Godsmack are touring this summer and we recently spoke with frontman Sully Erna.

 How are you today?

Sully: I’m great and you sound great, too.

 I am. I am.

Thank you for taking the time to talk to me. I’ll try not to ask you any stupid questions, like how did Godsmack get its’ name. (Big laugh from Sully)

Are you aging gracefully or are you fighting it tooth and nails?  

Sully: I’m definitely fighting it. Laughs! I work out every day. I started with my ex-girlfriend who was a volleyball player. I got addicted to it. It just makes me feel better physically. I used to be on a lot of drugs and stuff. So it’s good just to feel healthy.  After we broke up, I just kept working out.  Am I aging gracefully? You’d have to ask my friends or my fans. Actually, you would probably get a more honest answer from my fans. (Laugh)

Being a father, do you find that you are more protective because of the things you got into as a kid?

Sully: Well, of course you want to be. But I think kids are too protected now a days. Parents don’t let their children experience enough. I was raised in a tough neighborhood, where there was a lot of drugs, gangs and crime.  It made me who I am today.  I think that parents should let their children lose at board games and such. Otherwise, they grow up being spoiled and unaware of the real world. I think parents should sit their kids down and talk to them when they  lose at baseball or whatever. Otherwise, when they grow up, they can’t accept it when they go to a job interview but don’t get the job.

I read somewhere where you said that you do your best writing when you are down or angry; is this still true? 

Sully: No, no way.  I was young and on a lot of drugs.  But you go through what you have to go through.

Do you think that music is a spiritual experience for the average listener, or just a diversion?

Sully: I hope it is a spiritual experience, but who is  to say? You would, ultimately, have to ask the listener.  But, I used to listen to Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC.

 I remember the album art. It meant something and added to the experience of the music.

Sully: Exactly! You listened to the whole album.  You didn’t  put the needle down on just one song.  That’s what this album (Avalon) is about.  It takes the listener on a journey. They can light a few candles, sit back, and just be taken for a ride.  It may be one of the last CDs out there. I’m not sure that there will be CDs too much longer. It may be all MP3.

What do want your legacy to be–what do you want to be remembered by?

Sully: Wow! Nobody’s ever asked me that before. Good question! I hope to be remembered as just a great person. I don’t want to be remembered as the man who changed the world, honestly. I want to be remembered as being a little bit valuable… just a nice guy.

Do you plan on doing another solo album?

Sully: Oh, definitely. I want to do it all. I want to play music, write, act, do a soundtrack. I just finished this album and we are just starting the tour for it. It’s in the future. I want the brand Sully Erna to continue to grow.

 You won a Emmy didn’t you?

Sully: I did, how did you know about that?

 I did my research.

That was wild because I didn’t even know about it. I did one show with a friend of mine. One day I ran into him and he said that he had been trying to reach me. Then he said that I won an Emmy for best sports program.  I didn’t believe him at first. But then he pulled it out and gave it to me.

Thank you Sully.

Sully: Thank you!

 

The Weed Street Journal