{"id":6847,"date":"2012-03-17T11:25:26","date_gmt":"2012-03-17T00:25:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/maytherockbewithyou.com\/mtrbwy\/?p=6847"},"modified":"2012-03-24T10:11:49","modified_gmt":"2012-03-23T23:11:49","slug":"barry-kerch-of-shinedown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maytherockbewithyou.com\/mtrbwy\/2012\/03\/barry-kerch-of-shinedown\/","title":{"rendered":"Barry Kerch of Shinedown"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIt really fits Shinedown and who we are and where we are right now, because Shinedown the name means, sometimes you\u2019re up, sometimes you\u2019re down, it\u2019s kind of a rebirth of Shinedown, this album, and it just kind of fits our mood right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the biggest rock bands out there at the moment is Shinedown, after their 2008 release \u2018The Sound of Madness\u2019 that spawned the hits \u2018Second Chance\u2019, \u2018Devour\u2019, \u2018Sound of Madness\u2019 and more that took them to the stratosphere and beyond, they toured for three years solid on it and became the International force they finally needed to be, especially after two previous albums (\u2018Leave a Whisper\u2019 and \u2018Us and Them\u2019) that bode well in the States.\u00a0 Now they are back with their newest album \u2018Amaryllis\u2019 hitting on March 23 in Australia and March 27 in The USA and it\u2019s good, damn good.<\/p>\n

In Nashville and having just finished packing up his drums and getting ready to hit the road to LA to start rehearsals for their new tour we had a chance to chat to Shinedown drummer Barry Kerch all about their new album \u2018Amaryllis\u2019, touring plans, and what lies ahead for this kick ass band!<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve been lucky enough to hear the album and just want to say congratulations, it\u2019s an absolute ball tearer are you excited to unleash it on the world?<\/strong>
\nAbsolutely, were thrilled, we put a lot of hard work into this album and it\u2019s been a long time since we\u2019ve released an album so we\u2019re very excited to get out there and share these songs with everybody.<\/p>\n

OK, I have to ask, can you tell us about the title, what\u2019s the meaning behind Amaryllis?<\/strong>
\nAmaryllis is a flower.\u00a0 There\u2019s many different varieties but the specific one we\u2019re talking about is one that grows in South Africa and it really grows in desert, and what was cool about it is that it comes out of nothing, really you\u2019ve got this desolate environment and very stark contrast to this beautiful flower that blooms in the middle of the desert.\u00a0 It really fits Shinedown and who we are and where we are right now, because Shinedown the name means, sometimes you\u2019re up, sometimes you\u2019re down, it\u2019s kind of a rebirth of Shinedown, this album, and it just kind of fits our mood right now.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s now been four years since \u2018The Sound of Madness\u2019 what has taken so long to get us the new album?<\/strong>
\nWe\u2019re slow ha ha, you know we tour extensively and we toured for three years on \u2018Sound of Madness\u2019 and we just don\u2019t really write songs on the road because we\u2019re so focused on the live show and the aspect of the live show and we wear ourselves out so much that kind of the creativity of writing disappears.\u00a0 So when we finally get the time off, you\u2019re writing and recording, it\u2019s just kind of how we do things, how it works and it\u2019s unfortunate cause it does take a little long but we always come back with something that we think is strong and I think it\u2019s worth the wait.<\/p>\n

Song wise, how were these put together compared to your previous albums?<\/strong>
\nNot necessarily differently but it was nice to have more input with Eric and Zach now being a part of the writing process which we didn\u2019t have before, it was kind of fun and reinvigorating for me and Brent to have some new blood in the writing process, so it was nice.\u00a0 Everything typically starts with an acoustic guitar and a voice and it goes from there, and then we fully demo it out in to a computer with programed drums and a few guitars and layers of vocals and decide whether we like the song or not and then move on to the next one.\u00a0 We wrote about thirty three songs for this record and from there said, alright, I think it\u2019s time to get in the studio and pick our favourite seventeen of those and twelve made the record.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve once again worked with Rob Cavallo on this album as producer, what is it that he brings to the band that you love?<\/strong>
\nHe\u2019s really just an amazingly smart man when it comes to arrangements and getting the best performances out of everybody, and tweaking those little things that make it sound the way it does. \u00a0He gets really a big sound between him and his team, Doug McKean the engineer and everybody, it\u2019s just he brings something special and it\u2019s really cool.\u00a0 \u2018Sound of Madness\u2019 was such a successful record for us we though why not use him again?\u00a0 Will we use him on the next album?\u00a0 Who knows?\u00a0 Maybe we\u2019ll try something else just to say we did, but for this album I think it was very important for us to stick to that way of doing things because of the success of \u2018Sound of Madness\u2019 and how great it sounded as a record as a whole just sonically, we wanted that kind of sound again.<\/p>\n

Well, we\u2019ll wait until 2016 for the next one then yeah?<\/strong>
\nHa ha ha yeah, we\u2019ll see\u2026<\/p>\n

So what, if anything did you do differently on this album compared to previous releases?<\/strong>
\nWe did.\u00a0 We brought in some more synth sounds, we had a bigger orchestra, a thirty six piece orchestra I believe it was and we also did a horn section on \u2018I\u2019m Not Alright\u2019 which is something we\u2019d never done before, kind of a \u2018Sgt Pepper\u2019s\u2026\u2019 vibe to it and we thought that might be kind of cool, so we tried it, and it worked.\u00a0 Other than that, it\u2019s a rock band, its guitars, drums, bass, vocals, that\u2019s who we are and what we\u2019re known for.<\/p>\n

The song \u2018Bully\u2019 is quite a powerful song, as is the video, what is the inspiration behind the song itself?<\/strong>
\nThat was one of the first songs really written for the record and it\u2019s something that\u2019s been kind of a hot topic, at least here in The States and I think pretty much everywhere, but it\u2019s also been happening since the dawn of time, people get bullied, humans bully, it\u2019s almost human nature.\u00a0 I think it\u2019s something that almost everyone is affected by in one way or another, whether you are a bully, you\u2019ve been bullied or you\u2019ve seen bullying and it\u2019s relatable for people, and it was something we felt like talking about at the time.\u00a0 When it came to do the video we went how are we going to make this impactful?\u00a0 Really stir some people up and that\u2019s what we tried to do and I think it worked, but it\u2019s a relatable song, it doesn\u2019t matter if you\u2019re a kid at school getting bullied or if you\u2019re at a workplace as an adult getting bullied, it happens and you just have to say \u2018No, enough is enough, I\u2019m done with this\u2019 and we\u2019ve had to do that in our own lives, I mean, face it, we\u2019re a bunch of whiny little musicians ha ha in that respect, we\u2019re very emotional people and I think artists are typically emotional people and to sometimes pull from those places in our psyche it comes from being bullied as a kid or being the outcast or the different one, at least all of us and I know at least in this band were an outcast in one way or another.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Can you talk us through the cover art and what the concept is behind that?<\/strong>
\nInitially it started that we were looking at mandalas And we just thought they were cool and what an interesting design and the story behind mandalas and we wanted something like that, and we went to the guy that did the art, Dave, and said look, we kind of want a mandala kind of thing, but we also want you to listen to the songs and we want imagery on the album that relates to all the songs, and that\u2019s what he came back with and it was amazing, we were blown away.\u00a0 We made very minor tweaks but it was such a cool impactful thing, we wanted the album art to be where you could listen to the record and look at the album art like we did when we were kids and find stuff in it and go \u2018Oh wow, that\u2019s where that comes from, that song\u2019 and things like that.\u00a0 We want people to really spend time with the record, we don\u2019t write a song and then put bunch of fluff tracks around it, we write a record from front to back that hopefully you can listen to, from front to back.<\/p>\n

Touring wise, if your last is anything to go by, you\u2019ll be out on the road for quite some time, what are the plans so far?<\/strong>
\nWell this year\u2019s pretty much backed, we\u2019ve already done a European run, we\u2019re getting ready to start a States run then come June we\u2019re already booked for festivals again in Europe, we\u2019ll do that, and some one off shows there, back here for probably a Summer tour and then we haven\u2019t really figured out what we\u2019re going to do for the Fall.\u00a0 We\u2019ve got to get back to you guys, and we\u2019ve got to get to South and Central America, and Asia as well so we\u2019ve got a lot of work ahead of us for sure.<\/p>\n

I have to ask, are there plans to bring Shinedown back to Australia?<\/strong>
\nNothing\u2019s been set, but absolutely we\u2019re going to come back, we have to.\u00a0 We had such a great time there and we\u2019ve only been there that one time, so we need to make an effort to get back there and I think this time in making it there we\u2019ll be able to make it to New Zealand and then up to Asia which we haven\u2019t been to at all.\u00a0 There\u2019s definitely plans for it, there\u2019s talks about it but when that\u2019s going to happen, I don\u2019t know yet.<\/p>\n

The last time you were here was in 2010, do you have any fond memories of that trip?<\/strong>
\nYeah I\u2019ve got tonnes; I mean it was our first time in Australia, the one thing that impressed me most about Australia is how similar it is to Florida, at least in my mind, it reminded me of home.\u00a0 It was just a great time and it was a different tour for us cause we had never done one where you just fly every day to another city, we\u2019re usually on a bus and things like that and Sydney was special, we had three days off I want to say, before we did the shows so we really got to see the city and walk around and do the tourist things and find some good bars and meet some people and have a great time.\u00a0 I have fond memories of it and we have a thing in our band, that\u2019s no matter ten or ten thousand you play the same show, in fact myself, Eric and Zach have different tattoos on each of us that say \u2018Ten or Ten Thousand\u2019 because that\u2019s something we truly believe, we\u2019re in the entertainment business and we\u2019ve got to get up there and entertain and people pay good money for a rock show and it\u2019s not easy to come by these days, so you better give them 110% every time.\u00a0 I can\u2019t wait to come back and do it all over again and hopefully even play to bigger rooms and more people.\u00a0 I would like to do a proper club tour of Australia, rather than a festival run, the festivals are tough and you get on the side stage and everything\u2019s messed up and there\u2019s cables everywhere, so you can\u2019t really put on your best effort even though you really try and it\u2019s hard on all the bands, it\u2019d be nice to do a proper club tour where you get a little bit of time, and a sound check, really can hone it in and give people the full Shinedown show.<\/p>\n

You mentioned New Zealand before as a place you haven\u2019t been, is there anywhere you haven\u2019t been yet that you would like to play?<\/strong>
\nOh there\u2019s tonnes.\u00a0 Japan, China, Russia, Italy, we\u2019ve only been in Milan once, South and Central America, Brazil, we\u2019ve never been to any of those areas, there\u2019s probably more places that I can count that we want to go to than ones that I don\u2019t ever want to go to again that\u2019s for sure ha ha.\u00a0 We really want to see the world, that\u2019s one of the perks of being in this business is getting to see the world and we love to travel and we love to tour and make new fans.<\/p>\n

What I love about the band and it\u2019s evident on your \u2018Somewhere in the Stratosphere\u2019 DVD that the songs can be played acoustically yet the passion in them remains both lyrically and performance wise.\u00a0 How do you treat the acoustic performances compared to the full blown extravaganzas?<\/strong>
\nYou treat them the same in some respects cause it\u2019s still songs, but most Shinedown songs are written on an acoustic guitar to begin with and that\u2019s why they translate so well and I actually enjoy doing the acoustic shows, especially on that \u2018Somewhere in the Stratosphere\u2019 tour because it really showcases Brent\u2019s voice, it really does, it gets lost sometimes in the heavy guitars and tracks and loud drums, on a typical rock show sometimes you can really lose the essence of his voice and you really get that in the acoustics, but the acoustic show also gives you time to almost do a \u2018story tellers\u2019 and stretch out and really talk about the songs with the really hardcore fans and say where the songs came from and sit back and play as an artist and play as a drummer instead of trying to beat myself up every day ha ha you really get to lay back and enjoy the songs in a different light, in a different way.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m going to get corny here, but the song \u2018Second Chance\u2019 do you feel that it was in fact just that, your \u2018Second Chance\u2019 as it truly put the band out there in the public eye?<\/strong>
\nYes and No, I think it was our biggest song to date, but I think \u2018Sound of Madness\u2019 was our second chance.\u00a0 \u2018Us and Them\u2019 just wasn\u2019t where we wanted it to be, we were not happy with that record and the band was in a horrible place, we weren\u2019t getting along, going through all the line up changes and everything else, plus all Brent\u2019s addictions, it just was a bad time for us.\u00a0 Coming in to \u2018The Sound of Madness\u2019 was a rebirth for the band, and \u2018Second Chance\u2019 definitely was a large part of that but it wasn\u2019t the only part of that.<\/p>\n

Although it was the song that introduced you to Australia I believe\u2026<\/strong>
\nYeah, definitely, it introduced us to a lot of places we hadn\u2019t been before, but we also had two records before that and had already had a few number one hits of both of those records so we never went away but \u2018Sound of Madness\u2019 definitely took us to another level.<\/p>\n

Lastly, as the album hasn\u2019t hit yet, can you give us a mini review of your own on it to share with the fans.<\/strong>
\nIt\u2019s bad ass. Period. Ha ha.\u00a0 It\u2019s a good journey for a listener, somebody who really wants to listen to a rock record, it\u2019s a rock record from start to finish and it\u2019s all true stories, they\u2019re our stories of what we\u2019ve been through and what we\u2019ve seen, so it\u2019s one of those that you should throw on a set of headphones or sit in front of your favourite speakers, grab a nice cold one and sit back and enjoy it.\u00a0 It\u2019s not background music, it\u2019s something to listen to.<\/p>\n

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

From: <\/strong>USA<\/p>\n

Band members:<\/strong> Brent Smith \u2013 Vocals, Barry Kerch \u2013 Drums, Zach Myers \u2013 Guitars, Eric Bass – Bass<\/p>\n

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

Forthcoming release: <\/strong>Amaryllis \u2013 March 23 (Australia) March 27 (USA) –\u00a0 (Roadrunner Records \/ Atlantic Records)<\/p>\n

Check out our review of ‘Amaryllis’ here…<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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