INTERVIEW WITH GARY ISOM FROM PENTAGRAM ETC

1.Its hard to know where to start with this interview as you have done so much.How about starting at the early days,what was your earliest musical ventures ?

HEY ED, FIRST THINGS FIRST , I WOULD LIKE TO THANK YOU SINCERELY FOR GIVING ME THIS OPP. TO TELL THE FANS OF HEAVY HARD PUNK BLUES METAL DOOM ROCK -N- ROLL A-BIT OF MY MUSICAL HISTORY/JOURNEY STARTING PAST UP TO THE PRESENT...THANK YOU! SO THAT BEING SAID,LETS GET THIS MYSTIC TRAIN ROLLIN,ALL ABOARD!!! WHERE TO START,1971,MUSIC IS MY EARLIEST MEMORY AS A BEING. IT WAS EMBEDDED IN MY BRAIN FROM THE VERY START. MY PARENTS WOULD CONSTANTLY PLAY MUSIC IN OUR LIVING ROOM ON THE RECORD PLAYER,MOSTLY MOTOWN MIXED W/ROCK-N-ROLL,CHUCK BERRY,LINK WRAY. I WOULD BEAT UP MY MOTHERS POTS AND PANS UNTIL THEY GOT SICK OF THAT AND BOUGHT ME A DRUM SET FOR CHRISTMAS 1978 THANKS MOM AND DAD!IN 1978 KISS RULED THE WORLD AND I,IN MY BASEMENT WAS PETER CRISS! I PLAYED KISS ALIVE 2 FROM START TO FINISH. I DID THIS FOR YEARS PLAYING BEATLES ,LED ZEPPELIN,THE KINKS,VAN HALEN,JUDAS PRIEST,IRON MAIDEN,RUSH ETC. IN JR. HIGH IS WHEN I STARTED W/ A REAL BAND THEN IN THE 1986 I MET MARK AMMEN AND SAGE MAAS.YES, THE SAME MARK AMMEN I PLAY MUSIC W/UP TO THE PRESENT "DAZE" OF PENTAGRAM,WOW, I DON'T KNOW MANY DRUMMERS WHO HAVE BEEN W/ THE SAME BASS PLAYER ON AND OFF FOR 23 YEARS!..AND STILL GOING.WERE LIKE BREAD AND BUTTER. WE STARTED PLAYING ALL ORIGINAL EXPERIMENTAL PUNK/METAL/THRASH/ROCK WE WERE CALLED SERPICO.A FEW YRS. LATER I WAS HANGIN OUT @ THE "IN DESTROY HOUSE" W/ROB"COUGIN" BRANNIGAN OF IN DESTROY AND JEFF PARSONS OF IN DESTROY,ASYLUM,WRETCHED.JEFF PARSONS AT THAT TIME WAS PLAYING BASS IN ASYLUM,DALE FLOOD CAME OVER ONE DAY AND WE WERE PLAYING IN THE BASEMENT.THAT SAME DAY SHERMAN AND SOME FRIENDS CAME DOWN FROM FREDERICK MD. TO HANG OUT,HIS FRIENDS SAW ME PLAYING RAN BACK UP STAIRS TO SHERMAN AND SAID,SHERMAN COME DOWN STAIRS YOU'VE GOT TO SEE THIS DRUMMER!SHERMAN WAS IN PENDULUM AT THE TIME AND HIS DRUMMER TONY SAUNDERS WAS OUT ON THE RD. AS A DRUM TECH.FOR TROUBLE. SO THAT'S WHEN SHERMAN AND ASKED ME TO COME UP TO THE FARM HOUSE TO "GET A JAM ON" ONE THING LED TO ANOTHER AND WE CALLED OURSELVES "LOVE RAZOR"AFTER THE WHITE ZOMBIE SONG. WE PLAYED TONS OF PARTY'S AND GIGS. WE PLAYED ORIGINALS AND COVERED STUFF LIKE NIRVANA'S "NO RECESS",SAINT VITUS "LIVING BACKWARDS",THE OBSESSED "RIVER OF SOUL",PENTAGRAM'S"RELENTLESS". NOBODY REALLY KNEW THESE SONGS. WE WERE AN UNDERGROUND BAND COVERING UNDERGROUND BANDS SONGS. ME AND SHERMAN WENT ON TO TEAM UP W/ MARK AMMEN AND SAGE MAAS TO FORM HEAVY SOUL IN 1991 WE RECORDED A FULL LENGTH LP.THEN AROUND 92' I JOINED IRON MAN,WE PLAYED TONS OF GIGS ASWELL AND EVENTUALLY RECORDED A FULL LENGTH CD.THE PASSAGE HALF WAY THROUGH THE VOCAL TRACKING HELLHOUND REC. REJECTED AND BASICALLY TOLD AL MORRIS TO GET ANOTHER SINGER OR THEY WOULD NOT GIVE US THE REST OF THE RECORDING $.SO THAT'S WHEN WE GOT A NEW SINGER DAN M. WHO SOUNDED NOTHING LIKE OZZY...LETS FACE IT WHEN YOU DO A BLACK SABBATH TRIBUTE BAND,YOUR VOCALS HAVE TO SOUND LIKE OZZY.I WAS TOTALLY TURNED OFF BY THE NEW SINGERS STYLE,HE SOUNDED LIKE BRUCE DICKINSON.I NOT HAPPY OF THE OUTCOME OF THAT SITUATION WHAT SO EVER.FORTUNATLY FOR ME RONNIE KALIMON HAD JUST QUIT UNORTHODOX AND DALE FLOOD ASKED ME TO JOIN.I GLADLY DID SO.THIS WAS IN 1994 AND I ONCE AGAIN TEAMED UP W/ MARK AMMEN ,WE GOT SUPER TIGHT W/ALL THE MATERIAL PLAYED TONS OF GIGS AND WENT ON TOUR IN EUROPE.THEY{HELLHOUND RECS} HAD BIG PLANS FOR US.THEY PLANNED A MONTH LONG TOUR AND WE HAD PLANS TO DO A VIDEO FOR M. TV AT THE END OF IT.UNFORTUNATELY HALFWAY THROUGH THE TOUR,SOME WITCHES GAVE US MAGIC MUSHROOMS AND DALE FLIPPED OUT AND SMASHED A BOTTLE ON THE BAR CUTTING ALL THE TENDONS IN HIS HAND,THE DJ WAS PLAYING NIRVANA AND KURT COBAIN WHO HAD RECENTLY COMMITTED SUICIDE OR WAS MURDERED??? DALE WAS A HUGE FAN AND JUST FUCKING FLIPPED THE FUCK OUT!HE HAD TO SPEND THE NIGHT IN A{THANK GOD}SWISS HOSPITAL, HE WAS SO DRUNK THEY COULD NOT GIVE HIM AN I.V. HE HAD TO WAIT TILL MORNING FOR THE MICRO SURGEONS TO COME IN AND PUT HIS TENDONS BACK TOGETHER WHAT A NIGHTMARE!OUR TOUR WAS OVER..WE CAME HOME AND AFTER AWHILE DALE HAD HEALED AND WE STARTED TO WORK ON THE 3RD.UNORTHODOX RELEASE.DUE TO DRUG HABITS AND HELLHOUND FOLDING THE RECORD WAS NEVER FINISHED UNTIL RECENTLY 2008 "AWAKEN"ON THE CHURCH WITHIN RECORDS.THANKS IN LARGE PART TO MYSELF AND OLI "THE DOOMDEALER" IT WAS LIKE PULLING TEETH! BUT WE DID IT!ITS AN AMAZING REC.THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN OUT IN 199FUCKIN4....1996 I WAS ASKED TO JOIN PENTAGRAM BY VICTOR GRIFFIN WE PLAYED A HANDFULL OF GIGS AND HAD NEW MATERIAL UNFORTUNATLY HE AND BOBBY HAD ALOT OF BAD FEELINGS TOWARDS EACH OTHER AND THEY PARTED WAYS...I THEN WAS ASKED TO JOIN WRETCHED,YEP BACK W/MY BROTHER FROM ANOTHER MOTHER DAVE SHERMAN! FOR A SHORT WHILE ONLY TO BE DISBANDED DO TO THE FACT OF WINO RETURNING HOME TO MD.HENCE THE BEGINING OF SHINE/SPIRIT CARAVAN....I GUESS THOSE ARE MY EARLIEST VENTURES...

2.You must have played 100's of shows,have you kept track of how many and have you got any favorite gigs you have been involved with ?

4,OOO....THE SPIRIT CARAVAN/DEEP PURPLE ALWAYS STANDS OUT IN MY MIND.I'VE HAD THE PRIVILEDGE OF SHARING THE STAGE W/ A LOT OF MY FAVORITE BANDS C.O.C,TROUBLE,FUGAZI,CROWBAR,HIGH ON FIRE,CATHEDRAL,EYEHATEGOD,AGNOSTIC FRONT,INTERNAL VOID,THE MYSTIC KREWE OF CLEARLIGHT,TYPE O'NEGATIVE,DOWN,UNORTHODOX,PENTAGRAM,PENTAGRAM,PENTAGRAM..

3.Tell us about all the bands you have played with,you have a pretty impressive resume ?

HEAVY SOUL,IRON MAN,UNORTHODOX,PENTAGRAM,WRETCHED,SPIRIT CARAVAN,THE LITTLE WHITE PILLS,NITROSEED,KING VALLEY,VALKYRIE,UNORTHODOX,THE HOUNDS OF HASSELVANDER,PENTAGRAM.3 NO 4 OF THOSE BAND'S DON'T DESERVE TO BE MENTIONED,YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE.YEAH, I GOT A CHIP ON MY SHOULDER. IT MAKES MY BLOOD BOIL IN A VERY GOOD WAY...

4.You are now back with Pentagram,how is the future gigs . So many people are real excited about it ?

THINGS ARE LOOK'IN REAL GOOD,WE HAVE CONFIRMED IN FRANCE@ HELLFEST IN JUNE AND GERMANY @ THE HELLS PLEASURES FEST OTHER DATES IN THE WORKS,PENTAGRAM HAS NEVER PLAYED OVER SEAS SO THIS IS GOING TO BE MONUMENTAL!WE ARE REALLY EXCITED AS WELL,WE'VE BEEN REHEARSING FOR ABOUT 4 MONTHS NOW AND THINGS ARE SOUNDING REAL NICE.

5.What is your reaction when you read such negative comments about Bobby ?The dude is a legend of Doom and Hard Rock in general but he has had some problems.

YEAH, WHO DOESN'T HAVE PROBLEMS?HE'S THE REAL DEAL JUNKIE,JAIL BIRD,ROCKING ROLLER ,EVERY ONE IS ENTITLED TO THEIR OPINIONS.PEOPLE ASK ME QUITE OFTEN ,ARE THESE SHOWS REALLY GOING TO HAPPEN?AND I TELL THEM THAT BOBBY HAS BEEN TO EVERY REHEARSAL,SO YOU KNOW ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS.YOU KNOW YOU DO ALOT OF GOOD THINGS IN YOUR LIFE,UNFORTUNATELY ITS MOSTLY THE BAD THINGS THAT PEOPLE REMEMBER...

6.Has the set-list for the Pentagram shows been worked out and can you give us any clues to what you will be playing ?

WE ARE PLAYING THE WIDEST VARITY OF PENTAGRAM SONGS EVER ON ONE SET LIST! SONGS FROM THE EARLY 70'S,80'S,90'S EVEN 2 BRAND NEW SONGS THAT ONLY A HANDFULL OF PEOPLE HAVE HEARD THEY WILL BE ON OUR NEW ALBUM. YES, WE HAVE PLANS TO RECORD IN THE SUMMER. WE'VE ALREADY BEEN WORKING ON IT AS FAR AS GETTING THE SONGS TOGETHER..

7.Another killer band you have played with is Unorthodox who have a new CD out.Tell us a bit about it,the tracks i have heard sound awesome.

THANKS,YEAH,WE HAVE A BRAND NEW CD OUT CALLED "AWAKEN",ITS AVAILABLE @ THE CHURCH WITHIN RECORDS OUT OF GERMANY,THE LABEL IS RUN BY MY FRIEND OLI "THE DOOM DEALER"HE'S @ THE TOP OF MY FRIENDS LIST ON MY MYSPACE PAGE TEN TRACKS,47 MIN,THIS ALBUM FOR ME HAS THE MOST EMOTIONAL UPS AND DOWNS OF ANY RECORD I'VE EVER PLAYED ON. IT ALSO CAPTURES THE BANDS TRUE RAW ENERGY,AN UNDENIABLE PART OF OUR LIVE PERFORMANCE.I URGE ANYONE WHO HASN'T HEARD IT YET,TO CHECK IT OUT!YOUR DOOM/ROCK/METAL MENTAL LIBRARY WOULD BE INCOMPLETE OTHERWISE.ITS A MUST HAVE!UNORTHODOX HAS BEEN A PILLAR OF THE MD.HEAVY PROGRESSIVE ROCK,DOOM METAL SCENE SINCE THE EARLY,EARLY 80'S THAT ALMOST 30 YRS AGO.A HUGE INSPIRATION TO ME AND ALOT OF OTHERS.I'M VERY GRATEFUL FOR BEING A PART OF IT ALL.

8.A hard question for sure but if you had to make a choice,which band would you like to play with forever(all of them maybe) ?

THAT IS DEFIANTLY A TUFF ONE? UNORTHODOX,SPIRIT CARAVAN,PENTAGRAM. I CANT SAY.

9.You also playing with The Little White Pills,how did that come together and whats is in the future for that band ?

AFTER SPIRIT CARAVAN I WAS APPROACHED BY J.B BEVERLY AND DARREN"DIRTY" WATERS ASKED ME IF I'D LIKE TO JOIN THE BAND.ITS A TRUE OLD SCHOOL PUNK ROCK BAND!SOUNDS LIKE FEAR, THE RAMONES,GG ALLIN,MISFITS MEETS MOTORHEAD W/ A TWIST OF PSYCO BILLY. WE HAVE A FULL LENGTH BOOTLEG LIVE CD. AND PLANS FOR A STUDIO CD AND MOVIE ON THE WAY. BE SURE TO CHECK IT OUT,THREES A TRAILER @ THE LITTLE WHITE PILLS MYSPACE PAGE.

10.Have you got a preferred style you like to play ?

BLOODY KNUCKLED

11.Drumming heroes and influences,who stands out for you in the drumming world ?

PETER CRISS,BUDDY RICH,GENE KRUPA,JOHN BONHAM,MITCH MITCHELL,BILL WARD,RINGO,CHARLIE WATTS,NEAL PEART,NICK MASON,DON BREWER,IAN PAICE.

12. Is there any juicy stories you would like to share with us,you must have seen some funny shit with all these bands you have played with ?

INDEED,MOSTLY W/S.C, WE BROKE DOWN IN TEXAS A BUNCH OF TIMES..ONE TIME WE BROKE DOWN,I GOT OUT OF THE VAN WEARING A PAIR OF FLIP FLOPS AND STARTED GETTING ATTACKED BY FIRE ANTS,I YELLED OUT HOLY SHIT THERES SCREAMING OH MY GOD THERE ARE FIRE ANTS OUT HERE!! ONE TIME WE WERE AMSTERDAM,SHERMAN GOT SEPARATED FROM THE GROUP,IT STARTED GETTING REAL LATE LIKE 2 OR 3 IN THE AM. WE WERE ALL WORRIED ABOUT HIM. WE WERE STAYING AT A FRIENDS HOUSE,4 OF US,THERE WAS ONLY 2 BEDS AND A COUCH THE 4TH PERSON HAD TO SLEEP ON THE FLOOR.SHERMAN WAS THAT PERSON BEING THE LAST ONE IN THAT NIGHT. HE HAD BEEN OUT DRINKING ,TAKING MUSHROOMS,SMOKING CHRONIC ,LORD ONLY KNOWS WHAT ELSE!SO HE COMES IN THE HOUSE AND SUDDENLY TRIES TO WRESTLE ME FOR THE BED, THIS WENT ON FOR ABOUT 2 OR 3 MIN.THEN I STARTED TO SMELL SOMETHING VERY FAMILIAR OF AMSTERDAM AND IT WASN'T WEED...THE MOTHER FUCKER GOT DOG SHIT ALL OVER THE PLACE! IT WAS ALL OVER THE BED, THE CARPET,BLANKETS THE COUCH,ARE LUGGAGE. HE EVEN HAD DOG SHIT IN THE ASS CRACK OF HIS PANTS!HOW DO YOU GET DOG SHIT IN THE CRACK OF YOUR ASS I SAID AFTERWORDS? HE JUST STOOD THERE HOLES INSTEAD OF EYES HIS ONLY REPLY WAS TO EAT DORITOS. ITS ALL ON VIDEO,A BEHIND THE SCENE'S VID. THAT COVERS JUST ABOUT ARE WHOLE TOUR.ITS DAVE T.V......WE HAD THE BEST TIMES IN THAT BAND.


13. Do you ever get frustrated with the Doom/Hard Rock scene.I would never like it to be mainstream but it would be nice it got more support from the media.

YEAH IT WOULD BE NICE TO HAVE MORE MEDIA NO DOUBT,BUT I WOULDN'T TRADE IT FOR THE WORLD BECAUSE THE MUSIC IS TRUE AND THAT'S WHAT REALLY MATTERS TO ME. FUCK ALL THAT MAINSTREAM COPY CAT BULLSHIT!

14.Apart from the Pentagram shows,what else is on your agenda for 2009 ?

ASIDE FROM ALL THE NEW PLANS FOR PENTAGRAM,NEW ALBUM TOURS .I HAVE AN OLD CAR A 70 DODGE CORONET THAT IS IN DIRE NEED UP A FACE LIFT.I'D LIKE TO GET THAT TAKEN CARE OF.

15.Any final words to the fans out there ?

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR UNDYING SUPPORT, IN TURN YOU CAN RELY ON ME TO KEEP THIS TRAIN ROLLIN.THERE'S LOTS OF EXCITING THINGS ABOUT TO GO DOWN SO STAY TUNED AND TRUE.