Exclusive Interview with Mike Mushok of Staind
by Michelle Oberg
RUKUS MAGAZINE: Tell me about the 9/11 charity show you did in New York.
MIKE MUSHOK: We were initially trying to create an event coinciding with the release of our new record [Staind] and it just so happened it was the 10 year anniversary of the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center. We were in New York and we thought it would be a great idea to try and coordinate and maybe give a little something back by being able to do the show.
RM: I’m a New Yorker and I thank you for that.
MM: No problem. We were actually in New York a few days before it happened. Obviously I couldn’t imagine what it would be like when it happened but we know a lot of people who live there and it affected so many people nationwide.
RM: Were there families who are involved with the foundation present for the show?
MM: Yes, we met with some of the people there before the show. It was very nice to see how appreciative people are and for us it’s what we love to do: play music—and to incorporate that in to giving something back is wonderful.
RM: Now that you have been a part of something bigger than just a usual show, do you have intentions of playing more benefit-type shows?
MM: We look at what is out there for sure and what we are able to do. Aaron does one for the school system where he lives and his kids go to school, so he does that every year. We always definitely try to do what we can to try and help out.
RM: Staind is going to be coming up on 20 years soon. Do you have any intention of doing a feature length documentary, since that’s all the rage these days?
MM: [laughs] Right! There really is one in the works with what we put out in the record and we’re continuously filming extra footage to see if we could get something together and what it might be. If there is an interest and people want to see it…
RM: Let’s talk about your new record Staind, which was released September 13th. Originally it was going to be called Seven. Why did you opt for this record to be the self-titled album?
MM: I think we kind of came back and thought about the title and where we were with the record and it was really a return to where we started and why we started playing music and why we started the band—which was really being a heavy band. With that we decided to self-title it. But then there’s still a reference to Seven, which the album art has.
RM: Is there a track on the album that you’re personally attached to?
MM: I don’t know. You work so hard on an album from beginning to end. I do have to say, for myself, I can definitely put the record on and listen to the whole thing and enjoy. I am really proud of the way it came out. It was a tough one to make. I think “Eyes Wide Open” defines what the record is. I think “Sailing” is a cool song, and “Wanted” is great because it’s different for us with the rapping on it. It’s pretty diverse.
RM: The band seems to be really involved with your fans and the community and you seem to keep yourselves quite public like with the webisodes you released showing the making of Staind with the writing and recording process. Is there a point where you draw the line when where you’re sharing becomes too personal for public consumption?
MM: I try to keep my personal life with my family separate. It’s funny with this age of social media, my manager tells me that I need to have a Twitter and post all the time and I’m like, “No, I really don’t, I just want to play guitar.” His response is “It’s more than that now.” What am I going to say, “I’m having a cheeseburger with my family”? I think everyone is trying to be a star with social media. Who gives a fuck if you’re buying a pair of shoes? It’s just crazy how small the world has become and how immediate news and stories can be. I also think Twitter shows the intelligence level of a lot of people. There’s no filter, you can just go and put it out there and whoever is following you knows your business.
RM: To be fair, you guys are lucky that your fans have Twitter pages dedicated to your music so they get your news out there pretty quick.
MM: I know and I have been doing Facebook posts lately. I’ve also done blogs, too, because people will call me up and ask me. I really don’t have a problem doing it but it’s just so different from when we started. We used to be able to just go and play music [laughs] and now there’s just a lot more to it.
RM: Speaking of the music, you recently parted ways with Jon [Wysocki]. Was this amicable? How did this come about?
MM: I talked to him recently. Will it continue? I don’t know…who knows? It wasn’t an easy decision. Look, we got together to write a record in December, it was tough and I don’t think everyone was on the same page. It became apparent that everyone doesn’t have the same motivation. It became apparent really quickly. We tried following through with the process and at the end of the day I think through a lot of discussions and trying to figure things out, probably it was what was best for the band.
RM: It’s tough and it’s not easy to talk about. Again, that goes back to having your life public.
MM: No, its not. It wasn’t an easy decision or a quick decision. Its something that dragged on for a while, but ultimately, this is where we are now and we’re just trying to move forward.
RM: What’s the hardest part about being in a band?
MM: The hardest part about being in a band is having a family and being away. On Monday I leave for Europe for three weeks and my kids are going to be 5 in November. Look, I just did five days away, most weekends and press stuff. While that was happening my wife calls me with my daughter on the phone and she was crying because she missed me. I sat on the phone with her for a half hour and there really isn’t anything harder than that. This is something new. When I toured before they were younger and didn’t really get it, but now they do.
RM: Do they come to your shows when you play close to come? Do they like your music?
MM: Yes, I live in Connecticut so when we do shows locally they come out. They want to go, they like to go. My son always asks, “Dad, can I come to your show, I wanna come to a show!”
RM: Is Sal [Giancarelli] going to become a band member or remain as a touring drummer?
MM: Right now he’s just going to be our touring drummer. As we move forward we’ll see what happens. We’re still trying to figure out everything with Jon’s situation and how that officially is going to end. For the most part, it has, but just the legal end of things. I don’t think we’re actively looking right now for a band member. But Sal is there and he’s doing a great job. I think we’re just going to for now continue on this way, at least for the touring cycle and then address it from there.
RM: You have songs on the last two Transformer‘s film soundtracks. The most recent, Dark of the Moon, features “The Bottom,” which is on Staind. Was that song written for the film?
MM: Our manager knows the gentleman who puts those soundtracks out. The timing just so happened to coincide with our record. At the time that they came and asked we had five songs done. I just felt like “The Bottom” sounded so mechanical, which is great for that film. We submitted to it and that’s just how it worked out.
RM: What is your goal for 2012?
MM: Really just go out there and tour and go places we’ve never been. We’re going to Europe soon and when we get back we will be trying to put together a really nice package tour starting March. Then we’ll go back to Europe for the summer and come back again to do a tour in the States, then Japan later in the year. So the goal is to continue touring and supporting the record.
RM: What was the first thing you bought with your first big paycheck with Staind?
MM: I got a new truck. That was great, and then I got my parents something.
RM: What is the craziest thing a fan has done to get your attention?
MM: One time this kid was coming through a line where we were signing and this kid took his artificial leg off for us to sign it. He told us his mom was going to kill him.
RM: If you could have dinner with anyone in the world, dead or alive, who would it be?
MM: My wife.
RM: If you weren’t a musician what would you be doing?
MM: My goal originally, if the music thing didn’t work out—which happens because I know a lot of guys who are better than me—I was going to go to law school to be an attorney. Staind came up along the way and the LSAT’s just went by the way side. I thought the band was really good so we pursued that. When Staind happened I was in my mid-to-late twenties. I can appreciate more. I won’t name names, but when people have success so young and early on it gives you no idea what the world is like and you’re completely out of touch with reality. I always said thank god this didn’t happen to me when I was 18.
RM: What advice would you give a younger band whose trying to catch their big break?
MM: Our path, personally, that we followed just led us to being signed. Here’s the thing, it’s all kind of common sense. You got to work for it really, really hard for anything that you want to be successful in. It’s never going to just come to you. My advice is write as many songs as you can. If you’re in a band just make sure you’re with people who are on the same path and have the same goals about the band and who you think are good enough to help get you there. You’ll know that I was in a ton of other bands and I knew we never had a chance because there was something about it, but then I met Aaron and we started writing together; I knew we had something. The other thing is ultimately to help other bands and play with other bands. We would befriend other bands in other states and say, “Hey, come play with us” and we’d go back and play shows for them. We got signed because we always played with this one band that we loved. Then the drummer called me one day and said, “Hey, we’re opening for Limp Bizkit, the first slot is open, it’s only 20 minutes, but you can play.” We said, “Let’s play!” So play whenever and wherever you can. There’s nothing like being on stage and playing. Play in your room all day long, but it’ll never be the same.
RM: Do you have any final words for our readers?
MM: We’re touring Europe right now and we’re working on the next tour package in the spring. We’ll try to put together the best package that we can so it’s enjoyable for everybody. And lastly, without our fans we wouldn’t be here and doing what we love to do, so we’re extremely thankful for them.