Scott Ian (born Scott Ian Rosenfeld, December 31, 1963) is an American musician, who is the rhythm guitarist and co-founder of the thrash metal band Anthrax. Ian is the guitarist and a founding member of the crossover thrash band Stormtroopers of Death for which he is also the lyricist. He has hosted The Rock Show on VH1 and has appeared on VH1's I Love the... series, Heavy: The Story of Metal, and SuperGroup. Ian is also the rhythm guitarist for the metal band the Damned Things and Mr. Bungle. Early life Scott Ian Rosenfeld (his name has since been legally changed to drop his birth surname) was born to a Jewish family in the Bayside section of the New York City borough of Queens; he has a younger brother named Jason (who was the lead vocalist of Anthrax for a brief period in the early 1980s) and a half-brother named Sean. Ian attended Bayside High School, with classmates (and future Anthrax bandmates) Dan Lilker and Neil Turbin. Witnessing KISS live at Madison Square Garden in 1977 made a huge impact on Ian, who has been vocal about his love for the band (Ian appeared on an episode of Gene Simmons Family Jewels, in which he visited Simmons' home and spoke about the impact KISS has had on his life). Ian went on to be influenced by British heavy metal bands such as Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Motörhead and Judas Priest, as well as the punk rock band Ramones. The musical style of his playing and songwriting including fast alternate picking was also largely influenced by the German metal band Accept. Ian states that Malcolm Young, Rudolf Schenker, and Johnny Ramone were his biggest influences to pursue rhythm guitar. Career Anthrax As a founding member of Anthrax, Ian helped to create thrash metal in the mid-1980s alongside Megadeth, Slayer, and Metallica. He came up with the idea to collaborate with the rap group Public Enemy, covering their song "Bring the Noise" in 1991. This has been considered a foundational recording of the rap/rock genre. In 2005, Ian was invited by Chuck D of Public Enemy to perform "Bring the Noise" with them as part of their induction into VH1's Hip Hop Honors Hall of Fame. He also joined Public Enemy on the Rock the Bells tour in 2007. Other ventures Ian began working with music television channel VH1 in 2001, when