Staind releases live album recorded in 2019 at Foxwoods

May 06, 2021 12:00 am • Last Updated: May 07, 2021 1:17 pm

By Rick Koster
Day Arts/Features writer

From left, Staind band members Sal Giancarelli, Johnny April, Aaron Lewis, and Mike Mushok (Steve Thrasher)

Staind guitarist Mike Mushok has a charming, almost antiquated notion of "home." It's a bit like "Leave It to Beaver" if Wally played baritone guitar and had crafted some of the fiercest riffs in the nu-metal catalog. Mushok and his family live in Farmington, in an area where the families on his street socialize, and he says he's "made a lot of friends" by helping coach his son's little league teams and staying involved in his daughter's activities.

The idea that there's a multi-platinum rock star in their midst is something his neighbors are aware of, Mushok acknowledges in a phone conversation earlier this week, but, he says, "I don't go out of my way to point that out, ever. I mean, one of my neighbors is an eye surgeon. To me, that's pretty cool. I'm very happy we've been in the same place for a while and it's a really nice place with really friendly people."

Familiar turf

Discussing the concept of home and comfort with a member of one of the eminent practitioners of anguish-metal might seem a bit odd. Staind, though, it turns out, also enjoys looking homeward. After the quartet hit it big in the late '90s and the early part of the new century behind albums like "Break the Cycle," "Chapter V" and "14 Shades of Grey" and songs like "It's Been A While" and "Right Here," Mushok says they began to regard gigs at both Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun as special.

It seems only natural, then, that, last week, Staind released their first album in nine years, an in-concert document titled "Live: It's Been Awhile — Foxwoods 2019."

The album release is being followed up at 5 p.m. Saturday when Staind will stream a live, 20th anniversary performance of their entire "Break The Cycle" album. That show will take place from Mill 1 in Holyoke's Open Square, and the stream will then be available for replay until May 11 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

As for the live Foxwoods album, it was the first show by the band after a five-year hiatus in which vocalist Aaron Lewis focused on his country music career and Mushok worked with his side-project band Saint Ansonia. Bassist Johnny April and drummer Sal Giancarelli round out the group's personnel.

A short reunion

The concert was also supposed to kick off a reunion tour scheduled to include several legs and extend through 2020. Of course, after only a spate of shows, the pandemic hit and the rest of the tour was cancelled. Perhaps that makes "Live: It's Been Awhile — Foxwoods 2019" even more memorable given what happened when COVID hit.

"We were ready to play," Mushok says. "It was really good to be back together again and working together again and, yes, part of the energy tied into being back at Foxwoods. They — and Mohegan Sun — are just down the road and have always taken great care of us and been very accommodating."

He pauses and reflects. "You know, Staind started in my parents' basement in Springfield, and we played clubs in western Mass, but once we had albums out and the venues got bigger, we've always looked at Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun as hometown shows."

It was fortuitous, he says, that the live album was recorded at Foxwoods. "As we were gearing up to do the shows, with the awareness we were going to record, we had conversations about how and where and the time frame," Mushok says. "And we thought it would be great to play one of the two casinos. It ended up that it worked out really well, timing-wise, to do Foxwoods. Perfect. What better place to do a reunion show?"

It's also a bit of thematic fun that Staind's previous live album, relased in 2012, is "Live from Mohegan Sun."

Untapped energy

Though "Alive: It's Been Awhile" is a fine document of what happened on one magical night, there's is still optimism in spite of the lost tour — a sense of unfinished business or untapped potential.

"I hope we can continue what we started and write new music and feel the same way we all did 25 years ago," Mushok says. "You listen to the (live album) and you can feel we were excited to be together onstage again. And there are plans for new Staind music. We signed a record deal recently and we have some ideas we're kicking around. Aaron is finishing up a country record and when that's done, we'll dive a little more into what we're going to do."

Reflecting on how the band members have musically matured over their hiatus, Mushok says, "A person definitely changes and grows with age. On the other hand, a cool riff is a cool riff. My job is to search for something that Aaron wants to sing over. In that sense, it's different but it's still the same, if that makes any sense. We've both changed but ultimately we find ways to connect. Sometimes I write things I think Aaron will like and he doesn't, and sometimes I'll come up with something I think he won't like — and he does.

"My thought is that I'm always writing, and if I come up with enough things that I like, we're gonna get there. It's quantity AND quality. If we follow that path, it'll be Staind and it will work out."

To carry on a tradition

As for how Staind and any new music they come up with might fit into a musical landscape that has also changed significantly over the several years the band has been idle, Mushok remains upbeat and positive.

"There is truth to the idea that (guitar-based rock) is no longer the force it once was," he says. "I don't have any idea how many kids are running around buying guitars anymore, but when I was young, every kid in school had a guitar. I don't think that's the case now ... It's hard because labels aren't signing bands anymore. They have the same six songwriters writing for the same group of pop artists. That's what it is now.

"On the other hand, I'm obsessed with guitar and I'm going to be biased. I always believe there will be people who want to go see other people play and create music and be part of that experience. And that's our responsibility to keep that going. I feel nowhere near my age. Music keeps me young and we're going to keep doing it."

It's almost like going home again.