Eyehategod
There are survivors, and then there is Michael D. Williams, aka Mike IX, lead singer-screamer for New Orleans metal legends Eyehategod.
The foursome has existed for parts of five decades, a crucial pillar of heavy music in the Crescent City specifically and in the South generally, alongside the likes of Texas’ Pantera, North Carolina’s Corrosion of Conformity, and fellow Louisiana groups Acid Bath and Crowbar. In the ’90s, EHG guitarist Jimmy Bower drummed for Crowbar, and the two bands will share the stage Sunday at a sold-out show at Eastside Bowl. (Bassist Gary Mader and drummer Aaron Hill round out EHG’s lineup.)
Neither heroin addiction nor alcoholism, jail time nor homelessness has proven any match for Williams or his cohorts. Over time, they have fashioned what began as a hybrid of Melvins’ ear-bleeding dirginess and Black Flag’s hardcore punk ferocity into something entirely their own. That sound — call it sludge, if you’d like — may be known for its unhurried pace, but Williams and Bower, both 57, aren’t slowing down. Eyehategod’s nihilistic 1996 masterwork Dopesick turned 30 this month. A History of Nomadic Behavior, from 2021, is the quartet’s latest, and a split release with Bl’ast! — Santa Cruz, Calif. skate-punk veterans and onetime SST recording artists, currently fronted by ex-Queens of the Stone Age bassist Nick Oliveri — might be its next.
That collaboration was one of many topics discussed earlier this week when Williams hopped on the phone with the Scene between soundcheck and showtime in Denver. Here are some highlights from our wide-ranging hourlong conversation.
How’s tour? How’s Denver?
Great, man. Sold-out show tonight. Weather’s amazing. Seventy degrees. Altitude isn’t even getting to me that bad. Played Casper, Wyoming, last night. That was pretty wild. Not much there besides, like, gas stations. It’s cool to get to go places like that — give people something to do, come out, have fun for a night. We’ll play anywhere. We may have a booking agent now, and sleep in actual beds rather than on floors, but we’ll still play garages, still play basements.
Has Eyehategod played all 50 states?
Everywhere but Alaska and Hawaii. Hawaii would be amazing to play. Big beach guy. Hasn’t happened yet, but think it will soon.
Is New Orleans your forever home?
Yeah. My brother and I grew up in North Carolina. He’s 10 years older. We’d already lost both our parents by the time I was 11, so he became my legal guardian. We sold their house, came to New Orleans because he’d always loved it, and I thank him for that. I don’t know who I’d be if I’d stayed behind. I’ve tried to move away many times — Boston, Brooklyn, Florida — but always end up back in New Orleans. There’s too much there to love. People trip out on New Orleans because it’s just such a strange place. It’s unlike anywhere else.
What’s EHG’s band headquarters like?
We recently had to move out of our practice space of 25 years. Now we rehearse in the suburbs. It’s a little out there, but less expensive. But I did just move to the Tremé, a mile-and-a-half from Gary’s place. We make all our artwork there.
What’s the mood inside the band, currently?
There’s been so many ups and downs with this group. There was Katrina. Our drummer dying in 2013. I had a liver transplant in 2016. Everybody’s mostly sober now, believe it or not. It’s strange, acting like adults. I’ll occasionally have a White Claw onstage. But no more hard alcohol, hard drugs. We’ve been caught up in that shit. We’re all addicts. But we’re trying to live longer now. We’re tighter and more in tune than we’ve ever been.
Dopesick turned 30 last week. The band itself is almost 40. Looking out at the crowd now, you’re seeing three generations of fans.
Yeah, we’re seeing some really young kids out there. If they’re picking up on it and loving it, that has to mean we’re a good band. Young people have a lot to be angry about right now. Hopefully the music is something that helps them forget all the bullshit for an hour.
You have a published book that’s available only at the merch table. What’s in it?
It’s from 2003 actually, but yeah, Cancer As a Social Activity it’s called. It’s poetry, Eyehategod lyrics, random writings, hallucinogenic ramblings. But I write almost every day. Never stopped. I’ve probably got a couple more books’ worth. Just have to get off the road, off my ass, and put them out.
Do people sometimes make assumptions about what you and your bandmates are like as people based on your music, and your past?
Oh yeah. We have a dark image. Misery, depression, debauchery. But we like to have fun.
Is simply being a band a political act to you?
Yes. Especially with a band name like ours. We’ve had gigs protested, canceled, shut down. In 1994, a local preacher in Knoxville kept calling the venue to get our show canceled. It didn’t work. The name doesn’t seem to be as shocking or as controversial as before. Sure, some old lady waitress in the Midwest asks us what we’re called, we’ll still just say “The Eddie Harris Group,” or some other “EHG” acronym. I don’t believe in God, personally, so I can’t actually hate him. But yeah, some of these politicians are trying to bring it back to the Puritan days. The anti-abortion billboards out there have gotten more blatant. Us, we’re just trying to tour our asses off, and get through each day. Play as many shows as possible, like Black Flag did. Sometimes more than one a day — all-ages matinee shows, in addition to the club gigs. We’re from the South so we’re a little lazier, but we share that ethos.
How do you rally on a night when you’ve got to go onstage and really aren’t feeling it?
We had one of those daytime shows in Salt Lake City last weekend. Drove overnight to get there by 11 a.m. load-in. Had to immediately roll out of the van and get centered, and was exhausted. But as soon as I hear the drums and the guitar cranked up, I’m ready to go, feeling good.
What gets listened to a lot in the van?
Old blues. Black Flag. The Meters. The Meters and Dr. John have influenced Eyehategod more than anyone would ever guess. Hometown heroes. We’ve copped so much from them — or try to.
What about beyond music? Stand-up? Sports?
I like Doug Stanhope. And Tim Heidecker and Gregg Turkington’s On Cinema show, where Turkington plays this obnoxious guy who knows everything about movies and doesn’t shut up, and Heidecker plays this complete Republican asshole, a pervert. Absurd, avant-garde comedy. No sports fans in the band. But we love the Saints, of course. I don’t watch every game. But I’ll never forget the 2010 Super Bowl. We needed that. When they’re playing well, it’s good for everyone in New Orleans. No one’s on the streets on Sundays. Everybody’s watching the games.
How much longer is this trip? What’s the first thing you like to do when you get home?
Twelve more shows. As soon as I get back, all I want is a good, home-cooked meal, and to go to sleep for at least three or four days. But we have a busy year ahead. I have some spoken-word shows with Lydia Lunch coming up in New Orleans, and in Birmingham. An Eyehategod show in Austin at the end of the month. Then we’re supposed to be playing this festival in Indonesia. We go to Europe twice this year; the U.K., and more U.S. dates in September and October. There are embryonic parts of some new songs, too. We’ve been playing with Bl’ast!, one of our favorites ever. It’s still in the planning stages, but there’s talk of a split record with them.
In your travels, I imagine you’ve seen some creative Eyehategod bootleg merch out there.
I’ve got storage rooms full of it, all over the country. Playing places like Lima and São Paulo, you go outside and there’s people selling shirts with the band’s name on them, with graphics that are just horrible — terrible artwork we’d never make ourselves. But you can’t do anything about it because it’s all cartel-run. As long as I can get one for myself, I’m not going to yell at them. I’m not trying to get beheaded over a couple shirts.
Do you ever just stop and look around and feel amazed at how long you’ve been doing this, and continue to get to? When was the last time you did that?
I do it every single day. I’m so proud of this band. Bower and I used to fight all the time, drink, do tons of drugs, be out-of-control. But we stick together. We’re basically married. We keep going for the love of what we’ve created together. We’re also too stupid to quit.
