{"id":11169,"date":"2013-04-26T01:00:39","date_gmt":"2013-04-26T05:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southeastofheaven.com\/?p=11169"},"modified":"2013-04-26T08:40:24","modified_gmt":"2013-04-26T12:40:24","slug":"blowin-wind-with-exodus-tom-hunting-i-dont-think-were-going-to-tap-out-any-time-real-soon-but-i-dont-see-myself-being-56-and-playing-bon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/?p=11169","title":{"rendered":"Blowin\u2019 Wind with Exodus\u2019 Tom Hunting: \u201cI don\u2019t think we\u2019re going to tap out any time real soon but I don\u2019t see myself being 56 and playing \u201cBonded by Blood.\u201d\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"img_0272\"<\/a>I first met and interviewed Tom Hunting back in 2010 when Exodus was touring in support of their stellar release \u201cExhibit B: The Human Condition.\u201d It was a great interview and Tom was a real blast to chat with. We talked about everything from the lyrical content of the songs on Exhibit B as to his hilarious feud (relax, they\u2019re friends just having fun) with Megadeth drummer Shawn Drover. Well, nearly 3 years later, Exodus is still on the road and when I saw they were going to be a part of The Metal Alliance Tour, I just had to try and catch up with Tom again.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Catching up with Tom was like catching up with an old friend. I was flattered that he remembered who I was. We settled down in the back lounge of Exodus\u2019 home on wheels and this time around we talked about his recent birthday, Exodus\u2019 plans for 2013, and even had some choice words for Shawn Drover once again. Just kick back, crank some shit loud, and enjoy another interview with Tom Hunting of Exodus!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

==============================================<\/p>\n

Thanks for doing this interview Tom.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Good to see you again. No worries.<\/p>\n

==============================================<\/p>\n

Happy belated birthday!<\/strong><\/p>\n

[laughs] Thanks dude.<\/p>\n

==============================================<\/p>\n

Loana from Nuclear Blast told me to tell you Hi and happy birthday as well.<\/strong><\/p>\n

She\u2019s such a sweetie.<\/p>\n

==============================================<\/p>\n

So did you rage pretty hard for your birthday?<\/strong><\/p>\n

[laughs] We had a great show in Houston and hit the bars for two nights prior to that so I pretty much had a three day bender before I shut it down. We had a day off in Pensacola the day after my birthday and we went to this nice little bar and grill and everybody drank for like 12 hours. Not me. I shut it down early and hit my bunk. I got my share of partying in on this tour so I\u2019m good [laughs].<\/p>\n

==============================================<\/p>\n

Last time we talked was about 2 \u00bd years ago. You guys are still out supporting Exhibit B. You must be ready to make some new music.<\/strong><\/p>\n

We\u2019re working on it. Gary\u2019s been pulling double duty with Slayer so we\u2019re taking our time. We\u2019re not under any pressure to hurry it up. I think we all agree that it\u2019s more important that it be good rather than just come out fast.<\/p>\n

==============================================<\/strong><\/p>\n

With Gary pulling double duty with Exodus and Slayer, do you feel it\u2019s been more of a positive or a negative thing for Exodus?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nah, I wouldn\u2019t say it\u2019s negative at all. I mean, if anybody has a chance from this band to go do something positive for themselves, it definitely has no negative effect on our band. We got to tour with Slayer because of him doing double duty and that was awesome so I don\u2019t look at it as a negative at all. I mean, if the Foo Fighters called me up tomorrow and needed a fill in drummer I would go do that too [laughs].<\/p>\n

==============================================<\/p>\n

I\u2019d pay to see that. Double kick drum and everything?<\/strong><\/p>\n

[laughs] Nah, I could do a single kick for them. [laughs]<\/p>\n

==============================================<\/p>\n

I can totally see the positives to having Gary doing the Slayer gig too. Have you seen a growth in your fan base of Slayer fans who maybe didn\u2019t know much about Exodus before this?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yeah, on this tour in particular it\u2019s interesting. The houses have been pretty much packed every night and even our off shows have been well attended. In addition to people buying the shirts and merch, they\u2019re actually buying the music. We\u2019ve had to re-order CDs in the middle of a tour and that hasn\u2019t happened in a long time so that\u2019s a great sign. We\u2019ve been selling our last four releases at the shows and we\u2019ve had to reorder all of them.<\/p>\n

==============================================<\/p>\n

That\u2019s got to feel pretty fucking good and maybe even redeemed a little bit?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Oh yeah. I\u2019m really proud of that music. We worked hard making it and even the album I wasn\u2019t on (Shovelhead Kill Machine) is incredible. I love that record. Front to back it\u2019s awesome. The last two releases are a really good section of work by the band and that\u2019s why we\u2019re going to take our time with the next one. We just want to make sure that it\u2019s good.<\/p>\n

==============================================<\/p>\n

Our last interview was awesome. During that one, you jokingly said something about Shawn Drover being stuck in his glam metal style. Well I relayed that to him during our interview a few months later. He just laughed and said, \u201cTell Tom I have better hair than him.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

[Laughs] I remember reading that. That was funny.<\/p>\n

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Do you have something to say back? I could do this for years.<\/strong><\/p>\n

He\u2019s got more hair than me [laughs]. I love the way he puts that dryer vent on his bass drum and points it perfectly towards his hair. He gets a nice strategic blast of hair goodness. It looks like a fucking Pantene commercial [laughs]. Man, I love Shawn. Shawn\u2019s an awesome drummer.<\/p>\n

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You guys are far along on this Metal Alliance tour. How did you guys end up on this awesome bill?<\/strong><\/p>\n

We just kind of float around and see what is offered to us. We\u2019re in a good position because we\u2019re an older band and our live show is established. We don\u2019t really work hard to get on to certain tours. We just like to see what comes our way. When a tour like Metal Alliance comes along it\u2019s really cool to be able to jump on it. I\u2019m kind of bummed that High on Fire went home. They really made the bill diverse and different but they had some obligations in Holland and had to go play over there. We have Shadows Fall jumping on tonight so I\u2019m sure it\u2019s going to be a cool line up.<\/p>\n

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I really love this tour\u2019s lineup and one of the things that had me stoked to see Holy Grail on this bill. On that last tour, you guys were also being supported by Holy Grail. It must be cool to see just how they\u2019ve grown as a band.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Oh yeah. I think they\u2019ve been on tour every since that tour except for going home and making a record real quick [laughs]. I saw them in San Francisco and they look a little more road doggie now [laughs]. They\u2019re a little more scraggly and a little less concerned with hygiene and stuff like that [laughs]. Those guys are awesome though. Their two guitarists just wail. Both of our guitar players are like, \u201cGod it\u2019s so good to be young!\u201d [laughs] They\u2019re doing those crazy sweeps while jumping in mid air.<\/p>\n

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I know. Man, if I tried to jump like that I\u2019d probably throw my back out.<\/strong><\/p>\n

[laughs] Yeah man. Gotta choose your battles. [laughs]<\/p>\n

==============================================<\/p>\n

I interviewed Wolf Hoffman from Accept about a year ago. He told me that he felt that there weren\u2019t any new, younger bands to pass the torch on to that he felt could keep the fire alive for the classic bands like Accept, Maiden, Priest, etc. Do you agree with that?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yeah, it\u2019s something that I think about too. I have this saying with the other guys: \u201cWe\u2019re a lot closer to there than we are to here.\u201d \u201cThere\u201d being where it stops and \u201chere\u201d being where we started. I don\u2019t think we\u2019re going to tap out any time real soon but I don\u2019t see myself being 56 and playing \u201cBonded by Blood.\u201d [laughs] You know, there will be some bands out there. Holy Grail, Warbringer, and Death Angel, even though Death Angel\u2019s not too much younger than us especially now that we\u2019re all in our 40\u2019s [laughs].<\/p>\n

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I remember when those guys were kids. Now it\u2019s like you want to look at Death Angel and say, \u201cYeah? Who\u2019s young now?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

[laughs] Mark Osegueda, you\u2019re still sexy but I see those grey hairs on your pork chop sideburns buddy [laughs].<\/p>\n

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I see a lot of younger bands who I feel like could carry the torch for you guys but I just don\u2019t think they\u2019re as out on the forefront as bands used to be. I mean, if it wasn\u2019t for me doing this site I don\u2019t think I\u2019d known about half the bands I know about.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Oh yeah. It\u2019s tougher now. When this all started, it was a different and formative time. Music was changing and not the musicianship but the way we acquired music. When we first started people would make a good duped tape, lick an envelope, and mail it off to another guy who would mail it off to another guy. I feel fortunate that we were able to grow up and thrive in the era that we did. These new bands coming up have got their work laid out for them. They\u2019re going to have to write really, really strong material to reach everyone.<\/p>\n

==============================================<\/p>\n

The times sure have changed and the way that people obtain music is something so different. It\u2019s sad to me that the kids of this generation will never know the excitement of getting an album and just really taking home a piece of art.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Definitely. I stood in line to buy \u201cBack In Black\u201d in 1980. I wore out that copy and then went out and bought another copy. Nowadays we live in an era where someone can just point, click, and say, \u201cOh, I like that\u201d and they still won\u2019t always listen until the end of the song before they\u2019re on to the next one. We come from a time where when I bought that Back In Black album, I pulled out the liner notes, I read the lyrics, I studied it. I took it all in. That time will never happen again.<\/p>\n

==============================================<\/p>\n

I had three fucking copies of Iron Maiden\u2019s Powerslave<\/em> album. The first one I fucked up by just ripping the needle across it, the 2nd I just played the living shit out of and the third copy I still have today.<\/strong><\/p>\n

[laughs] Yeah. It\u2019s like, would you rather look at young Stevie Nicks on the back of a CD cover or would you rather see her on a big 12\u201d album? No doubt some of my first boners were inspired by that first record just by looking at her [laughs].<\/p>\n

==============================================<\/p>\n

In the end though, are you cool with how music is distributed these days?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t feel cheated in any way about how the way music is distributed nowadays because it does provide more exposure. It\u2019s instantaneous but I do feel that having that exposure makes people develop a kind of A.D.D to where they want to collect it all and our brains just can\u2019t take all of that at once. I would say that the good outweighs the bad.<\/p>\n

==============================================<\/p>\n

Tom, at what point did you know that you wanted to be a musician?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Probably when I was still in the crib. I used to watch the Glen Campbell Variety Show that used to be on in the late 60\u2019s when I was still in diapers [laughs]. That and watching The Midnight Special before bed and then Don Kirschner\u2019s Rock Concert.<\/p>\n

==============================================<\/p>\n

Do you remember your first gig ever? If so, how was it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Oh man. It was Walter T. Helms Junior High school in San Pablo, CA. I was actually playing guitar and the next year I switched to drums. My first drumming concert was when I was in 8th grade and I remember one of the songs we played was called \u201cSoul Mobile\u201d [laughs]. I had this shitty drum kit that I got burned on that I bought from my friend. I took all the hardware off of it and spray painted it black and tried to make It pretty [laughs].<\/p>\n

==============================================<\/p>\n

What was the name of the band?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Oh, it was just the Junior High School jazz band. That was back when music and the arts was heavily influenced in schools. That\u2019s another thing that has gone out of society. When I was growing up you could learn anything. If you wanted to learn tuba or trombone or drums or guitar, every school in every state offered different levels of curriculum for learning music. Now it\u2019s all been sucked out of the schools and we\u2019re creating a race of computer nerds.<\/p>\n

==============================================<\/p>\n

Speaking of technology, what do you think about those Rock Band and Guitar Hero games? Do you feel like it\u2019s done more harm than good for music in general?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think that any band who\u2019s got their music on there isn\u2019t complaining because they get publishing money and what not. Anyone who things they\u2019re going to from Rock Band to Rock Star [laughs}. Sorry buddy. You\u2019ve still got to put in the work and you\u2019ve still got to get the calluses. You\u2019ve still got to sweat. It\u2019s a cheap plastic piece of shit made in China. A real guitar is a hand crafted instrument that\u2019s gorgeous. Even if you didn\u2019t play it you could hang it on your wall and it would be beautiful art.<\/p>\n

==============================================<\/p>\n

As we\u2019ve all heard, Black Sabbath has \u201creunited\u201d but without Bill Ward? What do you think of this?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Well personally, I would worry for Bill Ward\u2019s health being on a tour like that. He\u2019s had like what, six heart attacks or something? It\u2019s a physically grueling job. You can\u2019t call it \u201cOriginal Black Sabbath\u201dwithout Bill Ward. Who\u2019s doing that tour? Vinny (Appice)?<\/p>\n

==============================================<\/p>\n

No. It\u2019s Brad Wilk from Rage Against the Machine.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Oh, ok. Hm. I mean, I would think the next best thing to Bill Ward you\u2019re going to get is Vinny Appice. I don\u2019t understand why they don\u2019t use him instead. If they\u2019re not going to use Bill Ward, they should just get Vinny because he was on some very important Sabbath records too.<\/p>\n

==============================================<\/p>\n

We talked earlier about this mutual admiration you and Shawn Drover of Megadeth have for each other. Who are some other drummers that you really admire for what they\u2019re bringing to music?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Charlie from Anthrax has always had this fucking amazing groove. He does ghost notes that you can\u2019t even catch unless you\u2019re a drummer. John Dette came in and did a killer, bang up job playing his stuff (Dette filled in for Charlie on a few missed dates). I\u2019ve really enjoyed watching Dave from Municipal Waste on this tour. He\u2019s awesome. Half of his lower body will come off the kit when he does this massive drum roll. He\u2019s all twisted and contorted and like still raging [laughs]. Nick Barker is a good friend of mine and he\u2019s one of those death metal guys that I think, all the juniors that do it nowadays, he created things and he still creates thing. Johnny Cash had an awesome drummer. I\u2019m playing bluegrass with Jack (Gibson; Exodus bassist) and we have a little outlaw country band (Coffin Hunter). I\u2019ve listened to the stuff that Cash\u2019s drummer was doing and it\u2019s like fast as hell with those brushes. Even some of the funk drummers from the 70\u2019s like Earth, Wind, and Fire and the Ohio Players. Those drummers were awesome and extremely solid. Michael DeRosier from Heart. I stole \u00bc of my repertoire from him growing up [laughs].<\/p>\n

==============================================<\/p>\n

In your opinion, what is the one metal album that everyone should own?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hm. Oh man, that\u2019s a tough choice to just pick one. Number of the Beast really rocked my world when I first heard it. RIP Clive Burr by the way. So sad. Clive was such a big influence on me by the way. Man, it\u2019s a tough pick. Unleashed in the East maybe? [laughs]<\/p>\n

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Dude, nobody ever answers this one with just one answer.<\/strong><\/p>\n

[Laughs] Yeah. And you know, no one would ever go to a desert island and live with that one record and not have regrets about not picking another one [laughs]. It\u2019s tough man.<\/p>\n

==============================================<\/p>\n

Speaking of Clive Burr. Man, what a loss.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yeah, I was sad when he was out of Iron Maiden years ago. When he developed that sickness it really sucked. They\u2019ve made tons of advances in treating MS since he first got sick. It\u2019s sad that he got so sick before all those medical advancements took place. He was such a nice dude too. I just listen back to his drumming and he was throwing disco beats into heavy metal music with that really fast hi-hat work. I love Nicko McBrain but I always preferred Clive\u2019s drumming. That\u2019s not to take away from Nicko though. I\u2019ve been listening to Nicko since he played with Pat Travers.<\/p>\n

==============================================<\/p>\n

If you could have a 30 minute drum lesson with any drummer alive or dead, who would it be?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Keith Moon or I\u2019d like to sit down with John Bonham and study some chops.<\/p>\n

==============================================<\/p>\n

If you could offer up one piece of advice to anyone looking to make music their life, what would you say to them?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Oh, lots of things. First I would say to be true to your craft and don\u2019t compromise. Don\u2019t pigeonhole yourself listening to one form of music. If you\u2019re into thrash metal that\u2019s great but listen to some of the old stuff too. Listen to soul music. Listen to Prince. Listen to Rick James. Listen to Tower of Power. Just gather up all you can and if you find success playing music, that\u2019s a gift. If you can make a living playing music it\u2019s a gift. Humble yourself to that gift. Don\u2019t believe how great you are no matter how many people tell you.<\/p>\n

==============================================<\/p>\n

If I wasn\u2019t a musician I would be ________?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019d be a lumberjack\/welder\/carpenter\/body and repair man. All of these things I have done, except the lumberjack part [laughs]. I just think it would be cool to wear flannel and go into the woods with a beard and chop wood [laughs]. Nah, I would be whatever makes me happy. I would be a husband, a father, and just a man.<\/p>\n

==============================================<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next for Exodus in 2013?<\/strong><\/p>\n

We\u2019re going to write some new music. We\u2019re going to go to Europe. We have a small amount of touring to do this summer. Gary\u2019s going to go off with Slayer. We\u2019re going to get into a room and start putting all these riffs together, arranging, and preparing for the next phase.<\/p>\n

==============================================<\/p>\n

Thanks for doing this Tom and have a great show tonight.<\/strong><\/p>\n

No worries man. It\u2019s good to see you again. It\u2019s going to be hot and steamy in there [laughs].<\/p>\n

\"donandtom\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Brainfart & Tom Hunting<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I first met and interviewed Tom Hunting back in 2010 when Exodus was touring in support of their stellar release \u201cExhibit B: The Human Condition.\u201d It was a great interview and Tom was a real blast to chat with. We talked about everything from the lyrical content of the songs on Exhibit B as to his hilarious feud (relax, they\u2019re friends just having fun) with Megadeth drummer Shawn Drover. Well, nearly 3 years later, Exodus is still on the road […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[194],"tags":[938,937,256,520,614],"class_list":["post-11169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-interviews","tag-coffin-hunter","tag-exdous","tag-megadeth","tag-shawn-drover","tag-tom-hunting"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11169","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11169"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11169\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}