FOZZY Guitarist Says He Had 'No Expectations' For Band's New Album

OneMetal.com recently conducted an interview with with FOZZY/STUCK MOJO guitarist Rich Ward. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

OneMetal: First off, Rich, I want to talk to you about the [new FOZZY] album, "Chasing The Grail". It's receiving bucketloads of great press. Did you exepct such a good response after such a break?

Rich: I really had no expectations whatsoever. Sometimes in this business it's almost better to go into every album as best you can, to create an album that represents you as a songwriter or as an band as best it can and then just let the cards fall. I mean, on the last STUCK MOJO album that I did, I made what I considered to be an album full of great songs. But I knew in my heart of hearts that it was probably going to catch some fire and get some heat because it was a little off the beaten path of what I had done before. Whereas with this one I knew that this album was really going to target and hit our core fanbase right on the money. So my hopes were that it would do well, but I didn't have any expectations. And the other part of it is that it takes a certain amount of arrogance as a songwriter, and as a producer to say that someone should like this. I always find it better to let everybody else determine if it's good or not, in their opinion. Ultimately I can make records that I would listen to and I am happy with, but music is such a subjective thing and I know that not everyone is going to like it. I have to accept and I have to be OK with that. (laughs)

OneMetal: "Chasing The Grail" is a lot heavier than previous stuff, and it has a lot more impact as an album. Was that intentional?

Rich: It was more kind of where my headspace was. I try to make albums that are along the lines of where I am as a person when I write them. One of my great hobbies has always been politics and I have always had a real interest and I feel strongly opinionated on certain areas. I mean, I feel the political atmosphere in America at the moment [is] real ugly right now. On both sides, you know, whether you're a conservative or whether you find yourself a progressive, I find it an ugly, devious and not honorable place. I get very upset reading things and again, when it comes down to it I respect all positions and opinions, but as long as they are honest and do things above the board and in the daylight. So I was feeling aggressive, and I wanted to write an agressive album, and even though none of the lyrics have any political overtones to them, I felt like I was in a headspace that was wanting to make an agressive album. So, for me, it all comes upon stimuli and where I am as a person dictate how the record goes. So I wouldn't just sit down and say I want to write a heavy album, as if it was some kind of intellectual excercise, you know what I mean?

OneMetal: Yeah yeah, totally I understand that, but I am sure I heard somewhere that Chris [Jericho] says the way in which you guys work the albums is that he provides the lyrics and you put the music in place. Did the lyrics he provided this time give you that sort of a drive?

Rich: Yes and no. You know how it is, though. You know when you go to a dramatic movie and your headspace is such that you're sad, the movie seems much more sad than if you came in with a happy demeanor. I found that my headspace, and the way that I interpretted his lyrics, weren't always the way in which Chris had intended them. I think, in a way, this is a beautiful part of songwriting. Chris sent me the one like Southern ballad song on the album, "Broken Soul", but when I wrote the song around the lyrics, he was like "Holy mackrel, I would have never thought in a million years that this is how you would have interpretted this set of lyrics 'cause it wasn't how I perceived it." I think that it's an interesting excercise that I haven't always done. On "All That Remains" it wasn't as much of a collaboration. It was me writing some of the lyrics, some of the other guys involved with the band writing lyrics, whereas with "Chasing The Grail" almost 100% of the lyrics were written by Chris before the album even started. He sent all these sets over to me and I went over them finding all the sets I most related to. I read them as like a story or as poetry.

OneMetal: So it's purely your interpretation of his words?

Rich: Correct. I especially didn't want him to explain anything to me I wanted to see what I got from a cold read. I mean, however you get the music or the FOZZY album I want the fans to interpret it in their own way, and find what works for them in their lives. (laughs) I mean, I'm a pretty emotional person and I'll watch one of these Pixar movies like "Up" and I'll cry. I mean, things touch me in certain ways, but yet I'll see an ultra-violent movie like "District 9" and my wife can't watch it because of the overt violence, but I'm OK with it. It's funny how our personalities are shaped by the stimuli we are exposed to in our lives, and how we were raised by our parents. It's an interesting study in sociology when you take ten people and play a song to them and you will probably have six or seven different interpretations on that song, which I think is great. I think people should ingest music and other forms of quote-unquote "art" in their own way.

OneMetal: Chris has to keep in shape for his "day job," so I would presume he has to look after himself on tour. Does this stop any real "partying" on the road ?

Rich: Chris is actually a real party guy; he is really the only one in the band that enjoys staying in the bar 'till way after the show's over. I mean, he really enjoys the lifestyle. When he's on tour with the wrestling, he and some of his friends will find a bar and go watch a local band. He enjoys living life at 110% wherever he is, whereas I'm kind of like as soon as the show is over I go to the merch stand and show my appreciation until the last person is out the door, then I'll find a late-night kebab and I'm in my bunk and asleep by 1 a.m. I think Chris just has amazing genetics where he can cope on very little sleep. He can get to bed at 5 a.m. and be up at 8 or 9. I mean. I become a cranky old man if I don't get 7 or 8 hours sleep.

OneMetal: Do you think its a release for Chris then?

Rich: I'm sure it is. It's like anything else in life when you have a new experience. It's why I love playing in the U.K. and in Australia. I mean, I live in the States and you get so familiar with your routines. It's always good to experience new things and new cultures. I feel like an explorer loving being slightly off kilter and experienceing new things, and I am sure it's the same for Chris.

Read the entire interview from OneMetal.com.