It’s not that often when metal creeps its way into mainstream pop culture. So when metal/hard rock acts do actually pop up in beloved sitcoms, dramatic films, cartoons or even reality series, it’s kind of awesome. So in the weekly column Remember When, Metal Insider recalls the most random instances of metal’s elite appearing in front of the camera.
You’d expect a show about a motorcycle gang to include a few cameos from the metal and hard rock community. However, a few well known hard rockers (like Henry Rollins and Marilyn Manson) actually played crucial roles during the FX series Sons Of Anarchy’s seven seasons. Then there was DJ Ashba’s cameo, where if you literally blinked for a second, you’d miss his presence.
In the season 5 episode “Darthy”, the SAMCRO chapter is on lockdown (where the entire clubhouse literally becomes a protected shelter for members and their family) after a gun trade between them, the True IRA and Galindo Cartel goes wrong. That’s when we suddenly see the Sixx:A.M./ex-Guns N’ Roses guitarist casually chit chatting with Sons Of Anarchy bikers inside the clubhouse… we’re serious when we say it was a “blink and you’ll miss it” cameo. In fact, there’s no point in even showing you a clip of it, since his entire appearance is essentially captured by the above screen shot.
We recently spoke DJ Ashba about Sixx:A.M.’s newly released album Prayers For the Damned Vol. 1. However, the guitarist also took the time to talk with us about randomly appearing on one of his favorite TV shows. You can read about how he came to become friends with the cast, what it was like to be on the show’s set, and what was the one death on Sons Of Anarchy that shocked him the most, below.
[WARNING: There are some Sons Of Anarchy spoilers ahead. So if you haven’t seen the show, but intend to, read with caution.]
You made a very brief cameo in an episode of Sons Of Anarchy. How exactly did this come about?
Well Charlie [Hunnam, who plays Jackson “Jax” Teller] and some of the guys from the show came down to some GN’R concerts. Me and Charlie really hit it off, and we became pretty close friends. He was like “Any time you come to L.A., I’ve got a couple of bikes, let’s go riding”, type thing. And I happened to hit the guys up when I got into town, and they were like “Come to the set!” So I went down there, met them all, and they just went “Hey, you want to be on the show?” And I was like “Uh… I guess, I mean I just came down to say hi”. Then they were like “Jump in there, we’re putting you in the club scene!” it was just a cool thing.
I didn’t really do a whole lot but just stand there and laugh and shit, but it was neat that they… they’re just great guys, the whole cast they had going was just awesome. I was a big fan of the show, and they were big fans of GN’R and what I was doing. So it was really cool.
Any fun memories from shooting the scene, or was it all kind of like a blur?
You know, we had a lot of fun. Dayton [Callie, who played former Police Chief Wayne Unser] took me all over the set, and that was really special. He took the time out, he had a break, and we walked the entire set, like the hospital and all the crazy different scenes you see in the show was right there. It was really just a cool thing after being a fan of the show, and getting to sit down at the table with all the carvings from the “Sons of Anarchy”. It’s just neat to see that in person.
Sons Of Anarchy had a tendency to kill off a lot of its major characters in gruesome and downright depressing ways. Are there any character deaths on the show that shocked you in particular?
I was such a big fan of the drama, the twist and turns. I can’t really point out one in particular because the show just grabbed you. I guess when Opie died, that would probably be the one that really just stopped me in my tracks, like “Whoa!” because I loved the character. Even though it was probably great for the show, I was really bummed when he died and I was like “Ah man!” and I felt like the show kind of lost something after that, just because he was such a key role, at least I felt.
If you were to form your own biker gang, who would you pick to join you?
Charlie! [laughs] Yeah, Charlie Hunnam for sure.
