From fan to front man

                                           Robby J Interview



I had the pleasure of getting to interview Stuck Mojo's new front man, Robby J Fonts. Enjoy

What kind of music did you grow up listening to?

"Growing up as a kid, I listened to a lot of my dad's music. He was into The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Ac/DC, Queen, Rush, Santana, Rick James, Pink Floyd and Elvis Presley to name a few.  When I got older and began discovering the music I liked, I prematurely started listening to punk and pop punk bands that were popular at the time like Rancid, blink 182, The Offspring, Sum 41, Green Day, The Ramones, Bad Religion, Billy Talent. But then I really started getting into metal, nu metal, hardcore, deathcore, death metal and old school hip hop. My favorite bands and artists became Slipknot, Stuck Mojo, System of a Down, The Black Dahlia Murder, As I lay Dying, Underoath, Hatebreed, Fozzy, DMX, Bone Thugs n Harmony, Big L, Rage against the Machine, Run-DMC, Eminem, 2Pac, Notorious BIG, Wu Tang Clan, Pantera, Whitechapel and Suicide Silence. I really grew up with just a diverse amount of styles and artists.

I basically started off with a base in classic hard rock, then took an interest in faster paced music,  and my tastes evolved into more aggressive and heavier sounds as a became a teenager, that's what I really got passionate about."

Ok, next question. Was there a band or musician that made you want to be in a band?

"Yes, seeing Corey Taylor being a maniac on stage, the humor and energu from Trevor Strnd from The Black Dahlia Murder and Mitch Lucker from Suicide Silence were my favorite frontmen at the time and they all made me want to become a frontman."

So is one of those guys your role model, or is it someone else?

"In terms of vocal influences and stage presence, yes all three of those guys have influenced me as a vocalist and a performer. But in terms of role models, I feel that you have to have a personal relationship with someone for them to be role models. So my role models growing up and to this day have been both my grandfathers and my mother. My paternal grandfather taught me to be kind, humble and generous. My maternal grandfather taught me how to work hard, know my worth, toughened me up and taught me to stand up for myself. While my mother basically taught me all my basic life skills, things like how to manage money, clean, cook and pushed me to be the best person I can possibly be."

That's nice to hear. Family in my opinion is probably the best when it comes to role modeling. Now you mentioned stuck mojo earlier. What does it mean to you to be their new frontman?

"It's a dream come true. I always believed that I'd end up being a part of a touring band in the music industry, I just never imagined I'd end up becoming the frontman for one of my favorite bands and especially a band that is regarded as a pioneer in a genre of music. Mojo being pioneers in rap metal. It's crazy. I had big shoes to fill replacing Bonz who's such an iconic frontman because of the legacy he helped create with Stuck Mojo, and working on a follow-up album to Lord Nelson's work, so it's a ton of pressure, but very rewarding. We recently played the 70000 Tons of Metal Cruise and we had Michael Amott of Arch Enemy & Chuck Billy of Testament come up to Rich and Frank before our sets on the cruise and watched us play. It's surreal playing in a band with guys you grew up listening to, and then having these other incredible artists you also grew up listening to and they come out to see you play. Stuck Mojo may not be the most well known band on the planet, but the band has earned a ton of respect over the years from their peers and that means a lot to now be a part of such a group. I still feel like I haven't earned that respect for myself yet and I still have a long road ahead of me to get there and although it's challenging being in my spot, it motivates me further to be the best frontman I can possibly be and I push myself everytime whether in the studio or on stage to live up to the Stuck Mojo name. It's an incredible honor and it means the world to me to be able to be here. I'm very blessed and grateful for it all."

I just want to say, i think you are perfect for Stuck Mojo and I think you are going to do well. Staying on the topic, what is is like working with Rich Ward?

"Thanks! I appreciate hearing that. Rich Ward is an incredible musician and an all around great man. He's very passionate in what he does. For some people, his passion might make it difficult for them to work with him, but I flourish with it. For the writing of "Here Come The Infidels", he had most of the instrumentals written by the time I came into the picture. I asked him what he wants each song's theme to be about and he'd give me a basis for them then I'd come up with my lyrics and we'd trade ideas back and forth with each other. It was a great and productive experience working with Rich. If there was anything he didn't like, he'd let me know right away and he never sugar coats anything. He gets straight to the point so that he gets the best results out of people. And Rich constantly wants to better himself which is very admirable for someone who's been in the business for so long. I always figured most dudes who are still doing this at his age don't care as much about the music or themselves and kind of just put out anything they feel like or let themselves go, but Rich's attitude is that the next record he releases will be better than his last and he takes good care of his health. He's always eating healthy and does whatever he can to stay fit. If you've ever seen The Duke live, you don't need me to tell you that he moves better than most people my age! Hell, I even had a hard time keeping up with him at our first gigs. But seeing him give it 110% no matter what he's doing is definitely inspiring. He makes everybody in the band step up thanks to his attitude. It goes without saying that Rich has been a huge influence on me musically and as a person. He's been showing me the ropes of the industry ever since I joined the band and I'm always learning from him every time we're working together. Couldn't ask for a better band mate and songwriting partner than The Duke of Metal himself."

That's awesome to hear. Ok, final question. Do you have any goals music wise? So like, is their a tour you want to headline? Or maybe a band you would like to tour with?

"In terms of music industry goals, since Rich and Frank have Fozzy, I wouldn't mind working on a brand new project outside of Stuck Mojo. I just love writing and recording new music so I'd love to start working on more material and put more albums out with Stuck Mojo or any other project I end up becoming a part of. I love playing festivals, it's always a great time, so any festival we can get on, I'll take it! One festival that I especially would love to play would be "Heavy Montreal". Playing that festival in my hometown would be yet another dream come true for me. So hopefully one day! Ahh there's so many great bands out there. We have such a unique style of music that we don't really fit in anywhere, yet because of it, we can tour with pretty much any heavy band out there and the tour package would work. But if I had to pick one tour package that I think would be dope, it would be a Hatebreed/Stuck Mojo tour. I'd love to hit the road with those guys and fans would definitely have to come wearing a helmet and full body armor to those shows. I think it would be pretty cool to see us both. Who knows what'll happen! Just looking forward to us getting our feet back on the ground and getting the band back to touring regularly again."

Big thanks to Robby J for taking the time to do this interview. Check him out on twitter @robbyJFonts. For future updates on my blog, follow me on twitter @MJWesney.