Jimmy Kay from Canada’s The Metal Voice interviewed UGLY KID JOE guitarist and co-founder Klaus Eichstadt. Klaus spoke about the bands up and coming new album ‘ Rad Wings of Destiny, which will be released on October 21st via Metalville Records.

He also spoke about  the quick rise of the band in the early days, working with Rob Halford in the studio and touring with bands such as Van Halen, Guns N’ Roses and Ozzy Osbourne.

When asked about the recording of the new album
‘It’s just been kind of a three year process, it started right before covid and then coved slowed everything down but we started doing stuff remotely. Then as covid ended we got back together again a couple times and finished it. “

When asked about the musical style of the new album 
” It’s a hard rock record for the most part and it’s pretty diverse.There are some songs that are more Moody and some that are more like AC/DC.  Anytime we do anything that sounds a little like AC/DC it’s like they’re our favorite band of all time so I guess you’d have to say it’s deliberate. Some of  it’s more where we’re just kind of having fun in the studio doing a full acoustic, almost a country song. It’s a little more old school, it’s not like new metal at all, it’s more like hard rock, maybe going back to the late 70s a little bit. We even have a cover of Lola (The Kinks) which is a great song, we love that song  it’s got a little bit of sarcasm in it too. The album has also got some serious stuff too, so it’s got something for everybody.”

When asked about touring with Ozzy Osbourne after the success of the bands first E.P. and working on the debut album at same time
“We needed to go make a record (debut album) and so we really had a small six week window to make the record and we didn’t finish it on time. And then we started shows with Ozzy (No More Tears Tour opening). So Whit ( Whitfield Crane) and I were flying back after every show, back to LA to record.  It sucked because I wanted to enjoy the tour. I wanted to tour with Ozzy and be present. I didn’t want to be worrying about the song and these lyrics. On the Ozzy tour, we called him Uncle Ozzy because I heard someone from The Motley Crew call him that because he was the dude that took out the new metal bands and all my favorite bands opened for Ozzy at some time early in their career. So to get to have that tour was an honor. Ozzy was actually totally sober, that’s what he called the tour, the ‘No More Beers Tour’ he was boxing every day before the show. But  Zakk (Zakk Wylde) drank and he drank with us and we drank on our bus. But one day because there was no alcohol backstage we showed up backstage and there’s a case of Budweiser saying  ‘love Ozzy’ on it and we’re like he (Ozzy)  realized we’re a Young Band and this is our first big yeah Arena tour to have fun and have some beer. Ozzy was everything you expected like as a person or as an artist, he is the real deal. He would throw stink bombs in our dressing room. He was super nice and funny. Ozzy was still kind of a mythical being to us during and after the tour even though we saw him a few times, we met him and took a few pictures.  Zakk became our friend and was on the bus with us hanging out but Ozzy was still kind of Ozzy yet at the same time very down to earth, very funny and very nice.”

When asked about how they got Rob Halford to sing on the song  ‘Goddamn devil’  on debut album ‘America’s Least Wanted’
“It was Mark Dodson the guy who produced that album and our last record, who had done some Judas Priest records (in the past). In fact that’s literally probably the moment we’re like we want that guy (to produce) because  Rob Halford is basically Whit ( Whitfield Crane)  hero vocally/ So when he (Mark Dodson) mentioned that he’s friends with Rob and that he’s going to invite him down to say hi because he knew we were such huge fans.  I think Mark kind of had it planned out to ask him (Halford) to sing on that song. So he played him the track and we were sitting in the studio with Rob Halford listening to the Goddamn Devil and his (Halford) remark when the song ended was, I like the lyrics. So Mark said to Rob Halford, would you like to sing on it and he’s like sure. And he just gets in the booth he just started going for it and he got it like I’d say probably what’s on the record was the second take and then he even did that thing at the end where he started just ad libbing and I think that was like again probably the second take and we’re like you’re done this is perfect. “

When asked about getting actress Julia Sweeney, Pat from Saturday Night with spoken words on Debut album and the bands videos
‘Again another weird  random thing because that character just killed us, that was so funny the Pat character. This dude that we would literally just hang out with in Santa Barbara, we were hanging out at a friend’s house  drinking beers watching football whatever and he’s like we were laughing. Maybe we were talking about her or that character on SNL the night before. So all of a sudden he’s like she’s really closely related.  We’re like you think she’d ever do anything with us because we’re huge fans of Comedy obviously and um I think that’s how we got her name. Next we asked maybe she could do some overdub, we were doing ‘America’s Least Wanted’ so we already had kind of a hit, so we already known and we also known for a little bit of the humor thing because ‘Everything about you’.So he had asked her and she was like totally 100% yes I’d love to, where do I need to be. So we said come by Devonshire Studios at like noon on Monday or whatever and because she lived in L.A and so she’s like fine I’ll be there.  So we had her come and we were just thinking about ideas but the funny thing she shows up and she brings her whole Pat wardrobe. She wasn’t quite sure. She’s very professional and she’s like she knows this character is a hit so she’s like oh they want me to do something I’m not sure what it is but I’m going to bring it just in case . So when we did the video a little later  she ended up in the neighbor video and kind of had a big part in it and this time she got to use the red funny weird outfits.”

When asked when they opened for Van Halen in the UK  did you hang out with Eddie Van Halen 
“We’re playing Wembley for three nights in Europe, Bon Jovi’s the headliner. And when you’re playing Arena there’s a lot of dressing room areas and stuff. So our dressing room is right next to Van Halen’s and every day we play the show Eddie would come into our dressing room maybe three minutes after we were done playing maybe five and just with his guitar warming up  and asking us how was the show how was the crowd and this was like his routine every single show. The guy was so down to earth, just for the record he wasn’t drinking at the time he was always having a non-alcoholic Heineken. Super nice, super humble, super easy to just talk to. We would even make fun of him and he would make fun of us.  One day he walked in. We were literally wearing the same outfit just by chance, just black shorts and an orange T-shirt for some reason. He walked in and I looked at him and  so I said something like what are you doing ripping off my outfit or something and he’s like yeah soon I’ll be stealing all your licks and I said to him you’ll just be stealing them all back. I was like my little Eddie moment that I just loved because he kind of looked at me and smiled.”

When asked about meeting Axl Rose opening for Guns N Roses 
“We played with them in Israel of all places one off, big Festival. We were treated really well there. After the concert there’s this really nice fun bar  we all went to and it was really fun. We were just talking with fans. I’m like wait, that’s Axel Rose just sitting on the bar talking to our bass player and just like just subdued at the bar. So I’m like oh I guess he does go out and talk to people. So I just went for it. I was like this is my chance. I sat next to him. He was totally nice. We had a shot of tequila together. He thought that we were the Bloodhound Gang for a second. He was totally nice and cool and funny and he was it was you know there was nothing about him that made me feel in any way uncomfortable. “
Ugly Kid Joe are an American rock band formed in Isla Vista, California in 1989. They rose to prominence with their debut EP As Ugly As They Wanna Be in 1991, which became the first EP to ever go platinum. Their multi-platinum debut album America’s Least Wanted followed in 1992, which featured hits including “Cats In The Cradle” and “Everything About You.”

After splitting up in 1997, the band re-formed in 2010, releasing the Stairway To Hell EP in 2012 and the album Uglier Than They Used Ta Be in 2015.

October 21st, 2022 marks the release of the band’s first new album in seven years. Rad Wings of Destiny will see the band once again teaming up with producer Mark Dodson, who was behind the desk for Ugly Kid Joe’s multi platinum debut album America’s Least Wanted in 1992 – an album which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year.

Tracklisting for Ugly Kid Joe’s Rad Wings of Destiny
1. That Ain’t Livin’
2. Not Like The Other
3. Everything’s Changing
4. Kill The Pain
5. Lola
6. Dead Friends Play
7. Up in the City
8. Drinkin’ And Drivin’
9. Failur
10. Long Road

DISCOGRAPHY
1991 – As Ugly As They Wanna Be (EP)
1992 – America’s Least Wanted
1995 – Menace to Sobriety
1996 – Motel California
2012 – Stairway To Hell(EP)
2015 – Uglier Than They Used Ta Be