It Got Spicy Talking With Shinedown Drummer Barry Kerch

When a bottle of hot sauce says "Attention Attention - This Is Hot!!!" you should listen to that warning.

I-Rock 93.5 had the chance to talk with Shinedown drummer Barry Kerch who you know from Shinedown, but can also know from his line of Shinedown hot sauces.  We talked music, but also talked about his passion for hot sauce and eventually...I gave it a try.

You can watch and listen to the full interview below.

Barry Staying Busy With Shinedown

Barry isn't giving up the drums to make hot sauce full-time.  But I did ask if he was the guy that the rest of the band looked at when it was time to cook on the road.

"Zach is a Barbeque chef.  He grew up in Memphis and they are known for their BBQ.  So he and I will get together a couple of times on a tour.  We used to cook a lot on tour when we were the opening band.  We'd get done with the show and still have the rest of the night."

Barry added it was more than cooking, it was backstage fun with a game called "Pick your pepper".  "I'd grill peppers and it was a way to find out who was either really wasted or was an idiot because they would just go in and grab one and you'd never know what you're going to get."

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Barry has been with Shinedown since it started in 2001.  And over those 23 years Barry has only missed 3 live shows.  And yes, one of them was here in the Quad Cities.

It was MVF 2021 when Shinedown would play but Barry wouldn't make the trip.  He was isolated in his hotel room after testing positive for COVID.  Dustin Steinke from Sixx A.M. would fill in and while Barry was very glad the show could go on, he was not happy about missing out.

"I have never been more heartbroken to miss shows.  I don't miss shows.  I've had an IV in my arm sick as a dog.  I ripped that IV out.  Played the show.  Got off stage.  And put the IV back in."

Hopefully, Shinedown will be back in the Quad Cities soon and this time Barry will be with them.

The Taste of Madness

There they are.  The three sauces you can get on the Shinedown website.

All of them have some kick.  It just depends on how you can handle your spice.  The Symptom and Devour ones have plenty of flavor.  Chipotle Garlic and Pineapple Jerk are everything you'd expect with those names.  Very tasty and Barry gave some great ways to use them in the below interview.

The One That Got Me

Don't be filled by the "Mango".  That does not make it a sweet sauce.  That stuff is spicey.  Tasty...but hold onto your butt cause it's got some kick.  Well, at least for this Midwest mouth.  You might like to take it up a notch in which case you'll be all over this one.

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You can watch the full interview below including the part where Barry talked me into trying the "Attention Attention".

On the go, download and listen to the full podcast below and all of the interviews we have on our I-Rock with Rock Stars.

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