Post by redefining sin on Oct 8, 2006 15:17:35 GMT -5
How did you guys get together and decide on the name Medication?
Logan Mader (guitar) - Well Blunt, Whit and I got together in LA just because the timing was right for us to make some music together in the beginning of 99, and Medication, well back then we were a big fan of pharmaceutical drugs, so we thought of the name Medication (laughs).
You and Whit have both been a part of some bigger bands, what is it like kind of starting over again?
Logan – Well, it’s kind of refreshing in a way to start over, because at least there is something new, you know, I’m at the beginning of something, and at least that’s exciting, I don’t know what to expect. In the situations I’ve been in before I’ve kind of would be spinning my wheels and be doing the same thing over and over again and I don’t know, I got a little bit bored with it, so I’m doing new stuff here, and I’m always going to be making new music, whether it is with this band or another band or whatever.
Do you think people that have been with you since your time with Machine Head and Soulfly are surprised with your sound when they hear Medication for the first time?
Logan – Well it doesn’t sound anything like Machine Head, so if people are expecting it to sound like Machine Head, then they might be surprised that it doesn’t, yeah, it’s just what it is, we didn’t try to make it sound like it is, it’s just a result of the chemistry between me and Blunt and Whit, it’s just what happened, you know, we didn’t force it, it’s just what it is.
What made you go with a relatively unknown record label like Locomotive when there were rumors of bigger labels like Roadrunner being interested?
Logan – It just felt right when we met the owner in England, it seemed like at the time he would be willing to help us develop, and not just make a record and shelve it, or make a record and hope it does good on radio and something, he believes in the music to be honest, you know it’s business but he is a musician himself, his name is Goyle (editors note: I think that is his name?), he lives in Spain, it felt right, so we did it.
Are you disappointed at all by the sales thus far?
Logan – No, I mean it’s selling really good in Europe, and considering the amount of units that have been shipped in America, because it’s a brand new label in America, it’s hard to get a lot of units out into the stores, so it’s kind of a slow start in America, but I’m not disappointed, I’m on tour, I’m in a bus, I’m going to Europe on tour, we’re going to come back and probably tour with Sevendust (editors note: !!!!) in America again after that, so we’ll see what happens.
Do you think as you keep touring and more shipping people will start paying more attention?
Logan – Yeah, I mean the people that see us every night are giving us a positive response, you know there’s only a few hundred people every night on the Coal Chamber tour, so out of those people, a good percentage of the people buy the CD, I think the more people see us, the more it will sell, it’s a good show live, come out and see us.
You actually released an EP before releasing Prince Valium, why did you decide to go in that direction?
Logan – It’s just a piece of music we did on our own, with no label, I engineered it, we produced it ourselves and Whit paid for it, and we wanted to put it out because it’s music that is important to us and we made it ourselves, and we got our deal with Locomotive just after we had finished it, so they decided to buy that and put it out as well, since it was done already, give people a little taste of us and then drop the full length a couple months later.
Now when you left Machine Head, Rob took it very personally, were you expecting that to happen?
Logan – (pauses) I don’t have any expectations in life, so I don’t know, no, I wasn’t expecting anything.
Alright, what is the secret to maintaining the dreads?
Logan – (laughs) I just keep rapping the bases, the bottoms of it with rubber bands, and then that’s all, it’s locked up.
What's the most you've ever spent for a tattoo?
Logan – I really got a lot of free tattoos, or trades, I used to make tattoo machines and I was trading them to a bunch of artists or going to conventions and selling my machines and also the accessories like the tubes and things, yeah, I never really paid a lot of money for tattoos, I have a lot of tattoos, and they’re all by expensive artists, but they just hook me up.
Nice, free advertisement?
Logan – Yeah.
In honor of the new Austin Powers movie, who would win in a fight between Austin Powers and James Bond?
Logan – I haven’t seen the movie yet, oh, who would win in a fight between Austin Powers and James Bond? Well I am sure Austin Powers would win, James Bond isn’t selling any tickets these days right? Yeah, Austin Powers rules (everyone laughs).
What are your thoughts on online music sharing?
Logan – Well I think it’s cool for demos and unknown bands to spread their word by themselves when they don’t have a label, but for bands that are busting their ass to sell, to make a little bit of money selling records, I mean to bootleg it, I think it’s wrong, it’s illegal, it’s flat out no different then bootlegging, I mean even if they are just trading, I mean trading cool in a hardcore, underground, punk rock vibe is one thing, but music that people are struggling to get by and selling it, you know I think it’s kind of f**ked up.
Influences?
Logan – Well my father mostly, my household is very musical, my mother is an opera singer, my father is a blues guitar player, so that’s the music I was exposed to at a young age, and had an influence on me, but as I got a little bit older and became a teenager, I started listening to rock music like AC/DC, Hendrix, Zeppelin, and then right into hard metal like Slayer, Metallica, bay area thrash metal, I grew up in the bay area (San Francisco/Oakland) all that scene was just the most extreme music I could find to shock my parents, and then I became the guitar player for Machine Head, that was my first band, Machine Head, so it was kind of like just growing up, part of growing up was to be in Machine Head, my first band.
What would your dream tour for where you are right now?
Logan – I don’t know, I think we can tour with a lot of different bands, I just want to tour with as many different bands as we can right now. Dream tour would be, I don’t know whatever is the biggest tour right now (everyone laughs).
Any new bands you're feeling?
Logan – I think that band Lostprophets has some good songs, I listen to a lot of electronic music you probably don’t care about.
You’d be surprised.
Logan – Yeah, any bands, I’m trying to think, I think this whole metal, this whole nu-metal thing is getting over-saturated, I don’t hear anything new anymore (laughs), I mean I hear a lot of the same sh… is this a radio interview?
Yeah but I’ll just edit it.
Logan – Ok, I’m sorry for the swearing really.
It’s ok, I use it on a website too (editors note: ;-) ).
Logan – Ok cool, so yeah, I don’t know, new bands, I mean I hear a lot all the time and none of them have really been standing out to me.
What do you do to keep busy on the road?
Logan – (Points to his guitar) Write songs on my acoustic, and I go to the gym, I do cardio workout at the gym, and I do kickboxing, and if they have a heavy bag, like in LA I do training, I train Mu-Tai (sp?) boxing with a trainer there, and I have a recording studio at home, so I am always doing some music either with my girlfriend, or with my own stuff, or with Medication, or producing another band, I worked with Puddle of Mudd not too long ago, and I am producing a band when we get off this tour called Twin Method, they’re from England, they’re pretty cool, kind of like Filter a little bit, but kind of heavier.
What keeps you motivated on the days when you are sick and just don't feel like playing?
Logan – Well I haven’t, I’m going to have to knock on wood and say that I haven’t been sick in a year or two years, so, the last time I got sick was around New Years time in 2001 I think, yeah, I haven’t been sick for two years almost.
Wow, nice.
Logan – It’s because I don’t eat meat, and I don’t take drugs, and I don’t drink any alcohol, I’ve been sober for two years, actually, 22 months, I’ve been sober 22 months 100%, and I don’t put any poisons in my body, except I drink coffee like once a day maybe, but whatever, so I think that is why I don’t get sick.
How would you sell your debut album "Prince Valium" to someone who has never heard of Medication before?
Logan – How would I sell it? (laughs) I’m not a salesman. It’s good music. Please buy it (smiles).
Last comments?
Logan – I guess thanks to you and your radio station if you in fact spin Medication and thanks for talking to me out at all, and check Medication out, this tours over August 3rd, so if you can see us around the Northeast (editors note: please feel free to see them anywhere else too) we’ll be with Coal Chamber and then to Europe after that, and then back hopefully on a North American tour, hopefully with some friends of ours.
Logan Mader (guitar) - Well Blunt, Whit and I got together in LA just because the timing was right for us to make some music together in the beginning of 99, and Medication, well back then we were a big fan of pharmaceutical drugs, so we thought of the name Medication (laughs).
You and Whit have both been a part of some bigger bands, what is it like kind of starting over again?
Logan – Well, it’s kind of refreshing in a way to start over, because at least there is something new, you know, I’m at the beginning of something, and at least that’s exciting, I don’t know what to expect. In the situations I’ve been in before I’ve kind of would be spinning my wheels and be doing the same thing over and over again and I don’t know, I got a little bit bored with it, so I’m doing new stuff here, and I’m always going to be making new music, whether it is with this band or another band or whatever.
Do you think people that have been with you since your time with Machine Head and Soulfly are surprised with your sound when they hear Medication for the first time?
Logan – Well it doesn’t sound anything like Machine Head, so if people are expecting it to sound like Machine Head, then they might be surprised that it doesn’t, yeah, it’s just what it is, we didn’t try to make it sound like it is, it’s just a result of the chemistry between me and Blunt and Whit, it’s just what happened, you know, we didn’t force it, it’s just what it is.
What made you go with a relatively unknown record label like Locomotive when there were rumors of bigger labels like Roadrunner being interested?
Logan – It just felt right when we met the owner in England, it seemed like at the time he would be willing to help us develop, and not just make a record and shelve it, or make a record and hope it does good on radio and something, he believes in the music to be honest, you know it’s business but he is a musician himself, his name is Goyle (editors note: I think that is his name?), he lives in Spain, it felt right, so we did it.
Are you disappointed at all by the sales thus far?
Logan – No, I mean it’s selling really good in Europe, and considering the amount of units that have been shipped in America, because it’s a brand new label in America, it’s hard to get a lot of units out into the stores, so it’s kind of a slow start in America, but I’m not disappointed, I’m on tour, I’m in a bus, I’m going to Europe on tour, we’re going to come back and probably tour with Sevendust (editors note: !!!!) in America again after that, so we’ll see what happens.
Do you think as you keep touring and more shipping people will start paying more attention?
Logan – Yeah, I mean the people that see us every night are giving us a positive response, you know there’s only a few hundred people every night on the Coal Chamber tour, so out of those people, a good percentage of the people buy the CD, I think the more people see us, the more it will sell, it’s a good show live, come out and see us.
You actually released an EP before releasing Prince Valium, why did you decide to go in that direction?
Logan – It’s just a piece of music we did on our own, with no label, I engineered it, we produced it ourselves and Whit paid for it, and we wanted to put it out because it’s music that is important to us and we made it ourselves, and we got our deal with Locomotive just after we had finished it, so they decided to buy that and put it out as well, since it was done already, give people a little taste of us and then drop the full length a couple months later.
Now when you left Machine Head, Rob took it very personally, were you expecting that to happen?
Logan – (pauses) I don’t have any expectations in life, so I don’t know, no, I wasn’t expecting anything.
Alright, what is the secret to maintaining the dreads?
Logan – (laughs) I just keep rapping the bases, the bottoms of it with rubber bands, and then that’s all, it’s locked up.
What's the most you've ever spent for a tattoo?
Logan – I really got a lot of free tattoos, or trades, I used to make tattoo machines and I was trading them to a bunch of artists or going to conventions and selling my machines and also the accessories like the tubes and things, yeah, I never really paid a lot of money for tattoos, I have a lot of tattoos, and they’re all by expensive artists, but they just hook me up.
Nice, free advertisement?
Logan – Yeah.
In honor of the new Austin Powers movie, who would win in a fight between Austin Powers and James Bond?
Logan – I haven’t seen the movie yet, oh, who would win in a fight between Austin Powers and James Bond? Well I am sure Austin Powers would win, James Bond isn’t selling any tickets these days right? Yeah, Austin Powers rules (everyone laughs).
What are your thoughts on online music sharing?
Logan – Well I think it’s cool for demos and unknown bands to spread their word by themselves when they don’t have a label, but for bands that are busting their ass to sell, to make a little bit of money selling records, I mean to bootleg it, I think it’s wrong, it’s illegal, it’s flat out no different then bootlegging, I mean even if they are just trading, I mean trading cool in a hardcore, underground, punk rock vibe is one thing, but music that people are struggling to get by and selling it, you know I think it’s kind of f**ked up.
Influences?
Logan – Well my father mostly, my household is very musical, my mother is an opera singer, my father is a blues guitar player, so that’s the music I was exposed to at a young age, and had an influence on me, but as I got a little bit older and became a teenager, I started listening to rock music like AC/DC, Hendrix, Zeppelin, and then right into hard metal like Slayer, Metallica, bay area thrash metal, I grew up in the bay area (San Francisco/Oakland) all that scene was just the most extreme music I could find to shock my parents, and then I became the guitar player for Machine Head, that was my first band, Machine Head, so it was kind of like just growing up, part of growing up was to be in Machine Head, my first band.
What would your dream tour for where you are right now?
Logan – I don’t know, I think we can tour with a lot of different bands, I just want to tour with as many different bands as we can right now. Dream tour would be, I don’t know whatever is the biggest tour right now (everyone laughs).
Any new bands you're feeling?
Logan – I think that band Lostprophets has some good songs, I listen to a lot of electronic music you probably don’t care about.
You’d be surprised.
Logan – Yeah, any bands, I’m trying to think, I think this whole metal, this whole nu-metal thing is getting over-saturated, I don’t hear anything new anymore (laughs), I mean I hear a lot of the same sh… is this a radio interview?
Yeah but I’ll just edit it.
Logan – Ok, I’m sorry for the swearing really.
It’s ok, I use it on a website too (editors note: ;-) ).
Logan – Ok cool, so yeah, I don’t know, new bands, I mean I hear a lot all the time and none of them have really been standing out to me.
What do you do to keep busy on the road?
Logan – (Points to his guitar) Write songs on my acoustic, and I go to the gym, I do cardio workout at the gym, and I do kickboxing, and if they have a heavy bag, like in LA I do training, I train Mu-Tai (sp?) boxing with a trainer there, and I have a recording studio at home, so I am always doing some music either with my girlfriend, or with my own stuff, or with Medication, or producing another band, I worked with Puddle of Mudd not too long ago, and I am producing a band when we get off this tour called Twin Method, they’re from England, they’re pretty cool, kind of like Filter a little bit, but kind of heavier.
What keeps you motivated on the days when you are sick and just don't feel like playing?
Logan – Well I haven’t, I’m going to have to knock on wood and say that I haven’t been sick in a year or two years, so, the last time I got sick was around New Years time in 2001 I think, yeah, I haven’t been sick for two years almost.
Wow, nice.
Logan – It’s because I don’t eat meat, and I don’t take drugs, and I don’t drink any alcohol, I’ve been sober for two years, actually, 22 months, I’ve been sober 22 months 100%, and I don’t put any poisons in my body, except I drink coffee like once a day maybe, but whatever, so I think that is why I don’t get sick.
How would you sell your debut album "Prince Valium" to someone who has never heard of Medication before?
Logan – How would I sell it? (laughs) I’m not a salesman. It’s good music. Please buy it (smiles).
Last comments?
Logan – I guess thanks to you and your radio station if you in fact spin Medication and thanks for talking to me out at all, and check Medication out, this tours over August 3rd, so if you can see us around the Northeast (editors note: please feel free to see them anywhere else too) we’ll be with Coal Chamber and then to Europe after that, and then back hopefully on a North American tour, hopefully with some friends of ours.
