Chris Jericho performs with FOZZY at Rock on the Range in May 2014. Photo/Damien Dennis
[dropcap]F[/dropcap]OZZY front man and part-time WWE Superstar Chris Jericho spoke with The Pit’s Damien Dennis last week about the new FOZZY record “Do You Wanna Start A War,” their upcoming headlining tour and thoughts on the future of the WWE.
The Cinder Block Party Tour featuring Texas Hippie Coalition and Shaman’s Harvest kicks off November 20 at the Machine Shop in Flint, Michigan. The 20-date tour will travel across the Midwest and Southern United States, ending December 12 in St. Petersburg, Florida. Tickets are available now on www.fozzyrock.com.
The Pit: Starting off here with the new record you released over the summer “Do You Wanna Start A War,” what are your thoughts as far as how this album is different from previous FOZZY albums?
Chris Jericho: I think it’s very different for a FOZZY record. It’s very diverse and the most versatile record we have ever done. The only rule when we were making this record is there are no rules. We’re not going to worry about what other bands are doing or what radio is doing; if it’s too heavy, too poppy, too happy. We wanted to make the record the way that we wanted. We just wanted to put out 12 great songs on the record and not worry what genre they were and not worry about thinking outside of the box. We don’t have a box with FOZZY. We enjoy a wide margin of bands and just wanted to make a record where we loved all the tunes and say all were heavy enough, for example. So, I think that’s the biggest difference between “War” and “Sin and Bones,” “Chasing The Grail” and all of our records is that this one is just more about the songs and not worry about “Okay, umm, we need a blasting song on here” or “We need an epic song on here.” We just wrote songs the way we wanted and if they were good they made the record.
The Pit: This album plays at a fast pace, and what I mean by that is that it seems like the sort of album you could turn on at a party and just let it play without having a moment where anyone’s going to not like what they’re hearing. Was that something you were going for, making this like a rock album? It almost has an 80’s rock and roll feel to me.
Chris Jericho: I don’t understand why playing an album at a party is an 80’s thing, a good album is a good album. Once again, we weren’t very concerned with anything other than “Let’s just make a great record.” I think “Sin and Bones” was a darker recorder but it had songs that were more happier tunes. But this one, we focused more on the groove of it and what we do best is adding riffs with a good groove and a lot of harmonies in the chorus and a lot of melodies. And we just really focused in on that. It’s still heavy. We just played what we wanted to play and didn’t think about how it relates to our last record and how people would think about it. I think that when you stay true to yourself and write songs you want to hear people will enjoy it as well. It is more of an upbeat record. Like I said, “Sin and Bones” was a darker record and “War” is more of an upbeat record just by the vibe of the songs and maybe lyrically as well. You could play it at a party and any album that has a song like “Lights Go Out” on it or ” Do You Wanna Start A War” or “One Crazed Anarchist,” those are songs that are sex songs that you can bob your head to or make love to.
The Pit: Are there any songs that stand out to you as far as ones that really define the album?
Chris Jericho: “Lights Go Out” would have to be one of them because it falls into it’s own genre of music of heavy metal dance club music. So that’s the thing, you can hear it at the show or hear it at a strip club while a stripper’s dancing to it. Those are the best types of tunes. I always loved that when you can be versatile style of a song. I think that “Do You Wanna Start A War” is another one. It’s a song you can hop into your car and drive around listening to it and it makes you feel good. “Brides of Fire” and “Witchery” are super heavy with stops and falls, crazy drumming and great guitar playing. So there’s that element in there as well. It’s got whatever you’re looking for.
The Pit: What was the writing process like for this album? Maybe lyrically, did you draw on any personal experiences or was it all about just writing whatever came to mind?
Chris Jericho: You know, I just started dabbling with “Sin and Bones” with more relationship-type lyrics. It’s fun to write them but I find that people really, really dig relationship ones. “Bad Tattoo” is like that. It’s a heavy song but I wrote that from the perspective that everybody has had that relationship that you can’t wash away; you can never get rid of it. You hate it, you never want to see it or think about it again but it’s always there. Just like a bad tattoo. You wish it was gone but you can’t wash it away. So, when you get lyrics like that, that always makes it more accessible. Like “Wanna Start A War” is not about wanting to start a war with grenades, it’s about starting a war with things that oppose you. It’s about starting a war that people are going to try to bring you down. it’s very much a believe in yourself type anthem. I wrote quite a few lyrics based on things like that; about believing in yourself like in “Unstoppable” and “Do You Wanna Start A War” and relationships. And with “Witchery,” you’ve got to have that heavy metal song in there with sci-fi/fantasy lyrics in there as well.
The Pit: I wanted to bring this up. You also had Michael Starr of Steel Panther on the album. What was it like recording with him?
Chris Jericho: Well, we drove with Steel Panther in Australia last year and got along with them very, very well. They’re great guys. Michael is an amazing singer and he just came up to me one day and said, “I want to be on the next FOZZY record.” I said, “Are you sure?” and he said, ” Yeah.” “Okay.” And that’s what Phil Campbell did on “Sin and Bones,” said he wanted to be on the next FOZZY record. I was like, “Alright, we will find something for ya!” Phil Campbell, Michael Starr, M. Shadows, Zakk Wylde; all wanted to be on the records so we better find something for them to do. Michael was great on “Tonite.” He added so much to the song and kind of helped us with some of the harmonies and we also gave him some more lines to sing. He has such a smooth voice and very much a great rock and roll singer, one of the best in the business today.
The Pit: Now this isn’t about the album at all but more about the band itself. I know you guys recently announced a new bassist in Jeff Rouse. How is he fitting in with the band after Paul left and how easy the choice was for you to bring him in?
Chris Jericho: Well, it’s always a bad situation when somebody leaves the band and this was kind of a mutual agreement between Paul and ourselves. But the fortunate thing that made it a lot easier was we had Jeff step in instantly and we met Jeff, once again, when we were in Australia. He was touring with Loaded, Duff McKagan’s band. We got along with him really well, loved the bass playing and he was the only guy people thought of when Paul was leaving. SO after Loaded was done and it was kind of on hiatus, Jeff was kind of wide open. He’s an amazing guy, a great player, very cool, great image; so that makes it easier. It’s a sh*tty situation when you have to make a membership change. But, it made it so much easier that Jeff was ready to step right in and we haven’t looked back ever since. He’s become a part of the band and one of the boys very, very quickly.
The Pit: You guys had the chance to play a bunch of different festivals — I know we saw you at Rock on the Range — but I am curious to know which ones were your favorite leading up to the album release?
Chris Jericho: I think Rock on the Range was the standout. That and Carolina Rebellion were my two favorites. But Rock on the Range, gosh, I mean we played fairly early in the day but the crowd was insane. It seemed like there were probably 15,000 people and it was in the giant parking lot right outside the stadium. The passion is what I love. People hear the songs, they went nuts for “Lights Go Out,” they were reacting and jumping and singing. It was a very special day, for sure.
The Pit: You guys have been touring with Theory of a Deadman, what’s that been like?
Chris Jericho: They’re great and it’s pretty much been awesome. So many hits, they drew a great crowd. We have a different energy than they do though. We came out and steamrolled it and people who haven’t seen us weren’t expecting that, especially on a Theory tour. That’s what you hope for. We had a very, very amazing time. It couldn’t have gone better.
The Pit: Since the album has come out, how have fans taken to a lot of the new stuff?
Chris Jericho: Well, we always play a lot of new songs. It’s always the album you want to promote. We like the songs and we think they’re some of our best. “War” is a great opening tune, “Lights Go Out” and “Anarchist” people love. So the new tunes are going over really, really well. We want to play more songs from it, for sure.
The Pit: FOZZY is doing its own headlining tour in November with Texas Hippie Coalition and Shaman’s Harvest. That tour kicks off for you guys in Flint at The Machine Shop, which is a great venue. What are you expecting from this tour and how did you choose these bands for the tour?
Chris Jericho: The tour is called “The Cinder Block Party” and that really sums it up. It’s a party. It’s like a big block party on your street, a big gathering of your closest friends but it’s heavy — it’s a cinder block. So I think that kind of sums up why we chose these bands. I mean, Texas Hippie Coalition and Shaman’s Harvest are great bands, great vibe, their music is fun to listen to and people come to our shows as well to drink beer, jump up and down, show your t*ts — guy or girl — and have fun. And that’s what we want people to be able to do on this tour, to be like that. We’re really excited for it. We wanted to put together a package with bands that are kind of similar to us to add to that vibe.
The Pit: I have one more question for you but I need to ask this first so I don’t spoil anything for you, did you have a chance to catch Hell In A Cell last weekend?
Chris Jericho: No, people ask me about it but I don’t watch a lot of wrestling. If I’m wrestling, I’m there 1,000-percent, and if I’m not, I have other things to do. So, I follow along as far as reading about it online but I didn’t watch it. I know what happened though.
The Pit: I can still ask you this question then regardless, so Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose headlined with Bray Wyatt making his return in the match. Do you think these guys are the future of the WWE?
Chris Jericho: They obviously are if they got to go on last. It’s not a question so much as a test to see how they do and how the crowd reacts. And that’s the secret to the business. You always have to have a turnover of talent. I am glad Rollins and Ambrose and Bray ended the show. It’s a great symbolic thing and it’s a necessary thing. Those guys will be carrying the flag for years and years and years to come. That night was the first time you saw them go on last but it won’t be the last.
