Turkey with Tommy Stewart of Fuel
What were you doing this Thanksgiving? Having dinner over at Mom's house? Or maybe you got to go outside and toss the pigskin around with the family at halftime of one of the football games on television. I'll tell you what Fuel did – they were on the road performing for their fans. While most people were at the bar or getting acquainted with family members on Wednesday night, the guys had a show in snowy Cedar Rapids, Iowa. On Thanksgiving Day, they were in Louisville, Kentucky. The day after Thanksgiving, when most of us are partaking in the madness known as Black Friday, or still sitting around and just being lazy from all that turkey we ate, Fuel was in frigid Maplewood, Minnesota for another show.
Waiting for his food, guitarist and songwriter Carl Bell and I are inside The Rock talking about how warm it currently is in Las Vegas. I then head outside to the bus where bassist Ronny Paige opens the door for me. I think he was secretly hoping I was Carl with the food. After joking around with Ronny for a bit, drummer Tommy Stewart appears from the back of the bus. Just as Tommy and I sit down, the bus door opens and Carl has arrived with some sandwiches and fries for himself and Ronny. Tommy's already ate, so we decide to go to the lounge in the back of the bus.
As we begin to unwind in the lounge, we are still talking about food. So naturally, we talked about the band's Thanksgiving dinner.
Tommy: The promoter from the club in Louisville made us dinner. There were three turkeys. There was stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes…the whole deal. So that was really nice.
Asif: What's it like to be on the road during the holidays?
Tommy: Oh, I've done it so many times
Asif:
Is it just another day for you?
Tommy: Yeah. It's only a big deal if you're on the road around Christmas time, but usually you're off then. But Thanksgiving I've definitely been on the road before. At that point, unless you're going to be with your family and the people you care about – not that I don't care about the people I'm playing with…
Asif: (laughs)
Tommy: (laughs) Outside of that, it's just another day.
Asif: Did you have any family come into Louisville at all?
Tommy: No. I don't have anybody around there.
After eating Thanksgiving dinners, most people start to talk about how they need to work off all the calories they consumed. Being a certified trainer, I was curious to know Tommy's tips for staying healthy – and fit – while he's on the road.
Tommy: (jokingly) Don’t eat anything on the bus! That's the first tip!
Asif: (laughs)
Tommy: We try to get stuff that's fairly healthy but it's hard. There are a lot of people on here – there are nine people on here – so not everybody likes to eat that way. People like their guilty pleasures.
Asif: Like the French fries and fried food we saw?
Tommy: (smiles) Yeah! Sometimes it's not like you have your own kitchen and you can make what you want. To get fresh vegetables is rare – which is something I love and something you need. I guess the biggest thing is – like, today I went to the gym. You just try to combat the crap that you're putting into your body somehow or someway by getting out and getting some exercise. Like yesterday, we didn't go on until midnight. We sat around all day. It was miserably cold outside and we were in the middle of nowhere. I'm not the type to put on a parka and just go running for no reason – I figure I do enough of that when I'm on stage. It's tough – but you just got to do what you can to combat the crap you put into your body. Unfortunately, that's part of the biggest thing [putting crap into your body] out here [being out on the road].
Asif: I remember Toryn telling me this past summer that, to try to stay healthy on the road, he would do pushups, sit-ups, and find a track to run on if he could. But you actually got the time to hit the gym on the road?
Tommy: Oh yeah! A typical day - you roll in and you'll be here [city of that night's show] when you wake up. Then I try to go [to the gym] around 1:00 for like an hour, then I'll come back. We'll have sound check around 3 or 4 o'clock. There is a lot of down time, it's just not in one huge block. You got some time here, you got something to do here, some time here, and the time is just sprinkled out throughout the day. You got time, you just got to take advantage of it because it doesn't happen all the time.
Tommy then talked a bit more about touring with Fuel. Recognizing there were differences and similarities to his days playing with Pantera and Godsmack, he said it's all still music. About playing drums in Fuel, he said, "I have fun. These are great people to work with and it's a very comfortable situation. It's an easy situation to work in, which is pleasant."
With college football season almost done and the bowl season right around the corner, I had to bring up a topic that I knew was going to be a little rough for Tommy to talk about. His Michigan Wolverines.
Asif: I hate to go there…but…Appalachian State.
Tommy: (he shrugs, exhales, and looks down) Oh yeah.
Asif: Then Ohio State.
Tommy: Oregon after that! Then Wisconsin…
Asif: Right! Then it was Ohio State. Now Lloyd Carr is gone.
Tommy: There is a documentary on HBO Sports that's called "The Rivalry: Ohio State vs. Michigan". It just came on. And if you watch that it kinda sets the tone and lets people know what it's all about. That is thee biggest game. You can win all the other games and go to bowl games, but if you can't beat the other team, it's not good.
Asif: I know what you're talking about. Living here in Minny, I know what the Big Ten and that rivalry is all about.
Tommy: Oh, okay! What, Lloyd Carr was 1-5 vs. [Ohio State football coach Jim] Tressel, right?
Asif: Yup!
Tommy: And the last few years they've had four wins here, four losses here and three losses there…
Asif: Not the best Bowl record as of late either.
Tommy: Yeah. And the A.D. [Athletic Director] said last year he wasn't going to fire him after that performance last year. So the right thing to do was just to say, "I gotta go" and resign. So, we'll see what happens!
I've had a few people tell me that they think Tommy resembles Daniel Craig, the newest James Bond and star of Casino Royale. Turns out Tommy is a movie buff and even likes the James Bond movies, though he has yet to see Casino Royale. When I asked him if he had ever been told that he looks like Daniel Craig before, his answer was, "Nope! I've never heard that one." I wonder if he'll start to hear that now?
Knowing that the drum tracks for "Wasted Time" were laid down by him, I asked Tommy rubbing elbows with another Tommy. Tommy Lee.
Tommy: I came in after the album was recorded, so I didn't work with him in the studio, but I've toured with Tommy Lee. As Carl says, he's always on stun. He's like a big kid. He's endearing, really humble, really nutty kind of guy. He's definitely put himself in some situations where it's been stress for him, but under the surface he's just this great drummer, this great guy, and just likes to have fun. He's just so into everything, he'll do everything- he doesn't even care- which is great. He was one of my favorite drummers growing up. It took me a month and a half on Ozzfest to tell him that. (smiles) I didn't know if I should tell him that, you know? I didn't want to geek out. When "Shout at the Devil" came out (shakes his head in amazement) – just the way he plays man…
Asif: I've been to a couple [Motley] Crue shows, and then seen Tommy another time, and no matter when it was, I just found my eyes kinda pushing themselves past everyone else on stage, zoning out, and just watching him.
Tommy: That's the same thing that happened to me when I was younger. I just focused right in on him. I really liked the way he had these long, lanky arms and it looked great when he played. I always enjoyed that – a very physical looking player. And I definitely modeled myself after him since I was a kid. So yeah man, I've taken a lot from him. Most of it is just the aggressive nature of how it looks – just to see a drummer play that way. I really like to see that and he was definitely one of the firsts that really touched me.
Being that Tommy has been on the road for years with different bands, I thought for sure he would have some crazy stories from the road. Whether they were PG-13, or Rated-R, I just wanted to hear one of them!
Tommy: F*ck! I can never remember those! There are always good ones too! (laughs)
Asif: (laughs) Are they all the same?
Tommy: No, they aren't all the same! There are just so many days that go by and you just tend to filter out stuff that maybe you want to forget.
Asif: What's the best recent one…
Tommy: (sits in silence, then puts his hands up in the air) I don't even know.
Asif: (laughs)
Tommy: (laughs) It's so hard because I don't even know where I was two days ago! Tell you what. I'll think about it and think about it more. Give me your number, and then I'll call you!
Asif: (laughs)
Tommy: (laughs) Because I know it's going to come to me. And I know there is some good sh*t! I just can't recall it right now.
Asif: Well, this one isn't Rated-R, or even PG-13, I just personally kinda find it hilarious. My personal Tommy Stewart story.
Tommy: Okay.
Asif: At RockFest this past summer, I'm on the bus sitting down with Carl and Toryn. You came on the bus and just stared at me, and you looked over at Toryn and asked them," Who is our guest and why does he not have a beer in his hand?
Tommy: (laughs) I remember that!
Asif: (laughs) That's not even the funny part though! You went and got me a beer, and you had one yourself and you were having a hard time getting the cap off. You saw that I was already drinking my beer, so you asked me to take off the cap to yours because you were having troubles with it. So I opened it for you, and then you cheers me and proceed to tell me how I was God and how I had just done the best thing for you that day!
Tommy: (laughs) I remember that! It wasn't a
twist-off though I don't think. It was a pop-top and I didn't have an
opener.
Asif: I don't even remember anymore how I opened it…
Tommy: All I know is that you opened it. So as far as I was concerned, you had the gateway…
Asif: (laughs) And I remember saying to myself, "All I did was open his bottle!"
Tommy: But hey, without that though, I'm just gonna sit around and stare at it like a caveman. (he changes his voice) Uhhh, guess I can't do anything with that!
Asif: (laughs)
Tommy: (laughs, then still in voice) I can hit somebody over the head with it, but that's all I can do with it.
After we shared a couple more stories, Tommy and I walked back up to the front of the bus where Carl and Ronny were still finishing up their dinner. Carl looks up to me and says "Hey Asif, how was he? He didn't say anything that I'm going to have to beat him up for, did he?" As everyone laughed, I told Carl, "Everyone kinda just got to have a little turkey with Tommy… and show the world what Thanksgiving was like in the world of Fuel."
By: The Asif
Photos: Jim Hendershot
www.myspace.com/fuel
PHOTOS: Courtesy of
Tommy Stewart and Fuel
