Our FEATURE ARTIST, EYE EMPIRE is on day four!
Click to read the interviews w/Will's Eye Empire bandmates,
It's almost impossible to look at Will Hunt's resume and NOT say "That's insane!" Stuck Mojo, Skrape, Tommy Lee, Methods of Mayhem, Slaughter, Dark New Day, Motley Crue, Vince Neil (solo), Evanescence, Static-X, Crossfade, Bloodsimple, Black Label Society. See what I mean? His resume is taller than any of us. But when it comes to music, he's humble, honest & just loves to play. Will graciously shared some of his time with HRR & talked about tunes, tech, & toast!
Angela:
Let's start at the beginning of this for you. I know that you and Corey have history, with Dark New Day and other projects, but let's start at the beginning of this project for you.
Will:
Corey & I go way back, we've been in a couple of different bands together. He actually approached me about playing together...well, let me back up...It's a weird thing because I played with Evanescence. At that time particular time, however, Amy had another guy named Will Hunt, and she'd been writing with him. It came to pass that in the press she said she'd been writing with her good friend, Will Hunt. So when Corey was putting this thing together, he didn't actually bother to call me because he thought THAT was me. So what ended up happening was I knew he had it going on, but I didn't know what was going to happen w/Evanescence, and it ended up being that Ev was in a kind of limbo state. Well things are starting to happen now, but..anyways: he ended up getting another drummer, the guy that played in Submersed. They started recording, did their thing. For whatever reason, that just didn't work out. They ended up having Morgan play on the record (Moment Of Impact). After that, I ran into Corey last fall in Atlanta while I was there with Black Label Society. We'd already been talking about it at that point. That was the first time we'd had a chance to really sit down and talk about what was gonna happen. I, talk about where we wanted to take this thing. got a copy of the music. I said "yeah, I'd love to be a part of it." I'm actually really glad to be there, be in the middle of everything with these guys. I'm excited to see where this goes. It's great to be united with Corey and I've always wanted to play with Brad.Angela:
Was that the point, in Atlanta, when Corey figured out it was another Will Hunt that had been w/Evanescence at the particular time in question?
Will:
Eventually I did say "Well, man, how come you never called me in the beginning of this?" He said "Well, I read online that you were writing with Amy back then, and I just figured that was it, that you were occupied with that." And I had to say "Well that was a different guy." It is a funny story, but it ended up working out great for everybody. All fair credit due, those guys were already doing their thing before I came in the fold. It was a train that was already moving, I just hopped on and I'm happy to be there.
Angela:
Are you currently on the road or in the studio, doing any other works?
Will:
Right now I'm actually doing some stuff with Black Label Society, and still doing some stuff with Evanescence. It just depends on what happens with everything. It's a thing I can't stand to do, just sitting. It's like, if you don't have something that's really concrete and moving forward, it's almost like you kinda got to overbook yourself to stay busy. So for my situation, I've kinda done that, but not to take away from any of the other perspective bands. It's just that, usually, there's a whole bunch of time where people SIT and they don't do anything.
Angela:
I've heard this from all four of you now. Too funny. No one likes to sit still for any amount of time. Must be a musician's trait...
Will:
In this business, if you're not moving forward, you're moving backwards. There is no stagnation. So I always try to keep moving. Sometimes things line up right, sometimes they intersect. You just gotta try to make it work; juggle all the balls that you can.
Angela:
Will:
The thing with Evanescence came about in 2007, and Dark New Day was in kind of a weird spot, we'd been writing but just didn't know what we were gonna do. I'd done a couple of records with a producer named Dave Bendiff, and Evanescence's manager knows him. He put a call in to him, asked if he knew any drummers. He said "Yeah I know Will Hunt, you should call him." I was playing with Vince Neil at the time, and I got the call from the EV manager, when we were in Vegas, said "We need a drummer to finish out the rest of this tour, can you do it?" I said "Well fuck yeah, I'd love to." That's what came about, that's how it happened.
Angela:
What's going on with EV right now, are they writing?
Will:
Yes, EV is writing, right now. About to do something, I don't wanna give too much away. It's not my place to say but got some stuff definitely about to happen. Some stuff's in the works.
Angela:
Let's talk about your gear. Who, what, when, where, why....
Will:
I play Pearl drums, and I just got a new custom kit from them, it's going to be amazing. I've been with Pearl now for about a year. I started off on Pearl when I was a kid, always wanted Pearl: made money, had my own good money to buy a Pearl kit. Back when I was 17, I really started playing out. Pearl is so kick ass, you just can't beat it. For cymbals, I use Zjildan, been playing them since I was five. (Will is currently also endorsed by Zjildan!) I play with Vater sticks... those guys make amazing stuff.
Angela:
Have you had enough time with being a member of Eye Empire, yet, to accrue any funny stories? You've played 2 shows, Tampa & the NY showcase, with the guys. Is it still fresh, new for you?
Will:
It's still fresh for me, you know...Every time we've been together, it's been elbow to ass business, just trying to get it done. It's all like a blurr...it's been so insane when we get together, just trying to get things done the way they need to be done.
Angela:
Fave songs on the Moment of Impact CD?
Will:
I love "Bull In A China Shop." I like "I Pray," & "Feels Like I'm Falling," Those are the ones I'm really diggin on right now.
Angela:
Aside from the obvious (spending time with your immediate family), what sort of things do you enjoy doing when you have some free time outside of playing and recording?
Will:
I like to surf a lot, that's a big thing for me. I love surfing. I love motocross, but recently got rid of the bike I had because it became hazardous to my work health. I like to fish. One big thing is that I like to listen to music, I like going to shows & watching other shows. It's a huge thing for me.
Angela:
Any music that is fresh or new to you....maybe something you've uncovered or discovered in the past year or so...something that made you think "Where the hell have I been?"
Will:
I spend so much time listening to stuff and trying to find some new shit, that I'm usually on top of it... There's this band called Periphery. It's so over-the-top. It's definitely Prog-Rock...they've got some really cool stuff going on. Anytime someone turns me onto something new, different, I am on it. As soon as I heard one song, after my friend said "You've got to check out this band, Periphery," I bought the CD.
Angela:
It's time for some off-the-wall shit:
Favorite breakfast?
Will:French toast, bacon, eggs, & fresh squeezed Florida orange juice.
Angela:
We're on the road. It's your turn to pick where the band's stopping for dinner before you hit the next city for the next show...
Will:
Outback, if I can afford it. Love Outback...If not, then it's OutMac.
Angela:
Have you heard? They have Oatmeal now?
Will:
That's just wrong...
© Hard-Rock-Reviews.com
Written by Angela Villand
All Rights Reserved
ang@hard-rock-reviews.com
♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫
Legal Mumbo-Jumbo
Note: The content within these articles, reviews, news updates and interviews may not be used without proper attribution and credit given to both the author and the website. The content within this website is protected by License & Digital Copyright Laws. All photographs, links to other websites & news have been used with express written permission from the artist, publicists, photographers and other applicable owners of material, in all instances. This content may not be copied & re-blogged without express permission from the owner/operators of this website.
The content herein, written and published by by Angela Villand is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at ang@hard-rock-reviews.com.
