TINA PEEK: Hey Jason thanks for taking the time to chat with me today. I know you've just gotten home from the Alice Cooper Tour [Along Came A Spider], are you enjoying your time off?

JASON HOOK: Oh yeah, I love my time off. I live for my time off.

TP: What do you do during your time off?

JH: All I do is write and record. I spend most of my time in my home studio, but there hasn't been a lot of time for that right now because I just got back and I’m going away for Christmas this year. Normally when I’m on a break from tour, I’m only off long enough to open mail and catch up on bills and stuff like that. I'm having some guitars built from a guy in New Jersey called Rob Mondell and his company Just Insane Guitars, so I’ve been spending some of my time ordering parts, you know, nothing glamorous, no rock star stuff really.

TP: You’ve just come back from touring Germany. I've heard that fans in Europe are a bit more rabid than their counterparts in North America, is there any truth to that?

JH: I think in general, whenever we travel outside of America, the excitement level seems to be heightened. I think that people outside of America look at it as a special event, or more of a rare opportunity to see someone like Alice, ya know?

TP: You've played with some very diverse artists, everyone from Mandy Moore, Hilary Duff and Lee Aaron, to the Bullet Boys, Vince Neil and now Alice Cooper. How difficult is it to switch gears from one type of genre of music to another?

JH: You know, I've been asked this question a lot and I don't know if it's necessarily difficult, it's just a question of making sure that you understand the job and making sure that you have all the tools to make sure you adapt to the job. It's like someone saying to an artist, "I know you usually paint with oil on canvas, but can you paint a wall?" or "Can you paint watercolor on some other medium?" You just have to learn what's expected of you and make sure you come in prepared. As far as musical styles go, I'm primarily a rock guy, so it has been a little tricky to stray outside of the box and go into something like pop. I do a lot of research on my way in, I find out exactly what the guy before me was playing, I ask what guitars he was using, what kind of equipment. I show up prepared.

TP: So what made you decide to go out with Mandy and Hilary? Knowing that you're a rocker and you love the heavier stuff, they seemed like unusual choices, was it simply for the experience?

JH: Yeah, when I moved to Los Angeles, I was working some shitty jobs just for cash. I was an illegal alien at the time and I took a job moving people. I was working for about a half a day and by lunch time I had moved this entire apartment and I just said to myself, "You know, I'm not cut out for this. I'm not cut out for this regular hourly wage nonsense." So at some point I decided I'm just going to stick to playing guitar and if opportunities come up, as long as it's not completely ridiculous, I'm going to take them. And every job that I've had has taught me something that has been important. You can't just go from clubs to sports arenas; you have to work your way up. In my mind it was like going through University or going through College. These were classes that I needed to take, like when you're going through high school, you're forced to take math, English and history, even though you may not end up being that interested in geometry or history, but when you get into the work field it’s helpful to have that education. All that education helps to send you off in that one direction. I just look at it as a chance to gain an experience, a chance to get an education. It has made me a better professional today. You know, I've thought about this question a lot because my heart really is in heavy music. That's my favorite type of music, hard rock, heavy metal, stuff like that, and people are like, "How can you play with those other artists?" Well you know, I was young and I was eager to learn, so I just decided I'd learn. I could've taken jobs painting houses, but that had nothing to do with where I wanted to go, so I just ignored that type of work and I took work doing music.

TP: What's been your favorite tour so far in your career?

JH: It was definitely, by a landslide, Vince Neil 2003.

TP: And why that tour?

JH: Because it was loaded with all sorts of debauchery, you can use your imagination. [laughs] You know, touring for the most part can be many things. It can be really lonely or really routine or almost, I hate to use the word boring, but there's a lot of down time where you're alone and there's really not much you can do because you're in a strange place with no car. And if you're out of the country, you're cell phone may not work, the money might be different, the language might be different. You're sort of just confined to your hotel and the people you're on tour with. I remember being on tour with Vince Neil in the States. It was a small band. It was just Vince and three musicians. I was with Brent Fitz, of course, he's my boyeee. [laughs] So it was just Fitz and I and this bass player, and we were having an amazing time. There was lots of partying and fun. Vince is 100% pure fun, I mean, that's just all he wants to do is have fun. It usually includes a lot of strippers, models, or lesbians, or whatever. [laughs] He's great.

TP: Favorite country, besides North America to tour?

JH: I really like Australia, for a lot of reasons. Not only is it attractive, but also, the people in general seem to be very friendly and pretty easygoing. I love that their language is English and that the money is easy to figure out. Sometimes you get into areas where the language is different and the money is weird, like Japan. Japan makes me crazy…

TP: Really? Why?

JH: I mean, the people there are really nice, but they're really big on cigarettes over there, everyone in Japan smokes and the language is funky. [I laugh] I mean there's definitely a language barrier. The money is completely fucked. You go into a McDonald's and they'll say, "Big Mac is 500 Yen," and you go, "Whoa whoa, what?” You know what I mean? It's fucked. And they drive on the opposite side of the street. It's just one nightmare after another. You can't even order water without having to go through a huge charade because they don't get it. I mean, it's just really tough. I remember people sitting down at a restaurant and ordering their food and then everyone starts smoking. They're big on smoke there, so it's a nightmare. I've met some nice people. I don't want to completely dog Japan, but I would not want to go there by choice.

TP: That's interesting.

JH: Yeah, it's funky.

TP: You've been with Alice Cooper since the spring of 2007, how did you get the Alice gig?

JH: Well the truth is, I basically got it through Eric Singer and Brent Fitz, because Brent and Eric and I have been friends for a while and Brent would substitute for Eric, so Brent's kind of in the fold with the Alice Cooper gig. And when they found out that Damon [Johnson] was leaving, the first person to know about it was obviously Eric, and then Eric was chatting with Brent, and Brent said, "You've gotta call Jason." And Eric was like, "Oh yeah, what's he doing?" And Brent was like, "Well he's not doing anything right now." "Oh yeah, he'd be great. blah blah blah". So I didn't audition or anything, I was basically called up and I said I was available and I talked to the tour manager over the phone and that was it.

TP: So you didn't even have to promote yourself.

JH: No. Well, the good thing about reaching a certain level at this game, is that once people know what you've done and you've proven yourself, you don't have to start over every time, people just assume that if you've had one pro gig, than obviously you can handle it on many levels, a personal level, a professional level.

TP: And word of mouth, too?

JH: Yeah, and word of mouth, I mean it's kind of like once you've done a few of these gigs and people already know you're at that level they just snag you, ya know?

TP: Alice obviously has a huge catalogue of songs, do you have a personal favorite?

JH: I like “Go To Hell”, which we don't play.

TP: Which song is your favorite to play live?

JH: I'm trying to think of the set. [laughs] I think “No More Mr. Nice Guy” and “Billion Dollar Babies”. I don't even mind playing “Poison” because the audience reaction is usually elevated and I get to play a solo which is kind of a highlight of that song. So that's what I like to play.

TP: Now that you’re back from Germany, what’s next for you?

JH: Well, the Christmas Pudding is coming up on the 13th of this month with Alice, in Phoenix.

TP: So what is the Christmas Pudding, is it a charity of some sort?

JH: Yes it’s a charity event that Alice puts on every year. He’s raising money to build a school for kids. I believe it’s going to be a music-based school for teenagers.

TP: Do you plan on sticking with the Alice camp for future tours and recordings, or would you like to branch out and start spending more time doing your own thing?

JH: The Alice gig is a great gig, but I would like to do something where I have a bit more of a role to be honest with you. I love to be creative, and I'm not delusional about the impact of my music. I don't sit here and think, "If I could only be doing my music all the time I'd be rich and famous." I just do it because I enjoy it. And so, in a perfect world, I would be involved in something where I could be more creative, or where people would require me to be more creative. So the truth is, and I'm not afraid to say this, is that I'm always looking for something that would be closer to that, you know?

TP: What surprised me a bit, was when I went to Alice's MySpace site, it didn't list anyone else in the band. If you go to most artist’s sites, it'll list for example, Eric Singer-drums and Jason Hook-guitar, but none of the other band members are on the site, it's just Alice Cooper. I guess what I'm saying is, aren't all the members of the band important? Would the live show be as good without all the other players? I guess I was kind of surprised to not see any of the other band members listed on the MySpace.

JH: Well it's like this, Alice is a smart guy and Alice should have a young, energetic band. And he certainly forks out the dough to have that. And whether one of us disappears or not, he’ll still have that. He’s doing exactly what he should be doing, and that’s hiring good players. If any of us were not in the group, or were replaced in the group, the fans would still come out to see Alice Cooper. I don't really care about the money to be honest with you. Money is easy to find. I want to hear a song of mine, or one that I co-wrote, or that my band did, on the radio, and you can't buy that, you can't pay for that, that's just being good, that's just being creative and that's what I'm interested in. I’m not bitter about having a good job though.

TP: Well you don't sound bitter, you sound like you're just expressing the facts and how you feel.

JH: Yeah.

TP: I'm going to mention 10 names and you tell me the first thing that comes to your mind and by all means, elaborate on them if you like, okay?

JH: Okay.

TP: Killer Dwarfs

JH: [long pause] Go dunk.

TP: Am I supposed to know what that means?

JH: No. They used this word “dunk” like, "Right on dunk". Everything with them was “dunk”. It's an inside joke. Go dunk.

TP: Okay, Monkeyhead.

JH: Monkeyhead was one of the first releases that I had, it's old music basically, an old project. Monkeyhead are for sale on-line somewhere. You can buy it on-line.

TP: Alice Cooper.

JH: Are we doing one-word answers?

TP: No, you can tell me whatever comes to mind.

JH: Poker. We always play poker.

TP: KISS [the band].

JH: Lords.

TP: Rebecca Seven.

JH: Rebecca Seven? Who's Rebecca Seven?

TP: [laughing] I can't believe you don't know who she is!! I know who she is…you're going to be embarrassed.

JH: Okay...[he sounds unsure]

TP: Hint. Doesn't she make custom clothing?

JH: Oh, I never knew her last name!

TP: [laughing] Viva Rebecca or something?

JH: Yeah Rebecca, I didn't know it was Rebecca Seven. How do you know Rebecca?

TP: Well funny thing, I was researching you and she came up and happened to make those pants you wear on stage.

JH: Does she have a new website [www.vivarebecca.com]?

TP: I'm not sure if it's new, but yes, she does have a website.

JH: Oh, there it is! [Jason has gone on-line to find her] Does she have Mick Mars on there?

TP: Yes, she made that amazing coat that Mick wears, the one he's been wearing out on tour. It's friggin awesome. And she made Kate Beckensale's cape for the Underworld poster. She's very good. And I love those pants she made you.

JH: Thank you. Yeah they are...they are, um... [Clearly Jason is busy checking out her site]

TP: Hot.

JH: Yeah. [bursts out laughing, clearly I got his attention back] Hot. [we're both laughing]. Yeah, I just know her as Rebecca and she's awesome, What can I say? And she really did make me a great pair of pants and I've been thinking of her and I wanted to get her to do a whole new set of clothes for next year. I just don't…I'm never home, so it'll have to wait until after the new year.

TP: Yeah, she's good. Okay, Vince Neil.

JH: Party on dude. Yeah, I dunno, Vince is fun. Vince is sober now.

TP: Ritchie Blackmore.

JH: He's one of my big influences. I only have been able to see him play once and it was the Perfect Strangers Tour in 1984. And I guess I was exposed to Deep Purple through a friend back when I was younger and just went out and bought all of it and it became my thing. I like to think that I have some sort of him in my playing, but I don't think that you would be able to detect it though.

TP: Allister Morrison.

JH: Wow, now you're on crack!!

TP: [I break out laughing] Well I did my research, what can I tell ya?

JH: [laughs] Wow. Well Allister was my private teacher when I was just a wee lad and I haven't seen him or talked to him in decades. You know, when I started playing guitar I was six years old. I took lessons from maybe seven or eight to eleven or twelve, I think? I have a picture of he and I when I was maybe ten or eleven years old and we played a little concert in the high school gymnasium, a little band I had, and he came up to see it. I have that photo on my computer so maybe I'll send that to you, but I haven't talked to him in decades and I don't know where he lives or what he's up to. I think my dad had some contact with him a few years back, and I think he's a painter now.

TP: I wonder how proud he would be to know that a student he taught as a child is now playing guitar for Alice Cooper?

JH: Yeah, maybe. I think I still have an email address for him, I should check just for fun. Rebecca Seven! [I break out laughing] I have to call her.

TP: Well I wasn't expecting you to know her last name. I am trying to throw you off a bit here Jason.

JH: No that's good!

TP: Jeremy Spencer.

JH: Jeremy, Jeremy, Jeremy. I talked to him today, actually. Jeremy is one of my best friends and we have a lot of history together. Jeremy was one of the first musicians I met in Los Angeles when I moved here. I didn't really know too many people, and I was playing with Mick Sweda, who was the original guitar player from the Bulletboys. And Jeremy was this skinny, geeky kid. He's a few years younger than I am, and Mick is a few years older than I am. So you get this young kid with Mick playing. Mick had put a new band together after the Bulletboys and I moved down there and somebody said, "I've gotta introduce you to Mick Sweda, he's looking for a guitar player," and that's how I met Jeremy. And that was 1994, 1995 maybe? So I've been playing with Jeremy since 1994 and we've been best friends and musical comrades since.

TP: I know he played on your CD and also helped you produce it as well.

JH: Yeah, but we've done ten times more music than Safety Dunce together, in all sorts of original projects and writing songs and all sorts of different things. He's an extremely talented and extremely creative guy, and I really like his style of playing. He's super-aggressive and super high-energy exciting. He has a very good work ethic, and he's very creative, and he's sort of my musical soul mate, if that doesn't sound too corny? So it was only natural when I decided that I was going to do something on my own, that he would be involved on many levels, and we're still working together!

TP: Last name, Kyler Clark.

JH: Oh Kyler, Kyler’s a rock star! Kyler is a really lucky find for me. I'm extremely picky when it comes to people who do work on my guitars and I can't say that I've had a tech that has had his skill level and his ability, his knowledge, well just his skill, I guess. I mean, he's a fully qualified guitar repair technician.

TP: So how did you guys meet?

JH: Well when I got the Cooper gig, they asked me if I had a tech, because the last tech for Damon [Johnson] was no longer around and they need to have a tech for me, so if I had someone, great, and if I couldn't come up with somebody they'd find someone for me. So I started asking around, "Who's the best guitar tech in town?" I called ten guys, you know? I talked to Dave Navarro's guy, Eddie Van Halen's old guy, I talked to all these different techs, and some of them were busy and some of them sounded great, but they were leaving on tour with somebody else, blah blah blah. There were a lot of little things, and I would meet them at Starbucks and I could tell within the first two minutes if they were going to be compatible with me or not. And Kyler, God bless his little heart, showed up a little nervous and was just a really pleasant guy, and I had him work on a guitar and I asked him what did he expect to get out on the road. I just didn't want somebody who was smoking pot and chasing pussy and not focused, you know what I mean?

TP: Of course.

JH: There are a lot of meatheads out there that just get into touring because they want the lifestyle. I wanted someone who was serious about taking care of my instruments and me. And he has ended up being everyone's “go to” tech by the way; I mean everyone who needs something goes to Kyler because he’s a smart kid and can pretty much fix anything.

TP: You've been living in L.A. for about 14 years now and there was an interview you did a few years ago where you were quoted as saying that your only regret was not moving there sooner, because Canada is useless. I know that was in reference to your musical career, you obviously weren't referring to Canada in general. I wanted to ask you about that.

JH: Well that was one of those times where you always hear about people who have their words printed out of context and what I said was, “The Canadian music business seems useless to me,” which I still stand behind. I’ve tried both countries and I’ll stick with the States, thank you very much. I may have been a little sour that day as well, because I've been paying thousands and thousands of dollars in immigration fees.

TP: I bet you have.

JH: Yeah, I'm probably up to, somewhere in the $15,000 to $18 Grand range.

TP: Why does it cost so much? What's the process? Not being American, I wouldn't know.

JH: I don't know either. All I know is that I'm glad I started the process, I'm working on a green card right now. You can't earn money, you can't go to work legally here, without being certified, and it's critical that I always have my papers because I'm always going in and out of the country. And at that re-entry point, they're always wanting to know, "Why do you have one Canadian in your pack?" "Who is that guy?" "Is he part of your organization?" "Does he have a visa?" Blah, blah, blah, Work permits and these things are sort of short term. They last anywhere from a year to three years when you apply for them, and when they show up six months later, they don't start the two year visa from the time it shows up, the visa starts up from when you first submitted, so the first six months that you don't have it are gone. So you only get 18 months out of a two-year visa, even though you paid full price. I mean, it's a bit knarly for me and I keep having to pay. The green card costs $12 Grand, and I still don't have it, and I started it in 2005.

TP: Why did you wait so long? I mean, you've been living out there for fourteen years?

JH: Well it's expensive, and even though you have to pay for the green card, you still have to pay for the visas while you're here, so now you have to double-pay. I have to pay for visas to keep me here and the green card is working in the background and it shows up when it shows up, because they warned me it takes years, four, five, six years. Especially after 911, the waiting list is long and the procedure is slow. So when I did that interview, I think I just wrote a check and I was annoyed and I was just expressing that.

TP: Do you think with the Canadian Content Laws we now have in place and the fact that record labels don't have the hold on artists like they used to, do you think it's easier for artists now, than when you were here fourteen or fifteen years ago?

JH: As far as musicians trying to make a long career in Canada, I just don't think it's a possibility. As far as being easier now, I don't think I can really answer that because I don't really know anything about the Canadian music scene really. I haven't been exposed to it since 1994. I go up there periodically to play a show or two, but that's it. And it's kind of interesting to go up there and you turn the radio on and you're hearing all this music and you don't even know what it is.

TP: Really.

JH: Well I don't live there, so I couldn't name you one Tragically Hip song. I couldn't name you any of the bands that have been out in the last 10 years. I'm not exposed to it. I'm not saying that's cool or anything, I'm just saying that I really don't know about anything that's going on up there, ya know?

TP: So you don't hear bands like say, Three Days Grace or Nickelback in the States?

JH: The bands that have crossed over in the States I have, but the bands that are popular in Canada that haven’t made that cross over yet, I just don’t hear on the radio over here.

TP: So smaller bands, like Indie bands, wouldn't be heard in the States right now?

JH: I don't think so. I haven't heard them, no.

TP: Do you come from a musical background? Is your family musical at all?

JH: No, I wanted to be in KISS when I was six, that's it. I took a look at the Destroyer cover and I was like, "What is that?" And I insisted that I be put in guitar lessons or drum lessons. I mean, I did it all. I took piano lessons, violin lessons, drum lessons, guitar.

TP: I was going to ask you about that. I know you took piano lessons and was wondering what made you decide to play the guitar instead. So it was in direct relation to KISS?

JH: Mmm hmm. You know, young kids are heavily influenced by pop and rock'n'roll. And the excitement and the fire, it was strong imagery and edgy music and it was great. I absorbed the whole thing. I was like, "I wanna do that, for sure!"

TP: Who were your musical influences growing up, because surprisingly it's not guitarists, right?

JH: No not really... Well I can't say not really, because people think I'm into instrumental guitar music and I can't stand it. But KISS sort of clobbered me over the head when I was very young and I just thought it had all the elements to draw me in and I loved being a part of that, you know? I thought every part of that band was exciting and the music was great and the posters were great and the lunch box was great and Ace Frehley was great and Paul Stanley was great. Ibanez Iceman's were great and the blood was great and everything was great! Every bit of it.

TP: Just your favorite band.

JH: Yeah, and it was just awesome! And I still love it, but I try not to go too crazy over it now, I'm older and I'm touring, I've met the guys. I play with Eric and I just try to keep it under wraps, but it clobbered me over the head. I mean, that was a big part of my youth. And then as we got into the '80s and KISS dropped off the map a little bit, I strayed into other things like The Police, I thought they were great. I listened to a lot of Police and then was turned on to Van Halen in 1982 or '83—Diver Down and of course 1984 blew up for them, so I digested heavily on Van Halen. Eddie Van Halen had a magic and an energy and it didn't come from being an educated player, it came from his heart. He just had that energy, and when I see him play nowadays, I'm reminded of why I was attracted to it back then, because listening to him play and what he chooses to play and the music that he wrote, it grabs you. It's very exciting. Things like, “Somebody Get Me A Doctor” and “Unchained” and the music he wrote was really exciting. And there's nothing like cranking old Van Halen. It's really awesome. So that was it. Basically I never really got heavily into Led Zeppelin, I know a lot of people love Led Zeppelin, I definitely can appreciate it, but I never really got into that.

TP: They're my all time favorite rock band.

JH: Yeah, they're legendary, legendary, but I just didn't, I thought Jimmy Page as a guitar player was a genius, but I thought he was sloppy as a player.

TP: Did you really?

JH: Yeah and I think that even Jimmy Page fans would tell you that that was part of the charm. Keith Richards is sloppy, too, but it's Keith Richards, ya know? As a teenager, I was just a little too old and Led Zeppelin were just a little too old when I was at that teenage age and Van Halen was the guitar player to be listening to at that point. I think Zeppelin called it quits in 1980, I think? I can't remember.

TP: When Bonham was alive, I was too young and by the time I was old enough to go to concerts and see them live, he had already died and they broke up, so I never had the opportunity.

JH: Well when I was a teenager, there were a lot of new age guys that were taking over the guitar hero spot. There was all sorts of like, Eddie Van Halen certainly and then there were guys like George Lynch, bands like Iron Maiden, Jake E. Lee, stuff like that, Warren De Martini, those were the kind of guys that everyone was like, "Fuck, that's the new age of guitar right there!!" And even though Jimmy Page was awesome, it wasn't the language that was being spoken at that time. Kids just grab whatever's current, you know?

TP: That's true. But you know, having said that, I find that a lot of kids are into the old stuff. Everything old is new again. Case in point, Alice Cooper. I went to two of his shows and noticed people of all age groups in the audience, from as young as seven right up to people in their 60's, people who saw him when they were teenagers and they're bringing their kids now. So a lot of young people are going very retro, like a lot of these older bands, Uriah Heep is another example, they've just released an album, first one in over a decade and are touring and kids are buying it, ya know?

JH: Yup, you're right. I think Alice Cooper has a very rare thing going, where he transcends all of those generations, ya know? And to a lot of people, he's just pure cool, it's like a surviving legend that's passed through decades of genre changes and that's very difficult to do and very rare to see that and only The Rolling Stones and Alice Cooper are bands that are still out there doing it. And Alice Cooper started in 1969, I wasn't even alive!

TP: Okay, I want to talk about your CD. You released an instrumental CD called Safety Dunce in 2005 and the disc won "Best Instrumental Album" at the L.A. Music Awards. From what I've read, you actually wanted to record a CD with some artist friends of yours, with singing, etcetera. What made you decide to go in a different direction?

JH: I'll tell you how that project originated. I was trying to get Vince Neil, this is the truth, I was trying to get Vince to record a new record and Brent [Fitz] and I talked about getting together and working up some riffs and just getting the ball rolling, Brent Fitz of course being the drummer at the time. Brent lived in Vegas, and he wasn't immediately accessible for me to set up and jam with and record riffs, and so I called Jeremy [Spencer] in and said, "Can you help me please? I'm just trying to put some riffs down, I hate drum machines, I hate programming drums. It's slow. It's clumsy. Can you just spend one night a week with me to work on riffs and I'll just record them and then I'll have something to show Vince and then hopefully we'll light a fire under Vince's ass and maybe we could get him interested in making a brand new Vince Neil record." So that's how it all started. And so I started working on music with Jeremy and recording it and then I would try and get together with Vince to play him some of the music and he was always too busy, "Oh I have a Palm Springs golf tournament", "I've got a Hawaiian Tropic appearance", "I'm going to be away that weekend", "I've got my charity thing". He was just always busy and I started to realize, I don't really think that he was interested in doing it. So I was like, "Okay fine." So I have all this music now that I've started with Jeremy and instead of just throwing it away or sticking it on a shelf, I said to Jeremy, "Look, we've always talked about doing just a ridiculous shredder record of nasty riffs and drumming, so let's take this music and bump it up a notch". Because we kept it kind of simplified because it was supposed to be songs for Vince, you know, so I said, "Let's turn it into a record that...let's turn it into our record." And he was like, "Great, let's rock!" So that's where that started and we just kept recording it and things got more, it turned into music that he and I were more capable of doing, that we heard and that we wanted to do. As soon as you're not making music for someone that's gotta sing over it, the sky's the limit.

TP: You also signed a deal earlier this year with MVD (Music Video Distributors), how did that come about?

JH: That was courtesy of my manager and good friend, Jamie Talbot at Sanctuary. Basically, he made a relationship with them and said, "Hey, how about a Jason Hook solo CD?" And they were like, "Well who's that?" And he said, "He's toured with people, he's out with Alice Cooper, it's kind of a neat little thing, it's got a DVD, blah blah blah, you should listen to it." And they listened to it and were like, "Okay, we'll put it out." So that was that.

TP: I've heard you have a weird sense of humor, so I need to ask you about the artwork on Safety Dunce, it's a wheelchair with a stick person falling out of it and you also have that sticker on one of your guitars. Who's idea was that and how did you come up with it? [I start laughing].

JH: [laughs] It's funny, huh?

TP: Oh it's very funny Jason!

JH: [laughs] Well again, Jeremy showed up one day and he had purchased on-line, a t-shirt with that graphic on it, and it's funny, because we're so used to seeing that symbol as a [we both laugh], in every day life and so that's a variation on that symbol, which is clever, it's funny, it's not supposed to be taken too heavy. Anyway, I thought it was funny. So when it came time to try and pick a title for the record, we were just trying to think of things that were funny because everybody likes to laugh. It doesn't matter if you’re female, young, old, musician, not a musician, everyone likes to laugh, so humor is a pretty safe way to go when you're trying to get people's attention. So we were thinking of album titles and I was coming up with some really ridiculous titles at the time, like I was going to call the album at one time, Keep Your Receipt and we had come up with things like, Toys In The Addict and so we were going with plays on words, there was Safety Dunce and we were laughing about that, but then I thought, "What about Safety Dunce with that t-shirt graphic on the front?" And he was like, "Dude, if you do that, I'll hail you man!" [I'm laughing] But he said, "I don't think you have the balls." I'm like, "I'll do it, I think it's great!" So we did it. Just being silly.

TP: With titles such as “Love Flap Candy Corn”, “Patience Tester” and “Number Three” on your award winning CD, I was wondering how you come up with titles for an instrumental piece of music, as opposed to music with lyrics, it seems that it would be more difficult, is it?

JH: Yeah.

TP: Clearly with lyrics you pick something from your lyric and it becomes the title of your song, but how do you come up with titles for an instrumental piece?

JH: That's a good question Tina, because they obviously don't have to fit, so on that one it was whatever sort of came to mind, when we listened to the music we were just sort of thinking, "What does this make you think of", or "What does this remind you of?” or “How does this make you feel? Or "What could this be called?" I mean, there really was no set formula for coming up with titles, although with the song “Number Three”, it was literally the third song we recorded together. So song one was called “Number One” and number three was “Number Three” and we didn't have a name for that and I was like, "You know what? I'm just going to call it ‘Number Three’," and well fuck it, there ya go, “Number Three” it is. [I laugh] But to make it even more confusing, that song ended up being number two on the play list of the record. [laughs] [Jason starts making kissing sounds] I’m kissing my cat, I love him.

TP: Aww, your cat?

JH: My cat Mr. Farnsworth, he's a good boy. Yeah, so “Number Three” actually ended up being number two on the record and that's really confusing for people and I probably should've made it number three, but it's more fun this way.

TP: You've been writing and recording for your second CD, how close are you to finishing it?

JH: Very close. I'm really excited about it. It took fucking forever to finish it. I'm really picky about every little detail, every little performance. I mean, I try be thorough with making it up to my standards, so it takes a long time and I don't settle. I try to make sure that everything...everything happens for a reason. I don't like anything that just seems to be a dead section. If it's a dead section, if it doesn't transmit any sort of energy or emotion or something, I just cut it out. So we're pretty much done. There's a cover song that we might take off, so I have to replace it with something, so there are some more delays, but I think for the most part it's done and I'm really excited about it and it's much darker and much heavier. Alice Cooper just recorded a spoken intro for me, so I’m jazzed about having him on there. It’s not as silly or humor based as Safety Dunce.

TP: Well, a few years have passed and you've grown as an artist, matured music-wise and you probably wanted to put out a more serious guitar instrumental I'd imagine?

JH: Yeah, for sure, for sure. I can't wait to get this one out there.

TP: When do you think it will be released?

JH: Well the touring thing is hard, I end up having to wait until I get back and now that I am, I plan on working on the album again. It's hard to focus on it on tour and I just want to do it when I'm not distracted. It's hard to get done when you're touring. Early 2009?

TP: Are you going to make another video to go with it?

JH: There'll be something.

TP: Are you releasing them together, or separate? On the last one you re-released it with a DVD.

JH: Not sure. I have a bunch of bonus feature ideas that I think could be included. It's expensive Tina, you know, to make a double disk like that. It's expensive. For example, everyone's putting out these digipacks now, which is essentially a cardboard front and back with a tray [disk] and to manufacture a digipack maybe costs seventy five cents, but to do what I did, it was like three dollars and something to do it, so to make a thousand Safety Dunce's cost me three thousand five hundred dollars and some shit. Just to do a CD at seventy-five cents would be a lot more economical because you could make a thousand for seven hundred and fifty dollars. So I don't know if I'm going to package it like I did before, but I was proud of it and I wanted to do it right so I spent the money. Whaddya gonna do?

TP: When you write music for a guitar instrumental, how is that process different than writing music with lyrics?

JH: Doing what I do I find it really hard, it's a challenge because you have to try and hold the listener's attention with no vocal, so you lean heavy on performance and um, it's hard to explain. The music has to be evolving constantly, because you're not listening to any vocal chords and there's no chorus and there are no lyrics, so things can get boring real fast and I'm not the type of guy who just wants to play melodic lead guitar and call it an instrumental because I think that just sucks. So I lean heavy on the exciting little moments like explosive intros and start stop moments, long builds, drum solos, little samples that perk up...anything that's interesting and makes the thing flow. It's hard to explain how I do it but when you hear the second record you'll get a good idea. I went heavy on the narration on the second record, not my narration, but I did a whole song called "American Justice" and it's got George Bush speaking through the whole song. I paid a hundred dollars to get four DVD's of archived Bush speeches and I put together the whole song with him speaking, but he's saying shit that's all rearranged and makes him sound like an idiot. I'll send you the song so you'll have an idea.

TP: Okay, I'd like that.

JH: It's completely fucked. I put it all together so he sounds like he's completely out of his mind. To me that's interesting. I did another song called "Serial Kill Her" and I took tapes of interviews of real serial killers and I cut it all together and I put it against the sound track, one of my tracks. And basically this guy's talking about how sex and violence were fused together and they can't explain why they do what they do and it's really dark and really nasty, but it's unique and extremely creative, if I must say so myself.

TP: Well that sounds like quite a departure from your last CD, that's for sure.

JH: Yeah, it's freaky, I mean I'm really proud of it, I don't think anyone's done that kind of thing, I'm capitalizing on it, it's kind of my thing now.

TP: Do you ever write lyrics?

JH: Yeah. I don't really enjoy it. Most of the songwriting I've done has been for other artists, so there are real defined guidelines as to what the lyrical content should be.

TP: For example?

JH: When you're writing songs for other artists it's not as free form and as colorful as I might do on my own.

TP: Do you ever write your own lyrics, just for yourself?

JH: Yeah, but it's not a skill that I'm well developed in, so it's hard to just be free with it because I find myself always censoring this and that, it's pretty difficult, I mean it's fine to write poetry or what you call lyrics, it's all fine to get it out on paper, that's step one. But try to squash it into a piece of music and into a recording and make it all fit and make it be decent, that's very difficult and of course it's doable, but to try and make it sound professional is tricky. It's hard for someone like me who has spent so much time developing one area of my craft, to be so behind in the other area. It's hard for me to try and match the two, or to be satisfied with both, ya know?

TP: Have you ever considered singing on your own record?

JH: I have tons of songs that I've written and have played and sang on my own.

TP: Really?

JH: Oh yeah.

TP: Do you think you have a good voice?

JH: It's okay. I mean, there might be some room for that later.

TP: I was going to ask you that next, are you still considering recording an album with other artists at some point?

JH: Um, I don't know.

TP: Initially that was your thing, right? You wanted to record with some artist friends and put out an album. I wondered if now that you've put out the instrumental CD, would you still be interested in doing that or are you kind of veering away from that now?

JH: I think I'm going to veer away from it because...I originally thought that would be a great idea and that may be something I want to do but it would be hard to find. You know when you listen to a new band and it's almost like whether you like them or not is contingent on whether you like the singer’s voice or not?

TP: Very true.

JH: The track could be great, but if you just don't dig the singer, it's discarded. I think I would be foolish to think that I could get ten vocalists on a record where it's going to appeal to everyone. I think what's going to happen if you do something like that, there's probably going to be a couple of stand out tracks, "That's a really great track, but I don't like the rest of the record” or, "I really like this song from this guy and I really like the song from that guy, but I don't like the rest of the record." And when I thought about it, I thought, "You know what, that's the way that would turn out". I can't bring every song up to a ten because not every vocalist and every lyricist and every song writer is going to be able to deliver. Some of it's just chance and I know there's going to be some weakness there and I'd rather get into something that's more controllable. Find a great singer and do one whole record together, ya know?

TP: Well you've always been highly regarded as one of rocks most prolific guitarists and a consummate professional, which is why you're so sought after as a hired gun for other artists, but I wondered if you've ever given any thought to starting your own band at some point, as you said, with one singer?

JH: [laughs] It's funny, it's so flattering to hear you say that.

TP: Really? You don't agree? I think you're an amazing guitarist.

JH: Well thank you, but you know, I think of myself as, I don’t know, it's really weird. I don't think of myself as good, or when somebody shows me something and I can't play it I think, "I fucking suck!" Or when I have to learn a song and I can't learn it as quickly as somebody else, I think...honestly? I think that I have a nice style, but I don't think I'm really that good. I know guys that can play fucking circles around me, but I guess that's the same with everything.

TP: Well there's always going to be people who do things better, but that's always the case, that doesn't mean that you're not great.

JH: I suppose. I think that's why I like to make my own music because no one can take it away from me. That's me being 100 percent me, I don't have to fit any format or guideline or any criteria and once it's recorded and put out there, no one can say, "I don't know, how good is that guy?" or, "What is he into?" or, "What does he sound like?" I mean, it's documented forever and I love the idea of that. But ah, what was the question? [we laugh]

TP: Do you ever think you would want to start your own band and do your own thing?

JH: Yeah sure. That's probably something I'm more interested in these days is finding a team, finding a creative team of everyone who's on an equal playing field and all want to achieve a common goal. This playing for millionaires is confusing because you've got a couple of guys who are just making enough to pay their bills and then you've got one multi-millionaire, or one celebrity. Yeah, I would definitely see that in my near future if I don't start something on my own from scratch. I would probably try and team up with something that is brand new that is just breaking open you know? As long as I believed in it, that's all that matters. Just having something that you're excited about gets you up in the morning man. It's a different feeling and I don't think a lot of people have had that feeling.

TP: No, I'd agree with that. I think you're right. If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be?

JH: Well I mean there are ridiculous fantasies.

TP: Well you can collaborate with anyone, fantasies included.

JH: I would love to do something with Dave Grohl or Eddie Van Halen.

TP: The Foo Fighters, I love Dave.

JH: Yeah, I would say Dave Grohl for sure and Eddie Van Halen. I met Eddie Van Halen once at a meet and greet thing. He had his sunglasses on. It was really just stand beside him and they click the photo and then you're moved on. And I don't listen to a lot of Van Halen these days, but when I was a teenager, that was like fucking everything. And even to sit and watch him play at close range or jam with him or record with him I think would be awesome. If I had something and could just say, "Eddie, I've got something, could you just play it?" If I had access to him like that, where he would be hanging at a party and I'd be like, "Dude, record on this!" and he'd be like, "Fuck dude, yes!" I mean, that would be awesome. Even though he's in rough shape these days, he's still a pioneer and he's one of a kind. And Dave Grohl is one of my heroes, too, because he does what he does because it comes easily and it comes naturally and he's doing it not to get laid, not to be on red carpets, he's doing it because he feels something. He's in pursuit of a feeling and he doesn't get freaked out about making records. He just records what he feels like doing, whether it flies or not. And sometimes you just have to do what comes naturally. That's enough and people pick up on it, people feel the same way because it came from an honest source.

TP: So if you could pick any artists of your choosing, who would be in your “dream” band?

JH: Well, I would have Jeremy on drums, I would have Dave Grohl on rhythm guitar and lead vocal and on bass, hmm, I'm thinking of who...I would put Eddie Van Halen on bass. [we laugh]

TP: What's been your craziest tour experience?

JH: Well you know, weird things happen on the road. Everything is amplified, pun not intended. People just step a little outside the box as far as what they're prepared to do or what they want to do. It's like a once in a lifetime opportunity to go crazy, and you're meeting these people that are having these feelings every night and so the bar gets raised pretty high as far as the kind of things you'll see and do and experience and...I'll just leave it at that. [laughs]

TP: Most crazy fan experience you can share?

JH: The truth is, I meet people that are not my fans all the time. They may become a fan of me, but it's usually just fans of Alice Cooper or Vince Neil or whoever. You're kind of a rare exception, where it seems you've taken an interest in me outside of Alice Cooper, which feels really nice. I like that a lot, because obviously I can talk about things with you outside of Alice Cooper which is nice. But for the most part I'm meeting Alice Cooper fans so I don't really consider any of them “my” fans, I don't consider myself to have fans, I have people who write me and say they love Safety Dunce and stuff like that, and that's nice, but I don't really meet any of those people so much on the road. From time to time you do, but you know, I'm meeting Alice Cooper fans, so it's hard for me to say what the craziest fan experience is, because all they want to do is ask me about Alice Cooper and it takes up a lot of time, and you can't be rude and you can't be impatient because you don't want to ruin their experience, but they're trying to penetrate, they're trying to get to Alice Cooper, so I end up having to hang around with people who want to talk about Alice Cooper and I really don't feel like I've had a fan experience or a crazy fan experience.

TP: Really. So even when you were out with Vince Neil, there were no fans of you, personally, it was all about Vince?

JH: Mmm, Well there were girls that decided that they liked me and would go from town to town occasionally, but when you're in a band, it's different.

TP: Well, you're in a band and that band has fans.

JH: Which band?

TP: Whether it was with Vince Neil or now with Alice or even with the Bulletboys.

JH: The way I look at it is how many people in the band can play the show and then walk down the street and go to a bar and not be harassed? I mean, Alice Cooper cannot, I can. I've literally played in an arena with Alice and then an hour after the show I go across the street and have a hamburger in a restaurant and nobody knows or cares. And that's fine, I'm not saying this, but there may even be people from the concert in there eating and they're like, [whispers] "I think that's the guitar player." [I'm laughing] So the Alice Cooper Tour has nothing to do with me or has anything to do about me. It's like being part of Blue Man Group.

TP: Most surreal moment?

JH: Most surreal moment? That's a good question Tina because there have been a few and only a few. I remember playing for the President.

TP: Which President?

JH: Bush.

TP: In what capacity?

JH: I want to say, but I can't remember for sure, but I wanna say the Ford Theatre where Lincoln was shot, in Washington, and it was his Inauguration. And I was there with a former band and they were big Bush supporters and they were invited to play for the President. He was in the front row, so I played for the President. And I remember playing, the largest crowd I ever played to was at the Houston...I wanna say the Astrodome, and it was the Houston Rodeo Week. We were the finale of the week, the last band to play, and there were 72,000 people there. I've played arenas and it's pretty thrilling and stuff, but you don't understand what it means to be surrounded 360 degrees on a rotating stage by that many people.

TP: That must be an incredible feeling.

JH: Yeah, and it's this big event in Houston anyway, like that annual event is usually a huge deal for Texans and it draws a lot of people, and so every night of the week-long event they have a different performer, like they might have Kenny Chesney one night and the Dixie Chicks another night, you know what I mean? They'd have a different performer every night and we were the last performer on the final night and they broke some attendance records. And you've gotta understand, Hilary (Duff, who's band Jason was playing for at the time) is from Houston and at the time she was so popular and it was sold out. Anyway, this tractor pulled this huge stage out in like the middle of this dirt field, it was an indoor stadium, but it was all dirt and the band was brought out on golf carts. It was 72,000 people with flashes going off and that was a sensation, where it was like, "This will probably never happen again." It was just so big, it was like playing half time at the Super Bowl. It was huge, crazy. I have it all on video, I made somebody tape it because I remember thinking, "This is so big, it's nuts!" That was pretty thrilling. I just wish it had been with something rock'n'roll, in a rock and roll...actually, Alice Cooper was invited to play the half time at the Super Bowl, but it didn't pan out, but that would've also been pretty cool.

TP: That would've been, no doubt. Favorite guitar to play and why?

JH: Honestly? Because I have assembled quite a collection already.

TP: How many guitars do you own?

JH: Well it's all relative because there are people that have hundreds of guitars, but I think the last time I counted, maybe forty-five or fifty, something like that.

TP: That's still quite a collection Jason.

JH: It is, but the truth is most of them were given to me, so I'm not trying to come off like I bought all of them and a lot of them just sit in storage, so it's more of a monthly bill to have them all sitting there, but every once in a while you have to go do something and you go, "Well you know what? I should bring my so and so guitar for this,” They’re tools, I look at them as tools. And there's a guitar I call the "Ugly Duckling".

TP: Oh is this the one that you hand made?

JH: Yeah.

TP: Is that your favorite guitar?

JH: Yeah, I think so.

TP: That's the one you recorded with, right?

JH: That was used on most of Safety Dunce, yeah. I'm lookin at it right now, it's ugly. [I'm laughing]

TP: I was on your website and read the story, with pictures included, of how Achim Schloffel from ARS Guitars built you a custom Flying V and the entire process was surprisingly interesting to me. I couldn't believe the work that went into it! How did you meet Achim and what did you think of the Flying V when it was done, have you played it yet?

JH: This is a good question Tina. His name is Achim, he's German and he simply contacted me through the Internet and said, "Hey, I just read up on you somewhere else. I'm a small custom guitar maker out of Germany and I'm looking to find some younger players to endorse, or to play something of mine, would you be interested? I would build you something, whatever you wanted, wood, hardware, it doesn't matter, it would be custom, free of charge of course. All I would ask is that you say I built it for you and you play it." Just standard stuff, and I was like, "Yeah, that sounds awesome!" And he goes, "Maybe we could talk over the phone or correspond via email what you're looking for, what you could use." And I said, "Well you know what? I'm coming to Cologne in a few weeks to do a television thing with Alice, can you get to Cologne?" And he was like, "Yeah that's easy for me, blah blah blah." So I actually met him two weeks after he contacted me, in Germany. So we spent some time talking about different woods and all that stuff and we decided on a V and we decided on all the specs and I left and he started collecting all the woods and all the stuff and like you said, the cool thing about that is he had the ability to put up a web diary.

TP: Well I'd never seen a guitar built from scratch. I've seen pictures of a guitar being built of course, but never from start to finish on the same one.

JH: I know, it was cool as hell! So every morning I'd wake up and turn the Internet on and be like, "Ohhh, new pictures, new pictures!!" It was really trippy to watch it come to life, you know?

TP: Have you played it yet?

JH: Well it’s kind of a long story because what happened was, I don't know what happened, but he sent it to me and I kept going to my locker to see if it had showed up and I kept saying, "It's not here yet, are you sure you sent it to the right place?" Well, it bounced somewhere and went back to Germany.

TP: So are you telling me you still don't have the guitar? You’ve been back to Germany recently, were you able to meet with him again?

JH: Oh yeah, I had told him, “Just hang onto it and I'll get it from you when I get there." And so on the 26th of last month, Achim came to our show in Munich and I spent the day with him running around doing things, like we went to a museum and he actually did some work on the “Ugly Duckling” for me. [laughs] But by the time we were done with our day, I had to get ready to perform, so it was too late to have the guitar prepped for that live show, because Kyler wanted to restring it and get it ready.

TP: Did you play it at all while you were there?

JH: Oh yeah, definitely, I started using it at the next show in Berlin and it’s an awesome guitar. I’m really impressed with the woodwork on it.

TP: Well that's pretty cool, I'm glad I asked you that now.

JH: [laughs] Yeah.

TP: Is there a guitar that you want but don't have yet, a dream guitar on your wish list?

JH: I think it would be, let's see, definitely would be a 1978 Paul Stanley signature Ibanez Iceman.

TP: And why that one?

JH: Well they're rare, very expensive and highly collectible. You see, that really wasn't a very in-vogue thing back then, is to have a signature guitar, we're talking 1977.

TP: It's a lot more common now of course.

JH: Yeah, every swingin' dick has a fricken signature guitar now, but back then it wasn't common at all to have a signature guitar, so that was one of the first ones available. I'm not going to say he was the originator of that whole thing, but I know that 1977 was the Love Gun Tour and Paul Stanley had always played Gibson Flying V's and it was the first signature guitar that I was aware of. And it was this funky looking…I think they made them for two or three years, from 1977 to 1979 maybe. And I've had the opportunity to buy them from time to time, but they're very expensive and I have three Ibanez Iceman's, one of them is 1978, it's on my website, too, actually. So that's one of them, the other one I would've liked to have had is the original Eddie Van Halen Ernie Ball guitar.

TP: Why?

JH: Well that was again, just interesting to play, it's one of the only ways you can feel what one of your favorite players likes in an instrument, because he spent months and months and months refining this guitar for his liking and then they stamp out a million of them and release them to the public. So that's the only way you could go down to the store and pick up something that suits him. And I've played them, they're funky! Tiny little guitars, fat neck, everything about them is just a little bit weird, but maybe that's why Eddie Van Halen is an individual you know? Because he has a vision for things that no one else has. They were extremely expensive and they were back ordered like a fucking year in advance.

TP: Really.

JH: Oh you couldn't get anywhere near them! The list price was like thirty two hundred dollars or some bullshit and then you had to get on a waiting list and they were sold out months in advance. They couldn't make them fast enough. So that would be something that I wish I'd had, one of those. I think you could probably find just about anything on Ebay, but you'll pay through the nose. And the last thing I need is to have three grand wrapped up in a guitar, there are other things, like I'm a ProTools junkie, I'd rather buy gear to record with.

TP: Do you have any advice or tips for aspiring guitarists?

JH: Of course I want to say something funny like, "Quit now while you're ahead." [laughs] But I would say, practice to a click and practice your rhythm, because I think so many people are in a hurry to show off their fireworks that they skip the fundamentals, you know?

TP: Right. The meat of it.

JH: The meat of it. And the best guitar players are the ones who have an ear for melody and certainly have a developed sense of rhythm.

TP: Is producing something you think you'd like to do more of, not just on your own records, but working with other artists and producing them as well?

JH: Yes and no. I think I like the idea of working with bands or artists, but they have to be able to trust me and I'm extremely picky, and I'll probably drive them fuckin nuts! They would probably hate me and I'm not good with being hated. So I just sort of avoid the whole thing and I'm the kind of guy, if I'm going to produce something I would have to give it my full attention. It wouldn't matter how long it took, I would have to make it the best that I could make it, because when you're at zero, it's the only thing you can do, you're not going to get paid, you're not going to get fucking gold records, all you can do is what you can control and that's the quality of it. So I would probably burn them out, burn myself out, it would be difficult for me.

TP: What's been your biggest challenge to date?

JH: [laughs] Staying focused, I dunno. Biggest challenge to date, [pauses] probably, I guess I would say sobriety.

TP: So you don't drink, you don't do drugs, you're straight?

JH: Well I got sober after the Vince Neil thing in 2004, and not that I want to necessarily share this with everyone, but I've been sort of off and on with it and nothing major's happened with it, I just find…well it's fun to go out and get wrecked, but I don't want any problems, I don't want to lose my wallet, I don't want to crash my car or any crap like that so I'm just trying to stay on the right track.

TP: I'm surprised at your answer, because I wasn't thinking in that direction.

JH: I know.

TP: I think it's cool that you're talking about it, because lots of people struggle with sobriety and I think it helps when people can see that the musicians they admire and look up to have to deal with these things too, they're not alone.

JH: Sometimes it's really easy, but that's the thing when you're in the business, is that you're environment is always changing and it's pretty simple to control your environment at home. I've got my routines, the gym, the grocery store, my girlfriend, the cat, my studio. I don't have to pick up the phone or see people that I don't like, I don't have to go to bars, and so you're in control. But as soon as you're out on the road there's just different people around you all the time. There's a mini bar at the end of your bed every night, there's a fricken hotel bar with fans waiting downstairs all the time, there are opening bands that are friends going across the street to have a beer, there's booze in the dressing room, there's fuckin lunatics all over the place, there's people you haven't seen forever coming to the show, yadda, yadda, yadda. It's just shifting all the time so it tests you, you know? It can be difficult. But I love my cat [Jason makes kissing sounds again] I’m kissing him, I put my mouth right up against his and kiss him so I get gums and everything.

TP: Aww, that's cute.

JH: Yeah, I love him.

TP: Where do you see yourself in 10 years, what things would you like to accomplish?

JH: It's really simple for me, I want to make records for a living.

TP: Are we talking about continuing with instrumental work or are we talking about, as you mentioned earlier, starting up your own band, your own group of people that you trust?

JH: All of it, all of it! I wanna make records for a living and it feels ridiculous to have people put me up on a pedestal because I stand next to a celebrity on stage.

TP: Do you find that people actually do that?

JH: Yeah, I mean, people treat me like I'm special, but to me it's not for the right reasons. I don't want to sound negative or bitter, but I want to be acknowledged for contributing music and I think everybody wants that really, but I think a lot of people give up on that and I don't care so much about money, I've been able to find money over and over again. I'm not a rich guy, but I've been able to make that part work, it's not a big deal. You could be in jail and have someone pass you money through the bars, but you're still in fucking jail. In ten years? The most important thing to me is to be happy and healthy, because as I get a little bit older, things start to hurt a little bit more, things start to ache a little bit more, all of a sudden your gray hairs are showing up, my fucking knees are aching, stuff like that and it scares me because you realize that it's not a myth, things do change and you do get older and you can’t be jumping around like an idiot anymore. And then you read about people, like, anything can happen to anybody, crazy cancers and bullshit like that. I just want to' be happy and healthy and the rest will take care of itself.

TP: Those are great things to wish for, believe me, I totally understand what you're saying. When we're young, older people would always tell us, like my parents would tell me, "Money isn't everything, if you have your health, that's what's important" and it sounded so corny back then, but as you said, we get older and things start cropping up and you realize how true that is, but at the time you're thinking, "Yeah, yeah, give me a million dollars any day."

JH: Yeah, so you understand what I'm saying.

TP: More than you know, and I agree with that, I think it's a great outlook to have. So what's in your iPod these days, what are you listening to?

JH: I'm working on so much music of my own, that I really haven't allowed myself to jam too much stuff, but I do have a new rule for the iPod.

TP: What's the new rule?

JH: Well this year I cleaned out the iTunes and the new rule is that I'm just loading up new music only. When people say to me, "Check out my band", or you pick up a box of CDs that somebody's dropped off from a radio station or label or distributor that Alice is dealing with or whatever and people say, "You can dig through this if you want," I'll look through it and grab three or four CDs and load 'em up and I'm checking out just new stuff. I used to keep all of my favorite records in my iTunes and old stuff, and I think it's important to stay on top of what's happening and be aware of what's happening, to stay current all the time and to check out new things and to hear new things, because every once in a while I've been surprised by checking out somebody's demo, or somebody's CD. And I'm thinking, "This is fucking amazing!! Who is this?? I can't believe that I would've thrown this in the garbage!" And I'm looking for inspiration, too, every once in a while, like the whole CD might stink, but you might go, "Dude check this song out". I like that. So my new rule is new music only.

TP: Cool. The old stuff is always going to be there anyway. So is there anything you'd like to add that I haven't asked you, or any words for all the Hook-aholics out there?

JH: Hook-aholics [laughs]. Well I do have a mailing list, so if people check out my MySpace or website, you can find it on there. I try and keep it up to date as much as possible.