Shinedown headlined Rockfest yesterday (May 12) at Liberty Memorial Park in Kansas City, Mo. The one day monster rock bash is one of the largest in the country. Before their set Shinedown took some time to discuss the band’s evolution, the passing of the legendary Levon Helm and what the rest of the year has in store for the band.

As the headliner of the event, lead vocalist Brent Smith was asked if he was surprised at the level of success his band has achieved over their ten years in existence. Smith responded, “I think that ultimately we’re known for being a fearless band, not only for what we do musically but when we’re writing for records and putting things together on an artistic level – our live performances speak for themselves.”

He continued to talk about the band’s growth, explaining, “We’re always trying to outdo what we’ve already done. We’re really not desensitized, we are always trying to grow every single day, day in and day out, not only as people but as musicians.” He also was very thankful to the band’s diehard fans, saying, “We’re very humbled to be here, very blessed, and probably a lot of people have said that today. I think what Eric just said, you can’t look out there [into the crowd] and not become completely overwhelmed with emotion because we as a band only have one boss and it’s every single person in the audience so we’re very proud and honored to be here today.”

Shinedown was also asked about the passing of the legendary drummer and singer Levon Helm from The Band and how it impacted them. Guitarist Zach Myers was quick to respond, saying, “That’s a bad day, I actually have it written on the back of my guitar ‘God Bless Levon Helm’.” He continued, “That was one of my biggest musical influences growing up, and I know for Barry [Kerch] too. That drummer, singer thing, the most amazing voice, just hearing him talk, he had the coolest talking voice. He was a good ole boy from Arkansas. He was just such a musical influence on me that it was a big deal.”

As for what the future holds for Shinedown, the band has a few more festival dates on tap before they head overseas. According to Smith, “We’re going to  be finishing out May 20. We just did Carolina Rebellion and headlined that, we have a couple more that we’re doing before May 20. After that, we’re going to Europe and then taking a bit of time off and then we’ll be back out June 27 through Aug. 4 then there’s this other thing at the end of the year that we’re going to be rehearsing for.”

Hmmm, what could they be rehearsing for? Sounds exciting! It was recently revealed that Shinedown would be participating in the 2012 Uproar Festival alongside Godsmack, Staind and Papa Roach, but dates have not yet been confirmed. Stay tuned!

Watch the Full Shinedown Interview

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