I caught up with Gary Mader of Eyehategod outside of The Orpheum in Ybor City before their set, we talked about the band’s new self titled album, their new drummer, and more. Eyehategod just finished wrapping up their tour with Ringworm and Enabler, but they have plenty of touring coming up, so be on the lookout.
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Q – You’re currently wrapping up your tour with Ringworm and Enabler, how has the tour been treating you so far?
Gary – It’s been a great tour. We haven’t had a record out in a while so to be touring with new material behind us has really helped us as far as getting the word out. There’s been a lot of younger audiences, which is really cool, if you can connect with a younger audience like this I think you’re doing a good thing. There’s been lots of great shows, very few hiccups along the way.
Q – The band’s self titled album has been out for just a little under a month now, how has the overall reception for it been like so far?
Gary – Almost everything that I’ve read it seems like people really dig it, I mean I don’t read through everything. It feels like everyone else thinks we’ve made an album that doesn’t just rehash material that we were doing before. But it’s been cool, a lot of people dig it, of course there are some who don’t like it, but we’ve really never given a fuck about it. It’s cool though, just listen to something else.
Q – This was the band’s first album released in fourteen years, what was the reason(s) for waiting so long in between albums?
Gary – It was a mixture of being in other bands, personal stuff and shit we just had no control over. I got in the band in 2001, we did a Japanese tour and right around that time Superjoint Ritual and Down were doing stuff, so Jimmy was super busy for a good two or three years. During that time we put together Outlaw Order, we recorded a 7-inch and a full length with that project, and when that was all said and done we got back together with Eyehategod and started to really try and put things together. I’d say around the time after the hurricane we all started jamming at Jimmy’s house, because we were all so excited to be able to jam again, because when you’re evacuated you can’t just go jam somewhere. We started jamming around 2005, started to write some new material for this record, but even between then and now, Down has put out more stuff, and I started a hardcore band called Classhole and we put out a split 12-inch with Fistula, playing shows out and a bout outside of Louisiana. And then Brian was doing Soilent Green for Maryland Deathfest, and Mike was doing Corrections House. I play in a band with Aaron called Missing Monuments, and he also plays in a band called Mountain Of Wizard which is really good. Everybody’s got so much shit going on at the same time, so in between all of that is when we put this record together, and that’s why I think it took us seven years to finally put this out. And even outside of the band there’s been all of this personal stuff along the way, it’s not really worth harping on, just shit that happens.
Q – How has it been for you guys playing live with Aaron now in the band?
Gary – It’s killer. Like I said before we jam in that other band, and after jamming intensely with Eyehategod to get ready to be able to play again, and with me joining their band, it’s become such a unit. Once I get locked in with a drummer I really enjoy playing, it’s just sort of like this mental conversation that we establish. It was hard getting used too at first, cause with Joey I jammed with him for thirteen years, so meeting somebody you end up spending a lot of time with, after going through that change, mentally when you’re playing, things you would signal one another for, just little things, it isn’t the same anymore. But we’re lucky to have Aaron. It had to be somebody from Louisiana for us to play with, as much as people downplay where you’re from, that was important for us. We’re just really lucky we ran into him, it might have been a longer road to recovery, getting back to jamming, if we would have had to look for someone else, someone that don’t just hear with second line bands all of the time. Cause if you listen to a lot of Joey’s drumming, it’s definite New Orleans drumming, he played voodoo drums mixed in with everything else, he had a very dynamic approach to what he made his own style.
Q – What’s the best concert you’ve ever attended that you didn’t play?
Gary – Earth was pretty intense, it was a really heavy show. Any time that I see The Melvins, there’s no Melvins show that I don’t approve of. Sloppy Seconds were really good. Also The Spits, whenever I saw them I was just like “Whoa…”, it’s extremely different from Eyehategod, but it’s the same ethic I think.
Q – After this tour is finished, what’s next for Eyehategod?
Gary – We’re doing a West coast tour in the beginning of October, and then we’re suppose to go to Mexico and do four shows, then South America, and then I think Australia and Japan early next year, and finally a European tour in the spring. So we’re trying to be busy, now we have a reason to be someplace, and we want to go everywhere(laughs).
Q – Thanks for taking the time to talk with us, is there any last thing you’d like to say to any fans and supporters of Eyehategod?
Gary – We love ya’ll motherfuckers(laughs). No but seriously, all of these years without a new record, I mean our audience is slightly bigger now, but all of the people that stuck with us while doing nothing…just thank you guys.
