Mike: Being in Death Angel, a band that has stood the test of time, how does that make you feel that all these years later you all are still going strong?
Ted: (pause) Triumphant! It feels good, I mean we have gone through some member changes, but then you know people's lifestyles change. For me , Rob and Mark, we still have the hunger. and when you have people that have the hunger you still want to keep going. It does feel triumphant and good to still be able to play this type of music, and people still want to hear it and see it. Looking back it's great, I wouldn't change anything.
Mike; I read that Kirk Hammett used to come and be in the front row watching you guys perform.
Ted: Yep, Kirk Hammett, Cliff Burton..I saw something yester-day, it was a picture on Insta-gram. It was a picture of Cliff Burton wearing a Death Angel shirt on the Master Of Puppets tour.
Mike: Seeing and hearing things like that, has it become common place for you when someone like that is at your show or representing you?
Ted: I still get giddy, I am a fan boy at heart, I feel once you lose the fan boy in you, you should just stop. We have been fortunate to play with a lot of our peers or personal heroes that I grew up with. I can't help it, I am a fan of music. We played a tour with Creator and we played Europe, Australia and South East Asia, and I would always go "Dude!, I remember that time when you played San Francisco on the Extreme Aggressions Tour (Laughs) Oh man, I am just a fan of music.
Mike: I think sometimes fans can take the human factor out of being a well known musician. They may think after a show you just go back into a protective chamber and don't come out till the next show.
Ted: We love hanging with the fans, it's great, you know. We are here because of them and I understand how some people can go into their chambers. I mean everyone has different personalities. I was once a fan, I am a fan, I am still a fan. I know that feeling, I like to see my favorite musician. Back in the day there was no internet, you want to know what's going on, but you have to wait for that quarterly magazine, or you just happened to walk into a record store and ask for information. I just really dig the fans.
Mike: How did you get your start in music and what ultimately lead you to be in the band?
Ted: I joined the band in 2001, it was for the Chuck Billy benefit. So here is the story about it, I will give you the whole run down. I have been a fan of Death Angel since they came out, since the "Kill As One " demo. Born and raised in the Bay Area scene, I have seen it. I was a late bloomer, I was there to see Exodus or Metallica coming up. I came into music when Testament ,Violence, and Death Angel got their record deal. I followed them through their albums and I followed them when they broke up. But when this benefit for Chuck Billy came around "Clash Of The Titans" I remember seeing the ad. I heard all this stull about Chuck Billy being diagnosed with cancer and his friend wlter Morgan says I want to put on a benefit for you. So I was seeing who was showing up for this benefit and then I saw Death Angel and I was like oh, my god. I knew the band and I would always ask are you guys getting back together and they would always say no. They would say "We stopped on a high note, and we are done with it, we are just doing our various projects, we are happy with what we did, lets leave it. So, Seeing Death angel on the bill that for me was the selling point. Rob called me , I was in a band at the time, and Rob Mark and Andy had a band called "Swarm" , and our bands used to play together. So Rob goes, "Dude did you hear about the Chuck Billy benefit? " I said "Dude, I am so excited you guys are getting back together and I cant wait to see you guys play!" Then Rob says " Well Gus cant do it, do you want to do it, do you want to jam with us?" I was like "You, got it!" I hung up the phone, and that day I went over to the rehearsal spot for "Swarm" and I was like "Dude, lets run through the songs what do you have in mind?" And when Rob was running through the songs Rob forgot certain riffs and I go "Dude, I think that riff goes here!" and he goes "Yeah, you are right!" So it was August 11th 2001, we where playing that day, so I was jamming that day and Rob showed me some stuff, then I jammed with Andy at a separate time cause Rob , Mark and Andy had to tour with "Swarm" So I did my homework at home. Man I listened to the songs everyday, played them everyday, dude it was like overload. Like 2 days before the actual show we rehearsed like twice. They told me we only get two rehearsals , and I was like cant we get a little more? It was nerve racking, Its "Death Angel" I don't want up there fucking up. So we did the show and it was supposed to be a one time thing, Cause I remember Death Angel kept declining. Everyone one was like Dude, Chuck's doing this thing do you want to do it. And they where like "No we are done, were done, were done! Chuck Billy called Rob personally and goes "Hey man, I really want you guys to do this. atleast for a chance to perform and jam." What do you say to a guy with Cancer! Later we did a interview with him cause we where releasing a Thrashumentory and Chuck goes "I had to get Cancer to get you guys back together!" He was joking, and we where laughing and he goes "See how much I love you guys!" So we did the show and after that it just snowballed. word got around that we did the show , then Europe called and said why don't you come out and do some runs. So we said alright. so after we did that Nuclear Blast started coming out and all these labels, and here we are today!
Not every band can live up to a legacy but every once in a while a group exceeds expectations by pushing boundaries in a genre they’ve helped create. Among the youngest bands ever to storm the metal genre, Death Angel has come to be known as one of the most influential bands to emerge from the thriving Bay Area Thrash Metal Scene in the early 1980s. An era when one could catch Cliff Burton (Metallica) at the front of the stage at Ruthie’s Inn banging his head to Death Angel’s inventive style, and speedy, complex arrangements.