Dan Spitz

Dan Spitz

Dan Spitz (born January 28, 1963 in Rockland County ) is an American guitarist . He was a member of the thrash metal band Anthrax from 1983 to 1995 and from 2005 to 2007 .

Musical education and career

Spitz is the second son of a lawyer and a substitute teacher. His brother David, who was five years older than him, was the bass player for the hard rock band Black Sabbath from 1985 to 1987 . David Spitz had switched from guitar to bass, so Dan Spitz started playing on his brother's old guitar. Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith were among his influences . Spitz began to neglect school and instead practiced the guitar for four to five hours a day. He dropped out of college after a few weeks.

The first band Spitz played in 1981 was Overkill , but he did not record any songs with them. In 1983 he moved briefly to Thrasher , on whose 1985 album Burning at the Speed ​​of Light he can be heard on some tracks. In the same year, Spitz switched from Thrasher to Anthrax . In 1995, Spitz decided to turn his back on the music business and left Anthrax.

In 2003 he founded the music project Seven X Serenity together with Nicko McBrain ( Iron Maiden ) and the rapper Vanilla Ice . The project did not last. In 2005, Anthrax reunited in the classic line-up and Spitz toured with the band , after which he left the band. In 2009 he launched the DeuxMonkeys project , which also included bassist Peter Baltes ( Accept ), drummer Patrick Johansson ( Yngwie Malmsteen ) and singer Wade Black ( Crimson Glory ). However, the announced debut album has never been released. In spring 2010 Dan Spitz went on tour as a member of the ensemble with the rock musical The 12 written by Robert Schenkkan . In spring 2011, Spitz formed the Red Lamb project , whose debut album, released in 2012, was co-produced by Dave Mustaine . In early 2013, Red Lamb toured the United States.

In January 2016, Spitz joined the Voices of Extreme , the band led by Don Chaffin (Red Lamb).

Extra musical activities

After leaving Anthrax, Spitz began studying at the Joseph Bulova School of Watchmaking in New York City , which he completed in the record time of one and a half years instead of three years. The head of the school gave Spitz a scholarship to the Swiss watchmaking school WOSTEP , where he was trained as a master watchmaker . Then Spitz opened two watch shops and was appointed by the Swiss watch manufacturer Chopard as the only Watchmaker of Complications Specialist ("specialist for complicated watches") in North America . He also trained other watchmakers for Chopard watches. Since 2007 he has been the Watchmaker of Complications Specialist for the Leviev brand . In 2009 he also founded a web design agency called DeuxMonkeys Design .

Private

Dan Spitz comes from a Jewish family . In 2000 he converted to the Messianic Jews . He is married to Candi for the second time. In 2007 identical twin sons, Brendan and Jaden, were born with autism . Dan and Candi Spitz support and promote the Autism Speaks organization . At Christmas 2013, Spitz was provisionally arrested by the police for domestic violence against his wife Candi. A little later, Candi Spitz said in an interview that her mother had called the police because of a misunderstanding. In March 2014, the Spitz couple announced that they had separated and filed for divorce.

Discography

with Thrasher

• Burning at the Speed ​​of Light (1985)

with anthrax

• Fistful of Metal (1984)
• Spreading the Disease (1985)
• Among the Living (1987)
• State of Euphoria (1988)
• Persistence of Time (1990)
• Sound of White Noise (1993)

with Red Lamb

• Red Lamb (2012)

Web links

• Dan Spitz in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• www.spitzwatch.com , official homepage (English)
• Dan Spitz at Allmusic (English)
• Dan Spitz at Discogs (English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b} John Leland: My Son the Headbanger . In: Spin Magazine . July 1987, p. 52 f .
2. ↑ Amy Sciaretto: Loud Rock . In: CMJ New Music Report . September 15, 2003, p. 22 .
3. ↑ Former ANTHRAX Guitarist DAN SPITZ Working On 'Legendary' DEUXMONKEY Debut. In: blabbermouth.net. April 9, 2011, accessed April 17, 2014 . 
4. ↑ The 12 / rock musical. Dan Spitz's blog, January 17, 2010, accessed on May 14, 2010 . 
5. ^ Zach Shaw: Guitarist Dan Spitz Discusses Red Lamb, Collaborating With Dave Mustaine, And Anthrax's DIY Roots. In: Metal Insider. February 9, 2012, accessed April 17, 2014 . 
6. ↑ Former ANTHRAX guitarist DAN SPITZ's RED LAMB: Laredo Footage Available. In: blabbermouth.net. March 15, 2013, accessed April 17, 2014 . 
7. ↑ blabbermouth.net
8. ^ Andy Butcher: Back from the Belly of the Beast. beliefnet.com, February 2000, accessed May 14, 2010 . 
9. ↑ Jose Lambiet: Exclusive - Anthrax Guitarist Dan Spitz's Wife: "I'm Not Pressing Charges!" In: Gossip Extra. December 27, 2013, accessed April 17, 2014 . 
10. ↑ Official Public Statement. (No longer available online.) In: Dan Spitz's weblog. March 23, 2014, archived from the original on April 19, 2014 ; accessed on April 17, 2014 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.