Tiger Army
Nov/Dec 04
by Don Sill
With every great album comes many great challenges- Obstacles to overcome, barriers to cross and a problems to solve. Tiger Army's "III: Ghost Tigers Rise" was no exception. Making their latest album on Hellcat Records, the psychobilly trio from California were forced to endure their greatest challenge ever after their drummer, Fred Hell, was shot four times in March 2003 in a brutal home invasion robbery that nearly left the drummer dead.
I spoke with singer/ guitarist Nick 13 about the making of "III: Ghost Tigers Rise" and the trails and tribulations that came along with it.
It wasn't easy making "III: Ghost Tigers Rise." You're drummer, Fred Hell went through some rough times after being shot a bunch of times. What the hell happened?
He actually got shot. We came off the road in 2002 after a about a year and a half of touring and that January we started working on material for the new record. In March [Hell] was in a friends apartment where there was a home invasion robbery and the result was him getting shot four times.
Damn…
Basically, I was still writing at the time and we decided to take a few months off from recording and see if he could recover and see what was gonna happen. He actually got back behind the drum kit after about three months later, like a form of physical therapy, it took him a while to get his strength back up. We practiced for a few months and we thought he had fully recovered but after we started cutting the album in early September we realized that his recovery wasn't as complete as we thought and…
He still has a bullet lodged in his head, right?
Yeah, he has a bullet in his brain and it's more dangerous to attempt to remove it then to just leave it where it is.
Does that bother him or what?
No, man, he can't feel it. It doesn't really effect anything that we're aware of.
So, this is a real miracle that Fred's even alive let alone playing the drums.
Yeah, definitely. Did they ever catch the guys who did this?
I believe they just recently arrested a guy and I think they're gonna put him on trial pretty soon.
I'll tell you this, Fred is like the 50 Cent of the punk world.
Definitely.
I'm glad he's back and playing and everything. He's back in full force, right? Yeah, we did our first tour with Rancid back in November and December and we just finished a 30 show tour with him back in April and May. He sounds great behind the kit.
Lets get into this new album, "III: Ghost Tigers Rise" it kicks, man. What would you say is the overall feel of this album?
Well, you know, it's always kind of hard for me to say it because I'm always so close to it. I found that people who've listened to the other albums, friends, fans, whatever, they always pick up a lot more of the differences than I do because, to me, it's all coming from the same place and it's all Tiger Army. But I will say that there are some differences with feel on this record, one of the things is that we slowed it down a little bit to kind of like a more mid-tempo approach.
Why the change?
One of the reasons was because "Power Of Moonlight" was recorded too fast in the first place and then we'd play it even faster live and basically it was loosing some of it's vibe, some of it's power and some of it's groove. We're not a thrash band so we wanted to get more of that feel in there.
Bring more of that Tiger Army sound into it.
Yeah, man.
What is the driving force behind some of these tunes?
Well, that's another tough question. A lot of my lyrics tend to come from an almost subconscious place. Sometimes a key word will get me going and then let it take me where it wants to take me. I never sit down and try and write a song about this or that.
It just all flows like a stream on consciousness? Yeah, in a way.
What mindset do you have to be in to write? Or does that even matter?
It does but it's really hard to explain. It's not attached to mood…It's almost a state like dreaming where it's a little bit out of ordinary consciousness, it's a little bit right next to daydreaming. You can't always tap into that and turn it on and off when you want to.
You guys have been out playing live and doing your thing. Must feel great.
It does, you know, especially after all that time in the studio to get back on the road and do what we love most which is playing live.
The kids of have been very welcoming. Yeah, it was great to be back.
What can kids who may not be familiar with Tiger Army expect when they come to see you guys live?
Well, we put out a lot of energy on stage and some people are surprised by how aggressive it all is live. We're a three-piece so we don't have the luxury of kicking back and letting a singer run all over the place and making it exciting. Basically our music is inspired by a lot of things, but I would say that the attitude live is more of an old-school, hardcore vibe.
Yeah, you guys have a hardcore edge with a Stray Cats vibe. Is that fair to say?
Yeah, that's on way to look at it. I think we definitely grew up watching shows where stuff was going off and that's where we're coming from when we're on stage, that kind of energy.
What the main thing you want kids to remember about Tiger Army.
There's a certain feeling that music gives you sometimes where it almost…it's hard to explain…it's beyond words. But, it's almost a sense of being alive and life is amplified. It's adrenaline and chills and a feeling that really lets you know you're there and that you're alive. That's the feeling that my favorite music has always given me and if I could give people that feeling then that's what I'd like.
For more on Tiger Army log to: www.tigerarmy.com
