TD: Would you like to describe, or maybe tell the listeners a little bit about the band Pist On? (How long you've been around or what you've been working on. What you're doing recently.)

HF: Well the band started out back in 1994. Actually me an Val were working with Josh Silver in '93, the end of '93. Then '94 came around and we started going full force, doing shows. Then finally, it finally led up to recording the album. We recorded the album last August of '95. It finally got released under the Fierce/Mayhem label. It came out October 1st and the result was great working with Josh and we are looking forward to touring with this album for as long as we can.

TD: The album (Number One) is quite unique. I was just wondering what were some of your musical influences? Growing up, what did you like to listen to?

HF: Well growing up I had a lot of bands I was into. I was into bands like the Cure, and the Smiths, and U2 - a lot of new wave stuff. I was into, you know a lot of Metal stuff, like Iron Maiden. I was into a lot of different things. I definitely was not into one certain kind of music. I guess that kinda reflected in the album. On the release of the album, the songs all sound different in a way, so I mean there were a lot of different influences that I use to write the songs.

TD: How do you feel about the music scene in general, and maybe the metal scene to be more specific, because it has changed a lot in the past ten years and the scene is constantly changing? I was just wondering what your views were on the scene of today?

HF: Well, I mean, my views on the scene is that the metal is coming back and I think that eventually it will definitely go back to the hard metal bands - the bands with attitude and something to definitely say, that's important. The bands out today are good but the I think the business, in general, is actually looking for the next hit - the next big hit. They don't care about working an album. They care about working hits. So I mean, you know, I guess it will get better. I mean I just want to continue doing are thing, and continue touring, playing for people who definitely appreciate what we are trying to do, and trying to say something with a strong message and a lot of emotion.

TD: You've toured with many great bands. Is there a tour or show that really sticks out? A tour that you really enjoyed or a band that you enjoyed playing with that you can tell us about?

HF: We enjoyed touring with Clutch. Clutch was great. That was a lot of fun. We enjoyed last year. We did shows in Germany with Life Of Agony and that was really a lot of fun. the crowds were great. The response was really good and we were treated very will. So that was definitely a highlight from last year. We have been pretty fortunate in the fact that we've played with bands that were nice to us, that treated us well. the crowds were great everybody. I mean, we haven't really had any bad tours.

TD: You mentioned Josh Silver a little earlier. He produced your demo, I noticed, and your album, "Number One". Do you feel he has influenced your music in any way and how is he to work with on the albums?

HF: Well, I mean, Josh definitely brought the Type O Negative influence into the band. You know, like a lot of harmony of the vocals, but I was always into that as well. Song writing - I like developing songs in that way to make them sound bigger. And Josh was great to work with. He was a pleasure, he knew exactly what we wanted to do before we went into the studio. It was much easier doing it that way and he has been a big fan of the band as well and he has definitely helped us through some tough times and keeping our heads on straight, and keeping our chin up. It's a tough business to break into so... you need people who will believe in you. It was great working with him.

TD: How long have you had the relationship with Josh, and is 'Urine The Money' the first demo you came out with?

HF: Yeah that was definitely the first one we did. That was the first. We actually had a couple of demos, that was the first one... and that was the one we did first with him (Josh Silver). We started working with Josh back in '93, 1993 December, we did are first couple of songs with him, - first 4 songs with him. The "I Am No One" and a song called "Exhume Her" which is on the Metal Massacre CD, and some other songs, but he has been there from the beginning.

TD: Are there any bands from the New York scene that you feel you should look out for, (any up and coming bands)?

HF: We don't really hang out in the scene that much because there really isn't much of a scene in New York. Sure there are going to be a lot of great bands that will be coming out of New York in the future and more to come. But right now bands like Life Of Agony, Type O Negative have always been there, ya know, bands like that, that are going to be around for a while. so as of right now, I don't know of any great bands that I know of personally. I'm sure there are a lot of great bands from New York. You have bands like Crisis and bands like that which are really good. So yeah, of course there will be many more bands becoming out of New York City.

TD: What are your touring plans? What is in the near future for Pist On?

HF: In the near future we will be touring. We will probably start a tour of the US in January. Then we will be going to Europe in February for, like 3 to 4 months. Probably like, 3 months, doing festivals. We are playing Switzerland, we're playing Holland, Italy, we're playing Germany - all the big markets. And we're going to tour for as long as we can, and then we'll start working on the new album, probably like the beginning of next year, of actually '98 that will be when we start going with that.

TD: Are there any tracks form the new "Number One" CD which are favorites maybe to hear, or play live - one that you really enjoyed doing?

HF: Yeah, I enjoyed doing "Down & Out." It was a track on the album that I thought came out the best. (It) Came across the way I wanted to, and I was very happy with the result of it. Also "Exit Wounds" was really good. I like the way that turned out. It was a very big moody song and I like that. I like songs like that. In general, I mean all the songs sound great to me. They definitely came across the way that I wanted them to. Josh was very happy as well, so it was really gook. We couldn't have expected anything better. We were very happy with the result.

TD: How are things going with Fierce? Were they responsive from the start? Did you have stuff worked out with them for a while, or is this something recent that came up over the summer?

HF: We started talking with them (Mayhem/Fierce) I'd say like in May of this year ('96). We just developed from there. Chainsaw came to our shows and also Maria Arbrill from Metal Blade, and she is now working at Fierce. She definitely turned a lot of people on to us here too, and Chainsaw, as well, was a very big help, also the A&R, our A&R man, Paul Bebo, these guys have been great. They treat us very will and yeah, we're happy with the result so far. They are definitely eager to work (with) us, and they're into the band and ya know, they are willing to do whatever it takes to get us to that point. So... we are very fortunate, and we are very happy.

TD: That is all I have. It's been a pleasure to talk to you. Good luck on the album and touring and I will be seeing you on the road.

HF: Thanks a lot Tim. Take care.

Special Thanks To:
Rich Burke & Chainsaw & Mayhem/Fierce,
Dave Ciancio @ AIM Marketing,
& Henry Font of Pist*On!