TM - Hi, this is Amelia and Elizabeth from Twinmusix, and we are here with C.J. Pierce from Drowning Pool. Thank you for having this interview with us today. We appreciate it.
C.J. - Thank you for having me.
TM - How are you?
C.J. - We have been in the studio writing and recording some stuff, and we connected like never before.
TM - Are you working on a new album?
C.J - We have been working on songs for the last few years. We have been touring, and we finally got to a point where we had a bit of time off. We walked into the studio with all these ideas and songs, and we wrote new stuff. We have been in the studio for the past few days, and we are going tonight. We are just writing everything on the fly. It has a bounce and the jump and that NU metal sound. There are a lot of great new metal bands that are out that incorporate the NU Metal scales. We have a new metal sound, if you put sprinkles on top, it is exciting.
TM - We cannot wait to hear your new album.
TM - You are bringing out your Legacy albums "Sinner" for the 25th Anniversary of the album. What can fans expect?
C.J. - We are re-releasing the album on 3 different vinyls with some bonus tracks. "Break You" was the last song we recorded for the "Scorpion King" movie soundtrack. We don't know if it is still available, so we wanted to make it available for everybody. We also did a song with "Rob Zombie" called "The Man Without Fear" that was an awesome time recording "Rob Zombie" and "Chris Vrenna" did a version of "Bodies". I've found so much stuff from the early days that I recorded with Dave Williams. I want to put it out, and we will eventually get it out.
TM - How was your tour in Australia last year?
C.J. - We had such a great time with "Alien Ant Farm". Hopefully, when we come back, we can come back with "Saliva", that would be a great lineup.
TM - If you could have any band play one of your songs, what band would it be, what song would it be, and would it be in your style or their style?
C.J. - We play "Bodies", and I love playing it because it is a really good song. I can't wait to play it every night. I also have 10 or 15 other versions of it. I have a punk version, a super funk version and a JT version. It would be fun, but "SOFI TUKKER", an EDM band, did a version of "Bodies" and nailed it.
TM - You wrote a song with "Sorry X" called "The Wrong One" What was your writing and recording process?
C.J. - We are on SPG records, and they are an amazing record label. The owner sent us Alexa, and she did amazing cover songs, and she did "Bodies". The thing I really liked about "Sorry X" is that Alexa had a great singing voice, and she referenced early 90's nu metal with some rap style in some of it. There were three different components, but the core of the music is NU Metal, and she is super talented. We collaborated with her, and we bounce stuff back and forth and came up with a few different versions of what it is now. The solo part was fun. I spent three days writing something that was fifteen seconds, as I wanted it to fit perfectly. I wrote the solo over one riff, and in the last minute, I flipped flopped on riffs, and it still fits perfectly.
TM - How did you film the video for "The Wrong One"?
C.J. - The video was wild. I am in Dallas, and they are in New York and Ryan, our singer, was somewhere else. We were recording in three different places on the same day, and then we put it all together and made it look cohesive.
TM - If you could go back in a time machine, who would you see?
C.J. - I would go to every "Led Zeppelin" show that ever happened. I would also go to "Jefferson Starship" and "The Doors".
TM - Who was the first band or Artist you saw live, and can you tell us a story?
C.J. - I grew up in New Orleans, loving music, and there was the Mardi Gras, jazz and blues. My dad had a band, and they rehearsed in the living room on the weekends, so I have always been around it. Ratt was the first band that I saw in 1982, and Bon Jovi opened up for them, and they stole the show. Bon Jovi blew up after that, and I was eleven years old.
TM - Is there anything else you want to say to your fans?
C.J. - Please come to the show and hang out. We are the type of band that will hang out and then jump right on stage. I love being at a rock show. We will try to switch up our setlist, or if you call something out, we might play it. It is a real show, and we just want to have fun.