Shinedown’s Barry Kerch On Their Hot Sauces, New Music, And How One Man Saved His Career
Barry Kerch from Shinedown is a return guest on Talkin’ Rock this year, as the band released their final hot sauces. You can order yours here.
Barry Talks The Shinedown Hot Sauces
This isn’t just a small project for Barry and the band, this is a huge undertaking. “Yeah, it has. I have such a love affair with hot sauces, and we spent so much time creating these with Torchbearer, the company we partnered with. It’s more than just a novelty, like slapping your name on a generic hot sauce. We actually spent time making these, and it’s been a passion project of mine. It’s bittersweet to release the last one in the series, but I’m glad they’re all out there now.”
Barry says he likes the hotter side of the sauces but still wants it to have flavor. “For me, it’s all about flavor. I didn’t want any of these sauces to be over-the-top hot. To me, super-hot sauces are novelties. Like The Bomb, which I have in my fridge—that one is just pure heat. I can withstand that kind of hot because I’m insane, but it’s not for everybody. Torchbearer makes some really hot ones too, like Zombie Apocalypse, which I survived, but it had great flavor. So, while I prefer hotter things, I’ve built up a tolerance over 30 years of being into hot sauce. For people like you who don’t love super-hot sauces, we have Symptom. It’s full of flavor but won’t knock you out.”
New Shinedown Is Being Created
Barry did give me an update as far as new music is concerned. “We’re currently writing for the next record. I’d say we’re about halfway through. I’ve recorded six or seven songs for it, and I know Brent is actively writing right now—he might be up in Charleston, but it’s hard to keep track of him; he’s always bouncing around. We plan to release some new music this year and then probably record more early next spring. We’re looking to start touring again in March of next year. We’re not slowing down. The success of Planet Zero brought in a broader audience, and it would be a shame not to let them experience a live show. Personally, I think Shinedown live is where people become true fans. Brent is incredible at interacting with the crowd and pulling them into the show. People may come for a song they love, like Symptom, and leave thinking, “Oh, they’re that band!””
He said that Brent Smith usually has the lyrics almost done when they start tracking songs, some bands don’t operate that way. He explained why he does it that way. “Brent’s usually pretty early in the game. The lyrics are usually 98% done, if not fully done. Sometimes, what you hear on the final record are the same vocals from the demos. He’s that prolific. I always play my drums to the vocals—I want to support what’s already there. You don’t want drums stepping on the lyrics. You can sometimes hear when lyrics are added after the music, and it creates this battle between drum fills and vocals. Some bands, like Tool, do that where the music comes first, and then Maynard writes over it. It’s cool for their sound, but we’re the opposite—I’m there to support the vocals.”
The Guy Who Saved Barry’s Career
Barry and I talked about someone who helped save his career by changing the way he plays, a guy named Dom Famularo. “Yeah, Dom sadly passed away this past year after battling cancer. He was a drummer’s drummer. Everybody in the drum community knew Dom. He did all the clinics, was a motivational speaker, and put out books on drumming and motivation. After Sound of Madness, I started getting really bad carpal tunnel in both wrists. My technique wasn’t poor, but it was stiff from my marching band days. Touring and hitting hard made it worse, to the point where I couldn’t play some nights. So, I went to Dom for help. He taught me a much looser, more fluid stroke that he learned from jazz greats, and it saved my career. I worked with him remotely, and he loosened up my grip so the pain went away. I haven’t had a problem since.”
He went on to speak about how he plays now. ” It looks like I’m killing the drums now, but if you grabbed the stick, you could easily pull it out of my hand. I’m barely holding on. It’s like throwing a baseball or bouncing a basketball—it’s all about a loose, fluid motion. That’s what takes the shock out of your wrist and elbow.”
Barry’s Love For Krampus
Shinedown’s head of security, John Guarnieri, told me to ask him about Krampus. I’m game! Barry is a huge fan. “John and I have always wanted to go to one of those Krampus festivals in Europe, where people dress up and parade through the streets. We actually ordered Krampus masks from Krampus Masks USA. They’re handmade, with carved wood and fur from Norway. I’ll be wearing mine for Halloween and Krampus Day in December.”
That’s just one of John’s questions he gave me. Watch the interview to hear the others – you won’t be disappointed.
Watch the complete interview below. A huge Thank You to Barry for the time!
Shinedown: Their 20 Best Songs, Ranked
