To leave a popular band is a pretty gutsy move. But for guitar player Rob Caggiano, it was the right move. “I shared some of the best times of my life with these guys,” he explained in his official statement in early 2013 upon his departure from Anthrax. “This is an extremely difficult and emotional decision for me to make but my heart is just steering me in a different direction right now. I’ve always been one to follow my heart in everything that I do and while this might be one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make, it feels like the right one for me at this time.”
With two albums, We’ve Come For You All and Worship The Music, and hundreds of shows with the band – not to mention his participation with bandmate Scott Ian in The Damned Things – Caggiano has certainly carved out a niche for himself in the thrash metal genre. “Rob has been an integral part of Anthrax for so many years, as our lead guitarist, in a production capacity, but most of all, as our close friend. His contributions to the band have been enormous. While we are sad that he is leaving, we wish him nothing but great success going forward,” the band announced via their official statement.
Caggiano did not ride off into a dreamy sunset following his exit from Anthrax. He jumped horns-first into Volbeat, the Danish power band he was producing. With a huge fanbase of their own, Volbeat was working on their fifth studio album when Caggiano came onboard as a producer. He ended up playing guitar on the album which became Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies, and is currently a full-on member of the band.
“I’m definitely happy. No doubt about it,” Caggiano told me during our interview last week while the band was on a tour stop in Modesto, California. With a focus on touring for the rest of the year, the guitar player hopes the band will have time in the latter months to work on a new album.
Rob, where did you grow up?
I was born in the Bronx and we moved up to Yonkers when I was young. I grew up in a very music-oriented household. My dad was a huge music fan so there was constantly music on in the house all the time. And my parents were both very supportive about my interest in music. From very early on they were very into it and I’m very grateful for that.
What do you remember your dad playing?
A lot of like 1950’s doo wop stuff, Dion & The Belmonts, stuff like that constantly in the house.
How did you go from listening to that to being in a band like Anthrax?
You know, I started taking the guitar really seriously when I was around nine years old and worked really hard at it and eventually met a lot of different players. I went to Berklee up in Boston for a little bit, a couple years, and met a lot of great players. And just from jamming with people, my playing jumped up a few notches. When I came back home, I actually had a band called Boiler Room and we toured the world and broke up immediately but it was an amazing experience. That kind of got my feet wet, so to speak, for all this stuff and shortly after that I joined Anthrax. My producing career really took off around this same time as well. So a lot going on (laughs)
Didn’t you also play drums when you were a kid?
When I was five years old I had a red acoustic guitar that I used to bang around with like all the time (laughs). I didn’t know what the hell I was doing but that was my first real instrument. When I was around nine or ten, my dad got me this electric guitar, basic, whatever, and got a drum set too for the house (laughs) so I was kind of dabbling around with that too around the same time. I actually love playing drums, still play to this day.
What was THE song or album that literally changed your life?
AC/DC’s Back In Black and Van Halen I. There was just something about the music that just really connected with me and of course Angus Young and Eddie Van Halen, those two guys are my two biggest influences still to this day. There’s something about Angus Young when I hear him I kind of feel like the devil is sitting next to me (laughs). He’s amazing, absolutely amazing.
What was your dream guitar and did you ever get it?
Oh when I was a kid the Holy Grail of all guitars was the Eddie Van Halen Kramer Baretta and I did end up getting that one when I was around fourteen. My dad got it for me for Christmas and that was like the sickest guitar to have back then (laughs)
What happened to it?
You know, that’s a good question. I don’t know what happened to that thing. I must have traded it in for something over the years. I should have kept it. I wish I had it now.
When did you realize you wanted to do this for a living?
I realized it pretty early on, very early on, shortly after I heard Eddie Van Halen and Angus Young. That was it. I’d say one or two years after that I got this idea in my head. I was just a kid back then but I knew what I wanted to do. There was NO way I wasn’t going to do it (laughs)
The first time you went into a recording studio was that with Boiler Room?
Yes and no, because when I was younger I was very into recording studios and was always kind of enamored with gear and stuff like that. I had a little studio in my house. I used to work in a music store and a lot of times I would take home gear instead of getting paid. I was recording my own ideas. And with Boiler Room, I actually recorded a lot of the demos that got us a record deal. So that kind of was the first real thing that I recorded.
Was there anything that surprised you about being in a real studio and making an album?
No, not really. That whole environment comes very natural for me and like I said, it’s always something that I connected with. The whole process of making records, there’s no real set way to do it. There’s a lot of different ways to make an album. But that whole mindset, you know, trying to figure out what’s best for what band and what project, that’s something that comes very natural for me. I think the bottom line is that everything I do, from the guitar to recording, is pretty much self-taught. I’m not really a gear nerd but I know what I like to use and I know what sounds good and I know how to get the sound the way I want it to.
What is the hardest part about producing yourself?
I’m a perfectionist and I’m used to pushing other people to get the best performance out of them. But I feel probably when I’m recording myself I’m extra hard on myself cause it’s like a normal natural thing (laughs). You know, it took me a while to find that balance because music is not supposed to be perfect. And some of my favorite bands and some of my favorite records are not perfect and that’s what makes them great. So I think it just comes with time and experience, learning where to draw that line. And sometimes mistakes are cool and should be left alone and not fixed. And that’s kind of where I’m at right now. There’re a lot of guys out there making records that lack soul.
What was it like recording with Volbeat last year?
It was a blast. I had a great time in the studio and it was basically the sky’s the limit. Tons of guitar playing on the album, a lot of experimenting, just a lot of fun overall. I had a really great time.
I talked to drummer Jon Larsen a couple of years ago and he told me that their sound is the way it is because they all listen to different kinds of music and they blend that together to create this Volbeat sound. Do you agree with that?
Absolutely and that’s one of the reasons why I think I connect with them as well. Like I said, I came up in a household full of music and I’m very open to different things. If you look at my iTunes or my iPod, I listen to all kinds of different shit (laughs) and that’s the way I’ve always been. I feel like if you take all these different influences and you put it in a reserve, sometimes when I’m in the middle of making a record or something, an idea will pop into my head and I won’t even know where it comes from but I think it’s basically because of all the different music I listen to.
So you still think leaving Anthrax was the right decision.
At that point in my career, yes, I do. And we’re still good friends and I love those guys dearly.
What was the first show like when you played with Volbeat?
The first show I played was in Copenhagen at a place called the Vega and it was great. I mean, for me it was a bit stressful at the time because I was still in the middle of actually finishing the album and I still had things I needed to do, little last bits and bobs done on the album. And during that time, I had to learn an entire set of music, basically two hours of music. So for me it was very hectic but also very cool. I love challenges and I love pushing myself. I thrive on that kind of stuff and it was great.
Basically what we did was, the guys wanted to do a special set for the Danish fans because they had been away for so long in America and throughout Europe and they felt like the Danish fans needed something special, deserved something special, and we all kind of agreed. We did five shows, five different towns in Denmark, and it was killer. And that’s how I first started playing with these guys.
What was the hardest song in their catalog for you to learn? Was there anything really difficult?
Not really. But the most difficult thing for me was just remembering all the different arrangements for all the songs cause learning that amount of tunes in one shot is a pretty challenging thing. But you know, over the years, that’s definitely one of the skills I kind of fine-tuned and focused on so it worked out pretty cool.
Is there a song Volbeat hasn’t played as a band that you would love to do live?
There’re a few tunes on the new record that I’d like to do. A song called “Lonesome Rider,” which I think is killer. It’s a real stand out track on the record cause it’s so different from all the other tunes but it features a female vocalist. So it kind of limits us as far as when we can play it (laughs)
Who was the first real rock star you ever met?
Wow, that’s a good question. I don’t know (laughs). I mean, I’ve met so many people over the years it’s hard to remember who the first real rock star was. I’ll tell you, years ago I met Angus Young and Brian Johnson when AC/DC toured, playing the Garden in New York City. At the time, I had a business manager that was working also with them and he got me on the list and ended up meeting Angus Young and talking to Angus for like an hour in the dressing room, just me and him. It was so crazy and something I will never forget. Then after that we went back to their hotel with Brian and his wife and had drinks and it was just an absolutely mind-blowing experience. So those guys were probably the first guys where I was totally starstruck (laughs)
What did you talk to Angus about?
You know, at the time, I guess, that night he was trying out a different amp or something. He was starting to play these Wizard Amps and we were just talking about sound and he was really curious what I thought of his sound, which was completely mind-blowing because who the hell was I? (laughs) He was just such a nice guy, you know. To me, that was just over-the-top (laughs)
What was the most nerve-wracking experience you’ve had on stage?
Probably the Big 4 show that was filmed (laughs). That was probably my worst show of all time because we all had so many technical problems on stage, with the monitors and my gear wasn’t working right. We all had problems. It was absolutely horrific. The only thing I had coming out of my wedges was Charlie’s hi-hat (laughs). I couldn’t hear anything. We all went back to the dressing room that day and we were just depressed because we knew that was such an important show and being broadcast. When Metallica’s guy, the guy that recorded the stuff, came into our dressing room to approve it before it was aired in the movie theaters, we put it on and were like, “Wow, is this the same show?” We actually sounded decent (laughs). I guess from playing all these years, you just get into a groove and I guess that comes from experience. But, yeah, we had a terrible time at that show. Probably me more than the rest of the guys (laughs) but it just sounded so bad on stage.
What is happening with The Damned Things?
We’re on hold right now. Obviously, I’m really busy with Volbeat. Fall Out Boy is doing their thing, really busy. Actually, they’re doing stuff all over the place. I know that Scott told me that Anthrax was working on a record, writing a record. So I don’t know. I think it’s something that we all would like to do at some point but I don’t know when.
You got to produce and work with Bruce Springsteen. What was it like telling the Boss what to do?
(laughs) Yeah, I did work with Bruce and it was an amazing experience for me. As far as being a record producer, that day really changed my world big time. That was the first time I worked with someone on that level but that session was kind of nerve-wracking for me.
Is he easy to work with?
He is absolutely amazing to work with. The nicest guy in the world. Totally takes direction and he is killer. He’s the best (laughs). You know, the crazy thing is, I started recording him and he was singing with that track, which is on the Jesse Malin record, and he was singing that song “Broken Radio.” But he was singing it different than I thought it should go so I just made a decision. I was like, well, “I think it would be better if you did a couple of things a little differently” and I just told him to come over to the control room and I just said, “Look, let me just show you some of the ideas I had as far as melody goes and stuff like this.” And I sang him the part the way I thought it should go and he was super cool. He could have been like, you know, who the hell is this guy? (laughs) But he didn’t do that. He was so cool and so professional and I think his vocals came out amazing on that song. Again, that’s one of those days and one of those experiences that I will never forget ever for the rest of my life.
Any talk about making a new record with Volbeat?
Probably by the end of the year we’ll start getting in that mode. Right now, we’re just very much in touring mode. We’re touring, right in the middle of the cycle, and the rest of the year is going to be hardcore touring. But we’re flirting around with some different, new ideas here and there.
What still excites you about playing music?
The fans. The energy. The interaction between the stage and the crowd. For me, that’s what I live for. For me, there is no other feeling in the world like it. That’s what keeps me in the game. It’s the kind of thing where it’s in my blood, this whole lifestyle, and I wouldn’t know what to do if I wasn’t playing music (laughs). I would have no idea what to do. So there’s no option for me. I love what I do and here we are (laughs)
Live photographs by Leslie Michele Derrough
