HATEBREED is possibly the most important and successful hardcore band out there today have not only gained respect throughout the music community they are also unleashing creative power into other fields of the music world. Everyone knows about front man Mr. Jamey Jasta but what about the other guys, they are a big unit of the band and they have endeavors that are as important, so on the day of the band’s first date on the Jager tour. I had the pleasure of meeting up with Frank Novinec (guitarist) to talk about Koch records, new projects and to get to know a bit about him and what HATEBREED has meant to him.BEING THIS IS THE START OF A NEW TOUR DO YOU GUYS TRY TO DO CERTAIN THINGS TO MAKE A TOUR GO SMOOTHLY THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE THING?
No, no we are just normal dudes we just get up and go. We do it so much; we are on the road nine months out of the year. So we just go out there and do it. We just do what is best for us.
ARE YOU BASED OUT OF CT OR YOU FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE?
I live in Cleveland
BEING ON KOCH RECORDS NOW, WHAT WILL YOU BE DOING WITH THEM?
For the next three releases that we have coming up from now and the end of the year.
ANY REASON WHY YOU WOULD CHOOSE THEM?
They are starting to dabble in the metal scene because before they were more of a hip hop thing, but we are all fans of the hip hop. We are just excited to work with them because they are good people and it serves the purpose real well for what we will be releasing this year. The first thing coming out is a live DVD, it was shot in Detroit about a month and a half ago, a live CD is also coming which is going to have a VERY special guest producer that I can’t name right now, but we are recording at Dallas and that might give you a little hint on who it might be. And lastly we have a cover CD coming out as well and all this will be coming to you before the end of the year. With all this happening it is also given us time to write a new record. The last record has been out for quite some time now so in ‘09 HATEBREED will have a new record out
SO ALL THIS STUFF IS JUST SOMETHING SPECIAL FOR THE FANS!!
It is. The band has been together well over a decade and there has been a demand for at DVD so
IS IT JUST THE DETROIT SHOW ON IT OR MORE?
There is actually other footage from the festivals in Europe and stuff but the majority of it is the Detroit show at Harpos.
WHY THAT VENUE AND CITY?
Well Harpos is a great place to do DVDs at, it looks really good and the stage is really high. Zach Wylde did his there as well along with other bands. Plus Detroit, HATEBREED has a lot of history there, it’s a grimy blue collar city and we met a lot of friends since back in the day and it just seemed like the right place to do it. Everything went well it was a sold out show, 2300 people. It was cool because we had HATEBREED fans that came from all around the world to that show and the crowd was really intense. It just wasn’t your average show where some people are into it and some are not. This crowd was all die hard fans so the energy was unbelievable. So it looks really good and I’m excited about it and the DVD will be coming out in the fall
FOR THE DETROIT SHOW DID YOU COME UP WITH DIFFERENT SONGS TO PLAY TO MAKE IT MORE SPECIAL?
We do something different every night. We rehearse over 50 to 60 songs before we leave for tour. I know on this tour we are doing three songs we have never done since I have been in the band and we are doing a song that is not even out. It’s just a song that never got released so we are doing that as well. We switch it up every night and also Jamey will just switch it up in the middle of the set. He will just shout out anything and we got to be on it, so. We go by the crowd reaction and think about what songs will go over better then others so we defiantly mix it up
THROUGH THE YEARS YOU HAVE SEEN THE DIEHARD KIDS OUT THERE FOR YOUR BAND. DO YOU FEEL YOU ARE ROLE MODELS TO THEM?
Certainly, yea I’m sure younger kids out there do feel that way and that is why we make it a point to say hello to them and reach out to them after the shows. We have had a positive message in our lyrics that is something with us that is a little bit different from most bands in the genre today so it’s something we are proud of and for younger kids music is a great thing to be involved in. Its most people’s lives and for kids to have inspirational stuff, that’s great
FOR YOU STARTING OUT IN THE MUSIC WORLD DID YOU HAVE A GOAL YOU WANTED TO ACCOMPLISH OR WAS IT SOMETHING FOR YOU TO HAVE FUN WITH?
It was only a pipedream. I was 14 years old when I started playing guitar I would have never dreamt what would have happened. It was a one and a million thing and I can’t complain. I always said if the band broke up tomorrow at least I got to meet a lot of cool people and see the world which is stuff I would have never done if I got into something else
YOUR BIGGEST LEARNING EXPERIENCE BEING IN HATEBREED?
We just try to be professional about everything and do things the right way. That is why HATEBREED has been so successful over the years especially in this genre they usually last two or three years and it’s done. So we try to do it the right way and be real careful about the decisions we make. Plus longevity speaking for the band and for myself I just try not to get to hammered the night before so I can play the next show (Laughing)
I KNOW JAMEY HAS THE CLOTHING LINE HATEWEAR
I do as well and our bass player has one also. Mine is called Beerwear clothing, which I just started. We actually have some of the stuff on this tour. Everyone is involved in other things, like Jamey has other bands. Shawn has tattoos and Matt gives drum lessons
WHEN DO YOU GUYS SLEEP?
This is the first time we have been on a regular tour since Ozzfest. We did the Stillborn Festival which was only like 10 shows. That was pretty bad for me because I broke my leg and was laid up for like 6 weeks, and then we did a tour in Europe which was only about 12 shows and then the show in Detroit. So we have not been on a regular tour so we have time to venture in with other things.
YOU NEED TO GET YOUR ROAD LEGS AGAIN?
I know I got to get into the regimen again and prepare myself for this
WHEN DID YOU START THE CLOTHING LINE THEN?
It will be real soon, the wheels have just gotten into motion. We have been talking about it forever. It’s cool, it’s just a beer slogan and beer sayings. It’s cool because it reaches out to people because people drink
WHERE DO YOU SEE THE LINE GOING IN 5 YEARS?
I don’t know I just hope that it does alright. I think if we get it out to the right people it will do well. It’s going to take a lot of work. Right now it’s just starting and we will see how it goes, we have a lot of ideas. Plus I am a big race car fan and with NASCAR I think it would go well there. It’s just one step at a time right now. So I am just happy right now that after all the talk it’s kind of on the way now
WHAT DO YOU THINK THE BAND HAS TAUGHT YOU ABOUT YOURSELF?
Makes me realize how old I am getting when I look out and see all the young people in the crowd!! (laughing) But other than that, this band are my friends, some of my best friends that I have made are these guys, so when I joined 2 ½ years ago, it’s just great and the only difference is now I go with them out onstage. It’s always been about playing for me. That’s the thing about the hardcore community that people should understand is that when we go out on the road we make friends like on this tour 3 Inches Of Blood are great friends of ours so when you’re out on the road you see all your buddies and it makes you not take anything for granted. I look forward to that and life is short so enjoy the moment!!
SO DID YOU FOLLOW HATEBREED BEFORE YOU JOINED?
I was in Terror and Ringworm before this so we opened for them a lot. So I would ride with them on the bus a lot so when they called and said are you ready to be in the band?….. because they were a four piece for a long time and they wanted to become a five piece, so here I am.
WHAT PART OF YOUR INSTRUMENT DO YOU FEEL YOU NEED MORE WORK OR GROWTH ON?
I could always play my guitar more. I’m not a guitar geek I don’t sit in the back playing it. I just picked up the guitar one day no teaching or anything. All of us are sort of like that well Matt’s a great drummer as far as musicianship goes he is top notch and its cool he is giving lessons now too. He also has a drum DVD coming out as well.
ANY SUMMER TOURS IN THE WORKS?
Nothing actually we are just doing this and then just a festival in Europe and doing one of the Ozzfest that is in Calgary with Judas Priest and Serj from System of a Down in July but that is the only two and then we are off for the summer. Our whole thing was to take a year off (laughing) and here we are
DID JAGER ASK YOU TO BE ON THIS TOUR?
Yea we have a great relationship with them and they have done more for a lot of bands then some record labels have done so we have done a lot for them and them for us. We headlined Ozzfest second stage and they were a sponsor plus Monster Energy drink which we would want to give a shout out to. So they are great and we are privileged to me on this tour
SO YOU WANNA START WORKING ON THE NEW RECORD ANYTHING DIFFERENT FROM PAST RECORDS OR KEEPING IT THE HATEBREED STYLE?
Yea we have ideas for the new record. For doing anything different, we keep it the same. We see too many bands change and there careers don’t go anywhere. That is what happens you might gain some new fans from it. You see a lot of bands go for something and then they are done. Their old fans don’t like it and the new fans aren’t there for the long haul. So that is why we keep with our formula and that’s that. We don’t want to let anyone down. We would rather have someone say well their albums all sound the same then well I use to like them but they changed. We stick with what we do and we continue with that. I don’t think this will be anything crazy, there might be some stuff different on SUPREMECY then there was on BRUTALITY but in the end it’s all HATEBREED
ANY FAMOUS LAST WORDS?
We just appreciate the continued support everyone gives us. Everything has been great, we hope everyone enjoys the next few releases we have coming out and look for a new record in ‘09. Until then we have the three new projects coming out and except out of HATEBREED what you would expect.
Live Videos & Music Videos of Hatebreed on UVTV: http://www.undergroundvideotelevision.com/hatebreed.php
[...] Guitarist Discusses Forthcoming DVD The Daily Rock recently conducted an interview with HATEBREED guitarist Frank Novinec who spoke about the [...]
awsome! hatebreed is true to what their message is.