Despite decades of success, it would appear that the majority of Godsmack‘s fanbase reside within North America. The multi-platinum had rock outfit have an extensive category of hits, but have seemingly been unable to spread that same level of stardom to the global markets.
Earlier this month, the band revealed that they had pulled the plug on what was to be their first-ever South American tour. In a refreshingly honest answer, the group admitted that the trek was pulled due to “lack of ticket sales.”
A recent interview conducted with the band’s drummer Shannon Larkin reveals that the group have also seemingly struggled to turn a profit in Europe as well. Speaking with Metal-Roos, Larkin was asked about the prospect of the band touring Australia any time soon. He commented:
“Not yet. And the honest truth is, can we afford to come? It sucks for us because we’re here. We’re big in America. We’re an American band. The radio loves us here. If it weren’t for them, we wouldn’t be a big band. And we didn’t really have the success worldwide that we have here.
We don’t run a bunch of tapes; we don’t do that shit. We’re a live band. But what we do like to do is people pay these exorbitant ticket prices and when they come to see us, we have a big show. And we blow shit up with pyro and we have video screens. And there might be lasers that night. We have moving drum risers — all this shit that’s part of us and it’s been us.
Then we go to England and play, or Australia and play, and we’ve got a rag behind us and a drum set. And it’s not a crutch — we still went and we do it — but we never had the growth to where we were big enough, say in Australia, to come there and present what we do, like us live, this badass show that we’ve always done and that’s as much a part of us as our instruments. We perform and we love to do it. And so we’re proud of it and we have a lot of pride there. And so sometimes it feels like they’re not getting what we are because we can’t afford to bring all that shit.
It’s just crazy, man, this business. We’ve got 20-some people on the road crew. It’s rooms and flights — it’s crazy how much it costs to tour the world, especially now after all this bullshit pandemic bullshit. Touring Europe, man, was just… You’re literally losing money. And we did it. We’d do it anyway. We’ve never — I’ll say this right here — we’ve never made money in Europe ever. Period. And we’ve been there 15 times or whatever. We keep going back because we have a cult following where we can draw a couple of thousand people in these rooms, and we love to play for ’em, but there’s never been a moment where we can say, ‘Here’s what we are.'”
Godsmack recently dropped their new album “Lighting Up The Sky“, which is expected to serve as their final new full-length outing. The group won’t be hanging it up however, and intend to transition into become a legacy band touring on their catalog and hits.
Look for the band out at the following shows across the coming months:
With I Prevail:
05/04 Denver, CO – KBPI at Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre
05/06 Phoenix, AZ – KUPD at Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre
05/07 Albuquerque, NM – Isleta Amphitheater
05/09 Rogers, AR – Walmart AMP
05/10 Bonner Springs, KS – Azura Amphitheater
05/12 Oklahoma City, OK – KATT at The Zoo Amphitheatre
05/13 The Woodlands, TX – The Buzz at The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
05/14 Dallas, TX – Dos Equis Pavilion
05/17 Birmingham, AL – Oak Mountain Amphitheatre
05/18 Atlanta, GA – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
05/20 Daytona Beach, FL – Welcome To Rockville (I Prevail plays 05/19)
05/21 Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion
05/23 Franklin, TN – Firstbank Amphitheater
05/25 Columbus, OH – Sonic Temple Art + Music Festival (I Prevail plays 05/26)
Godsmack:
05/26 Mount Pleasant, MI – Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort Outdoor Summer Concert Series
05/28 Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena
07/15 Cadott, WI – Rock Fest
09/01-03 Pryor, OK – Rocklahoma
[via Blabbermouth.net]
