the States, it always is a proving ground."
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KNAC.COM: Do you find there’s a difference between touring the States compared to Europe?
ELLSWORTH:: Europe always seems like a family reunion. But once the music starts, it could be anywhere. It could be New York or Berlin. I think there’s a different approach to it, in that when they find something in Europe that they love, they most certainly hold onto it, whereas in the States, it always is a proving ground. But quite obviously, we’ve lasted this long and are still able to do a hundred shows here in the States, which shows that we’ve proved ourselves here, too, year after year.
KNAC.COM: How do you keep up with label support? With bands that wax and wane, how do you keep them on your side and still have the freedom to play what you wish?
ELLSWORTH:: I think in our case, it’s always been about the idea. We have a real blue-collar work ethic. It’s constant communication between us and them. We just released a DVD [titled, Wrecking Everything—An Evening in Asbury Park], and their mouths dropped when we delivered the product. The reason that we’ve switched labels was so we could get the opportunity to get this DVD through Eagle Vision, which is a division of Spitfire. It’s not about radio, it’s about ideas and making them happen. Record labels like Spitfire seriously appreciate that based on the fact that the band are doers, not sayers.
KNAC.COM: Last question, a lot of bands are given gifts by their fans…
ELLSWORTH:: I’m holding mine right now.
KNAC.COM: [Stuttering] I’m afraid to ask you what it is now. Is it an animal? A baby?
ELLSWORTH:: [Laughing] This woman made a superhero doll of me. She took so much time and actually drew the tattoos in full detail. So it’s a guy with no shirt on with these big flame tattoos up his side and forearm, and leather pants. It’s kind of got a little of that Village People vibe going on, but I was really very impressed.
KNAC.COM: So as I’m talking to you, you’re playing…
ELLSWORTH:: With my little friend [laughing]. I had this little Japanese woman give me a voodoo looking doll once. That was a little frightening. Oh, and two guys that ran a fan club over in Germany gave me Overkill custom fat bob gas tanks for my Harley, which was really cool. So I’ve been given some nice shit.
KNAC.COM: You’ve got a cool job, man. Thanks for the Q&A session.
ELLSWORTH:: It’s been fun. I hope to see you at one of the shows this summer.
KNAC.COM: You got it, me and all that man heat!
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