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Live Shinedown pics
(Summer 2004) by George Dionne
Shinedown is the latest group to emerge from the Jacksonville, Florida
area. An area that’s known for its blusey, southern-style rock
(i.e. Lynyrd Skynyrd). Shinedown on the other hand, add their own
stamp to the music scene with their meaty guitars and vocal distinction.
They’ve played many festivals from coast to coast over the past
year or so, and have found themselves on their first ever headlining
tour. Just when things were looking good for Shinedown, they got better.
Reunited rock legends Van Halen have secured them to open up a handful
of dates for their reunion tour.
RIL: You're currently out on a headlining tour in support of your
current album Leave a Whisper (read CD
review), what's the best thing about playing
live?
BK: I think the best thing about playing live is actually playing.
It's the vibe, feeding off the crowd, and just being able to do what
you do for a living. I think that's the best thing you could ever
ask for. A headlining tour just means that you get to play longer.
RIL: Do you have any horror stories from out on the road?
BK: Probably nothing that good. Aside from our luggage getting
lost two days ago in Layfaette, things have been pretty good. I
mean, there's been some shitty clubs and some shitty load-ins, but
no one's had any problems out here. Jasin, our guitar player went
home for three days. We had a three day drive break, where the bus
is driving to the next show. Jasin decieded to take his motorcycle
home and ended up wreaking it. He took the skin off one of his arms
and half his body. That why the biggest horror story involves changing
the bandages. Here we are changing bandages on the road, and I have
to change the bandages because I'm the only one that's not squeemish.
We're in this dressing room at a festival show that had Drowning
Pool, Saliva and all these other bands. I think we were in Lubbock
Texas, and it wqas right after the accident. So I kind of knelt
down to fix [Jasin's] side bandages, when this guy walks in and
he's like, 'well I guess you guys are busy'. From his angle it didn't
look like we were changing bandages.
RIL: It's like the scene from The Naked Gun.
BK: Exactly!
RIL: In August you're going to open up for Van Halen. Two part question
here: A.) Can you believe that they're back together? and B.) that
you're opening for them?
BK: I can't believe that they're back together. I never thought
it was going to happen. I thought it was going to be a Police thing
where they just couldn't get along. To actually be playing with one
of my childhood heroes now, I can't believe it. I just hope that I
can get a picture of myself behind Alex's kit.
RIL: Be honest now; Sammy Hagar or David Lee Roth?
BK: Sammy Hagar now, David Lee Roth in his heyday. I think now
David just can't do it.
RIL: He's trying, I'll give him that.
BK: Yeah, I saw him on his latest tour,and he just doesn't have
the voice anymore.
RIL: You know, in between songs he's smoking cigarettes. That might
have something to do with it.
BK: Yeah, that'll kill ya.
RIL: On the sleeve of your new CD you say, "This record was
written for the dreamers.......Were the members of Shinedown a little
different whne you were younger? Did you get picked on as a result?
BK: Yeah. Brent is the one that wrote that, but he kinda wrote
it for all of us. He was definately an outcast. He was the chubby
kid getting beat up on the playground. He had a hard time growing
up and going through school. Myself, I was a band geek throughout
school. I had glasses and braces, so I didn't fit in with the cool
crowd either. It's something that everybody can relate to. Everybody
has got some clique that they wish they could fit into, or they don't
give a shit and they feel cast out for that.
RIL: Did playing the drums vent that frustration for you?
BK: Yes. I am the most laid back guy you'll ever meet. I don't
have a fighting bone in my body, because I'm just tired. The drums
take it out of me, it's a great way to release. It's like a martial
art, you can poud things all day long, but by the time you're done
with that, there's no reason to get angry.
RIL: What does it mean to "Fly From the Inside"?
BK: It's basically using your inner strength to try to grasp that
unattainable goal. That goal that everyone says that you can't do
it, youcan't do it. Like being in a successful rock band, for example.
You need to fly from the inside; use your inner strength to make
it happen.
RIL: Leave a Whisper has just been re-released with three bonus tracks
and a video. One of the tracks is a different version of "Burning
Bright", what's different about this version?
BK: I think it's a little sexier, to be honest. The original was
very straight-forward rock track, but I think the new one has a little
bit of a new bass line, the guitars are a little bit brighter, and
the vocals are more soulful.
RIL: Another song from the re-issue is your latest singgle, a cover
of the Lynyrd Skynyrd "Simple Man". What made the group
pick that song?
BK: It kind of chose us, it was a weird thing.
We were playing in our hometown of Jacksonville Florida at Judy Van
Zant's (Ronnie's
widow) bar, The Freebird Cafe (now called The Freebird Live), and
Jasin and Brent started playing that song like it is on the record;
with just guitar and vocals. It was a tribute to her for letting
us play there. She's always kind of been there for us. It was a tough
love thing. She didn't call in any favors or anything to help our
band out. About a month later we were up in Boston at WAAF with
Mistress
Carrie. She said that a bunch of bands have been coming in there
and doing some obscure acoustic covers. She asked if we knew any.
We really
don't as a band. We never were a cover band. We had been toying
with Stone Temple Pilots "All in the Suit That You Wear", but
it didn't translate well acoustically. Brad kept urging for us to
do "SimpleMan", so we did. Almost immediately, the phones
starting ringing off the hook at WAAF. In like six weeks they had
like 526,000 downloads off their website. It was a no-brainer that
we had to do something with it, because it sparked so much intrest.
RIL: I think it did spark some intrest, because it was my nephew's
graduation song this year. I was like, ‘they don't know Lynyrd
Skynyrd, they're eighteen’.
BK: They weren't even born.
RIL: Then I found out that Shinedown did a cover, and that explained
it.
BK: It's kind of our pleasure to introduce the kids to that, becasue
we're also Jacksonville Florida natives, and growing in the south,
you grow up to Lynard Skynard.
RIL: You're going to be shooting a video for "Simple Man" soon,
do you know if there's going to be a story line or a theme to it?
BK: There will be a storyline, but we're still hashing it out.
We just got a treatment on it today. We want to make sure that it's
not a tribute video, but at the same time we want to show our respect.
RIL: What's the most bizzare rumor, if any, that you've heard about
yourself or the band?
BK: That it was Lynard Skynard that allowed us to be who we are,
which is totally not true. Aside from us playing a cover of one of
their songs, they haven't been instrumental in that. We find it funny
when people say that Lynard Skynard is the reason we have a record
deal.
RIL: You always here a strange rumor or two about certain bands,
it happens all the time. When Staind first came out, I heard they
were Devil worshipers.
BK: Yeah, people have categorized us as the exact opposite; a Christian
band.
RIL: I kind of thought that you were. You have a positive name, then
the song titles lean a little that way, but once you listen to the
music and the lyrics you realize; nope, not a Christian band.
BK: Yeah, they're a little dark. Brent grew up as a Southern Baptist
in Knocksville, Tenneesee, so he's definately got that sort of influence
in his writing and what not, but not by any means are we a Christian
band.
RIL: You could always swich over, Creed left a spot open.
BK: (Laughs) That's what I hear. I'll take their 20 million records
any day.
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BARRY
KERCH
