I once drove 3 hours from Davenport Iowa to Chicago and I caught half a song by Diamond Rexx at the Thirsty Whale. I was pissed to say the least, but saw them rehearse the next day, which was way cool, an amalgamation of glam and death that I really dug. They could have made life easy for themselves and gone down the Poison route, especially with blonde locked SS on guitar. The early line up was completed with Dave Andre (bass) and Johnny the Cottone (drums). Dave was a great guy, an artist now and still playing, who I stayed with and Cottone was my top buddy... great times eh guys.

'Land Of The Damned' was unleashed on an unsuspecting public with video 'I Wish I was Rich'. I don't think they got the 8348 approach of The Rexx. Great songs like "Cuz I wancha", I still rate to this day. When I found out guitarist SS was in D'molls I was confused and shocked, but D. Rexx soldiered on.

Today the guys are much more in control of what they are doing, but with the shock edge and the duo of Nasti and SS, they have managed to lock five CDs under their belt, though SS missed a couple. I was interested in what Nasti had to say for himself.

KH: Can you give us the band family tree including all members, even before "Land".

Nasti: "That would be more like a forest than a tree. All that's really important is SS & I started the band. We became a solid unit when Johnny Cottone came on board."

KH: Why did the other members jump ship so quickly after "Land Of The Damned" and why did Messrs Andres and Cottone never rejoin fully?

Nasti: "Andre went into teaching & strayed from music. As far as Cottone, Johnny & I held the band together thru the "Rated Rexx" days & he is once again a full time member."

KH: The Rexx of 2007 is a very different animal to the Rexx of the eighties. You weren't pushed right, do you think you made enough of the image back then?

Nasti: "A couple of things I learned thru the years, nothing comes easy & the bottom line is the music.

We always took both our image & music to the extreme. As far as not being pushed right, we had many things going in our favor, advertising, radio play, video play. Where we fell short, was that we never toured enough to fully support everything else that was going on. I promise we will not make that mistake again. Our live show captures who we really are."

KH: Have there been any videos since" I wish I was rich"?

Nasti: "Many videos. as a matter of fact we are currently talking with our label about releasing a compilation DVD of all our videos, along with a possible live CD. Our most recent video was shot at The Exit in Chicago for the song "Someone". (too bad we didn't shoot it on bondage nite)"

KH: Ok, I wanna know the truth, What's the deal with D'molls? Where is the original SS Priest, Mr Shawn Freehill? Was he ever in Rexx? Was Scott a part of the new reformation last year? They were very cagey about Rexx when interviewed, what's the conspiracy?

Nasti: "Rumor has it, Desi Rexx (where did he get that name???) pretty much destroyed the project before it got off the ground. I'm pretty sure the grand reunion ended after one rehearsal. Too bad, they were a great band. SS & I were actually jammin' with Billy Dior last summer. Billy & Lizzy are both great guys."

KH: During the great period of inactivity.. grunge, what did you do and why was the time right for you to come back in 2001?

Nasti: "We took some much needed time off. Took care of our personal lives & came back recharged".

KH: What's happened since 2002 and how have you coped without the Thirsty Whale club?

Nasti: "We miss it. It was a great club & we had many good times there, not only when we played but also when we just were hanging out. It was The Whiskey of Chi Town."

KH: You were never a part of that buddy scene in Chicago why?

Nasti: "I'm not quite sure I know what you mean. We had many friends in bands that we supported & still do. I have nothing negative to say about any bands in Chicago or anywhere else. We never did. That was not Diamond Rexx's style. Sometimes people may have judged us, but they never really knew us. We once had a guy start to roadie for us. After a couple of days he said, "You ain't a bunch assholes. You're actually pretty cool". We all had a laugh. Don't judge us by what you hear, for whatever reason a lot of people simply like to talk shit."

KH: Were you influenced by Rocky Shades of Wrathchild?

Nasti: "Not really. I'd have to say more by Alice Cooper, Ozzy, & David Lee Roth." (This guy is his US twin I swear)

KH: What about a European tour with D'molls? Or a festival of glam bands?

Nasti: "Possibly with WASP, Black 'n Blue, Bullet Boys or maybe even Enuff Z Nuff. (we go way back with Chip, that would be a great time)"

KH: Anything else you wanna mention?

Nasti: "We will back in the studio Aug/July & will have a new release on Crash Music by Oct/Nov 2007.

Watch for tour dates on our website: diamondrexx.net or crashmusicinc.com"

Ok make comments?

Nasti: "Check out our new material on: www.myspace.com/diamondrexx1"

Desi Rexx
Nasti: "Good voice"

Dave Andre
Nasti: "Miss ya"

Johnny Cottone
Nasti: "I love ya brother (only other guy in the band that rides)"

Atlantic Records
Nasti: "2Ooooo what it could have been"

Illinois Entertainer
Nasti: "Great mag (a little more support of local metal would go a long way)"

Enuff Z Nuff
Nasti: "I love these guys!!!"

Hammeron
Nasti: "Good metal band"

Tony L'barbarra
Nasti: "Good business man. He gave many bands locally a venue to get there stuff out. A lot of people talk shit about him, but "The Shark" never fucked us & he has my respect."

Alex Kane
Nasti: "Pretty good ax man"

Mark Nawara
Nasti: "He's been making things happen in this business for quite a long time. He's a survivor & a winner. He made it happen for Diamond Rexx & thru the years has become someone I could always count on."

Interviewed by Kelv Hellrazer

Visit the Diamond Rexx Website