As some of you may know, in March 2013 I moved to Toronto, Canada and buried my head in the snow and the unrelenting songwriting of one of my favorite bands, Protest the Hero. We spent months rehearsing via web, phone and a hulking dropbox of music files.
I was writing, programming and rehearsing drum parts in Richmond, VA for sometimes 10 hours a day, beginning that January. The guys got in touch when Moe Carlson, their very talented drummer, stepped down to pursue other ventures. Honestly, I was pretty intimidated with the material, but it was time to pull my big boy pants up and dig deep. It wasn’t easy. Even once I moved to Toronto I thought of hanging it up pretty often, but pushed through and took part in creating the JUNO award winning, Volition.
Funny to think of my first musical academy award coming from a band other than the one I’ve been playing with for 20 years!
I couldn’t be more proud to share that honor with the Protest gang. They pushed me past my limits and I will always appreciate the experience.
Check out a few of the videos (including yours truly) from the album here:
Protest The Hero Youtube Channel
And here’s an interview after the recording I did with Luke Hoskin (PTH Guitar Prodigy) about what it was like making the record:
Luke: Obviously, Moe decided to leave Protest the Hero and here we are. How do you think LOG would react to a similar situation. Say you decide to hang up your drum shoes and do something else with your life. Do you think the rest of your guys would react in a similar way to us?
It’s really very hard for me to imagine that. I started the band back in the day with John, so it’s very odd to think of me letting it go – but I’ll take the bait here. None of us are getting any younger and most of us have families, so as you might imagine priorities change and the dreams from our teens are no longer the dreams we have as grown men. As a member of a band that will celebrate it’s 20 year anniversary next year, that seems obvious, but it’s a concept often lost on the fan that may be beginning their hellion years with no plans to grow old – live to die and leave a good looking corpse! That was me. i totally get it. I’ve already outlived my own most liberal expectations – however I do know the 16 year old me would still think I could play my ass off and be stoked I stuck it out.
If, at some point I felt a greater passion than music and moved on to selling cyclone technology blenders or something, I’m not sure how the band would react. One day they may all think “FINALLY” and the next day “OH FUCK!”. I’ve been an integral part of the equation both creatively and on the business end for so long that I know it would be a difficult transition for us all, but I’m not self-important enough to believe it couldn’t happen.
We all have days when we want “that guy” to not be around. I’m pretty sure the guys in my band have felt that pretty often about me, but it goes back and forth in every direction, with everyone. In the end, I know that I would never be where I am now without the guys that surround me. I think we share that respect. So…
If I walked away tomorrow, I would expect the guys who did still have the passion to continue on – there is no reason to collapse regardless of the importance or insignificance of one member (except, obviously, Axl). I know they all have a passion for what we do (or I wouldn’t’ be here) so yes, I would expect them to move on with my support. We make the music we want to make and love it. It’s been a contagious ride and opportunities continue to blossom for us. I know that the extreme and prog scene has changed so drastically that we look like Motley Crue at this point to newer bands, but we’ve always pushed the limits of our influences and ourselves. We love the idea of standing apart and taking on the world.
We’ve also gone through basically no member changes as LOG. We have all given it all and never tried harder or sacrificed more than we have in this project. That perseverance is the key to success. You have to stomach and defy the losses and naysayers. I know that Moe was your drummer from the very beginning and you guys grew up together, never playing with another drummer in PTH. We are very much the same in that way. It would certainly be a difficult challenge if any of us were to walk away. It would likely never be quite the same, but I’d hope it could continue if the product was still quality.
That said, if one of the guys decided to bail and sell indian food door to door, I would never stand in their way. I would want to continue my life’s work with the guys that continued to feel it. As easy or difficult as it may be, I imagine we would push on just like you have, and I applaud you for doing it.
Alternatively, you faced a situation where you didn’t know whether or not you had a singer. Since you went through the final stages of Randy’s trial and verdict while you were with us in Canada, I got to see your reaction first hand. How much of a lift (either as a musican or human) did it give you when you heard the good news? Was it just me…or did you play harder after that??
Ha! Well, this is obviously touchy. A fan of the band died and while the public and metal community certainly seemed to rally around us, it was a tragic situation. I had been in Prague with Randy for the trial the week before I joined you in Toronto. It was very fresh and very intense in my mind. This was something that could have easily been the end of our career. Far from someone deciding to sell organic jello out of their RV and quit the band, this was a game changer. You cant replace a member in jail that wants to be in the band, and that we believed to be innocent. We were all uncertain and to some extent, preparing for the worst. It was not fun at all. When I got the news that the acquittal was handed down, I was proud. Randy, and all of us to a lesser extent had done the right thing and faced a very scary situation head on. It was a mix of emotions as nothing changed about the tragic situation. The court was able to determine that Randy was not at fault, but it did not bring back Daniel Nosek.
Selfishly, sure- I’m glad my friend that I believe in is free and that we as a group have a chance to move forward and make a living. Objectively, it’s tough to celebrate anything about the situation.
I probably did play harder. We all had an uncertain, hazy future clear up, allowing us a chance to continue. Compared to the day before, yeah, I bet I hit harder. I bet my insecurity surrounding the situation was shed and I was able to once again focus on what I do best.
You had to learn 11 pth songs in a very short window of time. You definitely expressed some concern over the possibility of getting it all down in time while you were here. Did you ever come close to throwing in the towel and calling it a day? Did you rely on anyone outside of pth for encouragement to continue on?
This is a funny question because it took some real introspective work to even begin the first song. I didn’t think I could do it – even before I heard a note.
I’ve been a fan since very early on and what I enjoyed the most about the band was being able to be a listener. Like a little kid. I know I can’t play this shit so I can turn off judgement and just listen. I can’t do it better ’cause I can’t even do it! Most of the music I enjoy is purposefully way above my head. I am able to turn myself off and listen to the art of someone who thinks very differently than I do. When I got the call to see if I was interested, as a fan I was very excited. As a player I was looking for a challenge, but as a realist, I was a bit anxious about pulling it off. I’ve had those mixed feelings before with other things in my life and I’ve learned, that for me anyway, it’s very important to say yes.
Scared? Intimidated? Worried? If I answer yes, I go head first. I’ve always grown the most from the things that make me uncomfortable at first. I had to say yes to this. Even if it turned out I couldn’t pull it off I had to give it my best. I’m glad it sorted out!
There were a few moments in the process where I felt like I may have bit off too much. You had sent me 6 tunes in various shapes of arrangements in Richmond and I worked them daily to “playable” extent over about a month. I started getting nervous as we approached my time to fly up to Canada to rehearse and record as I was sure that the album wasn’t only 6 tunes. I didn’t know if the rest were done or not. How much time would I have to learn them? If they were as intricate as the first 6, I was going to be in trouble. They of course, were – and one of them, the 11th one, was given to me 2 days before we loaded into the studio was thieving on the cake of me being entirely overwhelmed. I remember shutting down, wondering what the hell I was doing! I dug in for 14 hour days and got it, but man, it was heavy on my head. I never want to go into a studio unsure. I’m not one enjoy gluing things together.
Another very difficult aspect for me was that I was mainly rehearsing alone, then returning to one of my three places you put me up in alone. There were several days a week where I wouldn’t see anyone. Playing drums for 12 hours in a basement, getting email updates of song changes each day. I didn’t get to hang much or go out. My entire headspace was the record for months. I’m not complaining – it was good to have the focus, but it was so very different than I had ever worked before. I romanticize the time now, but it was brutal at the time. I understood that as a session guy I just needed to keep my shit together and perform. I kept my head down and took tiny steps forward each day. I would keep up with my buddies and family from home. Got to Skype my kid a lot and of course that helped, but spending time transporting on city busses in the snow to rehearse alone for 12 hours away from home for a month was an experience I’ll never forget.
Does the technology of drum software affect you at all? Does it scare you that sooner or later, a lot of people may not be able to tell the difference between you and programmed drums? Do you think that time is already upon us? If cost weren’t a thing to be considered, what piece of advice would you have for a band debating whether to use a human or non-human drummer?
Not at all. I embrace it. I have an endorsement with Toontrack actually and do a lot of programming myself. In fact, I programmed the first 3 songs you sent me for the record. The time is certainly upon us. I remember asking you while I was there why you didn’t just program the drums for the record since the songs were done and you had very specific ideas of how you wanted the drums. You told me that you held the belief that it was the right thing to do for a pro band and how things should be done. I don’t disagree. The thing for me is having the opportunity to create with other people and add something uniquely personal. If a band writes song together and tries to record it, it’s obviously easier than ever to do it, and you will save a lot of money by programming the drums. My personal opinion is that, unless it’s some kind of solo artist thing, as a band you should program what the drummer wrote for the song as opposed to programming before the drummer has a chance to add his or her flavor on it. Mark and I argue all the time over my snare placement and the argument itself is the important process for me. If Mark just programmed what he thought, or I just programmed what I thought, in my view we are bypassing the whole idea of creating and being a band together. We all interpret things differently and when those interpretations come together, you are then elevating the original idea.
In terms of practicality and logic – programming is much easier than dealing with yet another opinion and cheaper than splitting up the pie with another band member. I can’t predict the future, and you are asking a drummer here so I’m biased, but I can’t imagine going to see a rock band that doesn’t have a drummer. Plus, who’s gonna drive the van and deal with the fat chicks?
As you know, all of us guys in pth grew up and still are LOG fans. Did your fanboy radar ever go off while you were around us for so many hours?
Not once. Honestly I was in my own little fan boy world myself. You guys have been on heavy rotation since 2005 and I was hell bent on not letting you down.
Don’t sugarcoat it! How trying was the idea and reality of living in a foreign country for a month? What was your favourite thing about toronto? Your least favourite?
Well….at home we had just begun a nice March spring. Winter had broken and me and the kid were playing outside. When I arrived in Toronto, there was about 3 feet of snow! That was a drag. I mentioned a few of the hardships earlier, but honestly I was probably better off having so much time alone to concentrate on the material. My favorite thing about Toronto is Tim Millars smart car, Jilly’s take out, Chinolocos and heineken tall boys.
I know you missed your family while you were here. You and I had a few discussions about this, and it’s some common ground I felt very at ease discussing with you Chris. Was the separation anxiety while recording any different from touring?
The biggest difference was the personal attachment. On tour or recording out of town with LOG is an investment in my own livelihood and product. Working as a session player, knowing that I was going through all the hard work that I would have to do for myself and at the same time knowing I was going to have to walk away and not get to look back, was really kind of mind-bending for me. My family sees me come and go a lot as it is with LOG, but to tell them I was leaving again, for someone elses project, was a difficult conversation and a difficult thing to have in mind while I was away. the time I miss with my kid and wife I can’t get back so I have to think things through. This was an important opportunity for me to push myself and try to grow as a player and as a person. Yes, I probably did miss them more because of these things, but I also came home a better me, and I knew I would.
You have criticised us for being so uptight with sending around recordings before they are done. Are we crazy? I am terrified to have something leak period, nevermind something that isn’t even finished yet! Do you ever get uptight about this crap?
No, you guys aren’t crazy at all – and I didn’t ever mean to criticize. We all worry about the same thing. I was in the process of not being able to “look back” like I mentioned earlier. I was so invested in this project and then you dropped me at the airport. That was it. I was begging for updates because my “band member” mentality. So, when you would send, all I had to equate that to was like me telling Willie or John that they couldn’t hear the record after they tracked. We all know that it benefits no one to leak demos or incomplete tracks. I just don’t wear a session hat well. I get to invested. I love doing what I do.
End.
Stay Metal,
Chris