Gig Reviews
The Smile
K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen, DEN - 13/3
Album Reviews
Poison The Well
Previous Nextauthor PP date 15/03/07
Florida hardcore/metalcore hybrid Poison The Well has been through a lot in the last couple of years, including signing to a major label only to find out they wanted to control their music, and having revolving doors on the bassist and second guitarist positions. This is a band that was at the forefront of metalcore according to many publications just when the genre was about to blossom, but since then have somewhat diminished in status due to the four years that it took the band to record their new album "Versions" because of a number of difficulties they encountered during this time. The band had elected to come over to the UK a month before the release of the album to promote it and to say hi to old friends, so we grabbed the perfect opportunity to interview them, and Ferret Records sent drummer Chris Hornbrook into a corner with us at backstage Islington Academy, London to have a long chat about pretty much everything regarding the band.
RF.net: Could you please introduce yourselves to the readers:
Chris: My name is Chris Hornbrook, I'm the drummer for Poison The Well
RF.net: How does that affect the band?
Chris: Well it doesn't. Whatever point in our band whether its four guys or three guys that are actually the core of the band. When Derek, our old guitar player was one of us four dudes, we never really considered the bass player to... to affect us, because we had gone through so many. Now, the three of us we have our friend Mike playing bass for us, and he's cool, but it's always gonna be the three of us.. thinking about how many bass players, it's really weird because they're either really cool and they can't play at all, or they can play, and they're not cool. It's really been both. We're really fortunate with Mike because he can play and he is a great dude. So I think he might last a while. But for the most part.. [laughs]
RF.net: But right now don't you have Brad Clifford and Jason Boyer from Candiria?
Chris: No not Jason Boyer, It's Mike MacIvor from Candiria. Jason Boyer used to be in a band called Target Nevada from Florida, but he got married at the end of 06/beginning of 07 so he couldn't tour, or didn't wanna tour, and that's where we had Brad come in and fill in a spot.
RF.net: So these two are they going to be permanent or just touring for now?
Chris: Just touring for now.
RF.net: So basically the label told you what kind of music they wanted you to write?
Chris: Nooo.. they weren't straight up telling us, but they were gesturing. You know they were like "it has to have chorus" or "it has to have this" or "it has to do this" you know.. "top 20 single" blah blah blah blah
RF.net: So would you say that sort of fits with the major label nightmare stories that we hear from a lot of bands these days?
Chris: Pretty much. Definitely a major label nightmare. The only nightmare that we didn't get to experience was that they were cool for letting us go. They realized that we'd worked for a long time, and we were a band that had built a fan base, and respected us enough to say: "Hey, we'll let you go".
RF.net: Well you are on Ferret now. Would you ever consider signing to another major label?
Chris: No chance
RF.net: Not even if they offered you $5 million?
Chris: Essentially if they offered you that much money they're gonna have an incredibly large debt over your heard, and you're going to have to do whatever they want you to do. And at that point you better take that $5 million and do something with it, invest it somewhere, because most likely when you don't deliver what they want you to deliver, they'll shelf your band. And your band will be done.
RF.net: It's a rare find these days especially here in Europe, internet or non-internet. Do you have any plans of reissuing, re-releasing or doing anything with these old records
Chris: I don't know actually, I'm not sure. I know that with "The Opposite.." and "Tear..", the first and second record.. I don't know if Trustkill, the original label that released it over here and have the rights for the record in the US, if they have some sort of office over here. I assume that the distribution was kinda good but I guess not. I guess it just depends what country you are in. But if any kid really wants the record they go on an online site and order it and get it, or download it. Either or.
RF.net: Some of the biggest memories maybe?
Chris: Up's, biggest ups is.. [thinks] releasing the first record "Opposite". It being kinda weird, crazy, people freaking out saying it's this really great record when at that point it was like five dudes, no five kids who wrote this record, and we were just like 'cool... we made a record!' and selling it is a big deal. That was definitely a very cool moment. Another cool moment was when we signed to a major label and we were apparently at the 'forefront of metalcore', whatever that means. I don't know what exactly that means but you know, it's a nice feeling and it was a nice time. Low times.. when Derek quit and in the past three and a half years we've been doing a lot of things as a band, you know. But if we never get to reach where we were before, that's fine, but.. we just gotta do what we gotta do, things happen for a reason.
RF.net: Would you say then that your status as a band has gone down since then?
Chris: I don't know. I couldn't tell you. I don't pay that much attention. All I do is play drums and do what I love doing, I don't really pay attention to what kids think or what the magazines are saying.
RF.net: In 2004.
Chris: Yeah it becomes a blur after a while. Basically had to find other people, start writing material again and we went to go record it. We recorded all this material and Ryan's dad died in the midst of doing this. So he had to kind of attend to that as well. When the recorded material came home, we realized we wanted more material, we had to tour, because obviously if we're not touring, we need to make money to survive, so we did this tour called Sounds Of The Underground in the US. Came home from that, wrote, started the new year. At that point we were supposed to record the record in the beginning of 06, and that's when the Atlantic thing happened, which took about six months to get out of the contract, and then it took another three or four months to get into the Ferret contract. So it was like one thing after another after another. When we'd get over one problem, another problem would come. I couldn't even tell you how many times I thought of quitting, because it was like when is this gonna stop, when are we going to be able to release this, when are we gonna be able to record this, and when is this actually going to come to reality. And luckily, it has!
RF.net: Kids who just won't listen to the new album because, you know, they say "oh it's not The Opposite of December".
Chris: I don't know, I mean it's kind of hard to say because I know when I was a kid, lets say 17-20 years old, I didn't have exactly the most open minded scape of music that I have now. Maybe this is going to be a record that when kids get older, they still have it around them and they'll listen to it and appreciate it, because there are records that I listened to when I was a kid, I couldn't understand them. And the older I got, the more my taste of music opened up, the more I appreciated it. I'm not saying that's gonna happen with this record but that's kind of the way I look at it. Kids who don't like it either they're not gonna like it at all, or eventually it will grow on them.
RF.net: Just out of curiosity, can you name an album that had that effect on you?
Chris: Effect on me, umm.. The Beatles catalog. When I was a little kid I didn't understand it, now it's great pop music. David Bowie.. some progressive rock bands like Yes and Mavavishnu Orchestra. You know when you're listening to very simple pop music.. and present pop music, and try to listen to the old stuff, you know sometimes it just takes a little bit to grow on you to appreciate it.
RF.net: Is this as experimental as you'll get with the band, or can we expect you to transform to a ska-hardcore band or something by the next album?
Chris: I don't know, it'd be really funny because I could see our next album, I'm not saying this is going to be but I can just think of very fast, in-your face like. That's the thing with us, every record's gonna do something different, which I think is cool, and I appreciate that out of bands who don't release the same record over and over again.
RF.net: So what do you think about albums leaking early in general? Especially yours now?
Chris: It's weird. It bothers me but it doesn't. Like it bothers me because I'd like to wait to April 3rd when it comes out, but then it doesn't bother me because who cares if a kid gets a copy of the record and they really like it, that's cool.
RF.net: Especially now that you're touring almost a month before the release of the album, do you think it works to your advantage at the shows?
Chris: I think to a certain degree, because it is such a multi-dimensional record. I think it's going to take a while for people to fully embrace it. It's not going to be that record that right off the bat people will know it. I think maybe after us touring for like four five months kids will really start to get excited about it, you know when they've listened to the songs 50-100-200 times.
RF.net: Denmark?
Chris: Hopefully. I've never been to Denmark before, I'd love to go.
RF.net: What kind of setlist are you going to be playing, considering how the release of "Versions" is still almost three weeks away?
Chris: As of now we're playing a little bit of everything. I think it's three of "The Opposite..", two of "The Tear..", three new songs and then three or four songs off "You Come Before You". So it's just trying to get everything, but we don't really play super long setlists and we don't take a lot of breaks in between, so it feels kind of short. But it's like song after song after song after song.
RF.net: Isn't it weird playing a song everyone knows and rocks out to, and then playing a new tune and have people almost stand still wondering what to think of it?
Chris: Nah you can't really look at it like that, because I know for me if I was watching a band and they broke out a new song, I wouldn't be freaking out, I'd be paying attention, and hearing what's going on, seeing what's going on and listening. Because they're not freaking out doesn't mean that they don't like it, it just means they're absorbing and they're taking it in.
RF.net: Apparently this shows live, too? They're supposed to be crazy, is that true?
Chris: They can be at times. It depends. Like I said for our newer songs they're usually there but maybe for older, more established material they kinda go ape shit, which is cool.
RF.net: What is your opinion on the current state of the hardcore scene and the music scenes in general?
Chris: I have no clue. [laughs] I guess it's really popular, because there's people capitalizing off of it, doing huge tours and making money and stuff. I guess that's cool, whatever your agenda is.
RF.net: So what bands do you listen to right now?
Chris: Let me think of my iPod... I listen to the new Blood Brothers, it's a pretty good record. Cult Of Luna I like a lot, I heard the new Neurosis is really really good, I haven't heard it yet, listen to Isis.. I listen to a lot of David Bowie, The Beatles, listen to the French band Air.. progressive rock bands like Yes and Mavavishnu Orchestra.. I like The Mars Volta, they're a good band. I think the new Mastodon is pretty cool. Kind of all over the place. I love jazz, like I love Art Blakey. I have an iPod and ADD, so I listen to one song at a time. Like last night I started on listening to Art Blakey, and then I went to The Bronx and then I went to David Bowie. It's like you can't listen to complete records when you have an iPod because your mind just wonders.
RF.net: Thanks again, and congratulations on the album!