Hundredth Interview
12.29.09 Interviews | by: Steve
Interview with Vocalist Chadwick Johnson of Hundredth on 12/16/09
What is the meaning behind the band name?
The name Hundredth is based on The Hundredth Monkey Effect. It’s about critical mass and social change.
How did you guys meet and how long have you been playing together?
We’ve all been in bands that have played locally and toured together, so we’ve known each other for years. As Hundredth, we have been playing together just over a year and a half.
Why Mediaskare Records?
We sent our EP out to a couple different places and got a little bit of interest, but what felt most right to all of us was Mediaskare. The owner, Baron, has been awesome since day one and we are stoked to be apart of the Mediaskare roster.
When do you expect your album to hit the streets?
“When Will We Surrender” hits the streets February 9, 2010
Who have you guys been touring with?
2009 was an awesome year for us. We were able to tour with Saints Never Surrender, Fairground Avenue, Ambush, Kills and Thrills, Alcina, A Plea For Purging and Venia. We end 2009 with Betrayal, Martyrdom and Murder Death Kill. and 2010 is already looking like it’s going to be a busy one. We are pretty stoked.
What has been your best show and what made it your best?
That’s a hard one for sure… we’ve had a lot of super fun shows. July 8th in our hometown was absolutely ridiculous. It was middle of summer and pretty much a sweat fest in the only basement in Myrtle Beach. I’ve never felt anything like that show. Everyone was having so much fun and it was non-stop sing-alongs. All of our shows in Greenville, SC and the last show of Tour Up From The Floor up in Buffalo, MN deserve honorable mentions also.
What has been the craziest pit you guys have seen/caused?
Since we don’t have any releases at all yet, we don’t cause much of a ruckus. But the craziest pit we’ve seen was in Buffalo, MN for Venia and A Plea For Purging. I think Plea had like 400 stagedives in total. We counted 190 in one song. It was nuts.
What do fans do to get you pumped up during a show?
Anytime kids are in the front singing along gets us all super pumped. There can be 3 kids at the show, but if they are singing along we are way stoked.
What bands have influenced your music?
We all have so many influences and inspiration. I would definitely say earlier bands like Strongarm and Shai Hulud definitely inspire us. Life In Your Way and As Cities Burn have always inspired us and we continue to meet bands along the way that do the same. Personally, It Prevails has been a huge inspiration to me. As far as outside of our scene, we are inspired by anything uplifting and anything raw and honest. We mostly jam indie rock, conscious hip-hop, and poppier stuff in the van.
Has anything embarrassing happened on stage?
One of our friends who was filling in for us on gutiar and played an entire show with his zipper down. When he took his guitar off after our set, he had a little surprise hanging out. Luckily he doesn’t play his guitar too high and we don’t do any of those super-metal-slow-breakdown-headbangs, or he would have turned up the party big time.
What do you guys do when you are not touring?
We sit at home and wish we were out. We hate being stagnant and complacent, and that’s where we find ourselves when we are sitting at home. We want to be out getting our hands dirty.
What would you guys be doing if you weren’t playing music?
I think we all have come to the realization that we have no clue where would be at all if we weren’t all playing music. We’ve had tons of van talks trying to figure it out, and have no clue. We’d probably not be scrounging to pay our cell phone bills that’s for sure. We wouldn’t have it any other way though. We love doing what we do and wouldn’t change it for anything.
What makes Hundredth different from other hardcore bands? (What do you feel makes you a good hardcore band, this is not intended to be a what makes you better than any other band although feel free to say so if you do, but more of a what makes you guys unique?)
I like to think we are a bit different than a lot of bands, because we definitely don’t want to be something everyone has already heard. Our band is based solely on passion and that’s what we stand behind. Everything we do, we do it as hard as we possibly can. We try to play every show like it’s our last and we don’t let anything stop us. If we don’t feel absolutely drained of everything after a show, we didn’t play hard enough. We try to stay as raw, honest, and authentic as possible. Passion is what makes dreams happen and that’s what we plan on spreading through this scene.
