Drugs, Sex And Rock N Roll

When we first started our band, my brother and I were vehemently against drugs and alcohol. We knew about all the cliches and stereo types. We knew that drugs ruined bands and there was no way that we were going to do ruin our band. For me, that all went out the window when we first started touring in 2000. Touring is fucking wild. On tour, we’d drink alcohol every chance we got because it was free. We’d smoke ounces of weed because we’d have to drive through New Mexico’s 120 degree heat without AC to get to Los Angeles. Weed was the only thing that made you think the heat wasn’t so bad. Also, weed passed a lot of time on the road. Time is all there is on the road. In one particular case, we went to a drug house and took X with bands we were on tour with, stayed up all night and played the show the next day. I’ll leave the bands names out of it. I don’t put people’s shit out there.

I’d like to tell you a story about my first trip into the ‘rock star’ lifestyle. God Forbid had been around on the touring circuit for about 3 years continuously before we joined the Ozzfest of 2004. This was a dream come true for me and the rest of our band. Ozzfest that year was like that movie ‘One Crazy Summer’ for bands. I think we were a part of the most historic Ozzfest in the history of Ozzfest. The first one was stellar but the Ozzfest in ’04 broke new metal bands that have careers today. Darkest Hour, Bleeding Through, Throwdown, Hatebreed, Lamb Of God, Devildriver, Unearth, Atreyu, Otep, Lacuna Coil, Slipknot, Every Time I Die. Look at that list. That was a special time in metal and we were right in the middle of all of it.

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I really should keep these blogs to music but this Obama vs. The Right Wing has got my pea-brain to react. So I will.

I’m a person of mixed race like Barack Obama. My mom is black and my dad is white. But times were so tough, I was raised by my grandparents on both sides which is where a lot of my values come from. That being said; (Bmouth spin headline) White people are afraid of this dialogue of race in America. When I say white people I mean Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Bill Cunningham and Fox News in general. Not white metal heads.

I’ve said it countless amounts of times. I don’t watch Fox News for the news. I watch it for the stiffys. There are a lot of hot blondes on there that can use a porking or two. It’s true. I’m a proud American and will always be. I believe this Jeremiah Wright stuff is old news brought up by the GOP and the Clintons to belittle Obama as a man associated with hate. But it will all backfire on them. Americans now have a chance to do their own research. Why do black people feel the way Jeremiah Wright does? Why are whites offended by the nature of the argument? The reason is because this issue is a gut issue. It hits you like food poisoning. You have to react but you can’t react with a clear head because it is such a divisive subject. No, I can’t blame my white friends for slavery. I never would. That’s stupid. But there is a palpable, intangible element to this very real issue and it’s based around fear.

Playing metal as an ethnic band we’ve run into all sorts of racism across the world. In Europe, some people hate Americans. In the south, we’ve been called niggers. This comes with the territory. None of us are holier than thou but a lot of us act as if we are. Being in a metal band is amazing because the music itself is based in white culture which I’m proud of because I’m half white. Without metal I’d be another statistic in a prison cell obviously labeled a black man.

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It’s the songs, stupid…

A lot of the time when we’re on tour people ask us about how to get signed. It’s a hard question to answer because it’s different for every band. Every band has their song writers, their role players, etc. Essentially being in a band is a gift and a curse because it’s a lifestyle based around uncertainty and instability. Relationships inherently are unstable and uncertain.

Creation is a powerful animal. Creation is the ability to turn nothing into something. It’s the big bang theory in a rehearsal room or in your bedroom. When we go into the rehearsal room to write new songs it starts with a riff or an arrangement. But that end product doesn’t work unless you build it from the ground up with a blueprint in mind. In politics they have a saying: ‘It’s the economy, stupid.’ If you want to be a successful band I have a saying: ‘It’s the songs, stupid.’ Writing good songs is the main course in the meal. Most bands offer dessert. A sweet dish that makes you sick if you eat too much of it. Our band is much different than most bands. In the beginning, we wrote dessert songs. I don’t enjoy our first two records too much because as impressive as they are from a musical standpoint we never had the idea of writing songs when we wrote those records. We wanted to write songs that confused people. We wanted people to know we could play our instruments. If you are in a band starting out that’s the worst place to start writing.

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Last week I talked about the state of metalcore and the week before that I talked about the word ‘nigger’ and how it should be used as an equal opportunity diss for all types of people. Not just for, wait for it — African-Americans. The power of the word is too great. I’m keeping it PC for now. My last two blogs seem to be getting a good response so far. I’m at odds with what to talk about this week because there’s so much we can discuss being it’s the internet and all.

OK. How about the internet?

The blog is called The Hard R for a reason. I think a lot of you can agree that the internet should be called the wild, wild internet. All bets are off here. How many times have you seen tasteless, generic comments from people on message boards who never put a name to the face or even a name to their comment. The internet helps the cowards spread their wings a little wider, which I approve of by the way. The more cowards, the more heroes.

This is the reason I came to MetalSucks to do a blog. I noticed a lot of their stories have a point of view about the state of things, and not just metal. I think that is very important. What disappoints me is the way a lot of these websites have biases that are unsustainable. A lot of these biases breed a following that hurts or helps the site. I commend Blabbermouth for cutting down the hate speak that was inherent on their site. It’s actually amazing to look at a God Forbid news story on BMouth and not see — ‘God Forbid are Niggers’. It’s refreshing. But Lambgoat, who doesn’t cover GF anymore but used to, posts a story about a death in a band and half of the kids on that site say they are happy said person has left this earth. But these kids don’t identify themselves because they are afraid of their own shadow. Can you see where the lines lay in the sand?

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[Welcome to the new MetalSucks column The Hard R, brought to you by none other than God Forbid guitarist Dallas Coyle. Dallas has a lot to say about politics, life, music and an assortment of other topics, and lucky for you, you'll get to read all about them here. Dallas knows where it's at, and his writing tone (and guitar tone, for that matter) fits in perfectly with what we're all about here; plus he thinks "MetalSucks" is a funny name, so how could we really go wrong? Welcome to the first installment of The Hard R. More to follow in the coming weeks, months, millenia. - Ed.]

Beware the golden tongue is Hillary Clinton’s new device of division. I love this sort of thing. I just wonder how long it’s going to take for her to come out and just say, ‘Vote for me! I am not a nigger!’ Kind of reminds me of Nixon. ‘I am not a crook!’ But he was a crook.

And Hillary Clinton is a nigger. Let’s go to my Mac dictionary. It says the word “nigger” is a contemptuous term for a black or dark skinned person. I disagree. It does mean that to some people. Steve Jobs particularly. But history is pop culture. My Merriam-Webster dictionary doesn’t even include the word “nigger.” Why? Politically correct? Merriam-Webster is gay. Put it in there, Merriam. Have some balls. It does include the word “niggard.” According to Merriam-Webster “niggard” means a stingy person. So maybe we can call Hillary Clinton a niggard. Because she is stingy. She wants the presidency herself. No matter the cost. Rules? What are those, Bill? Entitlement is a stingy characteristic.

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