{"id":10061,"date":"2009-09-18T11:07:33","date_gmt":"2009-09-18T16:07:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/themetalden.com\/?p=10061"},"modified":"2010-02-27T12:43:07","modified_gmt":"2010-02-27T17:43:07","slug":"interview-with-rocket-of-the-metal-den","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/themetalden.com\/?p=10061","title":{"rendered":"Interview With ROCKET Of The Metal Den"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n\"Rocket\"
\n\"TMD\"
\n
\nMusic journalist Randy \u201cRocket\u201d Cody\u2019s band articles have surpassed one million page views worldwide, with two hundred and fifty thousand \u2018views\u2019 alone coming at metalunderground dot com – where starting in early 2006, over 100 Rocket interviews and reviews were published exclusively for a total of 13 months.
\n
\nMetalunderground is the most viewed metal news site in the world today, recently taking in four hundred and seventy-nine thousand global page views just in the month of June\/2009! It is Rocket’s immense popularity as a writer that ultimately helped metalunderground dot com become the # 1 ranked heavy metal news site on earth. <\/strong>
\n
\n\"mu\"<\/a>
\n
\nRocket departed metalunderground dot com in February of 2007. He next started up a site
\nfor his original creation on MySpace called The Metal Den with partner Eddie Karam.<\/strong>
\n
\n\"TMD\"
\n
\nAs creator of the only site that also promotes \u201cunsigned\u201d metal talent, Rocket\u2019s ability to write about hot upcoming bands and then showcase them in the news that\u2018s tied to the top mainstream metal names in the world today, has served as a great mentorship for literally hundreds of upcoming musical acts around the globe. His work has helped these bands achieve a better image, sound and overall marketing strategy while in their pursuit to become a successful underground heavy metal music act that can go on to open for national acts and even one day strike a record deal.<\/strong>
\n
\n\"TMD\"
\n
\nPantera\/Down\/Superjoint Ritual vocalist Phil Anselmo said it best:
\n
\n\u201cThe pulse of heavy metal lies in the underground.\u201d
\n
\nIf there were ever a crown awarded for supporting underground metal, it would surely be worn
\nby Rocket Of The Metal Den.<\/strong>
\n
\nThe Metal Den\u2019s Hope Cody recently conducted an EXCLUSIVE interview
\nwith Rocket of TMD for all the loyal Den Headz around the globe.
\n
\n\"Hope\"
\n
\nHope: Where were you born and raised?
\n
\nRocket: I was born in Cook County, Illinois. When I was only six months old, I got moved to Hawaii. I left from there at age six and then ended up in Los Angeles with the rest of my family. I lived there pretty much until I was 37, then I hooked up with my lovely wife Hope in Fort Worth, Texas. Home to Joe\u2019s Garage and Pantera! Come on! I have been living here for the past few years and just having a blast. Texas has got a lot of cool places to eat, cool clubs and everything in Texas is always bigger!
\n
\nHope: When did you start listening to heavy metal music?
\n
\nRocket: At six years old. My big brother Jeff scared the crap out of me one day in the mid 70\u2019s by playing Black Sabbath on his record player for me. I have never been the same. Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Ozzy Osbourne and Bill Ward. Nuff said.
\n
\nHope: Do you remember the first garage band you were ever in?
\n
\nRocket: The first band I sang for back when I was twelve was called SLAVED LABOR. We played a bunch of backyard house parties during the early 80\u2019s, then some small clubs like The Music Machine,
\nwhich is no longer around. My drummer for that band now plays bass for legendary punk band NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH, who are an old school act from Los Angeles that played shows with SUICIDAL TENDENCIES and SLAYER\u2026I\u2019m talking way back in the day! Anyway, I eventually got thrown out of SLAVED LABOR for jumping off the guitar players amp like David Lee Roth.
\n
\nHope: What was the greatest heavy metal concert you ever saw?
\n
\nRocket: Iron Maiden\u2019s Number of The Beast at the Santa Monica Civic Center in 1982.
\n
\nI was only eleven and they just blew my mind. When you\u2019re a little kid hanging
\nwith your big brother at your first concert and you see this twenty foot tall Eddie monster come walking out on the stage, it definitely changes you for life!
\n
\nHope: What was the funniest experience you ever had as a band roadie?
\n
\nRocket: Since having lost their original singer because the guitarist blew weed smoke in his face, the band I roadied for – when I was like 20 or 21 – gave me a Spinal Tap moment when I began realizing on the 180th vocalist audition in 6 months that we were never going to find a good vocalist that could actually sing. So the very next dork that came through the door for his audition started to sing poorly, and we all just kind of lost it on the guy. Nothing violent. Ha! We just have him a hilarious verbal tongue lashing about wasting our time\u2026 and more importantly, his. At the end, the guy finely says: \u201cYou are right. I do suck, huh?\u201d It was comedy. The guy even drank beers with us after his crappy audition! We never did find a suitable singer.
\n
\nHope: You worked at Guitar Center once, correct? How much hard work was that?
\n
\nRocket: It was some really difficult work to pull off, pretending you know it all on the
\nelectric and acoustic guitars as a salesman being in the presence of great rock names like Paul Stanley, Matthew Nelson, Ronnie James Dio\u2026 to name a few. It was a trip!
\n
\nHope: You started your career as a well known rock journalist in 2006 with the world\u2019s most viewed heavy metal news site Metalunderground.com. Can you tell me what that experience was like for you?
\n
\nRocket: It was rock n roll. A dream come true for a punk like me. I started interviewing
\nfor the site when I was still doing hard drugs. Somehow it all inspired me to want to give a shit in this life again, you know? I just love metal music and wanted to try and start giving back to it. Because of how popular I was getting from my MySpace site for The Metal Den at the same time, fused with the fact that metal underground\u2019s site was doing several hundred thousands page views per month at this time. Basically, it was cool stuff. I was immediately hanging out with top rock names and doing show reviews at The Viper Room, Whisky A Go Go, The Key Club, on and on. I partied down in Beverly Hills hotels afterward. I would pinch myself at how much fun I was having but then I started using hard drugs again. I slipped back into the whole bad living deal. And I pretty much lost it all, including my gig with metal underground\u2026 hell, I even got thrown out of my office.
\n
\n\"9tail\"
\n
\nHope: How did you initially start The Metal Den?
\n
\nRocket: After Dimebag was killed, I was in my rehearsal studio in early \u201805, doing meth and bleeding on my bass guitar. I had first picked the bass up when I was much younger at nineteen after having realized I couldn\u2019t find satisfaction any longer from being a vocalist. Anyway, I had at this point been up for the last 18 days in a row of the past 20. No sleep. Just me, this pic of Dime up on the wall, and my serious problem with snorting crushed methamphetamines up my nose while jamming my bass guitar out of a big amp. I had this really strange thing happen to me. Call it what you will, a moment of \u2018divine intervention\u2019\u2026 but all the sudden I was drawn to this Guitar magazine on the ground flipped open to this old Dime interview\u2026 and his words in there about being let down by friends on drugs\u2026 it all just kind of punched me in the gut. Almost like he was talking to me. It even felt like Dime\u2019s spirit was in that room with me.
\n
\nIt made me straighten up for a second and think, you know what I \u201ccan\u201d do something good with my life\u2026 and my passion for metal music – and that\u2019s when the idea for The Metal Den just popped into my head. I had this utter conviction that I was going to create the best metal news site of them all. I\u2019ve been writing and doing promoting for the worldwide heavy metal music scene ever since and somehow have managed to make quite a name for myself while doing it!
\n
\nHope: When did The Metal Den.com first launch?
\n
\nRocket: I launched the site in late 2006 with my partner Eddie Karam of Red Rocket Entertainment. His company manages a slew of top underground metal acts like WITHIN CHAOS, who just played the last Ozzfest. Eddie is a great guy to work with and is an important part of TMD\u2019s site design and overall function.
\n
\nHope: Your tribute article on Randy Rhoads in 2007 achieved worldwide acclaim,
\nhaving been featured at every top metal news site on the planet. It\u2019s received well
\nover 30,000 page views since publishing. What does it feel like to have achieved such great success around the world with your work?
\n
\n
\n\"RR\"<\/a>
\n\"TMD\"
\n
\nRocket: It humbles me to know that something I did means so much to people.
\nRandy Rhoads was my favorite guitar player as a kid.
\n
\nHope: Of all the interviews you have conducted over the years, which one was your favorite?
\n
\nRocket: Peter Margolis, director of the upcoming Randy Rhoads documentary. We have done
\ntwo together now and I just love uncovering rockin\u2019 stories about Randy for everyone. Peter and I will be doing a third interview once the film actually releases.
\n
\nHope: You hosted the infamous 2006 TMD Networking Party at The House of Blues
\nOn Sunset Strip with a whole bunch of legendary names in metal that attended\u2026 like SACRED REICH producer Bill Metoyer, Ex-MEGADETH great Nick Menza, and so many others. What were some Of your favorite moments from that event?
\n
\n\"HOB\"
\n
\nRocket: Meeting one of my heroes in life, ex-MEGADETH drummer Nick Menza. He was a really cool, down to earth dude. At one point later that night, I even saw Dan Aykroyd eating dinner in the foundation room, which is a series of big luxury rooms we rented out, and I thought to myself, \u201cDamn, I even have a Blues Brother chilling at my party!\u201d
\n
\nHope: When is the next TMD Networking Party going to happen?
\n
\nRocket: We are in the planning stages for doing one next year in 2010. It\u2019s going to rock!
\n
\nHope: What\u2019s the one piece of advice you\u2019d give to a person with the dream of
\nbecoming a successful rock n roll journalist?
\n
\nRocket: Simple. Go out to shows in your local club scene and listen to the music. Have beers. Then always go back home immediately after and type up about six to ten sentences on your computer, reflecting on what you just saw at the show. Then post it on your own blog. There you have it, you\u2019re now a rock critic!
\n
\nHope: Who are some of the hot \u201cunsigned\u201d metal bands you think people need to
\nkeep an eye out for right now?
\n
\nRocket: Hostility, EkoTren, Desecrater, Far Beyond Innocence, Hate Times Nine, Orphaned To Hatred, Implode, Mordenom, Narcotic Self, to name a few\u2026 so many to mention. I could go on all day! Ha! Please check www.themetalden.com for the latest news updates and \u201cUnsigned\u201c band articles!
\n
\nHope: What are some of your favorite heavy metal albums released in 2009 so far?
\n
\nRocket: The best metal album I have heard to this point is Megadeth\u2019s Endgame. Although, I can\u2019t wait for Slayer\u2019s new release World Painted Blood. Devildriver\u2019s new one is definitely right at the top also. They slay and it was an honor for me to be able to interview their bassist Jon Miller earlier this year. Brave Words
\nand Bloody Knuckles even published that interview too!
\n
\nHope: I understand you are now taking pre-orders for the 50 limited edition TMD T-shirts. Where can your fans order the shirt and how much does it cost?
\n
\n\"tmdshirt\"
\n
\nRocket: We will soon have this promotional offer up on TMD\u2019s site, and specific Den Head Readers that have followed my work will be the first ones that get a shot at buying one for themselves at $25 (USD) each. This will be a great collectors item to have. We fully intend to offer other TMD products beyond the shirts as well.
\n
\nHope: Any other projects you\u2019re working on that you want to tell us about?
\n
\nRocket: Yes, I am also in the initial stages of launching my own comic book series
\nabout this really cool character that is totally into heavy metal music like I was as
\na kid, and I am also going to do a movie based off it way down the road\u2026 but that is one of the coolest things on my list of things to do before I die, cause it\u2019s been a big dream of mine, and to be able to bring the beauty of metal music to a larger audience is the biggest thing I am shooting for. The whole concept of the character is a regular Joe with his problems, just like you and me. Feeling misunderstood. Not loved. And the rebellion and redemption that comes from all of that. Metal music saves this character like it saved my life. It\u2019s going to be a really cool comic, a bit dark and quirky\u2026 even ultra-violent at points. I am still ironing out all the sketches for the characters that will be involved, writing the script and looking where I ultimately want to go with the whole project. Other than that, I will just try to be the best husband I can be and continue working my butt off at The Metal Den.
\n
\nHope: Where do you see yourself in ten years from now?
\n
\n\"Rocket
\n
\nRocket and Den Head G in 2007 <\/strong>
\n
\n\"Fire\"
\n\"Rocket
\n
\nRocket and Hope Cody’s wedding day on July 22nd, 2008
\nin Santa Barbara, California<\/strong>
\n
\nRocket: Hopefully, I will still be alive with my wife and running The Metal Den.com!
\n
\nHope: Thanks for rocking this out with me, Rocket! Go ahead and give thanks to your biggest supporters.
\n
\nRocket: I want to thank you, my lovely wife, my family, my partner Eddie Karam, almighty God, Pastor Joel Osteen, along with every single Den Head reader across the globe who follows my work at The Metal Den. Without any of you, my work means absolutely nothing. Support underground music!
\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.myspace.com\/themetalden<\/a>
\n<\/center><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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