JOHN BUSH On Why Now Is Right Time For Him To Celebrate His Era Of ANTHRAX: 'These Songs Had A Lot Of Impact On People'

During an appearance on the July 31 episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", legendary vocalist John Bush spoke about his recent announcement that he will embark on a special run of live performances showcasing the music he helped create during his decade-long tenure singing with ANTHRAX. This December, Bush will perform songs spanning all four albums he recorded with the band: "Sound Of White Noise", "Stomp 442", "Volume 8: The Threat Is Real" and "We've Come For You All". Joining Bush on stage will be his CATEGORY 7 bandmates Phil Demmel (guitar),Mike Orlando (guitar) and Jason Bittner (drums),along with his longtime ARMORED SAINT partner and best friend Joey Vera on bass (CATEGORY 7 bassist Jack Gibson has a schedule conflict and is unable to make the gigs).

Asked what led to the decision to play these shows, John told "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Obviously I've talked about this for quite a while, and it's come and gone because of various reasons — scheduling, or maybe I was just reluctant at the time. And Dan DeVita, who I owe a lot to, because he's the agent who books ARMORED SAINT, and he's booking this, and I've known Dan for years and years. He works for TKO, and he's doing great for himself, and he's always been there for us and for me. And the thing is, he kept saying, like, 'When do you wanna do this? Let's do this.' And we had a plan to do it in the summer of this year. We had dates for Europe that were ready to go. And then for whatever reason, I don't know if I got cold feet or some of the negotiations kind of fell apart with some of the people I was talking to. And so we pulled out. And we actually had some legitimate gigs — we had a couple of festivals that were big and it was gonna be cool. For whatever reason, it didn't happen. So it's a moot point now. But the reality is, look, I am gonna be 62 [in August]. And I've been talking about this forever, and so let's just do it. Let's stop talking about it and let's do it. So we found the right dates to do it, which is in December, and it's three shows. It's L.A., it's St. Charles, which is outside of Chicago, and then New York City. And I'm gonna go out and we're gonna play songs from these records, and I think it's gonna be really exciting and fun. I think fans are gonna be stoked, and I'm excited. I'm looking forward to it. There's really, really killer tunes on those records that I'm really proud of, and it's gonna be fun to sing them live."

On the topic of how he chose the musicians to play these shows with, Bush said: "It was gonna be the four guys from CATEGORY 7, and Jack Gibson just has a scheduling conflict. So that was the original plan. But it was funny, 'cause we talked about doing this and it was, like, well, here's the band. We've only played one show with CATEGORY 7 — we played the Whisky [A Go Go] just a couple weeks back — but every time we were gonna do some shows, a couple of things fell apart, a couple of balls were dropped. Whatever — that's a moot point. But I think the [CATEGORY 7] record actually is pretty off the charts; it's a killer record, [and I'm] really proud of it. And so we wanted to play some shows, and then, like I said, a couple of things fell apart. But then the idea came of, like, okay, well, wait a minute here. Here's a bunch of incredible musicians. And these guys can play these songs. Bittner played in ANTHRAX, or did some touring with them when Charlie [Benante] was having some injury issues. So he knows a lot of tunes. And it just made sense. It was, like, 'Well, wait a minute. We could piggyback this thing. It'll be really kind of interesting to have one band play and then kind of come back and play again.' So, it's gonna be a little much for not only me as a singer, it's gonna be a lot of songs. It's gonna be a lot of songs for the band to know and learn. But I think in the end it's gonna be a cool story, and it's gonna be fun. Like I was saying, if I was trying to put a band together from scratch of people that I would like to do these ANTHRAX songs, I would choose those guys 'cause they're amazing. So it just made sense. So it's gonna be a lot of fun. And like I said, a lot of these songs — I mean, 'Potter's Field' and 'Fueled' and 'Safe Home', we haven't played these songs — I haven't played these songs, and nor have they, in years and years. So, it's gonna be really cool and exciting to kind of resurrect some of these tunes that a lot of people dug and are great songs that just haven't been heard in a long time."

Asked about the possibility of playing more shows celebrating his era of ANTHRAX in 2026, John said: "Well, we're gonna take this step [by playing these three shows in December]. And for me, this was a big step. So I was, like, let's do this. And Dan, like I said, my agent, he was, like, 'Why don't we do this? We'll kind of play like three shows, strategic, and start with this.' The [new] ARMORED SAINT record is coming out in March or April, so I'm gonna be definitely wanting to do a lot of touring and association with that, because we're really stoked about this upcoming [ARMORED SAINT] album — it sounds killer — so we're gonna do a lot of stuff with that. So it's finding a way to merge some of these things together, but let me kind of get this out there, see what the vibe is. It seems like it's actually pretty awesome so far… But let's see what we get and let's see what happens. And sure, there's a lot of places that I would like to take it — certainly Europe and even South America and maybe even Japan. And the sky's kind of the limit. Obviously, there's a shelf life 'cause this is not new material. These are records that are 20 to 30 years old at this point. So it's not new music. And, of course, ANTHRAX has new music, and they're making a record and they have a new record coming out next year. But the fact is they just really haven't been playing any of these tunes. So they've been kind of almost put in a time capsule. And I get it — I really do. To just call it as it is, I understand, especially from the standpoint of [longtime ANTHRAX singer] Joey Belladonna. They're gonna have a third new record after he came back in the band. They obviously have their catalog of stuff that he did, and they probably have a plethora of material to play, not including any of the Bush songs. But the reality is I don't want these songs to just go into oblivion here. There's some really great material here, and in the '90s these songs had a lot of impact on people. So, I'm figuring, well, if you guys aren't gonna do it, then I should do it. And that's why I'm finally doing it."

Asked if he would still be doing these shows if the Belladonna-fronted lineup of ANTHRAX was performing a lot of the material Bush recorded with the band live, John said: "Well, I'd say most likely not. I used to say, 'Do songs [from my era]. I want you to do tunes.' I understand why you don't, but I wish they would. Because, again, it's something that I invested emotionally and a lot of time, as well as those guys did. So, I would prefer them to play the tunes. I understand if they don't, but if they were, then maybe not. But they don't, with the exception of 'Only'. And there's a lot of great tunes. I've been putting a setlist together, and it's probably more songs than I really wanna sing, to be honest, 'cause it could be a very long set. Plus I wanna play some deep tracks — I don't wanna just play the obvious songs, like 'Only', 'Room For One More', 'Fueled'. I wanna play 'Safe Home', whatever. I wanna play some deep tracks, because it will be more fun that way. So, would I do this [if ANTHRAX was still performing songs from the Bush era live]? Probably not. I would say probably not. But they're not, so I am."

Regarding whether he has gotten any feedback from ANTHRAX guitarist Scott Ian or drummer Charlie Benante or anybody else in the band about him doing this, John said: "I have not spoken to them. I know that they knew that I was flirting with this and I have been talking about it for a long time. So it's not like it's gonna come as some major shock. But I haven't really had a conversation with them after I made this announcement. But I'm hoping they're supportive of it. Again, it's celebrating the music that those guys made and those guys wrote and performed on. So, like I said, a lot of those tunes are great. So, I'm hoping they're just gonna be supportive of it and maybe will wanna come out and play a song or two. But for me, my main ambition is — it really comes down to, the primary reason is to honor those songs and honor those records and honor me singing them. And that's really the main thing. So, what happens after that? I mean, of course I'm open-minded, in terms of having people come out. I actually think it would be cool if I had some other various people maybe come out and do some little guest spots. I have some ideas of people. I don't wanna say who yet, but I think that would be really cool for other people to come in and stop in and do a song or two in one of the three shows. And I have some ideas. Like I said, I don't wanna reveal that yet. And that's not even including Scott, Charlie and Frankie [Bello, ANTHRAX bassist]. But whatever. I'm open-minded. I'm hoping it's a really positive vibe throughout the whole thing, and like I said, we're just celebrating some of those records that sometimes are forgotten, which, like I said, I get it. It's hard to compete, especially with the '80s ANTHRAX, because it was so huge and it was such an impactful time. And those are great, incredible records. But we did still make some really cool stuff in the '90s, and I know there's a lot of people that love those albums and songs, so I'm gonna rock 'em out."

On the upcoming run of shows, CATEGORY 7 will open each night with its own blistering set before returning as John's backing band for the ANTHRAX material.

The setlist will include not only the well-known anthems, but also some deeper cuts that haven’t been performed live in years.

John Bush performing songs from his era of ANTHRAX:

Dec. 13 - Los Angeles, CA @ Whisky A-Go-Go
Dec. 18 - St. Charles, IL @ Arcada Theatre
Dec. 20 - New York, NY @ Racket

In March 2024, Bush told Nikki Blakk of the San Francisco radio station 107.7 The Bone that he would "love" to perform material from his time as the singer of ANTHRAX. "It wouldn't be some long tour; it would probably be like a handful of shows of doing my era in ANTHRAX," he explained. "'Cause they don't play too many of the songs — they play 'Only', and they just don't play too many. And I get it, because there's a large catalog that ANTHRAX has, not only from the beginning, but now they've made — they're about ready to make their third record, I believe, after that. So, I understand. I really do. I totally get it. But there are some songs that would be fun to hear, I think, for fans and for myself. It just has to kind of work with time, really; that's the key component. But it would be fun, for sure. I just don't know at this point when that would happen. And I don't know — they've kind of got their own thing going on, too. They're busy, they're making a new record. One day maybe something. Maybe it'll be me with various musicians doing it. Probably not with the band, actually. Or if they ever wanted to say, 'Hey, you wanna come out and sing a couple songs?' Yeah, I'd be into that. But I always say it's something that Joey Belladonna should be wanting to do. If this is something that he's not into and he's uncomfortable, then it shouldn't be done, because there's no point. But who knows?"

After Blakk suggested the possibility of ARMORED SAINT opening for ANTHRAX and Bush jumping up on stage and doing a couple of songs with the headliners, John said: "I would love ARMORED SAINT to go out and play some shows or do a tour with ANTHRAX. I think that would be killer. I've said it. It'd be really fun… Who knows?"

ANTHRAX has had a number of vocalists — including Bush, Belladonna, Neil Turbin and Dan Nelson — over the last 42 years, with guitarist Scott Ian and drummer Charlie Benante remaining the sole bandmembers who have appeared on every one of the group's studio albums.

Turbin sang on ANTHRAX's debut LP, 1984's "Fistful Of Metal", before getting booted and being replaced by Belladonna. Belladonna performed on four ANTHRAX albums, including the fan favorite "Among The Living" (1987) before he himself was fired over creative and stylistic differences. Bush fronted ANTHRAX between 1992 and 2005 but was sidelined when the band reunited with Belladonna for a 20th-anniversary tour. When that collapsed, and relationships disintegrated with next frontman Nelson, Bush returned for a time before Belladonna took the job back in 2010.

In October 2022, John told The Metal Voice that a special tour during which he would perform material from his time as the singer of ANTHRAX "would be great. I don't really wanna go out and do like a 30-date tour with it, but it would be cool to do a handful of shows in some key markets," he said. "We can certainly play those songs for a support slot or even a headlining slot, let's face it. I think there's enough songs of the four records [I recorded with ANTHRAX] that would make for a great show… I'm open to it. It's just a matter of… the timing, I think. Really, that's what it comes down to."

Regarding the fact that ANTHRAX played "Only" live on its recent U.S. tour, with Joey Belladonna on vocals, Bush said: "I always support Joey singing those songs. I wish they would do more, to be honest… I have no qualms with that. I support that. And Joey, we're not the best of friends, because we just aren't. It's funny, 'cause my wife and his wife have become pretty good text friends, so they're closer than him and I. But I always endorse it and tell him he did a great job and support whatever he does. He has his own backlog of stuff, and he also has the new songs and the new records that he's done. So I understand, and I'm not offended by it. But if they wanna play some songs from the John Bush-era albums, I'm great with that as well."

In September 2020, Bush told The Metal Voice that he was "caught by surprise" by Ian's comment that was not opposed to taking part in a special concert featuring most of the singers that have fronted the band over the course of its nearly four-decade existence. "I was, like, 'Wow. Okay.' And I thought that's a great idea. That would be really cool," Bush said. "I think that would be an amazing thing for the fanbase. But what I keep saying is that Joey Belladonna is the singer of ANTHRAX, and Joey should be the singer of ANTHRAX, as far as I'm concerned. And if this happens, it needs to have his approval, really, quite honestly. Because I wouldn't want him to feel like, 'Well, this is not my idea, and I don't wanna do this,' because he is the singer who'd be sharing the stage [with the rest of us], quite honestly. So I think it would be something that Joey would have to give endorsement to, for that to happen, if that's an idea. And again, I think it would be a fun thing to do a couple of handful of shows, sporadic stuff."

Photo credit: Stephanie Cabral