Fozzy frontman Chris Jericho says his WWE wrestling fame can make it difficult for potential fans to take the band seriously.
The singer juggles his music career with his role as a WWE Superstar and says it can often prove a hurdle to rock fans.
Jericho tells TeamRock presenter Pete Bailey’s The Playlist Podcast: “Because I have notoriety from another area, that works against Fozzy. People think it’s some kind of a novelty thing. Not as much any more, but you still get people who say, ‘Yeah I’ve heard of them, but I’ve never listened to them – it’s Jericho.’
“Then I get tweets every day, ‘I just listened to Fozzy for the first time…why did I wait so long?’ And that’s just how it goes. It doesn’t matter what band you’re in, you’ve still got to hustle. And when you get people interested in your band, you still have to give them their money’s worth. You still have to give them more than they paid for.”
Fozzy’s last album was 2014’s Do You Wanna Start A War and Jericho says the follow-up, when it comes, will continue the band’s blueprint of ignoring the temptation to stick too rigidly to any genre.
He adds: “We will continue with this very open mentally and not worry if it’s too heavy, too fast, too poppy, too dancy or whatever. Just look at Queen. There’s a reggae song, a rockabilly song, a metal song, a disco song – and they’re all great because Queen are doing it.
“We kind of adopted that Queen vibe of, let’s keep an open mind and write 12 great songs and not worry about what category they fit in, because it’s all Fozzy and that’s all that matters.”