Rob Caggiano of Volbeat Interview
April 6, 2014
Grove of Anaheim- Anaheim, CA.
Alex Lucero- Soundcheck411.com: First off, thanks, Rob, for taking the time to talk to us.
Rob Caggiano: Thanks for having me, man.
Alex: I’ve seen you guys a bunch of times last year, including at Aftershock in Sacramento. Do you guys prefer to play outdoor festivals or indoor shows?
Rob: Honestly, I like playing the big shows and I also like playing the small shows, too. For me, and I’ll speak for the rest of the band as well, we do what we do no matter if there’s 100,000 people out there, 20,000, but we do what we do. The smaller shows are killer and the vibes are really cool, but there’s something to say about those big crowds, as well. The adrenaline rush happens.
Alex: You guys were definitely one of the bands that were a must see for me to watch at a festival, and I gotta say you guys were more than I expected.
Rob: Cool, man.
Alex: Are there any song on the new album that you guys haven’t played yet but you’re dying to play?
Rob: There are a few songs I would love to play. There’s a song called Black Bart that I would love to play live. We’ve done Lonesome Rider that we’ve played a couple of times and it’s a great standout track from the record, but it features a female vocalist, so it limits us from playing it live (laughs). There’s also a bonus song called Echotone, and it’s a really cool track that I would love to start playing
Alex: What made you guys want to cover My Body by Young the Giant? Were there any talks of doing a different cover besides that song?
Rob: That was Michael’s [Poulsen] idea and of course I was familiar with that song, it was pretty big here in the states, not so much in Europe. I always thought that song was really good, really catchy. When Michael brought that up to me, I was like “ok, yeah, cool,” and I could kind of picture it in my head, but when we went into the recording room, I was pretty much blown away.
Alex: It makes sense, because the vocals and just the way the song goes.
Rob: Yeah, exactly, the vocals and the way the song goes together fits perfectly.
Alex: Are you happy with the way this album is being promoted on this tour?
Rob: Yeah! We’ve been touring our asses off around the world and keep working. The shows keep getting bigger, and bigger, and bigger, everywhere. We’re doing really great here in the states, and we are doing really great over in Europe, and we are super excited. I’m so proud of this record and everything that’s going on with it. It’s very cool
Alex: So, you recently joined Volbeat last year. What’s your experience with the band so far having to transition from Anthrax to Volbeat .What’s your experience overall?
Rob: Overall, I couldn’t be happier. I’m having a great time out here on the road. I’m playing tons of guitar and being creative and it’s just a really good vibe overall. I’ve known these guys in Volbeat for a long time, well, I shouldn’t say a long time, since 2010, and if you consider that a long time, so be it (laughs); we’ve talked about working together for a while. We talked about going into the studio as a producer and recording a few songs for the new record, so you know, we’ve flirted with that idea for a while, and we just thought it wasn’t going to happen. When I left Anthrax, everything was different and my schedule was different and it was wide open, and coincidently, those guys were about to go into the studio. Before Michael called me and he caught wind of what happened with me and Anthrax he said “are you still interested in working with us and entering that studio,” and I was just like “yeah!” For me, it was the perfect thing for me and the timing. It was exactly what I thought I needed to do and thought I should produce a few records and the next move was be his guitar player.
Robb: oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely. I’m in the middle of producing the Comedian Jim Breuer’s new record, and I’m really excited about it and it’s going to be a lot a fun; it’s already been a lot of fun.
Alex: You’re really venturing outside the music to comedic pieces.
Rob: He’s a comedian obviously, but he has a band and it’s going to be a rock and roll record.
Alex: The show is sold out tonight, and everytime Volbeat comes out here to Anaheim and L.A., you guys always have a ton of love. What makes playing in Anaheim and Los Angeles different from playing any other place in the world?
Rob: I don’t know, I mean, the last three shows were sold out, too (laughs)
Alex: Well, I mean, you guys always have sold out crowds, but the mood in Anaheim is “Volbeat is in town, we need to go see Volbeat.”
Robb: Really? That’s cool. Honestly, we just do what we do. I guess LA has always been good for this band… L.A., Anaheim, Orange Country. Like I said, we just do what we do and if you guys want to see a rock and roll show, come out (laughs)
Alex: Definitely, and that’s why it’s sold out, tonight (laughs)
Alex: Back in September, Scott Ian joined you guys on stage and did collaboration at the Hollywood Palladium
Rob: It’s funny you said that. I actually just called him this morning to come out to the show, tonight and I told him to bring his guitar, but he couldn’t do it because he had to stay home with the kids. Which is cool, you know, fair enough.
Alex: So, was that planned what you guys did last September?
Rob: That was very loosely planned (laughs). Again, we just talked about getting him on stage and we didn’t know what song we were going to play, but yeah, that was a lot of fun.
Alex: Yeah, it was fun. I was freaking out a little bit thinking it was a mini Anthrax reunion. I couldn’t believe it, man, it was awesome.
Rob: (laughs) yeah, it was cool.
Alex: How would you feel about doing more of these collaborations with other members from the Big 4 in the future? For example: James [Hetfield] from Metallica.
Rob: I would love that (laughs). I mean, I love those guys. They’re legends and I would love to work with those guys, so yeah.
Alex: Yeah, and especially with Volbeat where you guys have covered Slayer for a quick minute.
Rob: Yeah, we started doing that the day Jeff Hannemen died. It was our salute and tribute to him and he was such a huge influence on us. So, we’ve been doing that on and off for a while, now.
Alex: What can we expect from Volbeat in the coming year?
Rob: Well, you know, we are going to continue touring for the rest of this year and we are going to be touring pretty heavily. Probably towards the end of the year, we’ll start thinking about new ideas for a new record. We’re already flirting around with a couple of things, song ideas, and riffs. Maybe you’ll hear one tonight (laughs). So, that’s pretty much what we are doing for the rest of this year. For the rest of next year, we’ll be in a little bit of hibernation mode and being creative and seeing what the next record is about.
Alex: So, you guys weren’t on Mayhem this year. Were you guys asked to be on it this year? I mean, Volbeat is a band that has not been on Mayhem at all.
Rob: No, I mean I did it with Anthrax. That’s a great tour, but I don’t know, I think we were doing our own thing around that time and it kind of overlapped with it. Maybe one day we’ll be on it (laughs)
Alex: Have you seen the lineup for this year?
Rob: No, who is on it?
Alex: It’s Avenged Sevenfold, Korn, and a bunch of up and coming bands that’ll be cool for people getting into metal.
Rob: cool.
