Exclusive interview with
Jason French
March 2018
| Interview by Sjouke Bakker
for www.milanomosh.com & www.sod-mod.com
M.O.D. is complete again! Recently guitarist
Jason French (War Ensemble, Protest) joined Method Of Destruction. Who is Jason
French? How did he get involved with M.O.D.? What are the plans, now M.O.D.'s
line-up is ready to rock again? Are they gonna tour with this line-up? Was M.O.D.'s
2017 album 'Busted, Broke & American' the final release? All these questions -
and more - will be answered by the new axeman himself.
Hello Jason. Welcome to M.O.D.! Please
introduce yourself...
JASON: Thanks I’m very glad to be here! I’m
43 and live in Dallas, TX with my wife Kathryn. I’m in two other bands and they
are Protest and War Ensemble. Protest is an original band I formed 15 years ago
and is best described as an aggressive thrash/hardcore/death metal band. We have
a new album we recently released that I’m very proud of entitled 'Abuse of
Power'. War Ensemble is a Slayer tribute band I formed 10 years ago and I play
the Kerry King role in that band. It’s a ton of fun and we only play material
from ‘Show No Mercy’ to ‘Seasons in the Abyss.’ We believe those albums
represent the true classic era of Slayer. We play the ‘Reign in Blood’ album in
its entirety on occasion and it’s always a blast to see audience reaction when
we do it.
So,
you’re the new guitarist of M.O.D.! How did that happen?
JASON: Michael Arellano is the drummer in
M.O.D., Protest and War Ensemble. He’s a busy guy! He’s the best drummer I’ve
ever worked with and we’re great friends. In fact, he’s the only drummer I will
work with anymore. He recommended me to Billy for guitar player slot for M.O.D.
Billy brought me in to audition and it was a done deal. It felt like a natural
fit and that’s exactly what you want when you’re collaborating with other
musicians. All of us have a chemistry that’s pretty awesome and it translates to
the performances as well.
Who’s in M.O.D. right now, besides yourself?
JASON: Obviously the main man Billy, Michael on
drums whom we’ve discussed and Tim “Tank” Casterline on bass. He’s a monster
bass player who’s very solid, detail oriented and professional. I’m lucky and
grateful to be playing with solid musicians who know what they’re doing and do
whatever it takes to get things accomplished. Being in a band takes dedication,
teamwork, communication and sacrifice to even function in the music business.
It's not for everyone and tests you in every way possible, so being with
likeminded professionals in M.O.D. is very exciting for me. Billy is a driven
guy that knows what he wants and he demands the best. I fully respect that and
can relate to my own expectations when dealing with musicians. That’s the best
environment for me to feel like results are happening and progress is being
made.
Did you already rehearse with the other guys?
If so, which songs have you learned already?
JASON: Yes, we have a couple of rehearsals
under our belt. We’ve been working on a set that we’ll be doing when we start
playing live. There are lots of good songs for everybody to enjoy old to new
including some S.O.D. classics. Some of my favorites include ‘Aren’t You Hungry?’,
‘Get A Real Job,’ ‘Hate Tank’ and ‘Kill Yourself.’ I don’t want to give away all
the goodies just yet but people will be happy with the song selections at the
shows.
How did you become a guitar player? What is the
reason that you wanted to learn to play guitar?
JASON: I’ve been playing guitar for 33 years.
I’m the youngest of four and all of my other siblings are musicians but neither
of my parents ever picked up an instrument. There was always some kind of music
being played around the house. From Elvis to country from my folks to classic
rock and metal from Rush, Kiss, Van Halen and Sabbath coming from my brothers’
bedrooms. It was constant. My second oldest brother is a guitar player and when
I was 10 years old I started getting the bug to play because he did. I begged
him to teach me some stuff. However, he said he couldn’t teach me anything
because he’s “self taught.” This was crushing to me at the time because I wanted
my big brother to show me stuff because he’s my big brother. I took it hard for
a while then I used it as a catalyst to drive myself to do things my own way. I
learned at a young age you can’t rely on others for your own success. So, I dug
in and started trying to learn. It was grueling for a couple of years. I was
getting nowhere and getting very frustrated. I used to hang out this guitar shop
when I was in the 8th grade in the town we lived in at the time. I used to go in
there and dream about playing but really couldn’t play at all because I had no
real direction. One day there was this guy from L.A. playing guitar and he was
playing stuff I recognized and tearing it up. I was totally awestruck by what I
was seeing and hearing. I was a little shy but he saw I was watching him like a
hawk and he asked if I wanted him to show me a couple of riffs and I of course
said yes. He showed me the intro riff of Ratt’s ‘You’re in Love’ and I couldn’t
believe how easy it was. It was so cool to play a riff I was already familiar
with and I was making the sound and playing it MYSELF. All it took was somebody
literally taking 5 minutes and just showing me and giving me that little push. I
immediately got on my bike and sped home as fast as I could before I forgot the
riff. I ran into my room and grabbed my guitar and started playing it over and
over again and was in shock I could still do it. I remember my mom and brother
coming into my room in disbelief that I was actually playing something for real
instead of making a bunch of cacophonous noise. I told my brother at the moment
I was going to kick his ass on guitar someday. Needless to say, the rest is
history.
What’s your personal favorite band? And what kind of music do you mainly
listen to yourself?
JASON: That’s a real tough one. I can name my
two favorite bands because they’re equally important to me and how I developed
as a player. Slayer and Metallica are hands down my favorites. In fact, I like
to think of two bands as one big band because I was so enveloped in everything
they were doing in the 80s that my style is a combination of both bands. They
were both hugely influential to me in those formative years and the countless
hours I spent listening to both of them and learning their songs was pretty much
on a high level of obsessive insanity. The Big 4 in general was where it was for
me when I was younger and learning to play guitar.
However, I enjoy listening to a vast array of genres even though I’m a metalhead
at heart and always will be. Lately, I’ve been listening to Phantogram and The
Cult and some industrial. My wife likes a lot of stoner rock and dirty bluesy
bands and I’ve been getting into that more. I just like good songs regardless of
the genre. If something catches my ear, I find myself humming it in my head and
when that happens I know I’ve discovered something cool.
What is the lastest album that you purchased
and when was that?
JASON: I believe the last record I purchased
was Fear Factory’s ‘Genexus’ which is an amazing record. I thought they did a
great job with coming up with something fresh but getting back to a feeling of
the ‘Demanufacture’ era. I love that band. Do people buy albums anymore? Haha!
We’re in an interesting time with music and technology that the lines are
blurring everywhere it seems. I’m guilty of streaming almost everything I listen
to these days because of the convenience factor. I’ve converted all of the CDs
I’ve ever owned and have them on a hard drive that I put in my truck. It's
definitely a new era for enjoying music for sure.
Okay, back to M.O.D… Were you familiar with the
albums that M.O.D. released between 1987 and 2017? If so, what was the first
M.O.D. album that you heard and which one is your favorite?
JASON: Yes, I’ve always been familiar with
M.O.D. The first time I ever heard of M.O.D. was when I saw the video for True
Colors on Headbanger’s Ball on MTV in the 80s. I remember thinking it was funny
as hell and I thought the song was cool and has always been my favorite M.O.D.
song. In fact, I’m hoping we’ll add that to the live set.
What do you think of the 2017 M.O.D. album
‘Busted, Broke & American’? Do you expect that M.O.D. will also perform songs
from that album live?
JASON: As of now,
we’ll be performing two songs: ‘You’re a Fucking Dick’ and ‘Fight’ from the new
album. It's an awesome album; great songs and great production. There’s a lot of
power and attitude on it and I love it. It’s loud and in your face and the way
it should be.
Speaking about performing… You already
mentioned that at some point you will start playing live. Are there any plans to
go on tour with M.O.D. in the near future as far as you know? Can you tell us a
little about that?
JASON: As of now we’re getting rehearsed and
prepared for performances that could start happening early this Summer. We are
planning to do a few shows in Texas in June to get warmed up for the road. I
think we may be doing a short run on the East Coast in late Summer and hopefully
touring Europe in late Fall. At least, that’s what we’re planning and hoping for
at this point.
That's awesome Jason! What can people expect if
they come to an M.O.D. show in 2018?
JASON: I think people will be very happy when
they see present day M.O.D. There will be a LOT of energy and attitude coming
from the stage. I guarantee it. It will be tight, powerful and fun all at the
same time. Its going to be awesome!
Are you looking forward already to go on stage
with Billy, Tank and Michael and play all those M.O.D. classics?
JASON: I can honestly say I’m ecstatic about
joining the guys on stage. This is exactly the type of opportunity I’ve been
seeking to achieve my personal and musical goals and its not taken lightly. This
is a big deal to me in every way.
Do you think that M.O.D. will record another
album, or was 'Busted, Broke & American' definitely the last M.O.D. album?
JASON: I believe there will be another album.
In talking to Billy, he has some things in the works he wants to accomplish and
I want to be part of those things as well. If things work out the way we would
like them to, I think people are going to be blown away about what’s in store
for the future.
Thanks for your time Jason! I hope you have a
great time in M.O.D. and I look forward seeing you on stage with M.O.D.!!!
JASON: Thank you very much! I’m very excited to
be with M.O.D. and I think a lot of good things are in store for the band and
the fans coming very soon. Stay tuned!
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