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Jesus Bones 69: 1. What's the name of your band? What's the origin of that name? Have you changed the band's name before?
Hatchet Dawn: I came up with the name at the tail end of 2005 and just sat on it for a while. I knew I wanted to call a future band by that name and felt this was the one to stamp it on. This is a fresh new band, but we have all been playing in local Melbourne metal bands over the years and some of us have other bands at the moment we’re in.
Jesus Bones 69: 2. Please list the name, age and respective instrument of each band member.
Hatchet Dawn: David Howells, 26, Guitars, Pattreson River Secondary College.
Lee Kollias, 23, Drums, Mt Eliza Secondary College.
Glenn Kollias, 25, Guitaris, Mt Eliza Secondary College.
Justin Horne, 24, Bass, Karingal Secondary College.
Jesus Bones 69: 3. What genre of music do you consider your work to be? Who are your major influences?
Hatchet Dawn: Metal to heavy rock, we all got into 90’s metal bands like Sepultura, Machine Head, Superjoint Ritual, Down, Fear Factory and Napalm Death. But just love the bands that stand out doing something honest and original.
Jesus Bones 69: 4. How long have you all known each other? How did you meet?
Hatchet Dawn: We have all been friends for about 4-5 years now, playing in local bands we were the guys all taking and hanging out after our bands finished their sets.
Jesus Bones 69: 5. When did you form your band? What inspired you to make music together?
Hatchet Dawn: I first got together with Lee about mid 2006, we started jamming and writing then, but wasn’t until February 2007 we decided to complete a line up and stamp the band Hatchet Dawn. I used to work with Justin, We spent heaps of time talking about bands while working. Was only a matter of time till people attract to each other to take that common interest to the next level.
Jesus Bones 69: 6. Do you have a record label? Are you a member of any music organizations?
Hatchet Dawn: We are getting ready to record our first official release, no label at the moment but we will be looking for something in the very near future.
Jesus Bones 69: 7. What can you tell me about your instruments? (i.e., Are you subject to brand loyalty or will you play with whatever's available? What made you choose the instruments you have now? Was it cost or was it a style/model/brand/color preference?
Hatchet Dawn: I love ESP guitars and Mesa Boogie amps to death. There’s a reason why they are a popular brand. They sound the best and play like weapons ha. I chose to go out and spend the money on good gear because I wanted to have a good sound and have always been chasing that dream tone. To me money isn’t an issue when your setting up for quality gear. Just do what ya have to get it.
Jesus Bones 69: 8. Where have you performed? What are your favorite and least favorite venues? Do you have any upcoming shows? Hatchet Dawn: We have all played on the main circuit of metal/rock/punk venues around Melbourne. Best gig for me was supporting Devolved at the ESPY Gershwin Room on their goodbye aussie tour before they relocated to the US. No gigs right now. We are almost finished with vocalist auditions and will be making a decision very soon. Gigs will come soon.
Jesus Bones 69: 9. Which songs do you perform most frequently? Do you ever play any covers? Do you have a set play list?
Hatchet Dawn: Jamming the first song we ever wrote (a new dawn) is always killer. We jam on Sepultura songs sometimes with section jams on Lamb of God songs and snippets of different stuff we know. We want to throw in some covers live when that time comes.
Jesus Bones 69: 10. Who writes your songs? What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs? Do you think these topics will change over time?
Hatchet Dawn: The first 5 songs I wrote with Lee. Hopefully everyone will have input for future songs, the more brains the better the music. Lyrically we want to focus on bringing the best out of people. Bringing a feeling of empowerment to a listener and not letting the negatives of this world consume the good in people. Hold the hatchet or find your tool of inspiration and feel empowered to change and grow in a positive direction. Dawn is inevitable. You know its coming. Get the hint? We are an intelligent race, it’s about time we started acting like one. I don’t see us really changing as a band, only evolving. What ever that brings is only evolution.
Jesus Bones 69: 11. Could you briefly describe the music-making process?
Hatchet Dawn: Well we get together, set up a 4 track and a few mic’s and start jamming with the 4 track rolling. After we go through ideas we usually have a free jam just playing whatever. I go away and structured out songs and picked the best bits we winged at the time. So much has come together from not even thinking. It has a purity to it I love. Lee has written a song on drums start to finish, and I put riff to his beats, it was so much fun. Nothing goes unnoticed; if someone has an Idea we explore it. I have about 12 songs ready to use for an album for when we get through this first writing stage.
Jesus Bones 69: 12. What are your rehearsals generally like? Do you have a set time each week in which you practice or are rehearsals more spontaneous?
Hatchet Dawn: I like routine. We jam once a fortnight at the moment. Between then we all meet up and talk, work on songs, going over riffs, listening to jams and working on art ideas. When we lock in a vocalist we will step up loud rehearsals and work more on the business angles to get a strong wheel in motion.
Jesus Bones 69: 13. How has your music evolved since you first began playing music together?
Hatchet Dawn: We are getting more of a focus on direction as apposed to writing whatever. Every jam gets tighter and tigter.
Jesus Bones 69: 14. What has been your biggest challenge as a band? Have you been able to overcome that challenge? If so, how?
Hatchet Dawn: Nothing too challenging as of yet. I am sure the challenges are waiting ahead for us. But that’s why I want to build a strong foundation now, so when we meet challenges in the future. We will be untouchable and overcome anything that’s thrown at us.
Jesus Bones 69: 15. What's your ultimate direction for your band? Are you seeking fame and fortune?
Hatchet Dawn: I’d like to change the world in whatever way possible. Any positive change, no matter how small. Big is always better. We are aiming to make a career out of this and are preparing for that. Everyone is willing to work hard and make the sacrifices that need to be made to see this happen.
Jesus Bones 69: 16. What advice do you have for people who want to form their own bands?
Hatchet Dawn: Just do it, if you have an idea, go ahead and manifest it. Always be clear with yourself on what you want and always be honest to your band mates. Don’t ever except second best. Don’t ever let anyone tell you your wrong. What’s right is what matters to you.
Jesus Bones 69: 17. How can fans-to-be gain access to your music? Do you have a website with sample songs or a demo CD?
Hatchet Dawn: We got the famous myspace page. www.myspace.com/hatchetdawn. Our youtube is www.youtube.com/hatchetdawn. Our web site is getting planned out now. We’ll have a demo/sampler out in a few months and an official release early in 2008.
Jesus Bones 69: 18. Is there anyone you'd like to acknowledge for offering financial or emotional support?
Hatchet Dawn: Danielle Sedick, James Cargill at Cargill custom guitars for setting up our guitars to perfection. George and Jye at Roadbox Australia for the awesome job on road casing all my gear. Geoff Marquis and Brenden at the Jam Tin/Skull bar in Melbourne for their constant support and help. And to any labels that want to sign the next hardest working band to come out of Australia.
Jesus Bones 69: 19. Any last words?
Hatchet Dawn: I need a coffee.
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