Fozzy Interview

Fozzy is one of the rare overseas bands that shows crazy love to the UK multiple times per year, and has done so since 2005. It's no secret why they keep coming back: the fans over here love them! If you've been following the blog through our social media accounts (Facebook/Twitter/YouTube), you'll know that we followed them around the country and attended every single show on the tour, and from the Midlands to Scotland, to the South.... the crowds ate it up every night.

Shortly before the end of their third successful UK tour on the Sin and Bones album cycle, we were fortunate enough to get a chance to sit down with vocalist, Chris Jericho, and guitarist, Rich Ward, before their penultimate gig of their headline tour in Leicester. We asked them just why the UK loves them so much, what to expect from the next album scheduled for release next year, the craziest thing they've ever done for their favourite band and more!

Joobs: So this is the 3rd tour of Sin and Bones for you guys, and from our experience the crowds are getting better and better... Were you expecting this kind of response?

Chris: Well, we've done a lot of work. I think you could say we've done a good job in building up our fanbase here. We've been coming here for 7 or 8 years, and I think the thing that we do that a lot of bands don't from what I hear, is that we don't just play London, Manchester, Nottingham and Birmingham. We're going to Rugby, Leicester, Exeter, Yeovil, Middleborough, Grimsby... we go everywhere! I think that's one of the reasons why the band has grown so much in the UK and why we have such a great fanbase; it's because we take it to the streets, so to speak. We were talking last night... You guys were at the show in Glasgow; it was a great show! A sold out show! We were talking to the promoter after and he was like, "most bands don't tour in August because it's festival season and a lot of people don't have money", yet here we are. I think we did four sell outs out of  seven on this tour, and everyone is just over the moon at how good it's been... That's because of the great fanbase that we've built. As you said, this is our third tour of the UK in the last nine months on the same record – four if you count download last year! So, I think it's a pretty cool place for us to be, and that's why we get out here so much... and because we love coming over here, we've really worked hard to cultivate this fanbase and to see it grow is really, really gratifying.

J:What are your highlights of the tour so far? This is the 7th of the 8 shows you are doing here.

C: Yeah, so it's our 14th show in 15 days.  My highlight probably for Europe was Wacken. Just to be on Wacken for the first time was an amazing experience. Bloodstock was awesome, obviously! And Stourbridge and Glasgow are my two favourite shows of this tour so far, as far as crowd intensity, chants, energy... everything was just really cool. How about you, Rich?

Rich: The Glasgow crowd was definitely one of the highlights. I've never seen a crowd act like a living, breathing organism. They were all working together as one!

C: Yeah.

R: For me, the best gig of the tour was Bloodstock. I feel like we played really, well as a band. The sound was great, the crowd was great... and it's nice playing big stages. We're a very energetic band and it's nice to be able to stretch out a bit. A lot of people don't realise, when they're out in the audience, that it's a delicate balance of what we do on stage. I'm constantly watching Chris, he's watching for me, you know, we're all making sure that it looks like there's organisation to the chaos. On a big stage you don't have to worry about any of that. You can just go, and that's really cool because you are just wide open. 

Leese: You regularly say the UK is your second home and you've been coming back for 8 and a half years now. Why do you think the UK has caught on so much? A lot of bands will take a year and a half break before they come back, yet you guys are sometimes here 2 or 3 times a year.

C: Sometimes, I think maybe, we are over saturating too much, but when you're doing good numbers I guess it's kind of wrong to think that. I'm not sure exactly why the UK embraced us first, but this was definitely the first territory that really got behind Fozzy.

I still tell the story of the first show we did in Nottingham at Rock City. I still remember walking on stage and thinking "where the fuck have all these people come from?" I mean, we'd never played to that big of a crowd before! If it wasn't sold out it was close to it. That was like "holy smokes, man, this is great." Some shows are better than others and some aren't great, but as a whole, 80% of the shows we play are great crowds; loud crowds. I'm not sure exactly why... Maybe people just like more of what they like here. It's not influenced as much by radio or television or whatever it may be. I guess that’s why, when you go to Download, there's such an eclectic line up and people enjoy ALL the bands.

R: I'd probably say part of it is the unseen factors, which is that this is the music business. The business side has been very organised in the UK from day one. We've had good agents. Adam Elfin brought us in and was on fire to book us at the very beginning. We had great record companies here, whereas in the States we didn't. That's why Australia has been good for us because John Howarth (Riot Entertainment) has been a big champion for us. It's a matter of getting the doors opened for us, and in the States we've had less success until the last couple of years. It wasn't because of us; it was because we didn't have the mechanisms in place to push open those doors. I think from my perspective, a lot of it has to do with just that. We're no different of a band when we play the States from when we play here. I just think the organisation has been better here... (to Chris) Right?

C: Yeah, a little bit. That could be it....

R: Or it could just be...

C: One of those things. I remember reading Dee Snider's book a couple of months ago and he said Twisted Sister was huge in England before they had anything going on in the States.

R: Same with Hendrix.

C: Hendrix, yeah, exactly. So sometimes that's just the way it goes. We don't really question it. We go with it and make sure that we reward our loyal fanbase by coming over here as much as we can.

J: We'd like to say congratulations on the announcement of your new album!

C: Oh, cool. Thanks.

J: I understand you've already tentatively started the writing process. When are you looking for a release date?

C: We want to have it out for next summer, you know, and tie that in with coming over here for the festival season to begin.

J: (whispers) Download?

C: Yeah, hopefully Download. Every tour we do we open some more doors. As brilliant as the UK, Australia and lots of other places have been, there's still a lot of places that won't have us. They are still a little bit tentative as to... what is this Fozzy thing? So what we do best is just keep coming back, keep knocking on the fucking door! Next year we want HellFest, we want Polish Woodstock, we want to go to Japan, South America, and all those places that are too snobby for us right now. We wanna get over there and kick their fucking asses and they'll leave wondering why they waited so long, just like we always do! We really got a lot of momentum from Sin and Bones, things went above and beyond what we were expecting, and when you have momentum in this business you have to capitalise on it. We can't afford to do a Metallica and wait five years for the next record. As long as the record is good... as good or better than Sin and Bones, let's fucking put it out and do it! I think we are really focused in on what we do best as a band, and as song writers, and as players, that I have no doubt the next record will be better than Sin and Bones.

J: What kind of things can we expect from the new album? Have you got a feel for how it's going to go yet?

R: We're an organic band. We don't try to have any blueprints; we just kind of go into it and just see what happens. I think that's a much better way to construct an album. Chris has written his lyrics, but we leave the door open to continuing to work even though he's handed in 14 or 15 sets of lyrics.

C: Just as a template to start writing.

R: We always communicate. There's always, "hey, I'm working on this song here, can you write in an extra verse?" or "can we change this?"  It's very organic. It's never boardroom meetings saying we should do this, or we should do that. I feel like it works better that way. You know, as people... The reason they used to call them records is because they are a record of who this artist was at that moment in time. Like the Beatles first record, it was who those dudes were, as a group, at that moment. I think it's important to consider that to be a little contrived takes away from that.

C: I think the one plan that we have after the last two records, especially the last one.. What we do best as a band is very heavy riffs, very melodic choruses, with a lot of vocal harmonies, and guitar harmonies. We kind of strayed away from that at times, but especially with Sin and Bones, this was what we wanted to do and every song fits that mould and we want to continue to do that because that's another reason why I think we've grown as a band. We're a little bit different from what's going on right now. We have a little bit of a different sound and we like that, we really want to focus on that just like we did on Sin and Bones which really paid off for us.

J: We were saying, when we've been listening to a few albums, that we think we've been spoilt by Sin and Bones. Other albums from bands... they've been very same-y all the tracks have the same kind of riffs and things. But Sin and Bones is completely different; each song has got a different catch.

(after 6 shows and a 5.5hr drive Joobs momentarily loses her vocabulary)

C: It's very diverse

J: Yeah, that's the word I was looking for!

C: (laughs) It still fits that tone and that mood. A little dark, very heavy, and a lot of melodies and harmonies, which is something that Rich is really great at. We love Metallica, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden and Dio. We love Avenged, Bullet, Stone Sour and all those bands. But I think the difference for us is that we also really love Journey, Styx, Foreigner, Pink Floyd, Queen, The Beatles and The Stones. That kind of side of us is what makes us different. It's the same thing with Avenged; Shadows loves Queen and Pink Floyd, and you can hear those elements in their song writing. That's kind of what makes them a little different from what's going on. You need to do that because I don't like hearing records where every song is the same. It's very boring, and it puts you in a box as a band. We don't like that. We don't want that. I like bands like U2 and Zeppelin and The Beatles, who have a lot of different styles. It's still them, but they can do all these different types of songs and people fucking dug it and that's the way it should be.

J: As you guys are probably fully aware, you see us in the crowd every day, we are following the tour. A lot of people, including friends and family, have told us that we are going too far and that it's a bit obsessive.....

C: I don't think what you guys are doing is going too far or obsessive at all. I think it's cool! What a great thing to do for your summer vacation or whatever...

R: I followed Stryper on tour for a week, when I was a kid.

C: Yeah, I've done it before for two or three gigs. But, I mean, fuck, I wish there was 10,000 people like you! It would be a lot easier for us.

J: So what is the craziest thing you've ever done for your favourite bands?

C: In Winnipeg there was a hotel called the Westin where all the bands stayed, and a friend of mine knew somebody who worked there. Some chick that he was banging would tell him what floor they were on, and he would get a room on the same floor. So this one time we were on Metallica's floor, sitting in the room, door open, waiting for someone to walk by and finally Hetfield walked by. It seemed like he was 9ft tall he had his side shaved in '89 and nose piercings. I was like "Fuck, there's Hetfield!!" I said “James!" "Yeah?" "Ya wanna come in and party with us? We've got a six pack of beer man! That's TWO EACH!"

"Naaah, maybe later."

"Alright, see you later, James! ...He said maybe later!"

So we sat there for hours just waiting. He never came back. But at the time it was "fucking two beers for you, two beers for me, and two for James!" (All laugh) The other time was Maiden. I snuck onto the floor, knocked on every door until finally Adrian Smith opened the door with his towel on. He had a towel on his head... You know when someone has long hair and they do this with their hair? (picks up a towel and proceeds to wrap it round his head) I was like "Hey, can I have your picture?"

"I just got out the shower... Maybe later." 

"OK. Thanks, man." He closed the door. "See you later, dude!"

I still remember those days. I'm still a fan. So I appreciate it even more when we get here, and there's kids outside waiting to say "hi" or whatever... I mean, that was me! (to Rich) Do you remember the craziest thing you did?

R: Just waiting outside Stryper's bus at 2 o'clock in the morning. I was probably 19 or 20. I remember that it was freezing cold, it was February, and all the loyal fans were all there and as it got later and colder... less people, less people, 'til it was just me and my girlfriend, and they finally came out. I got to meet them and I said "Man, are there any tickets available for tomorrow's show? We really wanted to go to Charlotte tomorrow."

"Sure, we'll just put you on the guest list."

We showed up and they had passes for us, they invited us in, we had dinner with them and catering and.....

C: Didn't Michael Sweet also give you like cab fare or something like that?

R: Yeah! He always said "You coming tomorrow night?"

"Yeah!"

So we were with them for like five days and then on the last day he said "are you coming tomorrow night?" I said "I can't, man, I've run out of money. I don't even have gas money to get home." He said, "Oh, don't worry about it. Here.” He gave me $20 for gas to get home and he said "one day I'll probably need it so you can pay me back then." (everyone laughs) When I met him I told him the story and gave him 20 bucks.

C: Did he take it?

R: Yes.

C: He took it?!

R: Yeah!

C: That's the cool thing. Mike's a good friend of ours now, loves our band, respects us. Whenever the guys you admired when you were growing up become your friends and peers it's a pretty cool feeling. Like the anthrax gigs we did a couple of weeks ago... I took two pictures: one of the merch stand; a Fozzy shirt and an Anthrax shirt together. The other was the backstage pass that said Anthrax and Fozzy on it. In 1988 I was waiting for tickets to see them on the KISS Crazy Nights tour and here we are playing with them. Stuff like that's pretty cool. When we played Soundwave in Australia, Metallica was headlining and we were watching Slayer from side of the stage. Rich and Hetfield were standing next to each other watching it. I took a picture of it. That was pretty cool.

L: On the other side of it, is there anything crazy that fans have done for you, other than following you around the country or baking cakes? (Joobs baked a cake in April with figures of the band on)

C: Those cakes were crazy! Not just your cake. Last night in Glasgow this lady made us 10 cakes; each one a different flavour and you know we don't eat a lot of sweets on tour, if any at all! These 10 cakes came down and it was like... German chocolate cake and an orange carrot cake, a lemon cake, a banana cake, blah blah blah. We were giving them to opening bands, we were giving them to the fans.... it was just like take 'em! Just take 'em and go! I think the thing that still gets me the most is people that get Fozzy tattoos. That's serious shit! It's pretty cool to know you've had an influence, especially song lyrics, or our logos. It makes me realise we could never break up, 'cause if we do people are going to be stuck with some tattoos (laughs) but that's as real as it gets as far as being a fan.

L: So, Invading the Pit is basically a blog written by female metal fans for other female metal fans. I've travelled to see you guys, I've travelled to see Avenged Sevenfold... There's always that stigma associated with it. "You must be a groupie because you're a female fan and you're hanging around with the band."

C: I think some of the best fans we've ever had are female fans, for whatever reason. If you're female, male, hermaphrodite... who gives a shit?! A fan's a fan. (everyone laughs) Like you said, if you're a girl going to see a bunch of guys, you must be a groupie, but that's not the case. In fact that is rarely the case; it just means that you like our band. We appreciate it and love it. It's always great to have girls at your show, too. When we toured with Drowning Pool and Revoker in April, at the end of the tour Revoker were like "fuck, you guys get all the chicks!" I was like "fuck, you guys are the 25 year old dudes, why aren't you pulling the chicks? Why aren't you drawing in the girls?" We have a great fanbase with a lot of girls which is good, 'cause if there's girls at your show, guys will come to the show. I used to go to see Mötley Crüe and there'd be 10,000 chicks and it was like "this is the best night of my life!" If you can do that you are doing something right.

L: The other day... Was it Newcastle? Joobs went into the pit and everybody stopped, 'cause there was a girl in the pit

J: So I just started pushing and jumping around!

C: Haha!

L: Do you think it should be that way or do you think, you know, she knows what she's doing going into, she knows there's a chance she could get hurt and just wants to enjoy it like the rest of them?

C: I think, you know, when you go into the pit, everybody takes care of everybody anyway. It's not like you start beating the shit out of anybody. You push each other and have fun, and if someone falls down, I've seen it many times, you help the guy up. So if you're a girl in there, I wouldn't look at it that way. If you didn’t wanna get hurt, you wouldn't be in there in the first place. You could be a 5" 2', hundred pound guy and go into the pit and be in more danger than you are, so I think that if you're in the pit you know what you are getting into.

R: Through nature, guys are encoded to protect women. It's like... as far back. So when a girl gets in the pit, it's not that anyone's looking down, we're just wired that way. It's instinctual. It doesn't even matter if it's the human race... It's just, in the animal species we're encoded to protect women so, you shouldn't look at it as that men are looking at you differently, it's just we're built that way. For better or for worse... Unfortunately we're expected to work harder (all laugh).

L: We asked for fan questions and they were mostly stupid ones, like my dad asking if one of you would take me away with you and keep me for longer than a week.

(all laugh)

R: Thanks, Dad!

L: We had a couple though. One was if you were a beer, what beer would you be and why?

C: A beer or a bear?

L: Beer, drink!
J: Alcohol!

C: If I was a bear I’d be a black bear, mainly because they're cool! Beer... I haven't drank a beer in about three years. They just gave us the Trooper beer, so I would probably maybe say that one just because it's Maiden beer. I haven't drank beer in so long. It's funny, the other day we were in Switzerland, and the crowd didn't know who we were at the start, some guy was like "hey!" and gave me his beer, so I took a sip of fucking beer errgh the taste! I realised how much I hate beer now! Jericho hates beer. That's your headline!

R:  DOT COM!

C: Dot com. Dot org.

J: One more fan question... If you weren't doing the careers you are doing now what would you do?

C: (doing an impression of David from This Is Spinal Tap) Be a full time dreamer!

R: (to Chris) I was gonna say, you already have a stack of them. (Impersonating Chris) If I wasn't being a rockstar, I would be a professional wrestler, or an actor, or an author, or a father...

(all laugh)

R: Me, it's like... erm, serial killer.

C: (to Rich) animal rescuer!

R: I play the guitar and make music. It's not very exciting.

J: And dance awesomely!

R: Yes, that's true. I have patented many moves.

C: You created dancing!

J: We're actually going to petition to get a new DDR game: Duke Dance Revolution.

C: HAHAHA

R: It cannot be replicated by any other guitar player. Many have tried, many have failed!

(No t-shirts for this pic... If you saw the last video we posted on Facebook and Twitter, you'll know why!)

If you're in the United States, you can catch Fozzy on their tour with Saxon this Fall. For more information about Fozzy and to see the upcoming tour dates, visit the official website at FozzyRock.com. Also make sure to check them out on Facebook and Twitter!