NEWS
Anthrax frontman Joey Belladonna reveals that he once worked at a horse farm after he was first fired from the band in 1992.
In a video interview with Music Interview Corner, Belladonna – who rejoined the band from 2005 to 2006, and then returned in 2010 – spoke about life after he was let go by Anthrax. At that point, his final studio release with the band was the 1990 album ‘Persistence Of Time’.
Belladonna admitted the firing was “unexpected” and that he “wouldn’t have preferred it… but it happened.”
“I was actually working in a horse barn for a couple of years,” he said. “I was [in] maintenance, and Krista, my wife, we both worked at a pretty famous riders’ facility. I cut grass all day. It was so big there, I couldn’t complete all my work each day. It was a long, long day. It took me two, three days to weedy the whole place.”
He continued: “I didn’t really necessarily have to do that job. It was one of those things that fell into place and I enjoyed it and I got a lot of experience from it.” Watch the full interview below.
While working at the unnamed barn, Belladonna continued to work on music: “I also had a band; I was doing some cover music and I was playing drums [under the band Chief Big Way].”
“And it was kind of like the old days for me. So I just continued to do that and work on some original music and stuff. I kept myself busy. I didn’t really fall apart. I kept busy and just waited for some time, and all of a sudden I’d come back. So here I am.”
Belladonna’s eponymous band released two albums in the 1990s, a self-titled debut in 1995 and ‘Spells Of Fear’ in 1999, while earlier this year, Belladonna performed a slate of shows with a new cover band, including his wife Krista, honouring the music of Dio.
Last month, Belladonna’s bandmate Charlie Benante spoke out against streaming platforms, exclaiming that Spotify is where “music goes to die”.
“We have the music on there because we have to play along with the fucking game, but I’m tired of playing the game,” he said.
“We get taken advantage of the most out of any industry. As artists, we have no health coverage, we have nothing. They fucked us so bad, I don’t know how we come out of it. You’d probably make more money selling lemonade on the corner.”
Fontaines D.C. have teamed up with Rosalía for their new collaboration, Where Is Gone?.
The song features on the Irish rock band's forthcoming album, Dopamine Chamber, which arrives on Friday (16.10.26). For guitarist Carlos O’Connell, working with the Spanish superstar is particularly special because of his own Spanish roots.
He explained: “I’ve admired Rosalía ever since her debut album, which I thought was absolutely beautiful.
“What excited me most was the way she continued to preserve Spain's musical traditions, something that felt spiritually connected to what we've been trying to achieve with Irish music. Having roots in both countries, it's been really special to witness. "She's an artist who has continued to amaze me at every point in her career.”
Frontman Grian Chatten has also described the collaboration with Rosalía as one of the most memorable achievements of his career.
He revealed that he felt "humbled" when she agreed to lend her voice to the band's album.
Speaking to NPR, Grian said: “I've always felt there's something almost like a single big idea that I'm personally trying to communicate to the world before I get old and die, if that makes sense. There's one thing I think I'll spend my life trying to express. I have a feeling she has a similar outlook. … I mean, she's an amazing arranger, composer and lyricist. It means so much that she wanted to sing on something we'd put together. It's definitely one of the highlights of my career.”
Rosalía's links to Irish rock music extend beyond Fontaines D.C. She also offered inspiration and helped develop the Spanish lyrics for U2's The Mirror Maker (Rosalía), a track from their forthcoming album, Carnaval de Luz.
During an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last week, she spoke about frontman Bono, saying: “I don't know him personally, but he sent me a text explaining that he was working on a new project and had written a song called The Mirror Maker."
Rosalía joked that Bono had invented a few words of his own.
She recalled telling him: “I wasn't sure what to make of it, but I told him he could create his own language if he wanted to.”
She described the opportunity to collaborate with the 66 year old music veteran as a real privilege.
She added: “Bono is a legend.
“It's amazing.”
Bono recently revealed that he was worried about seeming like a stalker when he reached out to Rosalía to ask whether he could name the song after her.
