Joey DeMaio

Joey DeMaio in Berlin, 2010

Joey DeMaio (born March 6, 1954 in Auburn , New York ) is the bassist and band leader of the true metal band Manowar, which he founded in the early 1980s .

Life

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Joey DeMaio is of Italian-American descent, with the American part of his ancestry being due to Indians. According to his own statements, he played in his first band at the age of eleven and, as a teenager, played bass guitar in various student bands. In the early 1970s he went on tour with the musical Godspell (premiered in New York City in 1971) . As a self-taught musical artist, he was very impressed by the musical abilities of his orchestral colleagues and the conductor, so he took lessons from the conductor. In 1980 he was a pyrotechnician and roadie with the heavy metal band Black Sabbath on their Heaven and Hell tour. There he met Ross "The Boss" Friedman , the guitarist of the opening act Shakin 'Streets, with whom he decided to found his own band Manowar . Manowar's debut album Battle Hymns was released in 1982.

Little is known about DeMaio's private life; his age, like that of the other Manowar members, was described by the taz as “one of the unrevealed secrets of heavy metal”. He is unmarried and has no children. In addition to bands like Black Sabbath, Richard Wagner is one of his musical role models . In addition to the epic draft of his stage works, Wagner is particularly fascinated by Wagner as a technical innovator and innovator of Nordic mythology . He has a PhD in musicology and became a member of the Knights of Malta America . As part of the Knights of Malta , DeMaio is involved in various aid projects for the third world. Because of the recourse to the beliefs of Nordic mythology , Christianity and also the Indians , DeMaio was asked about his personal belief, but he does not go into it, as he regards it as a private matter. However, he spoke out against the claim of numerous religions that only they are "the one way"; everyone has the right to believe what they want.

DeMaio plays a Rickenbacker Custom Bass with a special narrow neck and tremolo , called the Piccolo Bass , which he designed together with his bass technician Dawk. He is considered a very good bass player, even if he plays mostly simpler bass runs with Manowar, with exceptions such as the Bumblebee adaptation Sting of the Bumblebee or the Rossini adaptation William's Tale . He writes songs for Manowar and also organizes tours and gigs for the band.

In addition to Manowar, DeMaio is responsible for the record label Magic Circle Music , to which, for example, bands such as Bludgeon and Metalforce are also under contract. In addition, he has recently appeared increasingly as a music producer (including HolyHell, Feinstein ).

criticism

By founding the band Manowar in the early 1980s, Joey DeMaio brought into being one of the world's most successful metal bands to this day , which shaped this genre both musically and stylistically. Nevertheless, or perhaps because of that, DeMaio is considered one of the most controversial personalities within the genre .

In addition to the composition, DeMaio is also responsible for almost all of the band's lyrics. In terms of content, these are repeatedly criticized, as the subject matter of the texts often consists of extreme violence ( Kill with Power , All who stand in my way will die by steel ). In addition, some songs are called sexist ( Pleasure Slave ). DeMaio has pointed out in several interviews over the years that the lyrics should not be taken literally, but that on the other hand they are an integral part of the genre. Political or even socially critical issues are far removed from him. The followers of the band usually understand the lyrics with a certain self-irony.

The appearance of DeMaios and the band Manowar in public at concerts and in interviews is described by many critics as arrogant and characterized by overconfidence. The band saw themselves as the spearhead of the metal movement very early on and proclaimed themselves to be the only true or at least the most convinced representative of heavy metal . The term true metal was coined by Manowar and today describes a certain movement within metal that sees it in the tradition of classical music . The claim for a special role culminated in 1988 with the album Kings of Metal ; According to Manowar, the band's fans are said to have bestowed this title, but at the same time it was and is sometimes rejected by others as unjustified.

The criticism reached a climax in 2006, when an interview with DeMaio by the editor-in-chief Götz Kühnemund appeared in the magazine Rock Hard . In this, Kühnemund confronted DeMaio with various accusations such as the use of playback at a concert or the deliberate postponement of the next tour. At the end of the interview, DeMaio revealed that he was ready to die for metal if necessary, a statement that Kühnemund and many fans considered unreliable. In response published on the title Manowar Die for Metal , which on 16 February 2007 during the TV show Fight Night radio station ProSieben was first performed and as a bonus track on the next album Gods of War was released. This title was dedicated to Götz Kühnemund. This in turn described DeMaio 2010 as the court jester of the metal subculture.

Quotes

“On the one hand, our lyrics are meant seriously in terms of their message, because Heavy Metal means a way of life for us, and we want to convey that to our fans. On the other hand, their implementation - as in Hail and Kill  , for example - is very metaphorical, so that they should not be taken literally and should be understood with a wink. The reason is simply that this type of music is inevitably associated with certain clichés for us. "

- Joey DeMaio : Interview in Rock Hard 2/94.

"I believe in the fans. I believe in metal more than anybody you've ever met. And another thing, I'm prepared to die for metal. Are you? "- German:" I believe in the fans. I believe in metal more than anyone you've ever met. And one more thing: I'm ready to die for metal. You also?"

- Joey DeMaio : Interview in Rock Hard , No. 227, 2006.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ https://www.metal-archives.com/artists/Joey_DeMaio/8434
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Corinna Stegemann, Max Lampin: "Wagner is the greatest!" . In: the daily newspaper , September 3, 2005.
3. ↑ ^{a b c} Michael Custodis: Classical Music Today . A search for clues in rock music . Bielefeld: transcript-Verlag 2009, ISBN 978-3-8376-1249-3 .
4. ↑ ^{a b c} Christoph Dallach: A knife in the pants . In: Der Spiegel , No. 26, June 25, 2007, p. 154.
5. ↑ George Call: Manowar Speaks .
6. ↑ ^{a b} Götz Kühnemund : Merciless exchange of blows . In: Rock Hard , No. 227.
7. ↑ "The King of Metal isn't called Lemmy (that's the Pope), he's not called Dio (that's the God), he's not called Steve Harris (that's the Emperor), nor is his name Joey DeMaio (that's the Jester). The king of metal is called King. King Diamond . “Götz Kühnemund: King of Metal . In: Rock Hard , No. 282, November 2010, p. 3.