It's strange to think that four big, tough-looking rap-rockers from a San Diego ghetto would have the feel-good hit of the season. But P.O.D.'s "Alive" is just that — an empowering anthem with the ability to inspire after a single listen.
But P.O.D.'s positive vibes didn't begin with the first single off their latest LP, Satellite, and they won't likely end there. The band has been a testament to positive persistence since forming in 1992. P.O.D. released four independent albums before finally breaking through with their major-label debut, 1999's The Fundamental Elements of Southtown. Singer Sonny Sandoval, bassist Traa Daniels, guitarist Marcos Curiel and drummer Noah "Wuv" Bernardo cultivated their fanbase through street-level promotion and touring the country in vehicles that usually had one axle in the junkyard.
The hard work paid off, and now the group cruises around in a luxury tour bus just like other platinum rockers. Joe D'Angelo spoke with Bernardo, Daniels and Sandoval about how maintaining a positive front while staying laid-back helped them create their most accomplished album to date.
MTV: With reggae and Latin flourishes, Satellite is much more varied than your last album. What led you to explore new elements?
Noah "Wuv" Bernardo: This is the album that we had to make. We had a lot more time to sit and write, as opposed to being rushed when we first got signed. We took some time off with our families, and we started writing in early February through March. Then we hit the studio. This time we rounded off the edges and hit the rough spots a little more.
Traa Daniels: A lot of people don't know it, but we used to do jazz-Latin sets in coffee shops. We've always experimented with a lot of different styles. This time we were able to actually bring it into the album.
Sonny Sandoval: We just play what we feel. It's not like, "Hey, we need to be this tempo. We need to be this loud, this heavy, this soft." If it feels good to us, [that's what we do].
MTV: Did you feel pressure in the studio trying to follow up a platinum album?
Sandoval: We don't put that pressure on ourselves. We write what's fun to us. When we got in the studio, our producer and our label were like, "What do you mean they don't have lyrics done? What do you mean all the songs aren't finished? What do you mean they don't have 50 songs to choose from?" We're like, "Dude, just sit back. This is how we write. This is how we do it." [All laugh.]
Bernardo: We didn't know our first album on a major label was going to do well. We just stuck to the same plan: having fun, getting in the studio, making the noises we thought were dope, putting some rhythm down to them, then just dropping the lyrics.
Daniels: On the last album, if you think about it, we were able to achieve platinum without really having a hit. It wasn't a top-40 hit, it was word of mouth. We didn't have a whole lot of radio [play]. For us, it wasn't like we were coming off two smash-hit singles. We were coming off a lot of hard work to get us to platinum by touring and our fanbase.
