BAD WOLVES Guitarist On Donating 'Zombie' Royalties To Family Of Late CRANBERRIES Vocalist: 'I Don't Think It Would Feel Right Otherwise'

BAD WOLVES guitarist Doc Coyle was recently interviewed by Concert Crap. The full conversation can be streamed below. A few excerpts follow (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On the group's current tour with label mates DIAMANTE and FROM ASHES TO NEW:

Doc: "It was the brainchild of our label owner, Allen Kovac. I was actually there in the meeting when he came up with this idea. At the time, we didn't have all the bands worked out, but it was his idea. We were actually very nervous about headlining. Even though it's a co-headline tour, we're closing, so if everyone leaves, we're the last man standing. We were kind of nervous about headlining because we're a brand new band, but they felt confident between how well the ['Zombie'] single is doing and the support from radio that the tour could be successful. So far, it's going really, really well."

On the success of "Zombie":

Doc: "That's really the launching point for a lot of the bigger stuff that's happened to the band, a lot of the kind of mainstream attention. It was part of the original group of songs [for debut album 'Disobey']. Allen used to manage THE CRANBERRIES, and the guy who runs the U.K. part of the label [ed. note: Dan Waite], he's personal friends with [late CRANBERRIES vocalist] Dolores [O'Riordan] and the family, so it was just kind of a coincidence that we were going to do the song. Tommy [Vext], our singer, asked Dan if he could show it to her. After he showed it to her, she was the one that said, 'Hey, I'd love to sing on it.' She loved it. That kind of personal relationship is how it started. Unfortunately, she passed away right when she was supposed to do it, and we kind of became part of the story of her passing. Then there was a question about maybe, 'Don't put this on the record' [or] 'Don't put this out,' but they came up with the idea to give the money to the family and make the song a tribute, and I think that was really the best move for everyone. It's the least we could do. A lot of people are like, 'Oh, you're losing so much money.' Not for nothing, I don't think it would feel right otherwise."

On the band's chemistry:

Doc: "We're all veterans of the music world and touring and performing, and luckily, that's one thing we didn't have to teach anyone. Everyone kind of gets [that] it's imperative for us to bring an energy and an intensity to the stage, and to set the standard for what the band is going to be. When they come to see a BAD WOLVES show, they're going to get it. Luckily, we got to rehearse pretty intensively before all the touring started, so we got to work out a lot of kinks beforehand, but there's a certain amount of chemistry you can only develop by playing live shows. These songs are not easy to play, so you can sit there in a rehearsal room and play it just standing there and kind of get it right, but it's one thing to do it when you're rocking out and swinging your guitar around and jumping out and down. You can play something, but there's a difference between playing it and performing it. Performing it, you're throwing a little extra grease on the ball so that there's a little more excitement. I think that stuff, you have to develop with time — you have to get comfortable with that [so] the songs almost become second nature, and that's what's going to come when you're on the road for a year. As the band develops, I think... it's all going to keep moving forward, because we want to be great. We want to be like the best bands out there."

On opening major arena and amphitheater tours by FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH:

Doc: "We know how lucky we are to have that opportunity, because there are a million bands who would kill — I mean, literally, kill — to have the opportunity, because... you're getting so much exposure, and because we're getting radio play and because FIVE FINGER has kind of put us out there, [concertgoers] are kind of coming in primed to already want to like the band in a lot of ways. For us, it's about, you put on a great live show — especially when people first see you — you can turn people into fans for life. There's something about that connective experience when you see a band where it's like, they hear it at home, they hear it on the radio, and then they get there and they [add] the visual and the intensity... that's what makes a fan. That's what it's all about. Every day, we have a responsibility to go out there and give 100 percent to try and get as many people, and hopefully make them a fan for life and get them to come back."

BAD WOLVES recently presented a check for $250,000 to O'Riordan's family.

O'Riordan was slated to record vocals for BAD WOLVES' "Zombie" cover on the day that she died in a London hotel this past January.

The original single was first released by THE CRANBERRIES in 1994 and became a worldwide No. 1 hit.

The video for the BAD WOLVES' version has garnered more than 100 million views in five months on YouTube.

BAD WOLVES will tour the U.S. later this summer with FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH — whose guitarist, Zoltan Bathory, manages the band — and BREAKING BENJAMIN.