DROWNING POOL’s C.J. Pierce Reflects: “The Music Business Has Not Been Fair To Us In Any Way, Shape Or Form”

DROWNING POOL guitarist C.J. Pierce is opening up about the struggles the band has faced across their decades-long career, including frustrations with the music industry and the lasting impact of their early success.

The Texas-based nü-metal/hard rock band first made waves with their platinum-certified 2001 debut Sinner, led by the enduring anthem “Bodies”, which itself earned platinum status in 2019. But just as the band was gaining serious momentum, tragedy struck. Their original vocalist Dave Williams passed away unexpectedly in 2002 while on tour, the result of an undiagnosed heart condition.

Since then, the group has gone through multiple lineup changes and continued to release new material, but have struggled to recapture the level of commercial success they experienced with Williams.

In a recent conversation with Brudne Brzmienie, C.J. Pierce shared his thoughts on how the industry has shifted and how those changes have affected both Drowning Pool and artists in general:

“…It’s a love-hate relationship with it. I mean, it’s awesome to have the means to get everything out, and everybody can see everything. It’s all tangible. You can get to anybody’s music no matter how big or how small you are; if you look, you can find everything. So I love that. But I did love the idea of the album, a literal record is tangible, a CD is tangible, something they can hand you, something you can sign and you have it and get in that moment where you put it in and you’re listening to your favorite band.

I love those moments, ’cause now you can just flip through 20,000 artists and 20 songs in 20 minutes. I don’t know if you could soak in the full art and idea of a song ’cause you’re not sitting there concentrating as much as, like, ‘Oh, I like this part. I like that.’ It’s just a whole another world, man, to see.”

He also addressed the harsh reality of the music business:

“It’s never been a fair game, and I play music because I’m passionate about it. I think if anybody’s watching this conversation, they know that. But there’s [a need for musicians to make] money. We all have to pay bills and [pay for] electricity and whatever. But it’s just wild to me. We have [sold], like, seven million records total maybe, with all our records, including the [debut] ‘Sinner’ record, and I’m in a rental car and a rental house, ’cause the music business has not been fair to us in any way, shape or form, man.

It’s been wild. But I can’t walk around with that kind of frustration and hate, ’cause it’s gonna take away from just me, who I am, writing a song, although some songs may have reflected that in the past, deeper tracks. I mean, it’s an ever-evolving thing, so it’s never a dull moment. So I’m always curious to see what happens next. So it’s just life. So I’m enjoying the ride.”

Drowning Pool reunited with former vocalist Ryan McCombs in 2023 and are currently mounting a comeback. The band recently dropped a new track titled “Madness” and are said to be working on a 25th anniversary edition of Sinner for 2026.

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