Following the release of two new songs this year, Shinedown‘s Brent Smith joined Loudwire Nights on Thursday (Feb. 27) to discuss the tracks, look ahead to the band’s massive tour and much more.
Listen to the full conversation in the player near the end of this article.
“We wanted the lyrics to be pushy and make you think and make you uncomfortable at times and question authority and push the envelope,” Smith told host Chuck Armstrong about “Dance, Kid, Dance.”
“Rock and roll is not supposed to be safe, man. It’s supposed to be dangerous.”
Smith admitted that the goal for Shinedown when they wrote and recorded “Dance, Kid, Dance” was simple: “We wanted people to rock the hell out. We wanted people to dance. We wanted that drop to be as sick as we could make it.”
When he thought about “365,” though, the inspiration was much deeper — and a bit more personal.
“In Florida, every year you prep for hurricane season,” Smith said.
“Last year, with what was going on there, I remember I was on the phone with my son … I said, ‘What are you doing?’ He said, ‘You know, I’m just sitting here waiting on a hurricane. Waiting on the flood.'”
Smith admitted that those words didn’t immediately register with him, but then he went into the room where he writes and that was the day “365” was born.
“I said that line out,” he said. While the words that came from his son were about a literal hurricane, when he said it out loud, he realized the power of the metaphor.
“It can be, the hurricane is the flood of emotions in your mind, right? Everything that we go through.”
Smith shared that there was a lot of emotion wrapped up in “365,” first with the words spoken by his son and then when bassist Eric Bass wrote the chorus: “If I could hitch a ride on a time machine / I would bring you right back here with me / And I wouldn’t have to watch you disappear.”
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“That song is about the people in your life that you wish you just had one more day with them,” Smith said.
“Just to tell them how much they meant to you. The person that you are is because of them.”
What Else Did Shinedown’s Brent Smith Discuss on Loudwire Nights?
- What the legacy of “Second Chance” means to him: “[I have] lot of pride. Very thankful and humble and [I have] a lot of gratitude … I went back in my mind and remembered that whole song was pretty much the day that I left home and told my parents that I think I can do this. I want to be in music, I think I’m a songwriter, I want to believe I’m a performer.”
- What fans can expect from the Dance, Kid, Dance tour: “What I can tell you is this particular stage show, for what the Dance, Kid, Dance tour is, we’ve not done it like this before. It’s a bit ambitious. But it’s going to be rad. We’re excited for it.”
- How sure he is that Shinedown will release their new album this year: “1,000 percent.”
Listen to the Full Interview in the Podcast Player Below
Brent Smith joined Loudwire Nights on Thursday, Feb. 27; the show replays online here, and you can tune in live every weeknight at 7PM ET or on the Loudwire app; you can also see if the show is available on your local radio station and listen to interviews on-demand.
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Entries written by Rabab Al-Sharif (RA) Chad Childers (CC), Joe DiVita (JD) and Lauryn Schaffner (LS).
Gallery Credit: Loudwire Staff
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