JOHN BUSH Wants PAUL CROOK To Join Him On Hypothetical Solo Tour Celebrating His Era Of ANTHRAX

Former ANTHRAX and current ARMORED SAINT frontman John Bush was recently interviewed by Hablas ROCKas. You can now listen to the chat below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On whether he is still open to the idea of embarking on a special tour during which he would perform material from his time as the singer of ANTHRAX:

Bush: "I am. It's something that I thought about, and the agent that I have is kind of pushing me to consider it. I'm finally at a point now where I've said, 'Okay, I might be willing to do this.' The guys in the band, they don't play any of those songs, and I understand why. I'm sure that they have plenty of other songs to play and [current ANTHRAX singer] Joey [Belladonna], it probably is not high on his priority list of wanting to play that. So I get it — I really do. But I don't want those songs to just fall into oblivion and become nothing, 'cause they're very important songs to me and I love those records. So I said, 'Okay, I'm entertaining the idea of doing that.' It's something that has to just feel right, it has to feel like the right group, it has to be the right time. And we'll see what happens."

On whether he already knows which musicians he would hire to perform with him on a hypothetical Bush-era ANTHRAX tour:

Bush: "No, because I haven't really thought about it that deeply yet, and we haven't really figured out if and when it really is gonna happen. So I don't know. I have some ideas in my mind about who I'd like to do something like that with, but beyond that, I haven't really thought about it — I really haven't. And let's keep it a surprise when it happens, if it happens, with who it happens. I'd rather have that be something that people aren't really aware of until if it did happen. I have one person in mind for sure, because it's somebody who I'd worked with the ANTHRAX records that I made. [It's former ANTHRAX guitarist] Paul Crook, because Paul actually recorded on 'Stomp [442]' [1995], and he also recorded on 'Volume 8 [The Threat Is Real]', and he co-produced 'Volume 8', actually, 'cause he engineered it And I love Paul — I've always been a really big fan of his as a human being. He's an incredible player and I know he has a connection to it — a personal connection. So I like the idea of doing it with Paul. And we've had some discussions [about it]."

On how such a tour might affect his relationship with his former bandmates in ANTHRAX:

Bush: "I don't wanna create any awkwardness between the guys in ANTHRAX and Joey Belladonna. I really have nothing but the utmost respect for Joey Belladonna. It's not a position that I'm looking to try to weasel my way back in — it has nothing to do with that. I think the guys in ANTHRAX… the band is doing very well right now and they're a very solid unit and have nothing but the most respect for that. And I'm not looking to create any kind of awkwardness if something like that would happen. It would be like trying to get back together with an old girlfriend or something, and it's not my goal to do that. It would be more like a fun little thing to do, and it wouldn't even be that many shows, I'm sure."

On whether he has had any contact with ANTHRAX drummer Charlie Benante in recent years:

Bush: "I haven't really had much contact with Charlie. Me and Charlie were very close at one point, and I think Charlie was disappointed when things fell through the way they did between us. What are you gonna do, man? It was a long time ago, and it just doesn't matter anymore. Like I said, I have nothing but the utmost respect for all those guys — they were like brothers to me for 12, 13 years — and I wish 'em the best. So it's a disappointment. Me and Charlie used to talk about music and bands and trivial bullshit, and it's a shame that we haven't had contact. But sometimes it just takes a little longer for things to rectify themselves. And maybe one day. So we'll see. It's not a big deal. I understand. We also just have [busy] lives — he's got a family, I've got a family, they're touring, I'm doing my thing — so sometimes you just fall out of communication. But, again, a lot of history there and nothing but feeling positive about all the things that I did with ANTHRAX and all the experiences I had."

Bush fronted ANTHRAX between 1992 and 2005 but was sidelined when ANTHRAX reunited with Belladonna for a 20th-anniversary tour. When that collapsed, and relationships disintegrated with next frontman Dan Nelson, Bush returned for a time before Belladonna took the job back in 2010.