Ex-W.A.S.P. Guitarist CHRIS HOLMES Discusses Infamous 'Decline' Pool Scene, Becoming Sober And BLACKIE LAWLESS (Video)

On March 27, Metallväktarna conducted an interview with former W.A.S.P. guitarist Chris Holmes during his visit to Finland. You can now watch the chat below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On the infamous scene in the "The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years" movie in which he can be seen guzzling vodka in his pool:

Holmes: "I get a lot [of questions] about that. [People wanna know], 'Was it alcohol? Were you drunk?' Or whatever. Yeah, I was drunk. I'm not known to be a liar. In fact, I was real drunk; I couldn't even talk. So a lot of people ask me, 'How do you feel about that being on TV?' or whatever. The only thing I don't like is where some kid will come up to me and go, 'Man, that's the coolest! I wanna live like that.' And, to me, personally, that's, like, me going down the tubes. And why would somebody wanna live like that?"

On becoming sober:

Holmes: "I haven't drank since '96. I got six DUIs, and five of them, I didn't listen to [what was ordered by the court]… They make you do programs, and I went to jail for awhile, and that still wouldn't get me to stop drinking. I still drank. And then the sixth time, somebody promised me that 'never drink again' if I stopped for a year. He goes, 'Look at it this way, Chris.' He goes, 'You could always go back to it.' So I quit for a year. And [laughs] he's right. I don't wanna go and drink again, 'cause I've seen my friends do such incredibly stupid things drunk. [laughs] It's not appealing to me anymore."

On his reputation as a "mean motherfucker":

Holmes: "I've never been a mean person in my life… since Day One. I didn't write that song. [Editor's note: Referring to the W.A.S.P. track 'Mean Man', which was written by W.A.S.P. lead singer/bassist Blackie Lawless about Holmes' wild lifestyle and was dedicated to him.] Anybody that personally knows me, you can ask them. It's somebody's perception of them towards whatever they write about. I wrote a song on both my new albums — I've got two new albums; one came out last year — and I wrote a song on there called 'The Loser', and that's about him [pointing to a W.A.S.P. album cover with a picture of Blackie Lawless on it]. And I've got a new one on my new one called 'T.F.M.F.', on my new one, and until that's out, I really don't wanna talk about it. [But] it's about him [as well]. I'm sure he writes one on his album about me every time."

On what he was doing in Finland at the time of the interview:

Holmes: "The culture is changing in America. Nobody rocks anymore. It's totally changed; it's hip-hop now and stuff. And [me and] my wife, we were talking about it about a year ago. I go, 'I've gotta get out of here.' [And she goes], 'Where do you wanna go?' I go, 'I'd like to go to Europe.' I met my friend from [the Finnish hard rock band] BATON ROGUE MORGUE, Domino, and we called him up and said, 'Hey, how about doing some shows with you over there?' And he goes, 'Yeah.' So I decided to come over here. And I've got a plane flight back, but I don't think I'm gonna get on it. I'd like to stay here — at least until they get rid of me somehow. I don't feel like going back to L.A. [There are] too many kind of people I don't like over there."