VERNI

It’s no secret that OVERKILL is a favorite band of ours here at WC HQ. The Good Doctor has had the good fortune of speaking to amiable frontman Bobby Blitz 3 times, including once in person. But I’ve never managed to talk to their iconic bass player D.D. Verni...until now.

Of all the OVERKILL members, D.D. is by far the busiest outside of the main band. His Gothic metal act THE BRONX CASKET COMPANY has established a strong following of its own. A lot of folks, including your humble servant, were unaware of D.D.’s fondness for big band jazz, which has resulted in the creation of D.D. VERNI & THE CADILLAC BAND, which you should be hearing from soon. But his most recent project has been a solo album under the name of VERNI that delves deeply into D.D.’s punk rock roots. The new album “Dreadful Company” is a fun and upbeat look at another side of this hard-working musician.

He’s also been recovering from shoulder surgery that forced him to take a hiatus from OVERKILL for a while...for the first time in the band’s 40 year history. I was pretty stoked to get a chance to talk to D.D. about “Dreadful Company” and many other subjects...

WORMWOOD CHRONICLES:  Greetings, Mr. Verni and many thanks for talking to us! I saw your gig at Milwaukee Metalfest in May...your first show back after surgery. How did that gig go for you and how are you feeling right now?

D.D. VERNI: Always great to play!  Gig was great... I have done a few shows since then, I'm coming along as far as recovery, in physical therapy still 3-4 times a week, I'm still a ways away from being able to go weeks at a time, but I'll keep at it.

WC:  How serious was the injury and was there ever any fear that you might not make it back to 100%?

DDV: Well, it's the 3rd time thru, so that's always a concern when it doesn't work the first 2 times.  And I'm pretty sure I won't ever be 100%, so I just need to get back to where I can do what I want to do. If I can't lift weights, well then, I can't.

WC:  Moving on to the new VERNI album “Dreadful Company”, this is definitely a step back in time to your roots in punk rock. Have some of these songs been floating around in your head for years or is the music relatively new?

DDV: It's all pretty new, although “Cemetery Safari” is pretty old and had been lying around a while, I thought of it for OVERKILL years ago, but it just was just too punk rock for us.  The record has been done a while though, I wrote most of this during the covid days, there was not a lot else to do, no shows and all that so I was in the studio quite a bit.

WC: The album is really upbeat and almost happy sounding. Was it therapeutic for you coming up with these catchy and back to basics tunes…almost like a mental vacation?

DDV: It really was a lot of fun to write these songs.  I know some people need to have despair, and really heavy feelings to write, but I do much better when I'm feeling great and positive, ya know.  A beautiful day, sun’s out, a big cup of coffee, day starting out great....that's when I'm writing best.  Even if songs are so aggressive it's still all from positive energy for me.  If I'm aggravated songs are just disjointed and weird.  So, this was just having fun every day, especially with the lyrics. I was just having a ball.

WC: It’s easy to hear the RAMONES and DEAD BOYS influences in the new VERNI material. But what are some of the other, maybe lesser-known bands that have influenced your sound here?

DDV: Well, I don't think they are lesser known but GREEN DAY some, they are one of my all-time favorite bands, and I think some VOLBEAT. I love how they mix metal and punk, probably some MOTORHEAD too for the same reasons ...punk and metal just mashed up together.  Lot's of SEX PISTOLS, and even S.O.D.! Been listening to that and forgot how cool it was with the metal/punk mix of things.

WC: Lyrically, a lot of these songs have to be coming from personal experience. Is “Lunkhead” about anybody in particular or is more about just a certain class of people?

DDV: Nah, I don’t usually write about personal experience. It’s more about observation.  I know some people are like this is my therapy and I'm like ,fuck you, then go to therapy.  I don’t need to hear what happened to you each day.  But “Lunkhead” is really just about a big mouth, someone who just  can’t keep their mouth shut, and confuses opinions with facts.

WC: “The Whore with the See Through Shoes” has got to be one of the best song titles of the year! There’s got to be a real interesting story behind this...care to elaborate further on it?

DDV: That is a fun title. If I saw that on a record that would be the first song I listened to.  But I think it's more about the jealous girlfriend thing, right?  Bands meet a lot of different people on the road, and some of ‘em wear see thru shoes.

WC: You did a ton of behind the scenes work on the VERNI album, like producing and engineering. Is it safe to say that no other record you’ve ever done has had as much of your fingerprints on it as this one?

DDV: I would say no.  Really the last BRONX CASKET CO. record, and the last solo record I really have kinda been doing all the work.  It's just fun to do that sometimes. I have a studio here and so it makes life a bit easier.  and then playing guitar, bass and singing...I mean it's a lot, but a lot of fun too so all good by me.

WC:  You had some really unique guest stars help out here….like Virus from DOPE and Michael from SYMPHONY X. Did you seek them out for the record, or did they come to you about it?

DDV: Well, the main one was Charlie from ANTHRAX doing the solo on “Lunkhead”, that was kind of a surprise thing, and I was very psyched Charlie agreed to do one. Hell, I would have let him do ‘em all, but he's pretty busy.  Virus played on my last solo record and did a great job so I figured  I’d shoot a few to him.  and Romeo is an old friend and just a ridiculous player, I mean, the guy can do anything.  He did some orchestrations too; I have done a ton of stuff with Mike over the years.

WC: You’ve got another very different project out there, D.D. VERNI & THE CADILLAC BAND. What can you tell us about this bunch and will we be getting anything from them soon?

DDV: I am finishing up a new record with that right now.  This is so close to my heart, I really love doing this band.  The people involved are great, and so fun to play.  The new record is quite a step up from the last.  I was just learning how to work with horns, and piano's etc and arrangements.  and I have a pretty good handle on that now and have been working with an amazing horn arranger from LA on this, so sometime next year looking for a new release!

WC: Is there any chance the BRONX CASKET COMPANY will be revived or is that purely in the rear-view mirror now?

DDV: Hmmm, I don't know.  I just saw Jack Frost a few weeks ago and he was saying, let's do some shows.  He's always up for playing.  And Charlie played in CADILLAC BAND last time we did a show.  We are talking about releasing a new vinyl to coincide with 25 years since the first record, so who knows.  Maybe a one off here or there, or a festival show...we have never played in Europe, so that could be fun.

WC: Are there any more Verni-associated solo bands or projects we should know about?

DDV: Hey, ya never know, I worked on a Musical for years that never quite got going, but I could re visit that again.  That was a really fun project.  As much as my Big Band was out of my regular zone, writing songs for a musical was nuts, but I really did love it.

WC:  Will VERNI be playing any live dates? I know OVERKILL tours like road dogs, and they have to be the priority?

DDV: Would love to.  Just have to see how thew record is received and see what kind of opportunities come up.  Festivals would be a lot of fun, so maybe some next summer, or some touring if the right situation came up.  We'll just take it day to day.

WC: If you could ask any 3 people in history to dinner, who would they be?

DDV: Eli and Payton Manning, and maybe Larry David...that would be fun.

WC:  I’ve talked to Blitz a few times and always asked him this question. I’d like to hear your answer to it. In your long musical career, is there any one “Spinal Tap” moment that stands out above the rest that you could share with us?

DDV: I mean, jeez, there are so many! I mean, if you’re a touring band it's kind of endless.  But we did a show...somewhere...and the usual routine is get the band on stage, signal front of house, house lights go down, intro tape and then the show.  But we did a show where communication got mixed up, and we ran that intro tape like 3 times, with no band even in the building, finally the show went off...but c'mon, that's bad....and a little funny

WC: Any last words or messages to the fans?

DDV: As always, hope to see you guys out there.  Never done a solo show, so I think it could be something new and fun, maybe throw in a few BRONX CASKET songs, maybe an old OVERKILL or 2... something like that....so let's see.

VERNI