Page 32 - Black Velvet Magazine Issue 106
P. 32

BV106 pg 26-34 fozzy centre.qxp_BV106 pg32  05/05/2022  23:34  Page 7



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                  n ‘Army Of One’ Chris sings ‘This world’s   life. And, I think, maybe part of why society does   wasn’t because I was mean. It was a lack of un-
                 Igonna tell you who you should be, what   that is out of… I’ve never even thought about it,   derstanding. I think the older I get, the more I
              you can’t do’. Most of us are told what to do, how   but as I’m saying it, it kind of makes sense to me   just start to realise that I wasn’t as smart as I
              we should be. Anyone with an ambitious mind is   that people who maybe have a little bit of regret   thought I was. I wish that I had a chance to redo
              shot down or ridiculed. People have been con-  may not want to see other people succeed and   some things. I’ve said things to my bandmates
              demned for being themselves. Rich says he has   follow their dreams.”   and my wife that I wish that I could take back –
              been told himself what he can’t do, and not   If you’re reading this with hopes and ambi-  just out of anger, or frustration.”
              taken seriously when it comes to being a musi-  tions, Rich definitely thinks you should go for it.   A song on ‘Boombox’, ‘What Hell Is Like’,
              cian.                               Don’t give up. Keep on and keep going for your   sees Chris sing ‘I’m left staring in disgust, ‘cause
                 “People told me my whole life, ‘You’re never   dreams.              my hell lives in the mirror’. We ask Rich who he
              going to make it in music.’ It’s like saying ‘I’m    “Like I said, I don’t want to feel like Tony   sees when he looks in the mirror.
              going to be an astronaut. I’m going to go to the   Robbins, or some type of self-help guru, but I do   “When I look in the mirror, I can see some-
              moon’ or something. These are things that hap-  think that you’re just going to have to follow your   one who was constantly searching to figure out
              pen for so few people, but I always told people,   own path and if it doesn’t work out, then you’ve   who I am,” he replies. “I went through some
              ‘I don’t care if I’m fa-                                     tried  it.   crazy phases. I was a heavy metal kid in the
              mous. I love playing   “I don’t want to be so presumptuous to say   Think   80s. In the late 80s, I got really into hip hop and
              guitar and I want to be                                      about  all   I started dressing kind of like a hip hop kid and
              in a band.’ People kept   that,  like  Tony  Robbins,  we  can  cure  the   the millions   then in the early 90s, I got really into Zakk Wylde
              telling me, ‘You’re not   world’s ails with some good riffs and some   of people   and his Pride & Glory album, so I started wear-
              going to be able to                                          w   h  o   ing cowboy boots and a cowboy hat, and then
              make a living doing it.’ I  good lyrics, but if it does, then that’s fantastic   thought   in ’92 I discovered Sepultura and Pantera and I
              was like, ‘Well, my goal   and it would obviously warm my heart if some   they were   started wearing camo shorts. It’s just part of
              is not to make a living                                      going  to   growing and being a young person. Searching…
              doing it, you don’t un- people got something out of it.” - Rich Ward   play  for   Who is Rich Ward? I didn’t know. I was just in-
              derstand. It’s like play-                                    Manches-  fluenced by all these incredible musicians and
              ing soccer or playing                                        ter United   artists and I wanted to be just like them. And
              golf, I love this. This is what I want to do’. And   or thought they were going to play for the New   now I feel like somewhere in my late 20s, I just
              ‘Well, you’re going to have to have a back-up   York Yankees. Or like Tom Cruise. Everybody   kind of dialled into ‘Oh, this is who Rich Ward is,’
              plan,’ and ‘You’re going to need to figure out how   has dreams and you just have to know when it’s   and I think part of that is the same thing we all
              you’re going to pay your bills,’ and I just said   time to pack it in on the dreams. And you can   go through. School and then in our early adult-
              ‘Yeah, everybody does.  That’s life. If you’re   still do it if you’re passionate about it. You can   hood is just that search of finding meaning and
              going to go to university to learn how to be an   still act, you can still play sports for fun, and   purpose and who are we and what are we sup-
              engineer, you still have to figure out how to pay   maybe you just have a job in the meanwhile,   posed to do? And I think that’s an important part
              your bills while you’re putting yourself through   and on the weekends, you go play shows or pick   of our life.
              school, and you’re getting a job.’    up an amateur league playing soccer. There’s   “And then, I think, the mirror is just telling me
                 “I think, sometimes, older people and people   no reason why you have to quit doing your pas-  every day to just be a better version of myself.
              in society like to discourage people from doing   sion. It just may mean that you can’t do it for a   Every day, how can you make those improve-
              grand and great things because, I don’t know,   living.”               ments? There’s a philosopher guru, I’ve been
              maybe they look back at their life and think,                          watching a lot of his videos on YouTube, and he
              ‘Maybe I should have taken that risk, maybe I   s we get older, we also get wiser. We   said… it hit me like a bolt of lightning… He said,
              should have started my own business instead of   Alook back at our life. Some of us have   ‘Every morning, wake up, roll to the right, sit up,
              doing this, or that.’ Their regret, they are project-  regrets, others wish we’d done things a little dif-  and say out loud, ‘I’m so thankful and apprecia-
              ing on other people. The last thing an unhappy   ferently. Others believe that everything in their   tive that I woke up this day’, because he gave
              person wants to see is somebody else be   past helped make them who they are today.    an astronomical number of people who don’t
              happy! It’s weird how miserable people just like   Rich says, “I’ve done a lot of things I’m em-  wake up every day. And I just think, wow, what
              to be surrounded by other miserable people,   barrassed about. I’ve played in bands with peo-  an incredible thought – to be appreciative at the
              ‘cause it makes them feel like it’s normal. That’s   ple who were struggling with drugs and alcohol   foundation of everything, I made it to another
              why people don’t want to drink by themselves.   and I didn’t know how to help and I just saw it   day, to have another opportunity, to go and live
              People like to be around people who are sharing   as weakness, so I separated myself from them   this incredible gift that we all have, which is life.
              similar attributes. Happy people seek other   because I wanted to be around people who   We ask who the guru was. He says it was
              happy people. I think it’s tribal in nature. We   could be a part of the strength, be another tent   Sadhguru.
              seek things that resonate with where we are in   post. I wish I could have taken that back. But it   “He’s fantastic. He’s great,” he adds.


































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