There is no stopping Filter. After almost 20 years and six records, Richard Patrick still shows he has creativity to spare. The Sun Comes Out Tonight is bar none the best Filter album to date and one of the top records of the year. Life is hard on the road but Richard found a few moments to talk to Exiles about the album and what really moved him to create this masterstroke.
An interview with Richard Patrick
By Jeffrey Easton
Metal Exiles: To start off with, I know that The Sun Comes Out tonight was supposed to be a self-released album. What made you decide to go through Wind Up instead?
Richard Patrick: They offered us a deal and with their huge amount of resources we could not say no. We are our second video and the budget for it is bigger than anyone I have had in the last five years. They are completely behind us so it’s a no brainer. They told us to deliver the goods and when we turned the record in they were very happy with it and so far it has been a rewarding experience. I would not trade any record company for them.
Metal Exiles: Why did you want to do it independently in the first place?
Richard: The original thinking is that we have enough fans, you make 100% of the money when they buy the record and then the next thing you know you really miss the resources and power that record companies have so we made that change and moved on.
Metal Exiles: The Sun Comes Out Tonight is to me one of the most commercial Filter albums but still has a lethal punch. Did some of this come from Jonathan Radtke or were you pushing Filter’s boundaries again?
Richard: Johnny and I made a decision that we were not going to have an adversarial conversation with our label and the word hit single cropped up in our conversations. When the record company signs you they tell you they want something that will make it to radio, we need something that’s going to connect and I understand that. I have been listening to the Rolling Stones since I was a little kid, I know what a hook is so Bob (Marlette –Producer) and I said ok let’s go do that. Johnny said we cannot have record companies telling us what to do but I explained to him that record companies are here to benefit us and we are going to work in the confines of our creativity. Once you have the Filter creativity in there and its in the realm of something they want then everybody is happy. You have to think of something catchy like “Hey Man Nice Shot”. Every time I sing that song the crowd sings it right back to me.
Metal Exiles: And it is still a heavy song.
Richard: Yeah, it’s mean and its heavy. Self Inflicted was written like that, it has that same catchability to it. There are ways to work with the people around you whether it’s the record company, producer or guitar player as long as it is truly what you feel your music is about. I think Johnny was apprehensive because he was pushed up against the wall with Kill Hannah (his former band) but for me it was easy. We wrote Surprise in 15 minutes, which he thought was great and I told him that’s a hit single. Were just here to have fun and make music, not fuck ourselves out of opportunities. I wrote Take A Picture from the most personal time of my life, I am trying to apologize to my parents through music on the radio thinking maybe they will hear this and understand what I am going through. It’s relevant to me but when people hear acoustic guitars in a Filter song they say “Filter is just trying to get on the radio” but we have always been on the radio. I am just trying to get across how I feel and if you are a real Filter fan you will understand it.
Metal Exiles: The original thought was to do a very heavy record and you succeeded but you also have stuff like Surprise. Why did you decide to include the mellower stuff?
Richard: Because I like that stuff, it is who I am. There are twelve songs; do you want every one of them to be the same? I find that bands find their niche and they stick to it. Then you end up at 60 years old wearing the little School Boy Outfit jumping around and the singer grabs his balls for every song. You have to open your mind and explore what’s out there. I love AC/DC but I am not wearing purple pants. This is why we change shit up and do mellow stuff, because we are artists. It’s My Time is probably one of the most beautiful songs I have ever recorded, it was just me and my piano, I love that song.
Metal Exiles: Lyrically, this is a dark record, even Surprise. For the title track, The Sun Comes Out Tonight, what was it like mentally reliving the drug days for the motivation?
Richard: It was great because those were amazing times. You just have to channel the energy and relive it. I have to accept the fact that I have done some crazy things but at least I am still here to talk about it.
Metal Exiles: Would you ever go back and do drugs again or are you done with that?
Richard: I think I would just kill myself if I did that.
Metal Exiles: You survived doing the stuff but you have artists that die left and right.
Richard: Well, I stopped doing drugs 11 years ago.
Metal Exiles: I thought the original idea behind Surprise was someone rescuing you from your addictions. How does it feel to have people take your material many ways?
Richard: I want people to take their own interpretations.
Metal Exiles: It was nice that you wrote that to your wife.
Richard: I want to talk about what is in my life and it is pretty universal, everyone goes through it. I have seen my kid 16 days in the last sixth months, it is horrible being on the road. You have to do what you have to do and I am out here paying the bills. She is by herself, almost being a single mom with two kids is tough.
Metal Exiles: One of the other songs on the album that stands out is We Hate It. Do you ever have the feelings expressed in that song or is that from someone else’s point of view?
Richard: I really hate someone right now; in fact, I am pissed off at a bunch of people. I do not want to spoil the surprise as to who it is but people can come up with their own names. It’s like Hey Man Nice Shot, it was always up for interpretation but I wrote it about a guy that held a press conference and killed himself.
Metal Exiles: A Lot of this album has the feel of the early Filter material. Do you at times feel the way you did when you were first starting your band?
Richard: We created a whole type of sound and when you sound like yourself and you are writing all new verses and lyrics, that’s a good thing. We went for that, let’s write our type of music and stick by our guns. That’s the Filter sound and we actually sat around and wondered what was it about Hey Man Nice Shot that was so amazing? You have these dark versus, you have these vocals that bring you in and explode in the chorus and these mesmerizing guitar riffs. We paid homage to that and write something completely different of that model of the Filter sound. When the third single, Self Inflicted, comes out, that will really make people say that Filter are staying true to who they are. Having said that, there are all of the songs like Surprise and Its My Time that you get to discover when you buy the whole record. With Self Inflicted I wanted to talk about the school shootings and how these assholes show up and say “You made me do it society, I am going to kill all of these kids because of you”.. It’s like trying to say that its societies fault that they kill like they do when it’s just the person.
Metal Exiles: It is always the person in question. It is like when kids kill themselves and the parents blame the music for making them doing it. No, your kid had a screw loose already.
Richard: And maybe the parenting wasn’t there as well. You have to look at why these kids get assault weapons online, why they weren’t parented very well or why they were bullied the way they were. There is something to say to why these kids have a screw loose. The kids also want fame, they say “Fuck this, we are going to kill everybody and we are going to be famous, this will be our crowning achievement.”
Metal Exiles: I was bullied some in elementary school but when I grew my hair long and wore black all the time it stopped. I got past it but seemingly some people cant. You just have to find a way around it and you know, not shoot everybody. I know in the past you have been super political and this album is everything but. With everything that’s going on right now do you think you will write that way again?
Richard: This band is my therapeutic couch where I lay down and spill my guts, I just sit here and talk about what’s going through my head. Right now, my political activism is just on my Facebook pages, I rarely involve the band in it unless I really feel that something needs to be done.
If you have yet to pick up The Sun Comes Out Tonight, you are depriving yourself of a massive music experience. Deny yourself no longer.
Official Filter Site
BUY The Sun Comes Out Tonight
BUY The Sun Comes Out Tonight on Vinyl
An interview with Richard Patrick
By Jeffrey Easton
Metal Exiles: To start off with, I know that The Sun Comes Out tonight was supposed to be a self-released album. What made you decide to go through Wind Up instead?
Richard Patrick: They offered us a deal and with their huge amount of resources we could not say no. We are our second video and the budget for it is bigger than anyone I have had in the last five years. They are completely behind us so it’s a no brainer. They told us to deliver the goods and when we turned the record in they were very happy with it and so far it has been a rewarding experience. I would not trade any record company for them.
Metal Exiles: Why did you want to do it independently in the first place?
Richard: The original thinking is that we have enough fans, you make 100% of the money when they buy the record and then the next thing you know you really miss the resources and power that record companies have so we made that change and moved on.
Metal Exiles: The Sun Comes Out Tonight is to me one of the most commercial Filter albums but still has a lethal punch. Did some of this come from Jonathan Radtke or were you pushing Filter’s boundaries again?
Richard: Johnny and I made a decision that we were not going to have an adversarial conversation with our label and the word hit single cropped up in our conversations. When the record company signs you they tell you they want something that will make it to radio, we need something that’s going to connect and I understand that. I have been listening to the Rolling Stones since I was a little kid, I know what a hook is so Bob (Marlette –Producer) and I said ok let’s go do that. Johnny said we cannot have record companies telling us what to do but I explained to him that record companies are here to benefit us and we are going to work in the confines of our creativity. Once you have the Filter creativity in there and its in the realm of something they want then everybody is happy. You have to think of something catchy like “Hey Man Nice Shot”. Every time I sing that song the crowd sings it right back to me.
Metal Exiles: And it is still a heavy song.
Richard: Yeah, it’s mean and its heavy. Self Inflicted was written like that, it has that same catchability to it. There are ways to work with the people around you whether it’s the record company, producer or guitar player as long as it is truly what you feel your music is about. I think Johnny was apprehensive because he was pushed up against the wall with Kill Hannah (his former band) but for me it was easy. We wrote Surprise in 15 minutes, which he thought was great and I told him that’s a hit single. Were just here to have fun and make music, not fuck ourselves out of opportunities. I wrote Take A Picture from the most personal time of my life, I am trying to apologize to my parents through music on the radio thinking maybe they will hear this and understand what I am going through. It’s relevant to me but when people hear acoustic guitars in a Filter song they say “Filter is just trying to get on the radio” but we have always been on the radio. I am just trying to get across how I feel and if you are a real Filter fan you will understand it.
Metal Exiles: The original thought was to do a very heavy record and you succeeded but you also have stuff like Surprise. Why did you decide to include the mellower stuff?
Richard: Because I like that stuff, it is who I am. There are twelve songs; do you want every one of them to be the same? I find that bands find their niche and they stick to it. Then you end up at 60 years old wearing the little School Boy Outfit jumping around and the singer grabs his balls for every song. You have to open your mind and explore what’s out there. I love AC/DC but I am not wearing purple pants. This is why we change shit up and do mellow stuff, because we are artists. It’s My Time is probably one of the most beautiful songs I have ever recorded, it was just me and my piano, I love that song.
Metal Exiles: Lyrically, this is a dark record, even Surprise. For the title track, The Sun Comes Out Tonight, what was it like mentally reliving the drug days for the motivation?
Richard: It was great because those were amazing times. You just have to channel the energy and relive it. I have to accept the fact that I have done some crazy things but at least I am still here to talk about it.
Metal Exiles: Would you ever go back and do drugs again or are you done with that?
Richard: I think I would just kill myself if I did that.
Metal Exiles: You survived doing the stuff but you have artists that die left and right.
Richard: Well, I stopped doing drugs 11 years ago.
Metal Exiles: I thought the original idea behind Surprise was someone rescuing you from your addictions. How does it feel to have people take your material many ways?
Richard: I want people to take their own interpretations.
Metal Exiles: It was nice that you wrote that to your wife.
Richard: I want to talk about what is in my life and it is pretty universal, everyone goes through it. I have seen my kid 16 days in the last sixth months, it is horrible being on the road. You have to do what you have to do and I am out here paying the bills. She is by herself, almost being a single mom with two kids is tough.
Metal Exiles: One of the other songs on the album that stands out is We Hate It. Do you ever have the feelings expressed in that song or is that from someone else’s point of view?
Richard: I really hate someone right now; in fact, I am pissed off at a bunch of people. I do not want to spoil the surprise as to who it is but people can come up with their own names. It’s like Hey Man Nice Shot, it was always up for interpretation but I wrote it about a guy that held a press conference and killed himself.
Metal Exiles: A Lot of this album has the feel of the early Filter material. Do you at times feel the way you did when you were first starting your band?
Richard: We created a whole type of sound and when you sound like yourself and you are writing all new verses and lyrics, that’s a good thing. We went for that, let’s write our type of music and stick by our guns. That’s the Filter sound and we actually sat around and wondered what was it about Hey Man Nice Shot that was so amazing? You have these dark versus, you have these vocals that bring you in and explode in the chorus and these mesmerizing guitar riffs. We paid homage to that and write something completely different of that model of the Filter sound. When the third single, Self Inflicted, comes out, that will really make people say that Filter are staying true to who they are. Having said that, there are all of the songs like Surprise and Its My Time that you get to discover when you buy the whole record. With Self Inflicted I wanted to talk about the school shootings and how these assholes show up and say “You made me do it society, I am going to kill all of these kids because of you”.. It’s like trying to say that its societies fault that they kill like they do when it’s just the person.
Metal Exiles: It is always the person in question. It is like when kids kill themselves and the parents blame the music for making them doing it. No, your kid had a screw loose already.
Richard: And maybe the parenting wasn’t there as well. You have to look at why these kids get assault weapons online, why they weren’t parented very well or why they were bullied the way they were. There is something to say to why these kids have a screw loose. The kids also want fame, they say “Fuck this, we are going to kill everybody and we are going to be famous, this will be our crowning achievement.”
Metal Exiles: I was bullied some in elementary school but when I grew my hair long and wore black all the time it stopped. I got past it but seemingly some people cant. You just have to find a way around it and you know, not shoot everybody. I know in the past you have been super political and this album is everything but. With everything that’s going on right now do you think you will write that way again?
Richard: This band is my therapeutic couch where I lay down and spill my guts, I just sit here and talk about what’s going through my head. Right now, my political activism is just on my Facebook pages, I rarely involve the band in it unless I really feel that something needs to be done.
If you have yet to pick up The Sun Comes Out Tonight, you are depriving yourself of a massive music experience. Deny yourself no longer.
Official Filter Site
BUY The Sun Comes Out Tonight
BUY The Sun Comes Out Tonight on Vinyl
