Left to Right: Hamilton, Mookie, and MichaelIf you've been reading ROOMOFZEN from the start then you know that Genghis Tron is not only one of our favorite groups, but also the group we've seen live more than any other over the past year. We've seen them multiple times in both Boston and Philadelphia, and several places in between. Most recently, Babcock and I headed over to Worcester to see them play the Palladium with Baroness in March. Their shows are amazing and kick our ass every time. Needless to say, we were honored that they were willing to grant us this interview. Before you start, here is a video of them playing the title track to their most recent CD, Board Up the House (video from Metal Injection). If you haven't bought the album yet, you must not read this blog enough.
Hamilton Jordan, the guitarist you see above, was kind enough to answer our questions.
ROOMOFZEN: Thanks so much for agreeing to do this interview. If someone would have told me 6 months ago when this site started that we'd have a band of your caliber voluntarily being featured, I would have shat my pants. I'm not really sure what has changed, because I didn't shit my pants, but we're all really pumped.
Hamilton: No problem, man! We're happy to take part.
R: One thing that is really awesome about you guys is that it seems like you are constantly on the road. Every time we see you around Boston, we leave feeling excited because we already know that you're going to be back sometime in the next couple of months. Each time, the show is more dynamic and the lightshow that you added is sick. How much time do you guys actually spend on the road, and what have your experiences been like on the road this year with bands like DEP and Converge?
H: We do spend quite a lot of time on the road -- not as much as some bands out there, but that's because we all have lives and families and friends that matter to us, so we can only keep ourselves healthy and sane by making sure to balance our touring and home lives. In 2008, I think we will spend about 5 months on the road total. Our experiences this year have been amazing -- our best so far. Our 5-week U.S. tour with Converge was a complete blast, and it was followed immediately by two weeks in Europe, which was also amazing. We're about to take a break for a few months, but I'm already looking forward to booking more tours -- and that's something I wouldn't have ever imagined myself saying a year or two ago!
R: Have you managed to swing a bus yet or is it still the GT van? Which was a bigger priority, the lightshow or the bus?
H: Haha, I don't believe we'll ever get a bus. That's Mookie's favorite thing to joke about, and it will never happen.
R: How has it been working with Kurt Ballou on your last two records and how has he influenced the choices that you made in Dead Mountain Mouth and Board Up the House?
H: It was a great experience. It's very important for us to have an opinionated, talented, fourth head involved in the recording process. The three of us work so hard writing the songs and we often drive ourselves and each other to the edges of our sanity. Because our instrumentation and production style makes for limitless options, it's very hard for us to make songwriting and arranging decisions. Thus, it would be far too daunting for us to also spearhead the recording and engineering of our albums. Working with Kurt provides for a great balance, because we're still making the grand decisions as far as how the album is going to sound, but he's the one who is able to comprehend our goals and help us translate them into specific sounds and effects. Furthermore, he's a talented songwriter, so if we're stuck on revising a last-minute addition to the album, he's great at pushing us to make wise choices.
R: We saw you guys at the Middle East on the tour with DEP, and it was a great show. We came for you guys, but we were also really psyched because we had heard tell of how intense Dillinger is on stage. We were expecting to see Stolen Babies opening that show. Instead we got Shat. Now, I'm certainly not going to speak ill of any bands, but I was excited to see Stolen Babies and Shat left me feeling a little bit empty (particularly the occasional visible scrotum that their show entails). Did Stolen Babies ever join you guys on that tour and if so do you know why they weren't in Cambridge?
H: Stolen Babies were never on that tour; it was announced as such, but apparently was never true. We've never met them nor played any shows with them.
R: I have a question about etiquette. Every time we see you guys play, you are also very visible around the audience throughout the rest of the show. Obviously, it would be awesome to talk to you guys, but I never feel comfortable enough to do it. The closest I ever came was the show at Great Scott (album release tour) because we saw you guys outside the place before the show. But, in Worcester, I had you guys and Baroness, two of my favorite bands, standing right in front of me. I want to talk, but I don't want to end up like Wayne and Garth bowing down to Alice Cooper chanting "we're not worthy." Do you guys like to mingle with the fans at your shows, or would you rather just take the show in like everyone else?
H: As long as people aren't super crazy or obnoxious for some reason (which is rare), we love talking to fans at shows. I don't go out of my way to walk around the crowd and shake hands with people, but if someone approaches me and wants to talk, I'm always happy to do so. I did that all the time with bands I admired, and still do. So come say hi next time!
R: Genghis Tron and Baroness are our two favorite bands and the two that we have spent most of our time writing about. We didn't even stay in Worcester to see RC or Converge because we didn't want to change the energy we had from seeing you guys and Baroness play consecutive sets. What do you think of those guys and what other bands are you guys into right now?
H: You should have stayed for Converge! Baroness is a great band consisting of great dudes. We're hoping to do some more touring with them later this year. We're into tons of bands, too many to name -- but right now, as far as newer bands, we've been listening to a lot of Black Mountain, Nachtmystium, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Krallice, and the Chromatics!
R: I know you guys are heading to Europe with Nachmystium. What comes next? Can we expect you in the Boston area any time soon? (NOTE: THEY HAVE RETURNED FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WITH NACHMYSTIUM)
H: We're playing a single show in Brazil next month, then in July we return to Europe for one week to play a large festival in France and some other shows. Starting in September or October, we plan on doing another U.S. tour and probably back to Europe a third time after that!
R: Can you describe to us some of your musical influences, specifically in the punk / hardcore or metalcore realms? We are huge fans of cross-over bands like yours, and the unique combination of styles intrigues us since we fucking love newer bands like you guys and High on Fire and Hatebreed, yet retain our appreciation for older bands such as Megadeth. Also, do you have any thoughts you'd like to share about Neil Young?
H: Our influences are pretty diverse, as we all came from different musical backgrounds. Personally, I wasn't really a part of any "scene" growing up in Atlanta, so most of what I learned about music I found from books, magazines, and later the Internet. Between the three of us, I can confidently say that some of our biggest influences are Nine Inch Nails, Coil, Drive Like Jehu, Skinny Puppy, Slint, Philip Glass, Meshuggah, Autechre, Botch, Boards of Canada, and Tool.
R: Thanks so much for taking the time to talk with us and have a great time in Europe. (NOTE: THEY HAVE RETURNED FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR)
H: No problem, man! Thanks for the interview and I'm quite sorry it took so long to respond.
Sick.
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