EMQ’s With Hooker Spit
EMQ’s With Hooker Spit
Hi everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with Canadian Death Metal band, Hooker Spit. Huge thanks to Guitarist Vlad, and Vocalist Dan for taking part.
What is your name, what do you play and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band?
Vlad: Hello there! My name is Vlad Gligor and I play guitar in Hooker Spit. Hooker Spit was formed by myself and Daniel in 2018, however we didn’t establish ourselves until 2021. Dan and I discussed current pop culture and how anime keeps increasing in popularity as well as the similarities between some of that material and classic death metal artwork. So we thought it would be cool to mash those two worlds together with a nice polished look. We decided on an episodic artistic concept where every album has a different lady/mascot.
How did you come up with your band name?
Vlad: The name Hooker Spit came to be by our reaction to the first rough draft of our artwork that Daniel whipped up before we sent it out to our long-time artist friend PaleaRaptor.
What Country / Region are you from and what is the Metal / Rock scene like there?
Vlad: We are from Canada and live in the province of Alberta. Our province has a very rich variety of metal bands, all the way from thrash, death metal, deathcore, hardcore, stoner metal, and even tech death. We live in Red Deer which is located halfway between Edmonton and Calgary which are the two major cities in this province. Red Deer itself has a very strong scene, so there are always live events to catch.
What is your latest release? (Album, EP, Single, Video)
Vlad: Our first single Call of the Void just released at the end of May and our next one is coming out on June 13 which we are releasing to raise awareness of our debut album Krötch Splitter. It is set to release on July 28.
Who have been your greatest influences?
Vlad: Bands like Bloodbath, At The Gates and early In Flames had a huge impact on what kind of music I wanted to write myself. Some of that early stuff sounded like it was written with a Metal Zone distortion pedal but it sounded so great and chunky. Still some of my favourite bands to date.
What first got you into music?
Vlad: After watching the Pantera Home Videos as a kid I knew what I wanted to do in my spare time. The chemistry those fellas had together and the live shows they put on which I saw in those videos absolutely changed my life.
If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?
Vlad: If we had our pick, I would love to have Ryan Knight from The Black Dahlia Murder lay down a solo on one of our tracks. That dude seriously has some tasty licks!
If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
Dan: Wacken without a doubt. We all hope to someday make the trek to Germany to play Wacken Open Air. That would be a dream come true for all of us.
What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?
Dan: A piece of concrete. They told me it was their child. I threw it on the ground.
If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?
Dan: We would love to thank every degenerate that chooses to buy our album and continues to support us. Being musicians is hard and you put gas in our tank both literally and figuratively.
If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
Dan: Trevor Strnad, I would give him a big hug and tell him the world needs him.
What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?
Vlad: Watching the way people move to our music is honestly my favourite part of being a musician. The circle pits and crowd surfers absolutely blow my mind and bless your hearts if you ever read this. My least favourite part would be people assuming we’re rich. The MTV money days are long gone and our day jobs support us to bring this band into existence.
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
Devin: More support for live venues. The days of the 70s are gone and people seem to be more glued to their phones now than ever.
Name one of your all-time favourite albums?
Dan: “Lateralus” for me. I discovered Tool late and they have a special place in my heart.
What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CD’s or Downloads?
Vlad: Vinyl is making a great comeback, however, CDs are the superior format as they have the raw WAV tracks on there without any compression taking away from the sound.
What’s the best gig that you have played to date?
Devin: During a show we played with Ravenous E.H and Atavistia. I wore a complete rubber duck print outfit and threw rubber ducks out to the crowd. Instead of applauding, the crowd then proceeded to squeak the ducks. There are still people coming out of the woodwork messaging us about how much they love their duck.
If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?
Vlad: Probably an accountant as that’s currently what puts bread on the table. Being a musician has never paid my bills, unfortunately, however it has provided many great times.
Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?
Dan: I play in a band called Hooker Spit. Do you think I hold “dinner parties”?
What’s next for the band?
Dan: Yes, we are releasing our debut album on July 28 and supporting it with a Western Canadian tour. Next year, we plan to do a bigger tour and continue to work on the second album. You can catch us on tour this year at the following dates:
Tour Dates:
July 21 – Edmonton, AB – Temple Room
July 28 – Red Deer, AB – Vat Pub
Aug 5 – Drumheller, AB – Loud as Hell Festival **
Aug 10 – Calgary, AB – Modern Love
Aug 12 – Stirlingville, AB – Grover Fest
Aug 25 – Vancouver, BC – Astoria ++
Aug 26 – Kelowna, BC – Dunnezies Pizza++
Aug 27 – Kamloops, BC – Blue Grotto ++
Sept 4 – Edmonton, AB – CEMR MetalFest**
Sept 15 – Medicine Hat, AB – Mainliner Pub
Sept 16 – Lethbridge, AB – The Slice
Sept 30 – Saskatoon, SK – ACT Hall
Legend: – ** Hooker Spit only, ++ Select Dates with Augurium
What Social Media / Website links do you use to get your music out to people?
You can follow us at the following links:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/52aimkPPOsGUrEolBZHlMv?si=bJygEvx3Ri26q7UfrouG4Q
Bandcamp: https://hookerspitofficial.bandcamp.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hookerspitofficial
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hookerspit.official/?hl=en
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@hookerspitofficial
Official Website: https://www.hookerspitofficial.com/
Time for a very British question now. As an alternative to the humble sandwich, is the correct name for a round piece of bread common in the UK either a Bap, a Barm (or Barm Cake), a Batch, a Bun, a Cob, a Muffin, a Roll or a Tea Cake?
Dan: Is this a trick question? We can barely agree on how to pronounce Worcestershire hahaha.
Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
Scott: Yeah, just a few things. The Moon isn’t real. The Earth is Flat. Ketchup belongs on steak and mustard belongs on hashbrowns. Barbecue sauce is just fancy ketchup. A hotdog is a sandwich. God put dinosaur bones in the ground to test our faith.
Disclaimer: This interview is solely the property of Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
