http://www.crazewire.com/features/20030323189.phpSLAMMING AND SWINGING WITH HED PE
Crazewire Germany met up with Hed PE during their promo trip for the new album Blackout in the Zomba Record Headquarters in Cologne. Singer Jahred and the new Guitarist Sonny (Ex-Amen)
Crazewire: Have you received any reactions about the new album so far, as far as playing songs live or from press and radio stations?
Jahred: We played some stuff on stage already and we got some pretty positive reactions from it. The interviews we've done so far have been good as well, the press seems to like it.
You said that the lyrics on this are very personal to you. Can you recall any particular moments that allowed you to write those lyrics?
Jahred: Yes I had some really dark times before this album where I just had, what the Buddha calls "an evil friend". Buddha says you have to be worried because your enemy can harm your body but an evil friend will harm your mind. I was extremely scurried and the album helped me get it all out. The album and Buddha are the two reasons why I am still here. Buddhism has helped me through this. I don't know, per say, what a Buddhist is. I would think anyone who tries to feel better about themselves through the teachings of Buddha. If that's what it is, than I am a Buddhist. I don't know about chanting and I don't go to church. For me, it's really a personal thing.
Do you practice religion every day?
Jahred: My thing is to read about it and try to put it into my life and the way I treat people.
Do you feel that your next album will sound a lot more positive since you've undergone this religious experience?
Jahred: I can't really imagine the next album. I have no idea what it will be, but I've been writing some stuff for the other project I have since I've got into Buddhism and it's still really hard and heavy because Buddhism teaches that part of life is suffering and you are using your life to get over suffering. However, that doesn't mean that you get rid of your problems. It means that your problems make you want to slit your wrist.
You have played many shows as a support band for a lot of bands like Slayer, Slipknot, P.O.D. and others. Is it tough to be the support band sometimes? I mean, I've been to a lot of shows where the whole crowd is screaming for the headlining band, and the support band receives zero attention.
Jahred: No, It's easy. I mean, everybody is coming to see the headlining band. That's kind of a no-brainer, but we always get really good reactions. Every time we open up, we have a great time. All of our own fans go there and create a good atmosphere. Then again, we toured with Linkin Park and played arenas, and the whole crowd was giving us love. They don't know us when we get up there, but by the time we leave, they like it.
Is there a sense of friendship when you tour with other bands, or would you support any band?
Jahred: We are friends with lots of bands. It can help you to get some shows, but a lot of times it's a business thing. Like, when two bands from the same label are touring together.
Would you support Britney Spears?
Jahred: (laughs) No, I don't think we would support Britney Spears.
Sonny: I'd support her. Her body over mine.
Some of your peers had their big breakthrough with one song or one album, whereas you guys have had a slow, but continuous, growth. Are you waiting for the one big hit or are you glad that nothing like that has happened so far?
Jahred: The Buddha says: Don't pay attention to what other people have done, do, or don't do. Keep your eyes on what you have done or what you have left undone. I could say when I was on drugs and alcohol I used to think about it a lot. Honestly, I don't think about it anymore. Everyone has their own path and schedule that they are going by. So, I am not frustrated at all if a band gets signed yesterday and comes out tomorrow and has a Cadillac by Sunday, and I must admit I don't have a car. I am still not pissed. I am having a great time. I am happy as fuck.
So you don't do drugs at all anymore?
Jahred: I don't do any drugs. I mean, I smoke herb, but I don't consider that a drug. I've spent most of my life on drugs like speed, cocaine, and pharmaceutical pills; and not just every once in a while. I mean going crazy for years. Alcohol as well; you know, whiskey and vodka. I have left that behind for the last 15 months. Occasionally, I've proven to myself that I'm still out of control, but I'm much better at my shows. I can write more songs, so I feel much better now.
Sonny, how has working with Hed PE been, compared to your old band Amen?
Sonny: It's fantastic. I've known these guys for about eight years. They were one of the first bands I saw when I moved to California. I am originally from the East Coast, so when it came time for me to pick up the guitar and play the stuff, I already knew most of the songs. I fit in pretty good. I have a good time with these guys. I love the music and I love the people.
It seems like the hype of "Nu-Metal" or "Nu-Rock" is over. Does it bother you?
Jahred: Well it doesn't bother me because we never got big enough to be included in it. First of all, I don't really agree with the whole thing and it was probably journalists who came up with the term and journalists who are killing the term now. The kids are not tired of the Nu Metal bands. Before they came up with that word, there were already bands like Marylin Manson, NIN, Rage against the Machine, and Tool. Am I mistaken or were those metal bands? And then one day there was a Nu Metal scene. With us, it just depends. Sometimes we are included in it and sometimes not. I am not an authority in Nu Metal. I don't feel like being a part of Nu Metal and that's why I am not afraid of its death.
I understand, but you have to see it from a fan's perspective as well. As a fan, you realize that one day a lot of bands are coming out that play similar music because the record companies sign them when they realize that there is a market for this kind of music.
Sonny: Right, that's why I think Hed PE is safe from being pigeonholed into that category because it was never concentrated on one song. I mean, I looked at it from the outside and never considered Hed PE a Nu Metal band. It always depends on what your definiton of Nu Metal is. Rap with Metal? Rapmetal? Is Slipknot Nu Metal?
Jahred: Slipknot is Nu Metal and so is Linkin Park. Those bands are apples and oranges yet they are under the same title. That's ridiculous. I could see linking together Limp Bizkit and POD because I think they are a bit similar.
Sonny: Or maybe POD and Linkin Park.
Are you coming back to do your own Germany tour?
Jahred: I know we have some festivals in Germany this summer and we might be coming back in May as well. But it's too early to say anything concrete at this point. Other than that, we'll concentrate on the states because our single "Blackout" is doing really good right now. So, we've got to push the first week of the album and all that.
Where do you see differences between this album and the previous ones?
Jahred: It was much easier to sing these songs this time. These songs had more space for vocals. They are not as self-indulgent and crazy as some of our older stuff maybe. They are easier to listen to.
Does it bother you to sing the old songs because you are not feeling the lyrics anymore?
Jahred: If I am not feeling the lyrics, I won't sing the song. I'll sing an old song that I am still feeling, but there are songs that I put away and that I will never sing again.
Songs like "Tits Clits Bong Hits"?
Jahred: Yeah, that's from the first album. We have never ever played that live; not even once. It's eight years old. It's a hidden track from our first album.
How do you keep in touch with your fans? Is that important to you?
Jahred: When I go on the road, I spend a lot of time in the crowd talking to people. Most people don't really like to, but I do as long as there aren't too many people trying to talk to me. I like to meet the people that come to our shows.
What do you miss the most when you go on tour?
Jahred: I think when I go on tour I am ready to go. When it's over, you're glad to be home. Both things are good. You miss the road and you miss being home.
Sonny: You miss the little things; your bed, your dog, your girl.
I imagine it to be tough to know that you have a show every night.
Jahred: Yeah I know what you mean, but each night the crowd acts like it's the first night of the tour, so it doesn't bother us. The hard parts are the 23 hours you are not onstage each day. The one hour you are onstage, that's the good part.
What are your goals with the band?
Jahred: I don't really have any goals. I don't think about the record sales, for example. My goals are not so much music-oriented. I want to grow more as a human being. I will always play music and I have the feeling that music will always pay my bills.
That's what a lot of people say but with some people, you know?
Jahred: That they are full of shit? I just hope that this album is just another step helping me to do more stuff with my talent. I've got some other bands and hopefully this helps me produce more for them as well.
What's the other band called? What is it like?
Jahred: Hectik. It's just another band because our album Blackout has been done for a year, and I write music every single day. I recently picked up a guitar. In Hed PE, there are already two guitar-playing writers. For 10 years, I've been writing on other people's music. I recently wanted to make my own beats and my own guitar riffs and rap over it. Hed PE music shows quite a bit virtuosity on the guitar player thing because they are both really good. My own stuff will be more punk and more metal. I rap and play the guitar to it.
The reggae parts in your songs make you different from all the other Metal/Nu Metal bands. How did this develop?
Jahred: Bob Marley is a huge thing in my life. It's more than just music for me. It's a spiritual thing. Reggae music and especially Bob Marley have made me feel good about being dark. When I play Reggae in my hotel room, I feel like I'm praying. I don't get to do a lot of reggae styles on stage, but I throw them in when I can.
How does the crowd react to those parts?
Sonny: They love that shit. That's what I love about Hed PE. It slams, but it also swings. Coming from a band that is so hardcore to one that chicks and guys dig is great for me.
I read an article about you guys which is about 5 years old. It was about the big bands like Deftones and Korn and two upcoming bands which were Limp Bizkit and you. Now Limp Bizkit is the top selling band and you are still working your way up.
Jahred: I still don't want to be Fred Durst but that's just me (laughs). Do you know that the guys from Korn feel bad that they gave the world Limp Bizkit?
there it is once again, just for you HED TIL I DIE :P