June 12, 2003
Talkin’ with Hank III
Hank Williams III discusses his musical legacy, Clear Channel, and the Phil Anselmo House of Shock Tour
The scene: May 4, 2000, a club in Buffalo called the Tralf. A friend and I take in a show by the Rev. Horton Heat.
“Who’s opening?” I ask.
My friend replies, “Hank III.”
I paused. “Who’s that?” I was utterly clueless.
“Hank Williams the third,” my cohort for the evening responds excitedly.
Oh, that Hank III, I say to myself. Indeed, this would not be your typical concert opener.
Hank Williams the third, or Hank III, as he has come to be known as, has some pretty deep musical roots. His grandpappy is none other than Hank Williams, a man whose contributions to music rank right up there with Dylan, Presley, and the Beatles. Hank III’s dad is Hank Williams, Jr, another name quite familiar to country music fans.
But this isn’t your father’s Hank. The Hank that came to town on that night in Buffalo had a sound that was more SLAYER than it was George Strait. Hank III came out of the gate like a bull in a honkytonk. The sound was raw and blistering, but no one could deny the energy, except of course, the record label itself.
Home for Hank III is Curb Records. This is the same label that boasts a roster consisting of such modern country radio heavyweights as Tim McGraw, the Judds, and LeAnn Rimes. While Hank III’s two albums, RISIN’ OUTLAW (1999) and most recently, LOVESICK, BROKE, & DRIFTIN’ (2002), bear traditional, authentic, old school country sounds, by no means could they be mistaken for the sterile and “countrified pop” of his labelmates. Still, neither of these albums sounds anything like the transcendental racket I heard the night played by some skeleton of a kid wearing a cowboy hat who rode into town and stole the show from touring veterans The Rev. Horton Heat, no small feat in itself.
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Hank III is the honkytonk Jekyll and Hyde. The man can play country, and he can play fiery thrash metal. Take your pick. Well, actually, you can’t choose, since Curb Records insists on only showing you one side of Hank III. This pisses off Hank III to no end, as well as his loyal and vocal fans, who can often be found at Hank’s concerts wearing T-shirts that read, “F--- Curb Records.” (By the way, in the ultimate flip-off, these t-shirts are available for purchase on Hank III’s own website.) What you have here is an example of perhaps the greatest mishandling of an artist by their label of the last decade.
In what was considered a major victory for Hank at the time, Curb Records had finally given him the go-ahead to release an album of full-out, balls-to-the-wall metal, called THROWN OUT OF THE BAR, slated for a fall release. While the album’s release is still a little sketchy at this point, it was still considered a step in the right direction for Curb Records.
I recently caught up with Hank III, who had just returned from a slew of SUPERJOINT RITUAL shows (Hank III plays bass in the group fronted by Phil Anselmo, formerly of PANTERA). The following is a transcript from a phone interview conducted on June 4, 2003.
Hank Williams III (H3): Hey man, what’s goin’ on?
Joshua Jabcuga (JJ): How you doin’?
H3: I’m f---ing sick as s---! Hangin’ in there.
JJ: What do you have?
H3: I don’t know. The whole crew in Superjoint’s got it. Had it f---ing two weeks.
JJ: How was the tour going?
H3: Oh, it was great. A lot of kids. Only had one promoter take the money and run. Besides that, it was a great tour. We’re gonna be kicking it up again here in probably July. Getting ready to shoot a video this weekend coming up. Got the new album coming out July 22.
JJ: What’s that like playing with Phil?
H3: Aw, just intense. The main thing I have in common with Phil Anselmo is heavy metal, you know—
JJ: That has to be a real thrill for you, I’d imagine, playing with Phil.
H3: Oh yeah. It’s, you know, just one of those things meant to be. I met Jimmy (Jimmy Bowers of Eyehategod) back in 1990 and it just unfolded from there. It’s definitely an intense crew. Not just Philip, but everybody.
JJ: You guys aren’t on Ozzfest this year, are you?
H3: I seriously doubt it.
JJ: Really?
H3: I mean, there’s some things that gotta be cleared up, I think, before they’ll even consider taking us out on Ozzfest. But, we’ll see. But uh, not yet. I’d rather see the Philip Anselmo House of Shock tour.
JJ: What’s that?
H3: That’s just a concept in all our own brains. There’s never been a haunted house on the road before. Take five bands, take the House of Shock on the road. It’ll never happen. Just something we talk about.
JJ: Hey, man, I’ll be there. I’ll buy a ticket.
H3: I hear ya, man. But from what I know, we’re not on Ozzfest, as far as I’ve heard.
JJ: Now what’s the deal with your record? Is it still THROWN OUT OF THE BAR?
H3: Yeah, there’s a lot of things that have come up that I can’t really say.
JJ: Right.
H3: In a short way, Curb has not gotten back to us yet so I don’t know what’s gonna happen. I’ll know more in a month. In a month, I could probably give you an absolutely better, intense interview, but right now, I have to keep my mouth shut.
JJ: O.K. Yeah, I got the demo here.
H3: O.K., very cool. The “three” demo?
JJ: Yeah. Everybody’s gunnin’ for this new album, they want to see this other side of you.
H3: Yeah, it’s being mastered right now overseas.
JJ: How much longer do you have with Curb?
H3: Well, for now, ten years. But, we’ll see what happens. We’ll see. I signed it. Now I’ll deal with it somehow.
JJ: I just saw recently that you’re on the HIGH TIMES “Pot 40” list?
H3: Well, I mean, I’ve been on it. Like last year, out of twelve issues, we were in eight issues of the Pot 40. But this month is the first month we hit number one. That’s just my f---ing loyal fan base. I’ve got a unique fan base. S---, the people on my message board bought me a f---ing laptop.
JJ: That’s gotta make you feel good, I mean, even with everything that Curb is doing to hold you down.
H3: Oh I hear ya. Well, like I said, you know, I don’t need f---ing radio or MTV or any of that s---, as far as my career goes. I might not make any money but I still get out there and do it, you know.
JJ: What do you think about the scene these days, radio and Clear Channel and--?
H3: It’s all pathetic. Looking at it in a country music aspect, and a heavy metal aspect, it’s all f---ed, you know. Internet and XM Radio are the only saviors that I see. Radio is all formula. They’re playing the same s--- over and over again.
JJ: Yep. Like robots.
H3: Uh-huh. They’re being paid to play what you hear. Like, I just wish, you know, instead of Ozzy having Ozzfest and that OSBOURNES show I wish somebody with that caliber would step up and just make a heavy metal, hard rock channel and play nothing but old classic hard rock and new hard rock and blah blah blah.
JJ: Well, they brought back HEADBANGER’S BALL, did you see that?
H3: Yeah, for sure. That’s one step. But that’s like two hours a week. You know, I’m talking about 24-7. It would take someone with a lot of money and a lot of clout. Maybe someday somebody will step up to the plate and do that.
JJ: It’s a shame, because I saw Soulfly, you know, Max Cavallero from Sepultura?
H3: Uh-huh.
JJ: And they played a show here a couple weeks ago, and other than one local weekly paper, there was no hype for it whatsoever. It was one of those--just a killer show--and there was nothing behind it on the radio.
H3: (laughs) I hear ya. That’s the way the whole Superjoint tour was. You know, it’s hip hop right now, and electronica. It’s all about the bands and how good they look, you know, how much money you got and what kinda car you drive, all that bulls---.
JJ: Yep. Speaking of cars, I saw your piece in ROLLING STONE (the Icon Issue) on your Cadillac.
H3: Yeah, it’s gone now, though. I had to sell it.
JJ: Oh really. You’re kidding?
H3: At least I sold it to a cool guy.
JJ: Did you ever stop by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame?
H3: I went there a couple of years ago.
JJ: Did they have the exhibit on your grandfather at that time?
H3: Naw, they just had one picture. Just a picture of him in there. I was able to sneak my camera and stand next to the picture. I had no idea they had a whole exhibit set up there now.
JJ: Yeah, it’s pretty extraordinary. They definitely put some work into it, though.
H3: Well, if now they’d just wake up and put AC/DC and Ozzy and all them guys in there.
JJ: You were on the West Memphis Three project with Rollins, right?
H3: Right.
JJ: How’d you get involved with that?
H3: Probably Rollins’ guitar player hooked me up with that, ‘cause, his name is Jim Wilson, and he’s known how much I’ve been into Black Flag and the Rollins Band and how I’ve used the Black Flag bars (logo) for the 3 bars. I think Jim just said, “Hey man, you know, I bet Hank would do this in a heartbeat, call him.” And, you know, I said I would. Henry called and said, “Hey, you up for this?” And I said, “Hell yeah, definitely.” I wish I could get feeling better because June 4, they’re getting ready to play in Memphis. They’re about a hundred grand short. They’re getting ready to set an execution date for Damien if they don’t have a hundred more grand. June 4 they’re doing a tribute show, or a fundraiser in Memphis. We’ll see, it’s pretty damn close, I’ll try to get well, see if I can make it up there.
JJ: Not to get all deep or anything here, but what do you think, say fifty years now, what do you want your musical legacy to be?
H3: Uh, basically, you know, he was a weird kid and you know, I saw him back in the day when he was doing the Jekyll and Hyde stuff! I just, you know, I should already have out five country albums and three hard rock albums by now. I just want to get anything and everything out. And, that’s, I don’t know. I just want to put out music, man. Some people get it and some people don’t.
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