Red Fang

By Brian Leak

Red Fang have been taking the metal world by storm since releasing their self-titled debut in 2009 via Sargent House. Between playing the Metalliance tour alongside Crowbar and Helmet, and opening for bands like Megadeth on the Jägermeister stage of Rockstar’s Mayhem Festival last year, the guys in Red Fang have been making their presence known. In just a few short years, they’ve accumulated an extensive following of die-hard fans modifying their bodies with Red Fang tattoos. Synthesis had the chance to speak with bassist Aaron Beam about the comparisons between a Red Fang concert and losing your virginity, their video for “Wires” and some updates on what we can expect from the Red Fang camp this year. So crack open a cold one and enjoy some time with Red Fang!

What are you looking forward to most on this upcoming spring tour with Black Tusk?
Losing my virginity.

How would you describe a Red Fang live show?
It’s like losing your virginity. There’s a lot of nervous energy, it’s kind of awkward and there will be a few mistakes. Ultimately though, it is still pretty awesome, but afterwards you will have some cleaning up to do.

What would you drink if PBR for some ungodly reason no longer existed?
Almost anything else except hefeweizen or anything with fruit in it. I am not too picky.

What was your favorite part of making the video for “Wires” and how does it feel to have it nominated for the Golden Gods video of the year?
My favorite part was spending four hours picking up broken glass by hand to clean the runway after we were done shooting. Oh, wait, no, that was my least favorite part. The milk was great because it was super scary but so satisfying. We had rolled our van a couple months earlier so we were not that into car wrecks, but it was not as bad as we were expecting. My personal favorite moment was doing the tail whip because I was driving and I had never really done one before and it was so fun! It is a thrill to be nominated in a category with a bunch of other great bands (and some I must admit I have never heard of), but really the credit for the video must go to Whitey McConnaughy, who wrote, directed and edited the video.

What have you been listening to lately?
Cat in the Hat books on tape (I have a 2-year-old son). The Kinks. Hungry Ghost. Lord Dying. Truckfighters.

You’ve been announced to play Metallica’s Orion + More music festival in June. What are you looking forward to the most about that?
HOT SNAKES! And playing, of course, but also seeing bands I would probably otherwise never see, seeing old friends and seeing Ride the Lightning live.

How does it feel to have shows sell out and fans getting your logo tattooed on their bodies?
I don’t have any tattoos, so I don’t really know how it feels for people to get our logo tattooed on theirs. I am guessing it hurts? Probably depends on which part of your body you get it on, but I think no matter what, it hurts. Oh, and it feels fucking great to have our shows sell out! It may sound strange, but though it took over 20 years of playing in bands, it feels like it is happening so quickly, and sometimes it does not seem quite real.

What influences play a key role in your writing process?
Hmm. I don’t know exactly how to answer that. Lots of things can play key roles. What I have been watching on TV. The weather. Whatever albums I have been listening to obsessively at the time. How much sugar I have had that day. How much exercise I am getting. Lots of stuff.

Besides the aforementioned touring and such, what can we expect from Red Fang this year?
Another tour of Europe in July, then a headlining tour of the US in the fall. And we have started writing for our next record, so you will probably start hearing some of those songs live as well.

Tags: metal, Red Fang, Wires