Chris Jericho - WWE Superstar & Rock Star
By Sue Powley (Paps)
The weirdest thing ever is when you answer your phone and a voice says 'Hey this is Chris Jericho !' I managed to stammer an introduction while frantically fumbling with my dictaphone and trying to remember which is the record button on a machine that has approximately 5 buttons! Having regained my senses, found said button and managed to hit said button I had the privilege of conducting my first ever interview with possibly the nicest man on the planet.... Chris Jericho! After a discussion about the website and upcoming 'happenings' in Newcastle, this is what I finally managed to grab from the man himself! Enjoy!
WZ- A friend of mine, Beth, would like to know whose idea it was to put up the TNA graphic on your official website after your departure from the WWE?
CJ- That was my idea it was done as a laugh, just to mess around with people and see what kind of reaction I got just for fun!
WZ- Well we actually found it quite funny!
WZ- So what have you been doing with your time away from the ring?
CJ- I've just been spending a lot time at home and spending a lot of time with the band actually. We just came back from Australia & now we're headed to the UK for the fourth time this year; Ireland & Scotland. Things are going good, I've had a chance to spend some time doing some other things, spending some time out in Hollywood and things are feeling good.
WZ- And who are the people that you miss most from Raw? Who did you used to travel with and hang out with?
CJ- I don't know I mean, I don't really miss anybody because I still talk to the guys that I'm close to so it's kind of like graduating high school or something like that, you miss your friends but you still talk to the ones that matter anyway.
WZ - So are we definitely going to see you back on Raw at some point in the future or do you not have any plans as yet?
CJ- Um Nothing's definite but we'll see what happens, see how everything goes with everything else that I'm doing, I'm definitely not ruling it out.
WZ- Ok and on to Fozzy! I'd just like to ask how the Australian tour went because that was the band's first time playing in Australia is that right?
CJ- Yeah it was and it went great I mean we're doing really good in England, in the UK has been our second home away from home so to get a chance to go to Australia was really amazing 'cause we'd never been there before as a band so to see the response and interest level in what we're doing and in the music and stuff it was really amazing so it was obviously special to get a chance to go there & people were as excited for us to be there as we were to be there as well!
WZ- Cool! You guys have played in the UK quite a few times before, which gigs have stood out for you the most over here?
CJ- Probably when we played The Astoria it was great because of how big it was and how much of an esteemed, you know, classic old time venue it was. All the shows we've done have been great! I think when we played Donnington it was amazing as well just because of how big it was and the response from the crowd that we got, but all the shows have been good I mean there haven't been any shows that we didn't like and we're coming over to play 14 gigs in a row starting on Tuesday, so we want to keep the ball rolling and keep everything going good and you know we're excited to be coming back!
WZ- Do the band personally chose the support acts for the UK tour and who have you got so far?
CJ - We didn't really personally chose them, the thing that we've been doing with Fozzy, it's been going so good and more and more people are coming that people are actually submitting themselves to be the opening band. We've had some great ones; I mean we played with a band called Head On which is a really good band.
WZ- Yeah they were really good when I saw you guys in Manchester. Good....and Loud!
CJ- Yeah very loud! *laughs* So yeah I'm looking forward to seeing the bands on this tour. I know there's a few here and there that we had a little bit of input in but it's always more of a surprise because when it's something that's really not my choice but I'm always interested in hearing the bands!
WZ - Will you get to see much of the UK while you're over here or will it all be work?
CJ- Well I mean we'll be all across the country really, playing, you know, 14 days in a row so we'll get to see a lot of but I mean we're working every day so we're probably not going to have the chance to go sigh seeing at all but that's ok; we will see the inside of all the places that we play and we'll meet all the great people there so I'm looking forward to it!
WZ - I was just wondering about your email, your messagesforchris email. Do you get to read most of the stuff you're sent there?
CJ- Yeah sometimes it takes me a while but I usually get a chance to go through them all and respond to the ones that are interesting and respond to the ones that are a little bit different, but I definitely check it and see what's going on. Usually maybe once a week or once every two weeks.
*Paps then does a shameless plug for her music vids that you really don't' want to hear!*
WZ- Now on to some fan questions that some people have sent me if that's ok?
CJ- Yeah cool!
WZ- Rab would like to know if there are any new Fozzy songs being written and/or recorded right now and is there an estimated date for a new CD to be released?
CJ - Well we're going to finish up all this touring that we have to do and it'll probably be going towards the end of the year, we might get a chance to come back to the UK one more time after this run and then yeah we will start working on a new record, you know Rich has already put some ideas down on tape and I've already come up with a bunch of lyrics so we definitely want to keep the ball rolling and keep it going so we'll be working on a new Fozzy record as soon as all the touring that we have to do is done.
WZ- Excellent! Richie would like to know what was the first Album that you bought?
CJ- Ummm, the first album that I bought that I can remember buying was the Beach Boys Greatest Hits record from Saturday morning TV when I was about seven years old.
*Paps rudely interrupts with laughter!*
WZ- Ok, Vicky would like to know if you get chance to surf the net, to check out all the Chris Jericho fan sites and message boards that are around?
CJ - Once in a while I check out the message boards and check out the websites, I like to diffuse the rumours that are going around, but I don't really spend my life on there, I'll check it out when I have the chance to but I don't make it a daily habit or anything like that.
WZ- Annemarie and Jordan would like to know what are your favourite bands from the past couple of years?
CJ- My favourite band of all time was the Beatles so it was a great honour for us to play in Liverpool at the beginning of the year. But I love Dream Theatre and Iron Maiden and Metallica those are basically my favourite bands.
WZ- Yeah so what do you think about the new bands coming out at the moment? Bands like The Killers and Kieser Chiefs and similar, have you had chance to listen to any of those sorts of bands?
CJ - Yeah well I like White Stripes, some of the bands appeal to me.
WZ - Kelly would like to know who was the last band that you saw live?
CJ - That'd be Paul McCartney, I saw him 2 or 3 weeks ago in Tampa here where I live, it was amazing, best concert I've ever seen!
WZ - Jake and Daniel would like to ask if you could have any band in the world perform your entrance music for the WWE, who would it be?
CJ - Oh that's easy...Fozzy!*laughs*
WZ- Yeah we had a feeling you might say that! Next question is from Lewis who would like to know who is the most famous person on your Christmas card list?
CJ - Well I don't really send out Christmas cards so I'm not sure but if you went through my phone probably Zakk Wylde or Dave Mustaine..
WZ- Dave Mustaine? Wow! Cool!
CJ- *laughs* yeah or maybe some hockey players that are pretty famous but I'd say probably at this point musically that Zakk or Dave would be the biggest names.
WZ- Awesome!
*yes Paps is marking out over Dave Mustaine people!*
WZ- Sasha would like to know if you have had any embarrassing moments while on stage with Fozzy!
CJ - Well we always go on stage and have a great time so ah...I don't know if there are any really embarrassing ones where like I fell off the stage or anything like that! You know that stuff always happens, you'll be running around and slip and fall or you know, go to point A when you should've went to point B and kind of fall off the stage a bit! Nothing really too crazy or anything like that but then again it's Fozzy so... being on stage alone is embarrassing sometimes!
WZ- *trying not to laugh too much* Ok, Tyler would like to ask how old is your son now and is he aware of what Daddy does for a living? Does he watch you on TV?
CJ - My son is 2 and yeah he watches me on TV in wrestling and you know the other stuff that I do and he gets excited when he's sees me on TV, but he'd rather watch cartoons!
WZ - Yeah well I have a three year old so I know how they are!
CJ - Yeah exactly!
WZ- So would you like to do a quick plug for the tour? What can people expect to see if they haven't seen Fozzy before?
CJ - Well I mean we always pride ourselves on putting on a great show, very entertaining, a lot of fun and we're going to play some great music as well so we don't forget that you know Fozzy & music is show business and we don't forget that at all. That's why we've been fortunate enough to get a chance to come to the UK four times this year because people in the UK are enjoying what we do and we enjoy playing for the fans there and we're just going to have a great time and just rock! That's what we do!
WZ- So anyway that's about it Chris, so I would like to thank you very much. Did I suck?
CJ - Nooo you did a great job!
WZ - Oh thank God for that!
CJ - Nah you did it really well, very easy!
WZ- Well it was a great honour to do my first interview with you, Chris Jericho!
CJ - Well you did a great job and I look forward to coming down and seeing you when we hit the UK!
I would once again like to thank Chris Jericho for getting up at the crack of dawn to call me for this interview. It was a fantastic experience for me and even though I know there have probably been better Jericho interviews out there, I don't think I did as badly as I expected I would!
Keep checking back to the site for a LOT more Fozzy updates as they hit the UK this week on the start of their tour and if you have a review of ANY show you'd like to share with the world please email myself or Gary at the website!
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