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Aaron Lewis: Cutting through the Shades of Grey

N4U: How has your approach to recording an album changed from Dysfunction to Illusion of Progress?

AL: Honestly it really hasn’t changed that much. We go in there and write songs right on the spot and record them relatively quickly and pretty much move through the process relatively quickly-it’s the way we’ve always done it. We’ve never had the songs all done and ready and polished except for our first record. Other than that we’ve gone into the studio with basically nothing and put it all together and recorded it and really get to hear it as the songs they are when we’re finished.

So there is no real structure to it really- you just go in and do the damn thing so to speak?

Yeah! Not so non-chalantly, it’s business when we go in there but yeah that’s basically the deal.

Could you name any one person that helped you succeed as an artist?

I just think it was everyone feeling like I was f*ck*ng useless. I remember a conversation I had with an uncle of mine he said, “You know this music thing is great for a hobby but what are you going to do for a job?” He has since apologized for that comment but it was feelings, sentiments, and comments that kept me going.

Is there any story behind the track “Home?”

 “Home” is about the whole time that we… all of a sudden it went from we were home and we were weekend warrior musicians and all of a sudden we were ripped from home and sent to L.A. and everything was foreign and unrecognizable.

How would you describe the importance of music in your life?

It’s very important to me; it’s the way I’m able to get things off my chest that I wouldn’t be very good at doing in day to day life. I found that I tend to express myself a lot better with certain things in songs.

Describe the importance of your band in your life as a whole?

They’re what got me here man, it’s kind of an interesting relationship because when we’re off the road we don’t see each other at all; we rarely talk to each other; we live in different towns; we run in different circles and we just never see each other and when we’re on the road we don’t see each other very often throughout the day until it’s time to go on stage. It’s an interesting situation. But here we are 16 years into being a band and we still have the same four guys-the same lineup.

As far as, the new tour…what is your approach to the new tour as a band?

The new tour came about by me looking at what’s going on in this country and realizing that this Stimulus package that our wonderful, esteemed president has put together for us basically it bailed out corporations who were irresponsible and it empowered the people who are taking advantage of the system already and it really didn’t do anything to help the average American. We really tried to do every possible thing we could do to actually create a situation that made things more affordable for people to come and enjoy the show.

As far as the mindset you enter when you are writing lyrics, can you describe that?

I don’t really know; we turn the lights down low; we light candles, vibe the whole room out. I have a hard time writing to paper so I just usually write straight to a recording and go back and listen to it… and that’s how it comes about, that’s how it happens.

So you actually talk them out, then record it, and then go back to it?

Sometimes me and the producer will sit there and talk about what it is that I might be wanting to say in the song and go from there and there’s sometimes where we can’t get the new track up fast enough so where I can get the lyrics that are just trying to come out of me.

How would you describe your sound, genre, whatever you want to call it, to someone who has no grasp on what type of music you guys play?

It’s rock! It’s rock that’s a rollercoaster ride. It could go from heavy enough to fit in with the likes of Pantera or Selputura or something like that and it can go as light as James Taylor.

I was actually reading a post on amazon.com, I think it was on Dysfunction actually, and it seemed like maybe some of your fans don’t like that lighter side of you…

For every fan that doesn’t like the lighter side of us there are 10 other fans that that’s the whole reason they are a fan. So you just have to balance – you just have to walk that tightrope and try to make everybody happy and every record that we have done over the years all had heavy songs on it and all had the lighter side. Wait ‘til everyone hears the solo record that I’m going to put out. People are either going to love it or they’re going to hate it. My solo record is going to be very different.

When is that scheduled to be released?

It’s next… Probably the first quarter of next year.

When and how did you discover your voice as a vocalist and was it a drawn out process?

It was something that I was always able to do. I didn’t have to find it; it was there. My parents were very musical, there was always music in the house, always instruments being played in the house, there was always band practice at the house. There was never anything to keep it from coming out and it’s been the one thing in life that has always come easy for me.

Do you have a favorite Staind album?

Yeah! The Illusion of Progress, the latest one. It’s the best record we’ve made yet.