Tim Hackemack - HIT THE STAGE

Do you have back-up musicians in case one of your bandmembers can‘t make it to a show?

Yes, these days I play my cards right, and make sure I always have back-up musicians just in case one of my members is not available to go out of town and play a show, or go out on tour. To be honest there are always guys that are waiting in the wings to be a Generator . I normally never have any problems finding someone to jump in and play the songs.

What is your favourite and least favourite spot to play?

My favorite city to play might be Berlin or London, and maybe the city I would not like to play again would be Bialystok Poland. We played there twenty years ago and were attacked by Nazi skinheads. Not a nice time!

You told me that you used to make money while touring with Schleprock . Was it more fun to do bigger tours?

Yes, back in the 1990s bands were selling many records, and there was crazy money being thrown around with all the record labels. Schleprock got swept up into all that madness, and got signed by Warner Bros. records , and got a big publishing deal which put in a few of our songs in movies and television shows. It was a much different time than it is now. I was still pretty young when this all happened, and the band was a bit out of control. We all pissed our money away, and some of the money contributed to drug addiction. Looking back on it, it was not a good time for me. We had some success, but it was all very short-lived. In the end we wound up with nothing but heartache, and the guitar player lost his life. I am proud of the accomplishment that we made as musicians but I would never wanna repeat any of it.

Is drug addiction a byproduct of being on tour and having to fill all the free hours and having to play your best every night?

I actually did a lot of drinking in the end of being in Schleprock . I kinda became a drunk. It seemed that we had all these people working for us and I just didn’t have to do anything anymore besides get up on stage and sing. Maybe it was just too easy for me, and it became unhealthy. The drugs came around a little bit later. For Generators fans if you like the Excess, Betrayal … album those were the years I was all messed up on drugs. I had hit a dark time in my life. Maybe some of the greatest lyrics and music came out of that time for the band, but those were the worst years of my life. Sometimes great music comes from great pain.

How do you use your free time now?

These days my free time is spent hanging around friends and family and working on my car. I have a really cool 1962 Chevy Biscayne. I love taking it out for a cruise and rolling the windows down. It brings me a sense of freedom.

Do you still have a day job?

Yes, I have a day job. I run my own business here in Los Angeles. It is the uniform business I make and sell uniforms for hotels, restaurants and casinos. I have been doing that for the last 20 years. I love my job and it keeps me very busy when I’m not playing music. I have some friends and family that help me run the business when I’m out on the road so it worked out well for me.

How do you usually prepare for a tour?

I normally prepare for a tour by trying to get a few days of peace and quiet and rest. I know once I hit the road things are going to get a bit crazy and I have to pace myself because it tends to wear me down. Sometimes we have one or two rehearsals and off we go!

How do you deal with show offers by political parties?

We normally do not get show offers from promoters who might be considered right wing. We wouldn’t play if we knew someone was inviting us to do something that was against our beliefs. Unfortunately, we have been on some shows where there has been some really bad element of people that have showed up to watch us play. There have been a few concerts we arrived to and we’re unloading our gear and saw there were people we don’t agree playing for so we just got our gear and left. It’s unfortunate to know that some bands will put up with that kind of shit and not say anything or do anything about it but we are not one of those bands. If I don’t like what I see in the crowd I honestly will just pick up and leave. I don’t tolerate any kind of hate groups at our gigs and I sure as fuck won’t play for them.

Have you had problems with violence at your shows?

Yes, unfortunately it’s not uncommon that sometimes fighting breaks out at our shows. It rarely happens, but it does every once in a while kick off while we are playing. It’s punk rock and we play in clubs and pubs where there is a lot of alcohol being consumed so sometimes it’s a recipe for trouble. I hate when it happens, and I normally shut down the music right away, and ask them not to fight or if they can’t get along to go outside and deal with it so everyone else inside can enjoy the music. I don’t want anybody to get hurt at our shows so I’m constantly on the lookout for things like that.

Would you consider The Generators to be political?

No, I do not consider The Generators to be a political band. We do have some songs that might seem like they are political songs but we definitely are not a political pawn brown. I think it’s important as a punk band to speak about things that are going on in the world and to offer possibly some protest to those things that seem wrong and unjust. I think I more or less write about things that I see that affect me positively or negatively.

Who writes the music and the lyrics in the band?

For the most part Mike and I split the music writing duties. I only started contributing with guitar duties a few years back because I felt I had some ideas that I really wanted to run with. I come up with basic guitar ideas and handed them off to Mike, and he takes them to the next level. I have always written the lyrics, that has always been very important to me and keeps me very connected to my songs.

How do you deal with conflicts between band members?

I probably have gotten better over all these years dealing with band bullshit but it’s always very exhausting no matter what it is that is causing problems. It’s difficult being in a band with five people because everybody has their own way of doing things and it’s just like a marriage. You have to compromise on things, even when you feel you don’t want to. Touring for long periods of time can be challenging because everyone is a bit isolated with one another in a van, hotel, backstage rooms, and the stage. It’s probably the reason why so many bands lose members. It’s pretty basic though, it’s all about respect and good communication. When you lose respect and you stop communicating properly that’s when things tend to fall apart. I also believe that substance abuse matters create the most problems for bands.