A band with longevity even when the going gets tough, that’s HED PE. They’ve experimented and had much success with different styles of music production throughout their years, which began in 1994. They have now decided to go back to the basics with their upcoming album “Evolution”. This band has, without a doubt, “evolved”. Even with the change in style, the band stays true to its’ roots and continues to implement some of the styles that have helped them carve out a name for themselves. Though some may be indifferent about these new changes, the new album is sure to win them over once they get over the initial contemplation. The world is ever changing and so follows the band HED PE. The band is confident that the direction they have taken is the right one for them and I must agree. They began their summer tour July 8th and are blowing it up already. Their new album is set to release July 22nd and is hands down, a new beginning that is sure to impress all.
As they were headed to Jacksonville, somewhere between Ft. Lauderdale and their concert destination for the day, enjoying the sunny Florida weather, Jaxon took the time to speak with me while stopping off for a bite of lunch.
Interview with Jackson (Jaxon) Benge, guitarist for HED PE
By: Leslie Elder Rogers
Metal Exiles: It has been 4 years since your last album, Truth Rising. Did you ever feel that HED PE would be forgotten about considering the fickle nature of fans?
Jaxon (Jackson): Not really, when you consider our fans, they’re so patient when it comes to that type of stuff. We are so lucky to have em’. When we were transitioning from the old label to the label we’re on now, with putting out “Evolution”, a lot of the help we had before kind of just dropped off so we were doing a lot of stuff just on our own and we were touring a lot. While we were touring it was so evident to us that we had fans that were so loyal that even with us just kind of doing stuff on our own we were still seeing our friends coming out to see us so it was really a blessing to see that. I think with this record, it will help maybe to reach out to fans than may not have been aware of what was going on with us in terms of touring or whatever while we were doing some things on our own. Now that we have a team working with us, I think what’s going to happen is that a lot of people that may not have been around while we were on kind of on tour or whatever doing our thing are probably going to come back around. We may be able to reach out to those new friends. We really are appreciative of the fact that they are so patient. I think they’re there. I think they’re aware of it now and like I said with the team we have now, I think we really have a great opportunity to reach out to those fans.
Metal Exiles: Your last album was released by Suburban Noize but you went with Pavement for this album. What made sense about doing a deal with pavement for HED PE?
Jaxon: The team at Pavement is amazing. We parted ways with SubNoize, but you know we’re in good standing for sure, but we just had a difference in terms of what we wanted to do and what not. You know that stuff happens and that’s just kind of the way the business works sometimes. So we parted ways with them and we kind of had nobody we knew we wanted to put out a record and we had toured with Soil and knew that Tim worked with Pavement and so he ended up talking with Jahred and they worked out a deal and it ended up being the perfect timing for a deal like that so we jumped on board and man they’re really doing a great job. We‘re really happy with the team over there at Pavement. It helps when you have gears turning for you and that’s one of the main things we learned over the course of these 4 years when we made that transition and we were in between is that you really do see the difference when you have someone working for you like that and especially doing the job that they’re doing.
Metal Exiles: You have been doing a lot of touring for the new album pre-release. What has been the reaction from the fan base for the new material?
Jaxon: Oh it’s been great. People are really giving us some positive feedback. We are really excited to see the people’s faces when we’re playing the material live and it’s really just been great. We’re really happy to hear that obviously, especially since the album itself kind of showcases a few different styles that we may not have done in the past so, yeah, we are really excited that the fans are so accepting, and not only accepting but they seem to really like what they hear, so mission accomplished, I guess, in that department. Again, once the album comes out I think we’ll even be able to get more of that reaction so, we really are very excited.
Metal Exiles: The material is very heavy. What was the mindset going into the new album and what did you guys want to accomplish?
Jaxon: It is different and we discussed a different direction when we were talking about trying to put out another record. There was already some material already written and a lot of it kind of started the recording process. We ended up not using a lot of that material and we ended up on the road and just kind of discussing different styles and what kind of direction we wanted to go and what kind of statement we wanted to make with this record musically and lyrically. We were all into all of this sort of like the early pre-metal stuff you know, like Black Sabbath, and there’s even that genre’ out there, doom metal, which I bring up because it kind of showcases some of the same nuances of that old school Black Sabbath. This is really just a style of music that’s been around for decades and decades so there are bands out there that do that like Mastodon, they have that sort of classic sort of metal sound and so do bands like The Sword and all sorts of other bands. We wanted to kind of go into that sort of sound and that mentality and so we started writing music along those lines and we jammed a couple of riffs that I had actually for a song that fit that description and once we heard it at sound check, it was obvious that was the direction we wanted to go. So we went that direction and we got more material and this album is the result of that. You know as the music kept evolving in terms of going from the demo phase to the recording phase, it was just more and more evident that this was the right direction for us, so we are happy with the end result. When the mixes came in it was just like, YES, cause’ it could’ve gone either way you know. When you’re trying to sort of depart from maybe what’s comfortable, what HED PE normally does on a record, you never know if it’s really gonna work, but it did work, and we’re really happy with the result and we’re looking forward to actually going along the lines of this sound in the future because it’s really the basics when you think about it. You know it’s really just blues on steroids and that’s something that’s worked for as long as it’s been around so it’s really just about kind of going back to the core and we really like the idea of doing that and as it turns out we also enjoy the sound we got out of it too.
Metal Exiles: I’ve talked with several bands lately and it does seem to be a common thought process between each one to get back to the core; back to the basics. Sometimes it helps to back up and start at the beginning and it seems that many bands are working in exactly that direction.
Jaxon: There is sort of a lot of re-visiting of some of the older stuff and I know a lot of the bands are doing a lot of complex time signatures and doing a lot of different modes and a whole lot of technical playing, which is great, but, you know we just still felt like this was the right thing to do for us. It’s just something that felt right to us, open riffs, slow, just letting the songs breathe, and just basics, so yeah, it just felt right.
Metal Exiles: Why the title Evolution?
Jaxon: That was actually a name picked out by Jahred and I can only speculate, at least from my perspective what the correlation is in terms of its’ meaning and where the band is. You know, it really does sum up where we are right now. We really, like I said, during those 4 years, had been going through some pretty big challenges in that we didn’t know where we were gonna go or what help we were gonna get and I think the name Evolution really does help kind of describe not only where we’re going musically but also where we’re going as a band as a whole. It’s one of those universal terms that really is appropriate and it couldn’t be more appropriate for this record. That’s pretty much my take on the choice of the name for the album. I really couldn’t think of a better name. I mean that really does just sum up the album and the band.
Metal Exiles: The artwork is a psychedelic throwback. What inspired the album cover?
Jaxon: Jahred had been working with an artist and he was really specific in what he wanted for the artwork so it was really just a collaboration between him and the artist and the name escapes me unfortunately. I’m kicking myself because I can’t recall his name but Jahred had specific ideas about what he wanted, about what the album cover was to incorporate. The guy just knocked it out of the park. Not only did he do what Jahred wanted, but he exceeded his expectations. The little eye in the middle there just kind of appearing that way, that was kind of the artists call on that and it worked out really well. Doing something like the psychedelic kind of Rasta, that whole thing is so appealing to me so he really did a great job. It just came together really well.
Metal Exiles: The album cover really does pop, and it’s definitely going to get attention with the colors and all. It’s a bit different from the normal metal covers and the typical dull and darker themes. Most people don’t think of bright colors when they think of most heavy music so I think maybe it’ll get some attention just because of the album art as well.
Jaxon: The idea of not using a sort of ominous looking imagery is definitely a step in a different direction. I love it though, even with some of the old school stuff like Black Sabbath, there records were sort of strange and dark but if you look at some of the older poster art work, the old tour posters and stuff like that, a lot of that stuff is still incorporated, those themes and all, and the psychedelic artwork is so easily identifiable, like you said it does pop, and it kind of does stand out, especially against other bands that are in a similar genre I guess.
Metal Exiles: You stated that you wanted to return to your heavier roots. Do you think you accomplished that and do you think in any way you strayed from what you originally wanted to do as HED PE?
Jaxon: Well no, we had so many options, luckily the band is able to sort of branch out into different styles and sort of make them work and still be HED PE. I think we did accomplish that, in such a way that we can continue with this direction on other records. I feel like I can write another 100 songs in this band and it feels comfortable, it doesn’t feel like we’re trying to do something. Contrary to what I was saying earlier, we did have a discussion about a direction, but when it came down to writing, it really just happened naturally. When I go home and I write, I submit demos to Jahred, he goes through the tracks that he likes and stuff. So when I was going home and writing some of these riffs, even though we discussed it, it really just came naturally and I feel like we did accomplish that. I feel like we can definitely continue to do that successfully even with this style. I usually try to have material ready, but I’m always writing anyway. Usually I’ll submit maybe 10-15 songs in demo form with arrangements; they’ll have guitar, bass, and drum machine on there and they’ll be arranged, they’ll be setup with verse, chorus and in a way that kind of seems good to me. I’ll submit them to Jahred, he’ll go through the tracks and he’ll pick the ones that he’s really vibing with the most and from there, we may home some arrangement changes; for example maybe a verse that becomes a chorus, or a bridge gets switched around here and there. It’s based on what he feels for his vocals because he’s really gotta feel that when it comes to writing those vocals. From there it goes into the pre-production phase. We all get the changed songs. We get the demos. Jahred is writing music when he’s at home too. Those 3 Reggae tracks at the end, he composed and recorded, and wrote himself. So we go from there into learning the songs and we go into the studio and we play them live. We may make adjustments because some stuff live just sounds a little different, or in the studio sounds a little different than on a demo. When you get a human being behind there and actually playing in the studio things can change and they may call for different changes. I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of the writing process in a pretty substantial way musically so that is quite a blessing. It’s so great that Jahred and the rest of the guys are so accepting of the music I submit and I am so grateful to be part of the process.
Metal Exiles: You came out of the Orange County hardcore scene. What do you think of the scene now or is it the same when you guys were rising?
Jaxon: I don’t live in Southern California actually. None of us do anymore. We’re kind of all over the country at this moment, but I do go by because I do have family there and I visit, but I really couldn’t comment exactly on what’s going on with the scene there. My only guess is that it’s gotta be something; there’s gotta be some next wave bubbling under the surface. There’s gotta be something happening right now that we’re unaware of that’s probably going to explode because Southern California isn’t just a melting pot in terms of culture but it’s also a melting pot in terms of music. If there’s not something going on, I’d be willing to bet that something good will be coming around here sometime soon.
Metal Exiles: Since you left the major label, Jive, you have been on a do it yourself ritual. Do you think in the long run that has been better for HED PE?
Jaxon: I think it has in that it’s more in alignment with the way the industry is working now. Things have changed definitely since the major label days. I wasn’t a part of the band when they were on the major label Jive, but ever since then we have jumped around from these other labels. We went to Koch, which was mainly just distribution at the time and I believe now. We did a record with them, and you’re right, there as a whole lot of a sort of do-it-yourself mentality there but that was because the nature of record labels has pretty much changed. If you’re going to be working with an independent label, you’re really more or less dealing with a company that’s gonna provide you with a service and that service is based on the artists’ needs. It seems like a lot of these labels are about catering to the artists’ needs, whatever they may be, and they may not be the same for every band. You combine that with social media and a new sort of way of looking at your business and you have to be creative; you have to be hands on in order to make it now. Not every band gets to enjoy, or at least not as often, gets to enjoy the luxury of just signing with a label and then kicking back and doing nothing. You have to be involved. You have to be involved with you merch, and with every aspect of it so the fact that we did kind of get into the mentality of the do-it-yourself thing was essentially a good move and I think it’s really just a reflection of how things are now with the music industry. I think it worked out in our favor.
Metal Exiles: What do you have planned as far as touring for Evolution?
Jaxon: We have the tour in August scheduled with Powerman 5000 and then we actually carry on for about a week or so after that. We also have a European UK run with SOIL and American Head Charge and that’ll be in October. So we’re definitely working on getting the word out for sure and there will be more tours after that, possibly the US, maybe somewhere else but we are definitely focused on working as much as we can to get the word out there.
Official band website: http://www.hedperocks.com
Buy the new album Evolution here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/evolution/id893379161
Follow the band:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hedpe
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hedpe
As they were headed to Jacksonville, somewhere between Ft. Lauderdale and their concert destination for the day, enjoying the sunny Florida weather, Jaxon took the time to speak with me while stopping off for a bite of lunch.
Interview with Jackson (Jaxon) Benge, guitarist for HED PE
By: Leslie Elder Rogers
Metal Exiles: It has been 4 years since your last album, Truth Rising. Did you ever feel that HED PE would be forgotten about considering the fickle nature of fans?
Jaxon (Jackson): Not really, when you consider our fans, they’re so patient when it comes to that type of stuff. We are so lucky to have em’. When we were transitioning from the old label to the label we’re on now, with putting out “Evolution”, a lot of the help we had before kind of just dropped off so we were doing a lot of stuff just on our own and we were touring a lot. While we were touring it was so evident to us that we had fans that were so loyal that even with us just kind of doing stuff on our own we were still seeing our friends coming out to see us so it was really a blessing to see that. I think with this record, it will help maybe to reach out to fans than may not have been aware of what was going on with us in terms of touring or whatever while we were doing some things on our own. Now that we have a team working with us, I think what’s going to happen is that a lot of people that may not have been around while we were on kind of on tour or whatever doing our thing are probably going to come back around. We may be able to reach out to those new friends. We really are appreciative of the fact that they are so patient. I think they’re there. I think they’re aware of it now and like I said with the team we have now, I think we really have a great opportunity to reach out to those fans.
Metal Exiles: Your last album was released by Suburban Noize but you went with Pavement for this album. What made sense about doing a deal with pavement for HED PE?
Jaxon: The team at Pavement is amazing. We parted ways with SubNoize, but you know we’re in good standing for sure, but we just had a difference in terms of what we wanted to do and what not. You know that stuff happens and that’s just kind of the way the business works sometimes. So we parted ways with them and we kind of had nobody we knew we wanted to put out a record and we had toured with Soil and knew that Tim worked with Pavement and so he ended up talking with Jahred and they worked out a deal and it ended up being the perfect timing for a deal like that so we jumped on board and man they’re really doing a great job. We‘re really happy with the team over there at Pavement. It helps when you have gears turning for you and that’s one of the main things we learned over the course of these 4 years when we made that transition and we were in between is that you really do see the difference when you have someone working for you like that and especially doing the job that they’re doing.
Metal Exiles: You have been doing a lot of touring for the new album pre-release. What has been the reaction from the fan base for the new material?
Jaxon: Oh it’s been great. People are really giving us some positive feedback. We are really excited to see the people’s faces when we’re playing the material live and it’s really just been great. We’re really happy to hear that obviously, especially since the album itself kind of showcases a few different styles that we may not have done in the past so, yeah, we are really excited that the fans are so accepting, and not only accepting but they seem to really like what they hear, so mission accomplished, I guess, in that department. Again, once the album comes out I think we’ll even be able to get more of that reaction so, we really are very excited.
Metal Exiles: The material is very heavy. What was the mindset going into the new album and what did you guys want to accomplish?
Jaxon: It is different and we discussed a different direction when we were talking about trying to put out another record. There was already some material already written and a lot of it kind of started the recording process. We ended up not using a lot of that material and we ended up on the road and just kind of discussing different styles and what kind of direction we wanted to go and what kind of statement we wanted to make with this record musically and lyrically. We were all into all of this sort of like the early pre-metal stuff you know, like Black Sabbath, and there’s even that genre’ out there, doom metal, which I bring up because it kind of showcases some of the same nuances of that old school Black Sabbath. This is really just a style of music that’s been around for decades and decades so there are bands out there that do that like Mastodon, they have that sort of classic sort of metal sound and so do bands like The Sword and all sorts of other bands. We wanted to kind of go into that sort of sound and that mentality and so we started writing music along those lines and we jammed a couple of riffs that I had actually for a song that fit that description and once we heard it at sound check, it was obvious that was the direction we wanted to go. So we went that direction and we got more material and this album is the result of that. You know as the music kept evolving in terms of going from the demo phase to the recording phase, it was just more and more evident that this was the right direction for us, so we are happy with the end result. When the mixes came in it was just like, YES, cause’ it could’ve gone either way you know. When you’re trying to sort of depart from maybe what’s comfortable, what HED PE normally does on a record, you never know if it’s really gonna work, but it did work, and we’re really happy with the result and we’re looking forward to actually going along the lines of this sound in the future because it’s really the basics when you think about it. You know it’s really just blues on steroids and that’s something that’s worked for as long as it’s been around so it’s really just about kind of going back to the core and we really like the idea of doing that and as it turns out we also enjoy the sound we got out of it too.
Metal Exiles: I’ve talked with several bands lately and it does seem to be a common thought process between each one to get back to the core; back to the basics. Sometimes it helps to back up and start at the beginning and it seems that many bands are working in exactly that direction.
Jaxon: There is sort of a lot of re-visiting of some of the older stuff and I know a lot of the bands are doing a lot of complex time signatures and doing a lot of different modes and a whole lot of technical playing, which is great, but, you know we just still felt like this was the right thing to do for us. It’s just something that felt right to us, open riffs, slow, just letting the songs breathe, and just basics, so yeah, it just felt right.
Metal Exiles: Why the title Evolution?
Jaxon: That was actually a name picked out by Jahred and I can only speculate, at least from my perspective what the correlation is in terms of its’ meaning and where the band is. You know, it really does sum up where we are right now. We really, like I said, during those 4 years, had been going through some pretty big challenges in that we didn’t know where we were gonna go or what help we were gonna get and I think the name Evolution really does help kind of describe not only where we’re going musically but also where we’re going as a band as a whole. It’s one of those universal terms that really is appropriate and it couldn’t be more appropriate for this record. That’s pretty much my take on the choice of the name for the album. I really couldn’t think of a better name. I mean that really does just sum up the album and the band.
Metal Exiles: The artwork is a psychedelic throwback. What inspired the album cover?
Jaxon: Jahred had been working with an artist and he was really specific in what he wanted for the artwork so it was really just a collaboration between him and the artist and the name escapes me unfortunately. I’m kicking myself because I can’t recall his name but Jahred had specific ideas about what he wanted, about what the album cover was to incorporate. The guy just knocked it out of the park. Not only did he do what Jahred wanted, but he exceeded his expectations. The little eye in the middle there just kind of appearing that way, that was kind of the artists call on that and it worked out really well. Doing something like the psychedelic kind of Rasta, that whole thing is so appealing to me so he really did a great job. It just came together really well.
Metal Exiles: The album cover really does pop, and it’s definitely going to get attention with the colors and all. It’s a bit different from the normal metal covers and the typical dull and darker themes. Most people don’t think of bright colors when they think of most heavy music so I think maybe it’ll get some attention just because of the album art as well.
Jaxon: The idea of not using a sort of ominous looking imagery is definitely a step in a different direction. I love it though, even with some of the old school stuff like Black Sabbath, there records were sort of strange and dark but if you look at some of the older poster art work, the old tour posters and stuff like that, a lot of that stuff is still incorporated, those themes and all, and the psychedelic artwork is so easily identifiable, like you said it does pop, and it kind of does stand out, especially against other bands that are in a similar genre I guess.
Metal Exiles: You stated that you wanted to return to your heavier roots. Do you think you accomplished that and do you think in any way you strayed from what you originally wanted to do as HED PE?
Jaxon: Well no, we had so many options, luckily the band is able to sort of branch out into different styles and sort of make them work and still be HED PE. I think we did accomplish that, in such a way that we can continue with this direction on other records. I feel like I can write another 100 songs in this band and it feels comfortable, it doesn’t feel like we’re trying to do something. Contrary to what I was saying earlier, we did have a discussion about a direction, but when it came down to writing, it really just happened naturally. When I go home and I write, I submit demos to Jahred, he goes through the tracks that he likes and stuff. So when I was going home and writing some of these riffs, even though we discussed it, it really just came naturally and I feel like we did accomplish that. I feel like we can definitely continue to do that successfully even with this style. I usually try to have material ready, but I’m always writing anyway. Usually I’ll submit maybe 10-15 songs in demo form with arrangements; they’ll have guitar, bass, and drum machine on there and they’ll be arranged, they’ll be setup with verse, chorus and in a way that kind of seems good to me. I’ll submit them to Jahred, he’ll go through the tracks and he’ll pick the ones that he’s really vibing with the most and from there, we may home some arrangement changes; for example maybe a verse that becomes a chorus, or a bridge gets switched around here and there. It’s based on what he feels for his vocals because he’s really gotta feel that when it comes to writing those vocals. From there it goes into the pre-production phase. We all get the changed songs. We get the demos. Jahred is writing music when he’s at home too. Those 3 Reggae tracks at the end, he composed and recorded, and wrote himself. So we go from there into learning the songs and we go into the studio and we play them live. We may make adjustments because some stuff live just sounds a little different, or in the studio sounds a little different than on a demo. When you get a human being behind there and actually playing in the studio things can change and they may call for different changes. I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of the writing process in a pretty substantial way musically so that is quite a blessing. It’s so great that Jahred and the rest of the guys are so accepting of the music I submit and I am so grateful to be part of the process.
Metal Exiles: You came out of the Orange County hardcore scene. What do you think of the scene now or is it the same when you guys were rising?
Jaxon: I don’t live in Southern California actually. None of us do anymore. We’re kind of all over the country at this moment, but I do go by because I do have family there and I visit, but I really couldn’t comment exactly on what’s going on with the scene there. My only guess is that it’s gotta be something; there’s gotta be some next wave bubbling under the surface. There’s gotta be something happening right now that we’re unaware of that’s probably going to explode because Southern California isn’t just a melting pot in terms of culture but it’s also a melting pot in terms of music. If there’s not something going on, I’d be willing to bet that something good will be coming around here sometime soon.
Metal Exiles: Since you left the major label, Jive, you have been on a do it yourself ritual. Do you think in the long run that has been better for HED PE?
Jaxon: I think it has in that it’s more in alignment with the way the industry is working now. Things have changed definitely since the major label days. I wasn’t a part of the band when they were on the major label Jive, but ever since then we have jumped around from these other labels. We went to Koch, which was mainly just distribution at the time and I believe now. We did a record with them, and you’re right, there as a whole lot of a sort of do-it-yourself mentality there but that was because the nature of record labels has pretty much changed. If you’re going to be working with an independent label, you’re really more or less dealing with a company that’s gonna provide you with a service and that service is based on the artists’ needs. It seems like a lot of these labels are about catering to the artists’ needs, whatever they may be, and they may not be the same for every band. You combine that with social media and a new sort of way of looking at your business and you have to be creative; you have to be hands on in order to make it now. Not every band gets to enjoy, or at least not as often, gets to enjoy the luxury of just signing with a label and then kicking back and doing nothing. You have to be involved. You have to be involved with you merch, and with every aspect of it so the fact that we did kind of get into the mentality of the do-it-yourself thing was essentially a good move and I think it’s really just a reflection of how things are now with the music industry. I think it worked out in our favor.
Metal Exiles: What do you have planned as far as touring for Evolution?
Jaxon: We have the tour in August scheduled with Powerman 5000 and then we actually carry on for about a week or so after that. We also have a European UK run with SOIL and American Head Charge and that’ll be in October. So we’re definitely working on getting the word out for sure and there will be more tours after that, possibly the US, maybe somewhere else but we are definitely focused on working as much as we can to get the word out there.
Official band website: http://www.hedperocks.com
Buy the new album Evolution here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/evolution/id893379161
Follow the band:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hedpe
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hedpe
