Former W.A.S.P. guitarist Chris Holmes is featured in a new interview with Johan Jakobsson at Sweden's UNT.se. He offeres his thoughts on former W.A.S.P.bandmate Blackie Lawless, the music business, Motörhead legend Lemmy Kilmister, and religion. An excerpt is available below:

UNT: You’ve put together a new band again.

Holmes: "Yeah, nobody wants someone like me. Who would play with someone my height?"

UNT: Why do you say that?

Holmes: "Do you think Axl Rose would stand next to me? Bruce Dickinson? I don’t blame them. Blackie was 6’4” so we got along. In 1991 when I left W.A.S.P. the first time... Lemmy is dead so I can say this now. I was born in LA so I know everybody. I know the drug culture there real good. Methamphetamine is a drug that I used to do. I haven’t done it for two years but it’s the only drug I enjoyed doing. I hooked Lemmy up in ’91 the first time when he got here. By the time I was married to Lita Ford and we were driving Lemmy somewhere, I think he was looking for furniture for his apartment. Würzel (Michael Burston) and Phil (Campbell) were in Motörhead then so I went: 'Throw Würzel or Phil out and let me be in your band!' He looks at me and says: 'Chris, are you serious? I wouldn’t play with you for a second.' 

I got so mad and said: 'I’m easy on the road.' Lemmy looks at me again and says: 'It’s not about what you’re like on the road. It’s about what you’re doing on stage.' Then I got even madder and he goes: 'Let’s say for instance that I was in the middle of a verse. You would probably be standing right in front of me.' I thought about it and he was absolutely right. Especially if he told me not to do that. I’d have to do it just to piss him off. What he meant was of course that he didn’t want me overshadowing him. 

It didn’t bum me out, though. Everybody’s different and their personality really comes out on stage. The people in the real bands are like that."

UNT: What do you mean with real bands?

Holmes: "Gene Simmons on stage is not the way he is off stage. Blackie Lawless is like that, that’s one of many reasons that we never got along. I’ll explain. The bus is going down the road and Blackie - Steve Duren is his name - Steve Duren gets of the bus, goes in the dressing room and puts on Blackie Lawless. He goes out on stage and does the Blackie Lawless show. He gets off stage and takes off Blackie Lawless, and then he walks back to the bus as Steve Duren. Chris Holmes here, Chris gets off the bus, goes in the dressing room, puts on his stage clothes but is still Chris. He goes out and plays the Chris Holmes show, he gets off stage and he’s still Chris. Then he walks back to the bus, still Chris."

Go to this location for the complete interview.

In a recent interview with TV Rock Live, Holmes discussed not taking good guitar advice, not being allowed to sing while he was with W.A.S.P., and the passing of former Motörhead drummer Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor. Check out the clip below: