If you are a fan of heavy music born before 1990, you can vouch for the impact that Molly Hatchet has had on heavy music. While not really a heavy metal band, the heaviest of the Southern rock acts has always been openly embraced by the heavy metal community. For four decades, Molly hatchet has been on the cutting edge of rock music, blending many different styles of rock’n’roll with a good dose of Southern fried attitude. With the new album, “Justice”, being one of the heaviest offerings to date from the legends, it only seemed fitting that Metal Exiles speak to guitar god Bobby Ingram to talk about the band that fits into any genre where “Rock” is at the heart.
Interview with Bobby Ingram of Molly Hatchet
By Rob ”Bubbs” Harris
Metal Exiles: Good Afternoon, Bobby. How are things going on tour?
Ingram: Things are going good, as far as the shows are concerned. Scheduling the upcoming tours is getting to be a bit crazy. We just had to reroute a bunch of German dates this morning, while trying to work on scheduling the U.K. and Canada. The stress of working all this stuff out is starting to get a little much.
Metal Exiles: I imagine so. But the current U.S. dates have been alright?
Ingram: Absolutely. We’re taking fewer shows, but they’re better ones. With this economy, there’s not much you can do but just ride the storm and take what you can get without going broke. We’re all having a good time out on the road though.
Metal Exiles: “Justice” is a magnificent record. How proud of the album are you, and how excited are you to share it with your fans?
Ingram: I’ll tell ya, I can’t do any better right now. That’s as good as I can do so far. We put everything into this record and it is the first of it’s kind in the Molly Hatchet catalogue. This is the first concept album, and it really means something. Justice and injustice has been done throughout the history of humanity, and every song has something to do with that theme.
Metal Exiles: Right. When I read the presser for the new album, you said that there are several different meanings of justice and, in some way, justice plays into all things.
Ingram: It’s like I said before, since the beginning of human history, there has been injustice done to others. But in the same respect, a lot of justice has been served as well. This record is like a summation of that idea from our point of view.
Metal Exiles: There is one particular incident that was a big inspiration for this record. Can you tell us a little bit about that?
Ingram: Sure. I actually had the whole album ready to go to preproduction. Then, I met Diena Thompson, who’s daughter, Somer, was murdered. We wrote a song about it called “On the Wings of an Angel: Somer’s Song”. But after meeting this family, who had gone through such a terrible tragedy, it inspired us so much that we started writing this whole new record about justice and injustice. I swear, we were really cookin’. We wrote pretty much the whole album in five days. We even ended up going a bit over time because we had so much material, so we cut one of the tracks, which will probably surface as a bonus track or something like that.
Metal Exiles: I had meant to ask about “Somer’s Song”. What was it about her particular story that touched you so much? I mean, I don’t want to come off sounding like a jerk, but that kind of thing happens every day in America, not to mention the rest of the world. It’s become so common, in fact, that the general public sort of just turns a blind eye to it. Why did this case seem to stick with you so much?
Ingram: Sherriff Rick Beseler (Clay County, FL) called me up right before they went public with the arrest to thank me for all the efforts that I have given toward the family. He himself couldn’t understand how this case has gone international in the headlines and was receiving so much attention and support from the media, because you’re right. This kind of thing does happen like every forty seconds, so the general public does become desensitized. But this case just struck me hard. It was a horrible thing that happened to that little girl, and I just felt as if I needed to offer any help I could to her family. When I got the call to help with the fundraiser, I jumped all over it. I was already in Florida at the time, so I drove home after a show in Orlando, went up into my attic and pulled out forty items of Molly hatchet memorabilia, stuff you wouldn’t find anywhere else that has been packed away for years and years, and donated it to the family to auction off to help bury Somer. When I finally met Diena, she gave me a big hug with tears streaming down her face and said she didn’t know how to thank me. So I said, “You just did.”, and told her that she didn’t have to thank me again because I was going to stay by her side and help her and her family in any way I can. Nobody asked me to do all that I have done to help this family, but I was able to do it and it was my pleasure. We started up a foundation, not only to help Somer’s family, but to also help other families who have gone through such terrible tragedy, and in hopes that it helps prevent these kinds of things from happening again.
Metal Exiles: As a father myself, I couldn’t imagine going through that. That is definitely fear number one for me, and probably any other parent.
Ingram: I know. Imagine getting a call at work saying that your child is gone without a trace. I could not imagine how that feels.
Metal Exiles: Let me change the subject a little bit. This is getting a little heavy. One song that I really identified with was “I’m Gonna Live ‘Til I Die”. That song reminds me, personally, of my own struggles with addiction and how I’ve had to battle with myself until I finally decided that I could live without certain things that aren’t necessarily good for me. I’m sure different people can relate to it in different ways, but that’s the way that it spoke to me.
Ingram: The song is about that. It’s also about being used by a woman, or being held down in one way or another, and the importance of standing up for yourself in those situations. It’s about being justified in saying “I don’t need you anymore” to whatever it is that is a negative influence in your life.
Metal Exiles: Which brings it all back to the title and concept of the record.
Ingram.: Exactly. I mean, what is this world coming to? What have we become? When all this stuff came down and we started writing this record, we decided that it was time to speak our minds and deliver a little Molly Hatchet justice. It’s time for us as a nation to come together and stand up to all the injustice and quit with all the crap. People need to stop suing other people who try to help them, or for silly reasons, just because they think they are entitled to something. Nine times out of ten, it’s their own fault anyway. We also need to start paying more attention to the world around us. I’ve seen pictures online of people laying dead in the street with people just walking by like it’s no big deal. What have we become, where we don’t even notice a dead person in the street? It’s absolutely ridiculous! I don’t remember that being the world that I grew up in.
Metal Exiles: I love the guitar work on “Justice”. There are a lot of nice heavy riffs on this one. That isn’t really all to uncommon for Molly hatchet though. You guys have always been embraced by the metal crowd.
Ingram: We’re the heaviest of all the Southern Rock bands, for sure. You know, we have always been blessed by the heavy metal and hard rock community, who have put us into the mix with some of the better bands from that genre. I don’t know what it is, but they just like the band and the music we make. We are all so thankful to those fans that normally wouldn’t bother with a Southern Rock record, but will seek out our material because they identify with something about it. It’s great!
Metal Exiles: You guys are actually on a label now that is known for boasting some of the best heavy metal, rock and progressive bands around.
Ingram: Yeah, we’re on there with Alice Cooper and Whitesnake. How cool is that? We feel very at home with SPV. They know how to take care of their artists and put them out there. I feel as if Molly Hatchet is a good fit for the label, as we can hang with any band, heavy or not. I feel as if Molly Hatchet’s music has gotten a lot tougher, while still maintaining that grassroots Southern rock style that is our signature sound. We might be getting a little gray, but we sure as hell aren’t getting shy.
Metal Exiles: Is there a specific track on “Justice”, other than “Somer’s Song”, that you are particularly fond of?
Ingram: I’m damn proud of the entire record, but there is one highlight for me, at the tail end of “In The Darkness of the Night”. The lead there at the end was one take. I hardly remember even cutting a quarter of it because I was so deep into it. I was in a whole different world right then, just me and the guitar as one. It’s hard to explain that feeling. You can record solos as much as you want, but sometimes if you just close your eyes and play, it all works out best. It doesn’t always wind up that way, but this time it did. So that was the highlight of the album. Actually, it is one of the highlights of the entire catalogue. I’ve played a lot of solos, but that one is mine, all mine.
Metal Exiles: I spoke to Jimmy hall a while back, and he told me how he measured success. He said “At the end of the day, I got to make music and make friends for a living. If that ain’t success, then I don’t know what is.” Do you feel as if you have accomplished all that needed to be done with Molly hatchet, as far as building the name, and now it’s time to just have fun and kick some ass, or has it always been that way?
Ingram: For me, I’ve always had a desire to keep stretching. With every album, or every riff, I keep telling myself that it’s not enough. Like I said before, with this record, it’s as good as I can do right now. However, I’m going to keep trying to do better. I’m not done by any means. The masterpiece has yet to be created, as far as I’m concerned.
Metal Exiles: Finally, what are your thoughts on the younger generations of rock and/or country fans and artists that seem to refuse to acknowledge the original architects of the genres? I mean, Molly Hatchet has been rockin’ since their parents were shittin’ their britches.
Ingram: Like I said, I would put us up against any band. I’d like to challenge some of these newer bands to play a song, then we’re going to play a song and see who did it better. Molly Hatchet has always been a tough band, and we just keep getting tougher. I have noticed that a lot of younger bands don’t seem to care for what came before them, but I can’t do anything about that. All I can do is keep doing my thing and making the music I want to play and that my fans want to hear. With rock music these days, there really isn’t anything that hasn’t been done before. If you want to come out and sound exactly like a hundred other bands just to make some quick cash, go for it, but don’t expect Molly Hatchet to sound like anybody but Molly Hatchet.
http://www.mollyhatchet.com/
BUY JUSTICE!!!
Interview with Bobby Ingram of Molly Hatchet
By Rob ”Bubbs” Harris
Metal Exiles: Good Afternoon, Bobby. How are things going on tour?
Ingram: Things are going good, as far as the shows are concerned. Scheduling the upcoming tours is getting to be a bit crazy. We just had to reroute a bunch of German dates this morning, while trying to work on scheduling the U.K. and Canada. The stress of working all this stuff out is starting to get a little much.
Metal Exiles: I imagine so. But the current U.S. dates have been alright?
Ingram: Absolutely. We’re taking fewer shows, but they’re better ones. With this economy, there’s not much you can do but just ride the storm and take what you can get without going broke. We’re all having a good time out on the road though.
Metal Exiles: “Justice” is a magnificent record. How proud of the album are you, and how excited are you to share it with your fans?
Ingram: I’ll tell ya, I can’t do any better right now. That’s as good as I can do so far. We put everything into this record and it is the first of it’s kind in the Molly Hatchet catalogue. This is the first concept album, and it really means something. Justice and injustice has been done throughout the history of humanity, and every song has something to do with that theme.
Metal Exiles: Right. When I read the presser for the new album, you said that there are several different meanings of justice and, in some way, justice plays into all things.
Ingram: It’s like I said before, since the beginning of human history, there has been injustice done to others. But in the same respect, a lot of justice has been served as well. This record is like a summation of that idea from our point of view.
Metal Exiles: There is one particular incident that was a big inspiration for this record. Can you tell us a little bit about that?
Ingram: Sure. I actually had the whole album ready to go to preproduction. Then, I met Diena Thompson, who’s daughter, Somer, was murdered. We wrote a song about it called “On the Wings of an Angel: Somer’s Song”. But after meeting this family, who had gone through such a terrible tragedy, it inspired us so much that we started writing this whole new record about justice and injustice. I swear, we were really cookin’. We wrote pretty much the whole album in five days. We even ended up going a bit over time because we had so much material, so we cut one of the tracks, which will probably surface as a bonus track or something like that.
Metal Exiles: I had meant to ask about “Somer’s Song”. What was it about her particular story that touched you so much? I mean, I don’t want to come off sounding like a jerk, but that kind of thing happens every day in America, not to mention the rest of the world. It’s become so common, in fact, that the general public sort of just turns a blind eye to it. Why did this case seem to stick with you so much?
Ingram: Sherriff Rick Beseler (Clay County, FL) called me up right before they went public with the arrest to thank me for all the efforts that I have given toward the family. He himself couldn’t understand how this case has gone international in the headlines and was receiving so much attention and support from the media, because you’re right. This kind of thing does happen like every forty seconds, so the general public does become desensitized. But this case just struck me hard. It was a horrible thing that happened to that little girl, and I just felt as if I needed to offer any help I could to her family. When I got the call to help with the fundraiser, I jumped all over it. I was already in Florida at the time, so I drove home after a show in Orlando, went up into my attic and pulled out forty items of Molly hatchet memorabilia, stuff you wouldn’t find anywhere else that has been packed away for years and years, and donated it to the family to auction off to help bury Somer. When I finally met Diena, she gave me a big hug with tears streaming down her face and said she didn’t know how to thank me. So I said, “You just did.”, and told her that she didn’t have to thank me again because I was going to stay by her side and help her and her family in any way I can. Nobody asked me to do all that I have done to help this family, but I was able to do it and it was my pleasure. We started up a foundation, not only to help Somer’s family, but to also help other families who have gone through such terrible tragedy, and in hopes that it helps prevent these kinds of things from happening again.
Metal Exiles: As a father myself, I couldn’t imagine going through that. That is definitely fear number one for me, and probably any other parent.
Ingram: I know. Imagine getting a call at work saying that your child is gone without a trace. I could not imagine how that feels.
Metal Exiles: Let me change the subject a little bit. This is getting a little heavy. One song that I really identified with was “I’m Gonna Live ‘Til I Die”. That song reminds me, personally, of my own struggles with addiction and how I’ve had to battle with myself until I finally decided that I could live without certain things that aren’t necessarily good for me. I’m sure different people can relate to it in different ways, but that’s the way that it spoke to me.
Ingram: The song is about that. It’s also about being used by a woman, or being held down in one way or another, and the importance of standing up for yourself in those situations. It’s about being justified in saying “I don’t need you anymore” to whatever it is that is a negative influence in your life.
Metal Exiles: Which brings it all back to the title and concept of the record.
Ingram.: Exactly. I mean, what is this world coming to? What have we become? When all this stuff came down and we started writing this record, we decided that it was time to speak our minds and deliver a little Molly Hatchet justice. It’s time for us as a nation to come together and stand up to all the injustice and quit with all the crap. People need to stop suing other people who try to help them, or for silly reasons, just because they think they are entitled to something. Nine times out of ten, it’s their own fault anyway. We also need to start paying more attention to the world around us. I’ve seen pictures online of people laying dead in the street with people just walking by like it’s no big deal. What have we become, where we don’t even notice a dead person in the street? It’s absolutely ridiculous! I don’t remember that being the world that I grew up in.
Metal Exiles: I love the guitar work on “Justice”. There are a lot of nice heavy riffs on this one. That isn’t really all to uncommon for Molly hatchet though. You guys have always been embraced by the metal crowd.
Ingram: We’re the heaviest of all the Southern Rock bands, for sure. You know, we have always been blessed by the heavy metal and hard rock community, who have put us into the mix with some of the better bands from that genre. I don’t know what it is, but they just like the band and the music we make. We are all so thankful to those fans that normally wouldn’t bother with a Southern Rock record, but will seek out our material because they identify with something about it. It’s great!
Metal Exiles: You guys are actually on a label now that is known for boasting some of the best heavy metal, rock and progressive bands around.
Ingram: Yeah, we’re on there with Alice Cooper and Whitesnake. How cool is that? We feel very at home with SPV. They know how to take care of their artists and put them out there. I feel as if Molly Hatchet is a good fit for the label, as we can hang with any band, heavy or not. I feel as if Molly Hatchet’s music has gotten a lot tougher, while still maintaining that grassroots Southern rock style that is our signature sound. We might be getting a little gray, but we sure as hell aren’t getting shy.
Metal Exiles: Is there a specific track on “Justice”, other than “Somer’s Song”, that you are particularly fond of?
Ingram: I’m damn proud of the entire record, but there is one highlight for me, at the tail end of “In The Darkness of the Night”. The lead there at the end was one take. I hardly remember even cutting a quarter of it because I was so deep into it. I was in a whole different world right then, just me and the guitar as one. It’s hard to explain that feeling. You can record solos as much as you want, but sometimes if you just close your eyes and play, it all works out best. It doesn’t always wind up that way, but this time it did. So that was the highlight of the album. Actually, it is one of the highlights of the entire catalogue. I’ve played a lot of solos, but that one is mine, all mine.
Metal Exiles: I spoke to Jimmy hall a while back, and he told me how he measured success. He said “At the end of the day, I got to make music and make friends for a living. If that ain’t success, then I don’t know what is.” Do you feel as if you have accomplished all that needed to be done with Molly hatchet, as far as building the name, and now it’s time to just have fun and kick some ass, or has it always been that way?
Ingram: For me, I’ve always had a desire to keep stretching. With every album, or every riff, I keep telling myself that it’s not enough. Like I said before, with this record, it’s as good as I can do right now. However, I’m going to keep trying to do better. I’m not done by any means. The masterpiece has yet to be created, as far as I’m concerned.
Metal Exiles: Finally, what are your thoughts on the younger generations of rock and/or country fans and artists that seem to refuse to acknowledge the original architects of the genres? I mean, Molly Hatchet has been rockin’ since their parents were shittin’ their britches.
Ingram: Like I said, I would put us up against any band. I’d like to challenge some of these newer bands to play a song, then we’re going to play a song and see who did it better. Molly Hatchet has always been a tough band, and we just keep getting tougher. I have noticed that a lot of younger bands don’t seem to care for what came before them, but I can’t do anything about that. All I can do is keep doing my thing and making the music I want to play and that my fans want to hear. With rock music these days, there really isn’t anything that hasn’t been done before. If you want to come out and sound exactly like a hundred other bands just to make some quick cash, go for it, but don’t expect Molly Hatchet to sound like anybody but Molly Hatchet.
http://www.mollyhatchet.com/
BUY JUSTICE!!!