It’s been a long road from smaller clubs (and the lobby of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame), but Staind has never forgotten where they came from—or the cities that helped them rise. Ahead of their May 19 show at Blossom Music Center with Breaking Benjamin, guitarist Mike Mushok reflects on the band’s early gigs in Cleveland, the staying power that’s kept Staind thriving through decades of shifting rock trends, and what fans can expect from this powerhouse tour. He also doesn’t hold back on his NBA loyalties—spoiler: he’s picking the Celtics over the Cavs in the playoffs and has his reasons.
Shortly after breaking into the mainstream with hits from their 2001 album, ‘Break the Cycle,’ on the strength of the singles “Outside” and “It’s Been Awhile,” Staind taped a special for MTV (back when the network still put the ‘M’ in MTV) at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
“A funny story from that show is that Sal [Giancarelli], who’s our drummer now, was [the late] John [Wysocki]’s tech at the time, and he earned a nickname from that show because he was breaking down the drum set and some guy yelled down, ‘Hey, Chaski, give me a drumstick,” Mushok recalled. “To this day, he’s still called that from that show because somebody called him that!”.
That show was nearly 25 years ago. Most of Staind’s peers from that era have long retired, played the casino circuit, or been relegated to rib burnoffs. Not Staind. The Aaron Lewis-fronted act is still co-headlining massive amphitheaters, including a stop at Blossom Music Center on May 19. Mushok was asked if he saw Staind’s longevity in his crystal ball when the mainstream success started.
“I never thought we’d ever get there to begin with. I mean, listen, you don’t know. I mean, you write music that you put out, and you hope that it connects with people,” he put it simply. “We’ve been fortunate to still be here and still doing it, and people still coming to shows. I’m just very thankful for that.”
Staind has been around for 30 years. This interviewer was 11 years old, the internet was in its infant stages, and streaming services were something out of a Ray Bradbury novel. Times are different now, to say the least. Artists making their break into the music industry have many more tools at their disposal than Staind did in their formative years. Mushok was asked if he would have preferred to have those at the band’s disposal or if the simpler times are still his preference.
“I’m very happy with the way things were,” he said. “I remember we were making ‘Break the Cycle,’ and it was the first time that I ever heard of file sharing on Napster. It was just starting and coming out and that’s when people were, I think had had one of the albums on his laptop and somebody was able to get it and they got it out early and things like that were starting to happen and things were getting leaked and it was a bit of an issue. But I mean, I think what was kind of cool was that we actually were part of it when people bought records still and were part of that, and it was nice to be able to have a little bit of that in our career.”
Despite the shift in the industry, Staind still releases full-length records and tours to promote them and handles its business with a more old-school approach.
“It’s just kind of what we know. I don’t know if that’ll always continue in that direction or not, but I mean it just kind of feels like that’s what we’ve known, that’s what we do,” Mushok said. “We’re still putting out records. I do think it’s kind of cool that we have people who are just putting out songs, too. I mean, it’s kind of whatever you feel suits you. I also feel like some of the bands that have survived are kind of doing it on their own as well. And without record labels, you know what I mean? So we still do have a record label for the last record, and I think for the next one as well.”
As someone who attends concerts, basically for a living, this interviewer loves seeing multi-generations of fans at a show. Bands that I grew up loving, be it Staind, Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews Band, anything pre-2010, often bring out families; parents bring their children to shows and introduce them to music that they grew up listening to.
“I took my kids two days ago. We went and saw Deftones. We were having dinner beforehand. Right next to us was a dad with his three sons, and they were also going to the show. And there was a lot of that I saw at that show, which was great. I see that our shows, too. It’s what it’s all about,” Mushok said.
I asked Mushok what is heavy on his playlist, aside from Deftones. He didn’t mention any music, admitting that he listens primarily to Boston sports talk radio. With the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers presumably destined to square off in the Eastern Conference Finals this year, I had to do a bit of trash-talking and get his take on the potential series.
“It’s got to be a shame to beat you guys and go to the finals again,” he said. “I’ve been meaning to look at the schedule, and I haven’t done that because I was hoping that we would get back from tour at the beginning of June and be able to go to a game.”
We’ll see, Mike. We’ll see!
As for what’s coming up for Staind after their run with Breaking Benjamin?
“We have some shows, I don’t think they’ve been announced yet, that are coming up in September. We’re going to get those announced here pretty soon. And I mean, I think just kind of continue on. I’ve been working on some music, so I mean, it’d be great to try to get some more new music out there at some point. And yeah, just hopefully continue along. I mean, listen, obviously Aaron’s very busy as a super successful country career and he’s working all the time, so we just try to balance those two things together, and I just feel really fortunate and happy that we’re able to work again and out there playing. And it was great to be able to put out some new music, and I’d love to be able to do that again.”
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