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The very talented frontman Sully Erna of the Grammy nominated Godsmack took the time to talk to us at GlamMetal.com about his new solo venture. We also chatted about his future with Godsmack and his upcoming solo release. One of the more diverse and down to earth musicians we have had the pleasure to chat with. Let’s see what Sully had to say….
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Gus: How you doing today?
Sully: Doing good man! I just got back from a five mile run and I feel good!
Gus: Great! First of all, thanks for taking the time to talk us at GlamMetal.com
Sully: No problem.
Gus: You are doing a mini solo tour and have already done a couple of eastern cities including the first one that was in Niagara Falls. Can you tell us how you think the shows are going so far?
Sully: Well, there are two answers to that question. First, it was extremely nerve wracking. It wasn’t like I was planning on doing something like this. I was just sitting around after taking a break after a long 10 year tour with Godsmack. I just wanted some time off, but of course being an artist you want to work and you start getting antsy. I didn’t quite want to do the big stages just yet. From just sitting around, playing, and writing a lot, sometimes songs just happen that aren’t necessarily right for Godsmack, but I feel are still good songs. With the releasing of my book, I felt it all just came together. This was a real good opportunity to go out and work a more intimate show. I can play some Godsmack stuff, I can play some originals, mix in a couple covers, and talk about my life and how I was raised. Also, what these songs meant to me when I wrote them, you know that kind of stuff, information that I don’t usually allow people into. I added a really powerful video component to it and open the mike up to the audience. I had the whole thing planned out but the one thing you can’t plan out is what the audience is going to do. There are some things you have to rehearse but it’s also an audience participation thing. It’s kind of you just have to get out there at some point no matter how much you rehearse and do it. My first show I was really, really nervous. Honestly, I haven’t been that nervous since I was, I don’t know, maybe 10 years old at a talent show or something.
Gus: Well, I was there in the front row and I don’t know if you remember me but I did talk to you after the show. I also did a review of the show as well.
Sully: Oh yeah, I remember you.
Gus: Many fans that will attend your show may be a little confused when they show up and see a piano, a stool, and couches set up. It’s probably not what they are expecting from the lead singer of Godsmack right?
Sully: Right. But if I don’t keep reinventing myself then I’m doing the same thing over and over again. I really don’t want that feeling over my head. As much as I love the band and I cannot wait to get out there and slay the big stages again, I also want to keep enhancing a solo career as well and invent my name as a brand. What article or review did you do? There was one for the concert man and one on the internet…
Gus: I did it for www.glam-metal.com
Sully: I was wondering which one it was because they were both pretty decent reviews but yours especially was fantastic! I just want to say thank you for that! Not too far after that I had to do an interview on Rock 101 in New Hampshire and they had the review there and read it to me. The DJ was saying not only was this a great review, but it’s honestly one of the best concert reviews I ever read about any band! So, I just want to say thank you for that and it was very kind of you. I’m glad my vision on the things I was trying to put together for the evening translated well.
Gus: Well, this goes into the next question I had for you. The fans who are attending your shows are seeing more of a diversity by incorporating all kinds of styles of music from the Beatles, to Metallica, to the love theme from the movie “Love Story.” How did you go about selecting the material used for the show?
Sully: Well again, sitting around I just noodle around on the acoustic and write some material. At first I was like; let’s see how many Godsmack songs I can pull off acoustically by myself that will translate well with just a vocal and a guitar. That’s where the selection started. Then I added stuff from the acoustic record that obviously would work very well. The song “Hollow” off of Godsmack IV that was just done with an acoustic and a mandolin. I knew that one would translate well. Still, there wasn’t enough material that I felt that you can throw a whole show in. I was short a couple of things. Instead of completely trying to stuff in every single Godsmack song, I wanted to make it fun for the people too. I wanted to stick a couple of originals in and try them out because there was a couple of songs that were done on the piano or the guitar that I wrote that I don’t think I would use on a Godsmack record. For example, “Eyes of a Child” and “Until Then.” It was a great opportunity to showcase that and see if I can hit home with the people on those two pieces. Those songs are the most emotional pieces of the evening. One song is about children born with or dying from AIDS and the other is about a tribute to the troops of the United States Armed Forces. I also really wanted to mix in a couple of covers that I like and enjoy playing. When I picked “Nutshell,” I was thinking what kind of video content I was going to use with it, since “Nutshell” was one of my favorite acoustical songs and by somebody I really admire (editors note: Layne Staley.) I started thinking and how sad it was how he went out. Then, I started thinking how sad it was for all these different people what they did to themselves or got dealt a bad hand in life. The Dimebag thing was just tragic. It made me pay tribute and homage to all the greats that left us with that kind of music. Then of course, “Nothing Else Matters” was just a perfect song to demonstrate the vibrations that music is based off of. That was a story I simply got from my book from just doing writing and conversation. I just stumbled onto that whole theory. The way that “Nothing Else Matters” is played is an open tuning kind of intro. It really allows you to pluck the strings without fretting the chords. It represents the frequencies of the vibrations we discussed during the show. Some of it kind of just fell in my lap and it was just a coincidence it worked out that way. Other stuff was just planned out that way. For the most part, nothing is scripted during the show. Every night it is a little bit different and it really is about the audience and the temperature of the room and how everyone is feeling.
Gus: You obviously have a wide taste of different genres of music. What are some performers that you love listening to that would surprise your everyday Godsmack fan?
Sully: Well, most people at this point seem to know a lot more about me through interviews than they used to. Unless they are completely a brand new fan that just has heard the heavy stuff and got sucked in through that. Most of the fans really know I'm into Dead Can Dance, Vast and old school blues. I listen to classical sometimes. I think what would surprise them is that rock music I would listen to the least. When I listen to rock, I listen to old rock. I still listen to vinyl. I enjoy putting the needle on the record. I totally rebel against the digital world (laughs.) I know that's where we are going and that's where we are. Of course I have my IPOD and I'm not saying I never downloaded a song or whatever but for the most part, I enjoy playing a record more. I'll put on an old Van Halen, Triumph, James Gang or Aerosmith record. Stuff like that when I was growing up and there were records still. Like "Live Bootleg," or "Billion Dollar Babies" and that kind of stuff.
Gus: Recently in the news and being from Boston I don't know if you heard that it was reported that Steven Tyler checked into a California based rehab facility. During your solo show, you touched upon the subject of substance abuse and how it changed your life. Could you elaborate on that?
Sully: Well, there is a certain part of success that you can't wear as the industry takes you over. You don't fight it because you worked so hard your whole life to get there and when you get there, your trained to believe that is part of the routine... like work, work, work. You have this ridiculous schedule that allows you to do 7 or 9 shows in a row before you get a day off. You do that for so many years, you start to turn to other substances that keep you awake and keep you alive. Well, you may think they keep you alive (laughs.) You have to mask the pain and the fatigue and you have to get up there and perform. The old saying "The show must go on," that may be from the 1920's or 1930's and they knew what they were talking about then. They were cabaret people and they were going seven nights a week with no days off. A lot of them turn to drugs and alcohol and things like that because you have to push through. You peek out of the curtains and there is 10,000 people staring at the curtain waiting for you to go on and you feel like absolute shit that day and what do you do? You have a drink to relax or do something to snap out of your mood because you have to put on a performance and you have to get into that state of mind. Because of that, sometimes that is the alternative solution, to keep drinking or whatever it is that you do to put you in that zone. After years of that, the buzz changes and what used to wake you up and put you in that great mood, kind of turns on you after a while and puts you in a depression. You go through some intense pain and a lot of isolation. That is the worst thing to feel when you’re depressed and alone on the road having to perform every night. It's a catch 22 situation. People want to cheer when you mention the word beer or pot or drugs or whatever. At the same time, they don't understand how intense it gets for some people who lose control of that when they try to just please the audience and do the right thing for the show. After a while I learned to say no. If I’m sick or something is going on with me that day, then the show will get rescheduled instead of me trying to muscle through it. For the most part I do and it's very rare that I would have to cancel by the way.
Gus: The reason I threw in the Steven Tyler reference is that even though he has been clean for so many years, it shows that substance abuse is a lifelong and day to day struggle for some people. It's sad to see and hopefully he gets better soon!
Sully: It shocked me too! Some people who are out there in the same business tipped me off on the whole thing and I was just shocked! They are too old to be doing this. Now you are talking about life and death.
Gus: At the show in Niagara Falls you did some songs that you said will be released on a solo CD at some point. Is there any idea of if or when that will come out?
Sully: Well, there are two different kinds of solos. There is the solo thing that I'm currently doing that is strictly about me. I don't know how I would approach that solo record. Then there is a solo record I'm doing with a bunch of different musicians that I'm writing with and it's a completely different style of music. I'm not sure if I'm going to blend those two yet or if I'm going to keep them separate. I'm thinking at some point I may want to just do what I am doing when I record this new record come September. Then I can blend in some of the stuff you heard into that new album. Most of that new album is different, very different. It's a lot more hypnotic, a lot more mystical and tribal. Some of the stuff I played in Niagara Falls is a lot more dynamic, more of an Elton John kind of style I would think. We are trying to keep it more exotic and all hand drumming and stuff like that. There are a couple of pieces that feel like the ones I played in the theater that night so it may work. I'm still thinking everything through. It will be interesting to see what people think about that stuff.
Gus: Godsmack are doing selective dates this summer including a show in Buffalo for Edgefest (which is put on by a local radio station.) What are the future plans for the band beyond that?
Sully: The future plans are usually the same plans. That is, when we are ready we will get together and start writing new material. Then we will put out a new record. The new record cycle takes a couple of years to go through it and hit all of the markets and other countries. I don't think we will take as long of a break next time. We may even do a couple of records back to back or something like that. It all depends on how everyone is feeling when we get together. We are getting older now. I'm not saying we are old, we are just getting older. We are not 21 years old anymore. It takes a lot out of us when we do a two year tour at that level because it's a big show. So after a tour like that we just take a break to re-charge our batteries. I don't think we will be taking a year off again. Maybe only a couple of months and start working on a new record. I think that Godsmack, hopefully, are going to be "one of those bands" and trying to figure out if we are going to be around, you know? One of those bands that continue to retain heritage and be able to write and put a record out every time and live on through the years. Maybe have a good 20-25 year career. 
Gus: We are glad that you took the venture out as a solo artist and are able to show a different and diverse side. You are obviously showing that you are more than just the lead singer from Godsmack and we are looking forward to a solo release, whenever that may be.
Sully: It's honestly something I felt I needed to do. Not only because I had this stuff deep inside of me that I needed to release but I also feel it really helps me with Godsmack. For me to work with completely different musicians, by myself, and do a tour like this and put myself out there, it really teaches me about myself, my playing, and where I'm actually at. It gives me new ideas and helps me think outside the box. So when I do write for Godsmack again, I got these fresh new ideas rather than the same old thing. I'm hoping this will continue to help Godsmack sound unique or its own thing. Or maybe it helps me learn that Godsmack is what Godsmack is. Which is; a big powerhouse band that is going to come out and write big fat ass heavy riffs all the time. Then, all of this stuff is for my little side ventures.
Gus: Any closing thoughts you want to say to our GlamMetal.com readers out there?
Sully: I'm surprised that I'm on GlamMetal.com (laughs.)
Gus: Well, "We cover it all" is our motto. We have done interviews ranging from Kerry King of Slayer to Paul Stanley of Kiss and everybody in-between. The name may throw some people off though.
Sully: I want to say that I'm really grateful for the opportunity to do some stuff like this and for everyone to keep and open mind. Music is a universal language and it's truly a gift from the universe. All different kinds of music supply to all different kinds of people. If everyone wrote the music that just you liked it would be a flavorless kind of world. I really appreciate the opportunity to create my art. That's all I ever wanted to do is to create music and make people happy and hopefully I've done that!
We would like to thank Kevin Chiaramonte from Universal and Desiree Barlow from Azoffmusic Management for the time to talk to Sully.
www.myspace.com/godsmack www.godsmack.com
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