FOZZY's RICH WARD Doesn't Take His Success For Granted: 'I've Never Gotten Numb To It Yet'

In a new interview with Australia's Silver Tiger Media, FOZZY guitarist Rich Ward said that one factor in the mindset of success is the willingness to work hard and to do whatever it takes to create success and not simply relying on your "talent."

"Any band is lucky to have a career where you can wake up every day and you're a professional at doing this," he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

"I'm a young kid who's… neither one of my parents played music. It wasn't encouraged for me. It was just something I kind of found. And I'm so passionate about it. I've met all my heroes. It's really a special thing. And I've never gotten numb to it yet. And I haven't gotten to the point where it seems like it was supposed to happen. I don't take it for granted. There's so many talented musicians that I know that have never made it.

"The one thing that I will say that I did that a lot of other people didn't do, and that was when it got really hard and there's no money… It's like going to the summit of Mount Everest," continued Rich, who was a member of the pioneering rap-metal band STUCK MOJO in the 1990s. "A lot of people just turn back. It's uncomfortable and it's hard. I did have the benefit of growing up in a very kind of lower middle class environment, because I was just… Being a young musician, it's just poverty — it's, like, you're struggling. But it didn't seem that out of place for me. I didn't grow up with expensive things. When I grew up, we didn't have air conditioning at our house. And I lived in a hot environment with fans; we opened the windows. And it was an easier transition for me than other people, because being uncomfortable sucks. And there was a period of time where I was… I didn't know it at the time but later it was told to me that I was homeless. I just thought that I was just a struggling musician. [Laughs] I didn't realize that if you didn't really have an address… It's what all my heroes did. I just read stories and you read magazines about Slash and Axl [Rose] and Ozzy [Osbourne] and all other people, and that's just what we did.

"One of my favorite quotes is from that movie 'The Untouchables', and Sean Connery says, 'What are you prepared to do?' I just love that," Ward added. "It's, like, 'What are you prepared to do?' And I was just prepared to do anything. I have a moral code; it's not like I was willing to do things that I found ethically repulsive, but I was willing to sacrifice and I was willing to do things that other people just weren't willing to do."

FOZZY kicked off its U.K. tour on November 4 in Manchester. It marked the band's first live appearance since FOZZY postponed the remaining dates of its summer/fall 2022 "Save The World" tour due to a throat injury suffered by the band's lead singer, wrestling superstar Chris Jericho. According to FOZZY, Jericho sustained a bruised larynx in August at the AEW "Quake By The Lake" event in Minnesota where he squared off against Jon Moxley for the interim AEW world championship.

FOZZY is continuing to tour in support of its eighth full-length studio album, "Boombox", which came out in May. The follow-up to 2017's "Judas" features FOZZY's anthemic single "I Still Burn", their newest Top 20 hit at Mainstream Rock radio. The official music video for "I Still Burn" recently eclipsed one million views. The 12-track collection, produced by Johnny Andrews, also features the Top 10 singles "Nowhere To Run" and "Sane".

This past January, FOZZY parted ways with longtime drummer Frank Fontsere and replaced him with Grant Brooks (THROUGH FIRE).

Fontsere was a founding member of FOZZY, having formed the group in 1999 with Jericho and Ward.

When FOZZY announced Fontsere's departure, the band said that he was "stepping down to focus on his family and other projects."

FOZZY is Chris Jericho (vocals),Rich Ward (guitars, vocals),Grant Brooks (drums),Billy Grey (guitars) and P.J. Farley (bass).