bill bodkin interviews some huge rockstars…
When WWE pro wrestler “Y2J” Chris Jericho unveiled his band Fozzy onto the world in October of 2000 in conjunction of the release of their self-titled record of covers, no one, wrestling fans or metal fans alike could’ve predicted what would become of this band.
It was never supposed to work, it was never supposed to become this…or so many of us thought. This was just a side project for Jericho and the dudes from Stuck Mojo (who comprised most of the band) to have fun with when they had down time. But soon this notion started to fade into the musical ether — the band dropped their silly backstory of being huge rockstars stuck in Japan for 20 years as well as their phony names (Jericho was referred to as Mongoose McQueen, one of the best rock names in history) and their penchant for playing covers.
Fozzy became a band — a band that created incredible metal. With each record the band kept getting better and better, evolving their sound from merely a tribute to the 80s to a band that was able to deftly blend the melodic and ferocity of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal with the bone shattering bombasticness of today’s current version of heavy metal. Much like their metal brothers Black Label Society, Fozzy has learned how to wonderfully master the thunder of the metal gods while still remembering that guitar solos are still a vital part of every song.
With the release of their current album, Sin & Bones, Fozzy has not only taken a musical leap forward, but a commercial one as well. The album debuted #1 on Billboard’s Heatseekers Chart, a chart for new and developing artists on the scene.
Recently, Pop-Break’s Bill Bodkin spoke with the band’s newest member, veteran bassist Paulie DiLeo as the band prepared for a headlining gig at The Gramercy in New York City on August 29 as well as continued dates on the Rockstar Energy Drink UPROAR Festival.
Pop-Break: Paul, you’re the newest addition to the band, having joined in fall of last year. Why did you decide to join this band, go on the road with them and make music with them?
Paul DiLeo: When I met Rich Ward [Fozzy’s founding member, guitarist and lyricist] in Adrenaline Mob it was like a marriage right at the beginning — we just hit it off. Personality wise, we had the same interests, liked the same bands, we’re both into songwriting and producing — we just had so much in common. Then when we got stage it just took it to a whole new level. We just had this awesome chemistry on stage together when we were playing with Adrenaline Mob. Then when it came to the end of the Adrenaline Mob tour he came to me and mentioned to me, “Hey Paul, unfortunately our bass player [in Fozzy] Sean Delson is departing and we need a guy, would you be interested?” I told him, “Rich if you’re in it, I’m in it.” Then he put me on the phone with Chris Jericho and everyone just got along and hit it off great right out of the gate.
PB: What do you think you bring to the table for Fozzy?
PD: What I think they like about me is that I come in with a real low-key personality, [I have] a lot of experience and have played with a lot of different artists; I get along with everybody. I bring good background vocals to the band, I have a strong stage presence, good tone and I think that’s what they didn’t have before and thery’re so glad to have it. The whole stage vibe too, it’s electrifying and they said to me ‘Paul you bring that to a whole other level.’ And also songwriting as well. I haven’t gotten into that yet with the band but Rich and I on this tour will do some writing. Rich is the primary songwriter for the band but he’s open to exchanging ideas.
The other thing that’s good is that I own my own studio. When we were recording Sin & Bones I couldn’t get into Atlanta [where the band was recording], so I cut all the bass tracks in my studio. Rich and I worked that way and it worked beautifully. We’re really proud of the way this record turned out. It was great.
PB: Even though you’re the new guy in the band, from an outsider’s perspective how do you feel Fozzy has matured and grown as a band with this record?
PD: It’s funny I’m the new guy in band, I came in October 2011. We did a few shows here then we had a UK tour and then after the UK tour we went right into writing the Sin & Bones record. After we were finished Rich just said to me “Oh my God, this record is the best Fozzy record we’ve ever done. It’s on a whole new level compared to the other records.” I’m the new guy in the band and due to my [previous] schedule I haven’t listened to all the records, just the songs I needed to know for the live show and they were pretty rockin’. But they feel it’s their best and it seems to be the case because it’s taking off like a rocket right now.
PB: Since you’ve known Rich for quite some time, has he ever expressed to you that the band had troubles at the beginning being taken seriously or any trouble getting over a perceived stigma as just “that band Chris Jericho has.”
PD: From the stories I’ve heard from them, they started out doing the cover thing, doing it for fun. Then the next thing you know venues are calling and they’re selling out [with Fozzy performing]. Somebody from their label approached them and told them to take this thing seriously. Rich and Chris did and they started writing songs and putting out records. As far as Chris, I don’t think the WWE has hurt the band; it’s been a great help with Chris being so popular and the career he’s had. The main focus of the band has always been Chris Jericho and Rich Ward, but their focus has always been doing things as a band and they’ve always done things as a band. As far as it being “the Chris Jericho Band” it’s never been like that. Everyone’s focus has been performing live and having fun but the primary focus is Rich Ward and Chris Jericho for sure.
PB: What are your thoughts of Chris Jericho as a singer? You’ve toured and performed with a lot people from Nena in Germany and Lauryn Hill. How does he match up to the singers you’ve worked with?
PD: What impresses me about Chris is that he’s an animal on stage just like he’s in the ring when he’s wrestling. When he comes out on stage he’s on fire. Being a vocalist some nights you have it, some nights you don’t. It’s called being human. Chris is pretty consistent for the most part, but what really impresses me is his range. He can hit high notes like Bruce Dickinson in Iron Maiden to the low range as well. He’s very melodic, he’s got great tone. And he’s jumping around on stage and that beats the hell out of you.
I said to him the other day at our headlining show at Pop’s [in St. Louis, MO], he just blew me away. We were on for an hour and 20, an hour and a half and he was just consistent all night. I said to him “I’m so impressed how you can jump around on stage, entertain the crowd, do your thing, be the complete showman and hit those high vocals with no problem.” He is pretty much an impressive person to see live, he’s a great singer, a great performer and just a great guy. I’m really happy to be in a band with these guys, they are all great guys.
PB: You’re on Uproar and you’re doing spot headlining gigs like your Gramercy date on the 29th. Can you talk about the different vibes of playing festivals compared to headlining shows?
PD: For me personally, it’s a little difficult on festivals. You gotta be quick. Bands gotta get on and off, no time to do sound check. If something goes down, you gotta ride through and move on. On festivals you have that stress. On a headlining date, like we’re doing at The Gramercy, it’s a lot more relaxed. You have more time for your sound check, you can get everything in line, everything worked out. There’s piece of mind, I can go on stage, know everything’s good and I can go out there and perform. With a festival it’s a 50/50 shot. Shit’s going to be together or it’s not, but you just gotta do it. Fozzy has always had moments of places like (Uproar), you just gotta hit. It separates men from the boys.
PB: Let’s talk about the record, which just came out this month. It debuted #1 on the Billboard Heatseeker Chart. That’s gotta be a pretty good feeling.
PD: Chris came to me when that got posted and he said “Dude, we got to #1!” I couldn’t believe it. It’s an amazing feeling, being a part of the whole process, writing and recording it. We’re just grateful as hell that this record is liked so much and being pushed so much. There’s such a great buzz about that we’re scratching our heads thinking that this is really happening. And it’s a great feeling and we’re so happy it’s going that way in the moment.
PB: Fozzy does a lot of stuff over in Europe. The response seems exponentially bigger than in the states. Do you see that the Fozzy audience is bigger in Europe than the US or is that just a perception?
PD: It’s so funny that you mention that. [At the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, NJ] we had such a long line for autograph signing. The line was forever. A majority of the people were saying “Oh my God, finally…finally I get to see you in the states. We’re such big fans of yours but you’re always over in Europe.” Yes, we have a great fan base in Europe. They really love Fozzy and Fozzy fans are amazing, they’re so loyal. Now, this is the first big tour Fozzy has done [in the US]. I can’t believe there’s so many people who want to see us. We’re so grateful we’re able to tour and have a fan base at home.
PB: What are your plans for Fozzy in 2012?
PD: I think the plans are tour our asses off and promote this record as hard as we can, especially since the best record the band has done. We want to make sure it gets the proper push and we want to make sure we’re going to deliver to our audiences and new audiences. We also want to see if we can get on some more events and get some more headlining shows. We’re going to start writing for the new record. We want to keep the momentum going. Like Van Halen and Journey would come out with a record every year, that was the process back then. Then it became every two or three years, we don’t want that. So we’ll write on the road, go home, track and then go back on the road.
