Ex-ANTHRAX Frontman Longs For Acknowledgement On Upcoming VH1 Special

The following statement was posted on the official web site of former ANTHRAX frontman Neil Turbin:

“The producers for VH1's Behind The Music called today to thank Neil for providing what appears to be the only known existing footage of early ANTHRAX from 1982, 1983 and 1984. VH1's Behind The Music producer Lisa Cole had tracked down Neil's business manager Matt in the eleventh hour while the show was in post-production and told him that no one else could come up with the original ANTHRAX footage. 'We were hoping that Neil might have something', [Cole said]. Neil's comments were, 'That would be like rewriting the Bible and completely leaving out 'Genesis'.'

“As a courtesy to ANTHRAX fans worldwide and to the other former ANTHRAX members who have contributed and put much time in with the band, but were also left off the VH1 call list and not included by whoever had control that gave them the list of names: Neil provided VH1 footage of the original lineup for a 1982 NYC cable television show called Unique Talent Showcase where ANTHRAX circa 1982 (Greg D'Angelo, Dan Lilker, Scott Rosenfeld, Neil Turbin, Greg Walls) were interviewed by Liz Derringer and performed two songs: "Satan's Wheels" and "Evil Dreams". Live footage from the first show after Fistful of Metal was recorded, from a show on 12/6/83 at Skateway 9 in New Jersey with the ANTHRAX line-up of Charlie Benante, Dan Lilker, Scott Rosenfeld, Dan Spitz, Neil Turbin. Also provided was live and backstage footage from the first ANTHRAX headline show at L'Amours in Brooklyn, NY on 2/25/1984, consisting of the ANTHRAX line-up of Frank Bello, Charlie Benante, Scott Rosenfeld, Dan Spitz, Neil Turbin. VH1's comment was that the video footage was of a 'totally useable quality'. Neil gave VH1 18 minutes of footage and made sure to include all members from the first three ANTHRAX line-up changes, who were all represented. The footage clearly speaks for itself. 'No one has the right to suppress history', [stated Neil]

“Many people regard VH1's Behind The Music as the 'Gospel Truth', so its easy to understand why former members who ultimately contributed to ANTHRAX's success over the years and were excluded from the VH1 special, would be upset that they would likely not be given proper recognition or representation. After all there were many people who contributed to ANTHRAX in the beginning and over the years, including original ANTHRAX manager Andrew Friedman who was the main percussionist for KID CREOLE AND THE COCONUTS and who also managed the Music Building in Jamaica, Queens. Hopefully it won't just get glossed over. It wasn't just the beginning. It was history of the band ANTHRAX. It was the beginning and then some, including different growth phases of the bands career over a number of years. We'll all see how and to what extent the footage was used, when VH1 airs the 44-minute show for the first time on Feb. 10th, 2002.

" 'Now back to what I'm focused on: recording my album Threatcon Delta', [stated Turbin]."