Jamey Jasta: Because Ozzfest was just one show last year, and the year before was free, I think Mayhem had that window to slide in there and fill the void. When Kingdom Of Sorrow played those two Mayhem shows with Slipknot and Machine Head and Mastodon and everybody, I was blown away. Having done those venus with Hatebreed six or seven times on Ozzfest, it was like being back on Ozzfest. The camaraderie was there, they had really good production, it was very well run. It was very similar, and the bills were eclectic.
Doing the two shows with Kingdom Of Sorrow made me want to meet with Kevin Lyman, and I told him it's something Hatebreed is very interested in doing. When we got the offer to headline the Jager stage, we were stoked. With the new album out and taking a couple months off, we need to get back out there. We haven't been on a big summer tour since 2008, and there's a whole new generation of kids that have come into heavy music in the last two years.
Kingdom is doing Ozzfest this year. I think I'm going to be the first frontman ever to perform with two different bands on two different big summer festivals. I'm stoked. Kingdom is going to do the second stage on Ozzfest with Black Label Society. The main stage is Ozzy and Motley Crue and Halford.
You've always got a ton of stuff going on. How much of your time these days is occupied by the record label (Stillborn Records), your clothing line and other non performing obligations?
The clothing line is really fun because I can wear my own stuff and I don't have to wear a mainstream brand. I can design it and wear stuff that I like. It's easy. It's just me and one other person, two people on the West Coast, and two people in Europe. It's a much different thing than the label.
The label is dealing with a lot of younger people who are trying so hard to make it in the music industry, a very tough industry. Because CD sales and store space are dwindling, it's harder for me in good conscience to lock somebody up to a deal that might not be the best deal. I've been trying to change the label up, change the label up to make it more artist friendly without losing so much money like I have in the past on it.
I've had two success stories over the past year: Thy Will Be Done and The World We Knew. Thy Will Be Done is out now with Fear Factory. I'm happy about that. I have to keep the roster small so I can focus on the bands that are working, and keep it fun for me. I do like to help younger musicians, and I hope for the best with the music industry in general, but the way the distribution deals are, I don't want to lock a band into something where a bigger distribution company owns their master, or whatever. I want it to be more artist friendly.
Is Stillborn doing much with vinyl?
I don't do a lot of it with Stillborn because it's so work intensive, and I don't have time to listen to test presses and go through changing the art. I've only done two releases this year so far, and I'm probably only going to do two more, with one being a free compilation. Maybe down the line if I start doing some more underground hardcore, I think the kids want the limited vinyl.
What is the status of your book projects?
The books are finally coming along. I've changed the lyric book to be more about road stories and diaries with the lyrics interspersed. That was tough to reroute the whole thing and switch it up and give it more of a storyteller vibe where people get an insight about what each song is about and where it was written and why. I also wanted to make it more inspirational and give more of a back story, so there's more biographical information than I originally planned on doing.
The Headbanger's Ball book will come out later, because it's still so scattered. That will be more inspirational, letting people know I had no television experience and barely a ninth grade education and hosted a huge national and international TV show for four years. I don't want it to be aimless stories about interviewing different bands. I want it to be about breaking into the industry and trying to make a change and a difference, which I really fought to do when I did that show.
You're probably more involved in social media than anybody in music. Have you been able to track tangible results of things like increased CD sales, ticket sales or merch sales by using Facebook and Twitter so extensively?
I'm not sure. Album sales are down for everybody across the board with very few exceptions. I've always been outgoing and try to be accountable and approachable and down to earth. If you want to be involved in social media or follow someone on a site, you're a diehard fan and want to know what's going on, and I like that. Hatebreed fans are so passionate and are so supportive that I feel I owe them at least a reply or two a day, if not more. I don't have time to reply to everybody, but at least I make an effort.
As a label owner it might not be in your best financial interest, but can you see direct promotion via social media making the need for a record label less important?
Oh yeah. Look at Trash Talk. I love that band, and I love their former label. When I read they left and were doing their own thing I was interested to see what they were going to do and how they were going to do it. For a very in-your-face and abrasive band, they are in mainstream publications, on mainstream festivals and are very ambitious with what they're doing. I feel like they haven't suffered for taking it all on themselves and becoming completely DIY. Some bands don't have that drive and ambition, so it might not work, but for a band like Trash Talk, people know where to go and they want to support the band.
There have been so many tragic deaths in metal this year, with Paul Gray from Slipknot passing away recently. He was a friend of yours.
I just traded emails with him last month and he told me he was going be recording with Body Pit, his band before Slipknot. He asked me about being on a track. He said he was expecting a child. I was blown away, and still can't put it all together that he's gone. I really hope the guys in Slipknot are okay. My heart goes out to their fans. I've traveled the world with that band, and I've seen them everywhere. Anybody that doubts the impact of that band is a complete fool. So many kids picked up a bass because of Paul Gray. I remember being at the shows and seeing lines of kids with posters and pictures and instruments. It was a phenomenon that will never be duplicated. I witnessed it all over the world, and it was like that everywhere.
