Drummer Dave Lombardo's extensive resume includes bands like Slayer, Mr. Bungle, Dead Cross, Suicidal Tendencies, Misfits, Fantômas, and so much more. Lombardo has been doing what he's doing for over 40 years now and in an interview with Ultimate Guitar, said he has zero interest in retiring.
"I'm not going to give up the drumsticks, man. Those motherfuckers are going to die with me. Shit, I don't retire," he said. "Even with all the money in the world, you couldn't get me to retire.
"I love what I do. I love music. Musicians don't retire, they only move on to another band or something. What do I want to be known for? There are so many moments. There was one time I performed live in front of all these composers and I was working, at the time, with Christopher Young, this was for Ghost Rider. We did a live performance. It's on YouTube and it's really cool."
When the interviewer said he was happy Lombardo had no plans to retire, Lombardo replied "Yeah, fuck yeah. I don't believe in that word. Buddy Rich… all those guys played until they were 80, you know? I think he played until he was 80.
"That's just something I had in my mind ever since I was a kid, looking up to these older guys – Gene Krupa, Buddy Rich.
"Ed Shaughnessy wrote me a beautiful letter – we got to hang out – he played for years on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.
"He played well into his later years. We love it. It's good for our health. It's good for our lungs and our upper body strength."
Lombardo also touches on the fact that he's capable of playing guitar, but has absolutely no interest in playing it on a record. Mostly because he thinks "it's just not my instrument."
"Oh, fuck no. No man, I play a little bit of guitar but not much," he said. "I can pick some things out and I have a little collection of guitars and basses. But it's just not my instrument. I've been challenged all my life, never being around a left-handed guitar player.
"And then when I did acquire my first guitar, which was way later in my career, my drumming was already established and that was my instrument. All the other guitar players I played with were fantastic, so it's not like I would have been doing anything to help the situation."
