Gary James' Interview With Mark King Of
Hinder





They've toured with Mötley Crüe. They were inducted into the Oklahoma Rock 'n' Roll Hall Of Fame and are currently hard at work on the concert circuit. It's easy to understand why Hinder is a group you should keep your eye on.

Rhythm guitarist Mark King talked with us about his group.

Q - Did I read it right, online, that Hinder had to run themselves into the ground to sell product?

A - For the first album?

Q - I guess.

A - I'm not sure who said that. Before we got signed, we definitely worked our butts off, (laughs) to get our name out there as much as we could and it definitely paid off 'cause we got some interest from labels and what not. It worked out well for us.

Q - Did you play clubs in that time period?

A - We actually didn't do that. We kind of did it differently. We didn't play all the time. We wanted it to be once every couple months, every month. Kind of make it a good thing to come to. We didn't want to run the market dry. We wanted to make our concert the thing to do that month or every other month. Make it a bigger event.

Q - It's got to be tough to make a living doing it that way, isn't it?

A - Well, yeah. We were in collage. What we would do is go out to all the national acts that would come through Oklahoma City and we would just flyer those shows to make sure we were sold out every time and when we did play a show, we'd play all that money that we'd made back into the band. We didn't spend it on booze or whatever else. We just put it all back into the band and made that our business.

Q - You never hear of a guy in a band anymore being called the rhythm guitarist. It's usually lead guitar we hear about. Rhythm guitar goes back to the days of The Beatles and The Stones.

A - Right. I don't even know how that came to be, where I got to be called the rhythm guitarist. I play some leads too. Joe plays more of the solos and whatnots.

Q - You toured with Mötley Crüe?

A - That is correct.

Q - Were you aware of just how popular they were in their prime?

A - Oh, yeah. I remember having VHS tapes that we weren't supposed to be watching as little kids. (laughs) To get to share the stage with those dudes was amazing. I definitely think they were an influence to all five of us in the band. We definitely looked up to those guys. They were just out there kind of having fun and that's what we wanted to do. We were definitely aware of their popularity.

Q - That was a cross country tour?

A - Yeah. I think we were out with them for like two months probably. It was just the United States, maybe a few Canada dates.

Q - How many writers are in this band?

A - Cody and Austin are the main writers for the band. This time around they actually went all around and did most of the writing in Nashville with some of the people that primarily write for Country acts actually, but it worked out well for us. It came out great this time around, but Cody and Austin are the main songwriters for Hinder.

Q - If you guys are doing so much road work, how can Cody and Austin write?

A - Well, inspiration hits at different times, you know. You never know when it's gonna hit you. I think writing sessions are kind of interesting 'cause I just can't put myself in that position; got to write from nine to twelve this day. It has to hit me. I have to be inspired.

Q - The band came up with seventy songs for your CD "Take It To The Limit"? That's a lot of songs to sift through!

A - Yeah. Actually, that's for "All American Nightmare", our latest album.

Q - Is it a group decision what gets on the CD or a decision by Austin and Cody?

A - Definitely a group decision and even beyond that, friends, family. We ask everyone, "Hey, give us a list of the top ten," and then of course the label comes into play on that. It was kind of a tough process because there were a few standouts that we all picked, like "What You Gonna Do" was on all of our lists. There were a few that were all the same, but there were a few songs that we all wanted that didn't make it, so hopefully they'll re-surface at some point. They're just sitting on the back burner right now. So hopefully we can get those out at some point.

Q - When I think of Oklahoma, I think of Cowboy music. How hard was if for Hinder to get some attention there?

A - That's the thing, it is a big Country driven state. It was kind of easy to be a stand-out that way. In '05 (2005) when we got signed, there weren't a whole lot of Rock acts like us, so it was kind of easy. We were a big fish in a small pond, you could say. It was kind of easier to do it that way. I think that the Rock scene there is actually growing quite a bit. But back in '05, it was definitely, mainly Country, but I think it helped us out, honestly.

Q - You're talking cover bands or original bands?

A - There's a lot of original bands, actually.

Q - In Oklahoma City?

A - Well, that surrounding area.

Q - And so Hinder was inducted into the Oklahoma Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.

A - Yes.

Q - What does that mean to you guys?

A - It's pretty awesome. We got to go there for the big event. There were just some insanely talented musicians that I've never heard of, an older generation that were just amazing. I don't know, it's really cool. Whenever you really study it, the state of Oklahoma has a lot musicians that have made it big in the industry, so I think it's amazing we got picked for that.

Q - You're going to be at the New York State Fair in Syracuse. This has got to be something new for Hinder.

A - Yeah. We've done several State Fairs. They're always fun to do. There's so many people there. You go out and get a fried whatever during the day, whatever kind of crazy food they have.

Q - You're playing Labor Day weekend, so there's going to be a ton of people watching Hinder.

A - That's awesome. That's great. I'm excited.



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