STAIND's MIKE MUSHOK On AARON LEWIS's Political Views: 'People In The Audience Know Who He Is And What He Says'

In a new interview Jason Bailey of Audacy Check In podcast, STAIND guitarist Mike Mushok was asked if he has ever had discussions with his bandmate, STAIND frontman Aaron Lewis, about not being so vocal about his political views during STAIND shows. He responded: "There's not really a conversation [about that]. I mean, I do feel like — and even Aaron said, he goes, 'My country career is really where I deal with that. STAIND, not so much.' That's something that he's kind of said. So I mean, listen… People in the audience know who Aaron is and what he says. So sometimes that comes up — certain chants will happen during our shows from time to time. And, you know, whatever."

Last December, Mushok was asked by Loaded Radio podcast how he feels about Lewis publicly voicing his political views. He responded: "Listen, [Aaron is] a very opinionated person. He feels he needs to go out there and say what his opinion is. And listen, he's got the right to do that, right?"

At some of his recent solo concerts, Aaron has been playing a new song called "Let's Go Fishin'" whose lyrics find the 51-year-old — an outspoken conservative rocker who reinvented himself as a solo country artist in the last decade — singing about "making America great again", "turning off CNN" and using the "Let's Go, Brandon!" catchphrase, which was coined by American conservatives to criticize President Joe Biden.

In November 2021, Lewis claimed that he beat COVID-19 by taking ivermectin, a drug with no evidence of being a safe or effective treatment for the novel coronavirus. He said he also used Z-Pak, an antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections by inhibiting the growth of bacteria in the body.

Lewis made headlines in September 2021 when he urged his fans to chant "Fuck Joe Biden" during a STAIND concert in Pennsylvania.

In March 2022, Lewis told the Los Angeles Times that he doesn't blindly listen to information that is delivered by the mainstream media.

"I'm not uneducated; I'm actually really smart, and I look for myself. I seek other options of information," he said. "I refuse to believe that a huge, gigantic corporation has our best interest in mind."

Asked where he gets his news, Lewis said: "I have news feeds and people that I follow on Telegram. Dan Ball. Andrew Wilkow. Mark Levin. If I'm gonna watch any sort of news source on television, it's Tucker Carlson."

Pressed about whether Fox News is an exception to his mistrust of corporations, Aaron said: "I think that if Tucker didn't have the following he has, he'd be gone. He's pretty much anchoring the network at this point."

At some of his recent solo concerts, Lewis has been taking the stage while wearing a black hat with white mesh and white lettering on the front clearly stating "FUJOE," an expletive directed toward Biden.

During a March 2022 solo concert in Ohio, Lewis, who has frequently targeted Democratic politicians and touted his anti-COVID vaccination position, weighed in on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, urging his fans to "question everything" and loudly wondering if "we should listen to what Vladimir Putin is saying." Lewis also promoted discredited social media videos that purported to show actors pretending to be dead in the midst of the war and Ukrainian soldiers holding wooden guns.

Last September, Mushok told Atlantic City Weekly that both he and Lewis will continue to pursue other projects — Mushok with SAINT ASONIA, the band he co-founded in 2015 with former THREE DAYS GRACE singer Adam Gontier, and Lewis with his country solo career — alongside their long-running outfit.

"Confessions Of The Fallen" — STAIND's first new studio album since 2011 — will arrive in September via Alchemy Recordings/BMG.

The LP's first single, "Lowest In Me", arrived earlier this week.

STAIND has released seven albums since 1995, the latest being 2011's self-titled effort. The band has had a number of hit songs during its first two decades, including the Top 10 smash "It's Been Awhile" from the No. 1 album "Break The Cycle". Follow-up LPs "14 Shades Of Grey" and "Chapter V" also topped the Billboard chart.

STAIND and GODSMACK recently announced a 25-city co-headlining 2023 tour, produced by Live Nation. The trek kicks off on July 18 at Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in St. Louis, Missouri, with stops across the U.S. before wrapping up in Austin, Texas at Germania Insurance Amphitheatre on August 31.