I had the pleasure of doing an in-person interview with Judas Priest's Rob Halford this past Wednesday in NYC. Here is the whole interview, and here is
a link to check out pix my photographer friend, Kurt Christensen, took of Rob from the interview.
How did your new fashion line, 'Metal God Apparel,' come about?
I always liked dressing - ever since I was a little kid. And I think most of us did that when we were kids, dressing up. I think I've had the good fortune of being a little kid for most of my life, I still get excited when I get dressed to go on stage with Priest. And all the clothes you've seen me wear have generally been from collaborations - where I've sat down with people and put together the ideas. In that respect, I think I've had a connection with everything that I've done, as a professional musician/performer/entertainer - from the visual side of it. So this felt like a very natural extension of all of those ideas. On the business level, it's another step forward in the branding of the "The Metal God," which has been registered in trademark for a while. And also, just to really keep that feeling that I've always had, about making new things happen and make something different take place. As a creative person, I love that - I love that every day has a possibility, whatever it might be. And so, the clothing line is a brand new launch within the Metal God Entertainment production facility that we have. So here we are. Why now? I don't know. Some people are like, "Are you crazy? Look at the economy." But I don't think that's an issue. Fresh music is out every Tuesday, fresh movies are out every week. It doesn't stop any of us from being productive in that respect. I feel confident in the big picture that the economy is going to turn around soon. So I'm positioning, getting your face out there, getting your product out - it's just this very simple, early launch phase. I'm going to see where it takes us. I'm optimistic what we've got is kind of fresh and different within the market of the great competitors. With me, it's never simple - I think things through a lot. So that's where we find ourselves now - the end of September, to kick off Metal God Apparel throughout the world.
Will the shirts be sold both online and in stores?
Like most successful ventures, I think you have to use both areas to the maximum. It's easier for us to give the initial launch through the website [
www.metalgodapparel.com], because it's a very established, well-trafficked global site. To connect to the immediate fans that might be interested in this product, they can get it with a few clicks, and we have a secure PayPal server and everything, so it's all very simple and straightforward. It's all coming out of our offices in Arizona. We've got people that take care of the orders 24 hours a day, so that's easy. But having said that, it would be foolish to stay in that one world, I want to have the opportunity to break this out into retail - whether it's through Nordstrom, WalMart, Target, Kmart, whatever. We're looking at lots of different possibilities and all of those people that I've mentioned have shown initial interest. So I think in essence it's heavy metal, rock n' roll - whatever you want to call it. I think everybody's got a bit of the rock n' roll spirit in them, and that's important - to be able to connect with everybody. I'm not looking for, in a business sense, a demographic of this side to this side - this is for everybody. I think again, the initial presentation of the thirteen designs has been pretty well received - the main push will be at the MAGIC convention next February in Las Vegas.
How much of a say do you have in the t-shirt designs? Is it a collaboration?
Marc Sasso is the main illustrator and the graphic designer. He's from New York - in his own world, he's very established and successful as a illustrator. He's known me forever. So it's a combination of discussions and emails, and simply taking what he knows of me as a performer and as a writer - taking a look at the lyrics and bringing his own interpretation into the thinking process and coming up with the designs. So it's a collaboration.
When will the shirts be sold at stores?
No idea. It would be foolish of me to say, "Next week or next month." I don't know. That's the thing, when you're in-house, you can control the destiny of everything, because it's from one spot. When you're talking about bringing in other people, you have to go through the politics and contracts, which take forever to do. But that's just the way it is with everybody - not just for me. So it's a lengthy process, but one you've got to go through. Because once you're in, generally it's a secure connection. But I would be optimistic and say that by next year, we should be pretty highly visible in some retail.
More designs to come?
We're talking about as many as 30 complete, different designs by February. And again, that reflects on the times that we're in. Everybody's like focused on something for a week, and then it's like, "OK...what else have you got?" You have to be ready to accommodate people's needs in these modern times.
How did the new holiday CD, 'Halford III - Winter Songs', come about?
I just love that part of the season. I'm a Brit, you know - I spend a lot of my time in America, but I think it's the same no matter where you in the world, the season. I think that on a faith-based level, it's very important to me. Having said that, no matter what your faith might be, that time of the year is important to a lot of people on the planet. It was just a personal thing that I've wanted to do forever, and it's blossomed into bringing into an opportunity of a full release. I've been like little things on the side for family and friends for a long, long time. And they were always like, "What about a full CD?" I'm like [makes a face], because you think, "Oh, 'Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer'," and I'm like, "I don't think so, I'm a metal god!" So we looked at hundreds and hundreds of possibilities and we wanted to try as best we could to go into some of the traditional songs that are not that "at the forefront" of the season, and then give them beautiful arrangements and strong production value. I think a lot of people are going to be surprised. It's very strong in its attitude. The first single came out today, "Get into the Spirit," which is a real ball-crusher. Having said that, there are things that are completely in the opposite dimension, which is just typical of what I do as a musician, anyway, and mix it up. I want to take it to different emotions - from the full-intense speed stuff to the very lucid moments, the ballad-esque things. It's what I do and what's expected of me. But it's like anything in music - how do you describe it? You have to listen to it yourself. It is a very unusual recording - very different in terms of the overall production. Roy Z, my producer, did a fantastic job.
Planning on playing live shows in support of 'Winter Songs'?
If time permits, yes. I'd like to. It's just finding the opportunity to do that. My solo career is still important to me because, again, it enables me to say and do things that I normally couldn't do elsewhere. Priest has always been my main band and always will be, but like other artists that step away to do solo endeavors, it's because you're able to accomplish something musically and emotionally at that place that you couldn't somewhere else. So that's another reason - this is the first Halford release in about seven years, and I just wanted to reinforce that the band is still there.
Future projects?
There's something that I was involved with Jack Black for the Brutal Legend videogame that is coming out October the 16th, that was a lot of fun to do. I liked that experience - doing the voiceover work. I'm an absolute fanatic of 'The Family Guy' - I think it's the funniest thing on TV. I've seen what Seth and the rest of the team do off camera, and it's just basically the same thing as what I did in Brutal Legend. But that's not a "bitch slap" to Seth, because he's a genius. But I've been in that world and would love to experiment more in that world - because I love that element of make believe. Making a character with your voice and then putting it visual, like the two characters I do in Brutal Legend - the Baron and General Lionwhyte. When you see that, it's crazy. I love that type of reaction.
So you're interested in doing further animation work...
I'd love that opportunity. I'm just throwing the idea out - I don't know if anything will come of it. But I certainly enjoyed working with Tim Schafer, the guy that made Brutal Legend. He encouraged me and it taught me a lot of things. A very clever man in terms of how to get the performance out of the artist. I had a lot of fun doing that.
Are you in talks with the people from Family Guy?
No, I'm just whoring myself on the internet! And Seth might go, "Really, he's a fan?!" I just love that show, because firstly, I'm a liberal - you've got to be in rock n' roll. And it pulls the reins on certain factions gives them a shock - "What does that feel like?" But I love to see how the talent uses the voice, and the voice gets interpreted into all these different characters. Maybe that's something on the horizon - I don't know.