On July 1, rockers Shinedown released their seventh studio album, “Planet Zero.” After more than 20 years and millions of records sold, and after only a few weeks off from their last run of shows, the band kicked off the next leg of their “Planet Zero” tour on Aug. 25 in North Carolina.
Before packing for the road and ahead of Shinedown’s Sept. 5 show at the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in Maryland Heights, Mo., drummer Barry Kerch took a few minutes to talk about the new album, setting a tour setlist, and appreciating the fans for their years of support.
Mike Sorensen: I don’t know if you ever take any time off the road, but I know you’re getting ready for another run coming up. I had the pleasure to see you guys earlier this year in Peoria with the Pretty Reckless and Diamante. How do you guys pick who you take out when you go on tour? I know you’ve got Jelly Roll, and John Harvie on this upcoming run.
Barry Kerch: You know, we’re lucky enough to where we ask, and they either say yes or no. When it came to the Pretty Reckless, Diamante thing, we just thought it’d be fun to have some female rock artists out, so that was kind of the theme. It worked really well. And then Jelly Roll kind of fell in our lap. Because most tours are planned at least six months if not a year out. So the conversation started happening way early. We reached out to him and said, maybe this is something you want to do.
Let me back that up. We had played a festival, I forget exactly where at some point last year, and he happened to be on the bill and we got to meet him. Turns out, he was a fan of ours, so we brought him on stage to sing “Simple Man” with us. We got to start a relationship there. So then we reached out and said ‘man, we kind of like what you’re doing. Would you open for us?’ He said absolutely. That’s how those things kind of come across. We’re lucky enough to have the ability to ask artists and you know, some say no, but a lot of times they say yes and that’s how this one happened.
MS: I know this tour, you guys are going out with the new album “Planet Zero” hitting everywhere. I know earlier, it was kind of like a pre-release tour, but we got to hear a few of the songs from it. It’s been about four years since the last album. Was that intentional, or was that just the situation in the world?
BK: A little bit of both, honestly. I mean, we’re never really fast on putting out records because we really concentrate on putting together the best record we can. We never go ‘okay, here’s the deadline, we have to have the record done by then.’ That stifles creativity. We have done that in the past, on “Us And Them,” and there are great songs on there. But it was a little rushed because we kind of put a timeline on ourselves, the label had their timeline. We don’t do that anymore.
Then secondly, yeah, then COVID kind of made it a little difficult. We didn’t know how much time we’d have, but we had time. We knew we weren’t going to be touring for a bit, so there was no reason to rush, because we really couldn’t go support it, right?
MS: Absolutely. I know when I have seen you guys, you like the big stage productions, the big open stages that almost everybody gets to run around on.
BK: Yes, I don’t get to run around as much. I’m a little stuck in place but I’m okay with it. I like hiding behind my support guy, like hiding behind my kit.
Yeah, we’re known for large productions, and we pride ourselves on that, we enjoy doing that, because fans pay a lot of money, with babysitters, tickets, parking, all that kind of stuff costs a lot of money to go to a show. And if they make the commitment to do that to come to our show, we want to give them the show and do the best that we can to get the show that we afford to bring. And every time we come out, we try to one-up ourselves.
MS: From the other side of what I do, I shoot photos of the concerts, also, I have to say, I appreciate them giving you some light back there because sometimes the drummer is tough to find.
BK: That’s a constant battle. But luckily, we are four equal band members. It’s democracy. So we try to make sure everybody’s well seen and well lit for the audience. There are some bands whose kind of background players are each on his own. We’d like it to be everyone involved, all of us interacting with the audience.
MS: I have read that about you guys. I know a lot of bands say ‘we’re one big family.’ You guys are living it.
BK: You know, every decision comes down to a band decision, not any person’s decision, and the appreciation to the fans. We know that we wouldn’t have our careers if it wasn’t for everybody in that audience. And when Brent says that on stage every night, it’s not because he didn’t have anything else to say. It’s the truth, and we want to make sure everybody knows that. You guys are the boss. We’re lucky to be here because you put us here. So we’re gonna give as much back as you give us.
It also stems from the band, you know? The four of us still get along, we still all ride the same bus, we still go to dinners together, we still hang out and laugh with each other. That’s not to say we don’t fight like brothers. Occasionally we do. But we really do genuinely care and love each other and still enjoy what we do. And we keep each other humble. If it wasn’t us keeping each other accountable, I guarantee you our mothers would! But with that humility, we always try to carry that on, and pass it on to give it to the audience too. The only time we’re ‘rockstars’ is that 90 minutes on stage.
MS: Well, speaking of which, I did want to ask, because you spend so much time on the road, what do you do personally, when you do have the days off, or the downtime between shows?
BK: You know, I’m pretty nerdy. If I’m in a good place to go outdoors, whether it’s a hike, I bring my fly fishing gear with me and maybe some fly fishing, that kind of thing. I love to get outdoors. If that’s not a possibility, I love good food, so I’ll find great restaurants or find a great bar. And if that’s not a possibility, a ew of us like to play board games and stuff so we’ll get together and play board games. That’s my day off.
MS: The fishing thing has come up a couple of times with people I’ve talked to now. Maybe it’s just me hearing it more, but after (Iron Maiden’s) Adrian Smith put out his book about fishing, I guess I never realized how many bands and artists do that in their downtime.
BK: Well, you know, when else would you have the experience to go ‘OK, I just fished this river here, next day, I’m in New Mexico to fish in this lake. Oh, now I’m on the coast and I get to fish the ocean.’ It’s kind of cool, so why not take the opportunity if it’s something you can do? Either in a group setting or by yourself.
I used to be a tennis player as a young man. I love playing tennis, but it’s at least a two-person game. If we want to play board games, it’s a two person thing. Fishing is you and yourself. A lot of bands play golf as well, but that’s not my thing. But something that lets you get away from everybody is a plus. You live on a submarine, right, ride on a bus with everyone? Sometimes you want to get away.
MS: I can understand that.
BK: And I grew up in Florida. I still live in Florida, so it’s just kind of in my blood.
MS: With the tour that’s coming up now, with the album being out, are there any surprises or anything that fans should keep an eye open for on this run of shows?
BK: Yeah, one is that we’ve got Jelly Roll with us, and he’s an amazing artist and a lot of fun so that’s gonna be cool. When it comes to our show, we always bring in production. There’ll be some surprises in that, and I think we’ll also try to break out some of the newer songs as well. We’ll still be giving everybody the greatest hits. As the band releases more records and has more singles out there, it gets harder to pick a setlist. You can only do so many songs and these places have curfews so after 11, they charge you. So it becomes difficult to create a setlist but we’re definitely mixing it up in that respect. And bringing a big show. It’s gonna be a blast.
MS: I don’t envy you guys for trying to pick and balance that out between wanting to give a taste to something new, but making sure the fans are hearing the songs they want to hear, too.
BK: It’s tough. Definitely sick and tired of hearing (some songs) after all these years, but it’s about the fans.
MS: Yeah, I imagine it’s probably easier when you’ve only got one or two albums out versus a 20 year career.
BK: Exactly. When your 20-something songs at radio are number ones, well 19 songs is a full setlist. That’s why Eric and I have decided that we no longer make a list. We leave that to Brent and Zach. That way, there’s no arguments. It’s better with just two. Again, it comes down to that democracy thing.
MS: Is there anything you want to put out to fans? I know you guys are going to be in St. Louis near me on the fifth of September.
BK: For all the Shinedown fans out there, just thank you for the continued support over the years. It doesn’t go unnoticed. We really appreciate it and are still very humbled by that. We hope you come out to the show and have a great time, because we’re gonna give you the best show we can.
Shinedown’s “Planet Zero” is out now wherever music is sold. The band will hit the stage this Labor Day in Maryland Heights, Mo. To get tickets for the show or to find other shows on the tour, head over to shinedown.com.
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