Hinder
Interview
w/Austin Winkler and Cody Hanson
byDeb Rao
Every once in awhile, a band emerges onto the music scene that makes you stand up and listen. Hinder, who hail from Oklahoma, burst onto the music charts with their Number One mega hit, Lips of An Angel" in 2006.
The huge 80′s arena sound that surrounds the band got them an opening slot with the legendary Boston rock band Aerosmith. The distinctive vocals of Austin Winkler launched the band into high gear, as their Number One hit, Lips of An Angel" blasted on every mainstream FM radio station across the country.
It wouldn’t be long before the Mid-West rockers would soon become a household name.
On November 4th, coincidently Election Day, Hinder is set to release their latest album, Take it To The Limit" on Universal/Republic.
Their latest video "Use Me" has just been filmed, and the first single slated for airplay is, Without You". Motley Crue bassist Mick Mars makes a guest-star appearance with his shredding guitar solo on the title track, Take It To The Limit". Hinder is no stranger to Canada, and also did a writing session for "Take It To The Limit" in Whistler, Canada.
Hinder is gearing up for The Jagermeister Tour, which kicks off on October 24th in Magna, UT.
I recently spoke with Hinder singer Austin Winkler and drummer Cody Hanson in a Tele-Conference on October 10th in support of their upcoming release, Take it To The Limit". Hinder discusses the making of their upcoming release, touring with Aerosmith, and the making of their latest video, Use Me".
Austin, Can you tell us a little bit about the writing process for
Take it To The Limit"? I know that the band spent 2 years on the road non-stop touring since the release of "Extreme Behavior". How did touring play a major role in the writing process for, Take It To The Limit"? Did you write a lot on the road?
AUSTIN: "Absolutely. We are always writing. Cody and I come up with the song, and we take it to the rest of the guys. We went and had a writing session in Florida, and we also did a writing session in Whistler, Canada, which we also did on the "Extreme Behavior" as well. One last one in Vancouver. It was an amazing experience to go to all of those places, very inspiring."
In regards to touring, Hinder has opened up for a lot of great bands including from the Boston area, Aerosmith. What was it like touring with Aerosmith?
AUSTIN: "For myself it was like my first dream come true kind of thing that I experienced with the band. I am it was for the other guys as well. It was kind of like going back to school, we got a lot of work to do."
As a vocalist, did you play in a lot of cover bands in school? Is that how you developed your style?
AUSTIN: "Yes, and that I used to smoke three packs a day."
What do you most enjoy about touring and being on the road?
AUSTIN: "For myself just being able to play your music and seeing the fans connect with you and doing live shows every night."
How did you come up with the title of your upcoming release, Take It To The Limit?"
AUSTIN: "Actually, when we were in Whistler, Canada, we always just keep a piece of paper and spit out stupid names. I can’t even tell you what some of the other names for the album were. You just spit out something until something sounds right for the record and for the songs that we are doing."
Also, Hinder has performed in Europe. Did you enjoy playing in Europe? Are the fans the same as The States?
AUSTIN: "(Laughter) Europe has a problem with ice. You can’t get ice for your drinks. It is like gold over there."
CODY:" Europe fans are great once they commit to being a fan, they will be a fan for life. So that is good."
What was it like when your song, Lips Of An Angel" Hit Number One on The Billboard Charts? The album came out in 2005 and it took a little while for it to hit The Charts. But the song was phenomenal and it finally hit Billboard Number One. What were you feeling at that point in time?
CODY: "It was pretty surreal. It was an amazing accomplishment. I still can’t believe it."
Do you have any favorite songs off of the new CD?
AUSTIN: I love the title track, Take It To Limit". The one that Mick Mars did with us.
CODY: My favorite is "Best Is Yet To Come". It is such a different song for us and the songwriting style is different from what is done in the past. I like that one a lot.
Austin, Were you ever influenced by 80′s bands at all including Motley Crue?
AUSTIN: Absolutely. Motley Crue, Guns N ‘Roses, all the good stuff. I love "Janie’s Got A Gun" by Aerosmith and "Kickstart My Heart by Motley Crue is another great one.
How has Hinder evolved since the early days performing in Oklahoma?
Austin: "When we first started out we were a four piece, when we won that competition at The Buzz. I was playing guitar at the time, I was the rhythm guitarist. Once we did the writing for "Extreme Behavior", we decided that we needed some more people that can sing. So we went out and got another guitarist and I stopped playing guitar and we got a new bass player that could also sing. So that is how we have evolved since then for sure."
Tell me about the concept for your latest video, Use Me".
AUSTIN: "Use Me" was just a very fun video to make. It was all real.
CODY: "It was pretty cool. We got some Playboy girls to come up and party with us for the video. That didn’t suck for sure."
Is the band looking forward to performing a lot of the new songs on the tour? Also, tell us a little bit about what the fans can expect to see on your upcoming tour?
AUSTIN: " The fans can always expect the unexpected from us and a great show. We are actually very excited about going out and playing our new songs. We are also excited for the record to come out for the fans to have it."
Hinder is Austin Winkler (vocals), Mark King (guitar), Blower (guitar), Mark Rodden (Bass), Cody Hanson (drums). www.myspace.com/hindermusic
Tour Dates
Date City Venue
Friday, October 24th Magna , UT The Great Salt Air
Saturday, October 25th Blackfoot, ID El Rey Events Center
Tuesday, October 28th San Diego , CA 4th & B Theatre
Wednesday, October 29th Tucson , AZ Rialto Theatre
Thursday, October 30th Las Vegas , NV The Pearl Theatre At The Palms Casino
Saturday, November 1st Reno , NV Grand Sierra Resort Theatre
Sunday, November 2nd Anaheim , CA The Grove of Anaheim
Tuesday, November 4th Los Angeles , CA Wiltern Theatre
Saturday, November 8th Jacksonville , FL Metropolitan Park
Sunday, November 9th Orlando , FL Tinker Field
Monday, November 10th Ft. Walton Beach , FL The Swamp
Wednesday, November 12th Baltimore , MD Rams Head Live!
Friday, November 14th Worcester , MA The Palladium
Saturday, November 15th Allentown , PA Crocodile Rock
Sunday, November 16th Montclair , NJ Wellmont Theatre
Thursday, November 20th Atlantic City , NJ House of Blues
Sunday, November 23rd Knoxville , TN Valarium
Monday, November 24th Starkville , MS Ricks Caf
Wednesday, November 26th Tulsa , OK Cains Ballroom
Friday, November 28th Springfield , MO Shrine Mosque
Saturday, November 29th Omaha , NE Sokol Auditorium
Wednesday, December 3rd Des Moines , IA Val Air Ballroom
Sunday, December 7th Houston , TX Verizon Wireless Theatre
Thursday, December 11th Milwaukee , WI The Eagles Club
Saturday, December 13th Ft. Wayne , IN Pieres
Monday, December 15th Dayton , OH Ervin J. Nutter Center
