A FEW MINUTES WITH SULLY
an interview with Sully Erna, December 2006

What motivated you to write this book?
At first, when I started out I was just trying to capture some memories and some of the wild stories I had from growing up in Lawrence. I just wanted to put it down so when I got older I’d have something to share with my grandchildren… that kind of thing, just so I wouldn’t forget as I grow older. After a while it kept evolving into this memoir.

What was the writing process like for you?
Once I decided to really, you know, make a go of it and flesh it out, the words just started pouring out of me. It was easy in a lot of ways because I wrote a lot of it on the road and when you’re not performing there’s just tons of down time… you know, if I was with the band and we were flying to Japan, I had, like 12 hours to just knock out a bunch of stories. And I would start typing, beating the keyboard and I just kept going. But I knew when I was writing this that I had to write it my way. With my own voice, like I’m talking to you about it, telling my kids or whatever. I knew I wasn’t going to be worried about sentence structure as much as capturing the events of my life- I figured I could worry about that later. But it worked out pretty much as I wrote it. It’s just me telling my story.

Were you able to maintain a fair perspective on the events of your life as you chronicled them?
I think so. Of course, everyone sees things a bit differently from how they happened; but, you know, this is my version of things and I think it’s pretty accurate. I had to be honest about it, especially talking about things that involved other people – because they’re gonna read it. A lot of times I talked with a friend about this or that – “Hey, do you remember..?” – so I got some perspective in sharing some ideas along the way. But I think it’s honest and faithful to my life and everything that happened.

What was the most difficult for you to write about?
That I had to be honest about having done drugs and getting fucked up, especially starting so young; that I had to come clean. Talking about some friends that I’d lost along the way- that was hard to look back on. And knowing the mistakes I made; knowing that I had to make them to get to where I am, but knowing that I could have ended up far worse. Remembering the plane crash in the park… that was an awful thing for a kid to experience, and a lot of kids saw that happen that day. Stuff like that.

Is it easier to be in a band than it is to be in a relationship?
That’s a good question. You know something- a band is a relationship, though. You spend more time with your band on the road than you do with your girlfriend or wife… there’s a lot of ups and downs and you have to compromise because it’s not just about you, and there’s not just one other person involved… there’s three! But being in a relationship is difficult for anyone, as I’ve certainly learned.

Many of the stories in the book involve people who moved in and out of your life as you grew up: have you gotten a chance to speak with them about this, or will THE PATHS WE CHOOSE come as a surprise to them?
Yeah, a lot of them are gonna be surprised! I’ve only shown it to a couple of people, my drummer, he’s a bookworm and he read it in maybe a day, and he said he loved it… and I don’t think he was just being nice about it. So, I think a lot of my friends will be surprised, but hopefully they’ll be into it.

In your opinion, what separates this book from books by other rockstars?
Well, it’s not an autobiography, really. Not like the Motley Crue book (“The Dirt”), and there’s not page after page about strippers and porn stars or anything like that, really. It’s a memoir and it only goes up to the beginning of when I started Godsmack, the first thrity years of my life. So it’s really not a rock-star tell-all. This is about me and my mom and my sister and growing up on the streets as I did… and how I got here. The stories of being in Godsmack… that would be the retirement project… when and if the time comes when the band is all done, then maybe I’ll get around to that.

Is there anything you would change about your life as you look back on it?
It’s hard to say. I think everyone thinks they would change this or that, but, now, after having written it, I know I needed to do those things. Hopefully we grow wiser as we grow older, so you live and learn- that’s the important thing, to learn.

What wisdom have you gained through this self-examination of your life?
That, no matter what, you have to follow your heart. You know, there’s a part in the book where I talk about how I’d been kicked out of this band and I was feeling sorry for myself. I had no job, no money, and my girlfriend had kicked me out. I didn’t know what I was gonna do and I ended up taking a job with a collection agency. I started making good money and got some of my friends in at that place, and they ended up making good money too- one of my friends still works there and he’s doing great. I stopped feeling sorry for myself and was able to, you know, pick myself up and go forward so that I could focus on making music again, which was my first love. So I think that, you have to work hard and do whatever it takes no matter what.

Is it important for a reader to be a Godsmack fan, or do you feel this book will appeal to everyone?
I think this is something that anyone can get into. You don’t have to like Godsmack or even rock music really, because it’s just my story. You know, though, if I can reach just one kid, or maybe there’s a single-mom out there who’s raising her kid and he’s a pain-in-the-ass and driving her nuts… there’s things in this book I think that anyone would recognize as something familiar and hopefully warm up to. I really hope that I can inspire people, especially young people, to understand that you don’t have to be a punk to be a man, you might be from the streets and have a tough life, but there’s ways out. Hence the title, because it’s all about the paths we choose.