Noisey.com recently interviewed Chris Jericho. Below are some highlights:
Jericho on how pro wrestling prepared him for rock and roll: “Well, actually, it was almost the other way around. I was playing in bands when I was 12. That’s when I first started in bands. But both are aggressive forms of entertainment contingent on energy and excitement. You express yourself. You get your aggression out. And both hinge on the reactions you get from the crowds. I love a good performer and I loved the great frontmen like Freddie Mercury, David Lee Roth, and I wanted to be that style of performer. I wanted to be the Paul Stanley of wrestling.”
Jericho on his theme music: “I’ve had the same song since 1999 and that will never change. I love the attitude of it. When I first came to the WWE, I sat down with the music department. Introducing yourself, you need to always pick something that is indicative of what you are as a performer and you have to be really, really careful.”
Jericho on if fans of Fozzy are wrestling fans: “No. We have fans that have no idea about wrestling. But a lot of people are wrestling fans and see us because they’re Jericho fans, but we don’t care. We just want people to come and check out the band. The wrestling thing can only go so far. You know, we wouldn’t be playing with Metallica or Slayer or Theory of a Deadman if we weren’t a great band. I don’t want people coming to our shows just to see Jericho if the band isn’t good, because then it’s like, ‘Oh great, I saw Jericho but that band was shit.’ You have to have great songs. And some people are still like, ‘Oh, Fozzy is a wrestling thing. It’s a novelty,’ and they come just to see Jericho, but then they hear us—and I get this all the time—they hear us and say, ‘Wow! I can’t believe Fozzy is so good.’ You just have to listen to us. This is not a joke. I want to be a rock star. We kick ass and we know it. And it doesn’t matter if I’m a butcher or a baker or a candlestick maker.”