CANNIBAL CORPSE Bassist: 'It's An Endurance Kind Of Music, So You Need To Be Prepared For It'

Greg Giles of Schwegweb.com recently conducted an interview with CANNIBAL CORPSE bassist Alex Webster. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow:

Schwegweb.com: You guys obviously play fast tempo music, I was wondering, as a musician, what’s your method for reaching the relaxation that it takes to play music that fast?

Alex: "Um, well… we do practice a lot at home. Like, the band will practice four or five days a week together, pretty much all the time. Meaning that, when we're done with this tour, maybe two or three weeks later we'll just start practicing again. We'll have that short break for a couple weeks, and then we'll just start right back in practicing, so that we're always, just…comfortable doing these kind of songs. If we took a month or two off, and we've had to do that before, for whatever reason…and when you come back, it's very hard to play this kind of stuff again. So, really, I think the way we're able to do it, is just by constantly… keeping ourselves in the physical shape you need to be in to play this kind of stuff. It is hard. It's an endurance kind of music, so you need to be prepared for it."

Schwegweb.com: You guys get crazy and shit on the road? Drinking beers and stuff, or is it all Gatorade and water?

Alex: "For me, I don't really party very much, you know. I might have a couple of shots of Jagermeister… because there's like a Jager barbecue they have. Those guys will cook us some hot dogs and hamburgers, and they've got some Jager on ice there, if we want to have a couple of shots… I haven't gotten hammered on this tour [Sounds of the Underground] at all. Just a couple time I was just a little buzzed from having a few drinks, but not hammered. But, yeah, like Rob (Barrett, guitarist) and George last night were so drunk, that they couldn't even make it to the signing… That's something that, really, we would rather that they didn't do, 'cause we're a pro band, but… I can't tell people what to do and what not to do. But staying up until eleven in the morning drinking when you've got to play a show at four in the afternoon isn't really a great idea, in my opinion. It's not the way to get the best out of yourself. That's why I went to bed early. They didn't, and that's their choice. For me, I want to stay clean out here, and kick ass."

Schwegweb.com: What's your best Dimebag Darrell story?

Alex: "Well, you know, I guess anyone who met him had the same great experience, pretty much. He's a great guy. We met him. I met him, anyway, in 1992, when we played Hamburg. We played a small place with SINISTER, and they were on tour with MEGADETH across town, playing a big place. I met Dimebag and Nick Menza (former MEGADETH drummer). Dime took us out drinking, and bought us drinks all night. He was one of the nicest guys you could ever meet. We met him again in '96. Those were the only two times that I met him. Over in Japan, they were there at the same time we were, and we met them…and again, the nicest dude ever. Loved to party, you know, great dude."

Read the entire interview at Schwegweb.com.