Pop//Culture with….Bill Hamilton

Pop//Culture with Bill Hamilton! Bill thoughts about President Obama, selling out, and meeting his music idols!

On President Obama…

B.H: Were from Canada and just to see like the last US election and see Barrack Obama get elected that was a really big thing to see. It was really good to see people band together and elect someone.

On producer Cameron Webb…

B.H: One of the main reasons we went back to work with him was because of his personal interest and care for the record as well as our band-us as people. Its almost like he’s our family, he want to make the best record possible for him and for us. He cares every step of the way. [He’s] our guy and we love him, and we care about him and he cares about us. We want to stick with him I think.

On arguments with band mates and artistic creativity…

B.H: When you make a record as a band you get into disagreements and different issues and arguments and [Cameron Webb] was just a great mediator to find out what everyone personally cared about and not just, ‘Oh well, this is what sounds best’. Because if someone really cares about something, whose to say what sounds best? And what is best? You don’t want to limit someone’s passion, so it was really a great experience having him care about us as people and not just to make a record. It was a whole hands on thing.

On Dream Producers…

B.H: I’ve always wanted to make a record with Bill Stevenson. He was in a band called Descendents- one of my favourite bands- and he produced a few Rise Against records and Comeback Kid and some of our good friends and favourite bands. And, Brian McTernan- he did Hot Water Music, Cave in, Thrice and Senses Fail.

On their best Prank…

B.H: We played a show on Halloween in Seattle and on the tour was the band Aiden.  Their good friends our ours and Seattle is there home town, so we dressed as them for Halloween. We played their intro music and we had their tour manager steal us some of their clothes.

On surviving selling out…

B.H: There so much trendiness in music. A band can feel like they need to jump on some popular train to be a good band.

Stay true to what you are, what you believe in, what you want to do, and what your heart says and not just jump on some get rich quick or get popular – cause that stuff never lasts.

On his fifteen year old self…

BH: Playing warped tours pretty crazy. When I was fifteen, Less Than Jake was my favourite band and I was singing along to all their songs. If I was fifteen I would be losing my mind.

On meeting his idols…

B.H: We made friends with NOFX- who were like our favourite band growing up –we played poker with them and hang out with them and its just…wow. This is so surreal and cool but its great to realize the people you thought were rock stars or special when you were young you realize that there just normal people and they don’t have egos. Its really cool to get that sense of community. Everyone’s here for the same reasons.