Alex Hughes "I've had that guitar for 23 years now and I've written almost every song with that guitar."

11 Questions with Alex Hughes from Hatred Surge and Holy Money (Mammoth Grinder, Insect Warfare, Iron Age, Machine Gun Romantics, xPOWERBUTTx) 

1.          Where are you from?

Katy, Tx, - Houston suburb

2.          What do you think about chaos magic?

See next answer.

3.          When and why did you start playing music?

I remember really finding way more interest in music around 4th grade. It went from being obsessed with Michael Jackson and listening to mostly soundtracks for movies that I liked and figuring out what I liked from that kind of selection. Seeing the music video for Metallica's "One" and "Enter Sandman" and the release of the "You Could Be Mine" G'n'R video as promotion of Terminator 2; pretty much did it for me and set me off down a path of finding heavier music while conveniently nearing junior high where we had to pick an elective course. I wanted to play drums, but instead I ended up on upright bass in orchestra. My upright bass teacher was a rad college student who would teach / transcribe whatever songs I wanted to learn after we worked on classical for a bit. He was into Metallica and Rush and older heavy rock stuff but also liked all the newer alternative stuff I liked. My parents got me an ibanez electric bass and a little crate 25 watt practice amp. Not long after that, my friend Tracey got a Jackson dinky reverse headstock perform with whammy bar (sikkkkkkk) for her birthday from her dad. She didn't give a shit about learning and let me borrow it which turned into her saying "you should just keep it". And I've had that guitar now for 23 years now and I've written almost every song with that guitar. So to answer your 2nd question also...that's what I think of chaos magic.

4.          What was your first show?

First show was Metallica "Load" tour with Corrosion of Conformity at the Summit in Houston 4/28/97. First punk show was the fall of that year: Voodoo Glow Skulls, The Joykiller, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes and Welt at Fitzgerald's in Houston. 

5.          How did you get into the genre(s)?

Started with anything heavy on the radio or MTV; Metallica, G'n'R, Nirvana, etc. Cannibal Corpse in Ace Ventura in 94 was my intro to Death Metal. That shit made White Zombie and Metallica seem so weak. Charles, who ended up playing drums in xPOWERBUTTx and his brother were into death metal and heavy shit when we were in junior high and through them I heard stuff like Exit 13, Helmet, Obituary, all sorts of stuff. And then the last year of junior high I changed schools and met some skater kids that got me into some epitaph records punk stuff. My friend Adam moved away to Nebraska after 8th grade and would mail me mix tapes of shit he was getting into freshmen year of high school (96-97). The first song on one of his tapes was "QED" the first track off "Misery Index" by Assück. I need to find the tape, I think it had Spazz and Charles Bronson on it. This was the diving board into the world of Slap a Ham Records, Sound Pollution Records and Havoc Records. Between those catalogues, maximum rock n roll and the help of "human independent music encyclopedia" Bucky who worked at Soundwaves in Houston and my buddy Charles, it was endlessly seeking out anything hardcore punk, grind, crust, etc. 

6.          Three biggest influences?

Bill Steer // Napalm Death, Carcass

Matt Domino // Infest

Wood and Connell // Man is the Bastard

7.          How do you feel about the current state of the community or communities you’re apart of? 

I haven't been very active the last few years but it seems to be a safer space for more people than it used to be. Hope it continues that way as the rest of the world seems to be headed the opposite direction. 

8.          What are some of your favorite new bands?

Mortuous, Death Metal, California

Lurid Panacea, Deathgrind, Ohio / Australia

Intensive Care, noise rock / sludge, Toronto

Escuela (hi jesse!) grindviolence, New York

Faceless Burial, Death Metal, Australia

9.          What is an unforgettable memory you recall from being on tour?

Meeting Eric Wood at a venue in Detroit, Michigan that Bastard Noise played after wrapping up an Iron Age gig in Romeo, Michigan. We got there after the gig had just finished but I had to find Wood as I had never met him. I talked to Bill Nelson for bit and he said Wood was sick and resting in the van. But I showed him my MITB and Neanderthal skulls and he said "oh he's gotta see this". So we went to the van and Wood is half sick, waking up and confused and Bill tells him. So I took my jacket off and Wood first freaks out about my Swans shirt and then I show him the tattoos and he's like "LOOK AT THIS MOTHERFUCKER" and lost his mind and then we hung out for a while. It was a rad birthday.

10.       Three Favorite places to eat in the US?

House of Pies - Houston, Tx

Lankford's Grocery - Houston, Tx

Ninfa's - Houston, Tx

11.        If you had to write your own eulogy, what would it be?

This guy liked extreme tunes and attempted to create his own extreme tunes. He loved his wife and his daughter. He loved his family and friends. He loved his band mates and all the music they made together. He tried to make the best of an everyday existential crisis. He tried to be a decent human.