Richard Christy

MM: For readers who haven't heard Howard's show recently, can you explain some of the stuff you do on the show?
RC: Sal and I go to the recording studio/office and create crank calls, song parodies and comedy bits that Howard plays every day. I do crazy stunts; I've gotten a full Brazilian bikini wax, I've held my balls over a lit candle and burnt my balls on the air. It's the coolest job. I'm expected to write funny stuff and I get paid for it. I'm a very happy person. Howard is the nicest boss; he's a down-to-earth guy who cares about his employees. Everyone who works there is nice. It's a cool and stress-free job. It is a lot of work, though. I mean, Howard is on the radio for five hours a day. He's a genius, and he's making people laugh for five hours a day. Sal and I work eight to 12 hours a day recording and having fun. It doesn't seem like work. Sirius satellite radio is great; they have Liquid Metal station. I'm into horror movies and they have Fangoria radio channel. It's a cool job. I get to work at Rockefeller Center in NYC every day, it's just so surreal, coming from Kansas and now working in NYC.



MM: Did you feel like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz when she said, "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore"?
RC: Yeah! (laughing) It's definitely different from Kansas!

MM: Do you write your own material and come up with your own characters?
RC: Yeah, or if someone else has an idea, we'll go with it. Sal and I go in a room and come up with bits. I have a character named Ethel Mertz and another named Nervous Mark who calls public access stations and acts all nervous. It started back in grade school, and even high school I would make prank calls and record them. I think it's a rite of passage. And now to be able to do it for a living at age 35 … I never dreamed that it could be a real job, but I'm lucky it is.

MM: You also do standup, correct? How do you develop your act? What topics do you mainly joke about?
RC: Sal and I did a standup comedy tour every weekend all over the country. Most were sold out because of our association with the Stern show. We'd each do 30 minutes and then both of us would do our act together, sing and stuff. I loved it, but it's scary as hell. It's not like being a drummer behind the kit where, if you messed up, another band member could cover it up. When it's just you and a mic. It's very intimidating. The first time I did standup, I was scared as hell. It's a lot of fun, I want to keep doing it. It's a lot of work writing material. I always admired comedians like Richard Pryor and Chris Rock, their material was consistently funny. The traveling takes a toll on you, though. We were flying every weekend. We'd end the Stern show on Friday and then fly out to our standup gig.

MM: Seems like you've been away from the scene for a while. Are you jumping in full force, touring and all?
RC: We'll tour as much as we can, but my priority is the Howard Stern Show. I won't be able to do full monthlong tours. Jason is booked four to five months in advance, and Tim is busy with his solo band and his new cover band, Hail! Steve has lots of music projects and a family and a day job. So everyone has their own things going on, and I do too. We'll have to check our schedules, but I definitely want to do some shows. Maybe some festivals and some mini tours, but I definitely want to play live.

MM: Most of my friends know who you are because of Howard's show, but not as an awesome metal drummer. Are people surprised when they find out you played drums in Death and Iced Earth?
RC: Yeah! I get a lot of e-mails from fans of the Howard Stern Show saying they didn't know I was the same guy that played in Iced Earth and Death, that they never made that connection. I'm very flattered when people know me from both. If I can turn Howard fans into metal heads, then that's cool.

MM: Are you a workaholic? From music to acting to standup and radio, you must keep pretty busy. How do you balance it all out?
RC: I just love being involved, getting my hands on everything. I love acting, music, radio and comedy. There's times I feel like a workaholic, especially when I was doing the standup with Sal, traveling and working with no time off. I try to make free time for my girlfriend. We live in Long Island City and we try to see a lot. I love New York so much but no matter how long you've been here, there's always new things to do in the city.

MM: Why did you feel that now was the time to start up Charred Walls of the Damned? Is it all for the love of metal?
RC: Because I had written enough riffs for an album, it felt right to put something together. The metal scene is strong again and I found the time to do it. There wasn't one particular thing to think that now is the time to do it. Just seeing friends play live and wanting to be on stage and play.

MM: Who are your influences? Can you explain your technical drumming abilities and why you still love playing the drums?
RC: I've always loved the drums. Peter Criss was a big influence, I had his solo album when I was 5 years old. I started playing along to Quite Riot's "Cum on Feel the Noize" on pillows and cow-feed buckets. When I first heard Van Halen's "Hot For Teacher," it's just the greatest drum intro of all time. 1984, I turned 10 growing up in Kansas. I joined the school band and I was listening to Iron Maiden's "Live After Death." The song "Iron Maiden," I figured it out when I was 11 years old. Wrathchild America and Rage from Germany I loved. I was a big fan of Shannon Larkin's drumming from Wrathchild America; he was one of my biggest drumming influences. He plays in Godsmack now. Bobby (Jarzombek) on Riot's Thundersteel album, Mickey Dee from King Diamond, Malevolent Creation's Alex Marquez off "Retribution." Dismember was a huge influence on me as well. I like death metal, ’80s metal, Coheed and Cambria … bands blend together to influence me. The first reviews of "Ghost Town" came out and they were calling it Iron Maiden mixed with Incarnate; those are two of my favorite bands. I didn't think of what the band would sound like when I put it together. I just wanted a mix of all the bands I love. It could be death, power metal … I don't really want to categorize it. It's just something that every kind of metal fan would be into.

MM: Thanks Richard, I hope Charred Walls of the Damned really catches on. Any last words or comments for your fans?
RC: Thanks, man. I hope everybody enjoys the debut of Charred Walls of the Damned. Make sure you listen to Howard Stern, Liquid Metal and Eddie Trunk on the Boneyard. Hope to see you out on tour.

Article by Kelley Simms