Exclusive interview with Sully Erna, lead singer of Godsmack

The band Godsmack started as a Boston club band, and has risen to power as one of the hottest metal/alternative bands in the country, touring nationally with Black Sabbath and watching their self titled album rising up the charts. Recently they also played 'Woodstock 99' in New York, and their videos play regularly on MTV.  Aside from being the bands' lead vocalist and songwriter, Sully Erna also has another title he is very public about- he is a practicing Witch. Sully is a great guy, very well spoken and down to earth, and  The Witches' League for Public Awareness was fortunate enough to get an exclusive interview with him on the last day of Godsmacks' tour with Black Sabbath.  I was able to ask Sully about his band, his newfound stardom, and his religion, and he was just a great guy to talk to and interview.

Sully:   Thanks

Chad: I first started listening to you months and months ago when I first started hearing you on WAAF (Local radio station), I'm a huge Rocko and Birdsey fan.  

Sully:  Cool, at least I know you've got a good sense of humor (laughs)

Chad:  You guys have had so much success, especially over the last couple of months.  So how was Woodstock?

Sully:  Oh it was great man, it was probably the best show we've ever done as far as the capacity and the crowd, it was really cool.

Chad:  I can believe it.

Sully:  It was very overwhelming.  

Chad:  You're probably one of the most recognizable or open Witches or Wiccans right now with Godsmack, and I know I've seen you on MTv talking about the Craft.  First, do you prefer Witch or Wiccan, or does it really matter?

Sully:  No, it doesn't, I really love the word Witch.  I think Laurie [Cabot] said it the best on one of her interviews,  She said "It's the most appetizing word I've ever used, it's delicious.", really, I don't care.  Some people think if they say Witch they're gonna offend me, then I'll start talking about it and mention it openly and they'll be like 'OK, I didn't know if you wanted to be called Wiccan or Witch or whatever.  It doesn't matter to me really, it's all the same thing, it's what I believe you know, I got turned onto it and it's helped me through a lot of bad times.  Laurie [Cabot] has been there for me since day one, and I just stick to people who I believe are put into my life for a reason.  That's why a lot of people seem to ask me about the lyrics and stuff, because the lyrics seem to be separate from what the beliefs of Wicca are all about and I'm like I don't channel my beliefs from my religion through my music, because for me- I'm a human being, I'm not a God, and I feel like there are times where I'm pissed off and I'm stressed out, and like I was going through a really bad relationship when I was writing for that record, and it's a way for me to vent my emotions and release my energy without hurting anyone.  There's nothing in there [in the lyrics] that involves hurting anyone or promotes suicidal tendencies and I'm not saying go beat up your neighbor or go kill or shoot them.  It's just me saying you know what, I was bummed out, I went through some pain, and this is just me at times, it was my way of being able to say listen, I've did some bad things, things didn't work out, I beat myself up over it, enough and I'm kinda tired of it so just go away, and now that I think about it I'm doing better than I ever have before anyway.  It's just kind of like life, and it's about me venting my emotions and it's as simple as that.  I use the Craft to censor myself and get away from those feelings and emotions and kind of like balance my life out.  I've found I get the best emotion and energy when I'm writing [songs] when I'm either depressed or mad, I can't write when I'm happy for some reason. 

Chad:  You've said that the Craft helped you get through a bad time and Laurie [Cabot] helped you get through a bad time, but what attracted you to Witchcraft initially?

Sully:  I'm not really sure how to answer that.  I remember that years ago I was dating a girl who was reading up on it, and she got me interested in the books she was reading.  I remember the first book that I picked up was by Dr. Leo Louis Montello, and it was just called 'Witchcraft', it was an introductory book, and it was a black book and it was pretty simple, but all the introductory books I've read, even from years ago, are all pretty much the same thing, just basics of what Witchcraft was about and that it wasn't evil or satanic and that kind of thing.  It's all pretty much the same, you know everyone has kind of similar beliefs.  I remember reading it and just being really interested in knowing that growing up I always had a problem with Christianity and being raised as a Catholic, not that I thought it was bad, I just felt there was a lot of guilt involved with it, and I wasn't comfortable with them scaring you into believing in God.

Chad:  Right, I know what you mean.

Sully:  I felt like they gave you this option, like you have to live by this book, because if you do things against these rules, then you can go to Hell, and Hell is like this severe punishment and I was just always uncomfortable with that, so to me it was like a scare tactic, you had to live you life this way or else this was what was going to happen to you, which is kind of contradicting, because if there's a God there he's supposed to be so good, why would he subject you to that kind of punishment?

Chad:  Exactly.

Sully:  Because you're a human being and don't know the answers.

Chad: Exactly.  It was very similar for me, I was a Catholic school kid, and it just never fit, it never worked for me.  I started studying a lot of different faiths, like Taoism and Buddhism, and the same exact thing, I had a female friend who had a book on Witchcraft.  I still remember my first book was 'Earth Magic: A Dianic Book of Shadows' , and again it was similar, a pretty basic book, and I started reading about it and it just really fit, it clicked with me, so you know, ever since...

Sully:  Yeah, and I just think that the more I read about it, it was more like stuff that I believed in my heart, I just never knew there was a religion that related to it.  I always believed rather than 'if you sin you go to hell', there's no way out of it unless you go say ten Hail Marys or whatever it is they want you to do, I felt more like I was more interested in the belief of Karma, because to me that's how life seems to take care of it's own.  I remember being young and you go to a high school party or whatever at someone's house, and you take one of their CDs because you really like it and you don't have any money to buy it, and then two weeks later all your CDs get stolen.

Chad:  Yeah.

Sully:  It's always kind of worked for me that way so I believed in Karma a lot, and I believed in the power of the Earth and the power of natural plants and herbs as healing remedies and things like that, because there's so much in modern medicine today that evolved from ancient remedies and beliefs and stuff like that.

Chad:  Yeah, definitely.

Sully:  And it just made more sense to me, it was real, it was about the facts of life and the Earth and what's here and how we need to use it and respect it, or it can come back and bite you on the ass.  

Chad:  Oh yeah, you can see what's going on with the planet now.

Sully:  And that's what kept me interested, because everything I was reading, I was like 'Well, that makes sense', and I just think from there, from  reading books, I had known about Laurie [Cabot] and I had done as much reading as I felt I could do, but there were so many things that, like reading through her books and books by Gerina Dunwich and Scott Cunningham, I still had questions that the books weren't answering, and it was so coincidental, that I bumped into her [Laurie Cabot] at the Witches' Brew in Salem eating lunch- I was just in Salem that day to go to some stores and whatever, and I happened to walk in and there she is sitting there with Wren and I walked by and kind of did a double take, so I sat down.  I felt a little intimidated at first, but I said what are the chances of this happening, so I had to take a chance and I said Hi, and we just kind of hit it off, and from there she was telling me about classes she offered which I didn't know about, and I said to myself  'I'm gonna do this', because I needed to know some things, and that's what kind of drew me into taking some courses with her, and she just answered so many things for me, and kind of made everything make sense, and I just enjoyed her company so much, and  her presence, it was just a great, great experience and something I've never regretted and I still feel super close to her.

Chad:  Yes, she is wonderful, she's just a wonderful person.

Sully:  So I've always kept in touch and I always let her know what's going on, and I know she's really psyched about what's going on with us and she's really proud of everything, and I even invited her and her coven to be in our new video that's coming out, so I'm pretty psyched about that, because everything we're going to do for  this video is going to be based on spirituality and karmic beliefs and like religions to a certain degree- not so much a religious video, but the things that people practice.  I thought it would be a great thing to have a Circle and get some of that on film, along with some Haitian stuff and Native American spirituality, and just have visuals along with the bands' performance.  I'm super excited about it, and we want to do a lot of filming in the Salem area [Location withheld by request] .  Whatever I can do [For Witchcraft]- I felt that this has helped me so much so whatever I can do at times to introduce people to it when they're curious- I never force it on people, I never even really talk about it unless someone asks, but when people are sincere and they want to know, and I feel I can help them understand a little better, I'll talk about it, but as soon as I feel in an interview that there's sarcasm there and they're asking me if I can turn people into frogs and stuff like that, I shut the conversation down.  It is kind of personal.  It's something that I'm not shy about, and it's something that I'm not embarrassed about, and I want people to at least know the truth and not be ignorant to it and just make up their own ideas.

Chad:  Right, which is exactly what the Witches' League is all about.

Sully:  Right, yeah.

Chad:  Since you've started with the Craft, in what ways has it affected your life?  It changed me a lot, it really effects people in different ways.  Do you find yourself more open to things?  

Sully.  Absolutely.  And not only that, but I feel like it's really opened my mind up to not only different kinds of religions and beliefs, but I find that I just want to know about and learn about what other people believe and how everybody else operates in the world.  Not only that, but I really felt like it's taught me about things that we possess as humans that most of us don't know about, that we don't know that we're gifted with. It's also made me a lot stronger, it's made me just go out and get things done and not be afraid to try anything.

Chad:  And it makes you more aware of what you send out into the world.  You say you write when you're angry or depressed, has it made you more aware of- like when you're really pissed off at someone you know not to send all that negative energy towards them.

Sully:  No, I don't ever do that.  I don't ever try to send bad energy towards someone else, I always try to stay neutral and the problem exists within myself, I always try to keep that within me and work it out without releasing those kind of bad vibes into anyone else, so I try to stay pretty neutral when it comes to those things.  Sometimes it's kind of weird because you feel like you're taking on the world, and you want help, but at the same time you don't want to burn someone else with your problems but you need to find the right way to deal with it and the right people to help without it turning into a bad thing, and then feel bad about bringing them down.

Chad:  Right.

Sully:  But you know, a lot of the practices that I've learned through Witchcraft have helped me to fix myself.  If I feel like I'm a little out of control, and I'm getting stressed out, or something's bothering me, I've learned through Laurie certain kinds of meditations and practices that allow me to go back into my shell and fix it inside myself and them I come back a much better person and people get the right vibe from me.  I think it's really been behind the success that Godsmack is having too.  You know, people can call it coincidence or whatever they want, but 90% of the time it works for me, and like Laurie says, with those kinds of odds how can you miss.  So I really feel I owe a lot to it [Witchcraft] and I owe a lot to Laurie for giving me a good kick in the ass and kind of picking me up when I was down, helping me correct things that were wrong inside my own head and do a good job with the band,  and you know it doesn't hurt to do a spell once in a while to help keep things on track, you know?

Chad:  Absolutely, absolutely.  About the band, you guys have had such tremendous success, do you think that being open about your religion has affected your career or affected the band in any way. 

Sully:  Well, for whatever reason I think it's helped it, because  It's different to people.  People aren't used to hearing about it I guess

Chad:  Or people being open about it.

Sully:  Yeah, it's not the normal thing that people are used to hearing with someone in a rock band.  I was so psyched when Cybill Shepard was on the awards and when she accepted her award she said something and then at the end said 'Blessed Be', and I was like 'Cool, how huge is that'?

Chad:  Yeah, it's tremendous.

Sully:  It's just a great thing.  You know what, I never really wanted to be the poster boy for Witchcraft, I really don't want to be, but that's just the kind of person I am, if I believe in something and I respect it, and it does good for me, then I'm not afraid to talk about it and tell people about my experiences.

Chad:  That's great.

Sully:  I mean, why should I hide it, what's there to hide?  There's nothing bad about it.  

Chad:  Absolutely.  That's the same way I feel, that's why I'm so open about it.

Sully:  I think by hiding things and not talking about it when they ask questions, it makes it look a little worse.  They wonder what you're hiding.

Chad:  Right.  What do the other members of Godsmack think about it, are any of them Witches?

Sully:  No, but they still believe in what I believe, and I think that they believe the same things, I know Robbie has really grown a lot to it and really opened up about it a lot and has actually like sat with me at times and we've talked for hours about different kinds of spirituality and beliefs and things like that.  He's really open minded to it.  Tony is just kind of there, he's just a regular guy, I don't think he goes either way, he's not like into anything bad, and he's not like a religious nut, he doesn't overdo anything, he's just kind of very mellow and shy, he keeps to himself, and what works works.  They all understand it and they all respect it, and they all are able to appreciate what it is, they know.

Chad:  That's very cool.  In more wide area of discussion, what do you think about all the recent portrayal in the different media, movies, TV shows, of Witches?  Are there any that you think are really bad, any that you think are really good?

Sully:  I'll tell you what if you want to talk about that.  Ultimately I really try not to have to strong of an opinion of things like that because it's Hollywood, and I know why they do it, and I don't always think it's right, but movies like 'The Craft' and 'Witches of Eastwick' and stuff like that, people know that those are movies, and I think deep down inside they really know that this isn't real and you're not going to grow a green pointy nose with warts on it or float in the air, that kind of stuff.  They know it's hollywood, but movies like the 'Blair Witch Project' scared the living sh*t out of me because I didn't even know it was fake, when I first got it I had no insight on it, my record company sent me the video and didn't give me any info on it, and they did such a great job in making it a documentary, I just thought that if it was real I didn't even want ot know that something that evil exists.  That's unbelievable, for two days I couldn't sleep, and it bothered me so bad I ended up doing research on it and digging into the archives on the website, and found through the film company they were interviewing the director and how they made it and how it was cool that they put the cameras in the actors' hands, and I was like 'Son of a Bitch', and I just started clapping and saying 'Good for you, you got me'.  You know, ultimately I don't know, I don't really watch horror movies and stuff like that any more, and I know what the truth is and I know what's real, and what's made me super proud more than anything is seeing all the kids that we've attracted who are now actually looking into things or educating themselves into it because they feel that it's OK.  These kids nowadays are growing up in a different time and they're exploring more, and I feel like maybe I've helped that a little bit with younger kids that would have normally taken it the wrong way by watching 'Witches of Eastwick' or whatever, and really finding out what it's about.  I tell people honestly sometimes don't be surprised, like a fifteen year old kid that asks me, or says 'I'm starting to practice and I love this and I feel so good about myself', and they don't really know what it's all about, I say 'Don't be surprised when you really discover what Witchcraft is all about that it might bore you'.  People have these expectations about things you can do as a Witch.

Chad:  Like magical powers and stuff.

Sully:  And when you find out what it's really about you might be going 'Well this isn't all it's cracked up to be.', because it is a religion and it is just about life in general, and I think that people build it up so much as some kind of super hocus-pocus stuff, that when they find out what it really is it isn't as interesting as they thought it would have been.

Chad:  That's true, I get that a lot too, from the websites.

Sully:  Yeah, who knows.

Chad:  Well, since this is going on the Witches' League website, there's one question I have to ask.

Sully:  OK.

Chad:  This whole Witches in the Military thing, with people in the government, like Bob Barr, proposing to ban it, and not wanting people in the military practice Wicca or Witchcraft, do you have any kind of opinion on that, have you been following it at all?

Sully:  No, I haven't, but what I say to that is that people need to organize, like the WLPA,  because that shouldn't go for anything, it doesn't matter if you're Jewish, Catholic, Bhuddists, I don't care what it is, that's just not right, because these are things that people look to center themselves and make themselves better so they can do as good a job as they can while they're on this Earth, and that's just not right to be able to take that away from someone.

Chad:  That's totally true.  For Witchcraft and Wicca, it's been gaining so much popularity and it's getting a lot of attention in some of the media, where it wasn't even five years ago.  Where do you see it in another five years?  Do you see it still growing?

Sully:  I hope so.  I honestly believe that the way the times are changing and as open as kids are now, looking into other things, and people like ourselves being able to talk about it and really make people understand that it isn't a bad thing, whether or not it's for you or not, at least understand and identify that it's not anything bad.  If you choose to practice that's fine, if you don't then that's also fine, but at least come to the understanding that whether or not you choose to practice, it's nothing bad, period. It's just a different religion, a different belief.  Worry about getting crack off the streets, worry about keeping guns away from kids.  They're banning our CD at Wal-Mart, yet they'll sell a shotgun to a fifteen year old.  There are other issues that people need to address that are way more serious then worrying about how we perceive God, and what we do to have our prayers answered.

Chad:  Absolutely, that is awesome.  That is just totally cool.  So what's next for Godsmack?

Sully:  Well, today we're in Philadelphia and it's our last show, we're gonna take a month off since we've been pretty much touring since last October, and we're going to shoot a new video, and then at the end of September we do Europe for two weeks, then we go out in Early October and we do like two months in the states headlining theaters.  Then in December Black Sabbath invited us back out to do Europe and so we're gonna do that for a few weeks, and then that's it, then we're going to record a new record.

Chad:  Cool.  So how is it touring with Black Sabbath, were they like one of your musical influences?

Sully:  Oh man!  First of all we all grew up listening to them. Tony Iommi, their guitar player, is the reason that our guitar player picked up a guitar in the first place.  They were just so nice, they were just great to us, it was just a really good time and it was just an honor to be on that tour, you know?  We had a blast and we're really looking forward to hooking up with them in Europe and we've just been having a really good time, everything's been falling into place and we've got nothing to complain about.  It keeps climbing little by little.

Chad:  So, do you feel like a rock star yet?

Sully:  Not really, I try stay pretty level headed about that sort of thing.  We're really enjoying it and I'll tell you what it does feel good to be able to do this for a living and not have to have it be a part time thing or work a job when you come home.  I feel like a lot of people think that making it big is like Aerosmith and Kiss and all that, and you know if it ever got to that point I wouldn't turn away from it, but at the same time, in my mind, making it is just being able to do this for a living and just support a family or a house and nothing fancy but just like a normal doctor would live or whatever.  To me that's like you've done it, because you're making a living at something you love to do. If it's something you would do for free, why wouldn't you love doing it and making money off of it.

Chad:  Yeah, that's totally right.  Well, that's about all I've got for the interview, I want to thank you for your time and congratulations again on your tremendous success.  Blessed Be Sully!

Sully: Thanks a lot, tell everyone I said Hi.