Black List Union Interview 19/10/2025

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1. what’s the real story behind Blacklist Union? What made you start this band and not just
burn the whole scene down?
I spent years auditioning for bands and it was a waste of time. I started my own band because I
wanted to play music that I wanted to hear.

2. Your lyrics hit like therapy with a switchblade. What’s the darkest place you’ve written
from—and did the music pull you out or push you deeper?
I’ve walked through a lot of darkness. The lyrics are very therapeutic for me. A lot of my inspiration I
got from going to the Amazon Jungle with the Indians in Peru,

 

3. You’ve had lineup changes, losses, and wild collaborations. What keeps the fire burning
when everything around you is trying to snuff it out?
It’s all I have ever wanted to do since I was five years old. I’m a rock n’ roll soldier. There’s a song on
Slay the Dragon called “Rock N’ Roll Soldier.”

 

4. “Slay the Dragon” sounds like a war cry. What dragons are you slaying—and who’s still
breathing fire in your life?
That’s hypothetical. Slay the Dragon could be anything. For me it’s all kinds of things. Accepting the
fact that my 13-year-old daughter won’t talk to me. It could be addiction, pain, relationships, trauma,
or anything that is getting in the way of your life.

 

5. You’ve called out the big dogs—AC/DC, Guns N’ Roses, Social D. If they gave you one
shot to open, what track are you leading with and why?
“Mississippi Moonhound,” because it’s up-tempo and captures people’s attention.

 

6. Rock’s been watered down lately. What’s your take on the current scene—and where does
Blacklist Union fit in or stand out?
There is no scene anywhere, in the United States at least. We stick to our guns. We are not following
any trends. We don’t give a shit what people think is hip or cool. We are just being who we are,
staying true ourselves.

 

7. You’ve lived through addiction, loss, and rebirth. How do you channel that into your live
shows without losing yourself in the chaos?
I’m a fucking channel. I don’t take credit for anything. I have to make sure that I’m in-tune enough
for the “Powers That Be” to communicate through me, sing through me, and write through me. It’s
not about me. It’s about being a channel, and my soul being in-tune enough to be able to be a
channel.

 

8. If someone’s never heard Blacklist Union before, what’s the one song that’ll make them
say, “Damn, I needed this”?
“Mississippi Moonhound” or “Up In Smoke”

 

9. You’ve said your music makes people wanna fight, fk, and drink. What’s the wildest fan
reaction you’ve ever had that proved that true?**

One time we were playing a motorcycle clubhouse in Wisconsin and this dude rode in
with two naked chicks. He parked his bike by the stage and the naked girls started
making out.

 

10. What’s next for you? More albums, more tours, or something totally unexpected? Lay it on
me.
The dismal state of the record industry, which really there is no “record industry”
anymore. There’s a bunch of crooked labels that sign people for bragging rights. Even
labels that are charging people to be on their labels. There’s no tour support, there’s no
marketing anymore. I put everything I fucking have into Blacklist Union.
I highly doubt there’s even gonna be another record at this point, unless someone
comes along and puts out our back catalog and gives us some tour support and
marketing money cause this shit’s a fucking joke. There’s no music industry. That shit
does not exist. There are crooks out there that take young people’s money, and even
older people, with all these empty promises and all this bullshit, and really in the United
States, nobody gives a flying fuck about rock n’ roll. That’s the ugly fuckin’ truth about it.
Man, there’s no music industry. There’s no support for artists in the U.S. Whatever that
artist is. A recording artist, a performance artist, a painter, writer... There’s no fucking
platform for people to fund their arts.
I’m not in a good space with Blacklist Union. I’ve given my whole life to it and all of my
money, trying to get something to hit, and I’m pretty much at the finish line.

 

 Your top 3 albums of all time?
Mother Love Bone – Apple
The Cult – Love
Warrior Soul – Anything from Warrior Soul
If you could jam with any 3 musicians—alive or dead—who’d make the list?
Dave Navarro
Eric Avery
Stephen Perkins

 

 Your 3 essential items for surviving a tour?
Cell phone, Sanity, and Patience

 

 Top 3 countries you’d love to tour but haven’t yet?
The UK, The Netherlands, and South America

 

1. 24-hour road trip—what musician’s riding shotgun with you?

Satanic Allan

2. If your personality were a song, what would its title be?
This is Shangra La by Mother Love Bone
3. Vinyl or digital—where do you spin?
Vinyl
4. Festival chaos or an intimate sweat-soaked gig?
I’ll take ‘em both.
5. What’s one lyric from the new album that you’d want carved into your
gravestone?
If I’m too much, try someone less.
6.   If Rage were a mythological creature, what would it be—and what would it
protect?  
A dragon, and it would protect my heart, me, and my family.

 

Final words? The stage is yours...
Like I said when you asked “What’s next for you,?” Blacklist Union looks like it’s gonna
be coming to an end if something doesn’t give here because there’s no music industry
or recording industry. There’s no real labels that are out there, putting bands on tour or
marketing them or any shit like that anymore, especially in the rock n’ roll genre. And I’m
not gonna keep doing this until I’m an elderly man, putting all my life savings into this
shit. I’m really in a bad space right now with the whole thing across the board.
And if we’re saying this, really the bands below us have no chance. We have charted
song, we have millions of views on our videos, we have five star reviews across the
globe and nothing. We’ve got no real tangible results. We’ve got results for bragging
rights. I don’t give a shit about that. I don’t need to be a “bar star,” and look like I’m
something in front of someone. We wanna be a working band, out there making a living
playing our music and doing art. In the grand scheme of things we’ve gotten emails
saying our song got them through the death of a loved one, or they played music at their
loved one’s funeral, or even their wedding, or whatever. Really, it’s about that. Touching
that one person. But to sustain is a different story. It’s gonna be 2026 and the world has
changed, not for the better, especially with art and music, and especially in the United
States.     Facebook