Show & Tell - interview with Robbie and Shannon of Godsmack

GODSMACK, NYC, 02.03

The thing that strikes you most and hardest about Godsmack is the definitiveness of their sound. There simply isn’t anything else that sounds like them. It is immediately clear from the first note, from the first lyric…

With the release of their third album "Faceless" imminent, we sat with bassist Robbie Merrill and drummer Shannon Larkin (a new addition to the band, formerly of Amen) and talked about that sound, their 2nd and 3rd Grammy nominations and Shannon’s status as front man Sully Erna’s idol.

Though they didn’t even have a release in 2002, Godsmack found themselves nominated for 2 Grammy’s (Best Hard Rock Performance for "I Stand Alone" off The Scorpion King soundtrack and Best Rock Song, also for "I Stand Alone"). We started there.

Show & Tell: It’s not that long ago that the Grammy’s were the punch line to a hard rock joke. Has that changed in recent years?

Shannon: Being recognized for all the hard work you put into this shit, everybody thinks this is a walk in the park but it’s hard work…

Robbie: To be nominated, that’s huge.

S&T: So you can look at it as some kind of validation?

Robbie: "3-time nominated Godsmack," that’s something else, you know? And I wasn’t expecting it this year.

S&T: Sure, you didn’t even have an album out this past year.

Robbie: No, no. Basically we were back home in Boston waiting to fly out, waiting to come here (NYC) and we get in the van and Sully’s like "congratulations." and we’re like "for what" and he says, "for your two Grammy nominations!"

Shannon: And I didn’t even play the drums on that song so if we win I’ll be able to say "Thanks, I didn’t do shit!" (laughter)

S&T: So let’s talk about the new album. April 8th?

Shannon: The single (was) February 8th ("Straight Out Of Line") and the album comes out April 8th. But nothing’s ever for sure.

Robbie: And then April 20th I think starts the (national) tour and I know we’re going to Europe too.

Shannon: April 22nd is definitely our first tour date so we should know by then. (laughter)

S&T: Well if we find out first we’ll make sure to let you know.

Robbie: Yeh, that’d be great, can you call me?

S&T: Sure, we’ll just drop you an email.

Robbie: You know what? That’s actually pretty funny because people do find out before me. I’ve had friends call me up and know things that even I don’t know. "Yeh I just heard on the radio you guys are doing such and such."

S&T: So do you pretend to know what they’re talking about?

Robbie: No, I tell them the truth. They’ll ask me, "So when are you going out?" and I’ll just say, "I don’t know." I always say, "I don’t know." Especially if I’m on the road. "Where are you?" "I don’t know." (laughter)

S&T: So what can the fans expect on the new album as compared to the first two.

Robbie: It’s heavy but it’s also sonically bigger and Sully’s coming around with more melody. Some of the heaviest stuff you’re ever gonna hear from Godsmack is on there and also (its) a little more melodic...

S&T: Now are you talking in the same song or across the entire album?

Robbie: Across the album.

Shannon: "I Stand Alone" is a good representation of the direction the band went in; heavy-ass, groovy verses, the choruses open up. Sully came into his own on this one. He doesn’t sound like anybody else, really.

S&T: Yeh, there’s definitely instant recognition with his voice.

Robbie: His range too is different. It’s funny, too, the first record he sang like really low stuff, the second record he started to get up there with his range, like "I Stand Alone" was really tough in the studio and then to this one where he’s really pushing.

S&T: Is that just a product of growing?

Robbie: When it comes to the writing he just hears it in his head and he just goes with it. There’s a song called "Make You Believe," that’s all he heard was that and (even though it was difficult) he’s like "I have to try to do this."

S&T: Was the process different, having Shannon on board?

Robbie: It was actually easier because he has a similar style to Sully (who has played drums on both previous albums). Shannon was like Sully’s idol. Sully was always like there’s Shannon Larkin, there’s Neil Peart and there’s John Bonham.

S&T: No pressure there.

Robbie: (Shannon) knows this, he’s heard this. I’ve know (Sully) since probably ‘90, ‘91 and I’ve been hearing this name, Shannon Larkin.

When we were recording this one we’d tape everything and I wouldn’t know if it was Sully or Shannon.

Shannon: When we were still in the writing process, we were taping songs, the skeletons were already done, some I was playing, some Sully was playing and there’d be 10 or 12 songs that we’re all listening to and a song would come up and I’m like "Am I playing that?"

Robbie: For Tony and I this is our third drummer.

S&T: We’ve already seen (the new album) listed as one of the most anticipated albums of the year. How does that kind of pressure manifest itself?

Robbie: For me to survive I need to relax and not worry about that, I can’t worry about that. I know that we worked our asses off, we were down in Miami, lived together for four months, we did everything we possibly could do and we’re happy with what we have.

Shannon: I think it’s the strongest thing the band’s ever done and not just ‘cause I played on it, that’s coming to it with an outside ear.

S&T: Well album 3 is traditionally a make-or-break album; career or done?

Shannon: Right, longevity, this is the longevity factor. As far as feeling pressure our credo on this album was "we can’t fail." Every day sully would come in with another killer riff. It all seemed like it just came together. The stars aligned.

Robbie: That’s what we wrote too, "we cannot fail." I watch bands, first record does real well, second record and then all of a sudden third record comes out... the band’s gone. You gotta just take a deep breath and if it’s gonna happen, it’s gonna happen.

S&T: You guys are serious road dogs. Somebody said you were just under Sevendust.

Robbie: Our first tour we ever did was with them and we did like 13 shows in a row, it was crazy. They have us beat.

S&T: The last time we talked to (Sevendust) they said they’d slowed down a lot, cut it back to 5 shows a week. That’s cut back?

Robbie: You have to do 5 shows a week to pay your bills.

S&T: Let’s totally switch gears here for a second before we wrap up... I saw a chat transcript online the other day and it looked like all 4 of you were in a chat and you took one or two fans in at a time?

Robbie: Yeh

S&T: I think that’s a great idea, whose idea was that?

Robbie: We did that in Miami. I don’t remember whose idea it was. We did it for a couple weeks. We wanted to keep it going but we were just about in the studio, crunch time.

Shannon: The first time we did it we all just dialed in and there was like a thousand questions and we were all sitting there trying to figure out...

Robbie: You’re trying to read... (makes a gesture like frantically following the lines of type with his finger)

Shannon: So we were like "okay, that didn’t work." So the next time we had a moderator take over, people could log on and we’d only take one or two questions at a time.

Robbie: The last time was great. We (were all in different locations) and we could all go at the same time) instead of the last time where were all in a room together.

S&T: That’s the one I read. When it started you weren’t all even there yet, somebody was like "where the hell is Shannon?" (laughter)

Shannon: He’s in the crapper!

For Tony and Robbie, Shannon is the third drummer they’ve had to mesh with. Unlike previous times, however, Shannon’s fitting in with his new bandmates was a seamless affair. "He just slid right in." While preparing for a live show this past New Year’s eve, the band was afforded limited rehearsal time with Shannon. Not a problem, during those rehearsals it was as if "he’d always been there."

Their name steeped in the power of karmic retribution, its rather fitting that Godsmack’s latest drummer is THE drummer they’ve been looking for all along.

So far, so good.

"Faceless" drops this Tuesday, April 8th everywhere. For more info on the band and to stay on top of tour dates, jump over to their official web site - http://www.godsmack.com.

interview by scott sisti