MIKE MUSHOK Hopes STAIND Will Remain Active After Fall Shows

Massachusetts-based rockers STAIND will reunite for a few select dates this fall after a five-year hiatus. With more than 15 million albums sold worldwide, original members Aaron Lewis, Mike Mushok and Johnny April along with longtime drummer Sal Giancarelli, will play some select shows, including the Louder Than Life festival in Louisville, Kentucky in September and the Aftershock festival in Sacramento, California in October.

Asked by "Rock Talk With Mitch Lafon" in a new interview if the STAIND reunion dates will lead to further activity from the band in 2020, Mushok said (hear audio below): "That's a really good question, and one that I wanna know the answer to as well. For me, I think it's kind of like you dip your toe in the water and you see how it is. It's, like, 'Let's do these shows and let's see how it goes.' I think everybody's hoping that everything is good and we have a great time back out on stage playing these songs again, which I'm really looking forward to do. And hopefully there's more to come after that."

Mushok, who has spent the last four years recording and touring with ex-THREE DAYS GRACE vocalist Adam Gontier in SAINT ASONIA, added that he hasn't gone back into the STAIND mental space just yet. "We haven't really got there," he said. "The rehearsals start next month. But we do kind of have some songs kicking around, and it's time for me to start doing that. But for me, STAIND is what I've known for 25 years. I know that we had a break there, and I love what I do with Adam, and that's been great. But STAIND was a band that Aaron and I started back in '94, and there's just a long history there. I'm excited to be able to get back and play those [songs] and explore again and see where it goes."

Mushok recently told iRockRadio.com that STAIND was under no obligation to make an album at this stage of the band's career. "We don't have a label," he said. "It would be great to write some music. It doesn't have to be a full record at this point. We have a studio, and it would be easy to do. I think right now, it's, 'Let's get in a room together. Let's play together again. Let's do a couple of shows and see how it goes,' and kind of take it from there."

Asked why it is important for him and other musicians to continue to make new music in addition to going out on the road, Mike told iRockRadio.com: "I'm a musician. I love writing music and creating music. It gets me excited. I'm always very proud of what Aaron and I did together. He's super talented, and I really enjoy bringing my ideas to him and seeing what they become at the end. So the idea of being able to do that again, I'd love for that to be able to happen.

"We're in a position right now with these festivals that we can go do them without necessarily having new music, which is nice," he continued. "But I think you wanna have something out there for the fans too. It's great that they come to see your show, but I think they'd like to see the progression of where you're going musically as well."

The last time STAIND performed was back in August 2017 at the "Aaron Lewis And Friends" benefit concert in Northampton, Massachusetts. The event saw three of the band's original members — Lewis, Mushok and April — playing a three-song acoustic finale with Giancarelli. It marked STAIND's first live appearance in three years.

Lewis released his third full-length country album, "State I'm In", in April via Big Machine imprint Valory Music.

SAINT ASONIA's second album, "Flawed Design", is due this fall via Spinefarm Records, a Universal Music Group label.