Many people see musicians as these mythical rock stars who are always in "rock" mode. One band in specific that fits this bill is Manowar, who's image preaches the upmost masculinity and being "metal." But the truth is, they're regular everyday guys like us and before Manowar got big, they had day jobs like the rest of us.
I was reading this excellent interview on MetalSucks with Bazillion Points books publisher (and my SiriusXM Liquid Metal collegue) Ian Christie, who is one of the most knowledgable dudes in metal. And there's a reason for it, he's been around the scene since the inception of thrash.
Ian shares many great anecdotes, including being in the heart of the upstate-New York metal scene and constantly running into Manowar frontman Eric Adams… but not at a metal show, at the deli counter!
[S]o I was at the right age to be able to start getting into metal and I was buying a lot of twelve-inches. And I just happened to be in the center of where S.O.D. made their record, Metallica made their first records, and Manowar was prancing around. We used to get super high in high school and go to the local grocery store, ’cause the singer of Manowar [Eric Adams] ran the meat counter there. And we’d just kind of like prowl the aisles, eating Little Debbie Cakes and be like, “Yeah that’s him, there he is!”
[laughs] Really? He worked the meat counter?
Yeah, that made no sense to us. “How can the singer of Manowar be working at this Piggly Wiggly?”Was it really a Piggly Wiggly?
Something like that. They only had a couple of records out so. You know how it is. You don’t understand that when you’re fourteen years old.Did you ever talk to him, or did you just go and look at him?
Well, I met those guys, when they came on the radio show around ‘85. Did I ever break the barrier the barrier and talk to him while he was chopping bologna? No. [laughs]
I wouldn't have talked to him either, but I would make sure the dude got my order right. So there you go. I can never look at Manowar the same way again.
I highly recommend checking out the entire interview with Ian Christie.
