Here is the English, original version of the second out of three interviews to Eyehategod folks I, Mari, did on behalf of the Italian webzine (The New Noise).
A few hours after the long chat at the phone with Mike IX Williams (see Here), I had a chat via computer with bass player Gary Mader in the late night of September 21st 2012.
Also the express interview via chat was a new experience for me, and again fortunately there was an exquisite person like Gary on the other side of the cable! We took quite a lot, eh …
With Gary as well there was the opportunity for discussing about the new track New Orleans Is The New Vietnam out now as single with label A389, and about what we, the fans, can expect from EHG working on the new album.
But Gary was carrier of more cool news too, about Hawg Jaw and Outlaw Order, for example …
Keep on reading!
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Mari - Hi Gary, I’m ready! First of all thanks a lot for accepting the interview with such kindness, speed and, well, friendly attitude. Two hours ago I chatted with Mike, now you, and tomorrow evening (your afternoon) Brian! You guys are amazing! Hahaha, indigestion of Eyehategod … but as soon as you guys come back to Milano (and I hope soon) I’ll come and say hello to you personally and pay you a beer, or better some high quality Italian wine, minimum, eh eh … So let’s start with this:
How does it come that you play the so-called “bearded metal” and you don'’t have a long bear?!?
Gary – Eh, beards aren't really my thing; they catch food, drink, and are rather uncomfortable at my job where the temperature is about 115 degrees F [ Gary works in a restaurant ]. You must have heard that from Brian; he is very proud of his beard, eh eh …
Mari - Hahaha .. no, not yet, it was just a joke, as now many bands playing sludge/doom or so do wear that kind of look ... it was just a fake start, obviously, eh eh … Now more seriously … Gary, you are a key element in this series of interviews to Eyehategod. You are “relatively” new to the band, as you have been into it “only” for about 10-11 years or so, you are playing bass and you are deeply involved, as co-founder, into one of EHG’s satellite bands, Outlaw Order.
Gary - Yeah, I started playing with EHG at the end of 2001, and helped start up Outlaw Order shortly after while Jimmy [ Bower ] was busy touring with Superjoint Ritual and Down.
Mari - Also you are into another band into the southern sludge-doom scene, riff-machine Hawg Jaw, which, according to Metal Archives database, has got a connection to Soilent Green as of late. And Soilent Green is of course the band where your EHG colleague/friend Brian Patton is militating as well. Like in a loop ...
Gary - Yeah, Hawg Jaw is my longest running project. We began in 1996, formed by Mike Dares (vocals) and myself. We still play, but usually just around New Orleans. We have an upcoming discography to be released on Emetic Records that will contain all of our past recordings, most of which are out of press, and a new full length that is nearly done.
Mari - Cool! You guys rocked quite hard as far as I could hear in the albums of yours I happened to lay my hands on ...
Gary - Yeah, we have that New Orleans heaviness, but we were mostly influenced by bands like The Accüsed, Cro-Mags, and Corrosion of Conformity especially. "Animosity" is a record that had a profound influence on Mike and me. We wanted to be the "hardcore" sludge band. I only use sludge as a point of reference; I think all of our bands have little more dynamics than just "sludge".
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Mari – Yes, definitely ... I see that you guys are all linked to a deep and ancient love for hardcore punk, so much different, at least superficially, if not in contents, from your other slow heavy tunes (as soon as you get slow ...). With "you guys" I also include/mean EHG mates ...
Gary - I don't think its very different at all, like you said, maybe superficially. It all stems from a common energy, and I think that explains our diverse audience; we play music that touches fans of Black Flag, but at the same time, we have fans into Bauhaus or Darkthrone …
Mari – Absolutely true ... the EHG shows I happened to attend (and this quite holds for other bands more or less applying to your genre, like Weedeater etc.) had amongst the most varied "fauna", eh eh …
Gary - We are very grateful for that.
Mari – It is a cool feature indeed. It means that you are actually cross-genre, a cool sign of freedom, I guess, not being crystallized in any strict tag but still being a reference band. When one says "like Eyehategod" people into this kind of music know fairly well what one is speaking about …
Gary - Collectively, we listen to so much different music, and while there will always be an Eyehategod sound, what breathes beneath it reflects all of what we take in as influence, and reinterpret it in our songs. We often cite delta blues as a major influence; it’s nothing you can hear literally, but the feel is there.
Mari - Well, I would say the amount of luscious groove of Eyehategod music is roaring blues very much …
Gary - We'd like to think so, eh eh …
Mari - EHG have been all in all fairly stable band line-up-wise for over 20 years of its activity. The only position that saw quite a bit of changes is the bass. What happens with bass players? Riotous people? Hahah …
If I am not wrong you are the fifth bassist of the band.
Gary - There was a running joke that I'd be kicked out of the band after this record, as bass players can only play on one album. I don't know what happened with the other bassists; they are all friends of mine, but I never asked. I will play in this band til death, if they let me.
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Mari - Lol ... so that's why you guys are taking so long in making a new album since the last one, eh eh …Well, of course it is well known why the band did slow down the activity during these last years. But it is amazing that, in spite of this, you guys are able to draw big amounts of adoring fans to your shows, even without new albums to launch! Well, I guess it is one of the aspects of having become a cult band although you still behave in such a friendly, close-at-hand way with your fans.
Gary - That is something that amazes us as well. We are so thankful to all of our fans that have stuck with us all these years, cult band or not. There is so much music out there now, that to still be recognized amidst so many bands is a blessing to us. We consider ourselves lucky for that. I guess hanging out with our fans is the least we could do to say "thanks".
Mari – Sure! One other thing that I was liking a lot (and it is noted and appreciated by many others) in your shows I happened to attend was to see you guys of EHG spending your time in attending also the exhibition of the local bands opening for you. I mean, it is really nice and cool, and not that frequent for big bands ...
Gary - We've met many cool bands that way. We want to know what is happening in whatever city we are in, so you'll see us watching bands all the time. Many of those bands end up being life long friends
Mari - Cool! So ... you guys are working on a new album. One new track, New Orleans is the New Vietnam, now out with label A389, has been around since last year. Just a mouthful of new tunes but probably suggesting that EHG's style may have a wee bit changed, "matured" ... there's a strong stream of passion in that song.
Gary - More bluesy than ever …
Mari - Well, I saw it played live in the show you guys did in Milano recently and of course it is pure EHG energy, but still very much passionate and slightly less wild than previous hits of yours.
Gary - I think “progressed” is more appropriate. We definitely haven't matured. I don't know how to judge my own music, but I've been told that all of the songs we have for this record are reminiscent of "Take as Needed for Pain" if it had to be compared to one of our early works. We just set out to write an album worth waiting this long for.
![]()
Mari - Well, I can't wait for it … When one thinks about the kind of music you guys and affine bands play, your "dynamic sludge with southern tinges", one may almost instinctively thinks about "swamp" and/or else (or better) a well-defined amazing pictoresque and multi-faceted urban context: New Orleans. Your music style is rich, heavy, drenched with groove and painful. Is it by chance that such genre was basically "invented" by your band in that geographical/cultural/social context? Or do you think that the context doesn't matter much ...
Gary - I think our surroundings have a huge influence on our music. I'm not sure that any of us could write the same way had we not been raised in New Orleans. The music history alone is immense and a huge source of inspiration to us. When we tour we always play Dr. John, Professor Longhair, Anders Osbourne, local rap, really anything New Orleans. No matter where we are, it lights up that special place inside of us that makes us proud to be from here. Besides the music, there is a vibe in the air here that is hard to find elsewhere. We plan to record our new record here.
Mari - Well, New Orleans is an important part of the general mythical "aura" and charm that USA has for us in Europe. When we dream of USA we naively dream of certain charming features of your country as well as some clichées ... Then especially coming to USA helps in seeing that there are so many people in poverty and that life is very difficult indeed. I guess that's an important inspiration for music and art as well ... Not to speak about disasters and tragedies as the one that struck New Orleans in 2005, Katrina. I guess it was deeply traumatic for you as well, even if you maybe didn't have as radical and strong consequences as Mike's.
Gary - We have dealt with a good deal of hardship in the past, and while it’s not something we bring up in conversation much, it is strongly expressed thru our music. There is pain and suffering all over the world, and we feel that ours is no different, and that we just deal with it as best as we can. We are lucky to have music as a creative outlet for our troubles in life; I think we are all thankful for the lives we have; Things can always be worst.
Mari - True ... Back to music then ... What about the fate of Outlaw Order?
Gary - We will play again in the near future. It’s been a few years, and based on the feedback we've been getting for 00% lately, and the fact that we are just ready to play those songs again, it will happen soon. We've been so focused on Eyehategod's record, that we haven't had time to jam in the past few years. The last time we did jam, we were almost half way into a new record. We plan on picking up where we left off and finally tour when the time is right.
Mari - Ah, this is a juicy news, eh ...
Gary - Keep in mind, we don't work on the strictest timeline.
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Mari - Tours. Two night ago I was listening to Mike’s radio show out on Core of Destruction radio and he mentioned that you guys are about to leave for a far Eastern branch of your tour, and you are going to reach Australia, among others.
Gary - Yes, we have wanted to do this for a long time, and are excited!
Mari - Yes, it is awesome indeed! You guys tour "seriously", eh eh … Apart from the magic of the deed itself, basically touring all over the world for your music, do you find touring a tiring activity? And is it difficult for you to make it cope with your "real" job and family issues? Because one important thing is that you guys involved in a world-famous cult band do live on your real jobs ...
Gary - No. I am grateful for every day that I am some place different. Some people save money their whole lives to see the places we've been. It can be difficult at home to leave behind my wife and pets. It’s the only thing that makes touring difficult. Aside from that, I have worked shitty jobs for my entire life to insure that I have the flexibility with my work schedule to leave when I want to, and that is hard to come by, but not impossible.
Mari - OK, Gary, I think I have stolen already much of your time. Thanks a lot for the chat. One thing: happy birthday! Here it is already your birthday, it turned to September 22nd ...
Gary - No problem, thank you for taking the time to interview all of us; we sincerely appreciate it. Thanks for my b-day wishes!
Interview by Marilena Moroni
(Many thanks to Fabrizio Garau and Michele Giorgi at webzine The New Noise and Jennifer Reisberg of label A389 Records for organizing the interviews)
EHG | Facebook
Official Website
Eyehategod – Full set January 21, 2012 Sonar (A389 VIII Bash)
Baltimore, MD
Eyehategod (Full Set) from hate5six on Vimeo.
http://vimeo.com/35971477
![]()
A few hours after the long chat at the phone with Mike IX Williams (see Here), I had a chat via computer with bass player Gary Mader in the late night of September 21st 2012.
Also the express interview via chat was a new experience for me, and again fortunately there was an exquisite person like Gary on the other side of the cable! We took quite a lot, eh …
With Gary as well there was the opportunity for discussing about the new track New Orleans Is The New Vietnam out now as single with label A389, and about what we, the fans, can expect from EHG working on the new album.
But Gary was carrier of more cool news too, about Hawg Jaw and Outlaw Order, for example …
Keep on reading!
Mari - Hi Gary, I’m ready! First of all thanks a lot for accepting the interview with such kindness, speed and, well, friendly attitude. Two hours ago I chatted with Mike, now you, and tomorrow evening (your afternoon) Brian! You guys are amazing! Hahaha, indigestion of Eyehategod … but as soon as you guys come back to Milano (and I hope soon) I’ll come and say hello to you personally and pay you a beer, or better some high quality Italian wine, minimum, eh eh … So let’s start with this:
How does it come that you play the so-called “bearded metal” and you don'’t have a long bear?!?
Gary – Eh, beards aren't really my thing; they catch food, drink, and are rather uncomfortable at my job where the temperature is about 115 degrees F [ Gary works in a restaurant ]. You must have heard that from Brian; he is very proud of his beard, eh eh …
Mari - Hahaha .. no, not yet, it was just a joke, as now many bands playing sludge/doom or so do wear that kind of look ... it was just a fake start, obviously, eh eh … Now more seriously … Gary, you are a key element in this series of interviews to Eyehategod. You are “relatively” new to the band, as you have been into it “only” for about 10-11 years or so, you are playing bass and you are deeply involved, as co-founder, into one of EHG’s satellite bands, Outlaw Order.
Gary - Yeah, I started playing with EHG at the end of 2001, and helped start up Outlaw Order shortly after while Jimmy [ Bower ] was busy touring with Superjoint Ritual and Down.
Mari - Also you are into another band into the southern sludge-doom scene, riff-machine Hawg Jaw, which, according to Metal Archives database, has got a connection to Soilent Green as of late. And Soilent Green is of course the band where your EHG colleague/friend Brian Patton is militating as well. Like in a loop ...
Gary - Yeah, Hawg Jaw is my longest running project. We began in 1996, formed by Mike Dares (vocals) and myself. We still play, but usually just around New Orleans. We have an upcoming discography to be released on Emetic Records that will contain all of our past recordings, most of which are out of press, and a new full length that is nearly done.
Mari - Cool! You guys rocked quite hard as far as I could hear in the albums of yours I happened to lay my hands on ...
Gary - Yeah, we have that New Orleans heaviness, but we were mostly influenced by bands like The Accüsed, Cro-Mags, and Corrosion of Conformity especially. "Animosity" is a record that had a profound influence on Mike and me. We wanted to be the "hardcore" sludge band. I only use sludge as a point of reference; I think all of our bands have little more dynamics than just "sludge".
Mari – Yes, definitely ... I see that you guys are all linked to a deep and ancient love for hardcore punk, so much different, at least superficially, if not in contents, from your other slow heavy tunes (as soon as you get slow ...). With "you guys" I also include/mean EHG mates ...
Gary - I don't think its very different at all, like you said, maybe superficially. It all stems from a common energy, and I think that explains our diverse audience; we play music that touches fans of Black Flag, but at the same time, we have fans into Bauhaus or Darkthrone …
Mari – Absolutely true ... the EHG shows I happened to attend (and this quite holds for other bands more or less applying to your genre, like Weedeater etc.) had amongst the most varied "fauna", eh eh …
Gary - We are very grateful for that.
Mari – It is a cool feature indeed. It means that you are actually cross-genre, a cool sign of freedom, I guess, not being crystallized in any strict tag but still being a reference band. When one says "like Eyehategod" people into this kind of music know fairly well what one is speaking about …
Gary - Collectively, we listen to so much different music, and while there will always be an Eyehategod sound, what breathes beneath it reflects all of what we take in as influence, and reinterpret it in our songs. We often cite delta blues as a major influence; it’s nothing you can hear literally, but the feel is there.
Mari - Well, I would say the amount of luscious groove of Eyehategod music is roaring blues very much …
Gary - We'd like to think so, eh eh …
Mari - EHG have been all in all fairly stable band line-up-wise for over 20 years of its activity. The only position that saw quite a bit of changes is the bass. What happens with bass players? Riotous people? Hahah …
If I am not wrong you are the fifth bassist of the band.
Gary - There was a running joke that I'd be kicked out of the band after this record, as bass players can only play on one album. I don't know what happened with the other bassists; they are all friends of mine, but I never asked. I will play in this band til death, if they let me.
Gary - That is something that amazes us as well. We are so thankful to all of our fans that have stuck with us all these years, cult band or not. There is so much music out there now, that to still be recognized amidst so many bands is a blessing to us. We consider ourselves lucky for that. I guess hanging out with our fans is the least we could do to say "thanks".
Mari – Sure! One other thing that I was liking a lot (and it is noted and appreciated by many others) in your shows I happened to attend was to see you guys of EHG spending your time in attending also the exhibition of the local bands opening for you. I mean, it is really nice and cool, and not that frequent for big bands ...
Gary - We've met many cool bands that way. We want to know what is happening in whatever city we are in, so you'll see us watching bands all the time. Many of those bands end up being life long friends
Mari - Cool! So ... you guys are working on a new album. One new track, New Orleans is the New Vietnam, now out with label A389, has been around since last year. Just a mouthful of new tunes but probably suggesting that EHG's style may have a wee bit changed, "matured" ... there's a strong stream of passion in that song.
Gary - More bluesy than ever …
Mari - Well, I saw it played live in the show you guys did in Milano recently and of course it is pure EHG energy, but still very much passionate and slightly less wild than previous hits of yours.
Gary - I think “progressed” is more appropriate. We definitely haven't matured. I don't know how to judge my own music, but I've been told that all of the songs we have for this record are reminiscent of "Take as Needed for Pain" if it had to be compared to one of our early works. We just set out to write an album worth waiting this long for.
Mari - Well, I can't wait for it … When one thinks about the kind of music you guys and affine bands play, your "dynamic sludge with southern tinges", one may almost instinctively thinks about "swamp" and/or else (or better) a well-defined amazing pictoresque and multi-faceted urban context: New Orleans. Your music style is rich, heavy, drenched with groove and painful. Is it by chance that such genre was basically "invented" by your band in that geographical/cultural/social context? Or do you think that the context doesn't matter much ...
Gary - I think our surroundings have a huge influence on our music. I'm not sure that any of us could write the same way had we not been raised in New Orleans. The music history alone is immense and a huge source of inspiration to us. When we tour we always play Dr. John, Professor Longhair, Anders Osbourne, local rap, really anything New Orleans. No matter where we are, it lights up that special place inside of us that makes us proud to be from here. Besides the music, there is a vibe in the air here that is hard to find elsewhere. We plan to record our new record here.
Mari - Well, New Orleans is an important part of the general mythical "aura" and charm that USA has for us in Europe. When we dream of USA we naively dream of certain charming features of your country as well as some clichées ... Then especially coming to USA helps in seeing that there are so many people in poverty and that life is very difficult indeed. I guess that's an important inspiration for music and art as well ... Not to speak about disasters and tragedies as the one that struck New Orleans in 2005, Katrina. I guess it was deeply traumatic for you as well, even if you maybe didn't have as radical and strong consequences as Mike's.
Gary - We have dealt with a good deal of hardship in the past, and while it’s not something we bring up in conversation much, it is strongly expressed thru our music. There is pain and suffering all over the world, and we feel that ours is no different, and that we just deal with it as best as we can. We are lucky to have music as a creative outlet for our troubles in life; I think we are all thankful for the lives we have; Things can always be worst.
Mari - True ... Back to music then ... What about the fate of Outlaw Order?
Gary - We will play again in the near future. It’s been a few years, and based on the feedback we've been getting for 00% lately, and the fact that we are just ready to play those songs again, it will happen soon. We've been so focused on Eyehategod's record, that we haven't had time to jam in the past few years. The last time we did jam, we were almost half way into a new record. We plan on picking up where we left off and finally tour when the time is right.
Mari - Ah, this is a juicy news, eh ...
Gary - Keep in mind, we don't work on the strictest timeline.
Gary - Yes, we have wanted to do this for a long time, and are excited!
Mari - Yes, it is awesome indeed! You guys tour "seriously", eh eh … Apart from the magic of the deed itself, basically touring all over the world for your music, do you find touring a tiring activity? And is it difficult for you to make it cope with your "real" job and family issues? Because one important thing is that you guys involved in a world-famous cult band do live on your real jobs ...
Gary - No. I am grateful for every day that I am some place different. Some people save money their whole lives to see the places we've been. It can be difficult at home to leave behind my wife and pets. It’s the only thing that makes touring difficult. Aside from that, I have worked shitty jobs for my entire life to insure that I have the flexibility with my work schedule to leave when I want to, and that is hard to come by, but not impossible.
Mari - OK, Gary, I think I have stolen already much of your time. Thanks a lot for the chat. One thing: happy birthday! Here it is already your birthday, it turned to September 22nd ...
Gary - No problem, thank you for taking the time to interview all of us; we sincerely appreciate it. Thanks for my b-day wishes!
Interview by Marilena Moroni
(Many thanks to Fabrizio Garau and Michele Giorgi at webzine The New Noise and Jennifer Reisberg of label A389 Records for organizing the interviews)
EHG | Facebook
Official Website
Eyehategod – Full set January 21, 2012 Sonar (A389 VIII Bash)
Baltimore, MD
http://vimeo.com/35971477
