HURT Interview  

 9-30-07

 Pointfest  Maryland Heights., MO

 After watching the band put on a crowd pumping show in front of 22, 500 people, at Pointfest just outside of St. Louis, MO, I got a chance to sit down with J. Loren and Paul Spatola of HURT. After introductions we got down to business.

 Jenn RM:  If there is one thing you want people to get out of your music what would it be?

 Loren:  Feeling

Jenn RM: Just Feeling?

Loren: Just feeling

Jenn RM: Songs like “Ten Ton Brick” and “Rapture” have meaning that most people make their own. Whether it is what you mean for the song to mean, it means something special to them. Where do you get the ideas for your songs? Do you take them from 1^st person experience or 3^rd person?

Loren: I write primarily from 1^st hand experience. There are songs like “Old Mission”, it’s a ballad, and obliviously it’s not about me. I usually make it very explicate when it’s not about me. There’s a lot of he’s she’s and it’s.

Jenn RM: It’s rare to hear a violin in rock music. What made you incorporate your ability to play?

Loren:  That was mainly the prompting of the band.  I’ve always been a violinist. It was my first instrument but, there was a level of overcoming the obstacle of singing while playing.  Most people, for instance, when my music teacher was teaching me, there was a chapter in the program book I was using, I think, Muller Hershel method, it came to the part of sing and play, He was like for a violin HA-HA, like your ever going to do that.

Jenn RM: well, there’s always something to overcome right.

Loren: right, so it took quite a while of practice and I kept making mistakes even though I can sing well, oh pretty well,. But, I started playing violin.

Jenn RM:  So it was something ya’ll had to talk him into?

Paul: The um-yeah sort of. We asked if he wanted to do it. And he was “I don’t know”.  We were like we gotta do it, you know.  It’s so great live, people love it when we play live, they see it and like flip out.  It’s on the record and we incorporate into the song. It’s awesome to do live.

Loren: It was also shocking we were doing our first major tour the Jagermiester Tour. People were moshing to Danse Russe, and, you know they had never any of the songs before.

Jenn RM: Well, we were at the last show of the Jager tour and I remember when you brought the violin out and the whole place just went ‘GASP’ and you know. They loved it.

Loren: Well we are going to incorporate it a little more, and we do use a variety of instruments that people consider odd for rock music.

Jenn RM:  Ya’ll use a banjo on the new album and Paul plays the Dobro.

Loren: But I’m not really sure we are playing rock music. So I don’t think it’s a problem

Jenn RM:  All of you come from very different backgrounds. What’s it like touring and playing together?

Paul: I think we are getting along better than ever now being that we’ve been around each other as long as we have. It’s getting easier being around everybody. I don’t think it has anything to do with backgrounds because we are all doing the same thing now and we all love music.  So it doesn’t matter if you are from the country or the city we all, like, really love music. So we get along.

Loren: Every one of us is extremely eccentric. So, you know, after we got used to our eccentricities we got used to each other. It really took some time.

Jenn RM:  From what we’ve experienced from seeing you at different shows- this makes my 6^th show to see you at- Josh is kind of the spokes person of the group.

Loren:  Really?

Jenn RM: Josh he is, you always see him out before the show and he’s out there with the fans and he’ll talk to anyone.

Loren: I been trying to do a lot of that and talking. The key part is talking. I’m not supposed to do that when I’m doing like three shows a day. So I don’t do a lot of talking. Then again there is the factor that people tend to recognize me. I can’t really go in out of a crowd quickly and well. Josh loves his anonymity and he capitalizes on it.

Jenn RM: I think that is going to go south for him pretty quickly.

Loren: I think it is.  We been doing pretty well with that, you know. We made a video with out us in it.  For a long time we were getting away with it until basically the Jumbotron in Indy. And then we couldn’t go anywhere in Indianapolis. Now it’s getting to be like that where ever we go.

Jenn RM:  How does it make you feel to be Clear Channels “Artist in the Spotlight” for September?

Loren: Really? Good.

Jenn RM: Did you know that?

Paul: NO

Jenn RM: everywhere you looked anytime you logged on to a website down there. It was “Artist in the Spotlight, September” HURT- check out new music.

Loren: WOW

Paul: Sweet

Jenn RM: how does that make you feel to be recognized like that? To have people putting you stuff out there everywhere.

Loren: I mean, you know, I’m certainly not going to turn that down. But my primary goal, to be honest, is the fans, and obliviously that leads to the exposure to the fans. But, I don’t really look at ourselves as far as “oh we’re doing a good job because a company likes us”. It has a lot more to with personal letters.

Jenn RM: You have quite a few fans who have taken their love for your music as far as getting HURT tattoos. What is like to have that kind of impact on some ones life?

Loren: Yes they have. (Points to Paul) he’s the tattoo expert.

Paul: I mean if that’s what they want to do to their body, I mean, we have the CD to listen to. If you want to put it on your body….

J. Loren: I’m not going to encourage anyone to do anything like that.

Paul: If that’s what they want to do it’s their decision. But who am I to condone that? “Like hey go get a HURT tattoo or something”.

J. Loren: Luckily with our particular band name though- if we all died today…

Jenn RM: It’s multiple meaning

J. Loren: Right. And they would still be branding themselves with the meaning that they probably identify with in a different way to. And I’m sure there a backdoor for them. Where as System of a Down is pretty definitive.

Jenn RM: What has given HURT staying power? Most bands coming into it as new as you guys did, release a CD and do a couple of tour never to be heard from again. What makes HURT different? What made ya’ll so big so quick.

Loren: Are we big? (Looking to Paul)

Paul: (laughing) I don’t know.

Loren: I don’t feel any different from last year.

Paul: I’m glad. I think it has a lot to do with the fans we have are really devoted fans. We want to obviously

Want to keep doing this. We are going to always make music. But, you people like on the forums and the myspace and stuff. It just keeps getting bigger and bigger and every time we go back there it’s like word of mouth. We don’t have the exposure like video and all that stuff. So people like you. And it just gets bigger by word of mouth. We can’t just disappear; this is what we want to do. We have the option and the opportunity. So as long as people are listening we are going to keep on playing. 

Jenn RM:  Vol I was written by J. Ten Ton Brick and After math was written with the help of Josh and Paul.  What was that like working together lyrically?

Loren: we didn’t work together lyrically. Unfortunately, I mean, I insist on writing the lyrics on which I will be singing. So, I know that probably not fair to the other guys but, I don’t have to worry about forgetting the lyrics.  I can’t sing somebody else’s songs. I can’t sing some else’s lyrics, not that way. I have done recording for other people and stuff like that, but it’s not the same. It doesn’t sound the same.

Jenn RM:  DO ya’ll do most of the writing of the music together?

Loren:  The new stuff especially. Paul and I have been really getting it on. I would say we are both prolific writers. Basically like Ten Ton Brick was an amalgamation of two songs that we had. And he was playing this guitar riff he was playing it probably 20 bpms slower than it currently is and it was kinda a slave song.

Jenn RM: I noticed when ya’ll released Loded on the album; ya’ll sped it up from the original version.

Loren: Right- That was because I screwed up. When I was writing for The Consummation , No, when I made The Consummation one of the problems was I didn’t really sleep for 6 months or so while I was playing, so my tempo clock was a little off and I always regretted that. But, we put Loded back were it should be.