SW: So, what about tour plans for Metal Church, I know you did some European Festivals, what about the States?

David: We did the Wacken Open Air Fest (Germany) in August. In October, we took off and played a ton of dates in Germany, and all over western Europe with Thunderhead. It was a successful tour and show us that the fans still love us out there. We're supposed to go out with WASP in the States but since everybody in this band is doing their own thing, I'm just waiting for management to find out the verdict. I mean, we gotta start rehearsing soon if we're gonna embark on an American tour!

SW: Who manages Metal Church these days?

David: We're managed by Krebbs Communications.

SW: Is that David Krebbs?

David: Yes it is. The former Ted Nugent & Aerosmith manager in the '70s.

SW: Let's go back to the old days, when Metal Church formed back in '84...this was long before the grunge movement hit Seattle. Not many people are familiar with the old Seattle metal scene, but I was pretty hip to the Northwest scene back then...bands like Metal Church, Queensryche of course, Wild Dogs, TKO, Culprit...

David: Wow, very good! You know your music.

SW: Do you feel that bands such as Metal Church may have inspired, or paved the way for, the Seattle grunge movement?

David: It could have been. I know for a fact, that in one of the books, Kurt Cobain listed Metal Church as one of the bands that he used to see in concert. Metal Church originally formed out of Aburney and then moved into the Kent/Seattle area.

SW: I have heard stories that even Alice In Chains used to play cover tunes from '80s metal bands like Armored Saint and Metal Church...

David: Yeah. My band bumped into Layne Staley, the singer, at one of their shows in LA and he was asking 'where's Dave Wayne from Metal Church!'.

SW: So, what was it like back then, in the mid-'80s, playing the Seattle club circuit?

David: It was a great scene to be involved in. There was a huge party going on, and we loved it. We were riding the crest, as they say, of the new wave of American metal. And it went to our heads so bad. We played with bands like Raven and Exciter. And we had what they called the Northwest metal festival, with your buddy Jeff Gilbert at the helm, and that was great. We were going to the coolest parties, had chicks all over us...it was just a mind-blower! Queensryche and metal Church were the toast of Seattle at that time. I just wish that I never got hooked up with the coke...If I could do it all over again, Bob, I would've never had touched the blow.

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