Interview — Life in Pictures

By Denise Blaz

According to Hank, Life in Pictures is comprised of just dudes who are in it for the sake of having fun. These Prescott, AZ, boys have been playing for nearly five years, and a chance meeting with Tim Lambesis (frontman for As I Lay Dying) a few years back has led them to where they are today. They ended up maintaining a friendship with him whenever he would stop in town. Now, in addition to his being their manager, they are signed to his label, Clockwork Records.

HANK: Denise? Hey this is Hank. How's it going?

SKRATCH: Okay.
HANK: I tried to get our drummer, but he was moving into a house today. I didn't know [that beforehand]. So, it's just me.

SKRATCH: That's cool. So, how are you?
HANK: I'm doing all right. I've never done an interview by myself, so this is kind of weird for me.

SKRATCH: Why?
HANK: Just because it's weird having someone ask questions about your band and answering them. It's weird.

SKRATCH: Are you timid?
HANK: What do you mean?

SKRATCH: Are you a shy person in general?
HANK: Not really. But when you have to actually think about stuff, you know...It's just kind of intimidating.

SKRATCH: So, your band was named after a Stanley Kubrick film?
HANK: One of our guitarists was looking through LIFE MAGAZINE, and every year they used to put out an issue, like "Elvis Presley—His Life in Pictures." We saw it there; and he also noted the Stanley Kubrick documentary thing.

SKRATCH: There are a whole bunch of references to the sea on your CD.
HANK: Yeah, for sure.

SKRATCH: Why?
HANK: A lot of the songs on the record are about two friends who everyone in our band lost in a canoeing accident six or seven months ago. [...] We were just writing the CD with the idea of water; and we all just really like the ocean. It just felt like the appropriate way to address everything.

SKRATCH: Did you just get out of a tour?
HANK: Yeah, we just got home three or four days ago. It was actually supposed to be a two-month tour, but the guy who was booking the tour pretty much lied to us about a lot of stuff, and a lot of the shows ended up not happening. Out of two weeks, we ended up playing five days, so we just decided to come home and take over our own booking. We have a new tour, and I really think that this next month is going to be better. We're are also going to be playing Hellfest.

SKRATCH: What's the first thing that you do when you get back home from tour?
HANK: This is kind of weird, but I usually just come home and clean my room. We don't ever stay in hotels, so it is a really weird adjustment from being in a van to having a bed and space.

SKRATCH: I noticed that there's a lot of guest vocals.
HANK: Yeah, Jason sings on "A Needle in a Haystack". He sings in a band named Where Eagles Dare, and he's from Phoenix. Ever since we've been a band, all of those guys in that band have taken such awesome care of us. We have established a great relationship with them, and it ended up working perfectly. Lance is the only other person that does guest vocals on the CD. He sings in another band that myself, Addison, and Pat are in, Hour of the Wolf. He's the singer, and he wanted to do some guest vocals. It ended up working out great, and we we're really happy with it.

SKRATCH: "A Needle in a Haystack" talks about cleaning up, getting off drugs. Does that come from any personal experience of yours?
HANK: We had a friend who was suffering from some pretty intense drug problems. A couple of guys in the band let him live with them. He was getting back on track, but when we came home from a tour last summer, a bunch of our stuff was stolen from our band room. We gave our hearts to pretty much take care of this guy, and he pretty much fucked us over and stabbed us in the back. He stole a bunch of our gear and sold it for heroin. It was a disheartening experience for us. That song is about just how frustrating it is when you try to help someone out and they end up stabbing you in the back when you're not looking.

SKRATCH: How about "Hit Me With It"? Is that song just about you wanting to play music?
HANK: That song is just purely about having fun. Way too often these days it seems to me that everyone is forgetting why they're playing music. Part of playing music is just having fun and enjoying yourself. It should just be a passion that lives and burns. If one kid from a show watches and enjoys us playing, that's ALL that matters to me.

SKRATCH: There's a secret track on the album. I think it has a more punk feel to it. Would you agree?
HANK: Yeah. It's actually a Misfits cover.

SKRATCH: Wow. I don't know why I didn't pick up on that.
HANK: It's okay. We changed it just a smidge.

SKRATCH: Are your musical roots in punk or hardcore?
HANK: Both. Every single one of us grew up listening to punk bands. We were all just outcasts and we listened to both. You can go to a punk-rock show and just feel at home. There's a whole bunch of different kids, but at the end of the day everyone is there to listen to music and have fun. That's another thing that I've seen recently: I go to shows, and I just feel alienated because I don't dress a certain way. And yes, I do have a hardcore fashion, but sometimes if your hair doesn't look a certain way, people are weird about it. Or if some kid is super punked out in a leather jacket, everyone stares at him. It should be like, Who cares? You should be there to have fun.

SKRATCH: Do you remember the first band that you got excited about?
HANK: Yes: Propagandhi. My friend showed me HOW TO CLEAN EVERYTHING, and I thought it was the most amazing thing I've ever heard. To this day I listen to that record.

SKRATCH: They're known for their political stances. You even have some references to that in some of your songs.
HANK: Yeah, we definitely have some references. Some members in our band do take political stances. We all have a general feel to how we think things should be; but we don't single any person's beliefs out specifically.

SKRATCH: Where did you guys record?
HANK: We recorded at this studio called Flying Blanket. This guy named Bob Hoag did it. He is the most bad-ass guy in the world, and everyone should record their record with him.

SKRATCH: How did this recording process compare to your last one?
HANK: It was actually almost identical, because we recorded our EP with him. When we recorded our EP, we didn't know what to expect—and at the end we were just blown away. If possible, we will record with him every single time until our band breaks up.

SKRATCH: What was the last CD that you listened to?
HANK: OCEANIC by Isis.

SKRATCH: Well, you travel from city to city. Do you see a difference in kids from one city to another?
HANK: Yeah: almost every single small town that we've played at has been unbelievable. Kids go insane, and that is heartwarming to me. I'm from a small town, and when I went to shows growing up, you could do whatever you wanted, and that's fine. But in some towns that I've been to kids have gotten beaten up, and that makes me really sad.

SKRATCH: Can you tell me about Prescott?
HANK: It's a little forestry town—which is funny, because everyone thinks that Arizona is all desert. It's a really cool small town. There's not much to it, but I love this place with all my heart. Every time I come home, I feel good about it.

SKRATCH: Is there anything that you would like to add?
HANK: I think that it's really important to just get out there and not care about what people think. I think people should just go out and have fun. That's all that matters.

Life in Pictures is currently on tour in support of their CD, BY THE SIGN OF THE SPYGLASS. Show information can be found on their Website, www.lifeinpictures.cc, and on their Myspace page, www.myspace.com/lifeinpictures.

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