- 4/23/2025
Talkin' Rock with Fozzy's Chris Jericho
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00:00Rock, metal, prog, and everything in between.
00:04If you're into rock, you've come to the right place.
00:07Welcome to this episode of Talkin' Rock with Meltdown.
00:11Don't forget to follow the audio-only Talkin' Rock podcast on all podcast platforms.
00:15And now, it's time for today's conversation.
00:18Here's Meltdown.
00:20There he is, Y2J. How you doing, man?
00:24Y2J's like 20 years ago, man.
00:26That's like...
00:27One of my favorites.
00:30Yeah, it's like saying, here's Lemmy with Ace of Spades in 2022.
00:36Well, good to see you, man.
00:37By the way, happy early birthday.
00:39You got any birthday plans for next week?
00:40Just playing?
00:43I'll be flying to Japan on that day.
00:45Oh, okay, cool.
00:47Yeah, well, happy early birthday, man.
00:49Well, let's talk about...
00:50Thank you so much, man. I appreciate that.
00:51Let's talk about the record and everything.
00:53Oh, hang on. It's getting warm in here.
00:54I better take off my jacket here, so...
00:57The boys.
01:01The boys.
01:03I told him a little Easter egg for you.
01:04I'll just have to wear the Pot of Thunder shirt.
01:06I actually got a different shirt on, saying, I thought, you know, I'm talking to Jericho.
01:08I better get this one on.
01:09So, you've been on this podcast several times.
01:12I have. Good friends of mine, for sure.
01:14Love those guys.
01:15I think Chris is coming to the show on Saturday here in Wyandotte.
01:19Oh, good. I didn't know that.
01:21Yeah, so...
01:22Very cool.
01:22I've got a crazy schedule, but I'm going to make it there as well myself after going to Buffalo this weekend to see Jack Russell and Don Jameson.
01:29But anyways, let's talk about Fozzie Spotlight on North America Tour.
01:34First of all, the video is killer, man.
01:36The song is killer.
01:36Well, thanks, man.
01:40Yeah, I mean, it's...
01:41We just got some stats.
01:42Always love hearing stats when you're a musician, but it's the fastest song we've ever had to hit the top 40 after two weeks.
01:48Usually, it takes longer than that, so it's a great start.
01:51The radio is really picking up on it, which is great.
01:54The video was awesome.
01:56Something that I've never seen before, all based around drones, and those are real drones, not CGI drones.
02:01So, we did some green screening on that.
02:03So, yeah, we got a great new song with some great traction and a killer video, and it's just good to have some new material because it's been a while.
02:10And what's with the child's voice on there?
02:13What was the idea behind that?
02:15I don't know.
02:16A lot of people ask me about that.
02:17It was our producer, Johnny Andrews' idea.
02:19So, I guess maybe it just adds kind of a creepy element to it, maybe, something along those lines.
02:23So, that's the thing.
02:25When you work with a team, like with Rich Ward and Johnny Andrews and Mark Willis, our manager, was very involved in the video,
02:32you let the pros be pros, and Johnny wanted to put that voice on there, and I was like, sounds good to me.
02:38I'm the singer.
02:39Whatever you want to do.
02:40It kind of gave me like a little bit of a God of Thunder vibe.
02:44Did you get that as well or no?
02:47No, I didn't get any God of Thunder vibe from it.
02:49I mean, if anything, it's like kind of a creepy horror movie type thing, but I didn't catch a God of Thunder.
02:54But if that's what you heard in the song and that's what you feel, then that's good.
02:58Yeah, I guess what Bob Ezra knows were his kids, correct?
03:00I don't know.
03:02I'm not the Kiss trivia master.
03:04Ask the Pod of Thunder guys.
03:08Yeah, but I think that Bob Ezra suggested having those kids in there and stuff.
03:12And also, the song kind of reminded me a little bit of the song The Watcher from Ghost.
03:16Not exactly like the melody or nothing, but kind of like the overall vibe of it.
03:20Have you heard that song?
03:21I haven't, man.
03:22But once again, there's a certain, like you said, a certain creepy vibe at the beginning.
03:30It's got a little bit more of almost maybe a prodigy type sound to me in a lot of ways.
03:36We've never really done a song like this before, but yet it's still 100% Fozzy.
03:40So that's what I like about it.
03:41It's a little bit of an evolution for us, but it still hits the mark as to who we are as a rock and roll band.
03:47Yeah.
03:47So what else is coming down the pike for the band?
03:52Well, I mean, once again, just kind of, I mean, Spotlight just came out a few weeks ago.
03:57And, you know, we're on tour right now.
03:59And obviously, radio is so important, as you know.
04:03So just kind of focusing on this right now.
04:05I think the idea for us over the next few years is to just release one song at a time rather than waiting two years and putting out a full record.
04:14The Boombox record, which we did, started in 2019 because of the lockdown, the pandemic.
04:20It took three years to basically get it released.
04:22We were calling it Chinese Fozocracy.
04:25It took such a long time.
04:27And the thing that I realized about it is that we had 12 great songs on it.
04:31But out of those 12 great songs, three of them went to radio.
04:34We're all top 10.
04:35Three or more of them we played live and did great.
04:38And then the other six songs just kind of disappeared.
04:42You know, you don't play them live or release them to the radio.
04:43They kind of go to the Fozzie dead song graveyard.
04:46I didn't want to waste those songs.
04:48You know, Army of One and Omen and The Worst is Yet to Come.
04:51Those are all great tunes.
04:52So what we wanted to do, starting with Spotlight, is release a song at a time and give each song its due.
04:58Send each song to radio.
05:00Play each song live.
05:01And then you can really see what kind of legs it has and if it can be another classic for us like Judas or I Still Burn in that vibe.
05:11So I think that's kind of what's holding, what's going to happen for us in the future is starting to really concentrate on a song by song basis.
05:18Now, I'm kind of like an old school guy.
05:20And I don't know if you're like this, but it's no stranger.
05:23I'm no stranger to the vinyl thing, to the whole experience.
05:25So I kind of like to have everything on there.
05:27Even if some of the songs maybe do get lost, at least the core fans will hear them as well.
05:32You like that too or no?
05:33I mean, I like it because that's how I grew up.
05:36But, you know, once again, you've got to stay ahead of the curve in the way that people consume music nowadays, especially younger people.
05:42It's all playlists and it's on shuffle and it's YouTube videos and that sort of a thing.
05:46So I think as much as I hate to say it because I still love the concept of a full album and the whole ebb and flow of, you know, putting together the track listing and all that sort of thing.
05:57I just think it's almost becoming a little bit archaic.
06:00So I think once again, as we've always done, we stay ahead of the curve rather than kind of stay ensconced in what was working before.
06:09So, like I said, are we ever going to are we ever not going to do another record?
06:13I'm not saying that.
06:14I'm just saying for right now, I like the song by song development.
06:17Plus, you know, it's all about content nowadays.
06:20You know, we hear content, content, content.
06:22And I'd rather have a new song released every three or four months rather than every one or two years.
06:27So, like I said, I think just the way of the world right now, we're going to work and go go about things that way and see how how that changes or doesn't change the, you know, the success of the songs that we've had.
06:40Because, like I said, we've had seven consecutive, you know, top 40 singles right now.
06:46And Spotlight will probably hit number 10, which will be our six consecutive top 10 singles.
06:50So we want to continue this role that we're on as far as just being, I guess, a radio band at this point in time.
06:56So how many songs do you have in the can right now?
06:59We don't have any in the can.
07:00All right.
07:01Yeah, we worked on Spotlight.
07:03We got it out.
07:04And, you know, we're always working on stuff, but there's nothing in the can, per se.
07:09There's ideas and there's vibes for what we want to do for the next tune.
07:13But we're going to, you know, as you know, when you release a record, release a song, it's a long journey.
07:19I mean, I could be talking to you three, four months from now and Spotlight will still be in the charts in the top 10 or number one, because that's how long it takes a lot of times.
07:27Yeah.
07:28So anyways, let's go on to your other things.
07:30Of course, I'm a big fan of the podcast.
07:32I'm a really big fan of what you do mainly on Fridays with like the more of the darker side, the haunted houses and more of the haunted stuff.
07:44So tell me a ghost story.
07:46Have you experienced a ghost yourself?
07:49I haven't really.
07:51You know, I've had a few things like strange, strange things that have happened, but not myself per se.
07:58I mean, you can always sense a certain vibe.
08:01I mean, I've had a few.
08:02I don't really want to get into them right now, but you can sense a vibe when strange things are happening.
08:08It's a feeling that you have.
08:10And I think because I've had that feeling, experienced that and because people love those stories, like you mentioned, it's always been a big part of talk is Jericho and having the paranormal side, the cryptozoology, that sort of thing, aliens, UFOs.
08:22So it's not every Friday.
08:25It's usually probably once a month or twice a month, depending on what guests that I get.
08:28You know what I mean?
08:29I don't I don't set a schedule of like, OK, I have to have somebody scary on.
08:33But it's there's always new stories to tell.
08:36And that's one of the things that I love about talk is Jericho is I think as a listener, nobody really knows for sure what they're going to get next.
08:43You know, is it going to be music?
08:44Is it wrestling?
08:45Is it going to be paranormal?
08:45Is it going to be a watch along?
08:46Is it a classic album clash?
08:48Is it going to be a comedian or whatever it may be?
08:50So I enjoy the variety of talk is Jericho.
08:53And it was always based and built to be that way.
08:56It was never supposed to be just a music podcast or a wrestling podcast.
09:00It was supposed to be a Jericho podcast.
09:02What am I interested in and what seems like to be a cool subject to talk about?
09:06And a lot of that, you know, conspiracies and paranormal stories are always very interesting to discuss and people enjoy them like yourself.
09:13Yeah, I love them.
09:14So, you know, the one that sticks in my brain is the Sally House.
09:17I want to get there one day.
09:18You stayed there.
09:19You were there for a few hours or whatever.
09:20No, I wasn't the Sally House.
09:22That's in the Kansas City area.
09:24I was in the Anderson Hotel, which is in Lexington.
09:26And that's a very haunted one.
09:28And that's all those ones when you walk in, you can feel kind of a heaviness the moment you go inside.
09:32And, you know, OK, something something's a little off here.
09:35And like after an hour of being in there, because we did a podcast live from the from the Anderson Hotel.
09:41And there's no lights.
09:42And it's a it's a you know, it's it's a mess inside.
09:45And after about an hour, I was like, it's time to get out of here.
09:48I'm done.
09:49I can feel it.
09:49There's something there's something weird about this place.
09:51There's a place called Eloise, which isn't too far away from where you're going to be playing this coming Saturday.
09:56And they got a big thing going on this weekend as well.
09:58I don't know.
09:58I don't know what your schedule is, but that's a that's a pretty wild place.
10:02Well, we're excited to do this Saturday night's gig is going to be the biggest show of the tour.
10:05We're really excited, but we're getting closer to selling that one out.
10:07And we've never played there.
10:09We've played a lot in the Detroit area.
10:11Actually, we're in Lansing, Michigan tonight.
10:13We're in a couple of the places.
10:16That's in tomorrow.
10:17Yeah, exactly.
10:19So, you know, we always love playing Detroit proper.
10:22But when you get to some of these outside towns and outside areas, there's some great venues and some great people to play for.
10:28So I think Saturday is going to be massive for us.
10:30This whole weekend is going to be massive for us.
10:32Like I said, we've always done really well in Detroit, a lot of thanks in part in a lot of ways to the riff for always supporting us.
10:38So, you know, Detroit is just one of those areas.
10:40As you know, it's a great rock and roll town.
10:43It's a great rock and roll area and it's a great fuzzy area as well.
10:46Yeah.
10:46Yeah.
10:46The District 142 is awesome.
10:48It's a great new venue in south of the city.
10:52I guess you have south.
10:53You can't say south Detroit, but you get the picture.
10:55You get the picture.
10:56All right.
10:56I want to raise the south Detroit.
10:58All right.
10:59A couple of last things here for you.
11:00Jericho, we'll let you fly.
11:02Our friend Darren McCarty wants to know, does the king of reinvention have characters in the closet or is it more of an organic thing?
11:09It's an organic thing.
11:10I never have anything planned.
11:11I just go with the flow and feel it.
11:13What feels right at the time.
11:16Because if you've tried for something, it never works.
11:18It just has to feel right.
11:19I have to be committed to it.
11:20And once I feel it's the right thing to do, then I do it.
11:23And nine times out of ten, it works out.
11:26Chris from Pot of Thunder says, who's hotter?
11:28Roz, Roz Kelly or Florence Henderson?
11:31Roz Kelly, hands down, especially in the Paul and Halloween special.
11:35Although witchy poo has got to be up there, too, if you're judging on the bell curve from that special.
11:39Yeah.
11:39Yeah.
11:40As a matter of fact, I know.
11:41What was it?
11:42The 45th anniversary.
11:43You know, you mentioned Paul and stuff like that.
11:45But it was the 45th anniversary of Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Opera.
11:49Right.
11:49Just the park.
11:50A Phantom of the Park.
11:51That's right.
11:51Yeah.
11:51Phantom.
11:52Yeah.
11:53What do you think about that movie?
11:55I mean, you know, it's one of those movies that if you know, you know.
11:58If you watched it right now for the first time, you'd probably think it was terrible.
12:01But if you're a Kiss fan and you get what was going on, it's super cheesy and ridiculous.
12:06And, you know, Devereaux, you know, it's a fun watch if you're a Kiss fan our age.
12:12And if you aren't a Kiss fan, never, ever watch it.
12:16Right.
12:16Exactly.
12:17Yeah.
12:17Kiss just played here.
12:18And I don't know if you know they do this.
12:19They do this VIP thing.
12:20Of course, you guys do your VIP thing as well.
12:22And you kind of do the same type of thing with the sound check on the stage.
12:25Their stage wasn't finished.
12:27They actually did this sound check thing on the concourse, which was really cool.
12:31Yeah.
12:32We actually got the idea.
12:33I mean, we've been doing VIP for years and trying to think of what's the best way to do
12:37it for fans.
12:38And we did everything from, you know, pictures and going to dinner with them and, you know,
12:43whatever it may be.
12:44And after seeing Kiss do that, we realized that's the best way because you have to sound check
12:49anyways, which is great.
12:51And so instead of sound checking, you actually do a concert for the VIPs and play some songs
12:56that they're not going to hear later on that night.
12:58So everybody wins.
12:59I know like if I wasn't in a band and, you know, if I didn't know Kiss, I would go to
13:02their VIP in a second.
13:03I mean, Paul McCartney does it now and a lot of bands do it.
13:06And to me, that's just something extra.
13:08You get to hear some songs that, you know, you're not going to hear anywhere else.
13:11And that people like the experience, you know, and I think a great VIP is very important
13:16to a band nowadays because it really does keep the lights on as far as being able to
13:21go and tour.
13:22And it's an extra, an extra experience for those who want to do it.
13:27So I'm a big proponent of that.
13:29Yeah.
13:29All right.
13:30Final question here from PJ.
13:32He wants to know what's your favorite Trickster song.
13:34So I don't know.
13:34I mean, none of them.
13:36Well, um, actually probably, uh, I mean, give it to me good.
13:41It's just all time class, but I always like rock and horse and blood rock from the, from
13:46the here record.
13:47Those are two good ones.
13:48Wow.
13:48Yeah.
13:49I just got the, uh, the, the winger box set the other day that, that third record pull.
13:52I just can't, I just can't take it off my turntable.
13:54It got, it got, it got put out at the wrong time.
13:57It's a great record, but it came out in 1993 and that point in time wingers, uh, expiration
14:01date had expired a couple of years prior, but that's a great record, man.
14:06I agree with you on that.
14:07Yeah.
14:07And you know what, you know, the other record I liked that came out around that time.
14:10So I was near the start of my radio career was, uh, uh, on, uh, revenge from kiss.
14:15I thought that record has a great record.
14:17It's my favorite non-makeup kiss record for sure.
14:20Yeah.
14:20What do you think of the elder?
14:22I like the record.
14:23I don't know.
14:25I mean, you know, it's, it's very strange and weird, but once again, I think if you,
14:28if you put yourself in a fan's shoes in 1981, when it came out, you'd be wondering
14:33what the hell is going on and you wouldn't get it in retrospect, listening to it now.
14:37I mean, it's weird.
14:38I mean, there's some good songs on it, but overall it's weird.
14:41And odyssey is the all time worst slash best kiss song ever.
14:46There's a child in a sundress playing with a fish.
14:50It sounds like something from spinal tap, you know, the cups and cakes or something like
14:53that.
14:54Yeah.
14:54Well, spinal tap, I'm sure got some inspiration from that record and some other ones.
14:58Well, listen, Jericho, thanks so much for the time.
15:01I appreciate it.
15:02Fozzie in town on a Saturday at district one 42 at the brand new district one 42, a safe
15:07travels.
15:07We'll see you here in a Detroit rock city.
15:10Sounds great, man.
15:11Always a pleasure.
15:11And we're super excited to be there on Saturday.
15:13And thanks for the support as always, dude.
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