Scott Ian – Speaking Words – Oxford

I must admit that I was a bit dubious when I heard that Scott Ian, guitarist and co-founding member of the legendary thrash metal band Anthrax, was embarking on a 15 date spoken word tour of the UK and Ireland. I had no doubt that over 30 years in the music industry would have left Ian with many a tale to tell but being able to translate those tales to an audience is another thing entirely.

Responsible for the groundbreaking collaboration with Public Enemy that paved the way for nu-metal, appearing in an episode of Married With Children when Anthrax played in the Bundy home and elevating the band to be one of the ‘big 4’ alongside Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer are just a handful of the achievements Scott Ian has under his belt.

Though what makes Scott Ian so interesting is that he is one of those rare musicians to have successfully moved outside of the world of music to become an instantly recognisable figure in the worlds of poker, comics, movies and television.

Having been an Anthrax fan since the early 90’s I was intrigued to see what the man behind so many iconic riffs had to say for himself and as he was visiting my hometown of Oxford I decided it was worth the price of a ticket. While the venue in Oxford wasn’t exactly packed there was a healthy crowd and we all settled into our seats as Scott took to the stage….

I would love to tell you some of the stories, but it could spoil the show if I went into too many details, but they include some big names in the world of metal; if I mention Dimebag Darrell of Pantera, Lemmy of Motorhead and Ozzy it should be enough to give you an idea of the levels of debauchery!

What I will tell you is how humorous, engaging and fascinating Scott Ian was. This isn’t a name-dropping, ego-boosting thing for Ian, he is a man with stories to tell and a desire to share them, managing to do so in a way that saw the 90 minutes fly past. The evenings proceedings were broken up by a lively question and answer session as he encouraged the crowd to ask whatever they wanted and not to be shy.

The various questions sparked further interesting tales and if anything he was more comfortable working ‘off script’ than when he was delivering the rehearsed material.

The night gave fans a chance to see ‘behind the velvet curtain’, into a world that many of us have watched with interest from afar for many years and it was a real treat to have it delivered to us in such a down-to-earth and heartfelt way. I highly recommend that you catch Scott while he is touring in such an intimate setting, to hear first-hand from a man who has helped define the landscape of thrash metal as we know it and continues to do so to this day.

Full details of where you can see Scott Ian below, or follow him via Twitter to take advantage of the free ticket giveaways he is doing for the tour. Plus!! look out for an interview in the new edition of Flush Magazine www.flushmagazine.co.uk

26 May 2013 Gloucester, Guildhall
27 May 2013 Plymouth, White Rabbit
28 May 2013 York, The Dutchess
29 May 2013 Rugby, The Vault
02 June 2013 Stoke, Underground
03 June 2013 Manchester, Sound Control
04 June 2013 Newcastle, The Cluny
05 June 2013 Glasgow, The Arches
06 June 2013 Cork, Cyprus Avenue
07 June 2013 Belfast, Limelight 2
08 June 2013 Dublin, Button Factory
10 June 2013 Bournemouth, O2 Academy
11 June 2013 London, The Garage

Pic by Chris Blizzard www.chrisblizzardphoto.com