NASHVILLE |Q&A WITH SULLY ERNA OF GODSMACK
(SPRING 2001)
Q: You’re from Massachusetts–where are you living now?
SULLY: “I live on a tour bus.”
Q: Do you do anything special to preserve your voice when you’re on tour?
SULLY: “I smoke a pack of cigarettes a day, drink a six pack of Corona and do shots of Crown Royal before going onstage. And Pedialyte is great for a hangover.”
Q: What direction do you believe metal is taking?
SULLY: “I feel that it’s smoothing out and becoming less negative, and if there’s a dark side to lyrics, it’s more than likely just people getting feelings off their chests.”
Q: What effect does Wicca have on the band?
SULLY: “It has absolutely no effect on the band or our music whatsoever. It’s something I do personally that helps me stay grounded.”
Q: Are you only an entertainer or do you see yourself as being able to influence society as a whole in certain instances?
SULLY: “I always try to give a little more to the people who come see us, so I shoot high and hope for the best. Whether we influence anyone remains to be seen.”
Q: Where did the name GODSMACK come from?
SULLY: “Our definition of Godsmack is ‘instant Karma.’ My drummer came into rehearsal one day before we were signed with a huge cold sore on his lip, and I made fun of him all day. The next day, I had a huge cold sore on MY lip, the exact same size and spot. My guitarist said, ‘see, God just smacked you for making fun of him.’ That’s what our band name means-what goes around comes around.”
Q: You’re playing bigger venues now–how does this change your show?
SULLY: “We have pyro and video screens with us. And we built a brand new stage that’s awesome. Up until this point, through our whole career, people have just seen Godsmack under a light show. I want to surprise as many people as we can, so when they think they’re coming to see us how they’ve been seeing us for the last few years, they’re going to be blown away when we step onstage.”
Q: Do you see Godsmack getting any bigger than you already are?
SULLY: “I would love it to. I can’t predict the future but our goals are always set high and we’re just taking the steps to get to that point.”
Q: You seem content with how things are going right now–where does the anger in your songs come from?
SULLY: “I don’t try to write angry. I’ve just been through a lot of dark periods in my life and I just happened to be writing at those times. It’s therapy for me. Being able to jump up onstage for an hour and yell and scream about it is a release for me, so it makes me a lot more humble in life. I have my opportunity four or five nights a week to yell and cry and bitch about it without harming anyone.”
Q: You write from your personal experiences–can you give an example from the new record?
SULLY: “Well, ‘Awake’ was pretty much just getting closure. A lot of the first record was written about a bad relationship and how I dealt with my emotions from day to day. The new album is kind of getting closure on that subject and saying ‘Well, it’s worked out for the better now, and, you know, I’m alive because of it. And I hope you’re satisfied that you made this decision.’ ‘Greed’ was about a friend who betrayed us over money. ‘Spiral’ is my being intrigued about, and my fascination with, reincarnation.”
Q: Is it tough to re-adjust to normal life once you get home after a tour?
SULLY: “Yeah, it used to be normal to sit home and work a 40-hour job, and see your friends on the weekends. You know, you spend so much time away from that now that this becomes normal, and when you come home, that becomes a little distorted. So it is a little bit of a twist, but you know you get it back together within a week.”
Q: How would you like to see things change in the country for the next four years?
SULLY: “Stop racism. Let there be world peace. Bring back Woodstock. Let everyone fuck again. Cure AIDS.”
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