How are things going with Hinder these days?

Things are great. We have been out on this tour for a couple months or so and it’s been going great!

Who has inspired you and who inspires you today?

Our inspirations have come from people like Aerosmith and Motley Crue. Guns & Roses was a big one for me, That is why I got into music. Bands like that, old school rock star bands like that, basically.

What was your first guitar?

Actually it was a cheap off brand guitar called a Series 10. But it was one of the best guitars that I ever had. It was really a great guitar.

What is your favorite song to perform live?

Well, mine is different from everyone else. I have a lot of fun playing the song “Shoulda” and “By The Way” is a lot of fun too.

What are some hobbies of yours?

I like to drink a lot! I like chicks a lot! Other than that, I like playing music. We don’t usually have much time to do anything else. When I go home, I like to shop and blow a lot of money.

If you weren’t in the music industry, you could see yourself pursuing a career as what?

Well, before I joined this band I went to college for a few years for graphic design. It would have to be creative whatever I did. I wouldn’t want an ordinary job. It would have to do with art or possibly music in other fields of music.

What is the most special thing about being with the band Hinder?

It’s just being able to play every night. We don’t really have a job. We don’t really take anything seriously except for our music. And definitely the fans. Meeting the fans every night. We do meet and greets every single day so we can meet the people that are coming to see us. It’s kind of a combination of everything. There really isn’t a bad thing about what we do.

What is your most visited website?

Probably I-Tunes. Other than that, I don’t really get on the computer much. I check our message board and our Myspace page every once in a while.

What was some of your first jobs?

OH GOD! I’ve worked at a car wash before. That was my absolute first job when I was 15 years old. I’ve worked at grocery stores. I was waiting tables and bartending for about 6 years before I got into the band and went on the road. Pretty much waiting tables has been my ‘career’ for most of my life!

And a question from one of your fans…..

How many tattoos do you guy’s have?

Well, myself, I have both of my arms completely done; well three quarters at least. My wrist isn’t covered. So that’s my arms up to my shoulders. I have a piece that goes up my spine and a big piece in between my shoulder blades. Blower has one on his arm. Mark & Cody have none and Austin has a few down his arms.

Does Hinder have any plans to do any collaborations with anyone?

Actually, we have gotten a hold of Mick Mars (Motley Crue) not too long ago and we are trying to work something out that we can get together and write a song together for our new album or his solo album or for whatever it may be. We are just going to get together with him and see what we can get out of the studio.

With a collection of hard rocking songs like ‘Get Stoned’ and others, it introduced the world to Hinder as a hard rock band. Then ‘Lips Of An Angel’ hit the airwaves and took off to the top. Do you think that ‘Lips’ has overshadowed your other heavier songs and labeled Hinder as more of a softer rock band?

It definitely has. The fact that ‘Lips’ crossed over to pop has took the wind out of any of the songs that we released to the rock radio stations. We released ‘How Long’ some time after ‘Lips’ was released and it has definitely overshadowed ‘How Long’. It was released to rock radio because we are a rock band. Of course, we have our ballads and whenever one crosses over, there was not much you can do. ’Lips’ is going to be there for a while because when pop listeners embrace something, they don’t let it go.

Do you regret that ’Lips’ shot to the top like it did?

Oh not at all. Everyone asks us if we feel that we ’sold out’ because your single went to pop radio, are you a pop band? We are a rock band. We have our ballads but the way we see it is that the more people that get to hear our music, it’s great. It is why we do this so a lot of people can hear our stuff. The fact that it crossed over multiplied our fans by ten and I think it’s a good thing. But we don’t want people to think that we are a pop band.

Any embarrassing moments on stage?

OH YEAH! Let’s see… whether it’s falling off the stage or like when we were in Germany and we were playing the first song of our set and I go running up to my mike because I had to sing and Austin cuts in front of me swinging his arms around and smacked me right in the nose with his microphone. I was bleeding profusely for the entire set. Just stuff like that. Falling down is always embarrassing. I’m not really embarrassed by any of that. It’s a crazy rock show and shit like that happens!

When it’s all done, what do you want to be remembered for?

I’d like to be remembered for playing good rock music and helping people have a good time. That is pretty much why we are in it is to have a lot of fun and make other people have fun when they come to check out our band.

Any parting words for your Hinder fans out there?

Yeah, we love you all and we wouldn’t be doing this without you. We love all of our fans. They are more important than we are, really if you get down to it and think about it. We appreciate them very, very much.