Pipeman Interviews Tony Campos of Static-X at Bloodstock Open Air 2025

0:04 Hey, you have done too. Yes, that's true. W wow, crazy young. This is the pipe Man here on the Adventures pipe Man W four c Y Radio, and I'm here. With Tony Campos. From Static X here at Bloodstock. Hell yeah. So have you guys played Bloodstock before? I don't even know. No, what do you think of it? Like, you play a lot of festivals, what do you think of this festival? Yeah, I've had the pleasure of playing this festival before. I think I played it out here with with Ministry one year and it's cool. It's a some great festival and.

0:45 I'm so happy to finally get to bring static X out here and do this festival. Man, it's been a long time coming in. I feel really good about it. Man. I love it too, and I love that I came all the way from the States to come here for this festival. And you guys are my highlight for the festival. Awesome. Thanks man. So tell us what you have experienced here at Bloodstock, either before or now, that makes it different from other festivals in your opinion? Well, for one, I can easily understand what most people are telling me, right, Like I can ask for catering and I don't need to look at my phone for to translate.

1:28 Right, it's Google Translate to try and figure it out. And how you compare the festivals here to say the States, since you play them in the States as well. Yeah, I'm glad they're doing more festivals back home because like for a long time they just weren't a thing. Yeah, and now they're starting to put together some more and it's great. And just like I would always come out here to these incredible festivals that you'd spend their own weekend out here and have a blast and for the most day, right, but like now the multi day festivals is starting to be a thing back home, and I think it's great. Also, find a lot of bands.

2:09 They don't seem as rushed over here, less stressed. Like all I've heard from artists here at Bloodstock is like everything's run smooth, they're not stressed out. Loading is easy and they can maybe relax a little more, hang out, have fun. Yeah. Yeah, everybody who's it has been cool. From the minute we pulled in our boss crew guys got out and the local staff was like very accommodating and helped us get settled in. And yeah, great, it's great here. Man, what would be one story, good or bad in your whole musical journey that you would share with people when you are older, like eighty.

2:51 Well, since this is fresh on my mind because people have been asking me about my recollections of Ozzy Osbourne. Yeah, one of the coolest things that I can ratch off the list of shit I never thought would happen. We got to do a photo shoot with Ozzie back before our first os Festa in ninety nine, and we're hanging out in our dressing room waiting for Ross Halfin to set up the photo shoot and Ozzie just comes in and he just sits down and hangs out with us and starts telling us stories about Black Sabbath days, how he shoot Heroin in his neck behind Tony I own he's Marshall Stacks and we're all just like little kids listening to their grandpa tell stories.

3:31 Right, Like, WHOA cool? And it's just like you didn't have to do that. It's just such a cool dude, and he was awesome to us, and just getting to do OZVST that year was such a life changing event for us and it's just I'm eternally grateful to him and Sharon for giving us that opportunity. I remember that year too because like I wasn't even in media in nineteen ninety nine, but I attended OZMA. I saw Ozzy every year since nineteen eighty, including with Randy Rhodes, and that year was like one of the most epic Ozfests. You guys were there, slipknot mud vein in this moment and it was just the one thing I.

4:16 Love, Yeah, yep, stage and well I just loved. About Ozfest is it brought bands and metal to the masses. I think before Ozfest there was nobody like that. That was really I think Ozzy was like very big into bringing bands and just showing them to the world. Would you agree with that? Yeah? Absolutely, it certainly was that for us and for a lot of the bands on that bill, particularly that year that. Blew up after being on that tour. Yeah. Like I said, it's a life altering experience. So I have my own opinion, But I've seen some things recently that people are saying nowadays, gone, they should start oz Fest up again.

5:05 What's your opinion of that. I'll share mine too. I mean, I wouldn't be a posed to it. And if it's done right, the more partying the better. I think, Well, there you go. I love it. It was one of my favorite festival things. Part of me also is like, how is it Ozfest without OZ? That's what I kind of think. But in the same token, if it's under the same kind of guys of like helping bands and showing them to the world and keeping metal and OZ relevant, then I'm for it. Yeah, yeah, that sounds right. I want to show you my eighties metal battle vest.

5:47 Is there any band on there that haven't toured with that you'd like to tour with? One? Right here there? It is the old jump in the fire pitch. I love that you noticed that because I was doing an interview with Winson Parkway and He's like, oh my god, when did they have a logo like that? You know, damn kids? I know right, Slayer didn't even have a patch yet at this time I started this in nineteen eighty one. They even got dark Angel in the sharpie. Well, hey, you know what's great about that? Last month I was at Hellfest and I was talking with Jane and I'm like, I pulled this down. I'm like, do you recognize that logo?

6:27 I just saw them a couple of days ago at Brutal sal I finally got to catch her full set after they got it back together. I caught like their last three songs at a Milwaukee metal festal a few years ago, but it was the first time I got to catch her full set, and it's so cool. My first club show ever was Dark Angel and Doctor noat Fender's Ballroom. In Long Beach. Wow. Yeah. And it was Ron Reinhardt's first show with the band, and he remembered it, and it was so cool to finally meet those guys. I'd known Jane already. For a couple of years now nice and he's so awesome. So one time I did one of those dime bashes and I did a couple of songs with him. At the end of the night, I'm hanging out and I feel this big arm reach around me.

7:09 And it's Gean. He looks at me and is like, me and you were the biggest horse in metal. We'll play for anybody, Oh man. I'm like, hey, man, if that puts me in the same sentence as you, man, I'll take it right. Hey, guy's a legend, man, You know that. So many awesome bands that influenced me, and it's just awesome. It's such a nice guy. When I saw a death clock at Helfest, I was like, oh my god, like, and I've seen a play of times Testament, Dark Agel, I'm just like, he's like the. Fucking god man. He's great, amazing. Yeah. So here's a good story for you is that I was at the first ever crossover show where punk and metal heads could be in the same room without kicking the shit out of each other. It was at like an Elks lodge and it was on the metal side, Possessed, Dark Angel and Savage Grace, Pump side, Cooc pre Pepper Suicide, pre Crossover and Descendants.

8:08 That was the craziest show I've ever been to you. But what's even better you is seeing Static X here at Bloodstock and I thank you for being here and thanks for being on the Adventures Pipe Man. Michelle Kerr was my press officer for my entire fucking career here in the UK, my entire career with Machine. She recently passed away and it was a very, very sad day. And I can tell you the reason that I'm gonna tell this story is because she was family. She was Bloodstock family. She was heavy metal UK family.

8:49 Most of the. Balls that you know and love you probably heard of because of that woman right there. Slip Knots, Slayer, Machinehead, Trivian, kill Switch, Engage, Hey Reed, you name it. She helped lift everybody up. Man. She helped lift everybody up, and in so many ways, she helped make this entire music scene, this incredible, beautiful community that lives here at bloodstock Man. She helped make it. So, ladies and. Gentlemen, please make some noise from Michelle Curve.

9:31 Thank you for listening to the Adventures of plate Man on w for CUI Radio.