London May has spent decades behind the drums, but that is not where his story started. Before Samhain, before the records, and before the tours, May was acting in Baltimore children’s theater. In a new Rocking With Jam Man interview, Jam Man starts there instead of asking May to retell the same Samhain origin story he has been asked about for years.
The conversation catches May at a busy point in both music and film. He stars as Lester Phillips in The Glorious Dead, the new apocalyptic creature feature from the Adams Family. After festival stops including Fantasia, FrightFest and Fantastic Fest, the film has been acquired by Shudder for a 2027 release. May is also set to appear with the filmmakers at Brooklyn Horror Film Festival on October 16.
May also recently took the lead role in Anthrax’s black-and-white video for “Cursum Perficio.” The shoot was as rough as it looks: real chains, a real injury, and May breaking a finger on the first day while filming at historic Fort Mifflin. Rather than simply making him repeat the broken-finger story, Jam Man gets into what May notices when he watches the finished video and what happens when a lifelong drummer is acting while Charlie Benante’s drums are blasting through the track.
Another current project takes May in a completely different direction. He returned to the kit with Bonnie “Prince” Billy for Ghosts of American Psychonauts, the live collection released September 18 on Domino. The set includes a live version of “London May” — meaning London May is actually sitting behind the drums while a song carrying his own name is being performed.
From there, the interview goes back through the parts of May’s history that still have new stories hiding inside them. The conversation gets into Samhain, working with Glenn Danzig at a young age, the strange experience of hearing music from your teenage years become sacred to fans decades later, switching between drums and bass, and the moments where a musician has to decide whether to trust somebody else’s vision before he can hear the whole picture himself.
May’s career has never stayed in one lane. His playing has appeared across dozens of releases, and his résumé connects him to Samhain, Son of Sam, Dag Nasty, Reptile House, Ministry, Cold Cave, Tiger Army and more. He has also worked in sessions involving producers including Rick Rubin, Steve Albini and Ian MacKaye. Outside music, he returned to acting, moved into filmmaking and directing, and even spent part of his life working as a pediatric nurse.
That mix is what makes the conversation work. This is not just another “tell me how you joined Samhain” interview. Jam Man digs into the choices, weird turns and full-circle moments behind a career that has included punk clubs, horror sets, hospitals, major recording sessions and some of the strangest gigs imaginable.
Watch the full London May interview
Watch on YouTube: London May on Samhain, Danzig, The Glorious Dead, Anthrax & More | Rocking With Jam Man
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