GODSMACK Leader Keeps Tight Rein On Group

Dan Mayfield of the Albuquerque Journal recently conducted an interview with GODSMACK drummer Shannon Larkin. A few excerpts from the chat follow:

On the fact that GODSMACK is run by singer Sully Erna:

"Sully is GODSMACK. He's the vision and he writes most of the songs, and at the end of the day, he picks all the songs. His is the vision for the band, and the leader, and it's his band."

"Sometimes it's irritating because I'll have something written, something as little as a drum fill, and he'll come to me with something else, and in my mind I'm thinking that's not necessarily better than mine, it's just different."

"When GODSMACK records, Sully goes in and tunes all the guitars, and tunes all the drums and mics the drums, and has me hit them. I've been tuning and setting up drums for 27 years. I crush the ego and let the man do it."

"Me and Tony and Robbie are basically faceless, believe me, I love that. I can have my cake and eat it, too. I'm this big famous rock-star guy who doesn't get recognized. I can go out and see ROB ZOMBIE and SHINEDOWN on tour. It's great.

"It's hard sometimes, but what we do is recognize the genius that Sully has for this band. And inevitably, we start a side project."

On his ANOTHER ANIMAL side project with GODSMACK bandmates Robbie Merrill (bass) and Tony Rombola (guitar),plus vocalist Whitfield Crane (UGLY KID JOE, LIFE OF AGONY, MEDICATION) and DROPBOX guitarist Lee Richards:

"At the end of the 'Faceless' tour, we took a few months off. Sully was in a bad spot . . . so he would never come to rehearsal days. Tony, Robbie and I would be writing 10 or 15 songs a week. He would come in with this black-cloud over his head. After two months into it, after we'd written 40 songs — great stuff — we found our click finally.

"I'd been in the band for four years, and most of that time wasn't writing it was touring. Tony and I would go to the back of the bus and write. I'd play on my legs. I'd come up with a beat, and he'd come up with a guitar."

"The ANOTHER ANIMAL record will be out in January. It's going to be great. It's the band GODSMACK playing it, but you put a singer like Whit Crane on it and it's another animal, man."

"We self-produced it. We're all Sullys."