BIOHAZARD: REBORN IN DEFIANCE

BIOHAZARD: REBORN IN DEFIANCE
by Jason Walsh
An interview with Billy Graziadei

The guys in BIOHAZARD have already had a busy year. It kicked off with the Persistance Tour in Europe with SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, TERROR, and WALLS OF JERICHO, followed by a U.S. run alongside MADBALL and SWORN ENEMY, and then a jump across the globe to Australia for dates with HATEBREED, RAISED FIST, and CRO-MAGS. And they are only warming up…

This is in support of their long-awaited new record, “Reborn In Defiance,” which dropped on January 20 on Nuclear Blast Records. It was the first collaboration to feature all the original core members since 1994’s “State of the World Address,” which was the last record with founding guitarist Bobby Hambel. Hambel along with vocalist/bassist Evan Seinfeld, vocalist/guitarist Billy Graziadei, and drummer Danny Schuler, reunited in 2008 and hit the world running, touring relentlessly for the next few years, and in the process wrote the material for this newest offering. Things were looking good and the planets seemed to be aligned for the guys from Brooklyn, however the unexpected happened when the recording of the new album was completed. Seinfeld chose to leave the band and the four who were “Down For Life” were now three.

BIOHAZARD brought in their former guitarist and longtime friend Scott Roberts to fill in Seinfeld’s bass and vocal duties. With the album out and tours set in motion, Roberts has made a perfect fit and has kept the BIOHAZARD machine rolling.

BIOHAZARD formed in 1987 and made their worldwide impact with the 1992 record “Urban Discipline,” from which videos of “Punishment” and “Shades of Grey” gave punk, metal, and hiphop fans alike a glimpse of the newest tattooed hooligans from the New York underground. Now twenty years later, the Hazard is back and showing no signs of slowing down, no matter what obstacles stand in their way. I had a chance to catch up with Billy Graziadei to talk about the new record and the future of BIOHAZARD, as well as his experience on the road with the guys from BLOOD FOR BLOOD.

How are you doing, Billy? How are things going?

GRAZIADEI: It’s going great. Awesome. How are you, man?

Not too bad. So, let’s talk about the new record. What made you guys decide that this was something that you wanted to do now?

GRAZIADEI: (laughs) You know in our world, and I don’t know how it is in other people’s worlds, my music career has been probably the most unplanned adventure I ever dreamed of. It’s fucked up, but you know we haven’t really made plans in our career. You know as a kid I guess we always went for whatever because who knows if they are going to be around tomorrow. When you get a little older and you have more responsibility, kind of the last thing you want to do is to leave this Earth tomorrow without planning ahead, having shit taken care of. We got back together, it was a reunion…we went our separate ways and I think having time away from each other, and I had another band called SUICIDE CITY, and we all did different things. But I think the time away from each other brought us to a different level obviously as people because we grew up a lot as musicians and artists. The thing that mattered to us, you know, when we split up and during the majority part of our successful career didn’t really matter to us anymore. We didn’t really give a fuck about the things that seemed to drive in between us and wins their way into our friendship and shit. So it was kind of like it almost came full circle. When we started out we didn’t know anything about the music industry and we could give a fuck about it, pardon my French, but it was like, you know, it was just four dudes that found that we were more productive as people…couldn’t give a shit about getting high and smoking angel dust and doing stupid shit, you know, on the corners of Brooklyn that we hung out at. Coming full circle, I guess the reunion was kind of like…for a long time I thought I was the last lever and wrongfully so. You know, when we split up I realized “holy shit,” I couldn’t put food on my table anymore. It’s not going to pay my rent and I tried other ways to survive and make a living. Now I realized, especially these days, you can’t rely on the music industry and your music to make a living off of, so we do it for the love of it, like we did when we started. To not have the pressure of paying my car payment or your grocery bill on my shoulders off of BIOHAZARD makes it way more fun and enjoyable and it’s more real in a way because I really think it came full circle. Back then when we started we really didn’t know any better. Now we know better but we realize, “well, ok, this is what matters.” We do it because we like to do it, not because we have to do it.

I like that. Because when you guys started, you did this because you loved it, and then it became, you know, kind of a job, and like you said you were depending on it to survive, to live. When it ended you realized, it’s not the most important thing. So going back to it, returning to it, it seems like you are returning to it for all the right reasons, not because you had to pay bills. It’s because you believed in the music that you guys were doing.

GRAZIADEI: You know, I don’t know if you know much about my band SUICIDE CITY. I was in this band called SUICIDE CITY, and living in a van, we toured with everyone from GWAR to MINDLESS SELF INDULGENCE, DANZIG, TAKING BACK SUNDAY, all over the States like five or six times, in a van, lugging our own gear, like it was in the beginning of BIOHAZARD. We don’t put ourselves out there and do what we do and go through what we do for the money. The money, especially starting out, is far and in between. You’re not able to pay your bills for a long time starting out. We didn’t go back into it for the money. If we did, going back to the question, as far as planning and stuff, it would have been a better move for us to release a record before we got back together, or at least something. But it wasn’t about that for us. I think for me, and a lot of people have kind of misunderstood what I’ve meant, but it gave us a chance to kind of rewrite history in a way. People, I think, their last impression of BIOHAZARD was here and there from the late 90s. The original BIOHAZARD, the impact that we had was strong and I think that it was something that was awesome to me, and when we kind of fizzled away in our relationships and friendships and different members, something was missing and never the same. It wasn’t until we really split up and I ventured off putting my attention into other projects and other things, that I realized what I wanted, and what that was, was having the four guys back together again. Once that was gone, it was like a three-legged dog, you know what I mean? We had great moments and I’m proud of a lot of moments in albums in songs, but there was something that was always missing and I was never able to put my finger on it until it was over, and the possibility of us getting together then was like, it was done. Creatively I had already moved on. I had formed relationships and friendships, you know, and creative relationships with other musicians and I wasn’t into it. Then I got a call that Evan and Bobby had dinner one night in Manhattan, and at first I was like, “no fucking way...this is unbelievable, there’s no way this going to happen.” There’s no way those two dudes could sit in the same room together, let alone having dinner together in Manhattan. But I called, Bobby and it was true, it happened, and then that was the catalyst that got us back together and we all started talking and hanging out and that was, to me, the point when were able to rewrite history. We went out there and played with the same passion that we did when we started and playing all the songs that we wrote together when we started. This is what BIOHAZARD is. You can listen to the rumors, you can listen to what your big brother says, you can listen to the magazines and the websites or the hype machine at the record labels and all that crap, but this is the real deal and that was the most important thing for us. Through that and because of that, shit worked. I didn’t think we’d last two days let alone two months, but you know, two years and three years went by and then during that time we were sharing musical ideas back and forth, jamming shit, and started jamming some new songs live. Everything was natural and it was kind of like, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” So, we let shit go and we ended up with a record and then once again, like I said (laughs), you know Evan split right after we finished the record and quit. So we got tossed another curve ball but that’s always been BIOHAZARD. We’ve always been dealt like a crazy fucking hand with our backs against the wall. I kind of prefer being the underdog…the fight of the underdog. We got all the odds stacked against them from winning the fight and it puts us in a better position. So, we’re psyched for the tour and then writing up a lot for a new record, which is kind of something we did back in the earlier days. You know, by the time the record came out, we already had four or five new songs and so that’s where we are right now and we’re psyched to be where we are. No complaints.

Now when you guys got back together, the four of you guys, the core lineup, you know how much fun was that and how cool was that to be back together and doing what you were doing?

GRAZIADEI: It was awesome, you know. We went around the world a couple times, went places we’d never been before, and made a lot of friends. Saw a lot of old friends and made a lot of new friends. It was great. It was great to do it together as the four of us. Like I said, it wasn’t until we split up that I realized, “Wow,” that was the one thing we didn’t achieve, you know, was getting back together and having that original chemical combination of the four of us together again. Like I said, once we split up it was kind of too late. Having that back together again on stage…it’s this weird thing. BIOHAZARD can’t be a well rehearsed, well-polished machine that has computerized-synched light show and pyrotechnics. You know, and as a fan of KISS before I got into punk rock, that’d be awesome, but what’s special about BIOHAZARD is that kind of like the unknown. You never know what’s going to happen and when it’s going to happen. It’s just this organized chaos that is no other than BIOHAZARD to me. That’s what makes every show unique and I’m certainly proud to be a part of, you know.

So I’ve got to ask. Why did Evan leave? Was he just not into it anymore or did he have other things going on?

GRAZIADEI: There was some really heavy personal stuff in his life and it was his choice to quit I guess, to our surprise. But out of respect for him, and I’ve heard he’s mentioned things and whatever, but our choice is to let that be private for him and it’s his private issue. If it were me, I’d prefer him to give me that same respect. It’s an issue that’s personal to him.

I understand. So where do you go from here? You’re back to three now, and it’s a different three this time. Are you guys looking for somebody?

GRAZIADEI: We had our friend Scott who was the last guitar player for BIOHAZARD when we spilt up in 2003 or 2004. He took over bass duties and covered the vocals that I couldn’t and can’t cover and that’s where we are right now. We did venture off into looking for someone else but we took Scott to China, we did some European shows and England shows. They were all great. We’re really psyched and it rocks as is, so we don’t have any official, you know, press release that’s like, “here’s the new guy.” There won’t be any kind of hype around the unveiling of this dude out of the bowels of Brooklyn, but we’re BIOHAZARD and I’m not going to take the band out on tour, none us will for that matter, I’m not going to stand on stage with a version of BIOHAZARD that I don’t think kicks ass. I’d rather go out and put together some friends of mine in a cover band than to kind of not pay respect to the history of BIOHAZARD in that way. Is it different? Yeah, it’s different but the soul of the band is there and between the shows and the performances, everyone wants it so. If we didn’t think it was going to be cool, we would have thrown in the towel.

So Scott’s going to be continuing on with you guys?

GRAZIADEI: Scott’s with us. He’s the man. He’s awesome.

He’s in there.

GRAZIADEI: He’s in there, yeah (laughs).

Now the new record is called “Reborn In Defiance.” Tell me about this record.

GRAZIADEI: (laughs) Well, if you sit tight, you’re probably going to get the whole record for free because it’s a different era, you know. It used to be like, record companies were so paranoid about things getting leaked. Now you kind of leak, I find everyone involved with us, you know they’re like, “why don’t you give this song away,” and we’re like “ok.” We did our part. The business behind it isn’t really our concern. We’re just proud of the music that we wrote and the songs that we wrote together. The difference I think for “Reborn” versus some of our latter records of our career versus some of the earlier records of our career is, this record we went in and didn’t really give a fuck about anything other than each song we were writing on and our producer Toby Wright was spot-on on keeping us focused on that alone. From the label to management, you know, “you were supposed to have done this record last month” and it was like “who gives a fuck?” When we’re done with this song, we’re going to move on to the next song, but not until we’re 100% satisfied with what we’re working on. To me, I said all along, if you make a great group of songs that becomes a CD that you call “Reborn in Defiance,” nobody is going to sit back and go “wow, this is a great record but it would have been much better if it was out in September.” So for us, it took longer and one of the reasons was that we played all these songs live, like we would go out and come home for a couple of weeks and work in the studio and jam on some new songs, and then we’d go out and try them live and change them. You know, “I felt better this way, let’s try dropping this tempo there, let’s pick up this part at half time, or I don’t like the way this was, let’s try this.” So the next time, we would try something different and that was something we did with songs like “Punishment” and “Urban Discipline,” “What Makes Us Tick.” So many of our earlier songs in our career and the songs kind of grow into their own kind of thing and on this record we did that. Another reason we wrote this record while we still touring as a reunion tour. That played a big hand in having that live sound on this record that we lacked. Before we split up, we were going to the studio, write songs, record them, and then we’d start jamming them and playing them and I think because of that those songs are different. “Reborn in Defiance,” to me, is a great bookmark, you know, it’s all of our records, but that live energy is there with that earlier music that I love and missed for a long time.

Now I read Danny said, “This is one of the best albums the band has ever done and right now just going to see what the future holds.” So right now, 2012, what does the future hold for BIOHAZARD?

GRAZIADEI: Well if we make it through the first few months, we’ll be on tour, so pretty much 2012 is cut out for touring and I’m psyched to be back on the road to play. As far as it being the best record, we definitely worked the hardest and put more effort into this record than we put in a lot of our records over the years. It’s hard to remember where our heads were working on “Mata Leao.” At the time it was everything we had and all of our focus went into that record but it definitely felt like we put more effort into this than anything else going on in our life at that moment. And whether or not anyone likes it or not, I’m proud of it and I’m psyched about it and I’ve always had the stance of “if no one likes it, I don’t give a fuck, I like it,” and that’s all that matters. That stance is always how I’ve raised the flag for me in BIOHAZARD. It’s stood the test of time and there are very few moments that I’m not proud of in our career and this is definitely one of the highest flags in my flagpole in front of my house. Now, it’s the touring cycle and we go on and have a chance to play with bands that we love from SUICIDAL TENDENCIES to MADBALL to SLIPKNOT and HATEBREED. There’s just so many great opportunities in 2012 we’re going to unfold right before everybody’s eyes.

Very cool. Now I saw a lot of your pictures from FACEBOOK where you were hitting the road with the guys from BLOOD FOR BLOOD, filling in for “White Trash” Rob. How much fun was that for you?

GRAZIADEI: It was great. We played with them when they first started and I watched them throughout their career make some fucking great music and was a fan of the band. When Rob didn’t tour anymore, they called me up and asked me if I was into it and I fucking jumped on the ship right away. I love the band. Touring with them, we spent I think maybe a good year and a half on tour, here and there. Great times, good times. I have a whole new family that I’m part of. It’s a great thing. I’m really psyched about being a member of BLOOD FOR BLOOD also.

It seemed like everything I saw and all the stuff I read was that you guys were having a great time. I’m really bummed I didn’t get to see that because I’m a huge BLOOD FOR BLOOD fan. But it was very cool that you guys went out and did that. I think a lot of people appreciated that.

GRAZIADEI: Yeah, we loved it. I’ve got to hand it to them, those guys did a lot of great things, made a lot of great decisions in their career. Are you from New York?

Long story short, born in Los Angeles, raised in New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia area. My dad’s from Brooklyn, but I live in Virginia now.

GRAZIADEI: So you’re in the East Coast, even though you were born West Coast. We never really played…we didn’t do anything…We played Boston, Albany, and I think that was like the closest thing, you know. We played Connecticut like in a small club, that was a sick show, but we didn’t play New York, didn’t play Jersey, Philly. I was like “guys, what are we doing?” But we’ll hit it. But right now, my focus is on BIOHAZARD and the guys are working on a new BLOOD FOR BLOOD record. So the timing is cool, when the BIOHAZARD camp is done then I’m sure, kick back up with BLOOD FOR BLOOD.