Fozzy’s guitarist Rich Ward recently joined Scott Bowling of Good Company With Bowling for a chat and said that playing in Dream Theater isn’t about physical impact on the stage.
Ward explained that he does DDPYoga every day to stay healthy. He used to be heavier and lift weights for looks, but now he focuses on staying fit for his well-being. He shared what he thought about these issues in the past and added:
“I wanted to look like Henry Rollins. I wanted to look like Glenn Danzig. These dudes, when I saw them on stage, it was like, ‘Oh.’ They looked as powerful as their music sounded. And I always thought that was incredible. When we toured with Type O Negative and Pete Steele would roll up the back of the truck and get in there and pump iron every day. I wanted to be just like Pete Steele because I realized he looked the way he sounded. It reinforced the power of the music.”
Dream Theater Doesn’t Need Physicality
Then, the musician revealed why Dream Theater is different in this sense:
“Now, if I was in Dream Theater, it doesn’t need to be that because Dream Theater is beautiful. It’s a different approach. But Stuck Mojo was a jackhammer, and it was something that was just rhythmically punishing you, and I wanted to look that part, which is why I trained the way that I did. And luckily for me, [frontman Chris] Jericho is always gonna be the biggest guy in Fozzy, so I don’t need to compete with him. I can be his skinny little partner. He can be the Skipper, and I can be Gilligan, and we can have a great relationship.”
Ward will go on a tour with Fozzy this fall to celebrate the band’s 25th anniversary. The tour begins on October 3 in Woodstock, Georgia, and ends on October 21 in Cleveland, Ohio. The bands The Nocturnal Affair and Clozure will also perform on the tour as the supporting acts. Fozzy will also take the stage at Louder Than Life festival on September 27.
You can watch the guitarist’s whole conversation below.