BOBNOXIOUS Frontman RAY "Black Metal"

BOBNOXIOUS Frontman On RAY "Black Metal" WALLACE - "He Wanted So Much For RAZOR, ANVIL And SACRIFICE To Get The Recognition He Thought These Bands – His Bands – Deserved"

BW&BK scribe Carl Begai recently caught up with BOBNOXIOUS / RAZOR frontman Bob Reid to discuss the new Bobnoxious record, SuperScar. The following is an excerpt from the interview, which wil appear in BW&BK #112:

SuperScar continues Reid’s tradition of putting life to music. His writing isn’t and has never been solely about getting trashed, contrary to what the band's image suggests. For ever beer quaffed or joint puffed in song he is just as likely to take aim at society and the things screwing it up, albeit with tongue planted firmly in cheek.

“Well, you can only stay pissed off at one thing for so long, so then you move on to the next one,” Reid offers. “By the time you get to that point you’re laughing at the last thing that pissed you off, and I find that transition usually happens when there’s a beer in hand (laughs). I really do hope that when people hear the songs they go ‘That guy means what he’s singing, it’s real.’ I don’t make this shit up, it happens to me (laughs). I think that’s why a lot of people dig Bobnoxious’ music. It just comes out. I guess I just have a way of describing things to people in our terms. It’s not for everybody but it paints a good picture because it’s all true. It’s comedy at its best, especially when it’s someone else’s life.”

SuperScar is is dedicated to Ray “Black Metal” Wallace, a name that’s familiar to BW&BK followers. An influential presence on the Toronto metal scene and a close personal friend of Reid, Wallace passed away in November 2007 following a cerebral aneurysm. Bobnoxious, like Canuck legends SACRIFICE and more recently, SCARLET SINS, was one of the acts he dedicated his heart and soul to.

“Most of the music for SuperScar was done before Ray passed away, but I did all the vocals and wrote three or four songs after he died. But I can tell you, since the day he died, since his service, I had his memoriam card literally two feet from my face when I recorded the vocals. I stared into his eyes singing almost the whole record. I loved the guy; he’s my friend and I miss him. It was very hard to play the show at Rock 'N' Roll Heaven in Toronto after his funeral, as it was the last gig that Ray had booked for Bobnoxious. The following weekend we returned to the same venue, this time as Razor to show our respect and play for Ray's last party with our longtime friends Sacrifice and Anvil. He wanted so much for Razor, Anvil and Sacrifice to get the recognition he thought these bands – his bands – deserved and later felt the same way for Bobnoxious. Ray had a passion for music like no other...and I never saw him get paid. What a guy.”