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Brian Layson
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26 years old
Macon, Georgia
Sister- Skye, 9
If you could meet anybody dead or alive who would it be? Anyone dead or alive? That's a tough one. There are so many to be honest. Alive maybe Keith Richards for starters...

Favorite alcoholic drink? A very dirty Vodka martini is a good one, although, I haven't had one in some time.

Any habits? Yes. Good and bad ones.

What do you do to occupy yourself while on the road? For the most part I sleep. There's really not much else to do in the van except maybe read a little.

Madonna, Blondie, or Cyndi Lauper? Blondie by far.

What albums are you listening to right now? T. Rex , Tom Waits "Closing Time", Aerosmith "Gems" are a few.

What was the first album you ever bought? Ironically the first albums I bought for myself were The Georgia Satellites and Run DMC.

Where do you see Will Hoge five years from now? Well I hope to see us still making albums and touring. I think that the main goal for each of us at this point is to just continue on the path that we're on and keep winning new fans.

How are shows different now compared to pre-Atlantic shows? For me they're really no different. The only thing now is that you have this small sense of security in the back of your mind having a deal but, at the same time, you know that can be taken away in an instant.

What's on your Christmas list this year? A new windshield for my truck. It's been broken for over 3 years now.

What was the last concert you went to (besides your own)? Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Jetpack.

How was your tour with Midnight Oil? The Midnight Oil tour couldn't have been better. We were able to play in cities that we'd not tapped until that point and everyone in the Midnight Oil camp from the band all the way through the crew were some of the kindest, most genuine people I'd ever met. It was actually a bummer to come off of the run with those guys.

Once you become a rock star, is it suddenly easier to meet girls? (Question courtesy of Rolling Stone #870) Well, if I ever become a rock star, I'll let you know.

Here's the "How important is it to you that this record do well?" question. To me, it's important that any record we do does well. I think we'd all love to sell tons and tons of records. Making ourselves happy is a big part of it but, we already do that by playing and recording. I mean each album is basically the product of years of preparation for each of us and nothing would make us happier than to have as many people as possible get into that.

So you're planning another record? Yeah, a new album is soon to be in the works. We've been demoing songs, doing a lot of pre-production while we've been out and we'll continue to do that throughout the end of the year. Hopefully, we'll head into the studio around the first of January and start tracking. Be ready, there will songs you've heard and some you haven't...

When will this record be finished? At this point, there's not a specific date. Hopefully we'll put it out by summer of 2002...We'll just have to see.

Is there going to be another headlining tour this spring? I'm sure we'll do another headlining run within the next few months. We'd planned on doing one before the end of the year but, decided to keep working on new material...

Anything else? Nothing really other than thank you for all the help and support.

How many speeding tickets have each of you guys had, including Ryan? And which one is the priciest? Personally, I've had five- all of which weren't that expensive. While out on the road, I've only had one...I believe I'm the only won to have gotten one while driving the van.

Now that you all are big rock stars, all the fans are dying to know boxers or briefs? And we know that Will doesn't wear underwear so the question doesn't apply to him! I guess that question doesn't apply to me either...

Tattoos and piercing? How many and where? And for the tattoos, what are they of? Both

Favorite cartoon characters? Ren and Stimpy

Excluding everything that's happened to you musically this past year, what is one dream that you wish would come true? Honestly, I just hope we're able to continue making music for a very long time. We've all got numerous dreams and aspirations that we hope to achieve throughout our careers but, none are more important that obtaining longevity for ourselves. And maybe picking up a tour with the Stones...

What does music mean to you? Why did you decide to make music your life? I didn't necessarily "decide" to make music my life, it just happened, as it would with anything that you truly love and that is just right for you. It automatically becomes part of your life. I know it's cliché, but the first time I picked up a guitar, even though I couldn't play a single thing, it just felt right. I didn't really know I had made it my life until later on, when looking back I was like "Hey, I've spent a LOT of time with this thing over the past few years maybe I should think about trying to have a real go at it someday."

Was Huey Lewis one of your greatest influences? I can't say that he was for me but, he's funnier than hell to listen to cranked in the van.

What were your childhoods like? I had a really good childhood. It was the typical little league games and family Disney trips. You know, waking up really damn early on Saturday mornings to couch down with some cereal for all the cartoons before heading off for a day of little kid mischief with all your neighborhood buddies...

What made you guys decide to do this? For the two of you that did the whole college thing, as you put it Will at the Vandy show, what did you study? Goes back to a previous question...After I had been playing for a while, I just realized that being involved in music on the performance side was the only thing that made me genuinely happy. And because I was growing more and more obsessed with playing, I knew I didn't have much choice to do anything else.

When you were little what did you want to be when you grew up? A football player for the Georgia Bulldogs. That would have been a sight, huh?

Which song of yours is the most personal/your current favorite on the album? I can't say there's one in particular...Rock n' Roll Star, Let Me Lonely, Over You, She Don't Care, Ashamed...Too many to list- they're all fun to play.

Do you feel like you're 'in the big show' now? hahaha...nope, I can't say I do. Remember, we still practically live in a van year 'round...Not that that's a bad thing but, it's certainly not a "big" thing...

What ONE musical artist do you admire most? There's not just one. Any artist that has stayed successful for many years, while continuing to produce new material, is very admirable in my eyes. The Stones, Aerosmith, Prince, Bowie, U2, Tom Petty and on and on. Just to be able to make it 3 or 4 albums in a career is an extremely difficult thing but, to have upwards of 20 or more in a career is an accomplishment worthy of the utmost respect, no matter what your musical taste.

What CD's are you listening to now? The new Ben Folds, the new Ryan Adams, and the new Elton John are a few.

Who is the best driver of the tour van? KIRK...Hell, he's really the only driver of the van.

What is one thing we should know about each member of the band that we might not? They can all sing a mean harmony in the Barber shop Vocal Quartet that we have as a side gig. Kirk's soaring falsettos are amazing, as are Will's abilities to scat sing while beat boxing, and Tres' tenor lines practically rumble.

What are your favorite foods? Anything the venue feeds us..

Most creative time of day? Whatever time of day an idea hits you. But usually not until after 2 or 3 p.m. since I do like to sleep late...

What one TV show/movie/author are you addicted to? Well because of time restraints, TV shows and movies don't happen that much for us...And my time in the van is spent mostly catching up on missed sleep so, I don't get to read much either...

If you could have any band open for you, who would it be? There's a band from Canada called Sloan that would be an interesting combination...

Who has the most 'style' among you? Ryan by far. He's done stints with both Abercrombie and Fitch and Banana Republic...

Who is the smoothest talker? Tres is pretty smooth but he has a bad lisp sometimes, Will isn't bad but he spits a lot when he talks, Kirk isn't bad either but he has a stuttering problem, and I usually just don't talk at all...

Who decides the set list each night? Will and it's ALWAYS different

Ever get stage fright? Not so much anymore. Actually the smaller the venue the more nerve racking it can be...

What were you like in high school? It's too boring to even go into...

What is the one personal item that you have to have on the road with you to make it feel more like home? I have numerous personal items on the road that remind me of home...I like to refer to it as my luggage.

What was your impression of San Francisco? Do you have any plans to come to SF again, and if so when? Of the very, very brief time we were there it seemed really nice. We've all heard great things about the city and we certainly plan on returning as soon as possible.

You always seem to have the best bands to tour with, do you find that playing with these other groups influence your music style at all? It definitely they can influence us in one way or another...Whether it's style or not, I guess it depends on the band. There's a lot more to look at than style, such as performances, playing abilities, and personal attitudes towards people working around them...So far, we've been lucky enough to be out with bands who are great in all of those aspects.




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Will Brian Tres Kirk
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