T3M: Is it true that you can play any stringed instrument?

JL: That's not quite true, I can't play harp.

T3M: Can you play the ukulele?

JL: Of course.

T3M: I've noticed in fan photos that you're now using ESP guitars and a ZETA violin during shows.

JL: I have been, in the recent concerts. I reserve the right to play whatever instrument I need to play. ESP was fair enough to give me some guitars, and they're fine guitars, so I've been playing them. I was playing Parker before, but some issues came up with the reliability. You just can't be having things break while people are watching.

T3M: What's the most frequent meal you guys eat while touring?

JL: Probably a cold cut sandwich.

T3M: No IHOP this time?

JL: No, no, no. We haven't been to any IHOP stops. That's a Tom Lewis (HURT's Manager) thing. The first five days, I ate nothing but peanut butter and bread. After that, I kind of got off the peanut butter and bread diet because we started getting our performance rider. So now it's on to sandwich meats.

T3M: What's next for HURT following this tour?

JL: I don't know when this tour going to be over. But I know what I intend to do. I need to sit down, and have some kind of place where I can be free from distractions and think. And I want to continue writing, and write about some new events in my life.

T3M: You said that you don't know when this tour will be over, does that mean more dates will be added?

JL: I'm hoping. Ten more dates were added since I had last known them. I don't know how long that's going to go on. We've been asked by several large and well respected bands to go on tour with them, so we might be picking one of those opportunities.

T3M: Which song from Vol. II was the most challenging to record?

JL: That was very well put. I would say that the most challenging song for Vol. II was Summers Lost, and believe it or not, Aftermath was quite difficult. Just because it's a weird song. You're trying to reproduce it with metronomes and all types of technical things... that makes it very difficult because of the nature of the free-flowing kind of song.

T3M: How would you compare your experience in the studio while recording Vol. II versus Vol. 1?

JL: It was similar actually. But I had more help on this. I had the expertise of Paul Spatola. Since we didn't have any pre-production time to re-do Vol. II, we were doing a trade-off in tandem. Sometimes I'd be working upstairs, sometimes he'd be working upstairs, while there was tracking going on downstairs. It was kind of like a constant factory, and we were laying the ideas, the fundamentals, and the plan down. Upstairs we were planning it all out... how it would go. And then, come downstairs and do the real work as best as we could. So we were a little bit more organized. But that being said, there was a lot more work to be done. I got to clear out a lot of things that I've had to keep up in my head, and I'm glad that we have those down now.

T3M: When we were in Albany, New York last winter, you played couple songs for us from your laptop... did those songs make it on Vol. II?

JL: I think I played you Thank You For Listening. I also played you one that might not have made it onto Vol. II. There were several songs that didn't make it onto Vol. II, because they just didn't work out. They didn't sound good enough, and we had to make it as good as possible. You win some, you lose some.

T3M: Do you think those songs might make it onto the next album?

JL: I don't think it's going to be on the next album. Those are specific works that are intended to be companions to specific works. I don't think the next album will be sporting those.

The next thing you're going to hear will not be Vol. III. I hope that doesn't disappoint folks, but I don't think it's the thing to do. I know a lot of people out there don't even know that we have done other albums besides Vol. 1 and Vol. II. We're going to make an all inclusive piece that seems to go with itself.

T3M: Any closing thoughts?

JL: I want to thank everybody for their support. I want to thank them for their interest.

You know what I'd really like to say? I would love to hear a generation of folks make some heart-felt music, in whatever genre. And if they would just keep on trying, and basically selflessly making music, I think the whole world would be better for it.

This music industry is changing. Hopefully, it's going through a weed-out of folks who just want to go out, have sex with the opposite sex, and make a lot of money, because that just not going to happen. I think we're going to see a new generation of musicians, and I want to see that new generation very quickly.

T3M: It's been amazing to see such growth from HURT, even just in the past year.

JL: We've been working our hardest, and we've been very hard on ourselves as far as what a finished performance is and critiquing them. We're always trying to constantly make it better. I think it's working. I'm not sure I'll ever be satisfied with anything I do, but we're going to keep working at it.

« Page 1

| 10.03.2007 | Interview by Kristen Pierson |