.: FuryRocks :: interview :: Staind__Glad_with_their_fans

Published: 15 June 2009

Staind – Glad with their fans

The American band Staind is absolutely no stranger in the music industry. After releasing five previously successful albums, they came back with their latest release, The Illusion of Progress, in 2008. Having already done a show in February in Tilburg they return again for another show but this time in the Melkweg, Amsterdam. We got the chance to ask guitarist Mike Mushok a couple of questions about the current tour, the album, touring in general and the future.
So your show is coming up, next Wednesday June 17th, and it will be your second time in the Netherlands this year, are you excited?

Mike: ‘Yeah absolutely, it’s good to be back in Europe. It’s our third time with this record and it has been our goal to be back here a little bit more on this record and we’re able to do that now so we’re definitely happy about that’.

And do you have any expectations for this show, since you’ve been here quite a few times?

‘Hopefully it will be a good show, people will come out and enjoy themselves and just have a good time.’

You were here last February, how did you experience that show?

‘Oh really good, actually our whole last tour was great we were very happy with how the tour went. There really wasn’t any low point.’

What where the highlights of the tour for you?

‘We had a good time and all the shows were really good. It was pretty much a sold out tour and some of the shows were also in bigger venues and it’s always good when that happens, so…’

Ok, also for this tour, you’ve recently played Rock Am Ring/Rock Im Park. How did that go?

‘It was great! It was really cool and the show went really well. You know it’s been cool to do this because we got to run across some people we haven’t seen in a while, you know. Play with some bands we haven’t seen in a while and it’s kind of like a little reunion, you know. So it’s a lot of fun.’

That sounds like fun indeed, and what do you enjoy more festivals or your own shows?

‘Well, they’re both fun, both for different ways. With your own shows people know what you’re doing, they are a little bit more familiar with you but festivals are fun too because like I said, you get to play with all these different bands and also get in front of a lot of people. If the people there are into what we are doing I don’t have a problem I’m just happy to be playing.’

About your last album, The Illusion of Progress, it was released last year and it’s already your sixth full length album. What can you tell us about this record? How was the recording process?

‘Oh it was good, we actually did a lot of it at Aaron’s place and in our rehearsal spot so we got to stay home for it. We worked with Johnny K, the producer, and he was great. He had a lot of good ideas and I really think he kept things moving along well. And I’m just happy because I think we were able to try some different things and explore some stuff that we hadn’t done before so, I mean, in that sense to me it worked out really really well.’

Yeah one of the songs that actually stood out most for me personally was The Corner which I think shows what you’ve just mentioned. It’s different from stuff you have done earlier.

‘Yeah I agree, songs like that or Pardon Me and a couple of others .I think we just kind of explored some different things and tried some stuff a little bit differently and I’m really happy with the way it turned out.’

It turned out to be a really great record indeed. I also heard that Aaron’s favorite song is Pardon Me, which you mentioned before, why is that? Is there any special reason?

‘Well I think it’s just different, it’s kind of a bluesy type of song and it’s kind of really different for us to do something like that.’

And what’s your favorite song from the record?

‘Oh I don’t know. Obviously I’m happy with the way the whole thing came out. But I do like The Corner a lot. I think that one came out really nice.’

On the European release you added two exclusive tracks and I found Schizophrenic Conversations actually really special. Why did you choose those two tracks?

‘I think it was basically because we had these versions of them and we tried to include some different stuff in there.’

After all these years, where do you still get your inspiration from?

‘That’s a good question, I don’t know. I think it’s really just spending a lot of time, working and practicing, and coming up with different ideas. I think that it’s just like I said, during practicing I was kind of just sitting down and trying to come up with songs. The more you come up with and hopefully you stumble on something that’s a little bit new and a little bit different and that has kind of been the game plan.’

Ok, well that has turned out great so far. About your shows, besides songs from the new album we can always hear the classic ones that the audience continue to ask for, but do you ever get sick of playing the more known songs like It’s Been A While or Outside?

‘No, because we always get a good response. People want to hear those songs so I mean, I don’t have a problem playing them. It’s always fun to be able to play something and people enjoy it so we just play it.’

Over the years, what has been the most requested song by the fans?

‘Mudshovel. Always.’

From your point of view, what would you say is the best thing during your shows?

‘Uh.. I don’t know… what’s the best thing about it, haha, well for me it’s just being able to play. I mean the fact that, we’ve been doing this for a long time and I can still go up there and play, that’s the best thing about it for me. That we’re still able to do it and we still have great fans that allow us to do it. So for me that’s something that I am very happy and proud of.’

About the Amsterdam gig again, what can we expect this time?

‘Hopefully we can all have a good time and enjoy ourselves and you will hear some music from all the records. Some of the songs you’ll expect to hear, some new stuff, some old stuff and you know… there is really not a lot of tricks for us. I mean we go up there and we play the songs and we try to do the best we can and have a good time.’

What can we expect from the future for Staind? Any plans for a new record already?

‘Actually, Aaron’s going to do a solo album next and then we’ll do another Staind record after that. So he’s going to put out a record and we will support that and then we are going to do a record.’

Any message for your fans?

‘Again, thank you for allowing us to still be here and still do this. We appreciate you and we are very fortunate to have you as fans.’