W.A.S.P. frontman Blackie Lawless addressed people who feel that living in the United States isn’t the best experience in the world. He offered a pointed response during an appearance on Whiplash by Full Metal Jackie.
Lawless explained why he believes such comparisons are misguided. He pointed to the reality of healthcare and living conditions in other countries versus the United States.
“Allow me to do a commercial for just a minute here. Anybody living in the United States that thinks that it’s not the best in the world, you need your head examined,” Lawless said. “You need to go to some of these other places to see what they don’t have. Yes, they have complete healthcare, but it takes three months to get to somebody. And I’m not joking. I mean, it is primitive, to say the least. What they don’t get is criminal.”
He continued by contrasting the pace of care in other countries with what he says people experience once they arrive in the U.S.
“And to compare, or try to compare, the United States to what you don’t see in other places is a joke. I mean, anybody here, you come across this border, I don’t care who you are, you’re gonna get taken care of, and you’re gonna get taken care of pretty quickly,” Lawless continued.
Lawless’s remarks arrive at a busy moment for both the band and its frontman. He has been vocal in several other recent conversations about his views on American life and culture.
W.A.S.P. kicked off its “1984 To Headless” North America tour on September 10, with KK’s Priest joining as special guest. The trek revisits the band’s first four albums in a combined live package, something Lawless says the group has never attempted before. The tour is scheduled to run through the end of October. It will take the band across the country in the weeks following this interview.
Lawless is also working on his long-in-the-works autobiography, currently titled “Tales From The Square Mile.” He has said the book is about halfway finished and could arrive in roughly a year. It will give fans a closer look at his life story beyond the stage.
The frontman has used other recent interviews to revisit his history with the Parents Music Resource Center, the group that targeted W.A.S.P. and other acts over explicit content in the 1980s. Lawless has argued the PMRC’s real motive wasn’t protecting listeners or restricting record sales, but building political momentum around a presidential campaign.
Taken together, these comments paint a picture of a frontman using his current media run to speak candidly about both his career and his views on American society, from touring updates to book news.
