ADDISON MATTHEW - HOUR OF THE WOLF
Name: Addison Matthew
Band (Alive/Dead): Hour of the Wolf, Alive
Duties in the Band: Guitar/Vox
On November 8, 2010, I had the pleasure of watching the Think Fast! Records Showcase at the Naylair here in my town of El Paso, TX. Hour of the Wolf was one of the acts that I saw and I was blown away. If Hot Snakes, The Bronx, and Motorhead had a baby…it might make Hour of the Wolf. I might be making an awful comparison to those who are already fans of Hour of the Wolf, but the point is that you should check them out whenever they come into your town….or buy some of their merch now if you like what you hear! I conversed with Addy after the show and we shared some words about his tour with the band and playing music in general. Addy was kind enough to answer this interview so here it is!
Goofy
Childhood Aspirations: I think I wanted to be a football player.
Any favorite midnight snacks? Orange Juice.
School is _______? Somewhere I haven’t been in eight years.
Favorite Cereal: Cap'n Crunch is pretty hard to beat.
If you were a dinosaur, which one would you be? A Pterodactyl
Favorite Movie: I could never decide. Nor do I have a favorite band.
Juice, Coffee, or Beer or all 3 in one day? Coffee and Beer are necessity, but Juice is good, too
Personal
When was the first time you went to a show? Who was it, when was it, and where was it?
I think it would have been Quake at the Lake, probably around 5th grade. Saw a bunch of metal and punk bands. I remember one band said something to the effect of “There’s a law in this country that needs to be overturned, and that’s 1st-Degree Murder. We should be able to kill whoever the fuck we want!” and I thought he was serious.
How did you get exposed into playing guitar? Was guitar your first instrument?
I originally wanted to play Saxophone. My uncle played guitar, so I ended up playing guitar. Got my first guitar (a ¾ size classical Hondo) for my 9th birthday.
What are some records that have changed you as a person?
I don’t know if it’s embarrassing or not, but seeing Rancid on Saturday Night Live as a kid and consequently buying “…And Out Come The Wolves” was what got me into Punk, which consequently changed my life. Before that Nirvana was huge. Snapcase “Progression Through Unlearning” was another huge one. Since then, there’s been way too many to name.
On the flip side, what are a few records that are currently being played in constant rotation in your stereo right now?
Judging by what iTunes says, Arthur Alexander, The Masonics, Off!, Reigning Sound, Thee Milkshakes, Wipers. It changes constantly, though.
Any interesting hobbies?
Cooking, and I work on guitars.
Can you describe your worst touring nightmare (not the sleeping type, but the crisis on the road type)?
I was driving the van to Detroit from Iowa City. Dustin, our drummer, in an unconscious drunken stupor, climbed out the back of the van (in his sleep) from the bunk and was standing on the wet trailer hitch pissing. I’m going 75 MPH down the fucking highway and I see his torso illuminated in red, floating in space out the back of the trailer. I don’t know how he survived that, but he did. The next morning we were pulled over outside Detroit. The cops search the van and find some illegal substances and a half empty bottle of Jim Beam in the van. They say we’re in deep shit and getting busted for narcotics. They scare the shit out of us and let us go. That was probably the most nightmarish 12 hours of tour I’ve ever experienced.
Any bands you’d like to tour with that you haven’t toured with yet –dead or alive?
I would have loved to have toured with Hot Snakes. I mean, if we’re talking dead or alive this list would be endless. Most of favorite bands/artists are dead. I mean, how about touring with Howlin’ Wolf? How about Black Sabbath?
How has touring/the life as a musician affected your life (for better and for worse)?
It’s affected me pretty much 100% positively with the exception being financial. If I could be financially comfortable playing music, I’m pretty sure I’d be happy. Money is money, though, and you can’t get around it.
Future plans for the band and for yourself whether it be your personal life/life on the road?
Hopefully we’re gonna keep makin’ records, keep playing shows and keep having fun. That’s all I like to do, anyway
Hour of the Wolf
First off I’d like to say I’ve been banging my head to Decompositions Vol. 1 non-stop! After seeing you guys here in El Paso during the Think Fast showcase, all I can remember thinking was “Damn! It’s extremely refreshing to hear a different take on hardcore that most people are not accustomed to”. Hour of the Wolf has probably been compared to the likes of AFI, early Misfits, Motorhead, Black Flag, but when I saw you guys I heard some underlying influences and tones akin to The Bronx and John Reis projects ala Hot Snakes and Drive like Jehu. Are there any other interesting bands you’ve been compared too? For that matter, are there any bands when making this band that you were super influenced by?
Motorhead, Black Flag, Misfits and Hot Snakes I think are the most appropriate from the list you’ve got. We are compared to The Bronx pretty often, but I don’t really think we’ve been influenced by them. My guitar playing is super influenced by Surf, Blues and Rockabilly. I know Lance has been really influenced by Oingo Boingo, which is unusual. It’s a hard question to answer.
I must ask….how did the band name come about? Did it come from the Swedish horror film, Hour of the Wolf?
I don’t really think of it as Horror, but yes. We named our band after the Bergman film, which Lance and I saw and were mesmerized by.
How exactly did the band start up? I’m betting that it wasn’t formed on Halloween (lame joke).
I always thought Lance was a bad (as in good) singer, so I approached him about playing. We started playing Misfits covers and went from there. Hank, who plays guitar now, played drums on our first record.
I asked what type of music influenced the band, but as for yourself, are you inspired by a certain group of musicians or bands? Are there any other factors that have nothing to do with music that influence you being a musician?
I couldn’t say any specific group of musicians or bands have influenced me in particular. My taste in music is pretty diverse.
What are some of your favorite parts about the music scene that you hail from? Is there anything about the scene in your hometown or the scene in general that you would like to change?
Well, it used to be pretty amazing for a town of it’s size. Now it is fucking DEAD. I blame the internet. If I could change it, I would encourage people to start bands and make it happen rather than just talking about it.
This is a question,that practically all musicians have been asked, but are their any aspects of the music industry that you are absolutely disgusted by?
Well, I’m so far removed from the “industry,” that I couldn’t really comment. It’s not like I’m getting ripped off on my royalty checks, because I’ve never gotten one. Is that a good or bad thing?
As the tangibility of actually owning a record has decreased over the years, do you guys find it harder to survive since selling records is getting more and more difficult?
Big time. The internet has been great for musicians and has fucked us at the same time. In a lot of ways, it’s evened out the playing field a lot. Pretty much anybody has the opportunity of getting their music out there, which is great, but it’s a double edged sword. I used to be opposed to downloading music for free until I saw that my band’s ENTIRE DISCOGRAPHY was available to the world for free. Since then, I don’t feel guilty about it.
I remember talking to you after the show about the differences between playing venues and house shows. We discussed the intimacy that playing a house show can have versus playing a bar that’s full of bar flies that don’t necessarily even care for the show. What are your overall thoughts on playing houses like the Naylair?
I love house shows. We were trying to book an all-house-show tour at one point, hopefully we’ll eventually make it happen! Houses to me are a great place to play/see a show. I feel like people take themselves a lot less seriously at house shows and are thus more likely to let their guards down, forget about who is looking at them and have fun and enjoy themselves and the bands. A lot of times, it sounds better than a shitty bar, anyway.
Does Hour of the Wolf have any exciting plans for 2011 that your fans should know about? Any tours or new records lined up?
We’re working on a real-life studio full length.
Anything else you would like to include about your band or yourself….or forever hold your peace.
Thanks to everybody out there who has helped us out. Thanks to the few, the proud, Wolf-a-Maniacs, and thanks for reading if you made it this far. Just thanks, I guess.
end.
Check out Hour of the Wolf at myspace.com/hourofthewolfaz or any other music hosting site. For merch hit up the Think Fast! webstore at webstore.thinkfastrecords.com or buy some goods at one of their shows!
Hope ya enjoyed it. Until next time…adios!
Chris
