Aaron Lewis Opens Up About Staind’s Success

“This is crazy, I feel no reason to complain about anything.”

On Tuesday (Oct. 27), Aaron Lewis joined Loudwire Nights to not only celebrate the release of Staind‘s latest song, “Ghosts,” but also reflect on his band’s long history and continued growing success.

Listen to the full conversation in the player near the end of this article.

“I’m feeling nothing but blessed,” Lewis admitted to Loudwire Nights‘ Chuck Armstrong.

“I’ve just taken the opportunity to put my foot on a path and I’ve kept walking. I didn’t have this huge dream of being a rock star. I didn’t have this calling that music was supposed to be — it wasn’t like that. It all just happened around me and it took me the longest time to embrace what was happening around me. I don’t know if I have still.”

Lewis had a lot on his mind during the conversation. Not only have Staind announced plans for their next studio album, The Space Between the Darkness and the Light, this year they’ve been playing the biggest shows of their career.

“I find myself having to pinch myself and going, ‘Is this for real,'” he said.

“I mean, is this really, this is my life? This is insane. This is crazy. This is my life. I’m 54 years old, somehow still doing this. And all of a sudden playing to a sold-out shed full of kids that are my kids’ age. God bless.”

As happy as Lewis was, he was also honest about the darkness of Staind’s music and why he still thinks that’s important and valid.

“That darkness is still there,” Lewis expressed.

“What that darkness is, a full-grown man of 54 years old that is still trying to navigate his way through the childhood trauma that I had to endure to get to where I was going. This record is a continuation of that without question.”

Lewis shared some gratitude for the experience he’s had as a solo artist, too. Even though those albums are “flavored differently” than Staind, as he put it, they’re still part of his journey. In fact, that side of things has helped him hone his songwriting not just as a solo artist, but for Staind, too.

When he thought about what keeps him pushing forward with Staind, he was clear in his response.

“I would have to say probably that continued struggle of trying to work through all the things in life that shape you as you go, that’s the thread,” he said.

“That’s the continuity from Tormented all the way through to this new record, which is The Space Between the Darkness and the Light, which I think that statement right there says a lot, too.”

What Else Did Staind’s Aaron Lewis Discuss on Loudwire Nights?

How it feels to have “Ghosts” out in the world: “It’s always a nice feeling, a closing of a moment of expression when a record is finished. It’s usually the last time I listen to it … If I go back and listen to a record, I’m like, ‘Wow. Really? Okay.’ I’ve gone back and listened to records and forgotten that I had even written the song that I was listening to.”
How long Staind have been working on the new album: “It was over the last year. In between playing my solo shows, I’d come home and be in Nashville for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, so I’d be in the studio Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and then go back out and play shows Thursday, Friday, Saturday. I did that a couple times and then the band worked with stuff for a little bit. And then I did that same thing a couple more times and we had the thing pretty much put together.”
Taking advantage of technology to create this album: “I would pop into the studio in Nashville while I was home and the rest of the guys would go to our rehearsal space up in Massachusetts and they did their stuff there. We just kind of bounced all over. I think Mike [Mushok] might have even gone to L.A. to met the producer there.”