It takes a lot of guts to tackle a classic song. You catch a lot of crap if you put your own spin on it because people bitch about it being too different. Then, if it’s exactly like the original, then people bitch that there’s nothing original about it. You’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t. Well, the Miami based heavy/hard rock band GEARS love a good challenge. If you’ve followed the band at all over its five years of existence, then you know they’ve been challenged more than once. From personnel changes to a horrific touring van accident, the guys have risen like the phoenix from ashes more than once. This time, they chose to tackle Living Colour’s iconic classic “Cult of Personality.” 

We’ve never heard a cover of the song by another band, so when we heard about it, this cover definitely got our attention. Then, we read that Living Colour frontman Corey Glover was going to appear on the track as well. What? Seriously? The lead singer from Living Colour was appearing on the new, modernized version of “Cult of Personality?” Well, we had to hear this and it was the best of both worlds. It didn’t stray too far from the original and GEARS certainly added their own updated flavor to it. Add Corey Glover’s vocals to it, as well as his stamp of approval, and you have a bad-ass cover.

We’ve been fans and supporters of GEARS for several years now. We’ve shown them love from their first EP Set in Motion in 2014 to their 2015 EP Pride Comes Before the Fall to their 2019 single “Tango Yankee” with featured Lajon Witherspoon from Sevendust. We recently sat down with drummer Jimmy Wooten and talked about covering the classic track, upcoming music from the band and why the world needs more DDT. After about an hour and a half of talking about wrestling, we finally managed get focused on the matter at hand and talked about all things GEARS.

“Cult of Personality” is one of those songs that you just don’t touch. Was it at all intimidating tackling it?

Jimmy Wooten/GEARS: That was one of the appealing things about it, but it was also very scary. When you take a song that’s as iconic as that one, it really is, it’s going to be 100% impossible to make everybody happy. There will be people who are fans of the band or of the music that are going to love it and that’s kind of been the response so far. I’m going to say it’s been 90% positive and 10% negative. We premiered it on Revolver and the negative part comes from the comments there and on social media which is always interesting to say the least. Those come regardless of who premieres it. This song was more for us because Trip and I have always wanted to do it. When we put the band together in 2014, we were sitting there in the room and talking about doing cover songs. We’ve actually played the Deftones “Bored” since the very first show that the band’s ever done. 

So, why now and how?

We had a couple of days off on the All That Remains tour last year and we had two options. We could go to a bar and spend $500 collectively on whiskeys and beers or we could try to be productive. I started hitting up buddies with studios trying to see where we could get in on such short notice and we were striking out. Through my cousin, I found Dave who had done records with Octane and Fosterchild which was Brian Quinn from Candlebox. I always remember him being super nice to me and super easy to work with, so I hit him up and he said yeah. We did some drum tracks and then some guitar stuff. We had just brought in a new guitarist and it wasn’t quite time to start writing because we didn’t know just yet if he was going to work out. So we decided to give it a try. I wasn’t sure if this track would ever see the light of day because we’re talking about monster players. Will Calhoun, monster drummer, Vernon Reid monster guitar player, Corey monster vocalist and Muzz Skillings, monster bass player. If our track sucked then I wanted to know that it sucked, but it didn’t. It was a cool compromise, middle of the road kind of thing where it remained true to the original but we didn’t change it so much where it lost its integrity and message of the song. Yes, it was very intimidating but to have original dude that wrote the song 30 years ago say it was good enough for him to put his vocals on it really put it in perspective for us. It made us think that maybe we had something cool here.

How did you approach him about the song?

He was playing in Cincinnati and I drove up to see him. I had known his manager Smitty for years and I had met Corey several times, but we weren’t anything like super tight. I told Smitty to check the track it out and that I wasn’t sure if I wanted for Corey to hear it. I trusted Smitty and he listened to it. He liked it and said that I should let Corey hear it. It didn’t even have vocals on it, but I didn’t want to work anymore on it until I had Corey’s blessing. A couple of drinks later and liquid courage came in and I asked Corey to check it out. He did and he said that it was really good. Then I asked him if he would want to sing on it and he said absolutely. We sat up a time later and he came in and did vocals. I feel like that was a really big thing for us to have the confidence to actually put it out. I didn’t want to put it out if he didn’t like it.

What was he like in the studio?

Corey was so easy to work with. Here was Grammy Award winning vocalist Corey Glover sitting there singing his song and then asking us what else did we want him to do. I mean, it wasn’t like he came in and took over the session telling us what he was going to sing and what we were going to sing. There was a Revolver comment saying ‘nothing says passion like reading the lyrics off a sheet.’ He was doing that because it was so spontaneous, so Trip had the lines crossed off that Corey was singing. 

Oh those witty Revolver comments!

I know, right? So, Corey was very enthusiastic and into it. He had just done some crazy traveling for The David Bowie Experience that he was doing. He probably could have just felt like going home and resting that day, but instead he flew straight to us to go into the studio. You probably know that the guy is always busy. He’s got Disciples of Verity, Living Colour, his solo band and more. The guy doesn’t have a surplus of time on his hands. Corey’s been so influential on Trip. Corey has such an amazing voice and he’s such an infectious performer. You have some guys who are really good performers live, but the vocals aren’t necessarily perfect or you get guys who can nail every note but are boring to watch. Corey is the best of both worlds and it doesn’t matter who he’s with. He has this charisma and presence and then the voice. On top of all of that, he’s probably one of the coolest guys that I’ve ever worked with and hung out with. I kept waiting to find a flaw with the guy because I honestly couldn’t see one.

I saw Living Colour recently and was blown away by how great Corey sounded. I saw them on the Livid tour and I think he sounds better now than back then.

Not necessarily so; I think back then there was a rawness to them. I think he told me they were in their 20s when they recorded that. I know in my 20s, I was just learning which way was up. Now, 30 years in the industry and being active, I think there’s a maturity to his voice. I really don’t know how to explain it because he’s an enigma to me. We were in the studio tracking and I closed eyes and suddenly I was seven or eight years old watching that video. For me, it was also an introduction to history. Who’s this guy talking? Oh, it’s Malcolm X. Could an eight year old comprehend who that was? Could an eight year old comprehend who JFK was? I heard those names when I was eight and then I was studying them in middle school history. Dude, then you go through the lyrical content. That song just encapsulated so much of life.

Do you think having Corey benefited you? Do you think helped to open some doors for you that may not have opened without him?

I wouldn’t call it a benefit but more of a treat for us because it was cool. It’s not like we said ‘let’s go take this hit song, re-record with the original singer and get our own hit record.’ We never really look at things like what can we get out of them. Corey’s just a cool fucking dude who happens to be immensely talented and he wrote a song that we love. The fact that we had him sing on it was cool for us. I don’t know if there was a huge benefit, but I would assume because it’s a bit more interesting and it gives it validity. 

Yet the trolls keep coming out.

Oh yeah, one guy said it didn’t hold a candle to the original. Well, guess what buddy? We never intended for it to be. We’re an independent band and we can put out whatever we want to and we get to do the songs that we want to do. It’s the only advantage to being an independent band and everything else is constantly an uphill battle. We put it out and if you want to love it, that’s cool. If you want to criticize it, then that’s fine because you’re not going to hurt my feelings. Of course, we want people to like the things that we put out. We don’t go ‘hey we need a radio hit’ and we go and write some sterile shit that sounds like everything else on the radio. Then, the people who have been following us for the last five years that we’ve been a band are going to know that we’re just trying to get a radio hit. Dude, that’s just not us! There are so many tight rope walks and fine lines to keep someone from hating it, but it’s music man. If you hate it, then tell two people and I guarantee you that one of them might actually like it. I mean, they won’t tell you that they like it, but they do.

I always say that those same guys would want a selfie or autograph if they were face to face with you. Well, maybe not ten out of ten, but maybe seven or eight.

I don’t know, maybe. I kind of think along the same lines as you. There’s that anonymity and the lack of confrontation by getting behind a keyboard and looking at a screen. My thing is if I don’t like a band, I don’t like a band. If I don’t like a band’s song, I don’t like the song, but I’m not going to go on social media and trash them. If I ever met them in person, if they’re douchebags then they’re going to be douchebags. If they’re cool, then they’re going to be cool. I don’t have to like their music to like them.

The internet’s definitely given people like that the sense of empowerment that you mentioned, but it also has its pluses. Dude, it’s crazy how it makes the world a smaller place. Our magazine has a great fan base in the UK and I’m not sure how we established that.

It’s great for a fan of the band in an area that we don’t get to very often to connect with the band and send us a message telling us how much they like us. I don’t know about you, I know you’re a big wrestling guy, but could you imagine being 13 or 14 and being able to send a Facebook message or a PM to Jake the Snake Roberts or The Ultimate Warrior or for me it would be like Tommy Lee. My head would have exploded to get a response from any them. You’re right about it making the world a smaller place, for better or for worse. With social media, it’s kind of like when the caveman discovered fire. You light a fire and then put it out with water. Let’s not cook our food with it, let’s just play with it. 

Let’s switch from social media to new music from GEARS. What can you tell me?

We’re back in the studio working on new stuff with Corey Lowery. Actually, we’ve got a bunch of new stuff. We don’t really have any kind of release schedule, but we do have a bunch of new songs and we have a bunch more that are almost done. With so many bands’ first record, it’s songs that they’ve been working on for years and years and constantly changing them Then it comes time to record a real record. Then, it comes time to do a second record. That first batch of songs had years behind them and so much detail and so many versions go through. You go to do the second record and you have a month or two or maybe six to make it. With GEARS, it was a little bit different. From the first day with Corey to the final mixes, I think it was like 11 days. So, we moved really quickly with everything. We barely knew each other and I think as a band it was the first time that we were all in a room together. I’m very proud of Set in Motion, but you don’t really know who you are as a band until you go through that process. You record a couple of things, go out on the road together and pick what your strengths and weaknesses are. Then, you kind of look in the mirror at who you are. With that being said, this new batch of songs is still GEARS. It still has that heaviness to it, but it’s definitely going in a different direction which I’m excited about. Corey Lowery, who I’ve been working with for years and been friends with even longer, gets the best product out of us. I’m confident that when we come out of there with a batch of songs that those are the best that he could get out of us. I’m always very proud of the stuff that we do together.

He’s definitely a hard working dude and I’ve never heard a bad thing about him. He’s also crossed paths with so many artists that I have interviewed. There are so many artists who have either worked with him or played with him. He’s like the new Kevin in Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.

That’s awesome man! I’m going to tell him you said that!

I know I speak for a lot of people who cannot wait to hear that new music. Remember how we couldn’t wait for release day Tuesday?

You and I couldn’t wait for an album to come out by our favorite band. We’d be right down there at the door of Tower Records before it opened on Tuesday morning. That part of technology has pulled away the mystique and nostalgia of music. This generation doesn’t truly get that. The worst that they have to do is stay up until midnight to get that download or stream it. It’s not the same thing to me but to them it’s exactly the same.

They don’t even have cool album covers or liner notes anymore. Dude, I studied those liner notes better than I studied for exams.

Oh my god; same here man! I’ve had friends and bandmates who would say ‘dude, the useless knowledge regarding music that you have stored in your brain about music’ is ridiculous.’ We’d get into arguments about when a band changed their bass player. They would be like ‘that bass player was awesome on that record’ and I’d be like ‘that bass player didn’t play on that record and this guy is the one who actually did. Plus, this is the guy who toured with him after it.’ We got our shit from Circus Magazine and liner notes. MTV news; remember that shit? I had a chemistry teacher in high school that grew up in the 60s and 70s that was always doing music trivia. One time, we got into a huge argument about who wrote the song “San Francisco.”  He said I will give anyone so many extra points to anyone who knows. I said Scott McKenzie and he argued with me that it wasn’t. I went home and got my Forrest Gump soundtrack and I brought it into school and I showed him. He said that he never had a student who knew that. See, all of that stuff in my head got me ten extra points on my quiz which I really needed because I was not good at ionic and covalent bonds and all of that shit.

That’s awesome man! Well,I guess we need to wrap this up so we’ll do a new segment that I have. I wish I had one of those cheesy echo machines because this is called Inside Jimmy’s Head, head, head, head head………

What was your favorite cartoon?

Ninja Turtles dude! I was pre-teen at the time and it was on at 4:30 every day. It was just cool that they brought a comic book to life and it was the first time that I had ever seen that. The animation was the cool, the characters were and Shredder was too.

If you could choose anyone to be your inner voice, who would it be?

James Earl Jones and Samuel Jackson would be pretty cool. It would be a toss-up between Jackson and Christopher Walken. I curse a lot so if you could take Jackson’s words and put them in Walken’s voice. That would be fucking amazing!

What was the first album that you bought with your own money?

It was David Bowie Aladdin Sane on tape followed shortly after, or maybe even in the same shopping trip, was Metallica’s Black Album on tape. I inherited some tapes and one of my favorite albums of all time and probably the last Metallica album that I really liked was And Justice For All. It’s sacrilegious for me being that I’m a rhythm section player. That shit on there is turned down so far, but that’s another conversation. I didn’t know what to think when I bought the Black Record because I didn’t think it had the aggression that And Justice had. They were great songs none the less. “Forever I May Roam” is probably one of my fucking favorite songs of all time. I bought the Bowie record because I saw him in Labyrinth. I went to the store and looked at all the tapes that were lined up there and it had the coolest cover. That’s still one of my favorite records though.

Have you ever had stitches?

Oh yeah, broken bones and all that. I broke a hand and the bone was actually sticking through the skin. They had to push it back in, put some pins on it and stitch it up. I have this really gnarly scar on my foot from high school football. I broke the second, third and fifth metatarsus. They had to put a pin in there and then a cast.

Does that affect the way you play?

No, I had a really great doctor, but there have been other injuries over the years that do. When GEARS was in that car wreck in 2014 after the second date of our tour I tore my labrum and that hurts when the weather’s bad.

If music was over today and you went into wrestling, what would your name be?

Did Tom put you up to this? You know he’s a big wrestling fan, right?

I did, but he didn’t get me to. I ask this from time to time because it’s a fun one.

I liked Jake the Snake Roberts when I was younger and I’m deathly afraid of snakes. It would be great to connect with him and be Jimmy the Python or Cobra and be his son. We could do that whole story line because we need more DDT in wrestling, that’s for sure. There was no more devastating finisher than the DDT. 

Well, as they say in Hollywood, that’s a wrap. I appreciate your time and it seems as if I took up a damn ton of it.

Dude, it’s always great to talk to you. I think one of my very first interviews was with you. Well, it’s never really an interview as it’s more like catching up. Dude, we really appreciate the support that you’ve given GEARS over the last few years. We’ll definitely keep you posted on the new music.

Interview by I’m Music Magazine Owner/Editor Johnny Price