The Crucified was my first concert: Friday, February 15, 1991. It was at a cub called The Omni in a bad part of Oakland, Ca. A bunch of forgettable San Francisco bay area metal bands opened. That night changed my life, forever. The power, the brutality, and the songs are so memorable, classic. Years later I find myself in the studio recording with Jim Chaffin, drummer of that very band that changed my life, for the PTSD L.S.Underground album, and it was unreal. Since then I like to think of Jim as a friend. Chaffin took some time to answer a few questions for me.
When did you start playing drums? How old?
I was 12 years old. I got my first set when I was 13-14. Rogers – old school.
Who are your musical influences?
Wow, where do I start? I’d say Minor Threat’s Drummer, Gary Olsen (Undercover), Aaron Smith (77’s), Dave Lombardo (Slayer), and Lars Ulrich (Metallica).
Was The Crucified your first band?
Yes sir, it sure was.
When The Crucified first split, how did The Blamed come together?
My friend Bryan Gray called and told me he had a punk project he was doing and wanted to know if I’d help him. It was just a project to begin with. It caught on pretty well and became a band. The rest is history.
Now you’ve played with Mortal and I saw you filling in for The Prayer Chain, were there any other bands that you played with for short periods?
Yeah I played with Uthanda a few shows. I did a short tour with Deliverance back in the day too.
Was Fasedown your first project after you left The Blamed?
Yes sir, yes it was.
How did Once Dead come together? Who is involved with that band?
Doug Theime gave me a call to do a show @ C-stone with Vengeance (Glenn couldn’t make it). The show was a nightmare! I agreed to do another one so as to redeem myself and things really clicked. They asked if I’d liked to try and write new material. I had always wanted to play with those guys (Larry, Doug Roger Martin). They were great friends, but I never had a chance to play with then in the past, so I jumped on the opportunity. The group currently consists of Me – of course – Doug Theime, Larry Farkas, Devin Schaeffer (vocals), and Angelo Val Despino (bass).
Once Dead has played over seas a couple of times, if I’m not mistaken. Where did you play? Were they fest’s?
Yeah we played in Urich Switzerland @ The Elements of Rock Fest and Oslo Norway @ The Nordic Fest.
Do you enjoy playing in other countries?
Loved it! Loved it! Loved it!
Once Dead has a new album out, you wanna tell us about it and where to get it?
You can get it from Open Grave Records on-line, that’s all I know.
The L.S.Underground album was pretty much written in the studio, had you ever recorded in that fashion before?
Never! That was a great experience. Being there with an icon like Mike was pretty intimidating at first, but he is such a cool guy I felt right at home.
Did you have a good time the two days we spent at Masaki’s studio?
I sure did. Working with you and Mike and Masaki was great. I hope we can do some shows in the future.
Had you heard much of Michael Knott’s music before that?
Just old Lifesavers. They were the deal when I was younger. Altar Boys, Undercover, and Lifesavers were it!
During those sessions, we went out to Hawaiian BBQ with Saki and talked about The Crucified quite a bit. A couple of months later you guys hung out together for the first time in years. Then a reunion happened, how did this all transpire?
Well in a nut shell, Jeff, Mark, Greg, and I talked about doing the box set. Then we talked about possible shows and the rest is history. It was that easy. When you and I had talked, the big thing holding us back was that Mark did not want to do any Cru shows. Well, he had a change of heart and the rest of us jumped on the opportunity.
Any plans for new material from the Crucified?
We’ll see we’re just in the talking stages right now. I’m for it though, for sure.
Final Thoughts?
You’re only as old as you think you are! Until you try and do what you did 20+ years ago… hahahahaha
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