Title of Interview – Richard Patrick of Filter
Welcome to the Fold. Filter have long been a mainstay of industrial and metal music. Part of the nu metal explosion in the mid-late 90’s, the band is currently touring in preparation for the release of a new record, Gurney and The Burning Books, which is due out this summer. Richard said he’s unsure whether the band will use the full title, or simplify it to just Gurney, but the world will find out soon enough. Lead singer/guitarist Richard Patrick founded the band in 1993. Pre-Filter, Patrick was the guitarist of Nine Inch Nails. He toured with NIN on The Pretty Hate Machine Tour, and left shortly after to form Filter. Nine Inch Nails, along with Ministry and Skinny Puppy, would prove to be heavy influences for Filter. Richard and I talked a lot about the band’s influences, and the way today’s generation of music has been influence by yester-year’s artists. The band’s freshman and sophomore outings, 1995’s Short Bus, and 1999’s Title of Record, were huge successes, and produced hits such as “Hey Man, Nice Shot,” “Dose,” “Welcome To The Fold,” and “Take A Picture.” All garnered massive radio play, and heavy rotation on MTV. Also in 1999, Filter took part in the Family Values Tour. The second year of the tour, it was the arguably the tour’s most famous year, which included Korn, Limp Bizkit, Primus, Staind, The Crystal Method, and many others. Filter was a prominent fixture in music at a time when metal was ruling the world once again. Moving into the millennium, Filter would release 3 studio albums and a greatest hits compilation (2008’s The Very Best Things). Their most recent record, The Trouble with Angels, came out in 2010. Filter is currently touring into the summer, and then they’ll be putting the finishing touches on Gurney and The Burning Books. Stay tuned for new Filter tunes, and in the meantime, go watch them CRANK IT UP on tour!