Hitman Interview | Jordan Rose [2018-10-21]

Hitman is a Metal / Stoner Metal / Hard Rock / Whiskey Stoner Metal band from Halifax, Nova Scotia. An energetic brand of metal guaranteed to get your blood pumping and headbanging since 2011. Hitman Interview with vocalist Jordan Rose.

How was it writing and recording The Offering: Side 1 was the process easy?

The writing process with us is pretty evenly shared throughout all the members. Either I, Coutts or Corey will usually come to practice with a riff or a song idea and then we all hash it out together until we get something we’re all excited about. I know Sylvain would kill me if I don’t mention him here too, haha. Although he doesn’t come up with a lot of riffs, he’s usually the guy to help with the song arrangements and little flares more so than the rest of us. For us, it’s always music first and then when that’s reached a place where we’re all happy, I’ll work on lyrics and vocal melodies. All of the songs for ‘The Offering: Side 1” were written and well rehearsed before we ever stepped foot in the studio. I always read about big bands getting in the studio and just writing the album there but for us, we don’t have the luxury of paying studio fees while we put songs together from scratch. That’s not to say that everything is written in stone before we hit the studio. Some of my favorite parts on this EP were just thought up on the spot in the studio and altered or added right there, but the nuts and bolts for all the songs were already there. The recording process is always a mixture of fun and excitement with some tedium and monotony. Getting in the studio and finally putting down tracks for songs that we’re excited to get out to the public is always a blast but it can be long days of sitting around listening to other band mates do take after take. For the most part, all the band members like to be in the studio even when it’s not our day to record our specific part. That way we can all have input as the recording process is happening on what will end up being the final product. Overall, I’d say we enjoy the recording process and now that it’s been a few months since we were last in the studio, we’re all itching to get back in and finish up “The Offering: Side 2”. Ask me again after we’ve been in the studio for a while and my answer may change haha. We had a really great studio team at Coda Pop Studios for “The Offering: Side 1” with Jason Jenkyns and Brycen Gunn. Seeing the studio team get just as excited as we are about the recordings we’re creating is a nice boost to keep us going on those long days in the studio.

The promo video for Curtain Call showcases the energy of your concerts and shows as well the audience participation, was it pretty straightforward to make this music video?

Yeah, we went pretty bare bones with this video. It’s our first attempt at making a music video and it was a bit of a learning experience for all of us. We have video ideas for other songs that would require more of a “script” if you want to call it that, which in turn, leads to more of a budget. Curtain Call is a rocker of a song and we wanted to reflect that in the video so we threw a big kegger at our jam spot and partied the night away. What you see in the video isn’t put on. There was quite a party that night!

Does the band have upcoming show dates?

We’re sticking pretty close to home for the near future. ‘Castle’ from San Francisco is coming through Halifax on September 30. We’ll be playing with them at Gus’ Pub. Some buddies of ours in Doom Machine are releasing their new album on October 26 and throwing a CD release party at Gus’ Pub as well, which we’ll be a part of. Again, in Halifax on November 16 we’ll be playing The Seahorse with some local favorites. Any plans to string together a tour probably won’t shape up until spring because all of our funds will be going towards getting back in the studio to finish up ‘The Offering: Side 2” this fall and winter.

Being from Halifax would you say the music scene healthy? Certainly for your genre of music?

Halifax and Atlantic Canada in general, have a pretty rich musical reputation. I don’t know what it is, but for having such a small population, there are some really great musicians coming out of this part of the world. And I’m not talking just the metal scene. You’ll find everything here, from Celtic, to hip hop, to metal (of all sub-genres) and everything in between. Because Halifax is a pretty small city, there is always going to be ebbs in the metal scene, where it may go through cycles of lulls and resurgences, but metalheads, no matter where in the world you go, have a die-hard passion for this stuff and Halifax is no different.

What could we find interesting in your music collection?

Haha, maybe I should have let the other guys answer this one. I’ve been accused of liking pretty much only metal and a lot of stoner rock. So for me (Jordan), I wear my influences on my sleeve. Hearing what Hitman sounds like, I don’t think many people would be surprised by what’s in my music collection. All the staples for any stoner-rock lover: Black Sabbath, Clutch, CoC, Down, Kyuss, Monster Magnet, etc. Of course, there are lots more bands I love besides the “big name” stoner bands but a lot of what I listen to is in that vein. I mean, I also really dig stuff like The Avett Brothers, Ben Harper, Old Crow Medicine Show, some classic rock too. The other guys are a bit more all over the place with their music collections, but hey, you got stuck with me answering the questions.

Where is the future of rock and metal heading in the next 10 years?

I wish I had some prophetic answer for you but your guess is as good as mine. I feel like rock and metal is experiencing a bit of an absence from the mainstream music culture right now but I think for the majority of metal’s existence, that has been the case, yet it survives and thrives. People are still filling stadiums and festival grounds around the globe to see the metal bands they love. People who love this music, LOVE this music. You read things like metal is on life support and on its last legs…on the way out. You know, I’ve been hearing that for decades…literally decades, yet here we are. This music really resonates with the people who enjoy it and metal fans are some of the most enthusiastic, devoted fans I’ve ever seen. What’s going to be important to keep this scene going is passing the torch. A lot of the older bands that have been staples of the metal scene for years or decades will sooner or later have to hang up their guitars, so to speak. Newer bands will have to be there to step in but I feel like there is no shortage of talent or creativity in that regard. I think the fans for this type of music will always be there; it’s just getting them exposed to the newer bands without a lot of mainstream support. Long live rock and roll!

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