Posts Tagged ‘smith’

Shinedown’s Brent Smith on Kathie Lee Gifford’s ‘Meat Loaf’ Remark: ‘My Heart Fell to the Ground’

Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com You wouldn’t know it by looking at him today, but there was a period not too long ago that Shinedown singer Brent Smith was struggling with both drug and alcohol addiction, as well as weight issues. Part of the reason Smith is built as well as he is these days is due to his newfound commitment to his health, and he discussed his transformation with the Los Angeles Times . Smith says, “The weight came on about four years ago. I’ve toured for over 12 years and for the first two records I was doing tons of shows all the time. And for those two records I was addicted to cocaine, OxyContin and alcohol. The coke and Oxy kept my weight down, but for the third album I quit opiates and started to crave sugar. I was still drinking a lot of alcohol and started to pack on the pounds.” The singer says one of the big wake-up calls was when he made an appearance on the ‘Today’ show in 2009 and Kathie Lee Gifford stated that she mistook him for Meat Loaf . The vocalist says, “It really stung. I’m a fan of Meat Loaf, but she wasn’t talking about a musical comparison. It was national television and my heart kind of fell on the ground. I’m not trying to be disrespectful to Meat Loaf at all because I’m a fan, but here I am barely 30 years old and that’s the one thing that she says. It was like the performance didn’t even matter.” In the time since, Smith has found a trainer and made a commitment to live healthier for his family. He explained, “I have a four-year-old boy, and he was a huge motivation, and so were the fans. I had an epiphany working out with my trainer … and I haven’t had a drink since.” Since he began his workout regimen, the singer has dropped almost 70 pounds. To read more about Smith’s weight loss journey, check out his Los Angeles Times interview here . [button href=”http://loudwire.com/best-shinedown-album-readers-poll/” title=”Next: Vote for Shinedown’s Best Album” align=”center”]

Shinedown: We’ve Already Recorded a New Album

Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com There’s no doubt that Shinedown ‘s Brent Smith is a prolific writer, but it appears as though he and his hard-working band have gotten ahead of the game for their next album. Despite releasing ‘Amaryllis’ earlier this year, Smith reveals to  NME that the band has already recorded a new album. The singer told the Brit-mag in a video interview , “I’ve thought about new material. It’s funny because … and you’re actually the very first person I’ll tell this too … We’ve actually, we have another record of material. It’s actually recorded.” Speaking about the new music, Smith explained, “It’s still very massive. It has a very epic feel to it, but the tempos are a little slower and the subject matter is a little different. I would say it’s actually a bit darker — a little bit more mischievous.” While the next album is ready, there’s still plenty of life in ‘ Amaryllis ,’ as the group is taking the opportunity to promote it in other parts of the world. The singer revealed, “This was the first true international record we received, and I say received because it really is an honor and it’s a gift and a privilege to get an opportunity from your record label to be released internationally, because not every band or every artist gets that opportunity.” The ‘Amaryllis’ album has already spawned the hit singles ‘ Bully ,’ ‘ Unity ‘ and ‘ Enemies .’ [button href=”http://loudwire.com/shinedown-groove-on-new-unity-remixes/” title=”Next: Shinedown Groove on ‘Unity’ Remixes” align=”center”]