Interview with Kerry King
From Kerrang! (UK), June 2000

Kerrang (K!): What is your nickname and why?

Kerry King (KK): There are so many, it depends on who you're talking to. Lately, it's probably Baldy which is self-explanatory! Who calls me that? Jeff (Hanneman, Slayer guitarist), more than anybody.

K!: At school, where you a dunce or a teacher's pet?

KK: In school, I was pretty fucking smart until I was 16 years old. I once won the math award over the whole school. But in 12th. grade, I took Math Analysis (the pinnacle of US high school maths), and in the first half of the year I did well, but I almost failed the course in the second half because I suddenly discovered chicks!

K!: What was your first shag like?

KK: I think I was 17 or 18 and it was with a girl I was going out with and it wasn't that fucking great. I didn't know what the fuck I was doing.

K!: Who is your best friend?

KK: My bartender Aaron. We've taken him out on the road before, but he usually works at a place called TGI Fridays.

K!: What's the best pet you've ever had?

There have been alot. Probably one of my dogs. I used to show dogs, a few different varieties. Probably an Akita called Blizzard.

K!: Have you ever been arrested?

KK: Almost! I was sprouting off at a cop. I don't sprout off unless I'm right, though I will not fucking challenge anybody if I think I'm not in the right. One time in Chicago, and again in Texas, I really had to hold back from taking on some cops.

K!: What would you do if you weren't a rock star?

KK: Who knows? Shit, I've been playing in a band with Tom (Araya, Vocals/Bass) since I was 16, so there was really no time along the line where I started looking at another profession. From day one, I that that I was going to do this for as long as I could, and we've been lucky enough to go somewhere with it. Otherwise, I might have had to learn how to do something else.

K!: How would you describe yourself on a blind date form?

KK: I actually have a story about something like that. The first night I went out with the woman who would become my second wife, I took her to see 'Alien 3' and we went to the bar first. I passed out in the movies, went to her house and hurled all over the bathroom - it was pretty cool! So I'd guess I say 'Life of the party!'.

K!: What is the most extravagant thing you've ever bought?

KK: Probably one of the cars I have. I used to have a '92 Acura NSX, which was pretty pricey. It looks like a Ferrari. I don't have it anymore. I got a Chrysler 300M and a monster Bronco with 39-inch tyres on it.

K!: Who's gagging for a shagging?

KK: Jenna Jameson the porn star is fine, or Asia Carrera. Both rock my world.

K!: Who's gagging for a smacking?

KK: Mini-van drivers. If you see a fucking mini-van on the road in the US, they have no idea what the fuck they're doing! You get behind them at 55mph, they're always doing 30. Unless it's raining, they they drive at 10!

K!: What's the worst job you've ever had?

KK: I worked at a miniature golf place after high school. I lasted there about a month because they wanted me to cut my hair, and I told them to fuck off.

K!: When did you last call home?

KK: A couple of days ago.

K!: What was your most embarresing moment?

KK: There was this one time on the 'South Of Heaven' tour and there was a spot where, when we played 'Angel Of Death', I would run across the stage during the drum break. Usually we would have strobe lights going off so I could see the ground, but this one time they didn't work and I tripped on the floor lights and slid halfway across the stage on my back right into the monitor board.

K!: Who would you least like to see naked?

KK: Mae Young. She's that old bitch on the World Wrestling Federation shows. She's like 82!

K!: What's the best rumour you've ever heard about yourself?

KK: There's tons of them. I think I've been dead two or three times. I hear about me being in alot of car wrecks. I'll get calls from my manager's assistant asking, 'Are you allright?'. Sometimes I'll go on Slayer websites and check out the rumours there and I think, 'That's true, that's true, but where the fuck did they hear that one?'

K!: What's in your wallet?

KK: I don't really care anymore. I've got my important cards and my money in my pocket. Let's see, what else... I've got a card for Dave & Buster's arcades so I can go play games there.

K!: What's your favorite joke?

KK: Two blondes walk into a building. You'd think one of them would have seen it.

K!: If you were marooned on a desert island without food, which member of Slayer would you choose to eat first?

KK: Probably myself! (laughs). After that, probably Jeff because I could stay pickled on the booze in his system. I could eat well and get a buzz at the same time.

K!: Which Slayer song would you donate to a compilation album called 'Crap Songs Of Our Time?

KK: I hate this one: 'Cleanse The Soul' from 'South Of Heaven'. It doesn't hold up.

K!: What's your drug of choice?

KK: I've never done drugs, so it would have to be alcohol. It's Rumplemintz, these days.

K!: What does God look like?

KK: Me!

K!: When you die, how do you want to go?

KK: Instantly! I don't want to sit there suffering, having to beg for everything.

Joshua Sindell, Kerrang! June 2000