December 5, 2023 • 35 mins
Brent is the front man for Shinedown which has been active for over twenty years creating amazing music.
The band's latest release is called Planet Zero and it includes the song "A Symptom of Being Human" which has become a multi-format hit.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Taking a Walk.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
When I was growing up, I never really focused on
a plan B. And I know that from my generation.
You grow up with people telling you, well, what if
it doesn't work, what if it doesn't happen, you need
to have a plan B. I never focused on that
because my Plan A meant so much to me, and
also that Plan A can evolve over time.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
Thanks for joining us for this virtual edition of the
Taking a Walk Podcast. Buzznight's special guest is the lead
singer from the multi platinum chart topping rock band that
continues to build a legacy decades after it was formed.
Brent Smith once said that as a band, Shine Down
has only one boss, it just happens to be everyone
(00:40):
in the audience. Brent Smith will take you on a
journey that will bring you behind the scenes of one
of America's great rock bands, Shine Down, as he joins
buzz Night next on Taking a Walk.
Speaker 4 (00:54):
All right, well, Brent, congratulations on your success and the
legacy you and the band continue to build.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Thank you. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
I we try to keep the mentality of don't ever
arrive in this industry. It's not about the arrival, It's
about the journey more than anything.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
But thank you. I appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (01:17):
I mean, I know your music and you're touring obviously
or something you're very proud of. But where in the
let's call it the hierarchy of pride do you put
your work with the mental health community.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
At the very top? At the very top?
Speaker 2 (01:39):
You know, I'm in a band that is known for
being a very lyrical band. We spend a lot of
time on the message in the songs that we write
in the studio, and for me, I'm also in a
band that's been you know, we've been talking about mental
health for the better part of two decades. So now
(02:00):
seeing how it is being spoken about more and being
brought to the forefront because as human beings we evolved.
You know, the world that we're in now is everybody
has a platform in regards to social media, and so
I think that the most important thing in regards to
mental health and why that's so important is that should
(02:23):
be something that is looked at and talked about during
your lifetime because it's your journey. You have to I
think for the longest time, people were made to feel
embarrassed or ashamed because maybe they started to feel different
as they were growing as an individual. And what have you,
and some of that can be scary at times, and
when you don't feel as if you can talk to
(02:44):
somebody about that, it can be very, very detrimental to
your psyche. And I think the mental health aspect of
what Shine Down does is we give everybody a platform
to talk about it, to let them know you're a
work in progress. It's okay, but you can't be quiet
(03:05):
about it. I mean, the bravest thing you can do
a lot of times is speak up and not be silent.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
So I would put it at the top.
Speaker 4 (03:14):
How are you able to be so transparent about it?
Speaker 2 (03:19):
I listen a lot, I'm aware of my surroundings. I
don't necessarily have to be the first person in the
conversation to speak because I'm trying to understand what someone
is going through. I'm trying to understand what the situation is. Like,
(03:40):
I started writing songs because I had something to say.
I didn't start writing songs because I wanted to be famous.
I think that's kind of at the core a really
important element of being a songwriter, at least from the
way that I look at things. But I also genuinely
care about people and in the band, our fan base
(04:04):
has given us a platform to be ourselves, and we
want them to be themselves as well. And inside of
that too, I think my perspective also comes from I
grew up kind of hard in regards to people not
necessarily understanding what I was about because I was a
bit different than everyone.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
I was very very.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
Words were always a big deal to me from the
moment I could write, and I also have always been
able to put my thoughts into a song format, even
before I knew what a song was. I used to
write poems when I was really young, not really knowing
what that was.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
And then I always had a melody. Every day I
would wake up.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
There was always a different thing going on in my mind,
and I was always creating something.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
Yeah, I think I'm just very aware of my surroundings.
Speaker 4 (05:02):
Did you share that poetry with anybody at that point
in your life?
Speaker 2 (05:06):
Not at the at the age that I started. I mean,
I think I started writing. What I can remember is
probably at ten years old is when I started to
really kind of figure.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
Out what was going on.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
And then I mean as I entered as I entered
high school, I kind of started hanging out with a
different crowd, and they were a lot more. I was
kind of a goth when I was in high school,
but I was but I was broad. And what I
(05:41):
mean by that is I just hung out with a
lot of artistic people because I was. My dad had
me in sports at a young age, and I was
pretty good at baseball and basketball. And I remember I
turned fifteen and I told my dad, I, Dad, I
don't want place sports anymore. And I think it crushed
(06:02):
him in a lot of ways. And my dad is
amazing on so many levels. And definitely my mom and
my dad are probably my two biggest fans in the world.
But although it might have not necessarily disappointed my dad,
he was just not aware of this artistic side of
(06:23):
his son because I kind of kept it from him
because I didn't know how he's going to react to it.
But when I told him and I started to express myself,
he basically said, you know, what all I ever want
you to be is authentic. I want you to be real.
That's that's the biggest thing that I can teach you, son,
is how to be authentic. So that helped out a lot.
(06:46):
But I think that you know, when I was I
remember showing some of my poetry to my dad, and
my dad kind of be kind of taken aback by it,
didn't really like I think he like when I showed
it to him in the beginning, he looked at it
and I was thinking to myself, he's gonna think this
is garbage.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
You know, he's not gonna get it.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
And I think his expression was more of when I
first showed it to him that he was he was
a bit more like a light bulb went off because
he had found a connection there also with his son,
because I think he felt, wow, this is this is insightful.
(07:31):
For a fifteen year old kid, This is insightful, very
mature in a lot of ways.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
So yeah, I remember showing.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
Some of it to my dad, and you know, as
I was hanging out with a more of an artsy
group of people.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
They encouraged me. That was what was cool about it.
Not that my friends that were in sports and and
all that.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
You know, I didn't like stop being friends with the
people that I you know, played and you know, played
with in sports and things like that.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
It's just I was finding myself.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
I was really opening myself up to a lot of
different experiences.
Speaker 4 (08:04):
Was there a defining moment where you knew that music
was going to be your life.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
Somehow I knew from birth. I know some people are like, how,
you know, how is that? I just can't ever remember
not being completely captivated by songs. You know, music is
one thing, but songs I build that into.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
You know, if it's a.
Speaker 2 (08:36):
If you're listening to like classical music, or you were
listening to instrumentation, the center stage is the instruments, but
a song, there's a message in that because there's lyrics
and a melody. So ever since I can remember, I
was fascinated by songs and what the language was and
(08:57):
what was going on. And you know, as I got again,
I love words and I love being able to create,
you know, those those different atmospheres and those different situations.
And again too, if I think about it more so now,
I also started writing songs, I believe because it was
(09:18):
going to be cheaper than therapy, so I could just
kind of I don want to be super ethereal and
say like, I kind of figured out ways to heal
myself by just being very vocal about how I felt
because I could always put it down on paper and
for whatever reason, I could sing it out That's another
(09:40):
thing too.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
I was very vocal from the moment I entered the earth.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
My mother would tell you that she was always like,
he had no problems letting you know he was in
the room, And I am extremely grateful that from the
moment I entered the earth. I also always had a
an idea of what I wanted to do and what
I wanted to be like. I never really struggled with that.
(10:05):
I always wanted to be a performer. I knew I
wanted to be a singer. I felt like I could
have a real opportunity, and I felt like I was
good enough to be able to write and come up
with my own original material. So I always had a direction.
(10:25):
So I feel really lucky about that. My granny used
to tell me all the time. She still tells me
to this day. Find something you love, son, and you will.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
Never work a day in your life.
Speaker 4 (10:35):
You know Desmond Child, who I know you worked with,
the great songwriter. He talked about on this podcast that
he sort of feels there's a role for him to
give people hope. And I feel like that's very similar to.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
Your view of the world.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
Would you agree, Yeah, because we all understand the negative
is not going anywhere.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
It's always going to be there.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
It's something that I think that as human beings, you know,
we all share the human condition with each other, but
we're all connected to one another. And there are moments
in the day with me where I see again talking
about how technologically advanced we are and how everybody has
a platform with social media and what have you.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
I just try to lean more towards.
Speaker 2 (11:30):
The positivity on a daily basis, because I don't want
people to give up because it's not happening for them
right this second.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
It doesn't mean that it won't happen.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
And what I mean by that is whatever you want
for your life, whatever you want your life to be,
whatever direction you're going towards, it's important to fill people
with confidence. I'm not saying you ain't going to have
to work for it, but that's the journey inside of
it too. You have to work for it. I've said
this before. When I was growing up, I never really
(12:03):
focused on a plan B. And I know that from
my generation. You grow up with people telling you, well,
what if it doesn't work, what if it doesn't happen,
you need to have a plan B. I never focused
on that because my plan A meant so much to me.
And also that plan A can evolve over time. And
(12:24):
I think sometimes people too, They get really afraid of
a specific thing, which is called failure. I don't want
to fail. What happens if I fail? You need to fail.
You need to fail a lot.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
You got to.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
I encourage people to fail because it teaches you what
to do next time, or it gives you a different
perspective of the architecture that you're trying to build for
your own life. But I tell you this, your life
and your legacy won't be built by your failures. Your
life and your legacy will be built by the fact
(12:57):
that you refuse to give up.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
That's the whole point. Like, just don't give up.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
And if it takes you a minute to figure out
what your plan A is, that's okay, but go after that.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
And as far as the.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
Negativity and all that that we see in the world,
I'm like, you know what, there's enough of it.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
I get it.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
It's not going anywhere. So I try to be more
of a positive reinforcement.
Speaker 4 (13:21):
Well, we're going to talk about music and the connection
of that and healing on our Music Save Me Podcasts
with Lynn Hoffman where you'll be guesting on that. But
I did want to go back to Desmond Child. Yeah,
what was it like writing with him? And what did
you learn from him?
Speaker 2 (13:41):
Man? That was a tornado of like brand new. It
was so wild Man, because we the band that I
was signed to Atlantic with first we got an opportunity
to go to Nashville and work with him. And you
(14:03):
know what's interesting about it, Like we wrote a song
and the song was Okay, you know again this is
Desmond Child. He I mean one thing, but that's the
whole thing. It was Desmond Child. And I think Desmond
spent more time with me during those two days of really,
yes we were working on a song, Yes we were
(14:24):
in a recording like multimillion dollar recording studio and all that,
But I spent more time with Desmond asking him questions
just about songwriting and the music industry and life on
the road and all the artists that he works with,
and how he goes in and looks at each individual
(14:45):
artist differently, and he's not necessarily writing for himself. He's
trying to put himself in the same environment as that
person that he's writing with, and this whole element as
a songwriter is also to get that artist to talk
to him when they're trying to to figure out what
they want to write about. And there's a lot of
psychology involved. And I learned in that short period of time.
(15:10):
Those two days really had an impact on me because
he kind of gave me a sounding board in a
lot of ways to once again, don't stop asking questions,
know when to stop listen and keep your eyes and
ears open, but also to remember that songwriting and music
in general, it's constantly evolving.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
He was fantastic. I gotta I gotta find a way.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
To reach out to him too, because it's been twenty five,
twenty six years since that moment in time. But I did.
I learned a great deal from him in those forty
eight hours.
Speaker 4 (15:50):
We'll be right back with more of the Taking a
Walk Podcast.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
Welcome back to the Taking a Walk Podcast.
Speaker 4 (16:00):
I want to talk about Jelly Roll, who's been a
guest on these podcasts as well. Yeah, how did you
find his music and how does it make you feel
that both of you, meaning you and the band Shine
Down and Jelly Role defy categorization.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
Well, first of all, if there is a person on
this planet that deserves the amount of overwhelming and extremely
earned success. It is jelly Roll, that guy. I'm gonna
tell you what jelly Roll is. Jelly role is necessary.
I mean, because it didn't happen overnight for him. It
(16:44):
didn't happen overnight for us either. But you know, the
path that he has created for himself is because he
has been patient yet grinding so hard for his entire
career and his entire life up until this point. Seeing
him win these awards and seeing him be brought to
(17:07):
the forefront that didn't happen overnight by any stretch of
the imagination. And to see the Billboard nominations, to see
him win New Artists of the Year at the CMA's
the other night, to see I believe he has six
Grammy nominations. I'm just unbelievably, or I should say not unbelievable.
I am so believably proud of this guy because he
(17:32):
deserves it. And you know when I met him, well,
how I got introduced to him was honestly, I was
on YouTube one day and I think I was probably
one of the first people to watch the live version
of him in the studio for the song Saved Me.
I think I remember being I think it had like
(17:53):
one hundred and fifty thousand views when I watched it
for the first time, and I was just complete, deletely
floored by it. I think it's up to like almost
three hundred million views now. But again, it was very genuine,
it was very unique. And again going back to that
realism and that authenticity that I was talking about a
(18:16):
minute ago.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
You know that my dad told me like focused on
being authentic.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
That is the prime example of where I watched something
for the first time, not knowing who he was, never
hearing his voice, and obviously I went down a very
unique rabbit hole after I watched that because you see
that he's multi formatted. You see that it's you know,
and the way I feel about it is the exact
(18:41):
same way he does. It's not about rap music, rock music,
metal music, pop music, country music, you know, R and
B gospel, It's about all music. It's about not being
pigeonholed and not being put into a box.
Speaker 1 (18:57):
You know, you don't want to handcuff yourself creatively.
Speaker 2 (19:00):
And for me and him, I met him and I
think it was twenty twenty one, Yeah, it was twenty
twenty one at Blue Ridge festival and he was on
the same day that we were, and so we went
(19:20):
to him early in the day. I knew he was
going to be there, had never met him before. Zach
actually our guitar player, Zach Myers. I actually didn't know this,
but he knew him a little bit just from the
Tennessee you know the link up because I'm from Naxville, Tennessee.
Zach's from Memphis, Tennessee. Jellyus from Antioch, so there was
(19:42):
a Tennessee connection there. And so I met him and
we were just talking about music, and I was talking
to him about Save Me and how just blown away
I was by that. And then I just said, Hey,
you want to come up on stage with us tonight
and do simple Man? And he was like really, and
I was like yeah, and he That's the great thing
(20:05):
about Jelly. He is down for anything, and he's such
a wealth of knowledge mentally when it comes to again,
just all kinds of music and all kinds of songs.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
That's a steal trap he's got.
Speaker 2 (20:19):
And so he comes up and we do the song together,
and it gets filmed and it.
Speaker 1 (20:25):
Goes out on YouTube.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
I think it's up to like six or seven million
views and this is just like a phone recording of it,
you know. And our videographer, Sanjay, he was on stage
filming it as well, but that got put out. I
got his number, we started talking to each other, and
then at the beginning of last year, probably February of
(20:50):
last year, I just kind of made a decision. I
knew what the touring schedule was gonna be for us
and kind of what we wanted to do and how
we wanted to build it out. So I called him
and I said, would you be main support for our
Revolutions Live tour in the fall? It's about forty two shows,
(21:12):
it's all amphitheaters, and you'd be main support. And he
was at the time. He just was like, are you serious?
And I said, yeah, we'd be honored. So we took
another awesome young man too at that time, John Harvey.
So but when I went to everybody at the label
(21:32):
and management, and I understood why they were a little
hesitant because they didn't know who he was.
Speaker 1 (21:37):
But I told everybody, got to remember this is.
Speaker 2 (21:39):
Last year in February for a fall tour, and I said,
we're going to bring John Harvey and Jelly roll with us.
This fall, and everybody was like who, And I said,
you're just going to need to trust me.
Speaker 1 (21:54):
And do the rest is history. You know, it's uh.
And he would come out.
Speaker 2 (21:59):
Every night and do Simple Man with us, and Zach
would go out on his set and they do ninety
nine Problems jay Z because like Jelly set was so
amazing and just the like just a corner copy of
all kinds of music and styles and everything.
Speaker 1 (22:14):
So it's super super rapp man.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
That was one of the funnest times on tour that
I have had in the last twenty years is going
out there with him and being a part of that
and watching his rise. And again going back to your
question about the multi format and the broadening of that,
I have never been in a band that, in regards
(22:39):
to Shinedown. From day one, I never wanted the music
to be put into a box. And again it goes
back to me and Jelly would have a lot of
discussions about that on the road with each other. Again
going back to you can have country influences and rock
influences and pop influences and alternative and all that. You
shouldn't be categorized and just staying in one lane. And
(23:02):
I think the future for a lot of artists, if
we can be anything to help with that. As we
move forward in music, you know that pendulum constantly swings
back and forth, but you don't have to as an artist.
You shouldn't be put into or pigeonholed into being you
can only go down this road. You can only do
this kind of music. If you're known for this, you
(23:22):
can't do anything else. And that's just not true. You
should be able to be diverse. You should be able
to evolve. You know, music is powerful and as you
as you move forward in your career again, you've got
to keep your eyes and your ears open, but also too,
you should be inspired at different times in your career
(23:44):
with different styles of music. You should always be open minded.
That's the big that's the point, is to be open minded.
Speaker 4 (23:50):
Well, you preside over one of America's biggest and best
rock bands, that's true, and.
Speaker 1 (23:59):
So you've proud of it.
Speaker 4 (24:01):
And you should be. And you see and continue to
see great success. What do you tell somebody like Jelly
Role who's experiencing this tremendous rise and amazing success, what
do you tell him to keep him in check and
have it be something where you don't lose perspective.
Speaker 2 (24:22):
I'm gonna be honest with you, He's doing fantastic in
regards to what you're talking about from a psychological standpoint
and handling everything that's going on in his life right
now and in his world. He's doing a fantastic job
at that because that's.
Speaker 1 (24:41):
Just who he is.
Speaker 2 (24:42):
He's really really gifted, and he's also really smart, because
again he continues to ask questions, he continues to We
have a saying in Shineedown, which is, you can't make
it about the painter. You have to make it about
the painting. So you have to look at the big picture.
And I mean, I remember when last year when we
(25:04):
were on tour together, we talked a lot about because
at the time that I believe that was really the
first time he had gone out on a tour where
it was like consecutive weeks in a row. You know,
we were out there for like almost ten weeks together.
And one of the biggest things that I told him
just from a performance standpoint, because he had not really
(25:25):
done that kind of a schedule. And we talked really
really early on too, before we even got out on
the road with each other. The two biggest things that
I told him was from a physical standpoint, your voice
is something that you cannot plug in. It's not like
you can break a string and restring it. It's not
(25:46):
like if you you know, you're a drummer, you drop
a stick real quick and just grab another one. Your
body is your temple, so your voice has to be healthy.
So you can't go out at night a bunch at
you know, you know, and party and this and that
and the other, like loud bars or this and that.
You gotta remember when you're on tour. If you go
out and you yell all night because you're having a
(26:07):
good time or what have you, you're gonna wake up
and you're not gonna have a voice. And the other
thing was I told him was water, water, water, water, water,
And I think at the time he was like, how
much water do I need to drink? I'm like a lot,
because you there's that physicality of that.
Speaker 1 (26:26):
When you're on the road.
Speaker 2 (26:28):
And what's awesome is that I know that he listened
to me during that time because when he goes on
the road. He just got done with a completely sold
out tour. I think it was sixty four shows and
everyone was sold out like and these are huge buildings.
These are like twenty thousand capacity, twenty five thousand capacities.
Speaker 1 (26:49):
Every one of them sold out.
Speaker 2 (26:50):
But if you notice in that timeframe that he was
out on that tour, you know, he did social media
and you would kind of get a recap from the
shows and this and the other, but he wasn't on
social media a lot during that time because he was
taking care of himself. He was resting his voice, he
was doing what he needed to do. But he's got it, man,
he knows what he's doing. He's been waiting his whole
(27:12):
life for this man, and he you know, I just
I'm just unbelieved.
Speaker 1 (27:17):
I'm just so happy for this guy.
Speaker 2 (27:19):
Man, I really really am. He has such an incredible future.
He's he's also showing the public. That speech he did
the other night at the CMAS, he full on preached
to in one minute, Man gave the most rousing and
inspiring speech for winning Best New Artists of the Year
at the CMAS. He's locked and loaded. Man, he knows
(27:42):
what he's doing.
Speaker 4 (27:44):
Congratulations on the Crossroad, the crossover success of Symptom of
Being Human.
Speaker 1 (27:51):
Yeah, still working on it.
Speaker 4 (27:54):
My goodness, gracious that song is stunning.
Speaker 1 (27:57):
Thank you.
Speaker 4 (27:58):
It is just amazing using the lyrics invitation to the
to the lunatic ball. I mean, that's an amazing song.
Can you tell me about the creation of that and
how it makes you feel on how that song is
connecting with people.
Speaker 2 (28:15):
Yeah, I mean I think I have a you know,
I have a tendency to get long winded. But with
that particular song. We wrote that song in the midst
of a pandemic, when we knew that people were scared
and afraid and frustrated and angry and confused with everything
that was.
Speaker 1 (28:31):
Going on in the world.
Speaker 2 (28:32):
And when I arrived in South Carolina with Eric, our
bass player.
Speaker 1 (28:38):
Another thing too that people may not know.
Speaker 2 (28:40):
So Eric bass who's our bass player, who's probably a
bass player laughed.
Speaker 1 (28:44):
In all reality.
Speaker 2 (28:46):
The last two albums, Attention Attention and Planet Zero, he
has produced, engineered, and mixed both full length records. So
when I arrived in South Carolina with him, this was
June of twenty twenty, you know, I remember that song
was a gift. It really was, And you don't get
(29:09):
gifts when you're making an album all the time. They're
actually very very rare, And what a gift is is
when you're in the studio and you're working on a
record and you're writing new material. A gift is a
song that really, in a lot of ways, it writes itself.
It kind of utilizes you as a vessel in order
to be born. Because I remember the song came very quick.
(29:34):
The lyrics came in a flood, like I just remember
I was kind of holding on while we were writing it,
myself and Eric, and then you know, taking a step
back when we looked at it before I went in
to do the vocals, I'm reading the lyrics and I'm
looking at the structure of the song and how it
was laid out. And I mean, we wrote that song
(29:56):
in an afternoon, and I did the vocal that you
hear on the album that made the actual record, because
we don't really do demos anymore, like when we write
a song, we go in there and we're recording it
for real nine times out of ten. But we wrote
it in an afternoon and I sang the vocal that
evening and that's the vocal that you hear on the track.
(30:21):
And again, it was a song that I feel it
needed to be It wanted to be born, so badly
that it utilized us as a vessel so that it
could present itself to the public. And the overwhelming response
from people with that song in particular has been humbling,
It really really has. And again it's a song about
(30:43):
understanding that we're all work in progress. You know, life
is the journey. You're not promised tomorrow, and you have
to focus on what you're doing today. But at times
the world can be an interesting place to navigated and
it's going to throw a lot of different curve balls
at you and you have to figure out a way
(31:04):
to navigate that in life.
Speaker 1 (31:08):
But for me it was a gift.
Speaker 2 (31:11):
I think in our career in Shineedown there's only really
been three gifts. Forty five on the first record was
a gift, and second Chance on the Sound of Maddness
album was a gift. Those two songs were written quite quickly,
and when you know, you take a step back and
you look, you're like, did I write this? You know,
(31:33):
you're kind of stunned by it, and it's been a minute.
And the symptom I would say would be number three.
You know, they don't come often, man, so when they
when they come, you're very grateful for.
Speaker 4 (31:45):
Them well in closing, what are you still learning these days?
Speaker 1 (31:51):
What about?
Speaker 2 (31:51):
That's an interesting question to be put in that and
be presented like that.
Speaker 1 (31:58):
Not to sound.
Speaker 2 (32:01):
If if I'm if I'm continuing to learn anything. It
is quite frankly to keep learning, like to not think that,
you know again like don't arise, Like don't don't don't
worry about the arrival, you know, focus on the journey.
I think that I'm learning that the younger generation. I
(32:24):
think a lot of people I see them, and I
mean this from a creative standpoint, that the younger generation
is really gifted and really talented, and we need to
help guide them, you know, forward and and and not
be so mean spirited and really focus that for the
(32:49):
future of.
Speaker 1 (32:50):
All of us, you know.
Speaker 2 (32:51):
Look for for me, when I think about the rock
and roll sensibility and the community that is rock and roll,
this is what I've learned and what I continue to learn.
I've never looked at rock and roll as a genre
of music. I've always looked at rock and roll as
a way of life. I remember when ice Cube got
(33:13):
inducted into the Rock and Roll of Fame with NWA.
He walked up to that podium and the very first
thing he said was rock and roll.
Speaker 1 (33:22):
Is the spirit and it's an honor to be here.
Speaker 2 (33:26):
And that's what I mean, man, where the rock and
roll community is so inviting and welcoming because it is
for everybody.
Speaker 1 (33:37):
It doesn't matter.
Speaker 2 (33:39):
Listen, anyone from anywhere at any time is welcomed all
the time in the rock and roll community. And it's
about being diverse, and it's about being open minded, and
it's about not always needing the platform to speak or
to yell what you want to say to the world.
Sometimes you have to take a step back and listen
(34:01):
to people and really be aware that we're all human
beings and we're all connected, and we share this planet
with a lot of other creatures, you know, and we
should be respectful of that. I think the biggest thing
that I learn is that I just want to see,
especially for Shindown in what we do as rock and
(34:21):
roll ambassadors, that you've got to remember something.
Speaker 1 (34:24):
This is something that's key.
Speaker 2 (34:27):
It doesn't matter if you're a man or a woman,
and it doesn't matter if you're younger or you're older.
The color of your skin, that's irrelevant. Your religion, that's
your business, that's up to you. That's what makes you
an individual, and that's what makes you original.
Speaker 1 (34:43):
And it's that support for each other.
Speaker 2 (34:46):
It's that understanding that we should all evolve together, but
that we should focus more on supporting each other as
much as we possibly can. So, if anything, I'm just
trying to learn as much as I can on this journey,
and when I I can do it, teach somebody what
I've learned.
Speaker 1 (35:03):
Well. Thank you for all that you continue to give us.
Thank you for the opportunity.
Speaker 4 (35:08):
Congratulations for being not only one of America's great rock bands,
but one of the best global rock bands shined down.
Speaker 1 (35:17):
Thank you so so much. I'm honored to be here.
Speaker 2 (35:20):
That means the world to me, and thank you for
giving me the time today.
Speaker 1 (35:23):
This has been an absolute blast.
Speaker 3 (35:26):
Thanks for listening to this episode of the Taking a
Walk podcast. Share this and other episodes with your friends
and follow us so you never miss an episode. Taking
a Walk is available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
and wherever you get your podcasts.
Taking a Walk.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
When I was growing up, I never really focused on
a plan B. And I know that from my generation.
You grow up with people telling you, well, what if
it doesn't work, what if it doesn't happen, you need
to have a plan B. I never focused on that
because my Plan A meant so much to me, and
also that Plan A can evolve over time.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
Thanks for joining us for this virtual edition of the
Taking a Walk Podcast. Buzznight's special guest is the lead
singer from the multi platinum chart topping rock band that
continues to build a legacy decades after it was formed.
Brent Smith once said that as a band, Shine Down
has only one boss, it just happens to be everyone
(00:40):
in the audience. Brent Smith will take you on a
journey that will bring you behind the scenes of one
of America's great rock bands, Shine Down, as he joins
buzz Night next on Taking a Walk.
Speaker 4 (00:54):
All right, well, Brent, congratulations on your success and the
legacy you and the band continue to build.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Thank you. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
I we try to keep the mentality of don't ever
arrive in this industry. It's not about the arrival, It's
about the journey more than anything.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
But thank you. I appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (01:17):
I mean, I know your music and you're touring obviously
or something you're very proud of. But where in the
let's call it the hierarchy of pride do you put
your work with the mental health community.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
At the very top? At the very top?
Speaker 2 (01:39):
You know, I'm in a band that is known for
being a very lyrical band. We spend a lot of
time on the message in the songs that we write
in the studio, and for me, I'm also in a
band that's been you know, we've been talking about mental
health for the better part of two decades. So now
(02:00):
seeing how it is being spoken about more and being
brought to the forefront because as human beings we evolved.
You know, the world that we're in now is everybody
has a platform in regards to social media, and so
I think that the most important thing in regards to
mental health and why that's so important is that should
(02:23):
be something that is looked at and talked about during
your lifetime because it's your journey. You have to I
think for the longest time, people were made to feel
embarrassed or ashamed because maybe they started to feel different
as they were growing as an individual. And what have you,
and some of that can be scary at times, and
when you don't feel as if you can talk to
(02:44):
somebody about that, it can be very, very detrimental to
your psyche. And I think the mental health aspect of
what Shine Down does is we give everybody a platform
to talk about it, to let them know you're a
work in progress. It's okay, but you can't be quiet
(03:05):
about it. I mean, the bravest thing you can do
a lot of times is speak up and not be silent.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
So I would put it at the top.
Speaker 4 (03:14):
How are you able to be so transparent about it?
Speaker 2 (03:19):
I listen a lot, I'm aware of my surroundings. I
don't necessarily have to be the first person in the
conversation to speak because I'm trying to understand what someone
is going through. I'm trying to understand what the situation is. Like,
(03:40):
I started writing songs because I had something to say.
I didn't start writing songs because I wanted to be famous.
I think that's kind of at the core a really
important element of being a songwriter, at least from the
way that I look at things. But I also genuinely
care about people and in the band, our fan base
(04:04):
has given us a platform to be ourselves, and we
want them to be themselves as well. And inside of
that too, I think my perspective also comes from I
grew up kind of hard in regards to people not
necessarily understanding what I was about because I was a
bit different than everyone.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
I was very very.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
Words were always a big deal to me from the
moment I could write, and I also have always been
able to put my thoughts into a song format, even
before I knew what a song was. I used to
write poems when I was really young, not really knowing
what that was.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
And then I always had a melody. Every day I
would wake up.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
There was always a different thing going on in my mind,
and I was always creating something.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
Yeah, I think I'm just very aware of my surroundings.
Speaker 4 (05:02):
Did you share that poetry with anybody at that point
in your life?
Speaker 2 (05:06):
Not at the at the age that I started. I mean,
I think I started writing. What I can remember is
probably at ten years old is when I started to
really kind of figure.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
Out what was going on.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
And then I mean as I entered as I entered
high school, I kind of started hanging out with a
different crowd, and they were a lot more. I was
kind of a goth when I was in high school,
but I was but I was broad. And what I
(05:41):
mean by that is I just hung out with a
lot of artistic people because I was. My dad had
me in sports at a young age, and I was
pretty good at baseball and basketball. And I remember I
turned fifteen and I told my dad, I, Dad, I
don't want place sports anymore. And I think it crushed
(06:02):
him in a lot of ways. And my dad is
amazing on so many levels. And definitely my mom and
my dad are probably my two biggest fans in the world.
But although it might have not necessarily disappointed my dad,
he was just not aware of this artistic side of
(06:23):
his son because I kind of kept it from him
because I didn't know how he's going to react to it.
But when I told him and I started to express myself,
he basically said, you know, what all I ever want
you to be is authentic. I want you to be real.
That's that's the biggest thing that I can teach you, son,
is how to be authentic. So that helped out a lot.
(06:46):
But I think that you know, when I was I
remember showing some of my poetry to my dad, and
my dad kind of be kind of taken aback by it,
didn't really like I think he like when I showed
it to him in the beginning, he looked at it
and I was thinking to myself, he's gonna think this
is garbage.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
You know, he's not gonna get it.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
And I think his expression was more of when I
first showed it to him that he was he was
a bit more like a light bulb went off because
he had found a connection there also with his son,
because I think he felt, wow, this is this is insightful.
(07:31):
For a fifteen year old kid, This is insightful, very
mature in a lot of ways.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
So yeah, I remember showing.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
Some of it to my dad, and you know, as
I was hanging out with a more of an artsy
group of people.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
They encouraged me. That was what was cool about it.
Not that my friends that were in sports and and
all that.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
You know, I didn't like stop being friends with the
people that I you know, played and you know, played
with in sports and things like that.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
It's just I was finding myself.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
I was really opening myself up to a lot of
different experiences.
Speaker 4 (08:04):
Was there a defining moment where you knew that music
was going to be your life.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
Somehow I knew from birth. I know some people are like, how,
you know, how is that? I just can't ever remember
not being completely captivated by songs. You know, music is
one thing, but songs I build that into.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
You know, if it's a.
Speaker 2 (08:36):
If you're listening to like classical music, or you were
listening to instrumentation, the center stage is the instruments, but
a song, there's a message in that because there's lyrics
and a melody. So ever since I can remember, I
was fascinated by songs and what the language was and
(08:57):
what was going on. And you know, as I got again,
I love words and I love being able to create,
you know, those those different atmospheres and those different situations.
And again too, if I think about it more so now,
I also started writing songs, I believe because it was
(09:18):
going to be cheaper than therapy, so I could just
kind of I don want to be super ethereal and
say like, I kind of figured out ways to heal
myself by just being very vocal about how I felt
because I could always put it down on paper and
for whatever reason, I could sing it out That's another
(09:40):
thing too.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
I was very vocal from the moment I entered the earth.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
My mother would tell you that she was always like,
he had no problems letting you know he was in
the room, And I am extremely grateful that from the
moment I entered the earth. I also always had a
an idea of what I wanted to do and what
I wanted to be like. I never really struggled with that.
(10:05):
I always wanted to be a performer. I knew I
wanted to be a singer. I felt like I could
have a real opportunity, and I felt like I was
good enough to be able to write and come up
with my own original material. So I always had a direction.
(10:25):
So I feel really lucky about that. My granny used
to tell me all the time. She still tells me
to this day. Find something you love, son, and you will.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
Never work a day in your life.
Speaker 4 (10:35):
You know Desmond Child, who I know you worked with,
the great songwriter. He talked about on this podcast that
he sort of feels there's a role for him to
give people hope. And I feel like that's very similar to.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
Your view of the world.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
Would you agree, Yeah, because we all understand the negative
is not going anywhere.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
It's always going to be there.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
It's something that I think that as human beings, you know,
we all share the human condition with each other, but
we're all connected to one another. And there are moments
in the day with me where I see again talking
about how technologically advanced we are and how everybody has
a platform with social media and what have you.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
I just try to lean more towards.
Speaker 2 (11:30):
The positivity on a daily basis, because I don't want
people to give up because it's not happening for them
right this second.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
It doesn't mean that it won't happen.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
And what I mean by that is whatever you want
for your life, whatever you want your life to be,
whatever direction you're going towards, it's important to fill people
with confidence. I'm not saying you ain't going to have
to work for it, but that's the journey inside of
it too. You have to work for it. I've said
this before. When I was growing up, I never really
(12:03):
focused on a plan B. And I know that from
my generation. You grow up with people telling you, well,
what if it doesn't work, what if it doesn't happen,
you need to have a plan B. I never focused
on that because my plan A meant so much to me.
And also that plan A can evolve over time. And
(12:24):
I think sometimes people too, They get really afraid of
a specific thing, which is called failure. I don't want
to fail. What happens if I fail? You need to fail.
You need to fail a lot.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
You got to.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
I encourage people to fail because it teaches you what
to do next time, or it gives you a different
perspective of the architecture that you're trying to build for
your own life. But I tell you this, your life
and your legacy won't be built by your failures. Your
life and your legacy will be built by the fact
(12:57):
that you refuse to give up.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
That's the whole point. Like, just don't give up.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
And if it takes you a minute to figure out
what your plan A is, that's okay, but go after that.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
And as far as the.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
Negativity and all that that we see in the world,
I'm like, you know what, there's enough of it.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
I get it.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
It's not going anywhere. So I try to be more
of a positive reinforcement.
Speaker 4 (13:21):
Well, we're going to talk about music and the connection
of that and healing on our Music Save Me Podcasts
with Lynn Hoffman where you'll be guesting on that. But
I did want to go back to Desmond Child. Yeah,
what was it like writing with him? And what did
you learn from him?
Speaker 2 (13:41):
Man? That was a tornado of like brand new. It
was so wild Man, because we the band that I
was signed to Atlantic with first we got an opportunity
to go to Nashville and work with him. And you
(14:03):
know what's interesting about it, Like we wrote a song
and the song was Okay, you know again this is
Desmond Child. He I mean one thing, but that's the
whole thing. It was Desmond Child. And I think Desmond
spent more time with me during those two days of really,
yes we were working on a song, Yes we were
(14:24):
in a recording like multimillion dollar recording studio and all that,
But I spent more time with Desmond asking him questions
just about songwriting and the music industry and life on
the road and all the artists that he works with,
and how he goes in and looks at each individual
(14:45):
artist differently, and he's not necessarily writing for himself. He's
trying to put himself in the same environment as that
person that he's writing with, and this whole element as
a songwriter is also to get that artist to talk
to him when they're trying to to figure out what
they want to write about. And there's a lot of
psychology involved. And I learned in that short period of time.
(15:10):
Those two days really had an impact on me because
he kind of gave me a sounding board in a
lot of ways to once again, don't stop asking questions,
know when to stop listen and keep your eyes and
ears open, but also to remember that songwriting and music
in general, it's constantly evolving.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
He was fantastic. I gotta I gotta find a way.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
To reach out to him too, because it's been twenty five,
twenty six years since that moment in time. But I did.
I learned a great deal from him in those forty
eight hours.
Speaker 4 (15:50):
We'll be right back with more of the Taking a
Walk Podcast.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
Welcome back to the Taking a Walk Podcast.
Speaker 4 (16:00):
I want to talk about Jelly Roll, who's been a
guest on these podcasts as well. Yeah, how did you
find his music and how does it make you feel
that both of you, meaning you and the band Shine
Down and Jelly Role defy categorization.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
Well, first of all, if there is a person on
this planet that deserves the amount of overwhelming and extremely
earned success. It is jelly Roll, that guy. I'm gonna
tell you what jelly Roll is. Jelly role is necessary.
I mean, because it didn't happen overnight for him. It
(16:44):
didn't happen overnight for us either. But you know, the
path that he has created for himself is because he
has been patient yet grinding so hard for his entire
career and his entire life up until this point. Seeing
him win these awards and seeing him be brought to
(17:07):
the forefront that didn't happen overnight by any stretch of
the imagination. And to see the Billboard nominations, to see
him win New Artists of the Year at the CMA's
the other night, to see I believe he has six
Grammy nominations. I'm just unbelievably, or I should say not unbelievable.
I am so believably proud of this guy because he
(17:32):
deserves it. And you know when I met him, well,
how I got introduced to him was honestly, I was
on YouTube one day and I think I was probably
one of the first people to watch the live version
of him in the studio for the song Saved Me.
I think I remember being I think it had like
(17:53):
one hundred and fifty thousand views when I watched it
for the first time, and I was just complete, deletely
floored by it. I think it's up to like almost
three hundred million views now. But again, it was very genuine,
it was very unique. And again going back to that
realism and that authenticity that I was talking about a
(18:16):
minute ago.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
You know that my dad told me like focused on
being authentic.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
That is the prime example of where I watched something
for the first time, not knowing who he was, never
hearing his voice, and obviously I went down a very
unique rabbit hole after I watched that because you see
that he's multi formatted. You see that it's you know,
and the way I feel about it is the exact
(18:41):
same way he does. It's not about rap music, rock music,
metal music, pop music, country music, you know, R and
B gospel, It's about all music. It's about not being
pigeonholed and not being put into a box.
Speaker 1 (18:57):
You know, you don't want to handcuff yourself creatively.
Speaker 2 (19:00):
And for me and him, I met him and I
think it was twenty twenty one, Yeah, it was twenty
twenty one at Blue Ridge festival and he was on
the same day that we were, and so we went
(19:20):
to him early in the day. I knew he was
going to be there, had never met him before. Zach
actually our guitar player, Zach Myers. I actually didn't know this,
but he knew him a little bit just from the
Tennessee you know the link up because I'm from Naxville, Tennessee.
Zach's from Memphis, Tennessee. Jellyus from Antioch, so there was
(19:42):
a Tennessee connection there. And so I met him and
we were just talking about music, and I was talking
to him about Save Me and how just blown away
I was by that. And then I just said, Hey,
you want to come up on stage with us tonight
and do simple Man? And he was like really, and
I was like yeah, and he That's the great thing
(20:05):
about Jelly. He is down for anything, and he's such
a wealth of knowledge mentally when it comes to again,
just all kinds of music and all kinds of songs.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
That's a steal trap he's got.
Speaker 2 (20:19):
And so he comes up and we do the song together,
and it gets filmed and it.
Speaker 1 (20:25):
Goes out on YouTube.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
I think it's up to like six or seven million
views and this is just like a phone recording of it,
you know. And our videographer, Sanjay, he was on stage
filming it as well, but that got put out. I
got his number, we started talking to each other, and
then at the beginning of last year, probably February of
(20:50):
last year, I just kind of made a decision. I
knew what the touring schedule was gonna be for us
and kind of what we wanted to do and how
we wanted to build it out. So I called him
and I said, would you be main support for our
Revolutions Live tour in the fall? It's about forty two shows,
(21:12):
it's all amphitheaters, and you'd be main support. And he
was at the time. He just was like, are you serious?
And I said, yeah, we'd be honored. So we took
another awesome young man too at that time, John Harvey.
So but when I went to everybody at the label
(21:32):
and management, and I understood why they were a little
hesitant because they didn't know who he was.
Speaker 1 (21:37):
But I told everybody, got to remember this is.
Speaker 2 (21:39):
Last year in February for a fall tour, and I said,
we're going to bring John Harvey and Jelly roll with us.
This fall, and everybody was like who, And I said,
you're just going to need to trust me.
Speaker 1 (21:54):
And do the rest is history. You know, it's uh.
And he would come out.
Speaker 2 (21:59):
Every night and do Simple Man with us, and Zach
would go out on his set and they do ninety
nine Problems jay Z because like Jelly set was so
amazing and just the like just a corner copy of
all kinds of music and styles and everything.
Speaker 1 (22:14):
So it's super super rapp man.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
That was one of the funnest times on tour that
I have had in the last twenty years is going
out there with him and being a part of that
and watching his rise. And again going back to your
question about the multi format and the broadening of that,
I have never been in a band that, in regards
(22:39):
to Shinedown. From day one, I never wanted the music
to be put into a box. And again it goes
back to me and Jelly would have a lot of
discussions about that on the road with each other. Again
going back to you can have country influences and rock
influences and pop influences and alternative and all that. You
shouldn't be categorized and just staying in one lane. And
(23:02):
I think the future for a lot of artists, if
we can be anything to help with that. As we
move forward in music, you know that pendulum constantly swings
back and forth, but you don't have to as an artist.
You shouldn't be put into or pigeonholed into being you
can only go down this road. You can only do
this kind of music. If you're known for this, you
(23:22):
can't do anything else. And that's just not true. You
should be able to be diverse. You should be able
to evolve. You know, music is powerful and as you
as you move forward in your career again, you've got
to keep your eyes and your ears open, but also too,
you should be inspired at different times in your career
(23:44):
with different styles of music. You should always be open minded.
That's the big that's the point, is to be open minded.
Speaker 4 (23:50):
Well, you preside over one of America's biggest and best
rock bands, that's true, and.
Speaker 1 (23:59):
So you've proud of it.
Speaker 4 (24:01):
And you should be. And you see and continue to
see great success. What do you tell somebody like Jelly
Role who's experiencing this tremendous rise and amazing success, what
do you tell him to keep him in check and
have it be something where you don't lose perspective.
Speaker 2 (24:22):
I'm gonna be honest with you, He's doing fantastic in
regards to what you're talking about from a psychological standpoint
and handling everything that's going on in his life right
now and in his world. He's doing a fantastic job
at that because that's.
Speaker 1 (24:41):
Just who he is.
Speaker 2 (24:42):
He's really really gifted, and he's also really smart, because
again he continues to ask questions, he continues to We
have a saying in Shineedown, which is, you can't make
it about the painter. You have to make it about
the painting. So you have to look at the big picture.
And I mean, I remember when last year when we
(25:04):
were on tour together, we talked a lot about because
at the time that I believe that was really the
first time he had gone out on a tour where
it was like consecutive weeks in a row. You know,
we were out there for like almost ten weeks together.
And one of the biggest things that I told him
just from a performance standpoint, because he had not really
(25:25):
done that kind of a schedule. And we talked really
really early on too, before we even got out on
the road with each other. The two biggest things that
I told him was from a physical standpoint, your voice
is something that you cannot plug in. It's not like
you can break a string and restring it. It's not
(25:46):
like if you you know, you're a drummer, you drop
a stick real quick and just grab another one. Your
body is your temple, so your voice has to be healthy.
So you can't go out at night a bunch at
you know, you know, and party and this and that
and the other, like loud bars or this and that.
You gotta remember when you're on tour. If you go
out and you yell all night because you're having a
(26:07):
good time or what have you, you're gonna wake up
and you're not gonna have a voice. And the other
thing was I told him was water, water, water, water, water,
And I think at the time he was like, how
much water do I need to drink? I'm like a lot,
because you there's that physicality of that.
Speaker 1 (26:26):
When you're on the road.
Speaker 2 (26:28):
And what's awesome is that I know that he listened
to me during that time because when he goes on
the road. He just got done with a completely sold
out tour. I think it was sixty four shows and
everyone was sold out like and these are huge buildings.
These are like twenty thousand capacity, twenty five thousand capacities.
Speaker 1 (26:49):
Every one of them sold out.
Speaker 2 (26:50):
But if you notice in that timeframe that he was
out on that tour, you know, he did social media
and you would kind of get a recap from the
shows and this and the other, but he wasn't on
social media a lot during that time because he was
taking care of himself. He was resting his voice, he
was doing what he needed to do. But he's got it, man,
he knows what he's doing. He's been waiting his whole
(27:12):
life for this man, and he you know, I just
I'm just unbelieved.
Speaker 1 (27:17):
I'm just so happy for this guy.
Speaker 2 (27:19):
Man, I really really am. He has such an incredible future.
He's he's also showing the public. That speech he did
the other night at the CMAS, he full on preached
to in one minute, Man gave the most rousing and
inspiring speech for winning Best New Artists of the Year
at the CMAS. He's locked and loaded. Man, he knows
(27:42):
what he's doing.
Speaker 4 (27:44):
Congratulations on the Crossroad, the crossover success of Symptom of
Being Human.
Speaker 1 (27:51):
Yeah, still working on it.
Speaker 4 (27:54):
My goodness, gracious that song is stunning.
Speaker 1 (27:57):
Thank you.
Speaker 4 (27:58):
It is just amazing using the lyrics invitation to the
to the lunatic ball. I mean, that's an amazing song.
Can you tell me about the creation of that and
how it makes you feel on how that song is
connecting with people.
Speaker 2 (28:15):
Yeah, I mean I think I have a you know,
I have a tendency to get long winded. But with
that particular song. We wrote that song in the midst
of a pandemic, when we knew that people were scared
and afraid and frustrated and angry and confused with everything
that was.
Speaker 1 (28:31):
Going on in the world.
Speaker 2 (28:32):
And when I arrived in South Carolina with Eric, our
bass player.
Speaker 1 (28:38):
Another thing too that people may not know.
Speaker 2 (28:40):
So Eric bass who's our bass player, who's probably a
bass player laughed.
Speaker 1 (28:44):
In all reality.
Speaker 2 (28:46):
The last two albums, Attention Attention and Planet Zero, he
has produced, engineered, and mixed both full length records. So
when I arrived in South Carolina with him, this was
June of twenty twenty, you know, I remember that song
was a gift. It really was, And you don't get
(29:09):
gifts when you're making an album all the time. They're
actually very very rare, And what a gift is is
when you're in the studio and you're working on a
record and you're writing new material. A gift is a
song that really, in a lot of ways, it writes itself.
It kind of utilizes you as a vessel in order
to be born. Because I remember the song came very quick.
(29:34):
The lyrics came in a flood, like I just remember
I was kind of holding on while we were writing it,
myself and Eric, and then you know, taking a step
back when we looked at it before I went in
to do the vocals, I'm reading the lyrics and I'm
looking at the structure of the song and how it
was laid out. And I mean, we wrote that song
(29:56):
in an afternoon, and I did the vocal that you
hear on the album that made the actual record, because
we don't really do demos anymore, like when we write
a song, we go in there and we're recording it
for real nine times out of ten. But we wrote
it in an afternoon and I sang the vocal that
evening and that's the vocal that you hear on the track.
(30:21):
And again, it was a song that I feel it
needed to be It wanted to be born, so badly
that it utilized us as a vessel so that it
could present itself to the public. And the overwhelming response
from people with that song in particular has been humbling,
It really really has. And again it's a song about
(30:43):
understanding that we're all work in progress. You know, life
is the journey. You're not promised tomorrow, and you have
to focus on what you're doing today. But at times
the world can be an interesting place to navigated and
it's going to throw a lot of different curve balls
at you and you have to figure out a way
(31:04):
to navigate that in life.
Speaker 1 (31:08):
But for me it was a gift.
Speaker 2 (31:11):
I think in our career in Shineedown there's only really
been three gifts. Forty five on the first record was
a gift, and second Chance on the Sound of Maddness
album was a gift. Those two songs were written quite quickly,
and when you know, you take a step back and
you look, you're like, did I write this? You know,
(31:33):
you're kind of stunned by it, and it's been a minute.
And the symptom I would say would be number three.
You know, they don't come often, man, so when they
when they come, you're very grateful for.
Speaker 4 (31:45):
Them well in closing, what are you still learning these days?
Speaker 1 (31:51):
What about?
Speaker 2 (31:51):
That's an interesting question to be put in that and
be presented like that.
Speaker 1 (31:58):
Not to sound.
Speaker 2 (32:01):
If if I'm if I'm continuing to learn anything. It
is quite frankly to keep learning, like to not think that,
you know again like don't arise, Like don't don't don't
worry about the arrival, you know, focus on the journey.
I think that I'm learning that the younger generation. I
(32:24):
think a lot of people I see them, and I
mean this from a creative standpoint, that the younger generation
is really gifted and really talented, and we need to
help guide them, you know, forward and and and not
be so mean spirited and really focus that for the
(32:49):
future of.
Speaker 1 (32:50):
All of us, you know.
Speaker 2 (32:51):
Look for for me, when I think about the rock
and roll sensibility and the community that is rock and roll,
this is what I've learned and what I continue to learn.
I've never looked at rock and roll as a genre
of music. I've always looked at rock and roll as
a way of life. I remember when ice Cube got
(33:13):
inducted into the Rock and Roll of Fame with NWA.
He walked up to that podium and the very first
thing he said was rock and roll.
Speaker 1 (33:22):
Is the spirit and it's an honor to be here.
Speaker 2 (33:26):
And that's what I mean, man, where the rock and
roll community is so inviting and welcoming because it is
for everybody.
Speaker 1 (33:37):
It doesn't matter.
Speaker 2 (33:39):
Listen, anyone from anywhere at any time is welcomed all
the time in the rock and roll community. And it's
about being diverse, and it's about being open minded, and
it's about not always needing the platform to speak or
to yell what you want to say to the world.
Sometimes you have to take a step back and listen
(34:01):
to people and really be aware that we're all human
beings and we're all connected, and we share this planet
with a lot of other creatures, you know, and we
should be respectful of that. I think the biggest thing
that I learn is that I just want to see,
especially for Shindown in what we do as rock and
(34:21):
roll ambassadors, that you've got to remember something.
Speaker 1 (34:24):
This is something that's key.
Speaker 2 (34:27):
It doesn't matter if you're a man or a woman,
and it doesn't matter if you're younger or you're older.
The color of your skin, that's irrelevant. Your religion, that's
your business, that's up to you. That's what makes you
an individual, and that's what makes you original.
Speaker 1 (34:43):
And it's that support for each other.
Speaker 2 (34:46):
It's that understanding that we should all evolve together, but
that we should focus more on supporting each other as
much as we possibly can. So, if anything, I'm just
trying to learn as much as I can on this journey,
and when I I can do it, teach somebody what
I've learned.
Speaker 1 (35:03):
Well. Thank you for all that you continue to give us.
Thank you for the opportunity.
Speaker 4 (35:08):
Congratulations for being not only one of America's great rock bands,
but one of the best global rock bands shined down.
Speaker 1 (35:17):
Thank you so so much. I'm honored to be here.
Speaker 2 (35:20):
That means the world to me, and thank you for
giving me the time today.
Speaker 1 (35:23):
This has been an absolute blast.
Speaker 3 (35:26):
Thanks for listening to this episode of the Taking a
Walk podcast. Share this and other episodes with your friends
and follow us so you never miss an episode. Taking
a Walk is available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
and wherever you get your podcasts.
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