One sings about “Bad Religion,” the other sings about “Bad Romance.” According to Godsmack drummer Shannon Larkin, frontman Sully Erna once dated pop superstar Lady Gaga.
While appearing on the 2020’d podcast, Larkin was asked by the host (who appeared to have some inside knowledge) about Erna’s relationship with Gaga. “I don’t think [it’s] a secret,” responded Larkin. “I don’t think Sully would bum out if people knew he dated Lady Gaga. I mean, she’s hot, and she’s mega talented.”
The drummer went on to say that, unlike certain other rock stars, Erna didn’t go out of his way to publicize the relationship. “He’s not Tommy Lee or whatever, or whoever the guy is now… What I mean by that is — Travis Barker, Tommy Lee, whatever — is dudes that have public girlfriends that are super famous, too. But they’re different than Sully. Sully’s an East Coast guy. He’s like me [and other Godsmack members] Tony [Rombola] and Robbie [Merrill] — we’re East Coast dudes.”
Larkin proceed to go off on a tangent, differentiating between certain rock icons, and how they present themselves in public. “L.A. bands and West Coast dudes, they’re flashier, maybe, and they’re rock stars and there’s more David Lee Roth than — I don’t know — Eddie Vedder,” Larkin surmised. “You know what I mean? We’re more Eddie Vedder, even though we’re East Coast. We’re probably even flashier than Eddie. He’ll show up in an army jacket. You don’t even recognize him. ‘Oh my God. That’s Eddie Vedder.’ So we’re in between them and the dudes with the flashy girls on their arms.”
He eventually reaffirmed Erna’s relationship with Gaga, saying, “So, did her date her? Yeah. But did he ever tell anyone? No — except for his friends and us. The band, we knew … It was a brief thing, by the way.”
There’s not much on the internet connecting Erna with Gaga, other than a 2017 tweet by the Godsmack singer praising the pop star’s Super Bowl performance: “This girl is the real deal! @ladygaga one of the best sb performances I’ve ever seen. #respect.”
Godsmack are getting ready to release their new album, Lighting Up the Sky, which arrives on February 24th. The LP has been preceded by the singles “You and I” and “Surrender,” the latter of which hit No. 1 on the Mainstream Rock airplay chart.
See Shannon Larkin on the 2020’d podcast below. The Erna-Gaga conversation starts at the 7:15 mark.
