Five Finger Death Punch has been a Vegas band for more than a decade, and in that time has become one of the world’s most popular hard rock outfits. We caught up with guitarist Zoltan Bathory ahead of the band’s tour, which kicks off with two shows at the Joint.
On living in Las Vegas: Everyone knows Vegas for the Strip, and I had the same perception. Then I had friends who lived in Green Valley and Summerlin, and once I visited them I was like, wow this is a beautiful place, and I moved out here. I moved out to Vegas before any of the other guys. We were still rehearsing in Burbank, and I would get to the rehearsal place faster than the guys who lived in LA, because the traffic is so bad. It was a running joke, that I could get there faster living in Vegas.
On the influx of bands to Las Vegas: A lot of other bands know that we are here, so I like to think we had a hand in that. The guys from Bad Wolves, Corey Taylor from Slipknot … a lot of guys are ending up [in Las Vegas]. Kevin Churko, our longtime producer, has a huge studio here, and anybody who’s anybody goes there, so that brings a lot of bands [to town]. Papa Roach recorded there. There are so many. I guess this town is becoming sort of a nucleus [for rock music].
On covering “Blue on Black” by Kenny Wayne Shepherd: When you cover a song, there are a couple criteria. We can’t pick a song from one of our contemporaries, like Metallica. We are in the same genre, [so] it wouldn’t make sense for us to cover something like that. [Also, singer] Ivan [Moody], needs to live through the song. Ivan goes to karaoke bars, so there are just certain songs he loves, and this was one of those. The whole thing kind of took off from there. We reached out to Kenny—he’s on it—and then Brantley [Gilbert] got involved, and then Brian May from Queen. So it became a pretty cool coalition, so to speak.
On donating proceeds from ticket sales to the Gary Sinise Foundation, benefiting veterans and first responders:Nobody was born with a silver spoon in this band. We all struggled. I came from a Communist country [Hungary] and didn’t speak English. None of the other guys come from privileged families, so everyone fought for this. It takes a lot of dedication. … And that attracts a very specific type of crowd: military guys, guys and girls who are go-getters. These are very special people, and they deserve reverence and respect. That’s sort of become our extended family, so we do whatever we can for them.
FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH with Three Days Grace, Bad Wolves, Fire From the Gods. November 1-2, 6:30 p.m., $55. The Joint, 702-693-5000.
