Interview: Eron of Hawthorne Heights

 

Here’s our interview with Eron of Hawthorne Heights. Check them out on Facebook!

IP Media: The trilogy EP is a really cool idea, and you have released Hate & Hope. Can you tell us what the next one will be or any other details?

E: Unfortunately I can’t fill you in on any details about the third album.  We have begun writing new material however.

IP: Where did you get the idea for this EP trilogy?

E: The idea was to express the emotions in us that had built up over the years. We needed to get a lot off our chest and doing so on one album felt restrictive. That was the one thing we didn’t want, so the decision was made to give each emotion its day in the sun.

IP: What bands and artists shaped the sound of Hawthorne Heights , what inspired you in the beginning and what inspires you now?

E: That’s one of the toughest questions for us since each member has totally different influences. I grew up in the NJ Hardcore scene and many of the ideals from that period have shaped who I’ve become as a person and musician.  At the same time, I can’t deny the impact of the mainstream grunge artists of that time as well.  I have a weird mix of influences from Quicksand/Gorilla Biscuits, Ignite, H2O, to Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, etc. 

IP: Hawthorne Heights has been around a good amount of time, looking back at times like 2005, how was it different then? What has happened that you expected, and what has happened that you didn’t expect?

A lot has changed since 2005 both within our band and within the music industry.  How bands get a buzz and exposure has radically changed.  Nothing that happened to us from our successes to our failures was expected.  You almost can’t script the things we’ve been through.

IP: How close are you to the bands you used to tour with and are you still friends with any of them?

E: We were very close particularly with Bayside.  We’ve probably toured with Bayside more than any other band in our career, with the exception of Emery.  We share a lot of good and bad memories with Bayside.  We still talk to them every once and a while.  You can’t go through the things we did together and not still be friends.  We still run into the guys from Silverstein every once and a while.  We actually just crossed paths with them in Japan a couple months ago.

IP: What was Running In Place (Niki AM) about?

E: Running In Place is a continuation of the Niki FM story line.  In Niki FM, the protagonist is seeking out the girl of his dreams.  In Niki AM, we catch up with the character after he got the girl and went through a heart wrenching break-up.

IP: What is the worst, the best, and most embarrassing thing to happen to you guys on stage?

E: There have been a lot of best moments and its hard to pick just one.  I hate giving generic “political” type answers, but seeing the joy on people’s faces as they rock out with us always brings a smile to my face and its something I try not to take for granted.  The most embarrassing thing to ever happened was a show we played early on in our career.  It was a one-off show with Throwdown.  I completely lost track of my place in a song for one reason or another and it resulted in us stopping the song. It has never happened again and even though there were only 50 some people in attendance, it was devastatingly embarrassing to me.

IP: Regarding Casey Calvert, can you give anyone advice on how to deal with losing someone really close to you?

E: Sudden loss isn’t something you can plan for and unfortunately its part of life.  My best advice is to focus on the positive and happy moments you shared with the individual.  Our album Hope deals specifically with this idea of trying to find the positives in bad situations so that you aren’t consumed by all of the negatives.

IP: You had some rough bumps with Victory Records, what advice would you have for up and coming musicians when they are in the search of a record label?

E: Looking back on our issues with Victory, I see things in a different light.  Certain things weren’t right, but how we went about resolving them was totally wrong.  Its taught us a good lesson about business and how its always better to solve your differences in an amicable fashion.

IP: Boxers or Briefs?

E: Boxer briefs.