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Working with the Billboard Chart-topping rock band, Shinedown, these past few months has been one of the best and most fun experiences we’ve had at Torchbearer Sauces. We thought it would be interesting to give you all a rundown of just how wonderful this band, their crew, and especially Barry, has been. Here is Vid’s take on some recent events he and the rest of our team have been able to take part in. Take it away, Vid…
Meeting Shinedown
We arrived at the venue and were greeted by Shinedown’s head of security, John G. He showed us around a little before Barry came out and gave us the grand tour of the venue, their awesome tour bus, the stage, and all the equipment they use for their shows. We met the pyro guy, the tour manager (Ed Baker), their photographer/videographer (Sanjay), and the rest of the band over the evening (Brent, Zach, and Eric). All of them were extremely friendly and super excited about the future of Shinedown hot sauces. Barry was a very accommodating host the entire time, even though he had to be on stage for an hour-and-a-half workout that evening.
Behind the Scenes With Shinedown
Shinedown and the crew graciously allowed us to be a part of their pre-show tradition (not sure I am allowed to divulge the details of this) and gave us free rein backstage, with the option to join the crowd whenever we wanted. The pyrotechnics and explosions were intense, even just watching from backstage, and we gained a lot more respect for performers and everything they have to do while putting on a show.
The entire experience of meeting Shinedown was awesome! The Shinedown crew and the band are a well-oiled machine, and we were treated like family the entire time we were there. I was even asked to text them when we got home safely AND got a response back at 2:30 AM when I let Barry know. I am super excited to continue to work with Shinedown and can’t wait for the next concert.
Production Day
For their visit on production day, Barry, Sanjay, and Liam continued to show me how passionate they were about this spicy hot sauce project. They really enjoyed their tour of our humble factory, and we got lots of footage showing the Shinedown team behind the scenes. It’s always a great time seeing our job through other people’s eyes because, what can sometimes be boring or stressful, becomes a unique and impressive process to me again.
After production, we had a blast hanging out, having a few beers, and just talking with Barry and his crew. He signed about 42 cases of our hot sauces for us to offer as promotions during certain sale periods to Shinedown fans. Their crew also got some sauces to enjoy and had fun trying out some experimental stuff we’ve been working on.
After all this, Barry brought the crew out to dinner to thank us for all our hard work. I would have happily paid for them, and I will next time but, as the Southern gentleman, it was hard to say no to his generosity. We all had a great time eating Thai and drinking his favorite brew, Dale’s Pale Ale.
An Unforgettable Experience
I’m thankful to Shinedown and their entire crew for just being themselves and being excited for the project. I’m also thankful to my crew for all their hard work during this process. After these two experiences meeting the Shinedown crew, I very much consider them all friends, who will always be welcome here.
Thank you all again for both of these experiences. Barry, you, Liam, and Sanjay are the best to work with. I look forward to more in the future and, as Shinedown says, LET’S F***ING GO!!!
-Vid Lynch
Andy – the Marketing & Sales Manager | Sauce Wizard, full-time foodie, and lover of all things hot sauce. He’s got a serious thing for flavor and spice, which is why he’s been on his own personal mission to crown the best hot sauce EVER (though his indecisiveness really keeps getting in his way). Some of his current favorite Torchbearer Sauces include Son of Zombie, Garlic Reaper, and Mushroom Mayhem, but ask him next week and the answer might change. He also hopes to be on First We Feast’s Hot Ones one day, if Sean would finally just answer his emails…
