BD Music caught up with Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian after the Yankee Stadium Big 4 show to discuss one of his biggest passions: zombies! Scott was lucky enough to become a zombie on The Walking Dead (description here) and he opened up a bit more about the experience as well as told us his favorite horror movie of all time! Want to know what it is? Check out the interview after the jump!
Don’t forget to check out our review of the new album Worship Music!
How’s it going?
Good, how are you?
Not too shabby! First of all, congratulations on Worship Music! I loved it and it seems like everyone is a huge fan!
Awesome man! Thanks so much!
I know that you just played the Big 4 show in Yankee Stadium and you’re probably sick and tired of talking about it, but can you tell me a little bit about it and what it meant for you?
For me, it was the biggest show of our career. It doesn’t get bigger than Yankee Stadium and as New Yorkers, and with most of us being Yankees fans [laughs], it was an experience that I can’t even say was a dream come true because I never even dreamed we would play Yankee Stadium. So, on just every level, it was incredible. The audience was amazing, they went nuts. It’s one of those things that’s going to take a little while for it to process for me and to even believe that it actually happened. I know we did it a week ago and it still seems so unreal!
Do you know if there are going to be anymore Big 4 shows?
I don’t know. It’s obviously something that was put together by Metallica and they’re very much the driving force behind it. Granted, we all love doing it. Us, Slayer, Megadeth, Metallica, it’s something that we all love to do. The best answer I can give is that we all love doing it so much makes me hopeful that we can do more shows. It’s not something that is industry driven or was put together by Live Nation. It was put together by the bands and is something we love to do. I hope that drive causes it to happen more.
Alright, I want to come to the main topic here: zombies! I know you’re a big fan of zombie movies. When did that start? Do you remember which movie turned you onto them?
It was Night of the Living Dead. I saw it as a kid and it just struck a chord with me. I got into horror movies early on, as a really young kid. I’m talking like six or seven years old. On Saturday mornings there was this show called Creature Feature and another one called Chiller Theater and they played horror movies. Most of my friends were watching cartoons while I was watching horror movies. I loved it! I don’t know why I connected so much with horror but it stayed with me when I grew up. It just really resonated with me, particularly those zombies. I’d seen zombies in crappy TV movies, like Haitian style zombies or ones that vampires created as henchmen, but I had never seen the Romero style zombie until Night of the Living Dead. It didn’t scare me but it resonated with me in a way that I hadn’t felt before. To me, it’s the most realistic. I don’t believe in werewolves, vampires, the supernatural. Granted, you have to suspend your disbelief for zombies but, for some reason, it just seems more possible than any other supernatural entities.
I have to say that I’m surprised you weren’t scared by Night Of The Living Dead. The first time I saw that movie it scared the hell out of me!
You know, I think it’s because by the time I saw that movie, I’d already built up a callous to horror movies. And that kinda sucks because I love that sensation. Like, when my wife jumps out at me in the house and scares the shit out of me, I love that feeling! I never get scared like that! It’s kind of a bummer that I can’t go to movies and have that experience. I certainly enjoy it but I never get scared watching them.
What is it like being a zombie on The Walking Dead?
That I can say was a dream come true! It’s something I’ve always wanted to do and something I felt like I would get an opportunity to do. Not specifically on Walking Dead of course. But someday I figured I’d get to be an extra in something and get made-up like a zombie. If I keep putting it out there enough and make myself available, it’ll happen. I just lucked out, the planets aligned. My agent got a call asking if I wanted to come down to a Walking Dead webisode shoot and Greg Nicotero was directing it and his team was going to make me up. So, not only did I get to do it, but I got to do it in the best possible way I could ever do it. Oh, and I get the best make up and FX guys in the business? Sure!
Without asking for too many spoilers, does your zombie have a bigger role than some of the “bit part” zombies?
I did get what is called the “full hero” treatment, which means I got the full treatment, not just a background. They did do a separate shot of me turning and following the living characters as they run past me. Whether or not it makes it into the thing, I don’t know, but they did do that shot.
What are some of your other favorite horror movies?
Pretty much it’s a list of classics. All the Evil Deads, number two being my favorite. The first Halloween, the first Friday the 13th, the first Nightmare on Elm St, Rosemary’s Baby, Dawn of the Dead, all of the old Universal movies. You know, I just did something recently where they asked me what my favorite horror movie of all time was and I said Evil Dead 2 and then about a day later I was thinking about it and I made a mistake, John Carpenter’s The Thing is my favorite horror movie of all time.
Thanks so much Scott! I’m looking forward to seeing you shamble for brains!
The Lost Boys: A New Musical officially kicked off on Broadway last month, and Deadline now reports that the show’s Broadway run has been extended into next year.
The show was originally set to run through November, but Deadline reports that The Lost Boys: A New Musical “has released a block of tickets through Sunday, March 7, 2027.”
The news comes in the wake of The Lost Boys: A New Musical becoming the most Tony-nominated musical of the season with twelve nominations including Best Musical.
Additionally, “TheLost Boys will launch a North American National Tour in Spring 2028, at Playhouse Square in Cleveland. Additional cities and tour dates will be announced later.”
The Lost Boys: A New Musical is of course an adaptation of the 1987 horror classic from director Joel Schumacher, with the cast including Ali Louis Bourzgui as lead vampire David (originally played by Kiefer Sutherland), Maria Wirries as Star (originally played by Jami Gertz), and LJ Benet as the soon-to-be-turned Michael (originally played by Jason Patric).
The horror musical’s cast also includes Shoshana Bean as Lucy Emerson, Benjamin Pajak as Sam Emerson, Paul Alexander Nolan as Max, Jennifer Duka as Alan Frog, Miguel Gil as Edgar Frog, Brian Flores as Marko, Sean Grandillo as Dwayne, and Dean Maupin as Paul.
The Lost Boys: A New Musical is Directed by Michael Arden, featuring Music and Lyrics by The Rescues, Book by David Hornsby & Chris Hoch, Story by James Jeremias & Janice Fischer, and Produced by James Carpinello, Marcus Chait & Patrick Wilson (The Conjuring) by special arrangement with Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures.
When a mother and her two teenage sons move to Santa Carla in desperate need of a fresh start, they soon uncover the darker side of this sunny coastal community. While Lucy tries to piece her family’s life back together, Michael keeps pulling away in search of belonging.
As he finds connection with a local rock band and its charismatic leader, his younger brother Sam comes face-to-face with a terrifying reality: When night falls, Michael’s new friends are even more dangerous than they first appeared.
Joel Schumacher directed the original The Lost Boys vampire movie in 1987, wherein two brothers move to a new town and discover that the area is a haven for vampires.
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