[Audio] Godsmack’s Sully Erna Opens Up About New Song, Documentary and Tour

Sully Erna doesn't hide from his past.  It's what made him who he is today.  He also doesn't hide from recent events in his life that continue to shape him and his music.

Sully talked with I-Rock 93.5 about his new song "Truth" and how hard it was to write that song.  He also talked about the documentary on his life and the perseverance that turned him into a rock star instead of in jail or dead.

New Godsmack Song "Truth" Was Hard To Write

Sully said that "Truth" is a very personal moment for him.  He said, "Unfortunately this wasn't about a good event in my life."  This event happened while Godsmack was recording and writing the album.  Sully told I-Rock 93.5 "A 7-year relationship was betrayed and it shut me down.  It broke me for a minute.  I had to shut down the whole project.  The guys were very understanding of it though."

During the 6 months of healing, Sully said a song came to him.  He said, "Do I want to expose this to the public?"   He said he couldn't even perform it for them originally cause it was so hard to get through.

But, because he and the band thought it was so good they added it to Lighting Up The Sky.  And while they love the song Sully now says, "You know what's going to happen, this is being a number one song and I'm going to have to play it for the rest of my life."

Sully said, "In the end, we all know that beautiful art comes from a dark place.".

The Godsmack "Vibez" Tour

Now Godsmack is hitting the road again.  This tour will be unlike what we saw at The Vibrant Arena in September.  This will be an intimate show at smaller venues.

While the entire set will not be acoustic, it will feature acoustic performances.

Sully says after the big arena tour, or as he called it "a full contact sport", the band wanted to instead do a stripped-down show with nostalgic covers and an overall "cool evening as we go down a musical rabbit hole".

I Stand Alone:  The Sully Erna Story

In 2007 Sully released a memoir about his life growing up in one of the most violent cities in America, Lawrence Massachusetts.  Now, it's been turned into a documentary that shows how he got to where he is.

Sully said, "The story is about perseverance.  It's how he "used his gift of music to save me from being dead or in jail".

He said teachers started using the book to show kids how to stand up in life.  "I'm a parent and I get this.  The one thing parents are lacking is that we are not preparing our children for disappointment."  Everyone can't get the fucking trophy."

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The documentary is awesome and a must-watch for any Godsmack fan.  And really, a great watch for anybody who just wants to see the story of a young boy who came from an abusive upbringing in a terrible neighborhood and pushed through to survive and thrive thanks to his gift of music.

It was great talking with Sully about the song, tour, documentary, and of course, a couple of other side tracks cause that's what I do.  Including some artists he'd love to work with.  I tossed out a Boston collab with Dropkick Murphys (coming soon to The Quad Cities).  Sully said he'd give them a call.  Let's make it happen.

Take a listen to the full interview below and all the I-Rock with Rockstar podcasts here.