Paul Martin aka “The Axeman” is without a doubt one of the most iconic people in the New Zealand Rock scene. Since 1987 he’s been flying the flag for Hard Rock and Heavy Metal in this country promoting both Kiwi and international artists alike through his radio show The Axe Attack. And while that’s an epic achievement in itself, The Axeman’s service to New Zealand music extends even further. Paul has also contributed his musical talents through bands such as TYRANT, KNIGHTSHADE, BLACKJACK and more recently his heavyweight Rock/Metal band WORLD WAR FOUR. This band has supported international acts such as HEAVEN & HELL, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, DOWN, MOTÖRHEAD just to name a few. Read on as The Axeman gives us a full rundown on WORLD WAR FOUR, his take on the New Zealand Rock scene, and a detailed insight into his musical past, present and future…
NZRock: So how and when did WORLD WAR FOUR begin?
The Axeman: Believe it or not it was a concept that I had when I was back in BLACKJACK, 1998 I guess, or ’99. But this line-up we’ve got now, the 3 piece with Cass Wilson, Greg Page and myself, we’ve been together probably four years. I mucked around for a few years trying to find the right people and stumbled around just trying to just get that right chemistry thing but it’s all good now.
NZRock: The current line-up that you have now, how’d you all meet to begin with?
The Axeman: It’s pretty crazy really. I’d heard of Greg because he was playing in a few local bands, a few punk bands and that around Hamilton and he was a DJ on Contact FM which is a student station. He was a crazy DJ man, he was a nutcase and also he did some work with KNIGHTSHADE after I left the band, he did a clay animation video for ‘Television Eyes’. And so I knew of him but didn’t know him properly and funnily enough he entered this competition way back in 2000 I think, that I had on the Axe Attack. I had two tickets to give away to Ozzfest in Florida and a guy from Wellington called Sean “Mean Seed” Mead who plays in a band called FIRE, he won and Greg Page won. So I ended up getting to know Greg quite well on this trip to America and we just got on like a house on fire so when he found out we were looking for a drummer he was right into it. He’s got a really cool temperament for a drummer, he’s awesome, heaps of fun and just really pumping full of ideas and enthusiasm 100% of the time. But having said that he’s the world’s busiest guy HAHA! He’s got his fingers in a lot of pies and a lot of people want him to direct their videos and TV ads so he’s busy.
I knew of Cass Wilson through his bands MS. GODZILLA and TIME. and we’d bump into each other here and there. I could see he was the motivated and passionate one in his bands and you don’t forget people like that. I tend to gravitate towards them. We first met at a random party and both had this weird feeling that we’d play together sometime. Cass knew of me from BLACKJACK etc and reckons he had a moment then where he saw us playing some huge gigs together in the future. fucken Hello!… HEAVEN & HELL, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, MOTORHEAD, DIANNO, BIG DAY OUT, G-TARANAKI… Christ, I didn’t think either of us dared dream all that! But we fucken did it. I’d really been stumbling about with Paul Martinpersonnel issues in WORLD WAR FOUR when Cass came along and I was ready to clear the slate and get players that were 100% proof, no posers, no prima donnas. Cass just fit in straight away and it just felt like a bullet had been loaded into the chamber you know? We were freakin armed and dangerous from that day on. By the time we found Pagey I knew we had found that blend of raw aggression and snarling rage that I’d been looking for for so long. I knew this meant war. Everything clicked into place, the ethic was nice and simple, no extraneous parts, brutally efficient and effective, and loud… just like a Kalashnikov.
NZRock: You’ve been doing some acoustic recording recently, can you go into that?
The Axeman: Yeah it’s just a song I wrote just recently called ‘Welcome’. I had the urge to record it and a friend of my from KNIGHTSHADE days Rick Bernard has got a little studio set up at home and he invited me around. So I’ve been turning up at his place once a week for a few hours and we’ve just been chipping away at it slowly, putting the song together. It wasn’t for any serious purpose or anything other than myself, I just wanted it recorded and from then its built bigger than I thought it was. Another friend of ours, Ritchie Pickett is going to play keyboards on it and it’s just really exciting recording. It’s not something you can do enough of. I cant say too much about it because I might still be working on the song in another year HAHA! Nah it wont be that long.
WORLD WAR FOUR does a version of this song but this will be like an acoustic version with keyboards so we’re not going to break out into having an organ player at the WORLD WAR FOUR gigs just yet but yeah, it’s just fun to experiment. I’ve been chipping away at some other acoustic instrumental stuff as well.
NZRock: I heard you did an acoustic performance with Craig Radford from STICKY FILTH recently?
The Axeman: Yeah we did a private gig for a mate, a birthday party at a motorcycle club in Taranaki and Crag was doing some of his solo acoustic stuff. I’d seen him do it before and loved it. We’ve always got on pretty well you know and ages before we’d talked about doing an acoustic set. He got really excited and said “we should just do it man!” So yeah we spent a few hours together that weekend and got up and played some stuff. We free formed some acoustic Blues Punk, it was pretty cool. He’s such a nice guy and I’d love to do more with him. I’d love to get a few little projects on the go and do some recording with someone like him. After the revolution when I have my own studio HAHA!
NZRock: Going back to WORLD WAR FOUR, when can we expect the debut?
The Axeman: HAHA! Yeah well, pretty much we’ve only just paid off the last two songs that we’ve recorded. But we’re writing furiously for it and we’ve been shopping around the songs that we have ‘Pet Hate’ and ‘Knife Fight’ to a few different places overseas and in New Zealand. We’ve had a couple of bites back, people who are keen to have another listen and check us out a bit more. So nothing concrete yet but that’s obviously what we’re striving for. It’s pretty hard to make the money playing your own songs to record to the standard that you’d like to you know. You’ve got to be fussy these days and record it well and spend a lot of money, that’s what it comes down to basically.
NZRock: Music videos as well? I guess WORLD WAR FOUR has an advantage there HAHA!
The Axeman: Well yeah, we’ve got the advantage… as soon as I put Pagey in a sleeper hold HAHA! Again, we’ve applied to NZ On Air for funding just on the strength of ‘Pet Hate’ getting played on The Rock FM. All of a sudden we fit the criteria for funding but nah, we’ve been turned down a couple of times already and you’re only allowed a couple of shots per song. We’ll keep trying with it, who knows, this song ‘Welcome’ might do it. It’s fickle but we’ll keep plugging away. We’re still writing heaps of stuff and just finding the time to make it all happen, get it recorded and make it tangible so we’ve got something to do with it.
NZRock: You’ve got a family, The Axe Attack, work and also WORLD WAR FOUR, how do you find the time to fit everything in?
The Axeman: I just always have you know. The music thing has been something I’ve always done so everything else fits in around that pretty much. I’ve got the coolest family who are totally understanding of me doing Rock N Roll things and when it impedes on family time I’m pretty lucky there. But it doesn’t seem to be a struggle because it’s just something I love to do. It’s like every Sunday having to come to Auckland it sort of screws my weekend kind of. You’ve got to be pretty careful on the Saturday night when you’ve got to drive an hour and a half to work and then back in the wee small hours. You just get into the habit of doing these things because that’s what you do and you love doing it.
NZRock: Your son Nic played on stage with WORLD WAR FOUR at the BIG DAY OUT this year. How’d he find that experience?
The Axeman: He loved it. He’s pretty mellow and he’s pretty understated. He’s I guess your typical 13 year old and so he doesn’t bounce off the walls and note off about it like I probably would HAHA! But he takes it all in his stride and hes sort of humbled by the whole buzz. He also played with Jordan Luck recently as part of that Play It Strange school thing that was going around. They got to play at Founders Theatre in Hamilton and Jordan Luck got up and jammed with a few kids from a few different schools and Nic got picked to play drums for ‘Who Loves Who The Most?’. He did a mint job of it and it was really awesome. His band just recently got into the regional finals for the Smokefree Rock Quest which is his first one. So yeah, he works hard, it’s awesome to see. He plays bass guitar as well, he probably spends as much time on bass as he does on the drums which is good to see.
NZRock: In May this year you were endorsed by Dean Guitars, congratulations! How’d they approach you?
The Axeman: HAHA! I don’t really know man, it was kinda embarrassing because when the guy rang up I was just at home and I thought it was one of those winding up tricks that radio people play on each-other. Everyone has been getting stung right left and centre so I was kinda expecting it HAHA! So I probably didn’t believe him for the first little bit HAHA! But luckily he was a nice guy with a sense of humour and he understood when I calmed down and stuff. But like he said to me, the longevity of what I’ve been doing and just pushing the cause for New Zealand music, it’s the whole ethic that Dean guitars are about. They’re a Metal guitar company basically and they’re absolutely beautiful guitars, definitely the best I’ve ever played. I couldn’t be happier you know and I’m in there boots and all!
NZRock: Have they given you a custom guitar?
The Axeman: I’m working on it, they’ve given me the go ahead to customise the Razorback that I’ve got and just do something with the graphics, make it a bit more Axeman. I’m working that at the moment with Nadine from Skinks Tattoos.
NZRock: I meant to ask about Tattoos as well because they’ve been a big part of your life. How much space do you have left for them now HAHA!
The Axeman: HAHA! I’ve still got quite a bit of room I think. I’ve got no arms left and no back left but yeah, there’s lots of gaps left. Its another thing that I dont seem to do enough of… recording and getting inked because there’s definitely some very cool artists around. Nadine has just been doing some stunning stuff and I’ve got big plans. She’s actually started making over some of my old stuff that was like 20 years old. She’s brought it back to life and turned flowers into skulls HAHA! Some of that stuff is pretty old and face it, I was hanging out with some dodgy tattooists HAHA! Oh well, Rock N Roll!
NZRock: Like you mentioned you’ve had a long history of involvement with the New Zealand Rock / Metal scene. You’ve been in bands like TYRANT, KNIGHTSHADE and BLACKJACK prior to WORLD WAR FOUR. Can you go into the history of those bands for us?
The Axeman: TYRANT was like my very first band. What year was it… probably ’81 or ’82 or ’83 or something like that. I was pretty young, straight out of High School and I was going mad on BLACK SABBATH basically and I’d been right into the SEX PISTOLS and a lot of American Punk like THE RAMONES and THE DEAD BOYS. I was just a pretty crazy young teenager and just discovering DEEP PURPLE, URIAH HEEP, ZEPPLIN and the like. These guys at school had started this band and I just bought a bass guitar. I couldn’t really play it or tune it or do anything with it yet. I said to them, “yeah I play bass, what sorta stuff do you do”? And they go “IRON MAIDAN and that” and I went “ah yeah, I’ll give that a go” HAHA! So I went out that day and bought my first IRON MAIDEN record, ‘Killers’ had only just come out I think, I don’t know, it was way back and it was still quite new. I got it home and absolutely crapped my pants once I heard the bass on it HAHA! But I just worked really hard and loved it. I gave it heaps. Your first band, it’s like a love affair sort of thing you know. You’ve got this cool vibe going on with the guys and we had this practice room in the middle of Willis St in Wellington. We’d just hang, we’d just about live there and drink heaps of booze, and just have our long hair and our studded wrist bands and mooch around Wellington. I really loved that band but I mean, if I listen back now we were pretty rough HAHA! But it was great fun, we did an EP [called ‘Breaking Out’] which funnily enough has ended up in Turkey and Greece and all over the place. That was a great band, basically the singer had decided to go to the UK and we were kinda breaking up. I got offered the spot in KNIGHTSHADE. I’d met the guys just at gigs in Wellington when they’d come down from Te Puke. We got on really well and one of their guitar players Laurie Goossens had left and I got offered the spot with them. So I was in with KNIGHTSHADE for a couple of years. And then yeah, how did I end up in BLACKJACK? I dont really know. I went overseas and played in some covers bands in Aussie for a couple of months. I had a bit of fun and really abused my liver mostly HAHA! But I heard BLACKJACK ‘Outta Here’, they’d just recorded the first version of that and I loved it. I just thought they had it and as fate would have it they were looking for another guitarist so yeah, that was a crazy ride you know. A few years of just giving it everything you know. We had two albums and seven videos. But it’s funny because you look back at all these essential New Zealand compilations now and you wouldn’t even know we existed ay. It’s a funny era, just before CD singles, well, we did CDs and cassettes but we never actually did CD singles because they were still quite new HAHA! It was cool fun, I learned a lot with that band. We did two official albums and then basically after a few line-up changes we decided to dissolve the band. It was all over, I just cleaned out the vaults basically and put a few recordings together and put it out as that ‘Occult Ritual’ with ‘Red Cab’ and a whole bunch of other songs. There were like three different singers on it I think.
But yeah, it’s all a big learning curve you know. You give it all the best years of your life and then you think fuck, I’m still alive and I’ve still got a few years and I’m pretty excited. Like WORLD WAR FOUR is proabably the most exciting band I’ve been in. It’s different to me because one, I’ve never been a singer before this band so that was a crazy step in the first place but it was really what I’d been trying to do for a long time as well. Like I say I’m still mucking around at home with acoustic stuff and putting together like an EP almost of just some quiet acoustic songs thats really not WORLD WAR FOR but its just like the NIGHTFALL album I did years back. Just sort of like a continuation of that sort of thing. I cant really help it, you just move in different directions all at the same time you know. The WORLD WAR FOUR stuff is that and the acoustic stuff is this. It’s just being a Gemini I guess HAHA! I’ve just got to be doing lots of things at once.
NZRock: Speaking of the NIGHTFALL album, whats the history behind that recording?
The original album Nightfall was an acoustic album I wrote featuring three guitar instrumentals and three tracks with Martyn Clist [ex-FURY] on vocals. I played classical and 12 string as well as bass, acoustic and electric guitars. I released it independently in 1990 and sold around 800 copies. I was having access problems with my daughter, her mother was being a sea hag and making it difficult for me to see her. I wanted to pour my heart out to her with music so the songs would always be there. It was a way of having some control at a time when I felt powerless. Music has enduring power, its a lasting testament that lives forever.
I have been writing the follow up since then and have recorded a few tracks at various studios but intend to do a lot of the finishing off at Rik Bernards’ studio in Cambridge. This follow up will feature a mix of instrumental and vocal songs and will have at least a couple of very special guest artists on it that I can’t name just yet… but I will be involving my son Nic on drums and bass. I’ll be producing it also. The idea behind it is simple… if I die today, the music will be around for a while yet. Songwriting has always been really important to me and like any other writer I want my songs heard and listened to. I want to empower, evoke and motivate people and I want them to get what I’m feeling and I want to leave behind some kind of legacy. I am also writing a song for Richie Picketts new album and will be working with a bunch of different musicians on that. Craig Radford [frontman of STICKY FILTH] and I have also made moves towards working together on a project in the future as well which is exciting as hell for me.
NZRock: How did you get into Hard Rock / Metal music to begin with?
The Axeman: I was always mad on music you know. I think I was 5 years old and my Mum told me years later that I heard Louie Armstrong playing trumpet on TV or something like this and I was just hypnotised by it and always talking about him and stuff. I begged for a trumpet and finally got one when I was in the 3rd Form. I got quite good on it but we shifted and I wasn’t in an orchestra anymore and I sort of ended up swapping it for a Marshall stack. But yeah, I mean I was really interested in anything. My sisters were playing stuff at home and I’d hear it, whether it was BOB DYLAN or URIAH HEEP, LED ZEPPLIN and DEEP PURPLE. I was hearing all this stuff and it was just having a profound effect on me you know. And then I got into this Punk thing, like I say the American Punk… THE RAMONES and stuff like that. I wasn’t really a big time Punk rocker or anything but I just loved their no nonsense attitude sort of thing. But my brother brought home a record that was BLACK SABBATH’s ‘Greatest Hits’ and it had the ‘Triumph Of Death’ by Peter Bruegel on the cover. You know, the skeletons attacking everyone and wiping out the world and I thought shit, that looks awesome HAHA! I put it on and I think NIB was the first track I played and I was just hooked. And I’m still the biggest SABBATH nut I know. It changed my world and then it was just logical from there. Just listening to anything and everything.
NZRock: You were on so many vinyl releases in the 80’s. Even with your first band TYRANT you were released on vinyl. How did it feel being immortalised on that music format?
The Axeman: They didn’t have CDs invented in those days mate HAHA! Vinyl was what there was and you had to pay for every step of the way, getting the acetate made and all that sort of stuff but you came back with a record. They used to press them in Wellington and man it was exciting getting the package, it really was! Our vocalist in TYRANT, Woody, he was and still is a graphic artist/designer and he did the artwork. We were gluing stuff together and putting in the lyric sheets when we got them. It was wicked man!
NZRock: With WORLD WAR FOUR, how do you guys get such a huge sound as a three piece band?
The Axeman: We use the same sound tech and we’ve had him for years. We trust him and we’ve battered him into shape and said ok we want this and make sure this happens and stuff. Yeah I’ve had to hold him up against the wall a few times to say come on man, bigger, more, faster… HAHA! But nah, it’s a big part of the sound and it’s important that it does sound big. I use two Marshall guitar stacks, two Marshall half stacks if you like and what’s better than one guitar sound? Two good guitar sounds. And being a three piece I’ve always been conscious that the sound is almost fragile because if the guitar breaks off and does something else the whole thing can sort of change drastically and stuff. So yeah, using the dynamics more is great because it’s just another tool. Having another amp that you can switch on or off whenever you want, bring in another guitar for another part, it just gives the band a lot more width and more power. To me, I don’t want to play unless its going to crush people live. It’s got to sound big and it’s got to sound epic and you know, I’ve been dicking around with guitar sounds for so long now I’m never actually properly satisfied but it’s always something I’m always working on… the crushability HAHA!
NZRock: G-TARanaki was an awesome event last year and you were right in the thick of it playing with WORLD WAR FOR and being MC for the event. What were some of the highlights for you?
The Axeman: Oh shit… meeting Glenn Hughes man! And telling him that my wife and I, the one dance at our wedding was to one of his songs and he was just sort of really blown away and he loved it that it was this particular song. He was stoked with it and he goes “Paul, you’ve given me goosebumps.” And I thought man I just gave Glenn Hughes goosebumps HAHA! Meeting him was epic because he’s such a nice guy and musically he’s always been a huge influence. Getting to see Uli Jon Roth, one shake his hand and two, watch him from the side of the stage doing ‘The Sales Of Charon’, I was just wow, that was amazing! Meeting Alex Skolnick and having a Waikato with him. I took him some beer, he had this horrible beer in his fridge and I went “you don’t want that Alex, come on, come with me, we’ve got real beer!” HAHA! We wasted a few Waikato’s, it was good! Yeah that was just an epic weekend, we met heaps of cool people and just the vibe in the place, everyone was happy and buzzed to be in the company of geniuses.
NZRock: You’ve heard a lot of Kiwi Hard Rock and Metal over the years, who are some of your favourites?
The Axeman: Lets see… THE NOD, FURIOUS GEORGE, CRIPPLE MR ONION… I really like WRATH, STICKY FILTH… there’s just so much. I like the old KNIGHTSHADE stuff before I joined. I like the stuff I played on as well but you know. TOKYO from Wellington, STRIKEMASTER, all these epic old bands were a huge influence on me. And SLIPPING TONGUE definitely, I loved their stuff. Who else… there’s just too many to mention. STARDRUNK was a band I really liked. TAINTED… I havent got anything bad to say about any Kiwi bands really, so many of them are my favourites.
NZRock: What are the biggest changes that you’ve noticed in the NZ Music industry the over the years?
The Axeman: Its hard to try and keep in touch with whats going on. There are so many bands coming and going all the time and it’s a tough scene so I understand when bands fall over. There have been a lot of changes, I mean for example back when we were making records, there weren’t so many bands doing it. Now there are so many bands doing it and with things like Smokefree Rockquest, kids are actively encouraged to be in Rock bands at school! And they’re taught how to use Pro Tools and shit like that at school! It’s freaking amazing, my kids being taught how to use Pro Tools at school. It’s changed a lot and it doesn’t take that much to have a little studio set up at home to do basic stuff. There are a lot of people doing that, and a lot of bands just taking the initiave to do their own demos and things. And yeah, the industry is still not really helping our genre I guess, as far as promoting Metal as New Zealand music, you still just don’t get a look in. But the bands are standing up for themselves and releasing some quality shit so it’s only getting bigger. It’s a pretty competitive market, The scene is pretty vibrant now and there’s so much good stuff out there you know, like SET ON END, young bands coming out of nowhere and geeze they kick ass, they sound brutal. ULCERATE are doing some cool things too. Bands are making stuff happen for themselves you know. So the scene has really changed a lot. It’s still really hard for me to bust on through but I was really surprised when The Rock FM started playing ‘Pet Hate’ because I didn’t actually go in to them and say “I want you to consider this for airplay” because I just didn’t think it would fit their format. And its not coming from a major label. I can’t think of any independent stuff they’ve accepted. I don’t know all the stuff they’ve accepted but usually it comes from a label so the fact that it got played on off the record is awesome. I was in the chemist shop because after the operation on my back I was on some pretty heavy duty pain killers and I was looking a bit wooly and disheveled and I was in this brand new chemist buying these really heavy pills. The woman was looking at me sideways anyway and wanted to see my ID and stuff. I could hear this tinny little radio somewhere that was coming out of her computer and then I was singing along going “I know this! Holy shit, they’ve got my song on the computer!”. I said, “what’s that you’ve got over there playing?” and she said “It’s the radio”. I asked her if it was The Rock and she said she didn’t think so, but it was. And I said “That’s my band” and she went “OK… here’s your pills.” HAHA! That blew me away and they got a good response apparently with people ringing up and asking for it. It was crazy because whether it was Brad or Riccardo who played it to Nathan and Bryce, he didn’t tell them who it was and they agreed that it was GRINSPOON. So that was cool that it got in there on it’s merits and they didn’t say it was Paul’s band. I was wrapped and like I say it made us instantly qualify for us to be elligible for the New Zealand On Air funding… but it doesn’t mean you’re going to get it HAHA!
Actually, did I tell you about the P MONEY video? I’m in the video for ‘Angels’ which came out a little while ago. Greg did the video. It breaks my heart because it’s his concept you know, making it like a horror movie trailer. It’s a freaking brilliant idea and it should’ve been hours HAHA! But yeah, he got me a part as a mental patient. I crash into P in the hallway of this mental hospital. We filmed it up at the Kingseat mental hospital at Kingseat and it was creepy as hell man. It’s supposed to be haunted and they’ve had all of these ghost programmes in there. I had to wonder around the hospital all day getting into character for my two second role. Good fun! HAHA!
NZRock: So you’ve been in a P MONEY video and Sam Sheppard from SINATE has been in a SCRIBE video. Is there a connection there?
The Axeman: Pagey rings me up man and he says “who’s a Metal drummer that’s either really hairy or really covered in tattoos that’ll smash the shit out of a kit for this SCRIBE song?” And I said “Ring Sam mate, he’ll be wicked for it!” And I think he did it for a crate of beer which he drank before the video shoot! HAHA!
NZRock: So what else have you got on the agenda for the rest of your year?
The Axeman: I’ve actually been involved in this other project. When we had 6 Ft Under we donated guitars to a few different things. We donated acoustic guitars to the primary schools that the three of us who owned the bar had kids going to. Each of them got two acoustic guitars. We also got a really nice guitar for Rainbow Place which is part of Hospice. They look after kids before they’re teenages and they’re dealing with kids with terminal illness or their family have terminal illness. Basically just out of the blue we donated this guitar to them and I told them at the time if they wanted me to do like a performance for the kids or some lessions to let me know. They got back to me and asked if I’d do a songwriting workshop with them and I jumped at it. So I spent a few months down there once a week doing the songwriting workshops with these kids. There were probably about 16 or 17 of them… various ages from probably 6 up to 16. We had a lot of fun and basically they wrote the lyrics to this thing and I wrote the melodies and we worked on all the stuff together playing it acoustically and the were singing it. It was just really, really moving and I thought to myself I’ve got to do something with this. So I called in a few favours at the polytech in Hamilton where Rick Bernards works and they’ve got this killer studio there. I explained to them what I wanted to do and they donated some studio time and a couple of engineers donated their time and we got all the kids in and recorded this song. The rest of the people at Rainbow Place heard it and they just freaked out and they want to use it for a nationwide campaign at some stage. It was really special because all the kids got a message to say to their loved ones… I still get goosebumps just thinking about it. So yeah, I’ve been involved with that and they’re talking about doing a release for that as a fundraiser in the not too distant future. And yeah, because I had this operation on my back a while ago, the surgeon has told me that he doesn’t really want me going back crawling up and down pipes and inside industrial situations with radioactive material anymore HAHA! So I’m looking at something else, I’ve actually been offered a teaching job which is teaching guitar to kids so I’m giving some thought to that at the moment. The whole idea sounds like a really cool project. So yeah, I’m doing that and hopefully recording some more songs on my own.
You also mentioned about releasing a collection of short stories that you’ve written?
The Axeman: Yeah, the short stories collection I want to publish goes back years and years, I have always really enjoyed writing poems,prose and sick short stories. Mostly horror/creepy type of stuff. I loved reading from a very early age, especially Dahl, Poe, Hunter S. Thompson, Sven Hassel, Robert E Howard and Crowley. I put my stories down for a while when my kids were young cos I’d read to them before bed and it’d scare the hell out of them! Theres stories of werewolves and creepy moving rocks, wicked retribution, maniacs and hopelessness… just your normal routine daily stuff really… My stories have always taken a backseat to my songs so its taken a while but its looking like this year I’ll actually be able to get it published so I can start part 2! I’ve also got a friend who is dead set on getting me to write a book of my Rock N Roll experiences, the different bands, tours, highlights from 22 years of the Axe Attack, meeting rock stars and so on and my crazy friends, it’d be a million laughs thats for sure. I have written or had articles published in The Listener, Rip It Up [10 years], Zone magazine, Missing Link, NZ Musician, Australian Tattoo magazine, Brass, APRAP, The Waikato Times and the Herald.
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