In a new interview with The Music Zoo, ANTHRAX bassist Frank Bello reflected on his early days as a musician. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “ I grew up in the Bronx, New York. My heroes, my father figures were musicians, for that matter. KISS were big heroes to me. They were like superheroes to me, like comic book heroes, something I could look up to and say, ‘I wanna do that.’
“Charlie Benante, drummer of ANTHRAX, we’re related [Editor’s note: Charlie is Frank‘s uncle],” Frank continued. “We grew up in the same house. We would jam — we would jam all the time. I would be playing guitar, and he’s a really good guitar player also, so we’d be playing and he says, ‘You’re playing the bass parts on the guitar.’ I automatically hear bass first before a riff — I don’t know why — but I was playing the bass parts. He goes, ‘You should switch.’ And I did, and then [we were] locked in. And immediately it was, like, ‘Ah, this is what I’m made to do. This is for me.'”
Regarding his early musical influences when it comes to his bass playing, Frank said: “Obviously, my top three [are] Geddy Lee [RUSH], Geezer Butler [BLACK SABBATH], Steve Harris [IRON MAIDEN]. [Also] Gene Simmons [KISS]. There’s a lot. But those are my top three for playing every day.”
Bello also reflected on his debut show as ANTHRAX‘s bassist more than four decades ago. He said: “The early days of ANTHRAX — remember, I was a tech. People don’t know that out there — I was a tech before I got in the band ANTHRAX. Before the first record came out, I was a horrible tech. I could barely change a string, but I was a friend that could help them lift gear.
“My first show [with ANTHRAX] is on YouTube,” he continued. “I found this — somebody sent this link to me. My first show in ANTHRAX was L’Amours [in] Brooklyn with my — I think it was a Jackson Explorer bass. My mother gave me the money — rest her soul — she gave me the money for this bass, ’cause I couldn’t afford it. I had almost half — something like that — and she gave me the rest of the money to play this gig. In my face, you could see I’m shitting in my pants at the same time, ’cause this is my first show, and I’m excited as hell. You could see both of them in my face.”
Back in 2019, Bello told The Sessions Panel about his biggest musicial influences: “Geddy Lee, Geezer Butler, Steve Harris — who’s now my friend, and Geezer is too. You know what’s weird? When you become friends later on. I try not to be fanboy. It’s hard, because I can be talking [normally], but I still feel like, ‘This is Steve Harris I’m talking to’… I still feel like that first time I saw him live on stage, [and] the first time I heard the first IRON MAIDEN record. What that did for me… at this point, I’ve told him so much, and he goes, ‘It’s okay.’ He just shuts me down. Geezer‘s the same way. He’s a sweetheart of a man. He’ll give me a look — ‘Okay.’ That’s it — I’ll just shut it down [and stop] asking too many questions. But I want to learn. I still want to learn, and I want to know what amp did he use on this record. ‘Steve Harris, did you use flatwound strings on every record?'”
On the topic of how he joined ANTHRAX, Frank told The Sessions Panel: “I was the roadie/tech. I didn’t really know what the hell I was doing… I was friends with them, [and] being friends with the band really helps get in there. I heard through the grapevine they were going to be auditioning bass players, so of course, I put the word in — ‘Look, I play. You all know me. I’m putting it out there.’ Long story short, got the audition, scared. You know what’s weird? You can be friends with these guys forever. [It] doesn’t matter. The audition… [Charlie Benante], I think he just held back, but he was hoping, wishing [and] pumping for me, but at the same time, he said, ‘Learn the parts. Learn the parts’… I was nervous. Even though I was friends with these guys, I was hanging with them all the time, I was shaking. It just worked. After the first song, then it was like, ‘Okay, it’s hang-out time.’ I got through the first song — I think it was ‘Metal Thrashing Mad’… I got through it, and I said, ‘Okay, I can do this. I don’t know what’s going to happen later, but I know I can do this.'”
Frank played his first show with ANTHRAX in nearly a year and a half on October 12, 2024 at the Aftershock festival in Sacramento, California.
Bello and ANTHRAX were supposed to perform at the Louder Than Life festival in Louisville, Kentucky on September 27, 2024, but their show ended up being canceled due to severe weather.
Prior to Aftershock, Bello last played with ANTHRAX in May 2023 at the Milwaukee Metal Fest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
In April 2024 and early May 2024, Bello sat out ANTHRAX‘s South American tour as well as two U.S. festival dates due to “personal reasons.” Filling in on those shows was ANTHRAX founding member and original bassist Dan Lilker, marking his first appearance with the band in 40 years. Lilker, who co-wrote and played on ANTHRAX‘s debut album “Fistful Of Metal”, was also a member of STORMTROOPERS OF DEATH with Benante and ANTHRAX guitarist Scott Ian.
Bello played bass for Norwegian black metal veterans SATYRICON for the band’s summer 2024 European festival appearances, including Hellfest in France and Tons Of Rock in Norway.
Frank released a memoir, “Fathers, Brothers, And Sons: Surviving Anguish, Abandonment, And Anthrax”, in October 2021 via Rare Bird. The foreword to the book was written by KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons.
