INTERVIEW: Shannon Larkin - Godsmack

20 years since the release of their debut album and 20 million worldwide sales later, Godsmack are an even stronger animal than before. The proof is in the grooves of When Legends Rise, their first studio outing in four years, out now via Spinefarm Records/Caroline Australia. We recently had the opportunity to talk to drummer Shannon Larkin about the new record and the tour plans to follow.

First forming in the mid-90’s at a time when rock and metal was experiencing what some would say an interesting and turbulent time, the days of being on the cusp of a technological revolution that would forever change the music industry. Godsmack were one of the lucky few to begin their career before that big change and gained success, on the back of a strong debut release which is now 20 years ago. That seems like a lifetime ago and for some while that may be the case, it’s a strange thing to reflect on.

Currently however Godsmack are enjoying the fruits of their labor, it’s been a long road down that path of success with highs and lows although with Godsmack most will agree the highs dominate all else, they’ve been consistently delivering the goods during those 2 decades and their latest album “When Legends Rise” continues down that path of that signature heavy rock the band are known for. Chatting to drummer Shannon Larkin who joined the band after their second album “Awake” was a fun conversation, his laid back personality with a hint of southern drawl coming through my end put the interview at ease so our discussion on the new songs and the subsequent tours including their upcoming appearance at Rock On The Range and Rocklahoma, both of which The Rockpit will be on site to cover as we do every year was a relaxed one. Shannon remarked how excited he was to hit the road and the festival circuit.

Our conversation then turned into the longevity of Godsmack and mentioning the 20 year anniversary of the debut self titled album, Shannon says it’s hard to believe it’s been that long but the motivation and fire is still there. “Yeah and on that, I have a side band, The Apocalypse Blues Revue where we play in clubs and travel in a van after Godsmack has 2 years on tour and then well take a year off. So we have the luxury to do our own thing and when we get back together, we appreciate it much more. We don’t have the creature comforts or the best gear in the world so the point is that as Godsmack that fire after all these years hasn’t gone away.”

“When Legends Rise” is the 7th studio album from Godsmack so of course with a tour looming the inevitable task of selecting which songs to take out on the road becomes more difficult with each new release. But as Shannon points out, with the success of the band over the years and the numerous hit singles that have catapulted that success, the setlist almost writes itself with fans expecting certain songs to be played. “It’s tough but it’s a good problem to have. When you have 15 top 5 hits you kind of have to play those songs but we only have a certain amount of time in the set with the amount of songs that we have“. When asked what the process is like and if there’s changes made from night to night, Shannon says the band decide all that beforehand. “There are certain songs we have to play, we would love to play more new songs or songs that weren’t radio hits but the truth is fans will get pissed off we don’t play those songs“.

Going back to the new album which was released on April 27th, the process this time around was a little different taking on the help from various writers from outside the camp but the biggest change came in the music and the direction they wanted to take it. The anger of the earlier worked fueled much of the heavier aspects of Godsmack and as Shannon had also pointed out that even if they went back to that mentality, people are never pleased with the always popular sell out remark spread through out social media and the like. The band are not 20 something angry young men anymore, they’ve been through the rigours of a touring musicians life and coming back full circle with a new outlook on themselves and the world has reinvigorated them in some ways. “We put this thing together and luckily it all worked out. We’re 50 year old men but we’don’t want to be just old farts, but Sully is not an angry young man anymore. But I don’t care about the genre, I love rap, blues, punk, metal, we’re at a point now where we just think either its a good song or a bad song.”

It’s a healthy way to look at music, especially in a genre that’s known for placing rules and restrictions despite the accepted mentality that it should be always about the music. I think there’s a purity in that where you need to write for yourselves and listen to your heart and write songs that you personally want to hear. I think that’s the best way to go and it seems to have translated pretty well on this album which Shannon reiterates. “Yeah absolutely and I really believe also that people listen to a song and they can tell if something is real or not and so I think that’s why Godsmack has really pushed hard and there are songs on this record that really get to you like “Just One Time“.

The video for the track “Bulletproof” is another highlight during this promo campaign, a hilarious take on the music industry and the flak bands can get sometimes. Iconic rock vocalist and ex-Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach makes a cameo appearance which really solidified the pisstake of it all, Shannon describing the video shoot as “the funnest video to ever shoot“. But getting back to the touring side of things, later down the track Godsmack will be hitting the North America road for a co-headline stint with Shinedown who they took out on the road many years before. “Yeah we took those guys out at least 12 years ago so we would love to do this again with them, it’s going to be one of the best shows in America. We feel like we’re older brothers or something. We’re sharing the production too which to me we don’t make a ton of money from touring because we go all out on production with lasers and video’s and all that and so this will be a co-headling tour with Shinedown and we will be splitting the price right down the middle. So it won’t kill the fans as you’ll pay the normal price for a concert ticket but you’re going to get 2 big shows out of it.”

And for the Australian fans who have been waiting patiently since their Soundwave Festival appearance in 2015, Shannon says they are looking at possibly early next year but things are still in the planning stages. We look forward to that but in the meantime, Catch them in the US over the next few weeks and months!

Get the new album “When Legends Rise” here.

TOUR DATES

May 20 – Rock On The Range
May 26th – Rocklahoma
June 14 – Montebello Rockfest
July 12 – Rock USA
July 13 – Rockfest 2018

Co-headline with Shinedown

Jul. 22 – Clarkston, MI @ DTE Energy Music Theatre + &
Jul. 24 – Darien Center, NY @ Darien Lake Amphitheater +
Jul. 25 Mount Pleasant, MI @ Soaring Eagle Casino * +
Jul. 27 – Tinley Park, IL @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre +&
Jul. 28 – Noblesville, IN @ Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center +&
Jul. 29 – Des Moines, IA @ KAZR Bday Show * +
Jul. 31 – Denver, CO @ Pepsi Center +
Aug. 02 – West Valley City, UT @ USANA Amphitheatre +&
Aug. 03 – Las Vegas, NV @ Downtown Las Vegas Events Center @
Aug. 04 – Irvine, CA @ FivePoint Amphitheatre +&
Aug. 06 – Albuquerque, NM @ Isleta Amphitheater +&
Aug. 08 – Bonner Springs, KS @ Providence Medical Center Amphitheater +
Aug. 11 – The Woodlands, TX @ The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion presented by Huntsman +&
Aug. 12 – Dallas, TX @ Starplex Pavilion +&
Aug. 14 – North Little Rock, AR @ Verizon Arena ^
Aug. 15 – Biloxi, MS @ Coast Coliseum ^
Aug. 16 – Atlanta, GA @ Cellairis Amphitheatre at Lakewood ^
Aug. 18 – Virginia Beach, VA @ Veterans United Home Loans Amphi. ^
Aug. 19 – Bristow, VA @ Jiffy Lube Live ^&
Aug. 21 – Saratoga Springs, NY @ Saratoga Performing Arts Center ^
Aug. 22 -Gilford, NH @ Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion ^
Aug. 24 – Hartford, CT @ XFINITY Theatre ^&
Aug. 25 – Mansfield, MA @ XFINITY Center ^&
Aug. 26 – Camden, NJ @ BB&T Pavilion ^&
Aug. 28 – Burgettstown, PA @ KeyBank Pavilion ^&
Aug. 29 – Syracuse, NY @ Lakeview Amphitheater ^
Aug. 31 – Scranton, PA @ The Pavilion at Montage Mountain ^&
Sep. 01 – Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center ^&
Sep. 02 – Wantagh, NY @ Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater ^&