8 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Stone Sour's Josh Rand

Stone Sour’s long-serving guitarist Josh Rand is one of metal’s good guys. But it turns out that things weren’t always that way…

“I can barely remember the show, but I know it had a profound effect on me and definitely contributed to me wanting to make music. It was on the Dynasty Tour [in 1979], and I still love the band today. I can throw on a record and it’s just fun.”

“I was diagnosed with Burkitt’s Lymphoma in 1982, and I went through four years of chemotherapy once a week, which was from the age of eight to the age of 12. I’ve been in remission since then, but I believe that that started to lay the groundwork for who I am today and the way I look at the world.”

“I was hanging around with the wrong crowd and got in a tonne of trouble. I had nine charges brought against me. The judge gave me an ultimatum, and I was put under house arrest for a year-and-a-half. It was during that house arrest that I took my guitar playing to the next level.”

“I was 15 when I started playing bass, and I switched [to guitar] for several reasons, but mainly because of Paul Gilbert of Racer X, whose playing had a massive impact on me. I still write on bass sometimes, but I don’t practice.”

“In 1997 I tried out for the arena football team the Iowa Barnstormers. I love football, and I tried out for the safety position, which is the last line of defence. I don’t think I got close to being picked because I’m too small, but even though I didn’t make the team I chased a dream and it was totally worth it.”

“I’ve worked on and off at a sign company since I was 15 years old. The parents of one of my closest friends ran it, and now he does. Guys that can work on neon and install the signs and billboards are a dying breed. I have idle hands and like to work during Stone Sour’s off time.”

“We’ve known each other since 1990 and we did several bands before Stone Sour, but the main one was Project X. He sang and I did guitar, bass and drum programming. Monte Conner at Roadrunner Records heard it and said, ‘There’s some cool stuff on here but it can’t just be the two of you.’ That grew into Stone Sour.”

“I try not to think about that stuff because it can make you extremely bitter. There’s already enough negative energy in the world, and I try not to look to the past. I’m always looking forward. I actually have a tendency to look too far forward and miss out on the now, which I’m currently working on.”

Stone Sour's new live album Hello, You Bastards: Live In Reno is out now via Cooking Vinyl.

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