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An Interview with Danie Burger
(a.k.a Unholy Terror) |
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How long have you been playing Danie? About 8 or so years now, I bought my bass in December 1993. How did you get started? Well, I first got into rock and metal through bands like Black Sabbath, Guns N’ Roses, Mötley Crüe, Judas Priest, and of course Ozzy Osbourne. Around the age of 14 I decided I needed to be a rockstar too (hehehehe), and decided on the bass as my instrument of destruction. I bought my first bass (the one I still have now) and my first amp (an Axtech 40 Watt) after working two months in bottlestores in Central JHB and Hillbrow. Here I got subjected to everything from armed robberies to women that kill any possible romanticism surrounding prostitutes (trust me, they do not look like Julia Roberts…laughs). It was worth it. What’s your favourite band / solo artist? In terms of bands, I have to give you my five favourites: 1) The godfather of heavy metal, OZZY OSBOURNE. I just love his stuff, as well as the stuff he did with Sabbath. Pure eargasmic pleasure. 2) LA rockers W.A.S.P. This act to me is who coined the phrase ‘cock-rock’, with their singing about partying and sex. However, their last few records were really serious stuff, with Blackie Lawless’ lyrics providing some serious comments on society and life in general (still leaving a few songs to party with, of course). 3) L.A. GUNS, the most underrated band ever to come out of Los Angeles. On lead guitar is Tracii Guns, an excellent and also highly underrated axeman. He is also currently busy with “Brides of Destruction”, a project he is doing with Nikki Sixx (Bass in Mötley Crüe). 4) My personal favourite thrash/melodic metal band, Tampa Florida’s ICED EARTH. The vocalist, Matthew Barlow, is a legend in the making, quickly becoming the best voice since Rob Halford. 5) Guitarist Extraordinaire Zakk Wylde’s BLACK LABEL SOCIETY. Ozzy’s axeman keeps pure and solid rock alive here through what he calls “Alcohol Fueled Brewtality”. I first heard B.L.S at the beginning of 2002 and have since bought all of their albums – Brutal stuff! The new one, ‘The Blessed Hellride’, is due End of April (look out for my review!) I highly recommend these bands to anyone who is into metal and rock. Regarding bassists, my current favourites include the godfather of heavy metal bass, Geezer Butler, as well as a man that certainly needs no introduction here, Iron Maiden’s Steve Harris. Although I wouldn’t admit this to my purist metalhead brothers and sisters, I have been listening to Korn quite a lot lately, and Fieldy’s bass really pounds waaaaayyyy down there! When I was younger, I also liked Nikki Sixx a lot, but I don’t know if it was because of his bass playing or because of his attitude and his “ka-gillion billion” tattoos (laughs). Anyway, in general, I prefer a bass sound that drives the song rather than leads it. It has to be down there all of the time, almost like the bassist “lives inside” the bass drum, like the heartbeat of the band. Maybe I should add that every now and again there is no harm in showing the guitarists how it is done (see “Billy Sheenan, Les Claypool, etc.”), just to prevent a lynch mob at my door tonight (laughs)! What are the amps and instruments you currently use? At the moment I have an Ibanez Roadster 4-string and a Laney 120 Linebacker. I use Ernie Ball Regular Slinkys, tried super slinkys but I broke too many. Also used a Boss Metalzone for a while to distort the hell out of my bass and make our sound really nasty. Thank God I stopped doing that. What instruments would you like to have if money were no object? The ideal basses for me are without a doubt the Ibanez Iceman and the B.C. Rich Warlock, although I have to admit that it is more for what they look like than for their technical properties (laughs). A Gibson Thunderbird will also not be turned down. And I would like to lay my hands on a really mean-looking 6 or 8 string bass, preferably Ibanez, B.C. Rich or Gibson. I think I should add that a few guys (no names shall be mentioned) have been educating (or shall I say indoctrinating) me about Cort, so I am still contemplating this issue. Amps – Marshall all the way – the biggest one I can find! What have you been doing for the last five years or so? In terms of my bass playing, I have been really inactive for the past few years. I play every now and then just to make sure I still can, but my time is really limited at the moment. What recordings that you’ve played on would you recommend for listening? Only the Bedlam cd (e.p.) – “Mounes Mors”. If you like heavy stuff, take a listen to it. That’s me pounding in the back and screaming in the front. What’s been the low point in your career so far? When Bedlam broke up in 1998. I haven’t been motivated to start another band again, and as I said my time is really short, but I hope to get involved in something as soon as my PhD is completed and I get settled into a more permanent job. And what has been the high point? Playing with Agro and Metalmorphosis at Icon, Marshall Street Johannesburg, July 1997. It was an enormous gig with a hell of a lot of people and plenty of sound. And of course, Jack Daniel was there too (hehehehe…). I was 19 years old and to me that was heaven, jamming your ass off to metalheads that have longer hair and more tattoos than the average Hell’s Angel. What are your goals currently? In terms of my bass, to just stay vaguely competent until I can put aside some time to really get into it again. In terms of my life, to make as much money as quickly as possible with the least possible amount of effort! |
