Saliva vocalist Bobby Amaru: “He chose to leave the band and you can’t fault the guy for that just like you can’t fault the band for wanting to move on.”
Platinum rockers Saliva burst out of the Memphis, Tennessee area to national success in 2001 with their second album “Every Six Seconds” and a series of chart topping follow ups. The band regrouped with new singer Bobby Amaru after original lead singer Josey Scott split to pursue a Christian music career a few years back and are set to release their latest album “Rise Up” on April 29th
Legendary Rock Interviews: Thanks for talking with us Bobby, you’ve been the singer for Saliva for a couple of years now and have played lots of gigs, how is the new tour shaping up?
Bobby Amaru: We just started this tour and so far it’s going great and we can’t wait to see everyone again and have everyone get a chance to hear the new album.
LRI: Bands have famously changed lead singers with various degrees of success over the years. Do you think it says a lot about the resilency or character of the band that the other guys in Saliva decided to carry on with a new lead singer?
Bobby: When you go to a show most people connect with the lead singer because they’re connecting with the lyrics and all that and sometimes it’s hard for some people to understand that there is a band around that singer, a band that’s been doing that music and living that life right along with that lead singer. Also, the thing about Josey is, it wasn’t like he was fired, he quit. He chose to leave the band and you can’t fault the guy for that just like you can’t fault the band for wanting to move on and keep the rock and roll thing going.
LRI: Or blame you for taking the job or being yourself…
Bobby: No , no, it’s just one of those things man. We are Saliva, we love to play rock and roll and this is what we do for a living and the fans have been and continue to be awesome to us and are the whole reason we do this, they are amazing.
LRI: Obviously you’re excited to have new music come out but as a performer, is it a luxury to have the catalog and familiar radio tracks in the set every night?
Bobby: Always, always.
LRI: Good choice of words there.
Bobby: There’s always those songs that can save a show you know, there are always those songs that everyone has to hear but from front to end we try to have a high energy show with nothing but highlights, that’s always the goal every night whether we’re playing for 10,000 people or a hundred. I put on the same show and give it my all every single night because everyone deserves it.
LRI: I heard good things about you from another writer who saw the band when you first joined. Do you feel considerably more comfortable as time has gone on?
Bobby: Absolutely. Very much so. Obviously I’ve been around these guys for some time now and have tons of shows under my belt and it’s all become second nature really to me now. The challenge is in doing the new stuff, the old stuff is so second nature to us that now we are finding ways of adjusting the set and doing some of the new stuff. It’s fun and we’re all getting more comfortable as a band as time has gone on. We’re definitely in a groove.
LRI: The band worked with producer Bobby Huff before right?
Bobby: They did, they did some writing with him for the last album “Under Your Skin” in 2011. We were on the bus one night towards the end of 2012 and we were trying to figure out who were gonna go with for this next album and we knew that we really wanted someone who could vibe with us in the studio and get in a room with us and a guitar and just bounce ideas around to try and create the best songs possible of this record. They were playing me some demos that they had done with Bobby Huff and I was like “Man, this sounds great and the songs are great, everything’s good” and he’s a Nashville guy with some really good credits on some good songs. We thought that would be the better route for a change instead of going with some producer whose just going to change all our songs and say “Nope, you gotta do everything my way”. We were like “No, we’re gonna make a record the way we wanna make it so let’s just focus on the songwriting”. Every song, regardless of where it started from or came from, we all worked on it and made it what it is on “Rise Up”.
LRI: Have you gotten your health and routine down to a science as far as dealing with the grind of being on the road for long periods of time?
Bobby: (laughs). I don’t think anyone gets it down to a science really because when you’re out here on the road it’s hard to live like you would at home. You’re in a different city every day. Some places you play in will have restaurants next door where they’re making you all kinds of really good food that might not be the best for you but you just try to eat the best you can. You try to keep things as healthy as possible but I have a tendency to enjoy Crown Royal a little bit too much at times (laughs). I can’t drink too much because it messes with my voice. I actually have heard a lot of singers say that when they stopped drinking it really did make their voice better or stronger. I don’t smoke or anything and I try to take my vitamins and a tic tac every now and then to make sure everything’s good.
LRI: Does it sometimes get difficult relationship wise or family-wise being out on the road?
Bobby: It can. I mean, I’m a dad, I’ve got two kids, we all have kids and of course it become hard at times when we’re away from them but everyone knows this is what we do, this is the life we choose playing rock and roll and also this is how we provide for our families.
LRI: And now with the new album release and the weather warming up I imagine you’ll be playing a lot of the big summer festivals. Are those big outdoor shows a lot of fun for you?
Bobby: Every show is fun for me but yeah the outdoor shows in nice weather are always a good time. We have a lot of shows coming up this year and are gonna be very busy it seems for the next 20 years or so (laughs).
To pre-order the new Saliva click here
For all things Saliva go to www.saliva.com
WED, MAR 26, 2014 LOUISVILLE, KY AT DIAMOND PUB & BILLIARDS
THU, MAR 27, 2014 WESTLAND, MI AT THE TOKEN LOUNGE
FRI, MAR 28, 2014 STEGER, IL AT ANOTHER HOLE IN THE WALL
SAT, MAR 29, 2014 RINGLE, WI AT Q&Z EXPO CENTER
SUN, MAR 30, 2014 ROCKFORD, IL AT MURPHY’S PUB
TUE, APR 1, 2014 EAU CLAIRE, WI AT HIPPS PUB-N-GRUB
THU, APR 3, 2014 WILLISTON, ND AT DK’S LOUNGE
FRI, APR 4, 2014 DICKINSON, ND AT BERNIE’S
SAT, APR 5, 2014 FARGO, ND AT THE VENUE
SUN, APR 6, 2014 MINOT, MD AT THE ORIGINAL
TUE, APR 8, 2014 SPEARFISH, SD AT ZBAR
WED, APR 9, 2014 CHEYENNE, WY AT ATLAS THEATRE
THU, APR 10, 2014 BILLINGS, MT AT CARLIN EVENTS CENTER
FRI, APR 11, 2014 GREAT FALLS, MT AT HIDEOUT LOUNGE
SAT, APR 12, 2014 IDAHO FALLS, ID AT THE PEPPERTREE
SUN, APR 13, 2014 JEROME, ID AT DIAMONDZ EVENT CENTER
WED, APR 16, 2014 WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA AT THE WHISKY A GO GO
FRI, APR 18, 2014 TEMPE, AZ AT CLUB RED
SAT, APR 19, 2014 LAS VEGAS, NV AT LVCS
SUN, APR 20, 2014 GRAND JUNCTION, CO AT MESA THEATER & LOUNGE
MON, APR 21, 2014 COLORADO SPRINGS, CO AT SUNSHINE STUDIOS LIVE
WED, APR 23, 2014 LUFKIN, TX AT THE BEACH BAR
THU, APR 24, 2014 OKLAHOMA CITY, OK AT THE CHAMELEON ROOM
FRI, APR 25, 2014 LUBBOCK, TX AT LONESTAR PAVILION
SAT, APR 26, 2014 SAN LEON, TX AT 18TH STREET PIER
TUE, APR 29, 2014 READING, PA AT REVERB
WED, APR 30, 2014 NEW YORK, NY AT SANTO’S PARTY HOUSE
FRI, MAY 2, 2014 VIRGINIA BEACH, VA AT FARM BUREAU LIVE
SAT, MAY 3, 2014 BALTIMORE, MD AT FISHHEAD CANTINA
SUN, MAY 4, 2014 STANHOPE, NJ AT STANHOPE HOUSE
MON, MAY 5, 2014 BRISTOL, CT AT BLEACHERS
WED, MAY 7, 2014 BUFFALO, NY AT THE WAITING ROOM
THU, MAY 8, 2014 COLUMBUS, OH AT XCLUSIVE
FRI, MAY 9, 2014 FT. WAYNE, IN AT PIERE’S
SAT, MAY 10, 2014 ATHENS, OH AT ATHENS COUNTY FAIRGROUND
TUE, MAY 13, 2014 KERNERSVILLE, NC AT BUCKED UP SUPPER SALOON
FRI, JUN 6, 2014 WINFIELD, KS AT ROCK N’ COUNTRY FEST
FRI, JUN 13, 2014 ROTHBURY, MI AT DOUBLE JJ RESORT
SAT, JUN 21, 2014 EARLEVILLE, IA AT ROMPER ROOM/TRI-STATE SPEEDWAY
SAT, JUL 26, 2014 MUSCATINE, IA AT RIVERSIDE PARK
SAT, AUG 16, 2014 PEORIA, IL AT RIVERFRONT PARK
Category: Interviews
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