Artist Friendly with Joel Madden - Brent Smith of Shinedown - Part 3 (Rerun)

Episode Date: July 23, 2025

On this week's episode of Artist Friendly, Joel Madden is bringing you an encore episode of his conversation with Brent Smith of ⁠⁠Shinedown⁠⁠. For the past couple of decades, Shinedown have been relentless in their mission, channeling pain, addiction, and the power to overcome into seven studio albums and countless shows. During the pandemic, they cracked the mainstream, subverting their hard-rock roots with the viral piano ballad “A Symptom of Being Human” and ⁠⁠inviting Jelly Roll onstage⁠⁠ for “Simple Man” at Blue Ridge Rock Fest in 2021. As Shinedown prepare for a busy year, Smith connected with Madden about his diverse musical influences, the journey of building the band’s 20-plus-year career, and their highly anticipated headlining tour with Bush and Beartooth. ------- Listen to their Artist Friendly conversation on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify.⁠⁠⁠ ------- Follow Artist Friendly! IG: @artist.friendly TikTok: @artist.friendly YouTube: youtube.com/@artist.friendly ------- Host: Joel Madden, @joelmadden Executive Producers: Joel Madden, Benji Madden, Jillian King Producers: Josh Madden, Joey Simmrin, Janice Leary Visual Producer/Editor: Ryan Schaefer Audio Producer/Composer: Nick Gray Music/Theme Composer: Nick Gray Cover Art/Design: Ryan Schaefer Additional Contributors: Anna Zanes, Neville Hardman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

And this is part three. You mentioned general. You guys just played with him. Yeah, the Rose Bowl. Once again, my man is making sure everybody is taking care of. He is the greatest. He is one of the most fascinating, wonderful people. He is a gift to this planet.

Yeah, he is. I fucking love him, man. I don't know him at all. He's amazing. My brother met him. But I always talk about how much I love. jelly roll because I like what I see old friend of mine Jack his guitar player old friend of mine he he was in sleeping with sirens and like we've known each other a long time so I know the people

he's around yeah and I just know like how he rolls so I already know I like him and I've obviously only heard good things but we've never hung out but I fucking am such a huge fan uh because I just like how he is in the world Yeah, I mean, I think that one of the, he has a lot of different superpowers. Right. That he's been training for this moment, you know, for the world to know, you know, who Jason D. Ford is. Yeah. You know.

And he's just one of the most remarkable people I know. But it's all real. It's all authentic. There are some people that kind of feel like, this happened overnight. And I'm like, no, it didn't, man. Yeah, no, I can tell. He's a long... He's been on a long road.

Long road, man. And he's ready for it. Yeah. You know what I mean? But his success could not be happening to a more... I can say this about him. To a more deserving individual. That's nice.

Dude, he is one of the... He is... You know what he is, man? He is necessary. Yeah. That he's just, he's great. Yeah. One of the kind.

He is necessary. To me, like, it's funny because he's such a... He's just like, this rock and roll guy who lived who has, I know he's told some of his stories, but there's so many more, I'm sure, like the depth of that guy and what he's lived through. And his relationship with his wife, his kids and all of it. And how he, you know, has gone into, you know, really trying to reform the, you know, the way that people that are incarcerated or looked at, you know, and getting a second chance, you know, because he has a past, you know,

and what have you. But, like, there's a broader reach, and he's doing it all through music. And, you know, he... How did you guys meet? We met at Blue Ridge, at the Blue Ridge Festival back in 2021. And I knew of him because I was probably one of the first people, like in that first 50,000 views of the song Save Me. Yeah. Like, I just watched this guy, you know, open his mouth and this voice came.

I was like, what in the world? And was really compelled by that. And so he was playing, same day we were in 2021 on Blue Ridge. Blue Ridge Festival. He played in the afternoon. And then I met him. I said, come up and do, we do a version of Leonard Skinner's Simpleman. And I was like, come up and do Simpleman with us. And he was like, really? I'm like, yeah. So, you know, he, uh, so we got everything locked in and, and what have you. And man, he came on stage and there was just this thing about him. Yeah, he's got charisma. Yeah. And like, as soon as we did that, as we followed in to

22, I went to my team and the label and our bookend agents and whatever. We knew that we were going to be doing a tour in amphitheaters that year late June, July, August, like during the season and what have you. And I basically just said to everybody, I go, we're going to bring, I called, I had Jelly's number. I called him and was like, I'd really like you to be main support for this tour. And he accepted. And when I told everybody like what we were going to do and who were going to do it with. At the time, everybody was kind of like, who? And I think some people didn't necessarily understand it, but I saw something in it. And the whole band did, you know, myself, Barry, Eric, and Zach, we could all just see it. Artists see the future. Yeah. And you got the

intuition. Yeah, but it was a thing where it was like, we better ask him to do this now because we're going to be able to ask him in a minute. And so I just saw him climb into that rocket ship. Yeah. You know. And, uh, The rest is history. And he came out. We had the most fun on that tour. And he would sing Simple Man with me and Zach every night on stage. We'd have like our little, you know, the guys would do kind of like a little banter of songs and this and that.

I'd go off to the side. We'd have like our moments on the side of the stage. We'd talk about things. He'd ask me questions. I'd ask him questions about things. We just stayed in contact. And just watching his rise has been an absolute pleasure because I was always just, you know, I was a fan. of who he was. But of the two decades plus that I've been in this industry, I can only really tell

you that he was the first where I was like kind of saw it early on like, man, this guy's going to change the world for the better. And it couldn't happen to a better guy. Could not happen to a better person. Yeah, that's nice. He's one of a kind. Yeah, he's one of a kind. That's great. I love that. That makes me happy. And now my next dream is to do an international tour with Good Charlotte. So whenever you want to call and let us rock and roll, man. I'm ready. Australia. Like, let's go. Let's go. I'm serious. Let's go. I'll tell the guys like, hey, what are we doing? With bells on, dude, we will, like, let's go. That'd be great. That'd be the best. At least Australia would be great. Because I know we could do it. I know we could

go, sell some marinas out and have a really fun time. And like, the shows are really great. And I think you guys probably do really well in Australia. Well, honestly, man, with that, like, you know, we have this base that we know of in the, and honestly, in like a lot of different countries, but like Australia specifically, like, what we're being told is like, just come here. Yeah. Like we're ready, but like, we will not have a bad time. We would just really want to do it with some people that we want to have some fun with. All right.

Plus the universe is real, man. I popped in here today. Thank you for having me on your show. Thanks for coming. Yeah. This means a lot to me. It means a lot to me. I'm a massive fan.

Thank you. I literally tried. I did pretty good. I kept my composure for the most part. I'm kind of great. This is like, by the way, it was very long.

I appreciate it. But like, hopefully it wasn't boring. No. So for me, it's just any time that somebody takes the time to bring their story,

but also like your fucking band is important. And what you've done is important. And you have, oh my God, thank you. You have better things to do then go anywhere and talk to anyone unless you care about what you're talking about and they care about what you have to say.

And most of the time when you're out in the world trying to connect with your fans and you're trying to connect with music fans, you have to jump through a lot of weird hoops that don't feel authentic, that don't feel like the person on the other side gives a fuck about what you're saying. Right. And respects what you had to fucking do to get here. and then that you're actually here on your own time to share your audience as well. Oh my God, when they told me that I had an opportunity to come here and talk to you,

I've lost my mind. Man, I was so excited because, but also like the validation that we give each other is important, but more importantly, the validation that your fans give everyone, that you decide whatever stage you're on, whatever interview you do, you're bringing your fans and you're validating that as a source for them to trust. And where we get lost in like media

and content is that there's not a respect for the fan. These platforms that have artists come on and do the interviews, whatever, they act like they're blessing the artist. That's not true. The artist is blessing them because the artist fan

is the number one best fucking customer. Yeah. We see it. The number one person that you want interacting with anything is a musician or artist, music artists. They're fans. But I'll say this, though, too.

And, you know, to have a very broad peripheral of music with a lot of different styles and what have you, I've always said this, rock and roll isn't just a genre of music. Rock and roll is a way of life. Like, I love the fact that, like, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the year that NWA got inducted,

there were all these question marks about that. And Ice Cube got up there and was like, man, rock and roll is a spirit. It's, you know, it's a, connection more than anything. And so when I think about it, like the type of music that we do, and there's always a broad approach to it, you know, I've said it before, like, I don't think there'll ever be anything that takes the place of drums, bass, guitar, badass vocals, and a killer

song. And a live, fucking hearing it live. Right. But in that world, the audiences, like, that rock and roll community is, you talk about inclusive. They're like, anyone from anywhere at any time. is welcomed whenever and everywhere. Like that whole community is like,

come into this and let's celebrate and have a great time. There's not this, because sometimes it happens in media, like there's an idea in rock media where it can be a little cold and very to the, like you're trying to figure out, just take it down a little bit, okay?

Like it's supposed to be, we're supposed to support each other and you can have big criticism and all that. Sure. But the audience, like metal festivals, rock festivals, are some of the most incredible experiences in the world. And when people that have never gone to them, go to them for the first time, they're like, I'm doing this every weekend now.

Like this was the greatest thing ever. Because people come in, they walk in, and then they float out. I'm gonna, and even my music, my hair can't change with me and has to be able to continue my rhythm. For so, Potion Nine, of Sebastian Professional, has everything my my hair

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not who they're not what my experience has been the last you know

10, 15 years and I would say country music a like that too

is it's like a rock and roll show and you go and you don't feel like, I don't have to think about what I'm wearing. I don't have to think about anything but being there and listening to a band or seeing like I feel welcome. It's a big mixed up crowd of everything. Yeah. You know, you go online and you see these political conversations

happening where everyone's so divided. Go to a rock and roll show, go to a country show and hang out and experience music with other people and realize that it's all kind of bullshit and no one actually cares about anything other than like being together. Yeah. And if someone fell down, they'd help them up. If somebody, like people being together is actually what music and especially rock music and rock and roll as a like a greater genre of all the genre, you know, you could divide it up a bunch of different ways.

But the live music or rock music, like go to those festivals, go to those concerts and you'll see how you're treated. And it's the happiest place. and it does feel like you can be yourself. It's better than Disneyland. Absolutely. And it does feel like it's all about like the people who go to those shows. And someone is going to a Shine Down show or an Avenge Sevenfold show or a Good Charlotte show or a Bad Omen show or a falling in reverse show.

And they're going to. Or Jelly Roll show. Or Jelly Roll. They're likely going to a bunch of the same festivals and shows. And we're likely all these circles all cross each other. somewhere. And so I do think that bands and the culture, like, and I do think, like you said earlier, it's going there to be friendly, to be supportive, to be cool with each other. Encouraging. Like really, really genuinely be happy for someone's success. And I think it's happening.

Like I thought the thing, did you see the thing at the Grammys where they thought that Courtney was Poppy? Dude, I know her very well. And like, when she did that, that just elevated her to another level. But it was good for everyone. Yeah. Like, Poppy loves her. Yeah.

They all, everyone has respect for each other. Yeah. So there wasn't any contention. Yeah. It was just a funny moment. It was like an inside joke for metal fans and rock fans that, like, knew that the interviewer just didn't know a lot about rock music and heavy music. And the interviewer made a mistake.

Yeah. And she didn't like, she wasn't mean. She was a mean. She was like, love. She like just rolled with it. She was lovely. Yeah. And like it was,

she's a beast by the way. She's a beast and it just shows you where rock music is today. Like it does feel like there is a bit of a community happening. I didn't feel an ounce of competitiveness in that moment from anyone. Yeah. It felt like everyone just was smiling big and laughing because it was just like one of the biggest moments at the Grammys actually was that. And so I thought that was like a real tell of like where the culture is now. It's interesting that you bring up the Grammys because I watched it all this year.

And, you know, there was one thing that I thought to myself. And I've met Harvey, you know, the president of the Grammys a couple of times. We did quite a few things last year for the Grammys. One thing at the Grammy Museum, me and Zach, we did Stairway to Heaven for a celebration for Atlantic Records. And then the Grammys hosted me and Zach to kind of do a behind-the-song type of event with us and what have you. But I noticed that this year, too, and it's something that, I, I thought more and more about over the last couple of years, like, you know, I woke up and looked at the news media the next day that, you know, was not just rock publication making a comment about like once again the Grammys don't show or televise the hard rock, rock category or the heavy metal. And it's funny because I started to think about that and I'm like, you know, and Harvey right before the weekend played, you know, the weekend didn't play before because of the diversity and the lack thereof.

why he was doing that. And he's an artist and he has a platform to, you know, broaden that conversation. Sure. And then he played the Grammys. Yeah. But I'm like, you know, I think that the committee should also really, really look at, you know, and I've just got to say it, like, don't alienate a community of people and listeners. That is massive. Yeah, yeah. Like, I can't remember the last time there was like a rock and roll performance at the Grammys. And I think it's time. I think it's time that the Grammys take an initiative to let rock and roll present itself again. Because, you know, they look at ratings and they look at how many people watched and how many people are tuning in.

It's like you would have so many more people watching the Grammys as well with all of these different categories. Now, you've only got so much time to televise everything. But, man, again, rock and roll, it ain't just a genre, man. That's a way of life. Yeah. And I really hope that, you know, in the future that they start to broadcast, you know, a bit more rock and let artists come in there that, you know, can throw down. I agree. Yeah, I totally agree.

Like, I don't know why there's not an active rock Grammy. I don't know why there's not a couple. I think there could be like five more rock categories because there's so many genres and subgenres in rock. I mean, even Sierra Farrell, you know, who is like she's just wild and interesting and unique between the country and the bluegrass and everything else. Like I didn't even realize she was up for nominations.

I got up, looked at, she's holding four Grammys, but none of it was televised. And I was like, that's freaking nuts. But I know they've only got so much time and everybody looks at it on their phone. But yeah, I just think about, you know, really looking at the broad scope, like rock and roll is just really, really important. There's a lot of ways to view it, and there's a lot of ways to be introduced to it. A bunch of people that are listening to this, not only want to hear what we both think about this and that, but also like your tour.

Okay. Tell me about the tour. So, yeah, the tour is two legs, and it's called the Dance Get Dance Tour. with the first leg is we're bringing our friends in Beartooth out with us. And another artist who I just think from a female side is, I just think she's on another level. Her name's Morgan Wade. And she's just outlaw country. But like in the truest sense, she's just a brilliant songwriter.

And then the second leg of the tour, it's wild, man. Like we're playing Madison Square Garden in the second leg for the first time ever as a headliner playing the Kia Forum. you know, first time as a headliner. Congrats. That's a thank you. We're bringing our friends Gavin and Bush are coming out with us. And they've got, the cool thing about that is like they're celebrating the 30 years of 16 stones and like the 20 years of Razor Blade suitcase.

They got a brand new record coming out too at the same kind of time frame. And then Morgan Wade's going to do the second half of that with us too. But it's, you know, we're definitely pushing the envelope on the production on. this and how we're doing, you know, how we're going to do. We're just really, really stoked about it. Don't have a kind of exclusive just yet on like when the album's going to come out, but if I was a betting man, I would say August. Okay. I would, I would, you heard it here first. So I don't have a date per se, but I'm hoping August. We have two brand new songs out right now that are working in multiple formats. One song called 365. The other track is called Dance Kid Dance. Yeah. No, but it's,

that's the only thing that we, we have a couple of festivals that we're doing too. this year, but we're kind of like being strategic about certain things and how we kind of want to do what we want to do. Again, the international is a big deal for us looking into next year and how we want to kind of curate that. But yeah, there's a lot going on. We just want it to be about, it's not about the quantity, it's about the quality. I feel that. That's how I feel these days. And then also to, I'm going to, I'm going to wish upon a star every single night that Good Charlotte will take us out on tour with them to Australia.

To Australia. I'm going to ask me. It's not a bad idea. I may know somebody now that I didn't know before to ask about that. It's a really good idea. I'm just going to hope upon hope. I mean, we're going to find out as soon as this airs if it's a good idea.

Because promoters will fucking call. Yeah. Because I'm excited about the prospect. Fans will be like, come to Argentina. and I'm like, tell the promoter to send us an offer. We're going after all that. Like, we're trying to figure it out right now, like how to really. Because again, man, it's, you got to look at, yeah, there's a financial aspect to it.

But then again, sometimes it's like, just go. Just go. You just got to go, man. And I think that carries into, like, our shows. Like, I just want people to come and feel important and feel like we put every dollar that we could into that show. So, Brent, thanks for coming, man. It's my absolute pleasure, bro. It's awesome, bro.

I appreciate it. Thank you for listening to Artist Friendly. We really appreciate it. If you like the show, you can also follow us on Spotify. You can follow us on Instagram at Artist.Friendly. And you can watch us on YouTube and Veeps. Leave comments. I always read them.

See you next time.