SW: Danzig is really breaking new groundwith this concept, you are one of the first bands to sign with a full online label...

DANZIG: I know Public Enemy has done something similar with MP3. We are one of the first to do it through the Internet and traditional distribution, bypassing a major label.

SW: Being a partner of the company, I'm sure you also get a lot bigger cut of the pie than is you were to be "employed" by a major label!

DANZIG: Yeah, you're basically their slave, and then they charge you for everything! You don't make any money from the label. I just foresee that now is the perfect opportunity for bands and artists to get out of their situation that they're unhappy with and stop complaining about it and just do it. Especially for the band who may have got dropped from a label, because the label wants to concentrate more on their newer bands or whatever the reason. This band is probably a vital artist who still has tons of fans. Take that as a blessing, get off that label, make some money and reach your fans! Stop working for free and take control over your career.

SW: As a label partner, do you see yourself signing other bands to E-Magine?

DANZIG: Yes. I'm signing the band Scummy. I think Christoph is signing Ministry's guitarist to a deal. We're gonna be signing a lot of artists.

SW: You've gone through the whole major label ordeal...Danzig had been signed to both (Def) American and Hollywood Records. Was it a problem getting a release from those labels? You only did one album with Hollywood...

DANZIG: And that was a major nightmare! The whole Disney thing...we were told that nobody would f**k with us at Hollywood and that it was separate from Disney, which is the biggest load of crap! And, with Rick Ruben's label (American), we had problems with accounting - that's why I left the label. He tried to do an injunction with us and he didn't get it.

SW: It's obvious you know a thing or two about the business end, which is not the case with most rock bands.

DANZIG: You can still be smart and get f**ked over. Look at the Beastie Boys, another Rubin act that left the label, God Lives Underwater, the Black Crowes...they all had problems.

SW: So many people think that Rick Rubin is a fan first, just because he doesn't look or dress corporate. But I've been told that Rick is really no different from the other major labels execs when it comes to running his label.

DANZIG: He's worse, because he pretends that he's your friend. And anytime a problem arouses, he pretends he doesn't know anything about it. But he doesn't do anything to fix it either and he'll tell you that you'll have to sue him to get it cleared up...and that's not a friend.