SULLY'S LETTER

this is a letter sully posted to his fans back in august......

posted on 2-Aug-2002 7:01:19 PM
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Hey everyone!

It's me, Sully.
I have soooo much to talk about that i'm not sure where to begin, so let's start here.

Some of this letter will be good and some of this letter will be bad, but all of it is the truth and at least you will know after reading this that you heard it right from the horses mouth.

First off i would like to to say that i am truly sorry that i haven't posted in awhile. I know most of you are aware that we are really busy (more than ever now) and that we are writing the new record. But to be honest, the #1 reason i am not in touch with all of you directly or that i haven't chatted in awhile is because this ****ed up house that i have been building and struggling with for over a year now has taken alot of my time up and has created a lot of bad energy for me.
And if that's not enough, the location i picked doesn't even have any form of DSL or cable modem available yet, (little did i know) so even when i read the boards and want to jump in, i can't because the ****ing computer is so slow that i wouldn't be able to keep up with all of you speed demon maniacs.

should i keep going? OK! i also am a daddy now, as all of you know and it is really my biggest and most flattering responsibility i have.

Skylar Brooke Erna is growing up to be a beautiful little girl. She has stolen my heart forever and i would sacrifice anything for her.

But all of you are also my babies and i try not to neglect you either. but i have to say that i get real bummed out when i get these negative letters from time to time about why i'm such a bad guy now because i don't post that often anymore, or the Tommy issue seems to have affected a lot of you. (fair enough) So, let's address some of these concerns and by the end of this letter i can only hope that you support some of these decisions and continue to grow with us. But if you choose to leave the "tribe", i will respect that as well and wish you the best. But please respect us back, for we have put our heart and souls into this band and have shared our lives with all of you for the last five years straight (WITHOUT A BREAK) all for you! I hope you never forget that. And i would like to think that we have earned this time off to get away from the crazyness to re-adjust our heads so that we can continue to try and make the best music for all of you in the years to come.
So let's start with the biggest concern of them all... TOMMY!

This is how it is.... (and i am speaking to a much smaller portion of the fan base, most of you have been great about this and we can't thank you enough for your support and blessing on the change, but there are a few that go sideways on me every now and then) If any of you think for a second that we do not love Tommy or have decided not to work together because we are trying to sabotage his career or whatever other crazy thoughts you have voiced, YOU ARE DEAD WRONG!

We love Tommy as much as you do, if not more. But we have decided to move on and try something new. This wasn't all me. "This was a band decision".

All four of us sat at a table in a small italian resteraunt and did our best to discuss these matters and move on as painlessly as possible. And i will promise you that this was not a decision that was made over night or even in a week. This took months and months of thinking every little nook and crany through in order to come to an agreement. Don't you know that we are just as aware of the tragedy and betrayal that could occur when you replace an original member. We know that, and we have done our best to be as gentle as possible about it, but the fact of it is, is that things change and life goes on. Without change we all sure would be some uncreative people and this world would be pretty damn boring.

Yeah , i know that some of you know that me and Tommy butted heads alot and didn't get along from time to time, but we love each other still and that will never change. (or at least i hope not)
All of us have had our moments when we felt like punching the other guy in the face.
I'll tell you a quick story....
Me and Robbie use to fight so bad that there was a time when we got into it right on the stage in the middle of a show and stormed off screaming at each other an inch away from each others face. The funny part was Joe (our drummer at the time) and Tony kept playing not even realizing that me and Robbie had left the stage.

Tony was tearing up a guitar solo in "situation" and Joe was slamming along and before you knew it, the both of them looked around and seen me and Robbie off to the side of the stage fighting. So Tony just slowly took his guitar off and shrugged his shoulders at the crowd and quietly walked off the stage. (actually pretty funny now that i think about it)
I could go on forever and ever about who has fought in this band but i think you get it. And it really is not the reason that Tommy is no longer with us.

i promise you that it was a lot tougher for us to say goodbye face to face than it has been for you to try and understand why an original member had to go.Think about this.....
We have spent the last 5 years of our lives together, day and night, show after show. We've laughed together, we've cried together and it is very personal and emotionally draining for all of us. So please don't insult us by saying **** like, "oh, it's all about you Sully and, how could you guys be so cold to do that, (or) we made a ****ed up decision and i'm no longer a Godsmack fan."

If that's how you are going to treat this, then i say, "I'm sorry you feel that way and we're sad to see you leave." But i will not spend all my time trying and re-trying to explain, appoligize and justify why we have decided to move on. It just is... and we all have to move on. It's a part of growing up i guess, for all of us. Think about this.....

Being in a band is the exact same thing as being in a relationship or being married i should say. And what you're feeling is the same thing you would feel if you (for example) were to know a couple that has been with each other forever, and you are good friends with the both of them, but for some reason they decide to seperate one day and you get bummed out because you think they are so great together that you can't imagine why they can't work things out. (sound familiar yet)
At the same time, somewhere down the road, you see this person with a new lover or mate and you immediatley snarl and snicker at this person because you are just so use to seeing them with the person you felt they should have stayed with that you could care less about treating this new person like **** and not even wanting to get to know them.
That's not fair is it? Because you know that most of the time as time goes by and you start to know this person better and better, you actually like them and end up feeling ****ty for not giving them the benefit of the doubt. You immediatley didn't like them, but yet you never even gave them a chance to see if they would at least be good for that person or not.

So i guess what i am trying to say is, try not to be to hard on us or Shannon or feel to bad for Tommy. Everything is going to work out just fine. Tommy is a very strong person with good morals and a great heart and will go on to do great things. (probably sooner than you think)
We are extremely exited about the new cd and we are working very hard at trying to get it out to you by the first of the year.

Now for Mr. Shannon Larkin......

Let me tell you about this cat. Some things i have read on the board are true and others are not.
What isn't true is that, someone said that i have always wanted Shannon to be my drummer because i idolized him and as soon as he was available i would kick Tommy out and snatch him up. NOT TRUE!
But what is true is that, "i have known Shannon since 1988, and we have always been great friends, and i have idolized him in the past and still do in many ways, and i'll tell you why.
Not only is he an amazing drummer and an amazing showman on the stage, but he is just as great of a person as anyone one of you. He is one of the nicest, friendliest, good hearted persons that i have ever met. And when you get to meet him and know him, you're probably going to feel real ****ty about ever saying bad things about him. (like i said, this is not for all of you. most of you have been awsome about this, but there are some real cold hearted people that have said some ****ty thigs in letters to me.... i will not say any names because i want to let them hear all this and hopefully see things differently)

Tommy and the bands decision was an issue way before the thought of Shannon was ever mentioned. I had no idea he was even available. As far as i knew he was with "AMEN" and knowing Shannon he wasn't going anywhere while he was with them. He is unbelievably dedicated. He's even passed on taking "NIN" offers and countless national band offers while he has played with Amen. Once he dedicates himself to an act, he will go to the wall with you until it dies. Trust me. This guy will never let you down, and you are going to love him, i am confident about that. Just remember what i told you about the relationship thing. It really is true.

"It's just an adjustment period that we are all going through. And We are ALL GOING THROUGH IT">

Even Mr. Larkin. You don't think that he feels weird sometimes. Of course he knows he's under the microscope with all of you. And i'm sure ... No, let me correct that... I KNOW FOR A FACT that he gets hurt when he gets excited about hearing feedback and checks out the website to see what people are saying about his first show with us, just to find the mean things that people say. Oh well, he's a man and he can deal with that, and he's prepared to deal with it until he earns your respect. He will pay his dues in this band just as we all have and he welcomes it with open arms. (OH my GOD!! did i just quote a Creed Lyric? )
But my point is, open your eyes and your hearts to a new experience. It may surprise you and be better than ever. I think it will!
Hear the difference on the next cd. It is going to ****ing crush everything. It really is sounding amazing.

Of course there are going to be those die hard Tommy fans that may never come around to it, and there should be. He has earned those fans for life, but trust me, It will pass.

Now for you snipe!! (hee hee)

I get letters sometimes about me not commending you on a great job. Fair enough. I admitt that i haven't been around here much, but i will say to you. YOU ARE DOING AN AMAZING JOB> i mean that with all my heart. I know that it's not so easy dealing with my animals that i've created, but damn if you don't handle them well. You Rock Kiddo!! Thank you, thank you thank you!

Which reminds me about one more thing. KIM.....

Do i want to go into this? ummmmm.... Sure!
Do yourselves a favor. MOVE THE **** ON! these are things that again you get attatched to and want to aggravate everyone around you with and only end up aggravating yourselves.
Kim was cool, but geez.... is it really worth all the drama. CAN"T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG!!!! ARRRRRGGGG.

So i hope that this has helped somewhat to ease the tension and i hope that we can all start getting past this now and looking forward to new and better things. There's a lot to be excited about!!

So finally how about some positive stuff.

We are in Miami Fla. writing the rest of the album. We will start recording hopefully (crosses my fingers) by October 1st. which means that we should wrap it up by end of November and release this bad boy by feb. or March.
I know, i know. it's sounds far away still but we are trying. we took a lot of time to ourselves before we even started writing again because we were sooo burnt out from touring right through 9/11 and all that crap that it would have been dangerous for us to keep working. If we did that, there probably wouldn't have been a godsmack anymore. But the good news is that once we head out, we don't plan on stopping for a longtime again. We may even do 2 cd's back to back. not at the same time, but as one cycle ends we are going to try to release a 2nd cd right away. so that may keep us around for the next few years on tour steadily.

Well, that's it for now. i hope i didn't miss anything. And please be patient. i am really trying to stay in touch and i will do better from now on. It really is just the ****ing dial up modem **** that i can't stand. So i will at least post every so often and keep you updated and i will stick around for the next day or two to monitor replies. But i will not be able to respond until i have a better connection.

Oh yeah... one other thing. We are revamping the entire site soon. So be on the look out for major changes. I think that you are going to love this. We are working on tryng to get a web cam in the studio with us so you can hang out with us and watch the process as we go through it ourselves. Amongst other cool ideas that i don't want to give away. but trust me ... it's really cool ****. Again, just be pateint!

I sware to you all, i truly love all of you and we will never try to do anything purposely to hurt any of you. Just try to remember who i am and who this band is as individuals. It's me, Sully and Robbie and Tony and now Shannon.
We have never tried to be "Rockstars" or run away from autographs or pictures. (like some bands that are getting pretty big heads nowadays.)
And we have busted our ass to earn that reputation. We take a lot of pride in that and always will. But because of the lengths of touring that we do and the time that we spend doing meet and greets and tour bus promotions and everything else that we have dreamt about making happen for you, we are entitled to some space and privacy. Please respect that and know that we will again go the distance for you in the future. /or at least as long as this band remains a band.

Love you,
Sully
x x x