Rich Ward of Stuck Mojo and Fozzy

Rich Ward has been a formidable force in underground metal scene since his flagship band Stuck Mojos foundation in 1989/90. Hailed as pioneers of rap metal alongside Faith No More and Rage Against the Machine, Stuck Mojo have been cited as a direct influence by modern rap metal acts, such as Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park. In that time Ward has played with several acts, including metal bands Fozzy and Sick Speed, as well as gathering fans the likes of Zack Wylde and John Frusciante.

DMG - How's the tour been going?

Rich - Yes! Excellent, things are going good man. We're still early into the tour so there have been no serious muscle strains or anything. Usually when you haven't toured for a while you get this thing I like to call stiff, or headbangers, neck. By about the third date its usually all sorted out and this is the fourth gig so yeah, its all good, baby.

DMG - Do you get over to the UK here a lot?

Rich - Yeah I get over here about twice a year. Sometimes as many as three or four as I work with Andy Stapes, his studios are outside of Derby, my wife and I were married here in the UK. My father was born in the UK, in Kent, so I love it here. Even though I was born and raised in the States I feel part of my lineage is here on the island. I love it.

DMG - Back when Stuck Mojo were getting started, in 1995, you went on tour with Machine Head I believe?

Rich - Yeah, well thats true, back then I had never really heard of Machine Head because they were just getting started. My A&R guy got me a copy of Burn My Eyes and I just loved it. That was our first tour on a tourbus, because before then...we'd formed in 1990 and we'd been rolling around before then in a little van....I wanna say it was Sep of 95....so we spent ten weeks on the road sharing a tourbus with Machine Head.

DMG - With comparisons to Faith No More and RATM as pioneers of rap metal band, do you feel thats warranted and justified, when you hear things like that? Do you see yourself as rap metal or have a name for the music you play?

Rich - I usually let the supporters of the band decide whatever they want to call us. I find it can be a little arrogant of a musician to tell the fans they can call the group a particular music style or genre. I like Faith No More, theres things about RATM I like, two bands that were really successful and wrote some really cool stuff, of course I'm honoured anytime anyone makes a comparison.

Whatever the supporters of the band, whatever it is they think is our influences, thats alright with me.

DMG - What were some of your influences?

Rich - I grew up on bands like ZZ Top and Journey, and then I started discovering Maiden and Priest, and Ozzy. And then when Stuck Mojo had just formed I first heard Faith No More and started getting into the RHCP and music was exciting, there was a lot of changes going on, and it was a good time for us to come up when we did.

DMG - Who's the top band you've ever toured with over the years?

Rich - Pantera. It wasn't a big package, it was just them and us, it was in the Summer of 1998. They were on tour promoting the live album and they had heard us and it was the first time were a band had phoned our record label and said we want you guys to come out on tour with us.

So that, for me, being both a fan and a member of the band was a huge deal. And they were the nicest guys, I have to say, I had heard stories about Phil Alsemo of Pantera being uneasy to get along with and nothing could be further from the truth. They told us, if you need anything at all, dont even bother going to the crew just come straight to us.

DMG - What's the guitar you have in your hands here tonight?

Rich - This is a 1975 Gibson Explorer. I recorded part of the first Mojo album, Snappin Necks, with this. Shes a battleaxe, you cant destroy her, when I was on tour with Machine Head Rob borrowed her every night and loved her so much he decided he was going to put that ding in her on the head. So I have a piece of that tour with me always.

DMG - There are three members of Fozzy in your band Stuck Mojo currently (Sean Delson, Mike Martin and Rich Ward) so I wanted to know how that came about and where the involvement with Wrestler Chris Jericho came from?

Rich - It started as a complete joke. Stuck Mojo did a music video for Rising. We basically worked with WCW [a new defunct wrestling organisation called World Championship Wrestling], we got them to bring a wrestling ring into the concert hall, we shot the video and it was all very good. Wrestler Diamond Dallas Page directed this video too. Because we were all really big wrestling fans. So basically through that process, and because I used to work out at a gym that [WCW wrestlers] Lex Luger and Sting owned, I met Chris [Jericho, wrestler and Fozzy lead vocalist].

At the time I had a little covers band called Fozzy Osbourne. We loved 80s metal, and when I was speaking with Chris backstage at a wrestling show, and he said he loved Stypher. And I said that I loved them too. And basically Fozzy was started through 2 guys love of all those bands your never supposed to admit to liking. We booked some studio time and played some gigs and after 2 gigs we had record companies calling us and putting up a small bidding war.

DMG - Anything on the cards for Fozzy in the future?

Rich - Stuck Mojo is our bread and butter. We play these shows to earn our keep, and with Chris being on the road wrestling, we cant really give up our day jobs just yet to go back to Fozzy. But we have been passing songs back and forth between myself and Chris recently and liking whats happening. I think we may release, because we have it recorded, a live set from a show we did in Australia very soon. That would be on CD.

DMG - How's life on the road?

Rich - We're kinda like the biggest nerds on the road. We like to have a good time, we're married so we're not chasing girls, none of us do drugs and our drinking is so limited to a shot of alcohol to help us sleep as the bus rocks back and forward. We don't get hotels. We go to the bus after each show, watch a little film with the guys, and talk about the show and interact. Same life as you have expect you have the recorder and I got the guitar. We never wanted to get caught up in the cliche because thats how bands break up.

I feel if I want to give these fans the show they deserve for the price they pay for that ticket then I should give them 100, 1000%, all the time.

DMG - Thanks for the memories and good luck with the rest of the tour and the future projects for both Stuck Mojo and Fozzy

Rich - Thanks man, I'm gonna have a look through some boxes, and see if I can't find that Fozzy CD for you tonight. If I can't find it then please leave your name and address and I'll send one on to you, thanks for the interview man, enjoy the show and safe home.

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