FOZZY released a new single last week, “I Still Burn,” and the band is ramping up the promotional machine in advance of their new album, “Boombox,” set to arrive May 6 via Sony. Web Is Jericho did an exclusive early review of the entire record, and guitarist Rich Ward recently appeared on the “Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz where he discussed his place within FOZZY. Ward talked about his love for Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth as well as Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson. He also talked about the frontman/guitarist relationship he has with FOZZY singer Chris Jericho.
“I think David Lee Roth is the best frontman that rock and roll has ever seen, and I think you could easily make that argument,” Ward said. “And I think Bruce Dickinson is in the argument in the Top Five. ‘Cause there’s people who they’re just … There’s five incredible or four incredible musicians, but you can’t stop looking at the one person. That’s when you know…”
Ward talked about his time in Adrenaline Mob, and how fans fixated on drummer Mike Portnoy because of his appeal as an artist and performer. “I did a band called Adrenaline Mob for, like, a year. And I consider myself an A-lister entertainer on guitar; I grew up with my heroes … And I love Flea; I love these people that when you see it, it’s like you’re watching just chaos in the form of a musician. And when I was in Adrenaline Mob, it was almost as if I was invisible; they (the fans in the audience) were looking at (drummer) Mike Portnoy the whole time. It didn’t matter how crazy I went or what I did, it was like I was a screen door (laughs) that was looking straight to Mike. And I just realized there are people that just have a gravitational pull — that are just such a special artist, not just musically but just what they are or what they bring to the performance that’s so powerful. Of course, I got some peripheral vision love, but when it came down to it, it’s the same thing.”
“And it’s the same thing with me and FOZZY. Again, I’m standing next to Chris Jericho. He’s one of the best frontmen in whatever he does; he’s incredible. And so you start to learn your role is, like… Hey, there’s nothing wrong with being the number two guy. Randy Rhoads (late Ozzy Osbourne guitarist) was a number two guy. He stood next to Ozzy. It’s, like, he was always gonna be a number two guy. But you start to learn, like in every band, there’s a pecking order and where is your place.
Ward also cited other examples of magnetic entertainers including Jericho in that list. “I think (Iron Maiden bassist) Steve Harris is an incredibly magnetic entertainer, and he’s such an incredible force of nature, but he’s on stage with Bruce Dickinson. And the same with Eddie Van Halen. It’s hard to say a guitar player that had more charisma and had more magnetism — except for he’s standing next to David Lee Roth. And it’s unfair for those of us who consider ourselves… Same as (Guns N’ Roses guitarist) Slash. Slash is an apex predator, and he’s next to the apex predator, Axl Rose. And it’s the same thing with me and FOZZY. Again, I’m standing next to Chris Jericho. He’s one of the best frontmen in whatever he does; he’s incredible. And so you start to learn your role is, like… Hey, there’s nothing wrong with being the number two guy. Randy Rhoads (late Ozzy Osbourne guitarist) was a number two guy. He stood next to Ozzy. It’s, like, he was always gonna be a number two guy. But you start to learn, like in every band, there’s a pecking order and where is your place. And that’s what makes a great band. Not everybody can be the quarterback; not everybody can be the pitcher. A great team learns where everyone’s positions lie and they learn to accept that position and be the best they can at it. Like, there’s a lot of supporting actors and actresses. They can’t all be Tom Cruise; they can’t all be The Rock. But if you’re an amazing supporting cast, it makes the movie better. And I think that’s the lesson in life, is that when David Lee Roth’s on stage, your best role you’re gonna find is number two.”
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