Anthrax Drummer Charlie Benante Launches A New Benante's Blend Coffee Line
With worldwide sales of more than 10 million albums, Anthrax is in rare company within the heavy metal world. As one of the "Big Four" thrash bands — Metallica, Megadeth, and Slayer being the other three — the innovative quintet has not only managed to survive over 35 years in metal, but also reinvent itself multiple times for its multi-generational fan base. For starters, Anthrax pioneered blending hip-hop and hard rock, doing so long before Korn, Limp Bizkit, and the Judgment Night soundtrack made an impact.
Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante — a member since 1983 — has been writing the band's music for decades, but that's not his only artistic expression. Beyond creating a lot of Anthrax's legendary artwork, Benante is now at the helm of Benante's Blend, a coffee collaboration with Chicago's Dark Matter Coffee Co. Benante, a native New Yorker turned Chicagoan, spent months in Dark Matter's "cupping lab" to help develop the two varieties of Benante's Blend: Be All End All and Forever Metal.
On behalf of The Daily Meal, I had the pleasure of doing a Q&A with one of metal's most influential drummers. More on Benante can be found at his site , including links to purchase Benante's Blend.
The Daily Meal: When did you first get into coffee?
Charlie Benante: I got into coffee at a very young age. With my family being of Italian descent, there was always espresso, cappuccino, and regular coffee flowing through the house, so at a very early age, I remember drinking coffee and enjoying it.
How many cups of coffee do you tend to drink daily?
I try to limit myself to two cups a day, one of course in the morning, and then maybe in the afternoon I'll have an iced coffee. But I try to limit to two a day.
Does the amount of coffee you drink depend on whether you're at home, on the road, or in the studio?
It really doesn't matter. Whether I'm on tour or in the studio, I'm consuming the same amount of coffee. Sometimes in the studio, just because there's a lot of downtime here and there, you're looking for something to keep you awake, so coffee does the trick. There's usually a Starbucks somewhere close by the studio. In LA especially, where we did our last record, I would take a break, walk down the street, get out of the studio for awhile, go to a Starbucks. There was also a really cool coffee shop right down the street from the studio that we would go to. It was good to get out of the studio, get some air, and of course, get some coffee.
Have you always drunk this amount of coffee as an adult?
I've always drunk the same amount of coffee. There will be days when I'll have three cups or something, but for the most part, I don't think I've gone a day without coffee.
How would you describe Benante's Blend to someone who hasn't tried it yet?
One coffee I'm doing with Dark Matter, the "Be All End All" blend, is going to be a darker roast and has more of a kick to it. I wanted to do that type of blend, when you take a sip, it gives you that hmmm taste afterwards that and I just call "the kick." We roasted it a little darker just to achieve that taste, that kick. The other blend, Forever Metal, is a lighter, medium roast for coffee newbies who just got into coffee. It could be your breakfast-blend roast, but it's not as dark, not as strong as Be All End All. Those are the two blends right now, but we are working on some things as well.
Where is Benante's Blend sold?
You can find the coffee on my website or the Dark Matter website, and at some stores here in Chicago.
You're a native New Yorker, but now live in Chicago. What are some of your favorite food spots in both cities?
The thing that stands out to me whenever I leave New York is the lack of New York-style pizza. Chicago has its own way of doing pizza, which of course I don't agree with, so when I go back to New York, I'll enjoy good New York pizza. But for the most part, Chicago has some different things that I enjoy. I love Kuma's burger joint, even though I don't eat red meat, but I still enjoy going there for the chicken or pulled pork. Kuma's is one of my favorite places here. My friend Michael Carlson has a great place here call Schwa, it's just awesome. Another friend has a place called Chicago Prime, which is another great restaurant. There's everything here you could want... well, except for the pizza.
What's coming up for you in the coming months? Lots of touring? Any side projects away from Anthrax and Benante's Blend?
Currently the band is finishing up a European tour, and then we'll do a weekend of festivals here in America, two in Wisconsin, one in Chicago. I'm really excited about them, especially the one here in Chicago, the Chicago Open Air. We're playing the same day as KISS, who are childhood heroes of mine. I can't wait to see them, have some good conversations. And we have other touring that we'll be announcing soon.
When not busy with music, how do you like to spend your free time?
When I have downtime, I'm usually either trying to write music, work on demos and ideas, and I also enjoy doing some artwork. I do a series of artwork for a friend of mine in Japan, Kenichi Kinoshita. He has a clothing line called Greed that he and I collaborate on. I usually supply a lot of the designs for him. When I'm not doing that, I'm working on designs for Anthrax t-shirts or CD covers or whatever it is. That's where my mind usually is, working on things like that.
Finally, Charlie, any last words for the kids?
One thing that people say a lot, "What about the kids?" One thing I'll say about the kids is that they usually figure it out. They find something that interests them and then they go with it, just like I did when I was younger. I found music; I got absorbed in it, and I just knew what I was going to do for the rest of my life. Luckily it worked out but that was it, this was all I wanted to do besides in the art world, I wanted to do both. So what I would say to kids is just to follow your heart, follow the thing that's inside of you that is just dying to get out, and work on it as much as you can, and it'll probably pan out.