Shai Hulud on 07-16-2000 by propheci

1) who are you and what do you do for Shai Hulud?
My name is Jared Allen, and I play bass.

2) how long have you been a part of Shai Hulud?
In spirit, I've been in the band since the first time I heard the Hearts Once Nourished With Hope and Compassion CD. I was asked to join the band after the summer tour of europe in the summer of 1999, and I moved from Oklahoma to join the band in Florida in January of 2000.

3) were you a part of any other bands before Shai Hulud?
Nothing that you would have heard of. I was in a few bands in Oklahoma that recorded some demos and opened for some other bands that came through the area. But, there's really not much of a scene out there, so it's hard for underground music to flourish.

4) how did you guys meet?
Matt Fletcher, who is also from Oklahoma, and I flew from Oklahoma to Seattle to see Shai Hulud in the summer/fall of 1998. We kept in touch with Matt Fox and we went to see the band at a hardcore fest in Gainesville later that year. They were auditioning for a new rhythm guitar player, so Fletcher tried out and made the cut. He moved to Florida to join the band in January of 1999. The old singer quit just before the band went to Europe that summer. For the first few shows Fletcher put down the guitar to cover vocals until they met Geert at one of the shows. He knew most of the lyrics and had an incredible voice, so they took him on to finish the rest of the tour on vocals. Geert ended up moving from Holland to Florida to join the band shortly thereafter. We all moved up to Poughkeepsie, NY and played a bunch of shows with a fill-in drummer from here. Things weren't working out with him, and a friend of ours recommended a local drummer, Chris Cardinal, who used to play for Inner Dam. Chris came out to some of the shows and we got to know him pretty well. He came over to try out and we knew right away that he was the one we were looking for.

5) what do you do for fun other than music?
I'm a total computer geek, so I'm doing that stuff all the time. We all watch a lot of movies and play a lot of frisbee. Those of us with female companions try to spend as much time with them as we can. There's really not much free time outside of the band.

6) what are some of your favorite bands, albums, influences?
This could take a while so I'll try to make it short. Some of my all-time favorite bands are: The Pixies, The Roots, Bad Brains, Credence Clearwater Revival, Tool, The Minutemen, NOFX, The Bosstones, Faith No More, and The Deftones. We all have very diverse musical tastes and we all bring to the band influences from all musical genres.

7) what was your most memorable concert?
Every show I've played with the band has been memorable, some for good things, some for bad things. My first show with Shai Hulud is one that really sticks out, though. We were supposed to play in Erie, PA but we couldn't get the van we were supposed to use, so we had no way to get there. We got put on another show, with Converge, in CT and no body even knew we were playing until they got to the show and saw our t-shirts for sale. Everyone was very excited about this unexpected surprise, and when we played, everybody in the crowd went off. It was a great way to start our tour, and we all had a great time.

8) is the band straightedge, vegan, Christian, etc.?
Everyone in the band is totally free of drugs, alcohol, smoke, etc. Some members call themselves straightedge, while others don't. We're not really a "straightedge band" ,though. None of us are Christian. We have one vegan, one vegetarian, one almost-vegetarian, and two proud meat eaters.

9) define the lifestyle of hardcore.
For me, hardcore is a state of mind, and a way of living - mostly living outside the confines of mainstream society, and not accepting what's handed to you by "adults", the government, tradition, etc. The music scene is only one aspect of the hardcore lifestyle. It is through the music that people can express themselves, share ideas, and reach other people.

10) what's your view on straightedge, vegan, and Christian hardcore?
I have absolutely no problems with bands who promote their views through their music, no matter what their views are. In fact that's probably the most positive way to get your message out.

11) what's your view on the hardcore community? any changes you'd like to see?
The problems I have with the hardcore community are probably the same things everyone else has problems with. Mostly things like too many tough guys at shows, people that are in the scene for the wrong reasons, etc. We all just need to make sure we do our part to make things better for each other. One thing that really needs to change is this idea a lot of people have that bands who become more successful financially are selling out. What's so wrong about making a living doing what you love to do? Not a damn thing, that's what. Take a band like Snapcase for example. They have videos on MTV now and are doing some pretty big tours. This doesn't mean they have sold out. They are just finally getting paid back a little for all the hard work and sacrifices they have made over the past several years. I wish more hardcore bands could achieve this kind of success, and we should all be more supportive of the bands who create the music that enhances our lives.

12) what guitar and other equipments do you use?
We use a lot of Carvin equipment: bass and guitar speakers, basses, guitars, bass amps, bass strings. I can't stress enough how much I love Carvin gear. It's so inexpensive, and it's all very high quality. Right now one guitar is going through a digitech processor and a crown power amp, and the other guitar is powered by a peavey 5150 head. Soon we expect to be replacing the Guitar amps, probably with Mesa Boogie Rectifiers, and buying some extra Carvin guitars. Our drummer uses a Tama 5-piece set with Sabian cymbals.

13) what's the music writing process like in Shai Hulud?
Usually the guitar players will come up with main riffs and the general structure of the song. Then, they work with the drummer to refine the structure and work out specific rhythms and transitions. Next, I'll come up with some ideas for bass lines and I'll work with Matt Fox, who is working on the high, melodic guitar parts, to make sure our two melodies compliment each other well. Usually the last thing that happens is the lyrics are arranged to fit over the music, and then we practice, practice practice to get everything tight.

14) any plans for the future? perhaps a new album?
We're writing new material right now for a new album to be recorded this fall. If all goes according to plan, it will be out early next year. We are going to Europe for about six weeks and then after the new album is out, we plan on spending most of next year touring.

15) what are your views on the mp3/napster/metallica wars?
I don't have a problem with people downloading songs from bands they have never heard of, or songs that they wouldn't ever buy, or things like that, because it's a good way to hear new music you might not have been otherwise exposed to. This is precisely the reasion why we have some mp3's of our songs available on our website. However, if you really like someone's music, it's in your own best interest to support them by buying their cd's. If you just download hundreds of songs, and never buy any cd's, you are stealing from the artists.