Godsmack singer and guitarist Sully Erna says his musical spirit would die if his only outlet was from within the band.
He’s gearing up for the release of his second solo album Hometown Life on September 30 via BMG. And he reports that having the freedom to explore other genres outside of Godsmack gives balance to his professional life.
Speaking on an upcoming episode of One On One With Mitch Lafon, Erna says: “If I was constantly handcuffed to Godsmack, I think my spirit would just die in music.
“I come from a musical family – I’ve been playing since I was three-and-a-half years old, my dad’s a musician, my great uncle was a famous composer in Italy, so my music bloodline goes quite a way back.
“I was raised with all kinds of different music – Italian music, jazz and blues – I didn’t play rock until I was in my teens. It wasn’t what I was raised on and how I discovered music. I discovered music through Buddy Rich and bands like that.
“As I got older, it was like, ‘Why wouldn’t I open that up? Why wouldn’t I explore those genres that turned me on and inspired me in the first place to want to be a musician?’”
Erna says he has no regrets over what he’s achieved with Godsmack and insists there’s more to come, but his solo work allows him to express a different side of his personality.
He continues: “For me, it’s about balance, and I really feel that I have to have Godsmack in my life for those reasons. I do have that edge being raised in the inner city and there’s a toughness about that kind of music.
“But I’m another person too. I’m a single dad that raises a daughter. I don’t live a crazy life of trashing hotel rooms. I think that’s a reflection of this other side of me – being involved in relationships, being a hopeless romantic.
“A lot of those things is what inspires me to write a more contemporary kind of music and gives me an opportunity to also bring out some of the music that I grew up on. It’s about exploring, taking risks and having that balance.”
The full interview with Erna for One On One With Mitch Lafon will be available later this week on on YouTube, iTunes, Podbay and Spreaker.
Erna will embark on a US tour next month in support of Hometown Life, which is available for pre-order via iTunes.
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Sully Erna Hometown Life tracklist
- Hometown Life
- Your Own Drum
- Different Kind of Tea
- Take All Of Me
- Don’t Comfort Me
- Turn It Up!
- Forever My Infinity
- Blue Skies
- Father Of Time
- Fallin’ To Black
Marilyn Manson, Sully Erna head for silver screen
Sully Erna 2016 tour dates
Oct 26: Atlanta Center Stage, GA
Oct 27: Clearwater Capitol Theatre, FL
Oct 28: Fort Lauderdale Parker Playhouse, FL
Oct 29: Orlando The Plaza Live, FL
Nov 01: Westbury The Space, NY
Nov 02: New York Gramercy Theatre, NY
Nov 04: Stroudsburg Sherman Theater, PA
Nov 05: Atlantic City Resorts, NJ
Nov 06: Ridgefield Playhouse, CT
Nov 10: Bangor Gracie Hall, ME
Nov 12: Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom, NH
Nov 13: Verona Turning Stone Resort Casino, NY
Nov 15: Harrisburg Whitaker Center, PA
Nov 16: North Tonawanda Riviera Theatre , NY
Nov 18: Chicago Park West, IL
Nov 19: Detroit Majestic Theatre, MI
Nov 20: Warrendale Jergel’s Rhythm Grille, PA
Nov 22: Albany Hart Theatre, NY
Nov 23: Boston Wilbur Theatre, MA
