Neck Injuries in NOLA with Kirk Windstein

Written by: Tom Wilson – Sense Music Media | Wednesday 02 March 2022

A music veteran of almost forty years, Kirk Windstein has seen some shit. As bellower-in-chief of CROWBAR, not to mention a long tenure as axeman for NOLA supergroup DOWN, he has spent decades at the frontline of heavy metal, and has the injuries to prove it. He spoke to Sense about New Orleans, drinking, and the physical toll of metal.

The Interview

What do you think are some misconceptions that people have about New Orleans? The character of where you live bleeds through a lot of your music, and people romanticise the NOLA sound so much. What do you think people maybe have the wrong idea about New Orleans?

Even we don’t know the reasons why there’s a certain sound down here for the heavy bands that do what we do. It’s weird, because everyone has got their own style, but everyone’s got something in common as well that kind of sets us apart from other scenes. I think most people understand that New Orleans tourism is based on “eat, drink and be merry” and this and that – that’s kind of the whole thing that we grew up on. It’s that kind of town. It’s such a wonderful and such an important musical town for every genre of music – jazz and blues and funk and stuff like that. We tend to think that the city of New Orleans had a huge hand in developing all those styles. Other cities claim to be the home of blues or the home of jazz or whatever it might be, but it’s irrelevant who really did it first. New Orleans is hands down one of the first, and to this day, we’re still proud to be putting out young, new jazz and blues and funk artists that are making incredible music, and that’s a great thing. I think, subconsciously, all us guys in the heavier bands kind of all grew up together, because it is such a small town. Everybody knows one another.

Do people like you and Phil Anselmo get recognised a lot? Are you guys able to walk around New Orleans with a bit of anonymity? Or do you guys get stopped a lot?

I think it depends on where we go. I got noticed at my chiropractor the other morning. The guy had a mask on, of course, but he’s like, “Oh man, I’m a huge fan!” I said, “Oh, thanks.” I went in to get my neck adjusted and all that, and the chiropractor was like, “Yeah, I had a guy here the other day … He had on a heavy metal t-shirt and I mentioned something about CROWBAR and he’s like, “Oh, they’re one of my favourite bands.”” I mean, if we go to shows, yeah. If I go see a band at a hard rock or a heavy metal show, pretty much everybody knows who I am. We get the occasional one [where] you’re in the grocery store and somebody says, “Hey man, I’m a big fan! Can I get a selfie?” “Yeah, sure.” … I mean, Phil, of course, is way more popular than I am. He would have a problem going to certain shows if he wasn’t backstage or on the side of the stage if he wanted to enjoy the show … To a degree, I get a little bit of that, where if I go to a certain heavy metal pub or something like that. I mean, I appreciate it, when all the dudes want to talk about music and stuff like that, but it ends up being that more so than just going out and having some beers with my wife or whatever. But you know what? I’ll take it. It’s very humbling, and it’s a great thing.

I don’t know if I should find this funny, but after years spent headbanging, and the video for Chemical Godz is literally you guys with x-rays over your head, and now you’re going to a chiropractor for your neck. [Laughs]

Yeah, I mean, it’s working, it just got to the point … The pain has been there forever – for as long as I can remember, probably fifteen years or more. I’ve always had a bit of numbness in my neck, I’ve had a bit of numbness that went down my right arm and into my hand, and it just seems to have gotten worse recently … When I leave there, everything feels a lot better. It’s just one of those things.

You have a teenage daughter, is that right?

Yes, she is almost nineteen. She is in her first year at LSU, which is Louisiana State University … She’s doing great there, and I’m very proud of her … We have a great relationship. We text all the time, and talk a couple of times a week … We have a great relationship, and that’s a beautiful thing.

The reason I bought this up is because fatherhood changed my life hugely … I wanted to ask – as someone who has seen a lot of excess … You saw Phil almost kill himself with drugs, and other people in the scene have substance problems. You spoke pretty candidly in other interviews about your relationship with alcohol and cocaine and whatnot. When you see all this excess, and the consequences of that excess, what wisdom do you try to pass on to your daughter?

Honestly, I never hold back, and I have a great relationship with her, and I told her … My wife and I both did a great job with my daughter. I have two step-children as well … I think we did a great job of scaring the shit out of them pretty much, as far as staying away from hard drugs. It’s only natural to experiment with things, and I still have my own issues … I’m glad to say, mainly with beer, not necessarily hard alcohol … I still ain’t perfect, but I do have a mindset, and I tell my daughter the same thing … She’s not legally old enough to drink, but I’m not stupid … When I was her age, it was legal – eighteen was legal – and of course we all drank when we were younger. I think the key to all of it is to find that on/off switch and be able to switch off for long periods of time if you have to. Of course, I still slip up from time to time with that, where the switch is broken, and that’s rule number one – the switch has always got to work. I pleasantly take three weeks off of even taking a sip of beer, and I enjoy myself. Now, at my age, I’m almost fifty-seven … [a hangover] is very counter-productive when you have a lot of shit to do … Coming from a city like New Orleans, especially being in the music scene. Number one, in the city of New Orleans, not only is it accepted, in some instances it’s shoved down your throat, the whole partying part of everything, because that’s what it’s all about – tourism and parties and this and that. I try to teach my daughter, she’s a really bright young lady, and I haven’t held back anything. I’ve told her the darkest shit possible as far as cocaine and alcohol abuse and how terrible it is and whatnot. I like to think that I’ve kind of scared her in that sense … We have the Superbowl here on Sunday. Well guess what? I have interviews Monday, I’ve got stuff to do. [Laughs] All of the big Superbowl party crap, that ain’t going to happen! We’ll be laying in bed, and watching the game, and laying here with the dogs and go to sleep, and get up and have a responsible day. For me, a lot of times, I just don’t enjoy it. I enjoy myself better as a person when I go to the gym and I have a productive day. I get up early. I usually get up between five and six o’clock, so for me, getting up early and having a productive business day, whatever that may entail, and a productive day at the gym and eating clean and doing housework and all those things, and then I enjoy my evening just relaxing and watching TV with my wife, watching movies on Netflix and whatever it might be, and to me, that’s my most perfect day.

It's bliss, isn’t it mate? [Laughs]

It really is, you know?

It’s been awesome chatting with you. I’ve been listening to Zero and Below, and to quote Beavis & Butthead, it sounds “slow and fat.” [Laughs]

That was the intention, so I’m very glad to hear that.

It would be weird if you guys came out and made a speed metal album. It’s very CROWBAR.

Yeah, man. I used to be able to play that kind of stuff, but I doubt I could even play it these days, so I’m happy doing what I do. But I really appreciate it, man, and I appreciate the support.

Zero and Below is out March 4th.

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