Metal icon Phil Anselmo flashes his funny side in ‘Metal Grasshopper’ web series

July 23, 2014

Nola.com

Phil Anselmo’s public persona is not generally described as “funny.” As the lead shouter of a succession of extreme hard rock bands – the Illegals, Down and, most famously, Pantera – the heavily tattooed frontman comes across as intense, angry, driven, even frightening. Not surprisingly, he is a big fan of boxing and horror movies.

But friends and associates say Anselmo is actually hilarious. Chris Lee, the Supagroup guitarist and singer turned web series producer, is married to Sean Yseult, the former White Zombie bassist. Yseult and Anselmo have been friends since Pantera and White Zombie toured together in the ’90s.

When Lee first met Anselmo, “I had no idea what to expect. I found out he’s the funniest guy I’ve ever met. Fall-down-laughing funny.”

The previously unknown comedic side of Phil Anselmo is on full display in “Metal Grasshopper,” a web series produced and directed by Lee. “Metal Grasshopper” follows the misadventures of a budding hard rock star, played by comedian, radio host, author and musician Dave Hill, as he seeks guidance from a metal mentor, aka Anselmo.

On Wednesday, July 23, Hill will perform a stand-up routine at One Eyed Jacks, preceded by local comedians Andrew Polk, Fayard Lindsey, and Molly Ruben-Long. The live comedy show, presented by the Hell Yes Fest comedy festival, is followed by a sneak preview screening of an episode of “Metal Grasshopper.” Lee will then curate a question-and-answer session with Anselmo and Hill.

“Metal Grasshopper” was originally developed by Lee and Hill – a contributor to the syndicated radio show “This American Life,” and host of “The Goddam Dave Hill Show” on WFMU-FM in New Jersey — in conjunction with former writers for The Onion who had moved on to the Adult Swim channel. At first, they didn’t know if Anselmo would want to “tarnish his reputation” by making fun of metal clichés. “But tarnish it, he wanted to,” Lee said. “He came on board immediately.”

“Metal Grasshopper” is, at its core, a hard rock, f-bombed spoof of “The Karate Kid.” Anselmo is the Mr. Miyagi mentor figure; Hill is the Ralph Macchio-like “Kid” in need of instruction.

Hill and Anselmo play “extreme, ridiculous versions of ourselves,” Hill said. “I’m a naïve guy who traveled a great distance to be schooled by the master.”

’Metal Grasshopper’ Comedy Show

The series was shot mostly at Anselmo’s wooded compound north of Lake Pontchartrain, which Hill equates to “a metal version of Neverland.” At the outset, Hill sets up an amplifier on Anselmo’s front lawn and wakes up the slumbering star with a bout of shredding.

As the series progresses, Anselmo instructs the hopelessly dorky Hill on how to headbang. How to bellow, death-metal style. How to conjure effective stage banter. How to “tap into your inner darkness.”

A rented goat factors into one episode. In another, a pentagram is burned into Anselmo’s lawn. The rocker’s collection of medieval weapons – swords, axes, etc. – are deployed. Hill accidently struck Anselmo in the head with a mace, a type of club. “He bled a little bit, but we were able to keeping shooting,” Hill said. “He was a good sport about it. He’s a professional – anything for the shot. I admired his professionalism.”

Throughout, Anselmo deadpans his disgust at Hill’s lame attempts to be “metal.” “People have this impression of Phil from the music he plays and his interviews, that he’s this super-intense dude,” Hill said. “He’s a hilarious guy, always joking around and laughing. He’s just a funny guy in every way. He doesn’t take himself too seriously.”

“With a comedian and a rock star, you’d think the rock star would be the straight guy,” Lee said. “But through the sheer force of his personality, Phil took over. Phil is the funny guy, Dave is the straight guy.”

“I would like to think that I’m funny, too,” Hill said. “Phil is a large presence. I’m more of a low-key approach. It’s a good combination. We didn’t realize how much he was going to bring.”

Lee, only half-joking, describes “Metal Grasshopper” as “really stupid. It makes you dumber as you watch it. It’s smart-dumb, like SCTV.”

After a corporate restructuring earlier this year, many of the writers from Adult Swim were let go, and “Metal Grasshopper” was put on ice. Lee eventually got back the rights to the show. He’s finalizing a deal with a web portal to air the series this fall, likely as 10 four-minute episodes.

His burgeoning career as a comedic actor aside, Anselmo will stay busy this summer with his primary occupation. He recently returned from a European tour with the Illegals that concluded at the Roskilde Festival in Denmark. He returns to Europe on Aug. 1 for a two-week tour with Down.

Meanwhile, he now has a fallback plan.

“Phil really could have had a career as a sketch comedian,” Lee said. “He has a future in acting.”