Sonny Sandoval of P.O.D. Recalls ‘Satellite’ Dropping on 9/11
P.O.D. – Story by Anne Erickson, courtesy photo
P.O.D. vocalist Sonny Sandoval says 9/11 changed music lovers’ thinking to want to hear songs about deeper issues
Sunday (Sept. 11) marks the 21st anniversary of 9/11, that tragic day in American history when four suicide terrorist attacks were carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States.
The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks happened on a Tuesday, and at the time, Tuesdays were always album release days. San Diego rap-rockers P.O.D. released their seminal record “Satellite” on 9/11, and frontman Sonny Sandoval says it’s a day he will never forget.
Speaking with Audio Ink Radio in a recent interview, Sandoval recalled that release day. The band’s single “Alive” was already getting airplay across the country, and that only increased after the attacks.
“It was actually No. 1 already on MTV’s TRL for videos, and I think it was in the top five at rock radio. So, when 9/11 happened, it kind of shifted everybody’s thinking,” Sandoval said. “They were all about sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll and all their sad problems. A lot of that kind of sad, emo-core type music was out, too, where everybody was complaining about everything, and once 9/11 happened, it was more about, OK, we’re more of oneness and a unity and that big question of what’s going on in our world and maybe there is (an) afterlife.”
He added, “There are all kinds of questions, and we happen to be one of those bands. When ‘Alive’ was out on the chart, our music, at least lyrically, wasn’t like a lot of the bands that were out there at the time. We were probably just one of those handful of artists that- I know MTV asked us questions, and they wanted us to get on TV and say something. Radio stations were calling us to be able to encourage their listeners, and it was like, our little band from San Diego, the world cares about what we have to say right now? It was a pretty crazy time.”
Watch the full interview with Sandoval below. In it, he discusses more about 9/11, as well as gives a trip down memory lane remembering “Satellite.”
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