At the age of fifteen and sixteen, my band, “ Resistance ”, won a few of those competitions which led to more work and advertising for the band. The community service part of the Jaycees was a huge piece of the pie for winning one of their sponsored competitions. Their areas of emphasis are business development, management skills, individual training, community service, and international connections. The Jaycees (The United States Junior Chamber), is a leadership training and civic organization for people between the ages of 18 and 40. Back then, “ The Battle of the Bands ”, were sponsored by the local Jaycees of that particular town or city. Every band wanted to win the prize, a trophy and cash. Performing in “ The Battle of the Bands ” said it all. At the age of twelve, as a drummer, my band wanted to play at the party or the teen center, so we were competing with others to get those coveted paying gigs. It was understood that if you practiced your butt off, performed every gig you could get, that slowly, but surely, you would see the results. The music business is competitive, you want your band to be seen and heard. There were parts that were distasteful, but for the most part, it was the time of my life. RowlingĪ major portion of my life was spent in the world of music, and I loved it. It says ‘ Leave your weapon on the table/Wrapped in burlap, barely able/Call a doctor, say a prayer/Choose a God you think is fair.“ We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided.” J.K. The bridge is very very important in this song, because it brings back some of the lyrics you’ve heard already. The other thing is that there’s a statement made in there – not from a biblical or a spiritual standpoint – about God, when you go into the bridge. They don’t know why they do it, but they do it, and these are the monsters that I’m talking about: those voices that say, ‘I know this is going to be really fucked up after it’s over with, but let’s do it anyway.’ That’s the sentiment in the song, when I sing that my monsters are real and they’re trained to kill." It’s about a lot of different situations that people get put in because they have things in their mind that – for whatever reason – they used to sabotage themselves. That’s how I have to do it, but the dynamic in the song is not just about substance abuse. Even then, I don’t spend much time on it because I literally live my life day by day. I never went to rehab, I didn’t do a 12-step programme, and I don’t talk about sobriety unless I’m asked about it. I’ve always been very honest about it, which is that I didn’t do drugs today – and I didn’t drink today – but I don’t know what I’ll do tomorrow, because I literally have to take it day by day. It’s something I deal with on a daily basis. In this Track-by-Track Guide by Brent Smith, the following is said about “MONSTERS”:Įveryone who knows a bit of my background with regard to substance abuse and alcoholism knows that I’ve battled with it. They’ve just been there to pick me up when I fell.” I’m also very lucky because the other three guys I’m in a band with are my brothers and they’ve never judged me. I haven’t gone to rehab, I don’t do self-help, nor am I a part of a 12-step program, I only know how to do it this way. It’s something I can’t think about in the future, I literally have to take one day at a time. It doesn’t mean I have to like it, but I do have to respect it. I know the parts of me that I must respect. If I were to go into a bar and have one drink I would end up drinking every single one in the building and probably wind up in jail. For me to think I can go into a bar today and just have one drink, that would be great, but that’s not reality. Those pathways are already paved in my brain. I’m clean now, but the fact is - I have to take it day-by-day. Personally, it has a lot to do with substance abuse. When I make that statement about “My monsters are real, and they’re trained how to kill”, that’s about as blunt and bold as I can be about those voices that I did say were legendary, but can also be my demise if I let them. From Jeff Gorra’s interview with frontman Brent Smith:
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