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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<\/em> 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.<\/p>\n When did you start playing drums? How old?<\/strong><\/p>\n I was 12 years old. I got my first set when I was 13-14. Rogers – old school.<\/p>\n Who are your musical influences?<\/strong><\/p>\n Wow, where do I start? I’d say Minor Threat\u2019s Drummer, Gary Olsen (Undercover), Aaron Smith (77’s), Dave Lombardo (Slayer), and Lars Ulrich (Metallica).<\/p>\n Was The Crucified your first band?<\/strong><\/p>\n Yes sir, it sure was.<\/p>\n When The Crucified first split, how did The Blamed come together?<\/strong><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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?<\/strong><\/p>\n Yeah I played with Uthanda a few shows. I did a short tour with Deliverance back in the day too.<\/p>\n Was Fasedown your first project after you left The Blamed?<\/strong><\/p>\n Yes sir, yes it was.<\/p>\n How did Once Dead come together? Who is involved with that band?<\/strong><\/p>\n 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).<\/p>\n Once Dead has played over seas a couple of times, if I’m not mistaken. Where did you play? Were they fest’s?<\/strong><\/p>\n Yeah we played in Urich Switzerland @ The Elements of Rock Fest and Oslo Norway @ The Nordic Fest.<\/p>\n Do you enjoy playing in other countries?<\/strong><\/p>\n Loved it! Loved it! Loved it!<\/p>\n Once Dead has a new album out, you wanna tell us about it and where to get it?<\/strong><\/p>\n You can get it from Open Grave Records on-line, that’s all I know.<\/p>\n The L.S.Underground album was pretty much written in the studio, had you ever recorded in that fashion before?<\/strong><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Did you have a good time the two days we spent at Masaki’s studio?<\/strong><\/p>\n I sure did. Working with you and Mike and Masaki was great. I hope we can do some shows in the future.<\/p>\n Had you heard much of Michael Knott’s music before that?<\/strong><\/p>\n Just old Lifesavers. They were the deal when I was younger. Altar Boys, Undercover, and Lifesavers were it!<\/p>\n 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?<\/strong><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Any plans for new material from the Crucified?<\/strong><\/p>\n We’ll see we’re just in the talking stages right now. I’m for it though, for sure.<\/p>\n Final Thoughts?<\/strong><\/p>\n You’re only as old as you think you are! Until you try and do what you did 20+ years ago… hahahahaha<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/downthelinezine.com\/archives\/files\/2022\/01\/Jim-Chaffin-2.jpg\")
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