Godsmack is a heavy band from Methuen, Mass. Their big releases are "Whatever" and their new single "Bad Religion." They were "discovered" by a WAAF, Rocko. He had them in studio many times and was the one responsible for getting them some airplay. Soon, requests came in for theri first hit, "Whatever," and they became very popular in the area.

Godsmack has released two full length CD's, All Wound Up..., with EK Records and Godsmack, with Universal (the albums are pretty much the same, only a few tracks are different). In the summer of 1998, Godsmack signed with Universal Records. They chose Universal over the others because Universal "believed" in Godsmack. Godsmack has previously been featured on compilation albums, such as Daddy's Junky Music's Best of Massachusetts (1997), and Omni Multimedia Vol. 1. (1997).

1998 was great year for Godsmack and '99 looks even better!. They still want to see your support, so go out to a show and pick up their album at your local record store or buy it online, and support the only group that smacks you around, GODSMACK!!!

Patrick talked with Sully at the June 19th show at the Esspresso Bar in Worcester and asked him a few questions:

(You can hear the interview in RealAudio format too)

Patrick: Where are you from?
Sully: Lawrence. Haven't we covered that already?!?
P: How long have you lived there?
S: I lived there 'till I was about 18 years old, umm took off to North Carolina for a little while, toured with some bands, umm toured around the states, you know, five years or so, and then I came back home.
P: Your birthday?
S: Uhh, my birthDAY? I ain't giving you that. Not yet, you're gonna hafta figure that one out.
P: At what age did you start to like music?
S: I started playing drums when I was three and a half, I've been a drummer my whole life, umm, the first time I ever stepped in front of a microphone was with Godsmack, ahh three years ago. And ahh, played a little guitar, piano, harmonica.
P: So you're like a jack-of-all-trades?
S: No, I just like to play around, ya know. My father was a proffessional drum player for like forty years, so I always grew up watching his jazz band and falling asleep in the guitar cases, since I was fuckin' this high. [holding hand at about waist-high] Still am.
P: Have you been in any past bands?
S: Right before Godsmack I was in a band called Stripmine, we were with Warner/Reprise Records, and ahh, I was with them for about two or three years, playing drums. Everything I've done before Godsmack I was a drummer.
P: What's your favorite food?
S: Food? Lobster.
P: Any past members of Godsmack that you want to mention?
S: No, well, yeah, there was our first guitar player his name was Lee Richards, and umm, then he just quit, he felt we were going too techno, whatever the fuck that means. And I just think he wanted to write his own shit, but he left. And Tommy was our first drummer, and then he left because he ran into some kind of family thing, he had to go back to Los Angeles and stuff, so he had to bail on the band. Um, and then we got Joe, obviously you know of, it never worked out with him, we wanted to replace him for a while, it was just a bad thing. And ahh, we called Tommy, and asked him to come back, ya know. A lot of people think that Tommy came back when we were getting good, But it's not the case. We asked him back because he's a great player and he's got a good head on his shoulders.
P: Yeah, yeah, I know what you mean, he's really good.
S: He's awesome.
P: Alright, the meaning of "Godsmack"?
S: The meaning of "Godsmack" is instant karma. And, uhh, I'll tell you how we got the name. Although we know it's an Alice In Chains song, and were were aware of it, the way it came about was Joe, our last drummer, came to rehearsal one day, and were we kinda lookin for a name, we were called The Scam, and uhh, he had a huge cold-sore on his lip about the size of a dime, and, we hadda do a photo-shoot that day, so I was making fun of his cold-sore told him that's what he gets for suckin on guys' dicks, and blah-blah-blah, and, he took it like a trooper, said like "let's cancel" and I'm like "we can't cancel cause we cant re-book the photographer. Hafta do it today, tough shit, shouldn't be kissin' other men," blah-blah-blah. So, the next day, I came to rehearsal, I had a huge cold-sore on my lip, same spot, just as big. So, my guitar player said, "god just smacked you for fuckin being a dick." So I go "Ahh, thats a god-smack." Ya know, like instant karma, what comes around, goes around, like god just smacked ya. But we knew it was an Alice In Chains song, but that's really how it originated, so we just said, "ya know what, people will get over it eventually."
P: Favorite bands, TV shows, music videos?
S: Favorite bands, umm that would be hard for me to say, Because I love, I love bands like umm the Doobie Brothers, I love bands like Nine Inch Nails, and I also love bands like Dead Can Dance, which is like, very spiritual kinda music, ya know. So it ranges. I can listen to, like, Pantera, and I can listen to Elton John. Ya know.
P: Thats cool.
S: I gotta fly...
P: Alright.
S: Sorry to cut it short. Anything else, real quick?
P: Umm, let's see, alright, Where did you first play, as Godsmack? And when was that, three years ago, you said?
S: Well, yea, we were The Scam, and we played in a club called The Red Square, I think. The Red Square or The Rock Marlboro.
Alright, Thats all.