Phil Anselmo spoke at Loyola University. I don’t know what the context of it is, but it seems to be in front of a bunch of music majors. Probably a regular thing where they get music industry folk to come in and talk to the students about the realities of and their experiences in the music business. Loyola is in New Orleans, Phil’s a Louisiana boy, so there’s that connection too.
Regardless, listening to Phil is always a riveting experience. These days it’s especially interesting to listen to him because he’s clean and sober (well, at least not like how he used to be). He’s very into boxing too.
It’s 7 videos, an hour long. It’s a lot to watch, but if you have the time and are a Pantera, Down, Superjoint Ritual, and/or Phil fan, it’s worthwhile to watch. Even if you’re not, it’s still worth watching because there’s some sobering messages.
Much of the video has Phil taking about his past heroin addiction. The take home message? Heroin is destructive. It will control you, it will consume you, it will destroy your life, it will kill you. I’ve had people describe heroin as the most amazing feeling in the world — imagine the best feeling in the world, it’s 100 times better. Since living things seek pleasure and heroin seems to be an amazing overload of pleasure, I can see why people seek it out and crave it so. But then how it consumes your life… how you can overdose but can’t stop taking it (e.g. Nikki Sixx, Phil himself)… how your heroin-using friends can be dying around you, yet that too isn’t enough to stop you (Phil recounts one such story, which did lead him to stop). Honestly, that’s scary. That something can have such power over you, such control over you, that you crave it so much that even death doesn’t deter you… that should give you pause. Heroin. Bad stuff.
Other things:
It’s amusing watching Phil talking to the audience like an old man.
Phil likes to talk… perhaps calling it rambling. But there’s somehow always a point and eloquence to it.
Phil refers to his mother as “Mommy”. 🙂
Stuff From Hsoi 