{"id":22181,"date":"2014-07-21T09:00:16","date_gmt":"2014-07-20T23:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/maytherockbewithyou.com\/mtrbwy\/?p=22181"},"modified":"2014-07-23T13:01:14","modified_gmt":"2014-07-23T03:01:14","slug":"chris-jericho-of-fozzy-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maytherockbewithyou.com\/mtrbwy\/2014\/07\/chris-jericho-of-fozzy-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Chris Jericho of Fozzy"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>
\n<\/a>\u201c\u2026when you get a little momentum in this business you want to keep it rolling and we\u2019ve got enough momentum each time to get our foot in the door and now that our foot\u2019s in the door we want to kick the damn thing open and burst into the next stage\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

From release: Led by the inimitable duo of guitarist\u00a0Rich Ward\u00a0(co-founder of the influential underground band\u00a0Stuck Mojo) and vocalist\u00a0Chris Jericho\u00a0(famed\u00a0WWE\u00a0superstar and media personality), the band\u00a0FOZZY\u00a0has really always been about one thing: having fun. Produced by\u00a0Ward\u00a0\u2018Do You Wanna Start A War\u2019\u00a0<\/strong>is the bands follow-up to their acclaimed 2012 release\u00a0\u2018Sin and Bones\u2019\u00a0and sixth studio effort since 2000. By the time\u00a0\u2018Do You Wanna Start A War\u2019\u00a0is released, a horde of seasoned and newfound fans will have seen\u00a0FOZZY\u00a0live and heard new tracks off the album. They will have witnessed one of the greatest performances they\u2019ve ever seen, they will have witnessed one of the best frontman in any genre of music sing some of the catchiest songs they\u2019ve heard in ages and most importantly, they will have had the best time in their lives doing it.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s always a pleasure to speak with Chris Jericho, and with this new Fozzy album coming your way, he fills us in on the album, its direction, the growth of the band and predictions for the future\u2026 so? Do you wanna start a war?<\/p>\n

First thing\u2019s first, this album is a fucking monster, so congratulations!<\/strong>
\nOh thanks man, I\u2019m glad you enjoyed it it\u2019s very cool to hear that.<\/p>\n

No worries and this is always fun to do to start off, can you give us one word that you feel sums the album up?<\/strong>
\nGame-changer\u2026 I think it\u2019s the type of record that will turn a lot of heads Fozzy\u2019s way, make a lot of people fans of the band that have never heard us or never given us a shot, but it is man, this record us is such a diverse record there\u2019s so many different styles of music on there but still every song stays true to who we as a band. I think the last band you can say that did a record like this is, not that I\u2019m comparing us to Queen, but it\u2019s a record that is very diverse, like I said there\u2019s a lot of different styles of music on it but it\u2019s still very much a Fozzy record which not a lot of bands do, many bands sound the same, have a certain mindset of what they want and that\u2019s it, and we thought why have rules? We\u2019ll just do good songs and however they turn out they turn out and I think we did good and that\u2019s why everybody that hears it feels the same way that you do so far which is good to hear like I said.<\/p>\n

It takes on such a heavy sound, did you have a plan going into this album of how you wanted it to sound?<\/strong>
\nWell it\u2019s all very much a Rich Ward record, the guys a very distinct sounding writer, all of his riffs are very heavy, groovy, with a lot of interesting melodies and harmonies in the chorus, it\u2019s kind of what we do best. The only thing we decided on this record is to not have rules like I said, if you turn on rock radio in the United States there\u2019s a lot of bands that sound very similar and they\u2019re huge bands there\u2019s no doubt about it, I\u2019m not denying their success, but it is a very similar kind of sound that\u2019s going on now, even when you take \u2018Lights Go Out\u2019 it doesn\u2019t really sound like anything else, it\u2019s almost like Fall Out Boy combined with Black Sabbath, it\u2019s very heavy, you could hear it at a strip club, it\u2019s almost a dance club song, and not everything sounds like \u2018Lights Go Out\u2019 but that\u2019s an example of creating our own genre of music at this point. So it\u2019s always going to have that very heavy element, that kind of dark element to it, that\u2019s the type of music that we make, so yes it does have a lot of pop sensibilities and really big hooks, and some different sounds to it but the bottom line to it is that every song on this record is a very heavy one for sure, and just different ways of being heavy.<\/p>\n

You mention that it takes a little bit of a different direction for the band, and in particular the catchier than the common cold first single, \u2018Lights Go Out\u2019 that sounds like nothing you\u2019ve done before, are you nervous or hesitant to in essence release change?<\/strong>
\nNo you can\u2019t be, you have to make a record that makes you happy first and foremost as an artist, as a musician, as a fan and then I\u2019ve always found that anytime you do something that\u2019s a little bit outside of the box that if you believe in it and it\u2019s real and it\u2019s good, your fans will believe in it too. Maybe a little bit nervous as what if people just want to hear \u2018Blood Happens\u2019 again, or \u2018Pray for Blood\u2019 like the super-fast heavy songs and that\u2019s all they want to hear, and there are people that just want to hear that type of music, you\u2019ll always see people commenting saying \u2018we wish this was like \u2018Chasing The Grail\u2019 or \u2018we wish this was like \u2018Sin and Bones\u2019 but you know it\u2019s an evolution and extension of the band and there\u2019s only so many AC\/DC\u2019s and Slayer\u2019s out there that can do the same album in essence every time and do it well and those bands are amazing, they\u2019re two of my favourite bands, but we\u2019re not like that. Every record we\u2019ve done evolves and mutates from the last but still retains the essence of who Fozzy is like I said, so there\u2019s always gonna be some people that might not like it when we do a song like \u2018Lights Go Out\u2019 but if we lose a thousand fans and gain ten thousand that\u2019s all that matters and that does happen, the thousand fans that get mad at you at first will always come back to you in the end, like jilted girlfriends they realise that the dude is actually pretty good and could well get used to it.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>I do have to ask about the title of the album \u2018Do You Wanna Start A War\u2019, is there a specific meaning or message behind it and the title track?<\/strong>
\nIt\u2019s not do you wanna start a war with missiles and guns or get into a fight, what I wrote that track based out of if there\u2019s something bringing you down or some kind of adversity that you\u2019re facing, start a war with it, beat it, get past it, you\u2019re good enough to do that, it\u2019s kind of more a self-belief song than a fight against what holds you down type of song. I got the title from a Green Day live record where right before \u2018Holiday\u2019 Billie Joe yells out \u201cDo you want to start a war?\u201d and I just thought what an interesting title, you could go so many ways with it, and then my goal was it to be the ultimate live song, \u201cthrow your hands in the air, now\u2019s the time to not care, throw your hands in the sky and say goodbye to bad times\u2026\u201d just get past the problems you\u2019re having and know that you\u2019re good enough to do that. So like I said, I love songs like that that have multiple meanings within a certain title and concept, those are always my favourites as there\u2019s so much to it, so many different layers to it that you really have to dig deep to figure out what it means to you, but to me it means a song of self-empowerment.<\/p>\n

Ok, so\u2026 one word, ABBA\u2026 one question, how did you decide on \u2018S.O.S\u2019 to cover for the album?<\/strong>
\nOh we have really interesting eclectic tastes so after the shows I always put my iPod on shuffle and just let it go and there\u2019s everything on there like I said from Slayer and Venom to Jonas Brothers and Vanilla Ice and everything in between. We were listening to a bunch to songs one time I remember we were backstage in Leipzig, Germany or something like that and the song \u2018Devil Woman\u2019 came on by Cliff Richard and we were like \u2018oh this would be such a cool song to cover\u2019 and then soon after that \u2018S.O.S\u2019 came on and we said, well that\u2019s even better because it\u2019s such a dark song, if you listen to the chord changes, they\u2019re very dark very heavy, the lyrics are very heavy, it\u2019s about somebody about to commit suicide or something because of the loss of their girlfriend or boyfriend, but it\u2019s such a good song as far as hooks go, it\u2019s got that really cool Dream Theater almost Malmsteem type lick in there right before the chorus, like imagine if you had that playing with the keyboard, the bass and the guitar all playing together and so we said let\u2019s try it out and see how it goes and if it\u2019s good let\u2019s put it on the record because like I said it\u2019s a song everybody knows once you hear it, and it\u2019s never been covered, it\u2019s not exactly the most typical band for hard rock band to cover, ABBA, but that\u2019s the other reason we wanted to do it, if we\u2019re going to do a cover let\u2019s do one that\u2019s very weird and that no one would expect and that totally rocks when you hear it, and this one just came through with flying colours. Every time we\u2019ve done listening parties, whenever that song comes on some people just look at it curiously then at the end they\u2019re all just going nuts, singing and rocking to it, like I said, everyone knows this song no matter how old you are, and no one would ever expect it to be covered and when you do hear it it\u2019s so heavy and dark it fits perfectly with the tone of the rest of the record.<\/p>\n

\u2018Unstoppable\u2019 stood out for me too, who is that singing with you on it?<\/strong>
\nOh cool thanks man, we wanted to do kind of a reverse \u2018Stones\u2019 in that the Stones have \u2018Gimme Shelter\u2019 where the girl comes in in the chorus, we wanted to kind of have her involved the whole time and we thought do we go the tried and true route and get Lzzy Hale or Christina Scabbia or whoever, but there\u2019s a girl names Christie Cook that we\u2019ve been working with in Atlanta for years, just a local Atlanta girl with a killer voice and we said let\u2019s just create our own star, not worry about having the female vocalist de jour, let\u2019s create our own vocalist de jour, much like The Stones did on \u2018Gimme Shelter\u2019 where they took basically an unknown backing vocalist and made her a huge star just by the fact she was on a Stones record. So once again, just kind of doing things backwards from the way you\u2019re supposed to do things and doing it our own way and it turned out great, definitely one of my favourite songs on the record, super catchy and one that really has a lot of people turning their heads because once again not a lot of bands will have a lot of unknown vocals, it\u2019s not even a duet, it\u2019s a co-lead at this point, and she\u2019s got such a great voice.<\/p>\n

Well it\u2019s a potential single in the works I think\u2026<\/strong>
\nThanks man, one of the good problems to have is that we have probably five or six songs on this record that could be singles and that\u2019s always good when you have that.<\/p>\n

Fozzy seems to have finally come into their own over the last few years almost non-stop, how would you sum up the last few years of being a part of this band?<\/strong>
\nWell each record is evolution from the last, and especially since 2009 when we really sat down and said we really want to make Fozzy the priority here, the band has grown leaps and bounds, look where we were for \u2018Chasing The Grail\u2019 and how much bigger we got with \u2018Sin and Bones\u2019 and then how much bigger with where \u2018Do You Wanna Start A War\u2019 is going to take us, because when you get a little momentum in this business you want to keep it rolling and we\u2019ve got enough momentum each time to get our foot in the door and now that our foot\u2019s in the door we want to kick the damn thing open and burst into the next stage, and you can really see that just by the amount of touring we\u2019ve done, the amount of press, the amount of airplay, the amount of buzz about the band, the fans that we have, it\u2019s been as you said, non-stop, but it\u2019s a good feeling that all this hard work that you\u2019re putting into the bad is really paying off and taking us places that we never thought we\u2019d go and opening more and more doors each time. So I think like you said, this record is gonna take it in two years from now when we talk again we\u2019re going to be at a completely different level than when we spoke two years before that, and the only reason for that is that our live show is a big part of it, but it\u2019s the songs that you play during the live show and I think as a band we just come together unbelievably and have just grown so much as song writers and just really don\u2019t give a shit what anyone thinks, never really have now more than ever, especially when you\u2019re talking about the diversity of music on this record and I think like I said, it\u2019s a game-changer and going to take us to the next level and just make heaps of new fans, it\u2019s all you can do and please all of our loyal fans that have been there from the start.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve made the trip down here to see us more than a few times now, when can we expect to see you back?<\/strong>
\nI mean we can\u2019t wait, we were fortunate enough to be able to come to Australia twice last year in February and December on two amazing tours, I mean Soundwave is incredible and then doing the tour with Steel Panther and Buckcherry was incredible as well. Australia has been a target for us, we\u2019ve been there four times I think since 2005 and it\u2019s always been a great market for us, we have great fans there and lots of room for expansion I think, one of the countries we\u2019re really going to grow in in the next few years. So hopefully we\u2019ll get an invitation to come back for Soundwave, we had a great time at Soundwave 2013, if we don\u2019t, we\u2019ll still be back anyways either by ourselves or with somebody else at some point in early 2015. We\u2019ve got so much buzz in Australia with so many great fans I can\u2019t see it not happening at this point.<\/p>\n

OK, so lastly, let\u2019s predict the future\u2026 finish this sentence for me, by the end of 2014, Fozzy will\u2026<\/strong>
\nBe bigger than we\u2019ve ever been, with one of the best records of 2014 under our belts and played bigger venues than we\u2019ve ever played before, with more fans than we\u2019ve ever had before, having more fun than we\u2019ve ever had before, and I\u2019ll be wearing a black T-shirt at that time. A black T-shirt with a picture of Cliff Burton, that\u2019s my prediction, when you read this, that\u2019s what I\u2019ll be wearing. I do have a black Cliff Burton shirt that\u2019s one of my favourites and I wear it once a week, so there\u2019s a one in seven chance that this prediction will come true *laughs*.<\/p>\n

Essential Information<\/span><\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n

From:<\/strong> Atlanta, GA, USA<\/p>\n

Band members: \u00a0<\/strong>Chris Jericho \u2013 Vocals, Rich Ward \u2013 Guitar\/Vocals, Frank Fontsere \u2013 Drums, Paul Di Leo \u2013 Bass, Billy Grey \u2013 Guitar<\/p>\n

Website: <\/strong>www.fozzyrock.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Forthcoming release:<\/strong> Do You Wanna Start A War (July 25th\u2013 Century Media) – Check out our REVIEW HERE<\/a><\/p>\n\n

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