After 20 years in the studio, concert venues, and on the road, what advice would you give a
young Hemlock band, what do you know now that
you wished you knew back then?
I would definitely say be yourselves
and play the music you love playing. Don't follow the
trends, set the trends. If you have a song you don't
like, toss it „cause you may get stuck playing it for
years. Just work hard and make sure you get along
with everyone in your band and respect each other.
You really get to know someone on tour and it's already hard enough with everyday life struggles on the
road but it's far worse if you're with someone you
hate. And communication is huge. Have band meetings and let everyone talk and just hang and be
friends. Learn your instrument well and rehearse your
songs and put on an entertaining show. I'm not a fan
of bands that just stand still and look down at their
hands while they play. You're an entertainer so entertain! And just be careful because there are a lot of
sharks out there. We got ripped off and screwed over
a bunch in our early days. Everyone preaches support
of the scene, support other bands but few bands actually do. We are always the first ones to the show and
the last to leave. So if you get an opening spot be respectful and don't be a whiny prima donna and be
easy to work with. Set up, don't whine about stage
space because the headliner often wants to or needs to
backline (most opening bands don't use all the stage
space given anyways), get off in a timely manner so
not to push the whole show behind. Get out of the
way quickly. You can wind cables up and take cymbals off by the side of the stage instead of dicking
around onstage and pissing everyone off. Stay humble if you're gonna make a career out of it, minimalize your overhead. If you have the girlfriend or wife,
a couple kids, a nice car and a huge house payment
you're probably never gonna be able to tour so make
your choice and stick with it. One guy that isn't on the
same page as everyone can ruin a break for everyone
else in the band if an opportunity arrives.
Of course, the fact that you‘ve been
around and still packing them in after 20 years is
significant, but what would you think is your greatest accomplishment to date?
I think to show 20 years is the greatest
accomplishment in itself. I know so many bands that
have had much more success that have lasted a fraction of our time. I don't want a million dollars of debt
hovering over us. We've seem so many bands and
trends come and go but we've just kept plugging
along doing our own thing on our own schedule on
our own terms. Time sure does fly! It sure doesn't
seem like 20 years.
With all your success through the years,
have you ever thought of sitting down on a warm
beach with a fruity drink and saying ?we made it??
After all this time, you‘ve probably earned the right
to sit on your laurels and get fat & happy.
Well, thank you but no, if we sit
around too long we go stir crazy and just wanna get
back out and play again. And I think any time any
band sits back and thinks "oh we made it" and they let
success go to their head then the band loses touch
with reality and doesn't progress anymore. There is