HRH Dishes Out a Heap of Big Cock’s Dave Henzerling
I recently had the opportunity to talk to Big Cock guitarist Dave Henzerling not only about the future of Big Cock, but his past time in such bands as King Kobra, Keel, & Lizzy Borden, touring vs not touring, and a little bit about his days on Sunset Strip
HRH: I guess the first question should be with Robert Mason now the front man for Warrant when are we going to see a new record from Big Cock and will Robert be involved with the album?
Dave: BC is very much alive and well. Robert had a great opportunity to go play shows with Warrant and I think he totally kicks ass! Robert’s professionalism is something Warrant has really needed for a long time and I wish them the best. Like anything else, though, we each have our individual schedules and responsibilities to contend with, so we juggle all our musical projects the best we can. I have a bunch of new Big Cock material so it will have to rear its ugly head eventually. Not before next year, though, at the soonest.
HRH: Big Cock has released 3 albums so far but never really toured off any of them. Will there be any plans for a full fledged tour after the album is released?
Dave: Touring is just not economically feasible at this time. It’s a different story for legacy acts like Warrant, Ratt, etc. who can get booked because of their pedigree, but a new act just can’t make the money that would allow traditional touring. Even the acts I just mentioned do better just cherry-picking good-paying dates here and there rather than keeping an entire crew and support package out on the road. The per diem costs are astronomical and there would need to be supplemental support. This used to come from record companies, but doesn’t exist anymore. We are able to play when dates either justify the expense or we can afford to make the trip. How’s that for the brutally frank answer…?
HRH: How did Big Cock come together?
Dave: Did you just say “come together”…? Well, Big Cock “came together” out of the desire for a few old friends to make some music and have fun. The band happened really naturally and easy. Once you decide to call your band Big Cock, you definitely have an identifiable, focused theme with which to work from.
HRH: Do you guys have a hard time getting support from radio and others in the music business because of the band’s name?
Dave: My stock answer is that it’s been no more, no less. Traditional radio and record industry wasn’t going to play us or take us seriously anyway, even if we would have called ourselves “Knightwing”. The flip side is that the music and vibe has resonated with rock fans that look beyond traditional media for their rock fix. In that regard, we have been very successful selling CDs, merchandise, being played on Internet Radio and have had amazing word-of-mouth. Our YouTube video plays are in the hundreds-of-thousands, far more views than many, more mainstream bands. More visibility than King Kobra had, and we were on a major record label with a huge promotional budget.
HRH: You’ve had a pretty varied career playing Keel, Lizzy Borden, and of course King Kobra. Both Keel and Lizzy Borden played Rocklahoma. Did you get a chance to see them play or hangout with anyone from the bands?
Dave: I’ve stayed friends with or have been reconnected with all those bands in the last few years and have been fortunate to have made so many great friends. I saw Ron Keel this year at Rocklhoma, bump into Lizzy with some frequency and usually talk to Carmine a few times a year. We’re all thrilled to have played together and still have so much fun doing what we do. We take the time to catch up here and there and it’s always great seeing everybody.
HRH: How old you were when you first started playing guitar? How old were you when you knew you wanted to be a musician as a career?
Dave: My dad bought me my first electric guitar when I was 15. Yeesh, you’d think I would have been a better player by now…
I’ve always needed an outlet for creative release: when I was in grade school I used to want to be a comic book artist and so I drew all the time, making my own heroes and stories and distributing my own comics. When I got a little older and started playing guitar, I put down the pencil and never looked back.
HRH: You are one of the first people I’ve had the chance to talk to that was on Sunset Strip during its heyday in the 80’s. Was it as wild and crazy as people say?
Dave: Actually, yes – but it didn’t seem so at the time. It was so fun to see thousands of people out on the street on a Friday and Saturday night. The roads were littered with flyers from all the young bands out promoting their next Gazzari’s or Whiskey-a-go-go gigs. I even met my wife in the parking lot of the Roxy Theatre and we’ve been married 17 years. Who says you can’t find love in Hollywood…
HRH: How did you get involved with King Kobra?
Dave: I moved out to L.A. (from Arizona) to join Keel and when I got there, Ron told us he was auditioning to be the new lead singer of Black Sabbath so we might have to find another gig. I sent a tape to Carmine and got the job in King Kobra. Ron never ended up joining Sabbath, so he soldiered on with Keel.
HRH: Carmen Appice and yourself are the only members of King Kobra to play on all 5 albums the band released. Do you still keep in touch with Carmen Appice?
Dave: I still talk to Carmine a few times a year. In fact, we performed a benefit here in Phoenix together a few years ago and it was great playing with Carmine again. He’s such a great musician and drummer.
HRH: Have you had a chance to see his SLAMM project?
Dave: I have not seen it.
HRH: Do you keep in touch with any of the other members?
Dave: Coincidentally, I just talked to Johnny Rod last week after 18 years. He’s alive and well and living in St. Louis. Same with Mick Sweda. Mark Free, not so much.
HRH: Has there been any talks of a King Kobra reunion for any of the summer festivals?
Dave: None.
HRH: As I mentioned earlier you were at Rocklahoma this year and played two different sets one with Big Cock and one with Icon. How long have you been playing with Icon or was it a one off gig?
Dave: Rocklahoma was like a high-school reunion – lot’s of fun hangin’ with old friends. The Icon thing is a funny story. Way back in the early 80’s, Icon used to be called “The Schoolboys” and consisted of original singer Steve Clifford, bassist Tracy Wallach, guitarists Dan Wexler and myself, along with drummer John Covington (also the drummer in Big Cock). After I left to move to L.A. and join Keel, John Aqulino took my place on guitar, and Pat Dixon replaced John Covington on drums. They changed their name to Icon after they were signed to Capitol Records. Ironically, when I joined King Kobra after Keel, both bands ended up being label-mates at Capitol with the same A&R guy! Dan Wexler and John Aquilino reformed Icon last year and since we’ve always been good friends (all the way back to high school here in Arizona) I said I’d help out as a bass player while they were getting things back together. The chemistry was great and we just decided to keep on playing…
HRH: You played bass for Icon’s set is it hard switching back n forth between guitar and bass?
Dave: I love playing bass. It’s only got 4 strings, so how hard could it be?
HRH: Former Adler’s Appetite singer Sheldon Tarsha is now in Icon and sounded great. How did he end up in the band?
Dave: I saw Tarsha at an Adler’s gig in L.A. earlier this year and said to Danny and John – this is the guy. Icon’s high-register vocal style is incredibly challenging (a lost art, really) and it was surprising to see a young guy like Tarsha kick it old-school. He’s really a stellar vocalist and super nice guy.
HRH: You live in AZ so you are used to the heat, but the heat was pretty stifling in Pryor this year. You had to be glad you played night sets and not mid day sets.
Dave: Try living here where it’s over 110 degrees for weeks on end. Oklahoma was a piece of cake.
HRH: You were at Comic Con this year, was this for business or fun?
Dave: Definitely fun. As I said before, I’m a big comic book geek, but the Con is so much more now. It’s really a celebration of popular culture, with movies, graphic arts, games, and of course, comics. I got to meet a lot of my Twitter friends for the first time at the Con.
HRH: I’ve noticed that you and I like a lot of the same bands, one band in particular are the Poodles. What do you think of all 80’s inspired hard rock bands coming out of Sweden and Europe?
Dave: I think The Poodles are one of the better bands doing that sort of thing – very polished and professional. I hate to be a critic, but a lot of the 80’s-inspired bands these days are not doing anything different than their legacy counterparts, except the new bands aren’t doing it as well and lack originality and creativity. It’s one thing to dress up like Motley Crue, Poison or Gun’s ‘n Roses, but none seem to be able to play or write songs anywhere near as good as the bands they’re trying to copy. We need something to come along that’s reminiscent, but not overtly derivative.
HRH: What are some of the new bands out right now that you like?
Dave: I like a lot of different stuff from modern to classic. The new Halestorm CD is great, The Poodles, of course, AC/DC still kicks major ass, Slipknot, etc. I like the rock stuff.
HRH: Have you and your brother Dan (former Gin Blossoms drummer) ever played in a band together professionally or ever talked about putting a project together?
Dave: He doesn’t play much any more, but I have played with him a few times in the past when he had the band Gas Giants with Robin Wilson from the Gin Blossoms. Of course, when we were kids, we had a band that played nothing but Kiss songs.
HRH: You seem like a pretty busy man are there any other projects you want to tell us about?
Dave: I am currently busy finishing up a new project with Scott Hammons, the former Icon singer before Tarsha. I’m really excited about how it’s turning out. Scott has a great old-school, bluesy voice, very similar to Robert Mason’s (Big Cock, Warrant) but with more rasp. The music has a classic late-70’s, early-80’s hard rock feel that combines all the elements of the music I grew up on and always loved – Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Van Halen, Montrose, Crue, and Def Lep. I can’t wait for you to hear it…
HRH: I know you are pretty active online with myspace and twitter but for everyone else where can they find you online?
Dave: My MySpace is my main portal right now, so www.MySpace.com/henzerling. Also www.twitter.com/henzerheap (@henzerheap). I’ll be announcing more details about my new project through these outlets.
HRH: Thanks for taking the time to talk to us. Is there anything you would like to say before we let you go?
Dave: It’s been a pleasure to rattle on, Brian. Thanks to Hard Rock Hideout for the opportunity to talk and keep the rock-torch burning.
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