W
ith a new album out just a little over a month ago, multi-platinum rock group Hinder, is back! When The Smoke Clears released through The End Records on May 12, and contains that same Hinder goodness we have all grown to crave.
With new vocalist, Marshal Dutton, When the Smoke Clears is chock full of memorable and diverse songs. From a country to rock, and some slight pop sensibility thrown in for good measure, Hinder is here to stay! We are certainly glad they are here, and here to stay!
Doubling the goodness, we were able to sit down with Cody Hanson and pick his brain about the album and the decision to continue on without Austin, as well as capturing some of that Hinder goodness on stage at their 6/19/2015 show at Bogart’s in Cincinnati Ohio.
So your album, When the Smoke Clears, just came out not too long ago. And in terms of genres, it’s packed with genre diversity. Where did all this musical outpour come from?
We’ve been through a lot over the last few years, and a lot of the songs are based on relationships. There are slight undertones of where we were and in some of the things we’re going through as a band. We had a lot of inspirations when writing for it. We’re always trying to pull from personal experiences, whether it is things we’re doing at the time or things we’ve gone through in the past, or maybe we see somebody else (like a friend or somebody who’s close) who’s going through a situation.
And you produced and recorded it yourselves? Was this the first time self-produced?
We did. Marshal and I produced mixed and mastered it all by ourselves. This was the first time we did it by ourselves. We have done other projects for other artists where we have gotten to do that, but as far as for Hinder, it was our first time doing everything.
Did it make anything difference in the outcome?
I feel like it did in the mix: it mixed a lot smoother. A lot of times when you produce an album and try to mix it as you go along, you have to hand it off to somebody else. You’re never quite as happy with it; you have a way you want it to sound in your mind, so it’s just like an extra step. When we do everything ourselves we are much happier with the results.
In March you released a preview of “Rather Hate Than Hurt”. What were the initial reactions from that taste?
I mean, I think you know the reaction was great. Obviously, there’s always going to be those people that whenever you release new material with a different vocalist there’s going to be that initial shock. Some people have a hard time dealing with that and it takes a minute. But overall the reaction was awesome. We are very happy.
Hinder – Rather Hate Than Hurt [Official Audio]
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“Hit the Ground” is a key song on the album. In press release after press release, and online article after article, the lyric “Falling feels like flying till you hit the ground,” shows up over and over. Tell me about this lyric, and what it means to you?
That song is very special to us. We all feel like we’ve lived every single lyric in that song. We definitely know what it’s like to work your ass off until you’ve finally gotten somewhere and you’re living the dream, and all a sudden having your whole world crash down around you. For us, it just gives people insight of where our minds were going into making the album.
“Through the years, we’ve been known as a party band,” Hanson acknowledged. “That is still our thing, but we’ve lived every lyric in this song. Please give me an example of how you interpret “party” and a party anecdote.
Well, it’s hard to say but definitely we have done our share of drinking. We probably take that to the extreme all the time; definitely more so in the past, but we still like to have a great time and party, but we are a lot more focused on our careers these days. We still drink more than we should. It’s an everyday thing, but nowadays we’d like to focus more on the music and on the band and getting back to where we need to be.
Hinder – Hit the Ground [Official Music Video]
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It was during the album cycle for Welcome to the Freak Show that you made the decision to part ways with Austin. Tell us about the path that led to that decision, how it was carried out (and if you feel that is too personal), would you mind giving us an idea of what steps you took to move past what must have felt like a very open wound?
Ultimately neither one of us was happy for several reasons and it came to a point where if a change wasn’t made then we weren’t going to continue. This band is something we’ve worked on our entire adult lives on and we weren’t ready to give it up. We had fans reaching out to us after the decision was made to move on, and they asked us to to please find a way to continue because the music means so much to them. That really hit us hard. We decided to suck it up and make a change and continue on, so that’s what we are doing.
How did you get over the “break-up”?
It was a very painful emotional time for all of us. We were just depressed and really really unhappy for so long. We kind of forgot what it was like to enjoy ourselves on the road, and unfortunately so much more time is spent on the road th in our personal lives. So it was kind of a toxic environment for everyone. But luckily once we decided to go with Marshal. We kind of picked up and kept going. It was a pretty seamless transition. Marshal has been around for so long as a cowriter and coproducer in the past albums, so it was easier.
Beyond amazing facial hair, how has Marshal changed the flavor of Hinder?
The thing about Marshal is that he is such a talented guy that he kind of elevates the rest of us. He makes us a better band every day. His knowledge of music is insane. He is one of the best guitar players I have ever seen in my life. He is a fantastic piano player, song writer, and producer. So adding that into the band elevated everything.
You all held a
n online competition on your social media sites for your fans to help name the new album. How appropriate do you feel the name is? I mean, it’s almost like THIS is what you have when the smoke clears!
Well, we thought it would be a cool idea to involve the fans in this new chapter. Our fans are very important to us so we try to include them as much as possible. Whenever we saw the name, we knew it was perfect. It kind of seemed fitting for where we were at. We had gone through all the bullshit and fought really hard for this band. We kind of feel like we are ready to move on and put it all behind us, move forward, and focus on the music and the fans.
The band also left your longtime label, Republic Records, and settled in at a powerhouse indie label, The End Records.Tell me what you feel The End Records has done for Hinder and how you came to choose them?
Well, honestly I can say that I spoke with Andreas (the owner) and he is amazing. He just seems like he gets it. He is very supportive. He had heard the music already, and really liked it and it seemed like the perfect home for us. They let us be completely in control as far as the creative side. They have done nothing but be supporttive, so that’s huge for us. They are hard workers. They know what they’re doing. They’re smart people and it’s the first time I have ever had where somebody from my label call me on a Saturday night with new ideas. It’s a great relationship.
The video for “Hit The Ground” was filmed in your hometown. Do you get to go home often?
Yeah we have gone home quite a bit. We try not to be to territorial of the album, and now that its out we are planning on burning the road up as much as possible. We are gonna try to make it overseas in the fall and do another U.S. tour in the fall as well. So we are planning to have as much fun as we can on this cycle.
In your track listing, you actually have a Nine Left Dead cover. I know you have worked with them in the past, I believe you produced an album of theirs. Tell us about that choice.
It’s funny. Marshal and I wrote that song, as well as the majority of that album, and we produced it in my studio in my house. We always liked that song and thought it had that “Hinder” sound. So we worked it up, threw it on, and seeing what people think about it.
Beyond music, what are some of your other passions?
For me, one of my biggest goals in life is to start an animal rescue. I haven’t been able to do it, but that is one thing I plan on getting going in the near future. Other than that, and besides playing golf in my time off a little bit here and there, it’s mostly music honestly. It’s a lot of time in the studio.
Which song will you be releasing next, if we may know?
Great question, it’s kind of up in the air we are not really sure which direction we are going to go we have a couple of different options.
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