Friday 3 July 2015

Band Interview: HEXOGEN

Hexogen interview with Pat Bernardo (vocals), Charlie Patterson Jr. (bass), Justin Wamboldt (guitar)
Interview conducted live on Facebook for Obscure Chaos zine by Lady Kat Chaos, Reggae, Brion Hughes and Willy Kizl, 2/9/2013. Reposted with permission.

The band parted company since this interview was conducted but you can check out their material via the links at the bottom.

Lady Kat Chaos: Hails Pat, thank you for doing this live interview. How are you enjoying the process of recording your upcoming EP and what does it involve? Have you picked out a title as of yet, how many songs and when do you plan on releasing it?
Pat Bernardo: First of all we want to thank everyone for your support not just for us but for all bands. I love writing music, and we are putting together a great EP with such a diversity of sounds. As of now the EP is tentatively titled Liberty Never Dies. We are looking at putting 5-6 songs on the EP, but we have close to 20 songs written and several of those recorded.

Lady Kat Chaos: It's all about the bands and spreading them as much as possible! We'll get more into depth about some of your songs in a few. What studio are you recording at or do you have a home studio? How much time will you end up spending in the studio for the recordings of the EP? Were all the compositions ready prior to entering or are you one of these bands whose members like to work on their compositions till the very last minute?
Pat: We are recording with our drummer Sean at his studio, Nobscott studios in Sudbury MA. When I joined the band in September, they already had several songs but we have written several since I joined, a couple songs on the EP are from before I joined and two are from after I joined. It's great that Sean is such a pro and we have such a great opportunity to record for free. We will most likely be getting the final mix mastered with Enoch Jensen of East Lake studios. As far as writing for this EP and future albums, it all comes together very nicely we really mix it up with rock, metal, some death and rehearse quite a bit before recording but it’s nice to be able to lay down tracks as they come to us.

Lady Kat Chaos: How are your lyrical themes going to differ from your past band "Our Final Chapter" to now joining Hexogen in late 2013?
Pat: great question! I feel like my ability has grown quite a bit since the OFC days and even though I am in a much different place nowadays spiritually and psychologically I still have many of the same passions I had back with OFC. There are so many liberties being stolen from us every day and the U.S. is looking more and more like a police state/fascist regime. It just seems to keep growing and growing so I still write a lot of lyrics about government corruption, religious corruption, etc. I may have a more positive look on things than I used to but still love pointing out stuff going on that a lot of people tend to ignore or just don't have the time to look into. Our song Can't Keep My Eyes Closed is about how much I see going on and how so many people don't want to think about those things or talk about them. They want to close their eyes because they are taught to or are afraid of the truth and that's why I can't keep my eyes closed. Sean, Chuck, and Justin also contribute to the lyrics, I will ask them for advice on lyrics and ask them what they think or if they think any lyrics could use some polish, so it's cool that everyone gets involved.

Lady Kat Chaos: Speaking of your song "Can't Keep My Eyes Closed" you've been experimenting with clean singing to growling vocals throughout the song, whose idea was to incorporated different vocal approaches? Do you like spawning from different sub-genres?
Pat: I love to sing just as much as I love screaming and growling, in fact I think I like clean singing even more. I've always wanted to incorporate good clean singing but didn't have as many opportunities in the past so it's great to be able to mix it up so much and hook more people, and clean singing can be just as emotional and as hard hitting as screaming and growling in my opinion. Everyone in the band wants to mix it up vocally so I have a lot of support. For a little while we started going into the direction of more death metal which is easy to do but luckily Chuck has really helped me stay focused on using all of my abilities. Since I started singing with Hexogen I feel like I have improved a lot clean singing wise and that's all thanks to them pushing me to be as good as I can be. I still have a ways to go but I'm happy with what we have been putting down.

Lady Kat Chaos: It's kick ass that you have that free range to show your vocal abilities. Have you taken any vocal training or did it just come naturally for you?
Pat: I am still meaning to get some vocal lessons but I have always enjoyed singing and have had some natural ability, but I do plan on taking lessons and becoming a better singer. So no vocal lessons as of yet.

Reggae: What do you do for a warm up routine if anything? Do you have any vocalists you aspire to be like?
Pat: I'm constantly drinking water and throat coat tea which really helps prevent ripping my throat up. As far as warm ups I will do some clean warm ups going through the scales, and will try to get my blood flowing by doing some calisthenics which helps warm up and loosen up my muscles. As far as my favorite vocalists who I respect so damn much and would love to be able to reach their ability would be singers like Mikael from Opeth, Maynard from Tool, Roger Waters and David Gilmour from Pink Floyd, Bruce from Iron Maiden. Oh and I love Devotchka as well. When it comes to screaming and growling I love many singers and have tried combining all styles of metal vocals. Sorry to keep going on with this question but I forgot Lane from Alice In Chains. He is one of my favorites as well. All of those singers do a lot of great stuff with layering and harmonies.

Lady Kat Chaos: It's always great to sing along to albums (I so can't sing but can hold a tune), what do you do to protect your throat from going sore? Because you haven't taken any vocals lessons as of yet how did you learn to warm up techniques and who may have given you some tips on what to do?
Charlie Patterson Jr.: Don't let him lie. Our drummer brews his own beer. Pat uses that to coat his throat. And Honey.
Pat: I actually bought a DVD years back with some woman that teaches a lot of metal singers, can’t remember her name right now, but I learned some techniques from her on how to save your voice but still get the most out of it. I have been given advice from people like Brian Fair of Shadows Fall, Jesse from KSE, and my dad who used to sing in a Black Sabbath cover band. I ran a booking agency for over ten years and was lucky enough to book some big bands like Shadows Fall, KSE, Blood Has Been Shed, In Flames, etc. so I always picked the singers brains every chance I got.

Lady Kat Chaos: Welcome Charlie! You thought I wouldn't get you involved? Tell us how long you've been playing bass for and who are some of your influences as a bassist?
Charlie: Haha. I been playing bass for around 20 years. My grandfather was a Jazz bassist and he was my hero and inspiration. Musically I love just about everything siding from today's pop music. But a few bands would be The Refused, Kyuss, Nothingface, Clutch and Willie Nelson. And the list goes on.

Lady Kat Chaos: Isn't it get having parents in metal bands. Did you ever go on stage with your father?
Pat: Unfortunately his career was over by time I was maybe 6-7 but he definitely deserves some credit for getting me into music so heavily. Plus it was nice having parents that understand your love of music and dreams of doing it full time.

Lady Kat Chaos: As a bassist how important do you feel that you should learn to play jazz and blues? How has other styles of music make you a stronger bassist?
Pat: If I can be rude and interrupt for a minute I just want to say of the dozens and dozens of people I have played in bands with Chuck has the most drive and best work ethic of them all. He is constantly promoting Hexogen and networking and his hard work has gone a long way and will continue to go a long way, so just wanted to throw that out there and let him know how much the rest of us in the band appreciate Chuck working so hard for us.

Lady Kat Chaos: Indeed, I see Charlie always promoting Hexogen and pushing the band hard. But was wondering why he at first shied away from doing the interview, then again its always great to interview the lyricist to get more in depth with what the songs are about. You mentioned earlier about people closing their eyes to many issues. When did you start paying more attention to what is happening around the world? What has really ticked you off?
Pat: Awesome question! I have always questioned authority and always felt I was being lied to or something was being kept from me. I question what I was being taught in school and was always bored and somewhat of a trouble maker always questioning stuff. But what really woke me up was 9/11. That was the smoking gun for me. I questioned it literally days after the governments account of what happened came out. Now so much evidence is out there to prove the alternative theories are much closer to the truth. Ever since I started researching 9/11 it opened up a Pandora’s Box of the terrible things that have been going on for many years.
Charlie: It's all about what you’re into. I think that Jazz and Blues are amazing because when you learn even just a few standards it opens up your playing ability. And expands your creative perimeters. I like whipping out fun bass runs occasionally in our songs and I feel it helps a lot. Bands like The Dillinger Escape Plan and Candiria got the right idea. There's no set perimeters to the sound.

Lady Kat Chaos: New bassist just starting out what tips would you give to them? At times do you feel that bass players don't always get a lot of credit compared to a vocalist, guitarist and drummer?
Charlie:  Tips???? Listen to a lot of FUNK and soul. Beat up your first bass, go through sucking for a while and stick with it. I never cared about credit. It's just fun. And if you’re worthy people will recognize
Willy Kizl: create song in moment is masterpiece to the creator, publishing is the second movement, as we know every second in each duration of song will mean for a thing, its information we use to make listener knows the point of the song, how much time you take in every second of song to make the song sounds great in each sessions part of song duration in each second brother Pat?
Pat: I think what you are asking is how much time we take mixing? If so the mixing process is almost never ending. Sean is constantly mixing and remixing trying to make everything sound better. I can promise you that once everything is mixed and mastered it will sound great, but we do take pride in our music and want it to sound the best it possibly can sound which will take time but it's worth it. We definitely don't want to do anything half ass. Sorry if that wasn't a great answer.

Willy Kizl: indeed I thank you you've answered my question brother Path, thank you dear Obscure Chaos-zine for this awesome moment.
Brion Hughes:  Hailz all, I just heard "Liberty Never Dies" and I'm diggin’ it! 9/11 was an eye opener for all of us who paid attention.

Lady Kat Chaos: Thank you Willy (Guitar/Vocals at KERANGKENK) for supporting many bands and joining in our interviews to show support. Please give the members some time to respond. Thank you Brion for joining.  I would like to thank Reggae (vocalist and guitarist of Reign Of Terror) for asking questions.
Pat: Also just to make it clear to everyone, I will never try cramming any ideas or theories down anyone’s throat and don't expect anyone to take my word for it, I urge everyone to do their own research and look to all sources and connect the dots, more and more people are awakened every day and it's great but we have a long way to go before real change can happen and the world can be balanced. All I can do is help point people in new directions and not because I want to say I told you so but because I care about everyone and want us all to be free
Hi Brion, thanks for digging our music. And yes 9/11 was basically the opening of the flood gates for many truth seekers. It was a terrible event but they went too far with that false flag attack and in ways it may have helped the powers that be gain more power through new laws that destroy the constitution but at the same time 9/11 opened many eyes and minds and it will come back to bite the real culprits in the ass.

Lady Kat Chaos: Indeed, 9/11 opened many people’s eyes and I know from being there it wasn't a beautiful site at all. I still have nightmares of hearing the bodies hitting the ground. How much research do you do on your own to find out some hidden facts before creating a song?
Pat: I have been researching 9/11 and topics such as false flag attacks, elite blood lines, the Federal Reserve, the Catholic Church, the occult, and conspiracy theories for about 12 years now and have put thousands of hours into researching and reading, or watching documentaries. As far as choosing a topic for a song, sometimes the lyrics just flow and I write them down or I will choose a subject and make sure I know what I'm talking about, what I want to say, and how I want it to come across, sometimes songs will be on a specific event or a whole subject. For example Liberty Never Dies is actually a song that I am trying to reassure people that there are people, organizations, plans in place if the powers that be cross the line to the point we are living in Nazi Germany part II. I'm telling people not to give up or go out and cause violence but also am telling them to be ready and that they are not alone.

Brion: Agreed, so many musicians wrote about it afterwards & spread awareness in their own way which is awesome!! OK, as a fellow guitarist/vocalist, what kind of gear do ya'll use in the line of guitars/amps/effects?
Justin Wamboldt: Hi guys. Just finished reading through everything here catching up.
Charlie: Crate half stack with Thunderbird 4 string. I recently moved to the east coast from Los Angeles where's I left behind my Ampeg, and ESP 5 banger. So I'm rebuilding my arsenal. Occasionally I'll use a Rat Bass Distortion.
Pat:  Brion, as far as equipment goes you would probably want to ask Chuck. But as far as vocals go we don't do any auto tuning because we want a natural sound. We use some reverb effects on some songs to give them a cool sound but for the most part the vocals are pretty naturally mixed. Brion, and Willy I want to say thank you so much for your interest and questions I hope I answered them ok, please feel free to ask whatever you want.
Justin: I have an LTD MH-100QMNT w/ Seymour Duncan SH-5 Custom and an Ibanez RG3EX1, into a Peavey Rockmaster preamp into Classic 60/60 power amp into an old Fender 4x12. For effects not too much. Have a tuner pedal, SD-1 for boost, MXR Smart Gate for controlling feedback, and an analog delay.

Brion: I've only ever used delay on my vocals, as far as guitar stuff, good solid rig!
Justin: The Rockmaster is such an underrated preamp. Dallas from Nile in an old interview called it "metal's best kept secret".

Lady Kat Chaos: Charlie is there ever a moment that you don't feel it’s fun playing? Do you feel that promoting your band takes up a lot of time from you creating and how do you balance it all out?
Charlie: Sometimes I can get overwhelmed but it's not as tough as it used to be. I mean networking is easy now, just gotta have a wifi connection. Back in the day you had to use a lot of elbow grease. The days of the paper fliers and street teams. But I love music more than anything so It's not bad.

Lady Kat Chaos: Welcome Justin! How long have you been playing guitars for?
Justin: About 20 years, however in my 20s I spent 8 years traveling and barely played much during that tie. Picked it up seriously again about 3 years ago. Even the few years before I moved away, I was more into drums than guitar.

Brion: I have three Peaveys and they’re all badass!!
Justin: Yeah, they make some lousy stuff, but there's some real gems out there too. The entire line of Classic all tube rack power amps are awesome. Only problem is some idiot thought it would be a good idea to put the volume knobs on the back.

Brion: I have an old 400 series that's just the loudest amp ever!
Justin: I'm not familiar with that but I used to have a late 80s VTM120 head that would blow your head off. Never could imagine needing to turn it above 3 or 4.

Lady Kat Chaos: Who would you guys like to be endorsed by? If you were to create a signature guitar, Justin and Charlie a signature bass what would you include or remove?
Justin: ESP no doubt. I like them simple. Fixed bridge, single bridge pickup, single volume knob. Either natural wood grain, or a bright green stain with the grain still visible.
Charlie: ESP or GIBSON. Wouldn't change a thing. Except custom art
Justin: Bind as well with a blank ebony fretboard.

Brion: What tuning do you use? Picks & strings??
Justin: bind=binding. We have a couple songs in standard, a couple in drop D, and a few in B standard. I like the 1mm blue tortex that I trip to a sharper point with a razor blade and carve a grip pattern into them.

Brion: Sweet!! I think it brings a whole new dynamic to bands who can do that.
Justin: For strings I use SIT 11-50 w/wound G for standard and drop D. For B I use 7 string power slinks without the high E and replace the f# with a wound .20.

Brion: Why not just use Tortex Sharps? Or is it just a personal thing?
Charlie: I use Rotosound Strings.

Lady Kat Chaos: Pat what type of mics do you like using?
Pat: As far as mics go, I like using a Shure SM58 for live shows or practicing, nothing fancy but it is a standard mic for most underground music I guess and as far as recording I like Shure sm7b or EV re320. I hope to learn more about the recording equipment side of things but to me as long as it sounds good and captures what I want I'm happy.

Lady Kat Chaos: Charlie, speaking of art... Are you looking for someone to create your band logo or are you happy with using the free site cool text for making your logos?
Justin: Chuck is gonna have to give you specifics, but I believe his cousin is working on some artwork for us.
Charlie: Oh no. I actually have two different artist working in some things. My cousin used to put together movie posters for Warner Brothers and is currently Balls deep in getting our EP cover finished and another guy hand drawing graphics for logo/merchandise. I don't want anything anybody else has used.

Lady Kat Chaos: What would you like to capture into your EP cover that also relates to your songs?
Pat: Not to speak for Chuck but his cousin is really gifted and is currently designing our EP, but we also are going to be designing some stuff ourselves for shirts, posters, etc. and we will probably also have a friend of mine Kevin from HeavyKevy productions do some designs in the future as well. And to add to what Chuck just said, as far as having original artwork is important to us. Chuck and I have come up with some great design ideas and those ideas will eventually materialize.
Brion: So how is the scene there where you live? Do y'a'll gig much?
Charlie: I can honestly say The East and West coast metal scenes are totally different. There's a lot more camaraderie here on the East Coast. And Metal is alive and well in New England.
Pat: New England and the tristate area are without a doubt the breeding ground for great metal and HC bands.

Lady Kat Chaos: What are your thoughts about playing battle of the bands gigs? I have seen many of them being set up for and many times have noticed that bring a lot of fans also helps the band win instead of the bands being kick ass and given it all on stage, do you think it’s worth it?
Charlie: I look at it as great exposure for our band. Our downloads have been naughty the last few days. Most battles are fan based horseshit to guarantee venue sells tickets and booze.

Lady Kat Chaos: It seems they run it like the Wacken Open Air Festival. Have you traveled outside of the USA as of yet and if not where would you love to tour?
Justin: I'd love to play Norway and the Czech Republic since I have friends there.
Charlie: I've played in Tijuana Mexico.

Lady Kat Chaos: Justin, do you like playing with bands who are similar to you or do you like playing with a mixture of bands?
Justin: Both can be good, for example the two give we've had so far, all the bands were heavy and I guess could be considered metal of some sort. However we all definitely had our own sounds and were far from the same. I definitely wouldn't like to hear a bunch of clones. I enjoy music from all genres (aside from country) though. The shows at the Hard Rock for the next round of the contest is going to be quite the eclectic mix from the look of the bands in the top ten now.

Lady Kat Chaos: Do you ever find it hard to create music that doesn't have your influences that everyone can pin point or compare you too?
Justin: Well in the past I used to play 99% drop D and too many people said to me "is that a Tool song?" So I started playing in drop D less to make the Tool influence less obvious. I don't really think any of my influences are glaringly obvious. If any stand out I'd be curious to know what people thought.

Lady Kat Chaos: Pat, when playing live do you enjoy when the fans are singing along with you and has a fan ever tried to take over the mic completely?
Pat: Yes I used to love when people sang along I hope we get enough fans to do that with Hexogen & as far as people taking over a few shows we actually had an extra mic so people could sing along we've also had shows where 40-50 people all came on stage and screamed along which I lived & hope it happens with Hexogen too.

Lady Kat Chaos: As a full band some of your influences are Tool, Opeth, Kyuss, Entombed, Between The Buried And Me, and Clutch. Why don't you get more in-depth about your unconventional sounds and song structures you'll be adding?
Justin:  One song we were working on Friday, I to give one part a more evil sound, I was using a flat 5 that I consider the Opeth/Emperor chord. I've been listening to a lot of old Mayhem lately too for chord progression ideas; some of them are so evil sounding.
Charlie: Everybody in the band is influenced by different music. We just all throw our cards on the table and it seems to fall into place. It's a perfect situation.
Pat: As far as influences and adding in more I'd love to eventually incorporate some more prog-rock psychedelic stuff along the lines of Pink Floyd & I also love Middle Eastern sounding music. We are definitely developing a unique sound but since we're all do open minded it seems well always be bringing in new elements and progressing our sound.
Charlie: And I smoke lots of marijuana which enhances my writing ability. I called the weed marijuana.
Justin: Yeah, marijuana is one our big influences too. Yes, an old Les Paul I owned since I was 16. Happened when I lived in Arizona a 5 years ago. Long story that I don't care to explain again.

Lady Kat Chaos: Are you thrilled that in some states that marijuana is legal?
Justin: Absolutely. Back in the 90s I always thought it would happen in my lifetime but never expected such progress so soon. I was pretty disappointed though to see that in Colorado, the legal retail prices are often higher than street prices.
Pat: Yes there is no reason for marijuana to be illegal it's safer than alcohol and nicotine but that's a whole other issue. There are corporations and organizations doing everything they can to stop it from becoming legal again but it has so many medicinal uses and should be available to people without them being labeled criminals, the whole drug war is a scam of you ask me. Since we took over Afghanistan there poppy production has gone from 7% in the world to 97% hmmm isn't that a coincidence.

Lady Kat Chaos: Pat, some bands today fear when fans come onto the stage because of what has happen. How do you protect yourselves on stage and your equipment?
Justin: We haven't had that problem but personally I would be very protective of my gear. I've always taken good care of my equipment and respect others as well.
Lady Kat Chaos: Justin have you ever had any of your equipment stolen?
Justin: I have thieves. If I even saw someone try to take someone else’s anything, I'd be out for blood.
Lady Kat Chaos: Do you have roadies to keep an eye on your equipment while you're socialize with fans and other bands, to help prevent your equipment from being stolen?
Justin: No. Ideally I like to get my gear back in the vehicle locked up. Otherwise I make sure I can see it and if I step away ask a friend to make sure it stays put. It sucks that I have to do that. I can't imagine how someone could just take someone else’s gear.

Lady Kat Chaos: I have seen years ago, not going to mention the band’s name but they put their gear into the van and it got broken into. Their gear and merch was all stolen as well. Do you guys have a touring van or do you use your own cars?
Charlie: I had an old bass rig swiped in front of the Whiskey A Go Go. I learned my lesson.

Lady Kat Chaos: That sucks, Charlie! Was your bass rig ever found or did you get any tips on who took it?
Charlie: No. It was a total loss. It was in the 90s. I still got an elbow waiting for the person.
Justin: Just our own vehicles. We contemplated renting a U-Haul but ended up just driving in our own cars.
Pat: We hope to eventually get a van & trailer. We had one & it's a must for touring do eventually we hopefully will.

Lady Kat Chaos: Did you guys start up you own band fund to help with paying for gas, gear and so forth?
Justin: Not currently, but I'm all about taking any profits from shows, CD sales/etc. in the future and reinvesting back into the band.

Lady Kat Chaos: While I was reading your band page a few days ago, I went to listen to your first track, "Charlie" off your EP but it’s been removed from your Reverbnation. Did you feel the song wasn't fully completed or did you scratch this song? And what is this song about?
Charlie: Sean is constantly mixing so I'm basically posting demos. And when I get a remix I usually repost. And since scrap the old one. Now that LIBERTY NEVER DIES EP is nearly done I won't have to do that anymore.

Lady Kat Chaos: What format will you be releasing your EP, “Liberty Never Dies” on such as: vinyl, cassettes, CD-r, digital downloads etc? And how many do you plan on making so people can have a physical copy?
Charlie: CD and digital. But vinyl would be awesome.
Justin: Most likely CD and digital. I would like to see it available through typical outlets such as Amazon and iTunes.

Lady Kat Chaos: What are your thoughts about people sharing your music on free websites? How do you feel it hurts the band or helps the band out?
Charlie: Sharing is going to happen regardless. It's just nice to be heard at this point. I'm sure the time to be mad will come.
Justin: I think it can definitely help with publicity. I can't really say anything too bad about it without being a hypocrite.
Pat: I think it helps us. Anyway we can get heard helps. I mean if someone hears us as they like us and our EP is available for purchase they will buy it. Plus it will get us heard to new people I mean obviously we'd like to make some $ to keep things ping but we need to be heard by as many people as possible before that happens.
Justin: Someone might download an mp3, then post something saying "Hey, check out this band Hexogen" and one of their friends might like it and buy a CD.

Lady Kat Chaos: It’s hard these days for some bands to release a new EP, or full-length because of the lack of funds and band members are always pulling money from their own pockets to put out a release. What are some struggles and bumps in the road you have faced as a band and how did you overcome it?
Charlie: Like I said. We lucked out into a perfect situation. We get free studio time. Free beer on tap in studio. All we pay for is duplication, mastering, etc.
Justin Wamboldt: Yeah, so far we haven't had any real problems. It's been a good situation.

Lady Kat Chaos: You have written many songs, "Running in Circles," "Dark Desire," "River of Lost Souls," "Sixth Plague," "Scratch Out The Sky," "Divide And Conquer," and "Black." These songs are not available to take a good listen, are you currently working on enhancing them? Will any of these songs be released on your upcoming EP? What is the reason you have removed your demos off your sites and wouldn't you want people to hear how the band has progressed over the years and compare your releases, and have more information and details for interviews?
Charlie: Those songs are now complete and Pat is recording vocals for them. It was cool when that's all the material we had but now that things are being finished its time to remove the training wheels.
Lady Kat Chaos: Charlie, what is your full discography and are your old demo's still available?
Charlie: Hmmmm. My old band Thru With It has some studio material available here on Facebook. I played drums in a garage rockabilly band called the irritations and the album psychoboogie volume 1 can be found on my space. Not sure on other projects.

Lady Kat Chaos: Into some history of Hexogen... Charlie Patterson you're the founder of Hexogen, adding drummer Sean Wertheim (Eye Witness Death Count), guitarist, Justin Wamboldt in early 2013 and Pat joined in late 2013. How did all of you meet?
Charlie: Bands I've been in... The Irritations, Medium, Podunk, 647, Downstroke, Thru With It, Mine That Bird and Hexogen.
Charlie: The magic of Craigslist. I weeded through a bunch of turds to find these guys.
Pat: Thank god for Craigslist. Taiga list one night I just decided to look for some bands and am so happy I found Hexogen. Sorry it's taking me long to answer keep getting booted off
Charlie: Me Justin and Sean clicked instantly. We tried out singers forever. Then Pat came and it was a done deal. We were sold on his vocals quick.

Lady Kat Chaos: That's okay, Pat I understand the situation you're facing. How far do you live from each other and how often do you rehearse?
Charlie: We are spread out in Massachusetts. We get together once a week.

Lady Kat Chaos: It's always a good idea to research band names to make sure they aren't taken, have you changed your name or are planning on changing it?
Charlie: Yes we were the 11th plague but there's a band in Chicago already with that name. Just came up with Hexogen and we are keeping it.

Lady Kat Chaos: When I think of your band name Hexogen a few things come to mind, extreme explosives used in the terror attacks in Moscow, Ian Fleming's Commandos: The Story of the Legendary 30 Assault Unit and Russian punk band PTVP full length album, “Hexogen that was released in 2001. How did you come up with your band name and what does it mean to you?
Justin: Well I'm very into chemistry and energetic substances. I suggested a handful of names that the other guys thought were too sciencey and nerdy. Hexogen is another name for the explosive RDX. We we're sitting our back for a smoke break at practice when I threw it out and everyone liked it right away. So out with The 11th Plague and in with Hexogen. The other was my idea too but I like this better.

Lady Kat Chaos: When did you start getting interested in chemistry? Do you guys drink a lot of Red Bull to keep up your energy?
Justin: Since I was really young, like middle school. Chuck loves his 5 hour energy. I'll drink one once in a while but not that often. Ever since I was as young as I can remember I was into science and history in general. I'm a total nerd.