OCTOBER 2023 – FERNANDINA BEACH, CA (CelebrityAccess) – Sandler Ranch – a venue that is more accustomed to country shows saw Saliva, Drowning Pool (DP), and Any Given Sin (AGS), rock the rafters off of this “honky-tonk”.
Any Given Sin opened and got this rock party started with hard-hitting originals –not yet mainstream, per se, but AGS sure packs a hardcore rock punch and is one to keep an eye on. Check out them out on YouTube. In this reviewer’s opinion, they’re well worth a listen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmmN2T8oDm8&list=TLGGmpRF9CRDFQIxNjExMjAyMw
Next up, the highly anticipated Drowning Pool with return vocalist Ryan McCombs (SOIL), C.J. Pierce (guitar); Mike Luce (drums); and Stevie Benton (bass). DP sunk all their energy into this show – directed to those who paid the money – the fans. McCombs proved his return ten-fold – igniting the band’s performance, focus and future (see interview following). Rocking well-known anthems such as “Bodies,” “Sinner,” and “Tear Away,” to name a few. https://drowningpool.live/videos/
After giving fans a moment to slug their alcohol, Saliva took command of the stage with members Bobby Amaru (lead vocals), Brad Stewart (bass) and Sammi Jo Bishop (drums). This year Saliva went through a huge loss with the sudden death of Wayne Swinny, the last of Saliva’s original members. Every Saliva performance since has seen Amaru say, “Swinny will live on.” Amaru adorns Swinny’s beloved Raider’s Jersey plus tributes, which you will find on the recently released Revelations album (to which Swinney was an intricate contributor). In addition, the recently released music video for “Come Back Stronger” was filmed 5 days prior to Swinny’s death. Check it out below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tbjj5hRUK2s.
Saliva has been determined to forge forward with a vengeance – Amaru has said, “Wayne wouldn’t have had it any other way.” This night’s performance proved that in abundance. With a setlist consisting of new tracks from their latest Revelations album, such as ”
Come Back Stronger” – to well-knowns: “Click, Click Boom,” “Ladies and Gentlemen,” and “Always”. This show left no stone unturned and satisfied the diehard fans in attendance.
The Resurfacing of Drowning Pool:
Prior to the show’s start, I sat down with Drowning Pool members CJ Pierce and Ryan McCombs to discuss the tour, Ryan’s return, and the future of the band.
L. Rode: Let’s “dive” in – So, you had an unexpected night off last night?
CJ: Yeah- although we had to miss the show last night (October 25) in Murrells Inlet, SC, due to PA system failures at the venue. We still rock ‘n’ rolled. It turned out to be amazing as I stayed up till 7-8 in the morning, I just couldn’t sleep. I started working on some new stuff cause we’re gonna get together and write and record some soon. So, something good came out of it; new song ideas happened, although the show didn’t happen – Drowning Pool music came to fruition later that night – and that’s f’ing amazing.
RYAN: We met with Sergeant Frank; we had met him during our first USO run over in Iraq, then Kuwait. So we got the chance last night to just hang out with him. We still love to hang out and talk to the fans, and it was it’s not a hard pill to swallow to hang out and take pictures and talk to everyone
L. Rode: So, Ryan, how’s it been to be back?
RYAN: Great! I mean, way back in the day, I walked away from music back in 2004. But these are the only guys, the only ones that would’ve and did bring me back and gave me the opportunity to play with them all again. They definitely changed my mind about stepping away from music, so being back with them now, it’s great.
L. Rode: Ryan, what did you miss the most about working with these guys?
RYAN: I missed writing. I missed the way CJ and Stevie (Steve Benton, bass) write. I love to write as a vocalist – as a lyricist, I’ve always enjoyed throwing words down to the music that they write. I love the fact that regardless of who came up with the original idea, everybody came through with their influence in a hit; you can hear everybody’s flavors within Drowning Pool songs. I’ve always enjoyed that about it. Just like people, that’s what drew me to the band back in 2005, and just to be back with them today, it’s just natural.
L. Rode: So, is it true – new DP music is on the horizon?
CJ: – Oh yeah, we have a lotta stuff on the table – I mean, you know, we’re all coming out of COVID now, and everyone has a different experience with it – for me – my whole life has always been music writing, recording, touring and we did a lot of that right before Covid had a record and stuff ready to go. Then as everyone had to – it all stopped – we didn’t know what path we were gonna go on at this point. Mike Luce (drums) and I started doing electrical work again, and I didn’t know where things were gonna go. I stopped writing, and that was trippy for me, and I got real down, and I didn’t know where the world was gonna go. I was kind of almost accepting the fact that the form of “Drowning Pool” we have – was coming to an end, and I didn’t know where we were gonna go then we had a couple of awesome shows as a 3 piece come up. Then, Stevie said, “Let’s call up Ryan, and even though he’s still singing with SOIL, we like his collab,” and then, the second Ryan walked back, it was like we didn’t skip a beat.
We had such a close friendship back then and a great writing relationship. Now it’s so awesome to be there again, and it opened up all new floodgates. We’re here getting along better than ever – laughing at everything – any obstacles that come our way, we all four hit them head-on. We’ve never been so close as friends, as a band and in writing – as we are right now.
I didn’t know it was going to be like this – I’m blown away by the world coming back to life, and now we see the fans out here, and it’s OK to hug now. I’m hugging everybody until you can’t hug again – I grew up in the South I’m a big hugger.
We’re on the upswing again, and the creativity is amazing, and we all can’t wait to get new music out there. We have some awesome stuff at the end of the year we’re doing some USO shows again for the troops; we love giving back. There is a lot of stuff coming up on the plate for us. You know, it’s like I said, we couldn’t play that show the other night, but I was inspired in 20 different ways, so I stayed up from 7-8 in the morning.
Mike has ideas, Stevie has ideas and Ryan – we just throw everything in the pot as a band. At the end of the day, what I love about a band is it’s us – writing songs together again. Mike, Stephen, and myself – we’ve been friends since high school so it’s when we come across a genuine feeling – metal, coming across in that style, and I’m excited – so excited about what’s happening. This is been a great run for us with Ryan back in the band – full steam ahead, 2024!
RYAN: It’s better, the new music we’ve been working on. It’s been 12 years since I’ve been in a rehearsal room with these guys watching them all, but in particular, for me, it’s a crack-up watching Mike and CJ because they’ve played together for so long, even before DP. They all know what each other is talking about, even if no one else in that room could possibly understand what they’re saying. They’re talking English but really music – just in a whole different language. It’s funny and just fun for us to be back here again.
CJ: With a couple of shows left and then home and writing recording mode and getting ready for some USO stuff – my mind is like, you know, I can’t wait to get to the home studio and just throw those ideas and lay them down.
L. Rode: So, the tour is winding down – how’s that feel?
CJ: It’s been a long, amazing, beautiful seven weeks, but I think all of us could use sleep. I think I’m just gonna sleep for two days and get back on track and start creating more.
Ryan: Yup, after some long-needed rest and family, we will hit the studio in 2024 and then the shows will start up again.
CJ: Drowning Pool – coming to town near you SOON!!!
Note: Photo credit: L. Rode/CelebrityAccess
