SALIVA reunited with its authentic singer Josey Scott for a one-off look on September 11 at this yr’s Blue Ridge Rock Pageant on the Virginia Worldwide Raceway in Alton, Virginia. Scott carried out three songs with the group on the occasion, which additionally noticed SALIVA play with its singer of the previous decade, Bobby Amaru.
Blue Ridge marked Scott‘s first look with SALIVA since he left the band on the finish of 2011 after a 15 year-run with the group, reportedly to pursue a solo Christian music profession. He was rapidly changed by Amaru, who could be heard on SALIVA‘s final 4 releases: “In It To Win It” (2013),“Rise Up” (2014),“Love, Lies & Remedy” (2016) and “10 Lives” (2018).
In a brand new interview with the “Thunder Underground” podcast, Josey acknowledged about his onstage reunion together with his former bandmates: “I used to be curiously nervous about assembly Bobby. I had by no means met Bobby earlier than. I knew his dad. His dad is an expensive, expensive pal of mine who was there for me when my son died, and I am going to always remember that. So I already love Bobby‘s dad.
“It was good to lastly get to fulfill Bobby,” he continued. “He is an actual good child. And it is good to see him persevering with to hold the flag and the legacy for the followers of SALIVA and whatnot. I used to be proud to get to fulfill him.”
Requested if it felt like no time had handed since his final efficiency with SALIVA, Josey mentioned: “My pal requested me that final night time. He mentioned, ‘What was it like whenever you walked on the market? Was it such as you’d by no means left?’ And I’ve to say it sort of felt that method.
“It is bizarre how one can spend a decade simply being a husband and being a father,” he continued. “I used to be a drug counselor at a few totally different rehabs and dealing an everyday job being a counselor — simply being an everyday man. I imply, I might get acknowledged right here and there generally, however not having to cope with the conventional issues that you just cope with being on the street and being within the band. As they are saying, when the lights go down and the curtain closes, it is a totally different world. However being away from all that, it was like flipping on the lightswitch, simply ‘pow’ — there I used to be once more on stage in entrance of hundreds of those that knew each phrase of each music that I sang. It was simply surreal. It was simply actually surreal. However I beloved each second of it. I am grateful and grateful for each second of it.
“I by no means understood, after I was a child, how some individuals would get massive and well-known or be well-liked due to the attractive music they’d written after which curse their fame or curse the truth that they needed to cope with what they need to cope with from followers or from being acknowledged or no matter,” Scott added. “I simply by no means understood that, as a result of I relished in each second of it.”
Josey beforehand talked about his reunion with SALIVA in an interview final month with Andy Corridor of the Des Moines, Iowa radio station Lazer 103.3. On the time, he mentioned about performing together with his former bandmates once more: “[It was] simply whole magic time. Attending to play the Blue Ridge music competition there in Virginia and attending to see all these followers stacked up on what they name ‘Hell Hill’ was simply wonderful. It regarded like an infinite quantity of individuals to the left and proper after which way back to you might see. My cousin truly had a good looking {photograph} enhanced for me. The bass participant Brad [Stewart] was truly behind me and took a good looking image from behind, the place I used to be singing, and my cousin had that image blown up for me and framed and despatched to me. And it was only a stunning encapsulation of an exquisite second, an exquisite return to the stage. And it was similar to flipping the sunshine on. I went and lived an everyday life for some time and labored an everyday job and beloved each second of getting again to that normality, as a result of I wanted that in my life at the moment, after which going again to this man that I play on stage has simply been wonderful; it is simply been wonderful.”
Talking in additional element about what it was prefer to carry out in entrance of a giant crowd once more, Josey mentioned: “It has familiarity of using a bicycle, nevertheless it’s extra akin to flying a fighter jet. When you stand up there and you actually get again within the cockpit of the place you was once, and with my thoughts not being so clouded with substances, and that, coupled with being within the health club a lot and figuring out actually aggressively for an hour and a half in order that after I do stand up on stage and I do go loopy for that hour or hour and a half, it is not such a tough influence on my physique and I am not worn out. That is one factor that was actually treasured and I used to be actually grateful for that, is I obtained up there and I obtained three or 4 songs deep at totally different occasions and I wasn’t winded; I wasn’t wore out. I used to be, like, ‘I’ve nonetheless obtained some fuel pedal left.'”
Earlier final month, Scott instructed The Bay Ragni Present that he had no laborious emotions about the truth that his former bandmates selected to proceed with one other vocalist after his departure. “I used to be truly grateful for the choice, for them to exchange me and to search out somebody to hold on for the followers and to maintain that music on the market and to maintain that music going,” he mentioned. “I am very grateful and grateful for Bobby Amaru who’s completed, I believe, a very nice job of taking that seat.
“I attempt to put myself within the different particular person’s footwear and have a look at it from their perspective and at all times have a look at it by the eyes of affection, man,” Josey continued.
“Someone instructed me one thing one time. They mentioned, ‘Man, we’re simply all strolling one another house in the long term.’ And I simply maintain on to traces like that. And I attempt to hold issues in perspective and have a look at issues by the eyes of affection — at all times, at all times, at all times. And I slip and I’ve a mood and I’ve undoubtedly proven my ass a few occasions, however for the lion’s share of issues, I strive to have a look at issues by the eyes of affection and I attempt to put myself in one other man’s footwear or a girl’s footwear and suppose issues by like that. And I could not be extra grateful and extra grateful for the way issues turned out, as a result of I consider every thing occurs for a cause.”
Scott additionally talked about the truth that he was presupposed to be launching a profession in Christian music after his exit from SALIVA. “I believe I used to be up for something as a result of I used to be going into uncharted waters,” he mentioned. “And on the time, our administration wished to launch some sort of assertion. They had been pressuring me and us for some kind of assertion, as a result of these individuals need to have a cause. You’ll be able to’t simply do it since you wanna go be a father and get sober and clear up your life and end up mentally and spiritually and philosophically and all that — it may’t be that cause; it is gotta be another tangible cause. So I used to be simply, like, ‘Okay, man, I’d go do that.’ And I thought of doing a rustic report. I thought of doing a blues report, being from Memphis.
“I do maintain tightly to my religion — do not get me mistaken,” he clarified. “However I truly took a gathering with one of many presidents of one of many Christian labels, and he instructed me, he mentioned, ‘Josey, I am gonna be sincere with you. You are not prepared to return over right here.’ He mentioned, ‘There’s simply as many snakes and vipers and sharks over right here as there’s over there.’ And I used to be, like, ‘Wow.’ However I appreciated his honesty. And I am not talking for each group or person who does Christian music — I do not consider that they are all hypocrites; I am not saying that in any respect; please do not get it twisted — however I consider that he was making an attempt to present me a warning, undoubtedly. If I believed I used to be gonna go from the frying pan to the ice field, I wasn’t; I used to be gonna go from the frying pan to the hearth. So I used to be glad that he was sincere with me and instructed me that. As a result of I wasn’t prepared; that was the reality.”
In October 2019, Scott introduced that he was returning to SALIVA, explaining on the time that he wished to get collectively together with his former bandmates and “write a badass report.” Lower than a yr and a half later, in March 2021, SALIVA guitarist Wayne Swinny poured chilly water on these plans, saying that the reunion with the singer “by no means actually obtained off the bottom.”
Amaru mentioned Scott‘s failed reunion with SALIVA throughout an interview with The Bay Ragni Present. Requested if he feels any “strain” realizing that there are nonetheless ongoing discussions a couple of attainable reunion with Scott, Amaru mentioned: “I am in these discussions as nicely, and there is nothing shady occurring; it is nothing that I do not learn about. It was my concept to truly say, ‘Hey, you guys ought to do a 20-year-reunion deal.’ I used to be an advocate for that. Wayne Swinny will let you know that. I used to be the one which was, like, ‘I believe you guys ought to.’ And I believe loads of issues simply did not pan out final yr with… They could not get on the identical web page, after which Josey misplaced his son. It was simply not yr for something like that.”
Bobby additionally addressed BLABBERMOUTH.NET‘s earlier protection of SALIVA‘s reunion talks with Scott, saying: “Blabbermouth and all that stuff, that is clickbait, man, and that is stuff that… It is drama. There’s an excessive amount of drama on this planet as is. If individuals wanna be fucking centered on who the fucking singer of SALIVA is — who fucking cares? No matter. You already know what I imply? There’s far more shit occurring, man. And usually the individuals which are on there are most likely writing, ‘Ah, I fucking hate it’ or ‘Who cares anyway?’ They’re most likely… I do not know what they’re doing with their life — fucking working at Subway or no matter. It is all good.
“I do know that what we have now, this band, we have now a enterprise; this is sort of a enterprise; that is our enterprise,” he continued. “And it is also a enjoyable enterprise. And, dude, we’re all pleased doing this. We’re not making an attempt to enter drama into it or no matter. And I am not saying that that is what would occur, however we’re simply not trying to change what we have now occurring.”
When Swinny spoke to WRIF about SALIVA‘s failed reunion with Scott, he mentioned that regardless that there have been some preliminary discussions about Josey‘s return to the group, there was no follow-up to make sure that the plan was executed.
“When you wanna do one thing, do it,” Wayne mentioned. “However you’ll be able to’t simply discuss it and have it magically occur. There’s work, there’s planning, there’s stuff that goes into it, and none of that stuff was completed early sufficient to tug it off.
“Yeah, there was some fan response, saying, ‘Wow, yeah, that is perhaps cool.’ Nevertheless it did not get sufficient steam to take off,” he defined. “All of the preliminary stuff sort of obtained arrange, and it simply did not jell.
“It simply did not make sense to cease what we [the current lineup of SALIVA] had been doing and do this, since you’ve obtained momentum, we have a groove going, the band’s tight stay. I did not really feel like we should always give that up or give {that a} relaxation.”
Final December, Josey took to his Twitter to write down: “I need 2 apologize 2 my followers as a result of I believed I used to be gonna reunite w/sure individuals & make u new music, & that fell by, however, I consider every thing occurs for a cause. There aren’t any coincidences. A blessing in disguise. Now it is simply u, & me, how intimate is that?”
SALIVA launched six albums with Scott and tasted platinum success and a Grammy nomination for its first massive hit, “Your Illness”.
In Could 2021, SALIVA celebrated the twentieth anniversary of its breakthrough main label debut, “Each Six Seconds”, with a particular mission known as “Each Twenty Years”, an EP of basic songs re-recorded with Amaru.
