Brittany's Bleacher Conversation: Chris Jericho Is Both Wrestler and Rock Star

Chris Jericho (center) and the members of heavy metal band Fozzy.

Chris Jericho is more than just one of WWE's more popular wrestlers. You can also call him a TV host, author, actor, and rock star. Jericho is the lead singer of the heavy metal band Fozzy, and recently took some time out of the band's tour to talk with me about their new album ​Sin and Bones​, as well as what else he'd like to do with his already diverse career.
"I wanted to be a rock star and I wanted to be a wrestler. Those were my two dreams," he told me. "I've always been a musician. It's something I've done my whole life; I've been playing in bands since I was twelve years old."
Jericho has been with Fozzy since 1999, when he met lead guitarist/vocalist Rich Ward, and together the two have been the driving force behind the band ever since, racking up five studio albums and plenty of touring miles. Fozzy's latest album, ​Sin and Bones​, dropped on August 14.
Asked to describe the band for people who haven't yet heard them, Jericho said "We do songs a little bit different from the norm, but when we started doing Sin and Bones, we wanted to do what we feel is what we do best. We play very heavy music with very melodic, harmonic choruses. People now more than ever know exactly what it is we do."
That includes lead single "Sandpaper" which features M. Shadows, and "Dark Passenger", which is said to be inspired by the hit Showtime TV series ​Dexter​.
What Jericho and his bandmates - Ward, drummer Frank Fontsere, and guitarists Billy Grey and Paul di Leo - do is real music. Fozzy is not Jericho's vanity project or his gig on the side, but something which he takes very seriously, and takes pride in. He told me, "People that don't like our band are the ones that've never heard it."

Video for "Sandpaper", the first single from Fozzy's new album "Sin and Bones," available now. Courtesy of CenturyMedia.

How does he balance the demands of being a touring musician with those of being a professional wrestler, et al? "There's really no way to balance it. You just do one at a time," he explained, adding that his current focus is on the band; he left WWE just six days after the debut of ​Sin and Bones​ to tour in support of the album. "We're putting in the time. We've worked very hard to get to this position and we want to continue. There's always future projects, but [they'll] be based around Fozzy's schedule."
Having also written two books and appeared on Dancing with the Stars, what are some of the other things he'd like to do next? "Just going to more countries, playing as many places as we can," he said. Outside of music, "I'd like to do more acting. I loved hosting a game show [ABC's ​Downfall​]; I'd like to do that again."
"The cool thing about being in show business for 22 years and being in the public eye for that long is people know exactly who it is I am," he continued. "What you see is what you get. There's not really too [many] hidden secrets about me at this point."
With all the different roles he's taken on, Jericho said he sees himself as not a wrestler first or a musician first, but instead as "An entertainer. That's the best way to describe it. I've never been just a musician, or wrestler, or host, or radio DJ." With the success of both his band and his wrestling career, he's set to entertain for a long time to come.