Interviews : Gene Hoglan – 14/05/2008

I had a chance to speak with Mr. Gene Hoglan (Strapping Young Lad, Zimmers Hole, ex-Death) about his upcoming Australian promotional drum clinic tour, his work on the new Zimmer’s Hole album and what his plans are for future endeavors.

Anwar – Greetings Mr.Hoglan, me and the team at Metal Obsession would like to thank you for taking the time to be interviewed by us.

Gene – Right on, Anwar. You have a team? I’m highly suspicious…;-)

Anwar – You’ll be returning to Australia soon to promote your new addition to your ever growing monstrous drum kit, the new line of ATX Sabian cymbals. Would you like to give us a quick run down of the new addition and how it has improved the sound and style of your drumming?

Gene – I’m not gonna lie to you. I’ve never played them, but Sabian asked me to play them, as their sales are rather moribund at the moment. They’re hoping the ATX get a kickstart sales-wise out of this.

Anwar – What can people be expecting from this upcoming promotional tour?

Gene – Lotsa Gene in your face. I dunno, I like to have fun with clinics, I don’t take myself all that seriously, so the clinics are a good time.

Anwar – I see that you’ll be doing an extensive tour around Australia, aside from Perth which gets left out quite alot in international shows and visits from musical dignitaries, what was the reason for leaving Perth out of the mix?

Gene – Perth was booked, then it wasn’t. It was on the schedule originally.

Anwar – The long awaited new release of Zimmers Hole, “When You Were Shouting at the Devil” has finally arrived in Australia, were you involved much in the writing process, and has the new album fulfilled your expectations?

Gene – Here’s how it went down: I was in Vancouver, tracking the new MELDRUM album. Byron called me and said, “[Steve}Wheeler shit the bed on the new record, can you do it?”, as they already had the guitars tracked. I finished the MELDRUM album, and the next day learned the entire HOLE record, then tracked the whole thing the day after that. I’d never even HEARD the new stuff until the day before I recorded it. Every tune on the record is the first time I’ve ever played it. Which was par for the course in 2007. Of the 10-12 albums I did last year, 95% were done in the exact same fashion.
And I’ve tried for 10 years to get into THE HOLE, and they wouldn’t let me in. I did not share the same appreciation for AC/DC that they do. Ya know what my audition was? “Hey Byron, guess what? AC/DC’s great!” “Okay, Gene, you’re in.” Hee hee.

Anwar – Zimmers Hole have also recently been asked to play on the upcoming Ozzy’s Monsters of Rock in Canada this year, with such other acts as Ozzy Osbourne, Judas Priest, Shadows Fall, 3 Inches of Blood, Voivod and Testament. How did it feel to be chosen for such a prestigious event, and playing along side such well known and humble musicians?

Gene – Hey I tell ya, if people were smart, we’d be HEADLINING the thing!
Well, it feels like another gig, really. This might sound dick-ish, but I fully expect, that if something huge and metal is going down, one of my projects had better get a call, knowhuddamean?

Anwar – There were plans for releasing a Live DVD comprising of an old Zimmers Hole concert dating back to 2003 some time ago, are there still plans to release a DVD?

Gene – I would think that that idea has been scrapped. I’m sure we’ll record another gig somewhere down the line.

Anwar – Aside from Zimmers Hole you have also been working along side your long time friend, Jed Simon (formally of Strapping Young Lad) on a new project called ‘Tenet’. Would you like to explain to us how the project came into fruition and what are the plans for the bands future?

Gene – Jed asked me to do Tenet back in 2002, about the same time we were writing the SYL ‘Chicken Feather’ record. He had a ton of material, and we started rehearsing it pretty solidly. Fast-forward 3-4 years ahead, and when it came time to record, Jed kinda wanted to break away from the STRAPPING family and try it all on his own, so he enlisted Adrian Erlandsson to do the drums. Well, that didn’t work out, so, I was re-recruited. I’m sure we’ll see a release date on that thing pretty soon.

Anwar – Do you have any major plans set in stone for the rest of 2008?

Gene – Yes, and I finally get a day off in December. I know THE HOLE is planning to come to Australia extremely soon, so keep your eyes open.

Anwar – Do you have any favorite Australian metal bands, and who would stand out the most in your music collection?

Gene – Well, Tourette’s is really killer, and I am honored to make Michele Madden my bitch in MELDRUM. She’s been in LA while I’ve been in Cleveland for the past two weeks writing and tracking vocals for the new MELDRUM record. What can I say about her? She’s fucking amazingly talented and one of my best pals. I hope whatever the future holds for Tourette’s is killer, too.
And, there’s always Blood Duster, Damage, Devolved, Destroyer 666, and good ol’ Hobb’s Angel of Death. Oh, and since I am now in ZIMMER’S HOLE (in a monotone, robotic voice), AC/DC is real good, too.

Anwar – Finally, do you have any last words to the Metal Obsession readers?

Gene – Come check out some tub-thumpin’ at some of these clinics, dammit!

Gene Hoglan Australian Drum Clinic Tour

Melbourne
Allans Music City Store, 152 Bourke Street – CITY
Monday 19th May@ 7pm
Tuesday 20th May @ 7pm

Sydney
Allans Music Alexandria, 108 Botany Rd, Alexandria
Wednesday 21st May @ 7PM

Brisbane
Allans Music Brisbane, 90-112 Queen Street Mall – CITY
Thursday 22nd May @ 6.30pm

Adelaide
Allans Music, 58 Gawler Place, Adelaide
Friday 23rd May @ 7pm

Tix available NOW – $20

Gene Hoglan’s Official Website

Zimmers Hole Official Website