The Jambar

Issue date: 9/14/06 Section: ae

Left to Right: Del Cheetah, Eric 13 and J-Bomb. The Sex Slaves will be playing at Irish Bob's in Youngstown on Sept. 15 at 9 p.m.

Going from a preacher's kid to a bassist in a band called the Sex Slaves took some work. Hard work that Sex Slaves' bassist "Del" was willing to put in.

"I think that's what's different now. It's all about work ethic. You can do anything with hard work. People just aren't willing to do that a lot of the time," Del says.

The band will be proving that punk-rock work ethic this Friday at Irish Bob's, continuing their hardcore tour, promoting themselves and their album "Bite Your Tongue."

"It should be totally bad-ass," Del assures, "we don't plan shit out or anything, we work with the environment, but it's always a lot of fun."

With plans for a new album, debating a new label, finding a way to express themselves more maturely and going on three years together, the Sex Slaves are definitely putting their money where their collective mouth is. Coming off a 14-month tour with almost 300 shows, pressure to put out a new album is on.

"We want to do a solid set; we're working with like, 30 songs. And that sounds so daunting at first. And it is. But we broke it down into chunks and that makes it more manageable," Del explains.

The last time the Sex Slaves were in Youngstown, partying was near the top of the list. While they're not ruling out having some fun now, Del says the band is more conscious of the burn-out factor.

"You can't party all the time. I mean, if there are a couple of days between sets, why the hell not? But you have to be careful."

In their downtime traveling, their favorite hobby is sleeping.

"We drive ourselves, ya know? So there's not as much downtime as you'd think. We've gotta check out of hotels, get everything packed, get on the road, and when we get there, there's a new hotel, we have to get ready for the show… But I like doing things that keep my mind active. I like Sudoku puzzles, I read a lot."

He lists off Motley Crue's confessional, "The Dirt", but it takes a little more prodding to reveal the real estate books Del has been dipping into as well. Before getting serious about the band, he went to school for film editing, and he's "always working on some kind of project on my laptop."

Continued...

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