My favorite interview yet Support the Troops
You might remember Staind's hits "It's Been Awhile" and "Outside," but they've become less moody in the 13 years they've been together. The Massachusetts band recently released their sixth album, The Illusion Of Progress, which debuted at #3 on Billboard's Top 200 chart.
CHARTattack caught up with singer/guitarist Aaron Lewis on the phone from a crappy venue in cold, snowy Waterloo, Iowa to talk about the new album and the recent U.S. election.
CHARTattack: So let's talk about the new album. The new songs are sounding a little bit less angry than usual.
Is that a reflection of where you are in your life right now?
Aaron Lewis: I would have to assume so. You know, I'm in a much different place than I was 10 to 15 years ago when I was writing our first material. And I would certainly hope that I was in a better place than I was 10 years ago. And you know, I am. I got a wife of 10 years. I've got three daughters: [aged] six, three and one. I got a lot more in my life to make me smile.
The album has more of a rock sound to it.
Why did you decide to go in that direction?
We didn't decide to do anything. If anything, I decided before the record started that it was going to be the heaviest record that we've written yet, and that didn't happen.
The basis of a song making it on a record is whether it's a good song or not. It doesn't have to be heavy, it just has to be a good song. And you know, that's how we've always written records, and it all depends on the songs that are coming out and whether they're good or not.
The song can be the heaviest song in the world and be a complete piece of shit, and we're not going to put it on the record. Or it could be the sweetest sounding song in the world and not have anything that catches you, no hook of any sort, and it's not going to go on the record. We're our own worst critics for sure.
So why did you guys decide to call the album The Illusion Of Progress?
By accident, like so many of the other things in our career.
We were all hanging around the table in the studio and telling jokes and telling stories and, you know, getting nothing done.
And the producer came around the corner with a look on his face and was like, "What the hell, guys? We gonna work today and get something accomplished, or are we gonna just screw around all day?"
And I looked at him and kinda smiled and I was like, "Yeah, it's like the illusion of progress.
"
And it kinda stopped me right in my tracks and I looked at him and he looked at me and I was like, "That's the title of the record.
"
I read you're playing for the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan next year.
Have you ever been over there before?
We have not.
What do you think it will be like?
I don't know. I'm trying not to think about that. I certainly don't want to scare myself out of going over there.
It's important that we go over there. I've been trying to get us over there for years, and it's finally going to happen and I'm pretty excited about that. I just want them to know that I support them and that they deserve our respect and our support, and it doesn't matter whether what they're being told to do is what you agree with or not.
It has nothing to do with them. The decisions are being made by somebody else. They just carry them out. They deserve our support and our respect for that.
How do you feel about the election results?
I think that we just took the biggest step in the wrong direction that we possibly could have taken.
Really? Why's that?
Because America is great for other reasons than being turned into a socialist society, and we don't need bigger government, we don't need more governmental control. We need less government, we need less taxes. We need more money left in our pockets to spend in our economy and everything will fix itself. Everything that Barack Obama stands for is the complete opposite of what I just said.
Do you think the troops should stay in Iraq?
No, I don't think the troops should stay in Iraq, but that shouldn't have been why we elected our president. That has nothing to do with this country at all. It has to do with a war that's going on. That is not why we should elect a president.
You've said in the past that you're a really private person.
I am.
Yet you write about really personal issues, so how do those two things fit together?
I have no idea. It just tends to happen that way.
You know, I'm a very private person. I don't like to be the centre of attention. I don't like being put up on a pedestal. So my whole career, my whole job, is kind of a funny situation because my career and what I do puts me in the centre of attention, and that's not some place that I'm comfortable.
The band does seem pretty accessible to the fans. You do webcasts and those sorts of things.
Why is that important for you?
Because the fans are the only reason we're still here. I feel that it's important to let them know how valuable they are and how important they are to us, because we're certainly not cool anymore.
We're certainly not the flavour of the week. We've overstayed our welcome as far as this business is concerned, and the only reason that we're still here is because we have the best, most amazing fans that a band could ever dream to have.
CHARTattack caught up with singer/guitarist Aaron Lewis on the phone from a crappy venue in cold, snowy Waterloo, Iowa to talk about the new album and the recent U.S. election.
CHARTattack: So let's talk about the new album. The new songs are sounding a little bit less angry than usual.
Is that a reflection of where you are in your life right now?
Aaron Lewis: I would have to assume so. You know, I'm in a much different place than I was 10 to 15 years ago when I was writing our first material. And I would certainly hope that I was in a better place than I was 10 years ago. And you know, I am. I got a wife of 10 years. I've got three daughters: [aged] six, three and one. I got a lot more in my life to make me smile.
The album has more of a rock sound to it.
Why did you decide to go in that direction?
We didn't decide to do anything. If anything, I decided before the record started that it was going to be the heaviest record that we've written yet, and that didn't happen.
The basis of a song making it on a record is whether it's a good song or not. It doesn't have to be heavy, it just has to be a good song. And you know, that's how we've always written records, and it all depends on the songs that are coming out and whether they're good or not.
The song can be the heaviest song in the world and be a complete piece of shit, and we're not going to put it on the record. Or it could be the sweetest sounding song in the world and not have anything that catches you, no hook of any sort, and it's not going to go on the record. We're our own worst critics for sure.
So why did you guys decide to call the album The Illusion Of Progress?
By accident, like so many of the other things in our career.
We were all hanging around the table in the studio and telling jokes and telling stories and, you know, getting nothing done.
And the producer came around the corner with a look on his face and was like, "What the hell, guys? We gonna work today and get something accomplished, or are we gonna just screw around all day?"
And I looked at him and kinda smiled and I was like, "Yeah, it's like the illusion of progress.
"
And it kinda stopped me right in my tracks and I looked at him and he looked at me and I was like, "That's the title of the record.
"
I read you're playing for the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan next year.
Have you ever been over there before?
We have not.
What do you think it will be like?
I don't know. I'm trying not to think about that. I certainly don't want to scare myself out of going over there.
It's important that we go over there. I've been trying to get us over there for years, and it's finally going to happen and I'm pretty excited about that. I just want them to know that I support them and that they deserve our respect and our support, and it doesn't matter whether what they're being told to do is what you agree with or not.
It has nothing to do with them. The decisions are being made by somebody else. They just carry them out. They deserve our support and our respect for that.
How do you feel about the election results?
I think that we just took the biggest step in the wrong direction that we possibly could have taken.
Really? Why's that?
Because America is great for other reasons than being turned into a socialist society, and we don't need bigger government, we don't need more governmental control. We need less government, we need less taxes. We need more money left in our pockets to spend in our economy and everything will fix itself. Everything that Barack Obama stands for is the complete opposite of what I just said.
Do you think the troops should stay in Iraq?
No, I don't think the troops should stay in Iraq, but that shouldn't have been why we elected our president. That has nothing to do with this country at all. It has to do with a war that's going on. That is not why we should elect a president.
You've said in the past that you're a really private person.
I am.
Yet you write about really personal issues, so how do those two things fit together?
I have no idea. It just tends to happen that way.
You know, I'm a very private person. I don't like to be the centre of attention. I don't like being put up on a pedestal. So my whole career, my whole job, is kind of a funny situation because my career and what I do puts me in the centre of attention, and that's not some place that I'm comfortable.
The band does seem pretty accessible to the fans. You do webcasts and those sorts of things.
Why is that important for you?
Because the fans are the only reason we're still here. I feel that it's important to let them know how valuable they are and how important they are to us, because we're certainly not cool anymore.
We're certainly not the flavour of the week. We've overstayed our welcome as far as this business is concerned, and the only reason that we're still here is because we have the best, most amazing fans that a band could ever dream to have.
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