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— by Jon Wiederhorn
It's soundcheck and there's no audience in MTV's "TRL" studio, just three cameramen in P.O.D.'s faces. The band has 30 minutes to rehearse "Will You," and then it needs to make way for G-Unit.
For most artists, soundchecks aren't fun, and they're not meant to be. But for P.O.D., any opportunity to play is a party. Not only do they run through their latest single three times, the group launches into an impromptu jam session, starting with Santana-flavored guitars quivering over a rubbery bass groove and a jittery backbeat. Next comes the reggae-tinged "Execute the Sounds," followed by a celestial instrumental combining the improvisation and instrumental fluency of prog-rock and jazz.
"When we're jamming, we're having fun, and that energy comes across," singer Sonny Sandoval says. "Even if people don't know us, they hear the music and go, 'Dude, that's a good-vibes band right there.' "
Were it not for their optimism and good vibes, P.O.D. might be MIA right now. When original guitarist Marcos Curiel left under less than amicable circumstances in February (Curiel insisted he was fired, P.O.D. said he quit), Sandoval, drummer Wuv and bassist Traa were devastated and considered breaking up the band. But then they came to their senses. Though Curiel had been their homey for more than a decade, the remaining members realized they still wanted to make music together, and they had fans who wanted to hear it (see "P.O.D. Sound So Alive With New Guitarist, New Single").
Less than two weeks after the guitarist's departure, P.O.D. recruited Jason Truby and wrote "Sleeping Awake" for "The Matrix Reloaded" soundtrack.
"This is not really like a soap opera," Wuv insists. "This is not a sad tale for us. Rock and roll is fun, so we were never crying in a corner. We were just like, 'OK, let's take a deep breath. You want to play with another band. OK, that's cool. We'll just carry on without you.' "
To carry on, Wuv and Sandoval had only to put the situation into perspective. For some bands, losing a founding member is tragic, but the members of P.O.D. know real tragedy. "Dealing with the Marcos thing," Sandoval says, "is a cakewalk compared to what we've been through."
He and Wuv grew up in troubled households in one of the more impoverished areas of San Diego. Wuv's parents were 15 when he was born; Sandoval's weren't much older. Both families struggled with alcoholism and drug abuse, and Wuv's dad was even a dealer. "At the time you don't really think that it's horrifying because you don't know anything different," Sandoval explains. "You think that it's normal, you think that it's life."
The climb back up the ladder began when Wuv's dad discovered Christianity and introduced the precepts to the rest of his family. Gradually both parents were able to clean up and put their lives back together. It was then that Wuv embraced religion as well. "I watched them hit rock bottom," the drummer recalls, "and then I saw them climb back."
After Wuv's family turned to spirituality, the Sandovals followed suit. Sonny's mom started reading the Bible and encouraged her kids to seek salvation. At first Sonny wasn't interested. Then his mom was stricken with cancer and died. "I was sitting there watching her suffer," he remembers, "and I said, 'What's the purpose? Why does anything matter?'
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Photo: Appio/Atlantic/MTV News
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