Too Busy to Trash a Hotel Room

It would be an understatement to say Hatebreed frontman Jamey Jasta is more than a little bit busy. In between hosting MTV’s Headbangers Ball, managing a few fledgling bands, running a record label and Web site, Jasta occasionally has time for his calling: gripping a microphone and screaming himself bloody. The Synthesis eventually caught up with Jasta at his hotel room, chomping at the bit to get to his next show. When asked if he had time for an interview, he scoffed and offered, “I don’t…but…” accepting the inevitable and giving a tired but knowing laugh. It’s good to keep a sense of humor; even if you’ve hardly the time to breathe, it’s good to laugh now and then.

I was reading about you guys, and a couple places made mention of like, trashing hotel rooms and shit. What makes the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle so destructive?
You know, I asked them to take that line out of our bio.

Is it bullshit, or what?
Um, that was years and years ago. Although, on the Rise of Brutality tour with Hate Eternal, there was one night with us and Hate Eternal, a hotel room did get destroyed, but we were all very surprised that it happened, because we’ve tried to be on the straight and narrow and, you know, be a little more productive just because we have a lot more on our plate nowadays and we really don’t need any more problems. We sort of did all that stuff in the early years.
Yeah, I mean, I don’t know [about] the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle; I’m so busy with the label and the business end and the Web site and the Headbangers Ball and everything, I really don’t have a lot of time for that. I like to drink, I like to party when I have time, but I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily a lifestyle…for me.

But, haven’t you seen, at your shows, like pits go from just crazy hectic pits to one step further than they should?
Yeah, it’s unfortunate when people get injured or people get targeted in fights and riots and things like that, but you know, it comes with the territory. I grew up going to shows where the danger element was always very intriguing to me, so to recreate it at our shows was kind of a conscious effort. But now, playing bigger venues and stuff, there’s so much security and there’s so many barriers and searches that there’s really nothing to worry about. Either you stand on the side and you don’t get involved, or you go in and you realize the risk that you’re taking.

What about your fans tattooing your lyrics on themselves? Does extreme fanaticism about your band ever unnerve you at all?
No, no, because we set out to try to communicate with people, and I always write things I feel like people can related to, and the fact that it’s sort of caught on, like almost worldwide, is like an honor to me. The people who support us and would go as far as wearing my words on their body for the rest of their life, I mean that’s really special to me. That’s not something that I would worry about, that’s more something that I would be complemented and flattered by.

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