Sisdels Groove/ Everlast

We really had no idea what to expect when meeting Erik "Everlast" Schrody for the first time. Everyone remembers him as part of the House of Pain crew who hit it big in the early 1990's with Irish hip hop anthems like "Jump Around" or maybe even as a hardcore actor from the movie Judgement Night with Emilio Estevez. Now Everlast is climbing his way back to the top again putting some new flavor in your ear. His latest release, which comes almost five years after his departure from House of Pain, is titled Whitey Ford Sings the Blues. Not just a clever name. He really does.

We went to talk to Everlast when he came through Columbia, South Carolina as part of his brief tour with 2 Skinnee J's. I have to admit, when we were thinking of questions for the interview we were intentionally trying to make them difficult for him. All we knew so far was this tough guy image and we wanted to see if we could stir up a little trouble as the Sisdels usually do...

...I don't know what we could have been thinking. Really. It would certainly take more than a few bitchy questions from the Sisdels to make this guy squirm. As we settled in for the interrogation at Harper's in 5 Points, somehow, even with the three of us seated in a booth across from him, I still felt a little overwhelmed by this big guy in front of us. He was ready for the questioning the minute he sat down and I think I knew at that moment we weren't going to get the satisfaction of making him uncomfortable with any of our so called difficult questions.

It started off with the standard, "How long did you struggle before making it big?" question just to make him think we were going to go easy on him. Erik says that there wasn't really any struggling at all. Back in 1988 he made a rap tape to show off to his friends. At the time he was a graffiti artist and when Ice T ended up hearing the tape, he quickly asked Erik to join his group of rappers. Everlast went on to release a solo debut in 1990 titled Forever Everlasting. Soon after he joined forces with Danny Boy and DJ Lethal to form House of Pain. After two crazy successful releases, Erik decided it was time to move on again. He tells us he needed to go away for a while to "shake a bad mood" that he had gotten from being around the industry. He describes the record business as "trickery" and says its all about a "circus sideshow act of making money". Whatever his reasons for leaving HOP, it took a lot of courage and vision on his part to walk away from the success surrounding him at the time.

The buzz all around is that at this point, after leaving HOP, Erik hit rock bottom financially. We ventured on to ask him what this meant exactly. "Rock bottom to me may not be the same for everyone else", he casually stated. That question didn't get the defensive response we were hoping for. He says that he still had a lot of material things that he had bought for himself... motorcycle, cars, jewelry...and he could have easily sold them if he needed. He did admit that he had to alter his spending habits pretty drastically. Not that any of this REALLY matters or has anything to do with his musical talent...it was just another of our evil plots that didn't end up the way we planned.

Listening to Whitey Ford, its almost like witnessing a whole new person who has matured and grown from all that he has experienced and witnessed. I asked where the sudden ability to look at things from other people's perspective came from since he seems so aware of what is going on around him. Erik's response was that most of the stuff he sings about is stuff that actually happened to him. He didn't have to look far for the inspiration to write it because he is drawing from his own life and those around him. Seeing him interact with people makes me believe that he really does a lot of observing. He always has an intense look in his eyes as he talks directly to you and then continues to look at you awaiting your reaction to his comments. He is a very straightforward person which is a little intimidating at first. His responses aren't calculated. Just honest. After talking to him a while, I began to feel less intimated when I realized his directness is just an extension of the fact that he is really secure with himself.

The one question we were hoping to nail him with was next. At this point, when we were beginning to appreciate his honesty and character (and also realized that he wasn't taking anything off of us!) I was hesitant to ask it. We wanted to know why women were objectified in some of his lyrics. He didn't even blink. Just said that some women want that and they put themselves in that position. He says that this "is the 90's and there are women running around out there with no brains in their head". Seeing as many shows and so many groupies makes us agree with the point he is making. We even saw quite a few girls in action do some mad hitting on Everlast and it didn't even get a second glance from him. He realizes he is in a position to take advantage of these situations and he doesn't. This in itself is enough to earn him the respect of the Sisdels. This was strike number 2047 on us for that evening and we don't even have room to mention them all here. We bow down to Everlast for not even trying to play with us because we were dead wrong for trying to bring him out anyway. The evil plot was set in motion before we knew anything about him.

I was curious about the song "The Letter" because it shows a really different side of Everlast that we don't usually see. I asked if it was for a real person and if he had gotten her back with the song. Erik says it was written for a long time on and off again girlfriend who was with him through a lot of the House of Pain experiences and his intention wasn't to get her back with the song. It is a really sweet tribute to the relationship and we think it is concrete evidence of a sensitive side to Everlast.

To add to the experiences of Everlast, he ended up having heart surgery almost immediately following the recording of Whitey Ford. I asked if he found out now he only had 24 hours to live what would he do. He responded that he would do the whole Flatliners thing. He would go around trying to right any wrongs he had committed and repair his karma. I don't think it would take him long. He doesn't seem to have many regrets about the way he is living.

Erik also went on to tell us of a possible upcoming project with Carlos Santana. He says that Wyclef Jean recommended him for it and in a subdued Everlast kind of way he seemed excited about it. He also stated that he really liked Wyclef even though they had only talked a few times. This probably means that Wyclef is a very cool guy...Erik seems to have a great bullshit meter that is pretty much dead on and he has this innate ability to read people very well.

Its really hard to describe Erik Schrody in just a few words. He doesn't come across as a really emotional person because most people are getting his blunt, matter of fact, we're going to do it my way attitude. However, listening to Whitey Ford and watching him perform makes you realize quickly that he does experience a lot of emotion which comes through in the music. He is telling the story of his life and his reality if anyone wants to stop and listen. It proves his versatility as a musician and artist to weave his story into a colorful and diverse album like this that features so many different styles of music. Erik. Everlast. Whitey Ford. A man with as many talents would need as many names. Maybe even more.

INTERESTING EVERLAST FACTS:

1. He really loves Outback Steakhouse.
2. He hates people smoking around him.
3. His name is now part of the Sisdels Groove
Dictionary of Fame:
everlast - verb meaning to intimidate someone else.
everlasted, everlasting
(Example - The Sisdels were very everlasting to
the door boys at the club so they let us in
really quickly.)
4. If he had to choose 3 CDS to listen to for the rest of his life they would be The White Album (The Beatles), Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd), and Step in the Arena (Gang Star).
5. Surprise....he really is a nice guy who in his words "doesn't go out of my way to be mean to people".

Make sure you catch Everlast out on the road with Sugar Ray beginning in February!!! Visit Tommy Boy Records on line for more dates and venues.




	Everlasting Everlast....by Queen P and NikiJ We really had no idea what to expect when meeting Erik "Everlast" Schrody for the first time. Everyone remembers him as part of the House of Pain crew who hit it big in the early 1990's with Irish hip hop anthems like "Jump Around" or maybe even as a hardcore actor from the movie Judgement Night with Emilio Estevez. Now Everlast is climbing his way back to the top again putting some new flavor in your ear. His latest release, which comes almost five years after his departure from House of Pain, is titled Whitey Ford Sings the Blues. Not just a clever name. He really does. We went to talk to Everlast when he came through Columbia, South Carolina as part of his brief tour with 2 Skinnee J's. I have to admit, when we were thinking of questions for the interview we were intentionally trying to make them difficult for him. All we knew so far was this tough guy image and we wanted to see if we could stir up a little trouble as the Sisdels usually do... ...I don't know what we could have been thinking. Really. It would certainly take more than a few bitchy questions from the Sisdels to make this guy squirm. As we settled in for the interrogation at Harper's in 5 Points, somehow, even with the three of us seated in a booth across from him, I still felt a little overwhelmed by this big guy in front of us. He was ready for the questioning the minute he sat down and I think I knew at that moment we weren't going to get the satisfaction of making him uncomfortable with any of our so called difficult questions. It started off with the standard, "How long did you struggle before making it big?" question just to make him think we were going to go easy on him. Erik says that there wasn't really any struggling at all. Back in 1988 he made a rap tape to show off to his friends. At the time he was a graffiti artist and when Ice T ended up hearing the tape, he quickly asked Erik to join his group of rappers. Everlast went on to release a solo debut in 1990 titled Forever Everlasting. Soon after he joined forces with Danny Boy and DJ Lethal to form House of Pain. After two crazy successful releases, Erik decided it was time to move on again. He tells us he needed to go away for a while to "shake a bad mood" that he had gotten from being around the industry. He describes the record business as "trickery" and says its all about a "circus sideshow act of making money". Whatever his reasons for leaving HOP, it took a lot of courage and vision on his part to walk away from the success surrounding him at the time. The buzz all around is that at this point, after leaving HOP, Erik hit rock bottom financially. We ventured on to ask him what this meant exactly. "Rock bottom to me may not be the same for everyone else", he casually stated. That question didn't get the defensive response we were hoping for. He says that he still had a lot of material things that he had bought for himself... motorcycle, cars, jewelry...and he could have easily sold them if he needed. He did admit that he had to alter his spending habits pretty drastically. Not that any of this REALLY matters or has anything to do with his musical talent...it was just another of our evil plots that didn't end up the way we planned. Listening to Whitey Ford, its almost like witnessing a whole new person who has matured and grown from all that he has experienced and witnessed. I asked where the sudden ability to look at things from other people's perspective came from since he seems so aware of what is going on around him. Erik's response was that most of the stuff he sings about is stuff that actually happened to him. He didn't have to look far for the inspiration to write it because he is drawing from his own life and those around him. Seeing him interact with people makes me believe that he really does a lot of observing. He always has an intense look in his eyes as he talks directly to you and then continues to look at you awaiting your reaction to his comments. He is a very straightforward person which is a little intimidating at first. His responses aren't calculated. Just honest. After talking to him a while, I began to feel less intimated when I realized his directness is just an extension of the fact that he is really secure with himself. The one question we were hoping to nail him with was next. At this point, when we were beginning to appreciate his honesty and character (and also realized that he wasn't taking anything off of us!) I was hesitant to ask it. We wanted to know why women were objectified in some of his lyrics. He didn't even blink. Just said that some women want that and they put themselves in that position. He says that this "is the 90's and there are women running around out there with no brains in their head". Seeing as many shows and so many groupies makes us agree with the point he is making. We even saw quite a few girls in action do some mad hitting on Everlast and it didn't even get a second glance from him. He realizes he is in a position to take advantage of these situations and he doesn't. This in itself is enough to earn him the respect of the Sisdels. This was strike number 2047 on us for that evening and we don't even have room to mention them all here. We bow down to Everlast for not even trying to play with us because we were dead wrong for trying to bring him out anyway. The evil plot was set in motion before we knew anything about him. I was curious about the song "The Letter" because it shows a really different side of Everlast that we don't usually see. I asked if it was for a real person and if he had gotten her back with the song. Erik says it was written for a long time on and off again girlfriend who was with him through a lot of the House of Pain experiences and his intention wasn't to get her back with the song. It is a really sweet tribute to the relationship and we think it is concrete evidence of a sensitive side to Everlast. To add to the experiences of Everlast, he ended up having heart surgery almost immediately following the recording of Whitey Ford. I asked if he found out now he only had 24 hours to live what would he do. He responded that he would do the whole Flatliners thing. He would go around trying to right any wrongs he had committed and repair his karma. I don't think it would take him long. He doesn't seem to have many regrets about the way he is living. Erik also went on to tell us of a possible upcoming project with Carlos Santana. He says that Wyclef Jean recommended him for it and in a subdued Everlast kind of way he seemed excited about it. He also stated that he really liked Wyclef even though they had only talked a few times. This probably means that Wyclef is a very cool guy...Erik seems to have a great bullshit meter that is pretty much dead on and he has this innate ability to read people very well. Its really hard to describe Erik Schrody in just a few words. He doesn't come across as a really emotional person because most people are getting his blunt, matter of fact, we're going to do it my way attitude. However, listening to Whitey Ford and watching him perform makes you realize quickly that he does experience a lot of emotion which comes through in the music. He is telling the story of his life and his reality if anyone wants to stop and listen. It proves his versatility as a musician and artist to weave his story into a colorful and diverse album like this that features so many different styles of music. Erik. Everlast. Whitey Ford. A man with as many talents would need as many names. Maybe even more. INTERESTING EVERLAST FACTS: 1. He really loves Outback Steakhouse. 2. He hates people smoking around him. 3. His name is now part of the Sisdels Groove Dictionary of Fame: everlast - verb meaning to intimidate someone else. everlasted, everlasting (Example - The Sisdels were very everlasting to the door boys at the club so they let us in really quickly.) 4. If he had to choose 3 CDS to listen to for the rest of his life they would be The White Album (The Beatles), Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd), and Step in the Arena (Gang Star). 5. Surprise....he really is a nice guy who in his words "doesn't go out of my way to be mean to people". Make sure you catch Everlast out on the road with Sugar Ray beginning in February!!! Visit Tommy Boy Records on line for more dates and venues.


You can get there from here.... Sisdels Groove - You know you want to come visit us again!