Five months after its April release, Fozzy’s “I Know Evil” is still moving up rock radio. The video arrived in July, giving the single another moment in the spotlight, but Chris Jericho knows a song doesn’t keep growing on its own. In a conversation with Skratch N’ Sniff, he explained the work behind its climb into the top 15.
“People listening might go, ‘Oh, that’s cool.’ But to get there is a five-month process, with months more to go to even get to the top ten,” Jericho said. “There’s a real long cycle where you have to pay attention to everything and do the interviews with wonderful people such as yourself for iHeartRadio, after just doing El Paso and Corpus Christi and Baltimore, because all those stations are supporting Fozzy.”
Jericho has watched rock radio change the band’s reach since “Judas” broke through. “I never realized how important rock radio still is until we got played on rock radio,” he said. Now, with another single gaining ground, he takes every chance to put Fozzy in front of listeners.
“A lot of musicians don’t want to do that. I don’t have a problem with it, because if I don’t promote our band’s material and our band, who else will?” he said. “It’s all part of the process and an important part of being in a successful rock and roll band.”
When the conversation turned to the politics and legwork behind a radio hit, Jericho got specific about what that commitment looks like on tour:
“You’ve got to play the game. When we’re on tour, I go to the stations at six in the morning or seven in the morning to talk to the local morning-show guys. You’ve got to do it. They say all the time it’s amazing how many people don’t come in before the show or don’t get up early. It’s like, dude, this is what I do. What else am I going to do? Sit on the tour bus all day? Sit in a dressing room all day? Let’s go to 107.5 The Banana in Flint, Michigan, and spend 30 minutes on the radio. Why not? Maybe more people will come to the show, or if it’s sold out, maybe more people will listen to the song or know about the band.”
That persistence is part of Fozzy’s approach to releasing singles. Jericho described “I Know Evil” as a series of plates the band has kept spinning since April: the song, the video, the top 20, and now the push beyond the top 15. It takes a plan, but it also takes a singer willing to show up and talk about the music. For Jericho, even a 7 a.m. radio visit could be how somebody hears Fozzy for the first time.
Watch The Full interview with Chris Jericho from Fozzy:
