Dead Rhetoric: How far would you like to take Chaos Frame as a band? I would imagine that you have to juggle real life careers and responsibilities with your music endeavors…
Brown: I would like to take Chaos Frame as far as they can go, I say this not for myself, but for Matt. I have never worked with someone with his ability and talent. I give my all vocally for him. I love him like a son, and want to see him go further in music. As far as life, I have a career that’s easy to juggle, plenty of vacation time that I bank, and a family that still supports what I do. I’ve tried to create a low stress home life, almost hermit like. I work, come home, party with my wife, hang out with the kids, and record music. This keeps me sane.
Hodsdon: I don’t plan on music becoming my career, considering the raw deal artists get these days, but I’ll probably always be doing it on my own time. If it turns out that people want to see Chaos Frame live, enough of them to overcome the distance between us, we’d certainly do that. But I mostly do this for my own satisfaction. I bought a house a while ago and am working my way up to financial independence, so hopefully sometime soon I’ll be able to mostly just focus on artistic endeavors.
Xiong: I think everyone in the band can agree that we aren’t doing this to become ‘rockstars’. It’s something we love doing, and something we’re going to continue to do whether it’s a success or not.
Dead Rhetoric: Were you a fan of Lance King and Nightmare Records prior to signing with the label? Has he offered any words of wisdom you’ve been able to apply to Chaos Frame?
Brown: Of course! His work with Pyramaze is still on my iPod and gets continuous play while I work.
Xiong: Yeah. Lance has definitely made a name for himself. He’s been in this for a long time and I have a lot of respect for him.
Hodsdon: Naturally, Nightmare has signed or distributed a lot of bands we listen to (Beyond Twilight, Manticora etc,) and those first two Pyramaze albums were quite good.
Dead Rhetoric: How would you assess the metal scene in North America versus the rest of the world currently? What improvements need to be made to further the cause in the right direction?
Brown: Lucky for me, I got to experience what I feel was heavy metal at its peak. MTV Headbangers Ball, seeing Slayer on the South of Heaven tour, Yngwie with Jeff Scott Soto, Judas Priest on trial, PMRC, Flotsam and Jetsam, King Diamond with Mickey Dee, I got to live through some historic elements of heavy metal history. Nowadays, in the USA, heavy metal is more of an underground thing. It’s just not what is promoted by media. People know who “lil Wayne” is even if you can’t stand him, but don’t know Michael Romeo. That is a tragedy. Europe has always been the center of metal for me. I watch festivals like Wacken and the Download and I am amazed. Then over here, we get people saying things like Kevin Lyman said. Japan has always shown a lot of love for metal, and South America. I have friends in Brazil and they are going rabid for the new Chaos Frame. As far as improvements, that’s just up to the culture. The caliber of heavy metal musician today has never been better. People are just really schooling themselves on how to master their instrument, and learning how to create some epic tunes. Metal is just not in your face in the media like other genres.
Hodsdon: To be honest, I haven’t been paying that much attention to the trends in the metal scene lately. Of course it’s bigger in Europe than here, but I have no problem with non-metal music, only shitty music. If you want to help music as a whole become respectable again, you can start by destroying the biggest radio stations and getting rid of the rockstar stereotype. Right now, most people listen to music for the identity it projects, rather than the musical content and craftsmanship. Music is a serious art with a rich history, and it deserves better.
Dead Rhetoric: Can you name five albums or bands that you all agree on as having an important framework or vision to inspire Chaos Frame on a continuous basis?
Hodsdon: Symphony X – V; Kamelot – The Black Halo; Sun Caged – Sun Caged; X Japan – Dahlia; Video games.
Dead Rhetoric: I appreciate the fact that there appears to be a sense of humor behind your Facebook band page profile… is this something you are conscious of even though you take your music very seriously? What’s your take on instant messaging, texting, and social media – are you fairly active on all fronts or try to balance out the real life, interpersonal situations with modern technology?
Xiong: It has its ups and downs. I mostly use Facebook to keep up with bands I’m following or to keep in touch with people I might not talk to every day, and so it’s great for that.
Brown: I am pretty active with all of them. I just recently caved in and started a Facebook page. I am still adapting to the assault of information that Facebook friends throw at you. I am the kind of person that gets nuts. I feel certain ways about certain things. I just don’t go along with what is being shoved down my throat. I research my positions, and always think about how some things will affect my family in the present and future. Politics for example, most of them are crooks. They lie to get in office, then follow their own agenda, or just do what their party wants them to do, forgetting about the people who put them there. I can feel myself getting nuts. On to the next question…………….
Hodsdon: Child of the internet here… I’m in a weird spot where I prefer text messaging to real time conversations, but I also think Instagram, Tumblr and that shit is bullshit. I don’t want to see your cats.
Dead Rhetoric: Will it take another 4-5 years for the third Chaos Frame album to hit the market – or are you already trying to get a head start on the writing?
Hodsdon: “CF3” is already partially written. I think we’ve got about three songs and then 11-12 minutes of an epic in progress. It’s a rolling cycle – Paths was probably half written when Another Life came out, and so forth. And in fact, Paths was finished a year ago, we just had to deal with the distribution arrangements, etc. I would like to get another album out there in two years, but it’s always harder than you expect.
Dead Rhetoric: How do you feel about the world we live in today? Any particular concerns that need to be addressed sooner rather than later
Hodsdon: Too much “gotcha politics.” We care more about scoring points on the opposing team than helping the people affected by the issues we’re arguing over.
Brown: I think this world is going to shit. I would LOVE to go deeper and explain myself fully, but I don’t want to turn off any fans that might have a different view than myself. So out of respect for Lance King, Nightmare Records and my fellow Chaos Frame members, I shall remain silent.
Dead Rhetoric: Can you let us know how you think the next year or so will shape up for Chaos Frame as far as shows, videos, merchandise, etc.?
Hodsdon: There are plans for a video and shirt design this year, with the possibility of a show. We’ll see. Aside from that, I’m just going to keep writing sporadically like I always do, and hopefully the result
is interesting.