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Shinedown rides wave of success with top billing on festival tour
By John Benson
When Shinedown drummer Barry Kerch was growing up in Panama City, Fla., there weren’t many music festivals that came to his small hometown. Perhaps this explains why this rock act often can be found playing the large touring bills that often populate the summer concert calendar.
“The first festival I went to was the Warped Tour when 311 headlined back in the ’90s,” said Kerch, calling from a tour stop in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. “It was a great time, but I got my nose busted. Still, we love playing on these bills. It’s like summer camp for us. We get to hang out with our buddies every day and listen to great music with a bunch of great bands.”
This summer, Shinedown is headlining the UPROAR Festival, which comes through Northeast Ohio for a show Sunday at Blossom Music Center. Also on the bill are Godsmack, Staind and more. Adding to the stature of Shinedown is the fact it has top billing over bands that just a few years ago it toured with as a supporting act.
Kerch said he’s continually amazed at the band’s success over the past decade that began with its 2003 platinum debut, “Leave a Whisper,” and its gold-selling follow-up, 2005’s “Us and Them.” Though those albums combined for a handful of top-5 radio hits, that was nothing compared to the group’s 2008 effort, “The Sound of Madness,” with each of its six singles reaching No. 1. Now armed with its latest album, “Amaryllis,” Shinedown’s streak of top-charting tracks continues with No. 1 singles “Unity” and “Bully.”
What’s interesting about the group’s most recent CD is the outfit took many chances in the studio. This includes the cinematic title track, the piano-blues “I’ll Follow You” and the horn-driven “I’m Not Alright.”
“Some people might think horns are sacrilege, but it worked for the song and had that kind of feel,” Kerch said. “We weren’t afraid to try new things, but we still didn’t stray too far from what we are, which is a rock ’n’ roll band. You’re not going to change [singer] Brent’s voice. So it still sounds like Shinedown.”
Kerch added that the group is actually hoping to follow the path taken by legendary acts such as Aerosmith and even U2. Those two Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees have spent the past few decades exploring new soundscapes without alienating their fan bases.
The fact that Kerch is even referencing those groups in relation to his band brings home just what an astonishing run Shinedown has put together.
“It’s amazing to look back on what we’ve done and what we’ve struggled through,” Kerch said. “And this is only the beginning.”