Photo by: Adrienne Beacco
From dazzling mic skills and high-quality gear to legendary feuds and annoying smarks, Songs From The Squared Circle explores the similarities between the kindred subcultures of music and pro wrestling…
It’s no understatement to say that Chris Jericho is one of the most influential wrestlers of the modern era. He’s constantly evolving and changing the game. Even to this day, when other wrestlers his age are starting to think about retiring—if they haven’t already—49-year-old Jericho is elevating AEW to new heights as the youngest-ever AEW World Champion. Given his boisterous persona in the ring, it is no surprise that Jericho’s other love is rock ‘n’ roll, which is, as this column suggests, a kindred spirit to the art of professional wrestling.
From his work in the world’s biggest wrestling promotions (including WCW, WWE, NJPW, and AEW), to his career as the frontman of the popular alternative rock band Fozzy, Jericho has been able to weave between the worlds of wrestling and music seamlessly because the gift he has transcends all forms of performance art. Jericho is more than a wrestler, and he’s more than a rock star: he’s a showman.
Interview with Chris Jericho, by John Silva
A couple years ago you started the Rock ‘n Wrestling Rager, which is coming back for a second time next year. As the name implies, it combines rock music and wrestling. Why do you think that wrestling and rock and roll go so well together?
There’s a lot of similarities. They’re both high energetic, high-impact types of performances that are pretty much contingent on what kind of reaction you get from the crowd. I think there’s a similarity because of the energy that’s involved in both. And I think the fanbase is very similar too, very loyal. Wrestling fans and music fans, they’re very passionate about what they love, and I think there’s a lot of crossover because of that as well.
Between your career in pro wrestling and your career in Fozzy, you’ve spent a lot of time in both green rooms and locker rooms. What are some of the similarities or differences between the culture of pro wrestlers and the culture of rock stars or musicians?
There’s a lot of camaraderie, obviously. A lot of downtime as well. I find it’s much more of a family atmosphere on the road with Fozzy ‘cause [we] travel together—we’re on a bus together. So, you’re spending a lot of time [together] in the buildup to the show. Whereas wrestling is a lot more … guys kinda scatter and find their own way to the venue. But you still get that locker room camaraderie, and a lot of people miss that when they leave the business: sitting around with your peers, shooting the breeze, talkin’ shit and bustin’ balls, just havin’ fun. That’s something that you pretty much have to do because you spend a lot of time sitting around waiting for the show to start. So, the spirit and the fellowship is definitely the same.
Photo by: David Allen
Are there any bands or artists who have influenced you as a pro wrestler?
Not really; they’re two separate things for me. I think when I first started, I kind of wanted to be the ultimate rock ‘n’ roll frontman in the world of wrestling. So, I was always like, ‘What would Paul Stanley be like if he was a wrestler?’ Or Freddy Mercury, Mick Jagger, those types of guys that could really connect with the audience. So, there’s a lot of influence with that. But that’s not so much a wrestling thing or rock ‘n’ roll thing; that’s more just being a showman. Knowing how to control a crowd and knowing how to connect with the audience. If you can do that, you’ll always have a gig ‘cause that’s the most important thing: to be able to connect with the crowd. When you do that, people will always be willing to pay to see your show. Wrestling, music, comedy, whatever it may be.
So, it’s more something that applies to performance art in general?
Yeah! When you are performing live, no matter what the outlet is, you have to establish a relationship with the audience. Which is very easy to do once you learn how to do it, but learning how to do it takes some time because there’s a real art form to it that can’t be explained until you’ve actually been up there and lived it and experienced it. And once you know, then you know, and it’s easy to do. But, like I said, it takes years of practice and trial and error to get there.
Something you’re known for is the ways you’ve reinvented yourself throughout your career. There’s a lot of bands that have done that, The Beatles, for example. Are you inspired by bands that have reinvented themselves?
Of course! I think it’s the most important thing to having longevity. You mentioned The Beatles … I think to me, it’s more David Bowie. That’s probably the best example of an artist who spanned 50 years and never really did the same thing twice. It wasn’t always great, some not as good as others, but it all made sense, and it all kept fans guessing, as Bowie followers, ‘cause you never knew what you were gonna get with him. That’s a pretty good reason why people kind of lived vicariously through him, ‘cause he kept them guessing about what he was gonna do, and it was never boring.
Do you feel a similar rush performing onstage as performing in the ring?
Yeah, it’s a live experience. So, anytime you have that direct energy from the audience, it’s going to influence your gig, no matter what it is. When you’re doing something live, you could have the best show in the world, but if the crowd isn’t really enjoying it, then how good was it? And you could have the worst show in the world, and make mistakes and screw up, and if the crowd is going crazy, what does it really matter? At the end of the day, the crowd enjoys it, and they’re experiencing it and feeling they got their money’s worth, and that’s the bottom line; that’s why we do this.
Tell me about the new single “Father Christmas.” Why did you decide to cover The Kinks?
Well, it’s a great song. I think 70s Kinks is quite underrated. There’s a whole batch of great tunes from them at that time frame. When I thought about doing a song for Christmas, it’s like every year, if you do a good one, you’re guaranteed air play. Because there’s a whole batch of Christmas songs that you only hear in December. So, when you hear them in December, you know next year [you’re] gonna hear it again. So, I thought for me to do a Christmas tune—which I always wanted to do anyways, and it’s kind of a modern version of “Father Christmas,” which there hasn’t been in a long time, if ever—I just thought it was a cool little thing that I wanted to do for myself. And combine that with the fact that now there’s a niche audience that will listen to it every Christmas. It pretty much ensures that the song has legs for many years to come.
Is it a one-off project, or can we expect more from Chris Jericho and the Christmas Helves?
It has been getting a lot of good buzz. Obviously, closer to Christmas, you’ll see more air play for it and more interest in it. It’s already done good, so I would definitely consider doing another song for next Christmas. I just don’t know which one. There’s not a lot of great, original Christmas songs. You could always go the tried-and-true route of covering a Christmas carol, but I like the originals better. There’s a few options, but it’s one of those things where I’ll have to put a little bit of time into it and feel what I want to do because “Father Christmas” is such a great tune … it’s a lot of fun,; it’s very punky, but it’s very metal, great lyrics, it’s got a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor, too, which is right up my alley. So, once again, it’s hard to find a song that matches that. But, come March, April, May, if I decide that I wanna do another one, maybe I will. Maybe it will be an annual Christmas tradition from Chris Jericho and the Christmas Helves!
The proceeds are going to juvenile diabetes research. Can you tell me a bit about why you decided to donate the proceeds to charity and why you chose this cause in particular?
Type I diabetes, [or] juvenile diabetes, means a lot to my family. Very close family members suffer from it. I don’t know if we’re gonna make a million dollars off of a Christmas song that’s a cover, but whatever proceeds there are, we’ll donate it to a good cause, and in turn hopefully we’ll get people to check out the song and actually buy it. I guess it would create a little more awareness for the song, knowing that it’s for a good cause, and knowing that we’re all doing this for the right reason, which is to have a little bit of Christmas fun and then put some money into the pockets of people that really need it.
Follow Chris Jericho on Twitter and Instagram
