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 KNAC.COM Recaps The 2017 LOUDWIRE MUSIC AWARDS By Chris "Chili" Pirri, So Cal Contributor Tuesday, November 14, 2017 @ 10:24 AM
On October 24th Downtown Los Angeles opened up its arms and welcomed The Loudwire Music Awards to town. Host of the evening was WWE legend and front man of FOZZY, Chris Jericho. It was held at the intimate indoor club called The Novo just steps away from The Staples Center. Unlike the Grammys, this award show can distinguish the difference between Metal and Hard Rock, complete with categories and performances by artists in each genre.
My day started early in the afternoon outside upon the Black Carpet, Loudwire’s version of the Red Carpet made famous by all of the other award shows. This is where I attempted to interview the musicians in the sweltering one hundred degree heat. To make matters even more unbearable, all of the journalists were packed into a very small area. We were literally bumping and elbowing to get in position to take a picture or even get a few questions in with today’s top stars in the industry. I was lucky enough to speak with Joey Kramer (AEROSMITH), BUTCHER BABIES, and Scott Ian (ANTHRAX). The interview excerpts can be found below.
Once the fiasco on the Black Carpet was winding down it was time for the show to start inside the air conditioned theater of The Novo. Opening the show was IN THIS MOMENT singing “Black Wedding” with the Metal God himself, Rob Halford of JUDAS PRIEST. Rob Halford was also recognized later in the evening with the Lemmy Lifetime Achievement Award. Other prestigious awards went to Sammy Hagar (Humanitarian Award) and Tony Iommi (BLACK SABBATH) who received the Courage Award. The Loudwire Award itself was actually sculpted from Tony’s hand as he made the horns. There were plenty of performances throughout the night ranging from Thrash Metal newcomer POWER TRIP, to a weird and bizarre performance by STARSET. Maybe I’m old but I just didn’t comprehend or even understand the theatrics going on during their set. Highlights for me of the show were ANTHRAX covering the hit song “Carry On Wayward Son”, originally done by KANSAS in 1976. This version is actually better than the original. Other high points included Dave Mustaine performing “Civil War” with BODY COUNT, and Jamey Jasta (HATEBREED) singing with POWER TRIP on a cover of “We Are The Road Crew”, originally done by MOTORHEAD.
HARD ROCK ARTIST OF THE YEAR:
BUTCHER BABIES
KNAC.COM: We got Lilith coming out this Friday.
BUTCHER BABIES: Yes.
KNAC.COM: Thank God.
BUTCHER BABIES: Yes.
KNAC.COM: I've already listened to it. It's like on repeat right now for me.
BUTCHER BABIES: Oh thank you.
KNAC.COM: It seems to be more advanced lyrically and musically.
BUTCHER BABIES: Well, thank you.
KNAC.COM: What do you owe that to?
KNAC.COM: And you're touring with HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD?
BUTCHER BABIES: Yeah.
KNAC.COM: And still going on.
BUTCHER BABIES: Yeah.
KNAC.COM: Shenanigans going on there?
BUTCHER BABIES: Always.
KNAC.COM: And the pizza parties, they look unreal.
BUTCHER BABIES: Oh, they're so much fun. We always like to offer special VIPs for our fans, not the standard, you know, sitting behind the table and come in and say hello and goodbye. We like to have you know, share a meal, play a game, do something special. Spend some time together, get a bunch of selfies. This is definitely the coolest that we've ever been because we allow 15 people each night to actually come onto our tour bus and have pizza with us.
KNAC.COM: Yes, it sounds excellent. Last thing for Carla. I’m always looking for you at San Diego Comic-Con. When are we getting a new comic from you?
BUTCHER BABIES: Oh I'll write one soon, as soon as we're done touring the world.
KNAC.COM: Alright.
BUTCHER BABIES: It's ... Oh you know, I'm having such a good time obviously playing music. It's really hard to find time to do everything. We love Comic-Con. All of us love Comic-Con.
KNAC.COM: Alright, thank you very much guys.
BUTCHER BABIES: Thank you.
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JOEY KRAMER (AEROSMITH)
KNAC.COM: So Joey, Chris From KNAC.COM. You probably remember us back in the day.
KRAMER: Hi man. YEAH
KNAC.COM: Great, how are you doing?
KRAMER: I'm good how are you?
KNAC.COM: Hangin in there. Who are you looking forward to here, to see tonight?
KRAMER: HALESTORM, LITA FORD, SAMMY HAGAR.
KNAC.COM: Right On.
KRAMER: My friend Chad Smith is here.
KNAC.COM: That's right.
KRAMER: So you know, I'm looking forward to the whole thing because my coffee company is sponsoring one of the awards and I'm going to be a presenter.
KNAC.COM: What are you presenting?
KRAMER: I'm presenting the best drummer.
KNAC.COM: Best drummer, I guess that makes perfect sense right? So, where do you get these coffee beans from, let's go from there?
KRAMER: Most of them from South America, some are from Africa. There's three different kinds of, there's Sumatra, espresso, Guatemalan and Ethiopian.
KNAC.COM: Wow. That's alright.
KRAMER: It's gourmet coffee at a very reasonable price. I'm not gouging people.
KNAC.COM: Uh huh.
KNAC.COM: And you're mostly based on East side will you be coming out here on the West Coast?
KRAMER: Uh yeah, we're the biggest right now in the Northeast because that's where the band's from and we have the most exposure there. But now that we're taking a little bit of time off I actually have the time, which I'm supposed to be taking off, to push the coffee. I'm the face of the company so here I am.
KNAC.COM: When are you ... going to keep touring again do you think?
KRAMER: Oh Yeah
KNAC.COM: Really? New album?
KRAMER: I don't know about an album, but the band's got plenty of juice.
KNAC.COM: Right on! That's what I want to hear.
KRAMER: Oh yeah.
KNAC.COM: Cool. Thank you very much for stopping by.
KRAMER: It's not over by a long shot.
KNAC.COM: I love to hear that, that's awesome. Thank you
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SCOTT IAN (ANTHRAX)
KNAC.COM: I’m Chris from KNAC.COM. You are up for live band. Think you deserve it?
IAN: Who are we up against?
KNAC.COM: IRON MAIDEN.
IAN: Well I mean, if MAIDEN's in the category, then out of respect, MAIDEN always has to get it.
KNAC.COM: You're giving an award away to Rob Halford. What an honor is that, the Lemmy award to begin with? I mean.
IAN: You know what, I mean, I've been a fan of JUDAS PRIEST since around 1979. I saw them open for KISS. I've been lucky enough to meet Rob. Over the years we toured together and the fact that we get to honor him, whatever the hell that means, but, you know. We get to go say a bunch of nice things about someone who deserves it and then hand him a thing and give him a hug. He's a fucking metal god.
KNAC.COM: Exactly.
KNAC.COM: That would be great.
IAN: Like for real, it's fucking Rob Halford. So, come on! Hey, apparently Tony Iommi is going to be here too, so that just even takes it to another level.
KNAC.COM: Last question. You're going back on tour again with KILLSWITCH ENGAGE and bringing in HAVOK this time. How is that? Was it fun the first time?
IAN: KILLSWITCH is amazing. We had such a blast. The shows were great. We were like, even before the tour ended, the agents were already saying, 'You want to do it again?' We're like, 'Yeah!' Everyone was getting alone great. So, I can't wait.
KNAC.COM: Thank you very much for stopping by
Check out some more photos from the Black Carpet!
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Overall I had a pleasant time once I got off the Black Carpet and inside the theater. As in all award shows there is a lot of downtime due to commercials and the presenting of awards. Even with the few problems of the night I look forward to covering this event next year. In case you missed the show you can find highlights of the performances on AXS channel on demand on your local cable courier. Listed below are the nominees in each category along with the winners.
MOST DEDICATED FANS:
BUTCHER BABIES: I mean, I think we're ... As time goes on, you obviously grow through each album you write and record. We're always writing from the heart. And I'll say our last album was very ... It was a very honest album about things that we felt on the inside. And I think that with this album, we really delved into the storytelling of different human instincts, like basic human instincts. And so it was really fun for us to really take the time and sit down and write these songs, tear them apart, put them back together. And then tear them apart again and then put them back together again. So it's fun.
KRAMER: Even though I have the platform to do so, which is being in the same band for fifteen years. I'm not doing that. I don't need to, I don't need toys, I just want anybody to be able to drink great coffee. Most people don't realize that they can drink great coffee for the same price as what they payin for whatever they're drinking now only this is better.
IAN: I still get excited the same way I did when I was 15 years old. Whether it's listening to PRIEST or just hanging out with the dude, I turn into a sweaty 15 year old. Because, he's Rob Halford. He transcends ... he's Rob Halford. I expect him to come flying in on giant black bat wings any minute now.
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