Anthrax’s Joey Belladonna – HuffPost 9.10.10

Mike Ragogna: What is your advice for new artists?

Joey Belladonna: Well, I’d always say you just have to decide if you really want to do this for the right reasons. You get what you can out of it, the way you want to put the time in. If I did this on a part time thing, I never would have gotten very far that way. If I would have listened to my father at one time who said, “You’re playing in the same places, what are you going to do? You’ve got to get something going on,” it’s like, “Well, no. This is what I want to do, and I’m going to keep doing it, trust me.” Of course, it comes around and they say, “Oh yeah, I see what you wanted to do.” I still think you have to stay focused on it. Again, there are a lot of guys I play with that it’s a hobby for. “Oh, I’ve got to play five nights a week? Well, that’s a little too much, man. I’m working, I’ve got this going, I’ve got to take the kids here… ” Well, maybe you’re not the guy. Certain people have certain time frames to take care of business. That’s not to say you can’t be successful doing it part time, but I just think you have to put your priorities on notice to put it together and make it right. That’s just the way I look at it.