Tony West of Blacklist Union:

“Trying to Stay Sane in a World That’s Gone Mad”

Written by Alison “MetalBabe” Cohen

Blacklist Union have released four albums to date, and two singles/videos The Queen of Everything and Letters from the Psych Ward for their upcoming release. The next single and video, Dirty Halo will follow, with the Letters from the Psych Ward album release (tentatively) September 15th, 2023. The album will be available on all digital platforms, CDs, and Vinyl.

Metal Babe: It’s been eight years since your 2015 release Back to Momo. What have you been doing musically during this timeframe?

Tony West: I worked on a couple side projects... One was with Jay Gordon. (The Savior Complex). I did another side project with Paul Roessler, (Silverstar) whose sister was in Black Flag. He’s a punk rock legend. He has a studio here in L.A. called Kitten Robot Studios. Paul and I recorded the Devo song Gates of Steel and the Bowie song Golden Years with D.H. Peligro from the Dead Kennedy’s and Zander Schloss from Circle Jerks at his studio. Of course, D.H. died… We are releasing these songs as bonus tracks on Letters from the Psych Ward. Also, like everyone else, I was dealing with Covid… Then the death of Todd Youth, who I wrote my last record with.

Metal Babe: When did you first start working on your upcoming release Letters from the Psych Ward and how did you determine who was going to write the album with you?

Tony West: After Todd died in 2018, I went to the Amazon Jungle in Peru with the Shipibo Indians and did Ayahuasca five times. This whole record was inspired by that. At first, since me and Todd had such good songwriting chemistry… I was searching for that. It’s like trying to find a spouse. I decided to write the record with Chris Johnson, who’s produced all the Blacklist Union records. He knows my style and my voice better than anyone.

Metal Babe: Tell me about the meaning behind the title of the album and second single, Letters from the Psych Ward.

Tony West: The world we live in is f*cking nuts… We deal with so much sh*t in life. Whether it’s politics, kids getting killed in school, what the human race is doing to one other… Whatever pain you’re going through in life. We all can relate to this and hopefully keep our sanity through music. Letters from the Psych Ward is about trying to stay sane in a world that’s gone mad.

Metal Babe: Tell me about the Aerosmith song Mia, which you named your daughter after.

Tony West: Recording the vocals for Mia was epic. I texted Josey from Saliva that I was scared to do this when I was about to record the vocals for Mia. He was like, “you’re gonna kick ass.” The producer (Chris Johnson) and engineer (Ghian) were both like, “you know, this is kind of a hard song.” I was like, “I’ll be fine.” I did one pass of the song and I’ll never forget… Chris and Ghian both stood up in the control room with their arms up in the air cheering because I nailed the song all the way through on the first take.

Metal Babe: One thing that I have always admired about you and your music is that it is real, honest, and you are true to yourself. Whether it’s your lyrics, your outlook on life, or your appearance. Where does this come from?

Tony West: My daughter Mia said to me one day, “Daddy you can’t wear makeup when you pick me up at school.” I’m like, “Wait, what? I’ve been wearing eyeliner every day since I was 13.” She said all the little girls ask me, “Why does your daddy wear makeup?” And I’m like, “Tell them I’m a rocker guy.” She’s like, “I did.” I’m like, “Okay fine I won’t wear the eyeliner, but the nail polish stays.” Mia’s like “Okay, deal.” I’ve always f*ckin’ believed in live by the sword, die by the sword. I’m not playing a character. I am who I am. There’s no portrayal of a character onstage or in our videos or anything, it’s me. I consider myself a rock n’ roll soldier. I’m a lifer. I learned a long time ago that you need to be ready to rock at a moment’s notice. I think when you’re authentic that kinda cuts through the bullsh*t and people feel that.

Metal Babe: What can you tell me about your tattoos? When did you first start getting tattoos and what tattoos are you working on now? Do you have any related to your songs or other bands?

Tony West: I’m f*cking covered in tattoos. Now I am sleeving out my legs from the top of my thigh to the tops of my feet. It’s painful… Kevin Quinn is doing it. He’s mentioned in the Warrior Soul song The Wasteland where they are like “Quinn is drilling ink and we’re getting laid.” Kevin and Kory (Clarke) grew up together. Kevin is an old-school legendary tattoo artist. I love him… He’s one of my favorite people. I have a leopard on my knee, roses, there’s a Phoenix... All of it is very symbolic to me. The Phoenix is like rising from the ashes again. The last few years were gnarly for me in so many ways. Deaths of people, overdoses, trying to stay sane, getting back in shape… I almost didn’t make it twice. This is about rising from the ashes and coming back stronger than ever.

Metal Babe: You’re playing July 29th at The Whisky for Cruefest. What can fans expect?

Tony West: Fans can expect a kickass rock show. My goal is to always make the live show better than the records. When I see a band I wanna walk away and say “wow.” That doesn’t happen very often, but that is what I want people to do after seeing Blacklist Union I want them to walk away saying “wow.” https://cruefestfiend.wixsite.com/cruefesthollywood/tickets

Metal Babe: Thank you for the interview Tony! Please visit https://linktr.ee/blacklistunion/ for all things Blacklist Union!

Grab tickets for Cruefest July 29th at The Whisky if you’re in L.A.

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