By Jackie Cular

Jeremy Hiebert, lead guitarist of Comeback Kid, answers some questions while taking a quick break at South by So What in Dallas, Texas.

The Cutting Edge Culture: “Why do so many bands play the both shows? “
Jeremy Hiebert :” To be perfectly honest, I think that bands really don’t care as much as booking agents and managers. You know, “hey you guys should do this it will be good for you guys”! Sure there will be industry people there and I could care less about all that bullshit, it’s what I do for fun and I’m also very lucking to be making living by doing it. You know when it comes to schmoozing with the number one manager or taking you out for dinner I could care less really. That kind of thing isn’t really my thing. We will play pretty much whatever, unless there is something that we are extremely opposed to do. A little bit of the main tours and things like that.

 TCEC: “Did you get to catch any music here that you really enjoyed?”
JH : “For me those types of things are really so that I can catch up with other people that I haven't seen in a little while. There are so many friends that you know are known as that show cases, I definitely hung out with a lot of people. I saw Ringworm, All Things Must Die; they were awesome I thought.”

 
 TCEC: “Any performances that you want to make sure that you catch today?”
JH : “I haven't even looked at the line up at all but I do know that Stick to Your Guns is playing and that should be awesome. I’m gonna have to look at the list really quick to see what I can catch playing, but that’s all I got of the top of my head.”

TCEC: “Since it is Saint Patrick’s Day, does your band have any pre performance rituals that you guys do?”
JH : “Not really, I suppose some people have a routine out there but I really just do some stretching. That’s probably about it.

TCEC :  “What is the best part of touring?”
JH :  “I just love the and being away, I love home don’t get me wrong but there is stuff that can kind of fill up at home where you don’t have to deal with it. I feel like I’m free when I’m on the road. We just had the longest chunk of time off which was like four and a half months. And in all the ten and twelve years of touring I have never had that much time off, I just say to myself what am I going to do with all of this time off. I don’t really work when I’m at home, so there is a lot of time to kill. So these first couple of days back on the road has been like a breath of fresh air. I can handle about six weeks at home and then I start to get really restless. I just always need to be moving; my favorite part is just moving from city to city and meeting mass amounts of interesting people.”

TCEC : “What is the worst part of touring?”
JH : “Long drives can really suck, sometimes you have to do a 14 to 16 hour drives over night to get to the next show. So that really sucks. Umm waking up with only like two hours of sleep. All of those drives can be a bit of a bitch sometimes; it’s all a part of the package.”

TCEC :  “What direction do you see the new overloaded wave of hard core and pre hard core music going?”
JH : “If I can be perfectly honest I do not like the direction that it is going, I don’t mean to sound like a jaded old fuck but I want to have a proper perspective on it because you know when I was young and people where like what the fuck is happening to punk rock? My generation changed that, and then this generation is building up what we had in the 90’s or late 2000’s or whatever. That’s just the way that it’s always going to be, and don’t get me wrong I think there are some great bands out here, but for the most part but I could throw up in my mouth when I hear some of it.”

TCEC : “What are some bands that you listen to that your fans wouldn't expect?”
JH : “Umm, well we got Arcade Fire, electronica type of music. When I go home and go to the gym I listen to a lot of music that is pretty mild. But I suppose some people would not guess for me to listen to Slipknot as well. I’m not some crazy music connoisseur that only focuses on this and my direct reflection is based on this. It’s like a buffet I listen to a little bit of this and that.”

TCEC : “Do you set aside specific time to write and record?”
JH : “Yeah I mean yes and no. As a band we haven’t been working on songs as one unit. But Andrew and I, we do most of the writing and coming up with stuff and recording it on our “Mac Books”. Story ideas, and then when it’s time we all get together and mash it up as a band. But just like going through everything with our drummer tearing it a part and then building it back up again. It’s a large process, the ideas are coming.”

TCEC : “Does your band make a lot of videos?”
JH : “I suppose it gives the fans a different angle to look at the band with besides just an auditory perspective. If I just look at is from the outside you can’t really see the overall personality of a group. So many bands make videos that show their humor. We don’t really have those types of videos nor are we in to crazy concepts. For me I have always just liked the live vibe.”

 TCEC: “Are there any causes that your band supports?”
JH : “We are trying to work with organizations that help get sports equipment to schools for the children. I grew up in Canada, we were a pretty poor family when I was growing up and we would play hockey but it’s a pretty expensive sport.  Every year you grow and get new gear, there are a lot of kids that would love to play sports but don’t have proper funding to do so. We wanted to make a t shirt that has some things on it related to the cause and sell it on our website. I’m a big animal rights guy, I am a vegan and I have done stuff with PETA in the past but I can’t really speak for the rest of the band in that sense. I’m sure that there are different things that all of us want to help out with. As a group it’s important to find something that we all believe in it.”

Comeback Kid will be playing at this year’s Bamboozle Tour.

Go to the band’s website for more information.

Follow the band on Twitter.