No more evil tunes? Glenn Danzig uncertain about making new music

While appearing on Full Metal for the first time, Glenn Danzig discussed Danzig’s forthcoming run of infrequent live performances on the U.S. West Coast, which are scheduled for late March. Down, Abbath, and Cro-Mags will provide support for the trek, which will pass through places where Danzig hasn’t performed in a long time. Glenn responded this when asked if the dates that are coming up are all that Danzig will perform this year.

I don’t really like going on tour. As you can see, I’m only doing six shows. So just trying to get me to go and do a bunch of shows — I don’t mind doing a one-off here or there or whatever, but doing a bunch of shows, riding around on the bus, I’ve said it before… I know that we had to make up a Phoenix show last time that had to get canceled because we there was a bus shortage. And so basically in order to get a bus, we had to move all our first dates on the tour to the end of the tour. And there wasn’t an available venue in Phoenix that time period. We’ll make up the Phoenix show. And then we had a lot of fans asking why we haven’t come up to the big Northwest and San Francisco. So we’re trying to make that up. And it’ll be it for a while.

It’s a different thing to go on the road now.

Well, everything’s more expensive. The last time I went out — I think it was 2022 or 2023, again just a handful of shows — and prices on buses and gas had just gone [way up]. And then this last time we went out in 2023, they went up three times what we normally pay. And this time it’s even crazier. So, I think it’s also become really hard for a lot of bands to go out there and tour. I’ve said it before — a young band just going out there, they would have to go out in a van, well, kind of how we did back in the day with Danzig and Samhain and the Misfits. I mean, we would go out in a van. It was all we could afford.

And Glenn is not fan of riding in a van.

No. No one loves being in a van with a bunch of other people and a limited amount of space. I’d have to be driving, too. A lot of times we’d have the stick shift, and me and maybe one other person in the van would know how to drive a shift. So I’d have to drive most of the time also. You’re driving and you’re loading equipment in and you’re doing everything, pretty much. But anyway, I’m looking forward to these shows. It’s been a while. And hopefully all the fans will be digging it. And I’m sure they’ll have a great time. The lineup is insane. So, I don’t know what else we can do except come out there and knock you on your ass.

The chance of new tours and new music is pretty slim too.

No. I’m not even focused on touring, just doing six shows. And if that’s touring, then what I used to do must have been mega touring, I mean, we used to go out for three, four, five, six months at a time. The whole music thing and recording and everything, it’s just changed dramatically where people really don’t buy physical product anymore. They just wanna download it for free online. So there’s really no incentive to new music, unless I’m in the studio and I do something and I wanna give it away for free to everybody. I don’t know if that’s a great business model.

But there is something he enjoys doing. Writing music.

Yeah, of course. But I write lots of different stuff. I don’t see the music industry changing at all. So I don’t know if I’m ever gonna record again, at least Danzig stuff. Maybe at some point. I don’t know right now.