Holding My Breath Memoir: Two Testaments of Cancer Healing, Music & Brotherhood w/ Chuck Billy

0:19 This is the Pipe Man here on the Adventures of Pipe Man W4CY radio, and I'm really excited about our next guest. Not only because he has. Badass music, but I'm also a published author, but he's got a better book than me and we need to talk about it. So let's welcome to the show. Chuck Billy. How are you? I'm good. Thanks for having me fight math. Oh, my pleasure. And listen, I got to tell you of all the books out there from music people, man, this one is really cool. Uh, holding my breath. I was holding my breath for this book, you know, um, And I love how you did like the play on words. It's got the Old Testament. It's got the New Testament. And I definitely understand after checking it out, you know, where it's all coming from and a lot more of what you're about.

1:19 And I dig it. So tell me a little bit about the background that led to this memoir. Well, it definitely originally wasn't my idea. I was approached a while back, and I just kind of put it aside, you know, never thought about it. And then approached again. And at that time. I thought, well, maybe I have a little time on my hands, a window open, finish the records done, you know, so, yeah, maybe I got some time. And, you know, talking about it with my literary agent. And, you know, who's going to write it with me, it made sense. And I think it was time.

2:02 Cause I think everybody asks why, why is the time now? You know, I don't know that maybe a little bit plays on the age, but I thought after talking about it, it was actually something that's not a story to be told, but it's actually a story to be documented. Especially during the time of my cancer. When a lot of bands got kind of rebirth, you know, through a benefit show, even in Testament, you know, for that matter. So it kind of, you know, talking through the book, it was very therapeutic. I'll tell you that, you know, it's hard to talk about yourself, you know, when you go back and where do you start? And for me thinking about where I'm at now in life and maybe people don't know is who's that guy holding his breath, kind of the metaphor of kind of getting my way and, and, you know, and people to read the book to find out, you know, at eight months old, I'm holding my breath. I'm turning purple and passing out because I wanted something. I was getting a reaction at that age. What could it have been? Some more milk?

3:07 I don't know. At eight months, I had something there. I think that's what played into the book. Looking through life, I've always been that guy. Not giving up in the way my father raised us and And especially getting sick and facing it how I did with the way I was being raised and didn't, you know, didn't give up, you know, held my breath one more time through that and made it through that. Even though I thought 38 was my, my time, you know. I got through that battle with all the native healings, you know, through there. And I love that too. I, it's so funny what you said too, because I have a brother that's like 11 years older than me. And, I wouldn't eat when I was a baby. So he told me, like, my mother and him used to, like, hold my breath till I swallowed my food. I would just hold it in my mouth like a chipmunk and not swallow. And they would do that to get me to swallow my food.

4:10 So I thought it was funny when you said that. There you go. Right? So that's kind of trying to figure out when you're right. memoir because I definitely didn't want to make it a testament book you know um and what I like about when I read other people's autobiographies or memoirs I like reading about who the people are before they're celebrity or anything like that you know and so I thought I never really talked about that so that was a good time to really dive in to go back and and document that, you know, as well. So it was cool. You know, now that I've done it, I'm like, okay, now I've got to do a Testament book, you know, get all these original guys and all the revolving window members that were in this band.

4:53 I think that would be some stories. Well, even back in the eighties, did you ever think that in 2026, you'd still be going like this with Testament? Um, you don't think that, but I think when you start like anybody, you're going to see it to the end. And I think I've just been a fortunate guy to have an opportunity, you know, to connect with the original guys, Alex and Louie and Greg, and then continue on writing music with. Alex and, you know, and. Here we are, you know, just on the other end of it all going, wow, there is two sides of the Testament life, but also my life, you know, is the way that crossroad where cancer and the gathering record and that benefit show, we're all kind of right there at that crossroad.

5:48 Yeah, totally. It is like having two different lives for sure. And, you know, I love some of the stuff you said about positivity because I'm also a motivational speaker. It's kind of funny, too. There's times when I do seminars and I have my metal clothes under my suit, and I go do a seminar, and I'm like Superman because I have to go to a festival after that or something, and I take them off and have my metal clothes on. But people don't. Realize that metal is great therapy, especially the extreme metal. We are a bunch of very persistent people. But we're a very persistent bunch. And that's why my mantra is persist until you succeed, you know? And, you know, my hat's off to you for going through that cancer journey and coming out the other.

6:41 Side for sure. Do you want to tell the listeners a little bit about what that was like flashing back to when that happened? Well, I mean, it's something you never want to hear. I mean, of course, but. Just personally, You know, I explain in the book just how it broke me down real quick, but I actually just kind of picked back up really quick. And again, held my breath and faced it, not giving up, and went out with a whole different mindset. And then, you know, deciding through mid-chemotherapy that, you know, this tumor is too large. Maybe there's some other way to get this tumor to shrink and some other alternatives. And that's when I decided to, you know, go the Native American route and then, you know, having a guy like Charlie, the first healer to show up at my house unannounced, you know, still to this day, doesn't know how he got my address, but there.

7:34 He was, did the ceremony. And he was probably the most significant ceremony I did because he told me how it was going to play out. And, you know, and then the book, I kind of explained how I shit out the cancer at one point, but you know, it's, uh, it was a heavy experience. Um, I'd say, you know, before I probably was raised a religious guy. But going through all that, it came out of it more of a spiritual guy. Now I'd have to say, you know, it was just something very heavy and trippy to go through, but here I am. And I have a story to tell, I guess, you know.

8:15 Yeah. And a story to tell that can help a lot of other people. I think that's why you're still here. To give people that hope and positivity, no matter, because we all go through crap in our life, you know, and I think mental state of mind makes a big difference. And yes, like you, I'm more about, you know, I used to be more religious and I'm definitely more spiritual now. I always had some spiritual side, but now it's like, there's just some things that can't be explained. And And then I'm also very into the natural health, which that's where I dig the part about the Native American thing, because that is all about that natural health.

9:01 And it can make a difference. I mean, I was somebody that at age 51, I had a heart attack. At age 52, I had another heart attack, both of them from surfing. Not from surfing, but during surf, while I was surfing. Second one, you know, I was on a 10-foot wave in Costa Rica and had a massive heart attack. People asked me, well, how'd you get back to shore? Like, it was either that or drown, you know? I don't even know if I can remember. How I did. I just know I paddled back to shore, you know? Just did. Exactly. And I'm not a big believer in big pharma. You know, I reversed diabetes with just food in like six months.

9:48 And even with the heart thing, here we are. I'm 59 now. And I was just in a Slayer pit at Rock, Oklahoma. So, like, listen, I still go into a mosh pit. I still surf. I still skate. I still play hockey and stuff and i have more energy than most people and a lot of people when they go through things like you did and i did sometimes they like give up and they they think they can't live a certain way anymore And here you are to. Me like you're living life, you know, exactly, you know, and you have to. And for me, you know, the, you know, taken for granted what I do. And, you know, a lot of friends and family are like, oh, you're so lucky you get to go to or see the world.

10:35 You're so lucky. Like, you don't you don't know the half of it. I see the bus. I see the dressing room. the venue i don't you know especially those younger years because it was a lot of all my drinking and sleeping most of the day and you know it's doing it every single night and so coming out of it and going wow i get a second opportunity at this i'm gonna you know i started like venturing out during the day i'm gonna go to town and have lunch you know and See what's around. And started just seeing kind of things and seeing it a whole different way. Started, like, actually inviting my friends, childhood friends that have never, like, seen Europe. You know, taking them on an adventure. You know, go hang out with them all day. And see it all in a different point of view now. And so, at first, that's kind of what it was. Telling my agent, book us anywhere we've never been.

11:27 Some weird places. You know, went to Kathmandu and some. Odd places to play, and it's like, you know, that's somebody that has never seen you as a band for 35 plus years, you know, and it's like, they finally get to see a band, so. Those cool things after has been very good. Yeah, I mean, that's rad, and like, you get this thing, like, I saw where you said, basically, you know, you were this guy that thought he was invincible, we all think that, and that was the same thing, too, for me, like, I was invincible at 51 years old when that happened. And then that happens and you're like scratching your head. Well, maybe I'm not invincible. But one thing I've always done and do even more now, to your point, is live life to the fullest.

12:14 And you're right. Like people look at you, they're like, oh, you're living a dream life. They have no clue that maybe that hour set, two hour set, is the fun part of the day and the rest of it, maybe not so much, you know, and all you have to go through, you know, and do to do what you do. And it's even funny when I go do festivals, like what my youngest daughter, she'll go with me and she'll, and she'll be like halfway through the first day. She's like, dad, I. Don't know how you do this every weekend. I'm done already. You know, And she doesn't even see the hard part, you know?

12:54 And like, and so, and an artist like you and in the type of music you play, Hey, my hat's off to you going through that cancer thing. And still, I think just as good, if not better than when you were young. Well, that's, I think that's the thing too. The story is that we've been fortunate to start making music, but, And I think coming out of the cancer, working back on tour with the original guys first, before we made the formation record in 08, was that we found out that we can get along, hang out, tour together, before we ever thought about trying to make music. And that was the fun part about it. We really didn't care about what else was going on. We were just enjoying it.

13:44 the moment that we're together again, it's like, whoa, look, wow. We're all the back together, like finishing something together that we started. Holy shit. So that is, was kind of cool. And we let that ride for three years before we said, Hey, let's write a record, you know? And everybody was like, okay, let's go for it. And that's kind of, and I, I'd have to say selfishly writing those records, uh, we wrote it for ourself because we're writing them going, Oh, that's cool. That's groovy. Maybe that's not so metal, but, or. Whatever, but it made Testament moving forward, have a kind of our own identity, just kind of sticking to what we like to do and write, enjoy playing. And I think that's kind of what grew on all the records.

14:28 We kind of had that same mindset. And so all the records are really set apart from each other because it's a different part of life, writing these songs and going on. In the world. So, You know, all the records and songs are so much, and they all stand on their own with their own identity. Yeah, and I'll tell you, too, that was really smart, you know, because I think it's so important that if you're going to do anything with anybody, I don't care, music or anything, you got to like each other, you know, and you got to have fun together. Otherwise, it gets bad. So the fact that you recognize that, and reformed the brotherhood before the music, that is the reason you're still around now.

15:14 And we knew kind of why we pushed each other apart. I mean, when we were younger, I mean, shit, we didn't have a break. I know Alex was very young, and the first four years of the band, we wrote four records, four massive world tours, and just wrote and worked and wrote and worked and wrote and... it didn't stop. So I think, you know, war on Alex pretty quick. So when the breakup happened, it's not like we hate each other. It's just, it just, I guess it just got worn out. And, um, it was nice to get back and for Alex to have a break like he needed, find his way back, you know, get a break and, and, And so, yeah, it's just the things, the path that we had to go to get there.

15:59 You know, that's the way I see it. Because, honestly, if we didn't have that benefit show, I don't think Alex, Greg, and Louie. Would ever, we ever would have performed with them. There would have been no records of those guys if that didn't happen. Wow. Period. You know? See, those are the cool stories right there. And that, again, persistence and, you know, doing that and, like, So now I also have to say, okay, you had Rob Halford do the forward, which that, that says a lot, a lot. And then Randy doing the afterward. And I was reading all that Randy wrote. And it was like, wow, that tells me everything I need to know about Chuck Billy right there.

16:49 Both of them. I mean, you know, I got Rob's first and, you know, definitely, you know, the first read-through brought you to tears. Me and my wife were like, oh my God, he's such a magician with words. It just, man, it was strong. And then Randy's came in, you know, and I was like, holy shit, just the two people and the two sides of my story and my life, you know, play at the part of it. And the words from him are very powerful and very Deep. And I know, I don't think there's one, and this is so rare, I don't think there's one person I've ever met in metal that could say anything bad about Chuck Billy.

17:34 I hope not. Yeah, no. I've never heard any. No, and I'm proud to say, probably not. Maybe a couple of my, you know, 30 years ago, drunken. days on stage. Yeah. There's probably a chance that a monitor guy or two didn't have a good night, you know, right. Those are those stories. Exactly. Those were the crazy days anyway. So like, I don't think we can hold that against you. Cause we all did stupid shit back then. It's like, I always say, man, thank God there was no social media or proof of what I did in the eighties.

18:16 Exactly. right? Yeah, that's it. So tell me about Dave Erickson and how that came about co-writing the book together. Well, first my agent gave me a bunch of writers actually to read through and read their history and what they've done. And Dave was a metal fan, like Testament. So I liked his writing, so I first started talking to him and just talking to him on the phone, first of all. You know, we had a vibe, you know, and just talked for a few hours and decided, okay, well, I'll get back to you and decided I'm going.

18:59 To go move forward. And, you know, any tough thing when you're working someone to write with you is he doesn't know how I speak or, you know, my cadence, everything. So, that's what took a little time for him to get, you know, after he wrote a couple of first drafts was like, uh, I kind of don't speak like that or, you know, I wouldn't use that word or. You know, just some things like that. So we would have to like talk and say, you know, you really need to keep it to my stories and the way I talk. And, and I think after, cause it was like three, four days a week, you know, a couple hours a week, He knew me pretty quick.

19:44 Nice. So we got that done pretty quick, and it was just a matter of telling stories him creating the chapters and then us kind of just putting it all together and I think that's where we kind of found the two testaments of myself because originally we didn't have that title we didn't have the title we were just kind of like where do we start let's start at the beginning I guess And it just developed. And that is so cool because it is important that somebody know you and like you're saying, how you speak and how you would say things. Because otherwise people would read the book and they might go, well, that doesn't sound like Chuck Billy. So it has to be true to you. And the fact that he picked that up so quickly, that shows that it was a perfect match.

20:37 Yeah, and I did the audio book. So when I read through to do the audio book, he nailed it. So it was good. It felt right. And I didn't just straight read it. I pretty much knew the story. So I kind of read but kind of went off a little bit and went off a little bit on the side note and told a little depth story. I made it fun. I didn't want it to be just you listening to me read. You know, when I was talking about burning weed at the Kiss shows, you know, I think I smoked a joint or, you know, just fun shit like that, you know, throughout it. Nice.

21:20 Speaking of which, one story in the whole journey, what's the one that really stands out in your mind most? Well, I mean.... I mean, there's many of them, but I guess in my life's journey, you know, that pivotal point for me becoming the musician had to be like, you know, that senior year getting kicked out of high school, you know, pursuing an athletic scholarship, you know, I wanted to be an athlete. And instead that rug got pulled and actually, you know, now, okay, plan B is the musicians. And so that kind of was where I was going. And so maybe that part and my whole.

22:15 Story would be that point. Nice. And so. Do you think you're stronger now from having the cancer than before having the cancer? I'd say stronger, but I'd also say I've been fortunate enough 25 years later to still be here. At this point, it's like, man, whatever happens, happens. You don't even think about that now. Maybe there's not a fear of that now. After you have it, there is a fear at the beginning that. It's going to come back. That's like anything.

22:56 I've been fortunate after 25 plus years, knock on wood, that it's... Who knows? But you don't think about it. You just, now you kind of live every day to kind of, you know, as much as you can, as full as you can, you know, and I've been very fortunate in what we're doing. Still get to tour hard, still making music. So man, yeah, very fortunate. Yeah, exactly. That, that's the cool part. Cause like in the same token, I know that there could be any given day that I don't wake up, you know, I still have cardiac disease, whatever. But I don't let it stop me. I don't think about it.

23:37 I'm not in fear over it. You know, I just do my thing, and whatever happens, happens. Yeah. Yeah, it's just part of the cycle, I guess, you know. When it's that time, it's that time. Exactly. Now, I got to tell you, too, it's pretty cool that you got, you know, honored for influence on Native communities. You got the award from the California State Assembly. That's pretty cool. What kind of feeling was that when that happened? That was a pretty proud moment because a lot of my family members, all the tribal elders, you know, they showed up. So it was a big thing for the tribe, you know.

24:20 So, yeah, that was a good day, you know, and it was pretty neat. And how would you say your writing of music has changed today? Old Testament, New Testament. Well, definitely, I think we're definitely right about the current Testament, about more universal topics, things that we all could relate to that are going on in the world that's happening. You know, where I think in the past, the early Testament, you know, especially when we were younger, There was some serious stories and some positive stuff, but there was also a lot of just making up, you know, demons and goblins and graveyards and stuff.

25:12 Like that, you know. Right. I think we took a little more stance probably around our fourth record or so. Practice what you preach, Souls of Black, somewhere there, started getting a little more thought into the lyrics. Nice. So what would you tell to people out there that maybe are going through some kind of cancer journey or they're on the other side of it like you are at this point? Well, I mean, I think just like what got me through was trying to stay positive through it. Being with the family, connecting with the family is always big importance, especially after now. Um, those are the two biggest things, you know, you know, cause you know, that's, that's another tough thing when, you know, you survive and people want answers like how, you know, what's the secret. And it's hard when you get asked that it's like, can you talk to someone?

26:14 I was like, yeah, I can. I don't have the answer, but I can, I'll just, all I could say is just, you have to have a strong will, strong mind and be positive, you know, and, and use the power of that mind, you know? Exactly. I don't have the answer, but that's all I could really ever give. And you couldn't have the answer because everybody has their own journey and you can't predict anything either. So, you know, that's really the smart move right there. So, holding my breath, it arrives November 10th. Very cool. Can you tell everybody how. They can pre-order it, check everything out, and find out everything they need to know about the book?

27:00 Yeah, so you can go to chuckbillybook.com. You can pre-order there. You can actually find it on Amazon. You can get the pre-order there as well. And you can go to premiercollectibles.com. And you can actually find some cool signed stuff. Actually, I think probably me and Randy have some stuff that you can get as well. So that's a good place. You can get some really cool limited edition stuff, but check billy book.com. That's probably the safest place. Nice. Is there anything else you want to share with the listeners that we haven't covered already? No, just that, you know, appreciate just a lot of the fans for years following me, but now, here's a little chance for him to really get to know me a little more on a personal level.

27:49 So I can't wait to see fans. Out there after they get the book, and I'm sure I'll have a lot more stuff to discuss and things to talk about when we meet. Yeah, and, you know, that is, like I say, going back to it again, that's what I love about this book, because there's, like, other books that I've read, and, like, well, I lived through that, so it wasn't, like, some, like. But with your book, it's like you are really letting us get to know you. Not the singer of Testament, but you. And that's important right there. That's what I wanted to get across.

28:30 And I think David Erickson and I, the way we did the whole book, it really captured it, told the story. Well, I'm totally happy that you're still around all these years later. because you still make badass music, but from everybody I've ever talked to, you're one of the nicest people in metal, so you. Should still be here. Thank you. I appreciate that. Thank you, and thank you for being on the Adventures of Pipe Man. All right, thanks for having me. We'll see you later. You got it. Thank you for listening to The Adventures of Pikeman on W4CY Radio.