D.D. Verni, is an American bassist, best known as founding member and
longtime bassist/songwriter of thrash metal band Overkill.
In 1976, Verni met Lee "Rat Skates" Kundrat in high school, who had
been learning to play drums since age 15. They shared the same musical
interests in hard rock bands like Kiss, Aerosmith, Ted Nugent, Starz,
The Godz, Black Sabbath, and Rainbow and were then introduced to punk
music such as The Damned, The Ramones, Generation X,
Iggy and The Stooges, and Johnny Thunders through another classmate
Fred Hensley (who became known as vocalist Billy Vector.) With Skates
using drums that were borrowed from neighborhood friends, the three
formed a punk group in 1979 with another
classmate Ken Sibley on guitar, who became known as Nick Fuse. The
group disbanded in 1980, and Verni, along with fellow band mate Skates,
posted an advertisement for a vocalist and guitarist to join the band.
Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth answered the ad, and brought guitarist Dan
Spitz with him. Although a bassist, Blitz would focus on vocals in the
new band. After rejecting many names, including "Virgin Killer", the
group finally settled on "Overkill".