On September 21st, W.A.S.P. guitar legend Chris Holmes brought his Mean Man movie, interview and signing tour to the Rockpile in Toronto. BraveWords had the honour of conducting a 30-minute Q&A with Chris Holmes at the event, which we will re-air this Saturday, October 1st at 3:33 PM EST on Streaming For Vengeance. During our conversation, we covered a vast array of topics including his winning battle against cancer, meanwhile he has watched many of his musical friends pass like the members of Motörhead, Dio, Frankie Banali and Eddie Van Halen. On a more upbeat note, we talk about the controversy around the W.A.S.P. classic “Animal” (Fuck Like A Beast)” and he tells us what riff he wished he would’ve written and the one he wished he didn’t. Here is an excerpt from the chat.

BraveWords: Should you or W.A.S.P. play "Animal (Fuck Like A Beast)”?

Holmes: “Blackie says now it’s because of religious beliefs, so I think he should change the title to 'I Fuck Like A Priest'", as the room laughs hysterically! “I dunno, but that’s what I was thinking.” 

BraveWords: What riff do you wish you would’ve written?

Holmes: “Black Sabbath’s ‘Black Sabbath’. Those demonic notes...”

BraveWords: What riff do you regret writing?

Holmes: “‘I Wanna Be Somebody’. Born Again had just come out. Defenders Of The Faith had come out. And you get this first W.A.S.P. album with this puny guitar sound. You think I’m going to be proud of that? That’s embarrassing. But when you play it live, it’s a completely different situation. I wanted it to be mixed like Black Sabbath. Maybe it wouldn’t have sold. They mixed it so Blackie’s voice is way up on the mix. Have you seen the video for ‘Wild Child’? They cut my guitar solo out. Do you think I like that? Fuck you.” 

Watch the entire interview this Saturday, October 1st at 3:33 PM EST on BraveWords' Streaming For Vengeance. You can watch/listen Streaming For Vengeance on the BraveWords Facebook page or the BraveWords YouTube channel. For more information about Streaming For Vengeance, visit this location.

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After the interview Holmes and his band performed “Wild Child”, “The Devil Made Me Do It” and a raucous cover of Neil Young’s “Rockin’ In The Free World”. Check out video courtesy of Jim Symington below.