Interview- HUDSON

HUDSON Interview
HUDSON
Rock N Roll Band
Origin: Los Angeles, CA
Interviewer: Robert Winans

We recently had the opportunity to talk with the guys from HUDSON. HUDSON is a rock ‘n’ roll band from Los Angeles, California. The band came together in late 2013 when guitarist Chris Llewellyn and bassist Brian Cohen came across vocalist David Hudson at a show some two and a half years prior. About a year later David asked them to come see him at an open microphone show and the rest is history as they say. Drummer Christian Thierbach IV was an old colleague whom Chris called up to round out the quartet. They released their first EP In The Unknown in June 2014. Their follow-up EP Cast Out was recently released in October of this year.

Rock Show Critique: HUDSON came together in 2013, tell me a little about what events brought all of you together to start a band. You guys have cited yourselves as drawing inspiration for your sound from a variety of classic rockers from Led Zeppelin to The Beach Boys. Out of all your favorites, who would it be the biggest dream to play with?

HUDSON: Well it all started out with Chris and Brian working with David as producers to develop a solo project he was working on. We’ve all been friends for years, so when the solo project started taking shape it naturally started to move in the direction of a band. Chris and Brian had played in previous bands with Christian, so it all came together very smoothly.

As far as what band we would want to play with, as a band we all agree that if John Bonham were still around and it was all four members of Zeppelin playing, that would be a very humbling experience. We strive to play with musicians who really challenge us musically, and for us Zeppelin is the ultimate. But if Jesse from Jesse and The Rippers reunited with The Beach Boys that would be a close second. And as far as new acts are concerned, we are very fond of Royal Blood. They’re definitely bringing something new to the genre which is what we always strive to do.

RSC: It is sometimes popular for a band to take a popular song from a musician outside of their genre or style, and give it their own spin stylistically. If you were to pick one song, and bring your bluesy rock to mash it up with, what song would you cover?

HUDSON: We’d have to say Get Up Stand Up by Bob Marley. We are very much for social consciousness and standing up for human rights. We feel like the culture needs a wake-up and music is the best means to do that.

RSC: You have a new EP out entitled “Cast Out” which Chris Llewellyn cited to be written about a somewhat negative experience the band was turning into a positive. Is turning the harder side of life around part of the bands personal message? If so is this something that will be conveyed on future songs?

HUDSON: It’s definitely part of our message. But if you’re asking us to go more in depth, our message is all about putting your passion into everything you do. Follow your dreams, because when you’re passionate about what you do you can accomplish amazing things. Live healthy and try to leave a low carbon footprint. Spend time in nature so that you can truly appreciate what you have while you’re on this planet. To put it quite simply, quality over quantity.

RSC: What are some of the differences between the sophomore release of “Cast Out” and your debut EP “In The Unknown”?

HUDSON: “Cast Out” is a continuation and evolution of our sound, and it reflects our emotions at this time. It’s definitely a bit heavier than “In the Unknown,” but with us you never know where we will go musically. We use our life experiences as inspiration so we will see where the next record goes.

RSC: Many artists have some form of pre show rituals that they do before going out on stage. Does HUDSON have any pre show rituals they perform?

HUDSON: Before we go on stage we always get together backstage and warm-up acoustically, mainly to get our vocals in tune and to make sure we are all in sync rhythmically. We started doing this within the last year or so and it really helps us all get on the same page before we get out there and rock.

RSC: What will the band be up to for the rest of the year and in early 2016?

HUDSON: We are constantly trying to progress as a band, so we are practicing and writing consistently. We are also running our own label at this point (Custom Records), so a lot of time goes into getting all of our content right before it goes out the door. We have a bunch of live videos that we shot in a few different studios that we are going to be releasing soon. We also just released our music video for “Cast Out” and are now in talks with our director about our next video that we are hoping to shoot sometime in January. Our goal is to start pushing to radio in early 2016 and then hit the road as hard as possible, so be on the lookout for tour dates very shortly.