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| Hinder |
“There is nothing new in the world except the history you do not know”
– Harry S Truman
A few weeks ago I was speaking with a friend about some of the musical acts from the 1970s and 1980s. He told me that he heard a few state in interviews that they were robbed of profits they should have received early in their careers. I told him that I had heard stories like those many times, and I’m sure many musicians have been robbed of money entitled to them. My father spoke of it like a rite of passage, basically stating that any musician could expect to have money stolen a few times throughout their time working within the music industry. However, many new artists misunderstand the “business” part of the music business. Therefore, upon signing a contract, many musicians (especially those from earlier times) did not see that an investment of money was made based on belief that music sold would return the initial investment. Even the breakout hit may net minimal funds to the artist, as the investor(s) receive their return first. Does greed and corruption exist within the music industry? Of course, just like anywhere else. In fact, that is exactly what I told my friend. Then the quote by Harry Truman above came to mind. Perhaps much can be learned about the music industry present, by learning from music industry past.
As I prepared for the post this week I realized I was going to feature the third rock band within eight posts. That is interesting considering my penchant for such a diverse approach when it comes to style and musical genre. The more I looked into the latest band, the more I found a very similar trend. We’ll discuss this similarity later in the post. Therefore, this week I chose to feature the band Hinder.
Hinder is an American rock band from Oklahoma that was formed in 2001 by drummer Cody Hanson, former lead singer Austin Winkler and guitarist Joe “Blower” Garvey. The band has released five studio albums so far; Extreme Behavior (2005), Take It to the Limit (2008), All American Nightmare (2010), Welcome to the Freakshow (2012) and When The Smoke Clears(2015). Hinder was inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame in 2007.
Multi-platinum rockers Hinder have sold over 3.8 million albums and more than 7.5 million singles, garnered north of 130 million video views, and racked in 50 million spins on Spotify, and counting. Needless to say the band has been busy throughout their fourteen year career. Hinder’s debut album Extreme Behavior climbed to #1 on Billboard’s Top Heatseekers chart and made its way to #6 on The Billboard 200 chart. The personable band has a fan base that keeps growing and new album When the Smoke Clears, should not disappoint. I’ve spent the larger part of about three weeks giving a listen to some of the older Hinder songs. I could tell they have been influenced by over a decade-long career under their belts, and having honed their chops touring with the likes of Mötley Crüe, Nickelback, Aerosmith and Papa Roach. I listened in chronological order and could readily hear the growth of the band musically. There is always a special place within the great catalogs of music for a good ol’ rock and roll band that has fun playing and touring. That seems to be the best description of Hinder.
I mentioned earlier in the post that Hinder was similar to the last two rock bands I featured, Flyleaf and Three Days Grace, in one way. All of the bands have released new albums with new lead vocalists after a several successful years of hit songs. I noticed that all the bands not only continued with new front persons, but they all had small pockets of unhappy fans. Of course, I do not like to compare musicians (especially in Weekly Music Commentary), but I do understand from the viewpoint of fans why they might not particularly like changes in their favorite band. Many of us dislike unexpected changes and sometimes react with extremely negative expressions. However, are such negative expressions warranted when it comes to Flyleaf, Three Days Grace or Hinder?
Austin Winkler, was Hinder’s front man from the start in 2001. In fact, he was one of the founders of the band and wrote the majority of the band’s music. However, on July 10, 2013 it was announced that lead singer Austin Winkler had entered rehab, and would not be touring with the band for the remainder of the summer tour dates. Jared Weeks, former lead singer of Saving Abel, was recruited to replace Winkler for the band’s 2013 tour dates. Then on November 20, 2013, it was announced via Loudwire that the band had parted ways with their lead singer Austin Winkler, citing that there was no animosity towards him, they just felt it was time to move on.
On January 20, 2015 Hinder officially announced that Marshal Dutton would be their new lead singer. Similar to Three Days Grace who reached out to familiar musician Matt Walst, Hinder decided upon Dutton to take the microphone. Dutton, a part of the Hinder family since 2009, began co-writing/producing on the All American Nightmare album and has been a co-producer on every Hinder release since. He fell right in line, making the transition seamless without requiring any sort of learning curve or adjustment period, since Dutton was joining forces with a well-oiled machine, the members of which trust each other implicitly. “Marshal has been helping mold the Hinder sound for several years,” says drummer Cody Hanson. “Whenever we’re working together, everything just feels right and it clicks. We couldn’t be happier to finally announce him as an official member.”
If you are a longtime fan of Hinder, or if you are not familiar with the band, download the new album When The Smoke Clears and give it a listen. Remember, they are not the first band to make a change of their lead vocalist, and they will not be the last. It is a familiar story set to great music. Just listen!