The October issue of Guitar World, which is on sale now, features an in-depth interview with wheelchair-bound Possessed frontman Jeff Becerra.
In the story, the death metal legend speaks candidly about the formation of the Bay Area outfit, the 1989 shooting that left him paralyzed from the chest down, and his recent re-entry into life as a touring musician.
The following quotes are outtakes from the interview:
Becerra on his plans to marry again: “I want to have a little family unit again--I don’t like living alone. And having a woman in your life keeps you sane.”
On his upbringing in San Pablo, California: “People like to think I grew up in some hardcore situation, but I didn’t--I really had a perfect childhood.”
On his Mexian father and Swedish mother: “They were rebels in their own way--my dad had motorcycles and my mom had long hair. They were like hippies who didn’t do drugs…just really cool people, very loving.”
On his early exposure to music: “My mom was a violinist in a symphony, and my dad played rockabilly--he was like the Mexican Elvis. My dad had an incredible vinyl collection, and that really got me into music. There was always a piano or violin around that somebody would play, or music on the stereo—and we’d watch all the variety shows growing up, so there was always music happening around the house.”
On meeting Sheila, with whom he was married for 10 years: "I met Sheila in junior college. I was going up this incline in school one day, and I saw this nice, round booty in front of me, and I was just like, 'Aw, I gotta get me some of that!' We had a class together, and I noticed that she liked candy, so I went out and bought like $6 worth of candy and sat next to her and offered her some candy. We just started dating and it was really cool. Contra Costa was like a ghetto college, so she thought I was a gangbanger--and I thought she was a punk rocker because she had all these piercings. But she was into rap and I wasn’t a gangbanger, but we got along anyway."
On playing live: "I like making people happy. And it isn’t a 'hooray for me and screw you' kind of thing, it’s about being an entertainer and making people happy even for one second in their lives."
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