Ross "The Boss" Friedman recently relfected on his time in Manowar during an interview on The Mike Nelson Show. Friedman, who formed Manowar with bassist Joey DeMaio, was dismissed from the group just after the band released perhaps their quintessential LP Kings of Metal… and he's got a few opinions about how his former bandmate handled things.
"Kings Of Metal just came at a time that the band was peaking, especially in Europe. 'Cause I had done all the heavy lifting with the band. And then when it came out, boom — and then I was out of the band. How do you do that For Joey, it probably could be the worst… He fired me, by the way. And [it was] the worst possible mistake ever made, beside Mick Taylor leaving The Rolling Stones. Because the tour that could have resulted after Kings Of Metal and the live record and the whole process was cut short. They had [guitarist] David Shankle — he's okay, but the whole energy of the band was gone. And it took six years to do the next record, The Triumph Of Steel. I had done six records in six years with Manowar . And it took six years to do another record."
When asked why he was dismissed from the group, Friedman explained, "Well, when money and greed and all the same bullshit rears its ugly head in a business, things happen. I don't bullshit from nobody, and I wasn't gonna take bullshit from [Joey] — telling me what to wear, what to… First of all, wait a minute. When you met me, I had already done four major albums, major records on major labels. I had already done three with The Dictators and one with Shakin' Street. You had done zero.
"So all these people that we're talking to now I had met a long time ago in Europe. These guys like Malcolm Dome and Dante Bonutto and all these guys in Kerrang! [magazine], I'd been interviewed by them many times over before Manowar. I said, 'You can't tell me how to talk and what to say and what to dress.' But he knew that. All he wanted in his band was puppets… Money and greed, and him not having to have a partner like me, 50 percent partner [is the reason I was fired]. I don't like airing that out. But we see how great it was after I left. [Laughs]"
Friedman currently fronts his own band, The RTB Band. You can watch more of the interview on The Mike Nelson Show below.
