Said from Aaron's mouth :)

http://www.examiner.com/metal-music-in-san-antonio/q-a-aaron-lewis-...

Arguably more than any singer of his genre, Staind's Aaron Lewis knows the impact his lyrics have. He's constantly being told how his words of pain, suffering, heartache, anger -- even suicide -- resonate with the personal lives of those he inadvertently affects. Some tales cut deeper than others.

Some of those fans may be in attendance Oct. 21 when Staind returns to San Antonio -- just three days after playing in Germany -- when they headline Sunken Garden Theater with special guests Theory of a Deadman, Pop Evil and San Antonio's The Heroine (details at bottom).

Staind's self-titled studio album, their seventh, was released Tuesday. It's the final record in their current recording contract, paving the way for an uncertain future moreso than other bands.

And it came at a cost.

Having played together for 17 years, original members Lewis, guitarist Mike Mushok, bassist Johnny April and drummer Jon Wysocki endured a hellacious eight months of recording. The end result is one of Staind's heaviest -- and best -- albums. But the tension in the studio cut so deeply that Wysocki left the band afterwards. The process was filmed for "The Making of Staind" documentary, which premiered Tuesday and can be viewed in the video box at left.

If you can't wait until Oct. 21 to hear new material such as Eyes Wide Open and Not Again live, or setlist mainstays Mudshovel, For You, So Far Away, It's Been Awhile and Outside, tonight's New York City concert will be streamed on the band's website at 9 p.m. EST/8 p.m. CST. The tickets cost $9.11 to coincide with the 10th anniversary of 9/11. All proceeds will go to the victims' families.

The 39-year-old Lewis, also an accomplished solo country artist, spoke to me Monday from his house in Massachusetts

Q: We're looking forward to Staind's return to San Antonio. What do you like or dislike about this city the most?
A: There's really nothing to dislike. It tends to be a little hot in summertime, and you catch on fire. But other than that, it's great.

Q: I know you've played Sherlock's Pub before, which is right down the street from me, as a solo acoustic gig in addition to many other shows in San Antonio and Austin. Any special memories or stories?
A: I just like Texas in general. I tend to agree with the politics of Texas. My family and my wife's family were established in Massachusetts, and it's similar.

Q: What made the making of this album more tense than the previous ones?
A: Well, there was a lot of internal stuff with the band. I was out on tour as a solo artist promoting my solo record, and I was trying to be a dad while making that Staind record. It was definitely a circus atmosphere.

Q: No matter how good or heavy this album is or how well it's received, is there a part of you that feels it came at a cost given Jon's departure?
A: You know, I don't know. I don't know if that would've happened anyway.

Q: On the documentary, you talk about the song Wannabe and how you felt you needed to rap the first couple verses about addressing fan critics and haters. What was the thought process for doing that on a part that may have called for a heavy expression of anger?
A: Well, if you remember on the DVD, I had said that I either had to scream it for the entire song or rap it in some way. It turned into a rap merely by accident. We were trying to come up with something different. I was sitting there, and the first line came, and we all laughed our ass off. And the next line came, and we laughed. That song was the only fun time during the entire recording process for me. It was the only time me and (producer) Johnny K were laughing the whole time, and it was all because of this song. Could I have screamed something? Yeah. Could I have come up with something different? Yeah. I'm certainly not trying to crack the rap genre. It just came out that way.

Q: So I had to watch the documentary a second time after it became obvious the first time how frustrating this process was for you. I went back and counted the number of F-bombs you used. Wanna take a guess?
A: How many times I said "fuck" on the documentary?
Yes.
A: 138.
Actually, I counted 94. But I have to say my favorite was when you called Johnny K a fuck-wad.
(Laughs) All that kind of stuff is amazing because it's amazing what editing can do. You know, when I'm all over Johnny K and like, 'Shut the fuck up, and go do what you were doing' -- that's all tongue-in-cheek. That's just how we talk. I wasn't mad at him all the time.

Q: You also spoke of the kid who hung himself after learning to play "Outside." You've always known the positive impact you've had lyrically on your fans. Can you talk about what went through your mind when you found out about this?
A: I was pretty taken aback by the whole situation. His mother was standing outside my bus, wanting to talk to me about how her son could've possibly killed himself to one of my songs. He was a pretty big fan of Staind. That was -- I can't believe I'm blanking on my own song -- wait, that's two different stories altogether. The song Waste was inspired by the mother that came to the bus. The story I was telling (on the documentary) was about the kid who wrote the letter. And like so many letters like that, it ripped my heart out. You know, I try to be careful and take responsibility for the lyrics I put in my songs. And when I take that much care, and something like that happens, it's hard.
Q: So how did the conversation with his mother go?
A: I didn't have it. I was extremely uncomfortable with the whole situation.

Q: Tell me about the New York show given the 9/11 anniversary.
A: The record release just happened to coincide with this week and the anniversary. We felt it was the right thing to do and give the proceeds to surviving family members. It makes the show a lot more meaningful.

Q: I know it's only been a couple of shows, but how are things working out with Will (Hunt) on drums?
A: Will's actually not with us anymore. Will played those couple shows in the beginning and, um, it didn't go any further than that. The person playing with us now is Sal Giancarelli. He's been our drum tech from the very beginning.

Q: Can you compare how you feel when you work on your solo country material vs. Staind songs?
A: The Staind stuff has always been where I get rid of all the stuff that I've been carrying around. The country thing is the way to tap into a different inspiration for creativity. It's not so internalized and not so -- I'm not sure what I'm trying to say -- I think the best way to leave it is Staind is where I get rid of the stuff I don't want around anymore. The country stuff is more autobiographical.
Q: So might we see your autobiography someday? A lot of rockers are going down that path lately.
A: You know, probably not. I don't remember half the cool shit, and I don't think I could sit through it. I don't have that long of an attention span.

Q: What was it like working with Charlie Daniels?
A: He came in and did Country Boy. George Jones came in, and Chris Young came in. They listened to the song, and they liked the song and did it. Charlie and George, I've known their stuff since I was old enough to recognize country. My grandfather was a huge country fanatic. The radio would be on country all the time. We'd sit on the couch, and he'd have his salted Budweiser while watching "The Dukes of Hazzard," and it'd be on in the kitchen. It got turned off when everyone went to bed, and it got turned on when everyone woke up.

Q: How did your charity golf tournament (on Sept. 10) go, and how's your game?
A: The charity golf tournament went well, and my golf game has been better. It's definitely been better. My brain is totally on hunting at this point. I stopped thinking about golf a while ago, and this just seeped into it.
Q: So have you ever hunted with Ted Nugent or wanted to?
A: I almost hunted with Ted in Texas. This was a couple years ago. But that was when everything was on fire.
Kinda like now.
(Chuckles) Yeah, kinda like now. But his flight got canceled, and my flight got canceled. A private jet was supposed to drop me off in Dallas where we were supposed to get together, but it didn't work out. But we're friendly. We see a lot of things very similarly. He just has a more outspoken way about him (laughs).

Q: This is the last record in the contract, and I know it's too early to ask, 'Where do you go from here?' But Disturbed is going through the same thing where they just played their last show for an indefinite period, and the breakup rumors are swirling around them. What can you envision for Staind?
A: I don't know. I know that when I'm done with this touring cycle, which will be a year from now, that my focus will turn and be completely on putting out my next solo record. And when I'm done with that solo record is how it will go. There's certainly no reason to break the band up, and I don't think there'd ever be a reason for the band to break up.
Q: Do you think when it comes time to make the next record that you might look back on the making of this one and say, 'Oh man, I remember how it was the last time. I don't think I wanna go through that again?'
A: Hopefully it'll be a different experience next time. The times before this one weren't like this.