Editor’s Note: It was an interesting night at Amsterdam Bar and Hall in St. Paul, Minnesota as Madness To Creation sat down with He Is Legend. We spent more time talking about hot sauce and Pantera than their album entitled “few”, which is one of the most creative offerings I’ve heard this year. It was in a setting where the rockstars were sitting at a patio in the midst of businesswomen and yuppies, which made it an interesting scene for an interview that you would see out of the movies. They will be having several festival appearances before linking up with the legends GWAR in “The Blood of Gods” tour. Special thanks to Amy for setting this one up! Without further delay, here’s our conversation with Schuylar Croom(vocals) and Matty Williams(bass) of He Is Legend.
M.T.C.: How did the tour go with Islander, To Speak Of Wolves?
Schuyler: It went cool. The guys in Islander are cool and so are the guys in To Speak With Wolves. The response to “few” has been cool as well.
M.T.C.: Tour was called the “Hot Like Sauce” tour, favorite sauce for your food?
Matty: Tapatio, Adam said we got a six million scoville unit hot sauce, that’s going to kill one of us.
Schuyler: I think you could maybe die from that. We gotta look up the scoville unit again to refresh our memory, but I think it’s a lot. It’s like pepper spray.
Matty: It’s insanity, you’re only supposed to put a drop in a vat of chili and that’s 35,000 scoville units, this one is six million.
Schuyler: I don’t think anyone can handle it.
Matty: I’m scared to try it.
Schuyler: It might really burn your taste buds off.
M.T.C.: I can barely handle a jalapeno.
Schuyler: Jalapeno ain’t no joke though.
M.T.C.: I wanted to highlight “Air Raid” off of “few”, tell us about that song, does it apply to today’s climate?
Schuyler: It’s a heavy metal rock song. I just looked at it as a take on what’s going on the way that Metallica did with some of their songs, it’s pretty straight forward with the lyrics themselves.
“Air Raid” by He Is Legend
M.T.C.: Favorite Metallica song?
Schuyler: “Motorbreath” off of “Kill ‘Em All”, “Sad But True” also kicks ass
Matty: I’m kind of one of those kids that got into Metallica because of The Black Album, we listen to old Metallica all of the time.
Schuyler: What’s your favorite Pantera song?
Matty: Shoot, I can’t even do that, probably “The Great Southern Trendkill” or “Goddamn Electric”.
M.T.C.: “Revolution Is My Name” is my favorite
Schuyler: “Revolution Is My Name” is so good. That bassline from the very first song.
Matty: That’s their most underrated record after “Far Beyond Driven”, they did that one and it fell under the radar.
Schuyler: I love that album, it’s so good. “Reinventing The Steel” right?
M.T.C.: If Dimebag Darrell and Cliff Burton were sitting here, what would they say to you right now?
Schuyler: That’s probably one of the better questions that I’ve ever been asked. They would probably be down, Cliff Burton was really down with the Misfits, Dimebag Darrell was just a good ol’ boy who wanted to party. Dimebag would just out-squeal Adam(guitarist), and would walk off the stage and bring back a blunt.
M.T.C.: If you could ask them one question if they were sitting here in this interview, what would you ask them?
Schuyler: I would probably just ask for a cigarette. We would’ve already been a few drinks deep by now.
Matty: I would just say, “hey, what’s up”, I guess.
Schuyler: The only reason we would all be here is if we were playing a show together. We would probably just all be like, “hell yeah dude”, just tell each other to kick ass up there. I don’t really get starstruck or whatever, I don’t know if I would lose my shit over those two people, it’s just one of those crazy, relative questions.
Matty: I would probably just walk away actually.
Schuyler: I wouldn’t ask them anything, just say, “you all kick ass, can’t wait to see you play tonight man”.
M.T.C.: Back to the “Air Raid” video, I liked the live performance vibe of the video, what do your fans in Greensboro mean to you?
Schuyler: Really, that video was for all of our fans, but that area is just where we grew up and played, where we cut our teeth in the triangle in North Carolina, it just breeds a lot of good musicians, it’s always nice to be in that place, we just kind of grew up with all of those fans around there. There’s a lot of good music in North Carolina.
M.T.C.: Give me two local bands that people should check out.
Schuyler: Definitely Must Be The Holy Ghost, Jarrett used to be in Classic Case. A Bottle Volcanic is putting out a record. Youth League is kick ass, Tragic Hero Records is from there, SubPop Records, Merge Records is from there.
M.T.C.: Tell us about the cabin experience in making “few”.
Schuyler: We decided to stay up in the cabin, it was a big part of what we wanted to do to make the record.
Matty: It was also important for us to go to the cabin and not have cell phone service, sit after a whole day of tracking and have some Bourbon and watch a whole movie from the 1970’s that they had.
Schuyler: We wanted to say that we wanted to stay in a cabin in the woods, and we manifested that, when we sought it out, it seemed impossible, and where we found it, it was exactly what we wanted, we made really good friends with the people that own the place, it was in Hillsborough, North Carolina, it was just for weddings and stuff, it was just really beautiful property.
Matty: There were all of the dogs running around with the owner of the land. It was just a cool place to be, because when we did an album for “To Suck Out The Poison”, we were in L.A., and you just couldn’t get away from everything, but staying in a cabin before and after you track and being alone and thinking about what you’ve done.
M.T.C.: Do you think it’s important for us to disconnect from technology?
Matty: I do, when you put your phone down, you can be in your own thoughts and think about what you’re going to do tomorrow and not use technology to convey what you’re actually doing and feeling.
Schuyler: 100%, it’s super important that we found this spot close to where we feel comfortable recording and where we can stay and to get the process down.
Matty: You can also go home if you want to since it was only two and a half hours away from home.
M.T.C.: I know that “few” came out this year, so don’t take it like I’m asking when the next record is coming out, but do you see He Is Legend doing that process again or pursuing other ventures?
Matty: I would love to repeat the process again, it really depends on a lot of other factors, but we always have a great time recording. I would love to keep that same M.O. because it was so chill in that cabin, it really made the process easy.
Schuyler: I would agree, I would do it again.
M.T.C.: What’s been the most memorable part of this tour with Islander and To Speak Of Wolves?
Schuyler: We’ve seen some cool sights.
Matty: Stopping at Pioneer Town was pretty cool, driving through Yellowstone through Montana, I don’t think we’ve ever been in Montana and that was gorgeous.
Schuyler: The shows have been great man, but we’ve been really stopping and smelling the roses.
M.T.C.: What’s been a moment that has humbled you a bit on this tour?
Schuyler: We’ve blown out a few tires, it’s nice when we’ve stopped and looked around in desolation, it’s crazy.
Matty: Literally in the middle of nowhere waiting, if we were back in the 1800’s, we would’ve died. We would’ve probably eaten each other. *laughs*
M.T.C.: What’s the plans for He Is Legend after this run?
Schuyler: We have the Louder Than Life Festival, Aftershock Festival, and a few other things coming.
M.T.C.: Big difference between playing a festival vs. a club?
Matty: Festivals are a lot more chaotic, what are we using, what are we playing, when are we playing.
Schuyler: It’s always pretty crazy, so much going on.
M.T.C.: Anything else you want to add or message to the fans?
Schuyler: Our fans are 100% behind us, they keep in touch with us, and they know that we love them. Going out on the road like this, we get to better connect with fans in a club or ballroom setting, it’s ideal before it gets too out of control.
M.T.C.: Do you think it’s the struggles of the music industry that you see more bands use crowdfunding?
Schuyler: Absolutely, you have the big music for the big music people.
Matty: Absolutely, if you’re just doing it casually or DIY on your own, it’s kind of easy to work a job and you put out music, the creative process is still there, but you’re not relying on that solely for it to be your career or anything, the big stars are the big stars and they are always going to be, but with the middle people, record labels don’t really mean much to them anymore, you still need one for distribution and everything, but that makes it harder.
Schuyler: It’s just never worked out for the artists.
Matty: It’s a hard, long road when you’re on a moderate level like we are, you’re touring for a living and that’s how you get your money, but at some points it’s depressing, it’s hard, and you’re not a millionaire, you work your ass off, but it’s all good, that’s why we still do it, but it’s not the easiest thing.
M.T.C.: If music didn’t exist, what would you guys be doing instead?
Schuyler: I would somehow be finding a way to play music, I would invent it.
Matty: Probably do what everyone else does, get a job and work hard, provide for your family.
Schuyler: I would probably cook vegan.
M.T.C.: Is there certain vegan food you like?
Schuyler: My specialty is really shitty breakfast food, but I’m really good at it. I make like breakfast burritos and quiche.
M.T.C.: Where can we find you guys because I know you gotta get ready to play tonight
Schuyler: Facebook and Twitter
M.T.C.: Thank you very much, it was an honor.
Schuyler: Hell yeah, thank you!
And there you have it! He Is Legend is performing several festivals before going on a direct support run for the ages providing direct support for GWAR. Let’s hope they make it out alive! Here are the tour dates listed below!
Saturday, September 30th- Louder Than Life Festival at Champions Park in Louisville, Kentucky(w/Ozzy Osbourne featuring Zakk Wylde, Rob Zombie, Five Finger Death Punch, Mastodon)
Saturday, October 7th- Rock Allegiance Festival at BB&T Pavilion in Camden, New Jersey (w/Rob Zombie, Five Finger Death Punch, Marilyn Manson, Halestorm, Mastodon, Halestorm, Gojira, In This Moment, Steel Panther, August Burns Red, Beartooth, and Starset)
Saturday, October 21st- Monster Energy Aftershock Festival at Discovery Park in Sacramento, California(w/Nine Inch Nails, A Perfect Circle, Run The Jewels, Stone Sour, Mastodon, Gojira, August Burns Red, and Anti-Flag)
Tour Dates for “The Blood Of Gods” tour featuring GWAR, Ghoul, and U.S. Bastards
Tuesday, November 7th- First Avenue in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Wednesday, November 8th- Pyramid Cabaret in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Thursday, November 9th- Saskatoon Event Centre in Saskatoon, Canada
Friday, November 10th- Union Hall in Edmonton, Canada
Saturday, November 11th- The Palace Theatre in Calgary, Canada
Monday, November 13th- Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver, Canada
Tuesday, November 14th – Roseland Theater in Portland, Oregon
Wednesday, November 15th- Showbox Sodo in Seattle, Washington
Friday, November 17th- The Catalyst in Santa Cruz, California
Saturday, November 18th- Fremont Country Club in Las Vegas, Nevada
Sunday, November 19th- Ace Of Spades in Sacramento, California
Tuesday, November 21st- House of Blues in San Diego, California
Wednesday, November 22nd- The Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles, California
Thursday, November 23rd- The Marquee in Tempe, Arizona
Friday, November 24th – Sunshine Theater in Albuquerque, New Mexico
Saturday, November 25th- The Summit Music Hall in Denver, Colorado
Sunday, November 26th- Bourbon Theatre in Lincoln, Nebraska
Tuesday, November 28th- Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Wednesday, November 29th- Gas Monkey Live! in Dallas, Texas
Thursday, November 30th- House of Blues in Houston, Texas
Friday, December 1st- The Aztec Theater in San Antonio, Texas
Saturday, December 2nd- Varsity Theater in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Sunday, December 3rd- The Masquerade in Atlanta, Georgia
Tuesday, December 5th- Revolution in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Wednesday, December 6th- The Ritz in Tampa, Florida
Friday, December 8th- The Vogue in Indianapolis, Indiana
Saturday, December 9th – Limelight in Peoria, Illinois
Sunday, December 10th- St. Andrew’s Hall in Detroit, Michigan
Click here for tickets and further information
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