“I’m Canadian so Canada is a big part of who I am,” said Five Finger Death Punch’s Toronto born guitarist Jason Hook.
“We haven’t been there in a long time because this is a coast to coast thing from Vancouver to Halifax,” Hook continued, from a Starbucks drive through window ordering a large soy cappuccino without sugar.
“So we can’t wait to come back,” he said adding it is tougher to tour Canada than it is to tour other places.
“People don’t realize how difficult it is to tour Canada, The provinces are so big and the cities spread out, its like a one or two day drive between them. It’s a whole different ballgame,” he said.
Five Finger Death Punch are touring in support of their most recent album “Got your Six,” but have already half completed their next one.
“I’m so excited about it. We deliberately decided not to make the same record as ‘Got Your Six’. It’s about half way done. What we (bandmates bassist Chris Kael, drummer Jeremy Spencer and guitarist Zoltan Bathory) do is we come in and lay down a bed of music and (frontman) Ivan (Moody) comes in and chooses the ones he likes and writes lyrics for them,” he explained.
“We‘re lucky to have pierced a level of success which allows us to try a few different things. I don’t think explaining it to you is as much fun as hearing it. We’re experimenting with instrumentation and we have a couple of swing grooves, but it is still very edgy and aggressive,” he enthused.
He said they won’t be playing any of the new music on this Canadian tour.
“We’re still learning the music from the last album. We build records in the studio. We don’t feel brave enough to bring it to the stage until the public has had a chance to hear it,” he said.
Surprisingly, his favourite song to play is the acoustic version of “Remember Everything” with Ivan singing.
“When it’s just me and an acoustic guitar and a stool in front of 20,000 people, that’s what separates the men from the boys. I love the energy they give back to me. But for ripping your face off rock, ‘the Wrong Side of Heaven’ and ‘Got Your Six’ is fun to play,” he said.
He said Lethbridge audience can expect to hear plenty of Five Finger Death Punch’s radio hits like ‘Burn it Down” and “Burn MF.”
“ And we‘re working on some surprises, but I don’t want to tell you otherwise people won’t want to come,” he laughed.
he is excited to tour with Papa Roach and Sixx: A.M.
“Papa Roach are really cool guys. It’s great to be on stage with them. So it is an absolute pleasure to be on stage with them.
And Nikki Sixx is one of the coolest guys ever. I’ve known him for years through the Crüe camp, when I was touring with Vince Neil. I met him around 2003-2004. He‘s cool, and laid back and driven. I admire people like that,” he said.
Five Finger Death Punch frontman Ivan Moody has been struggling with substance abuse issues, but Hook said he is doing great now.
“ I’m glad you asked me that. He is doing good. He‘s in the studio right now. He’s healthy and focused,” he said.
Five Finger Death Punch, Sixx: A.M., Papa Roach and From Ashes to New play the Enmax Centre, Tuesday Sept. 13 at 7: p.m.
Go to http://www.fivefingerdeathpunch.com for more information, tour dates and information about VIP passes.
Tickets cost $55 and $65.
— By Richard Amery, L.A. Beat Editor
