Hank Williams III
solo artist

October 2003 on Hank's tour bus at the Masquerade in Atlanta, Georgia
Interview by: Andy King

AK: So what are your influences. The things that make your music.

HW: My biggest influences in country music are, well you have Web Pierce and Johnny Cash. Of course Hank Williams also for me. The newer guys are Wayne The Train Hancock, and Dale Watson. Big Sandy and the Fly Right Boys. In the more rock kind of stuff, you’ve got bands like The Melvins, The Jesus Lizard, or Melt Banana. Lot of jazz and blues too. I’m pretty open to all kinds of different sounds.

AK: What were the groups you grew up listening to?

HW: The groups that just made me understand how to play music, for me being a drummer, were Black Sabbath, and I’d play along with Kiss. And when I was learning how to play guitar, I’d play along with The Sex Pistols and The Misfits and bands like that. As far as singing and screaming, I base my screaming style after Henry Rollins, and I base my singing style pretty much after the late, great, Hank Williams, for now, until my voice drops a few octaves. But now it’s in the higher register. So we do those kind of blues things.

AK: What were some of the groups you played with when you were young?

HW: My first band was a band called Shroud. It was a death metal band I was a drummer in. Then I was in a band called Buzzkill. I was the drummer in that band too. I was in a band called Bedwetter as a bass player. In a band called Whipping Post, I was a bass player/screamer. The last band was a band called Rift. I was the guitar player/screamer kind of guy. I played with all those; They were all pretty much hardcore and metal, and punk kind of bands. Then I got into country, trying to write songs. Trying to make sense of stuff.

AK: In the future, who do you see yourself becoming?

HW: I don’t know who I’m going to become, I just want to last. You don’t want to fade out. But while I’m young enough, I want to rock out and grow into country as I mature more; Not piss off the country market too bad. We’ve been on the road for over five years. We don’t want to fade out in the “mainstream,” if we ever get to whatever that is.

AK: Talk about some of the guys you’re playing with now.

HW: On the fiddle, we’ve got Michael McCanless, he’s played many different styles of music from country to Celtic rock, classical violin, gypsy violin, and twisted, demented shit. On the guitar, from The Jesus Lizard we’ve got Dwane Denison. Playing a standup, doghouse bass is Jason Brown, and on the drums, from Fleming and John we have Sean McWilliams.

AK: Would you see as a goal, working your way into The Grand Old Opry and have them accept the things that you bring to it that no one else has?

HW: Maybe. The Grand Old Opry has changed. Back in the day when my granddad was there, it was made up of young guys. Today, it’s made up of old people. Nothing wrong with that, but they’ve lost the fire and the angst. The Grand Old Opry used to be a fun place to go. Pretty hip hop, and no telling what’s going to happen next, and just tons and tons of great music. Now they’ll have maybe one young act. Johnny Cash has never messed with the Opry too much, Mearle Haggard never has. We’ve already played it twice you know.It’s cool, but I’d much rather be playing a club like we are tonight than play the Opry, for me.

AK: So if you had a solution for what you think The Opry could be, to make it come into the new generation, and make other people get involved in that, and make it again what is was in the day, what would it be?

HW: You’d have bands like BR549, William Hancock and Dale Watson, they would be on that show. All these new young guys, The Lucky Stars; all these people that are playing traditional country that are under 30 years old, or just over 30, are creating a whole new kind of buzz. The Opry could be doing a lot for traditional country, but they’re not because they are so overwhelmed with pop country, and who looks pretty, and who makes the most money, that they don’t care about the people who really play good music. Maybe they’ll change their attitude, but I think it will have to be a whole brand new movement.

AK: Where did you spend your early years, what area of the United States?

HW: I was born and raised in Nashville. I lived in Atlanta for a while, and Roswell, Dunwoody, Doraville, and Kennesaw, Georgia. I lived in Charlotte, North Carolina for a little bit, then moved back to Nashville. I spent a lot of time bouncing around through high school.

AK: Did you go to school in Atlanta?

HW: Yeah, I went to Greater Atlanta Christian School. I was only in sixth or seventh grade. So I was still in private schools, before I went to public schools. I made some good friends out of it.

AK: What upcoming projects are you involved in?

HW: I’m a special guest on the new Melvins album. They have a whole special guest album coming out called Crybaby. I may be doing a lead role in a movie called Honkey Tonk; people might want to look out for. That will be an independent movie, directed by an ex-porn star. So, it will be kind of interesting. Not by the book for sure.