I know...why another HURT thread? Answer: I didn't want this to get lost in any of our others!


Music comes first - even without record label
Thursday, May 15, 2008CHRIS.WELCH@htimes.com
Lead singer J. Loren of the rock band Hurt, who admits he's a "surly, horrible person," certainly had reason to be mad at the world Monday.



The group, coming on strong in the rock world with hits like "Rapture," "Falls Apart" and most recently "Ten Ton Brick," was notified by Capitol Records Monday they were dropped by the label. It would have been the perfect time for Loren to go off during a phone interview about the music industry and he probably would have - if it was all about the money and fame.



But it's not.



For Loren and Hurt, it's about making the music, and he knows he and the band can continue to do that, with or without a label. They did two albums before releasing the successful "Vol. 1" and "Vol. II.
"



"They didn't give us a reason. I'm sure it was purely financial," Loren said of Capitol's decision. "But I don't have anything bad to say about them. The reason I signed was to get the music out there with their advertising and distribution. Now we've got to figure out other ways to get the music out.
"



"So I'm not going to complain. The band is doing excellent and we've still got thousands of fans. Whether the business lines up with it, it doesn't really matter. I was a businessman before - now I'm a musician.
"



Many might remember Loren as the wild, violin-slinging musician who performed here a few years back as part of the Jagermeister Tour with Staind and Three Days Grace. He's been performing with Hurt the last eight or nine years, but thanks to the Top 5 hit "Ten Ton Brick" things have really gotten nuts. In fact, last Monday was his only day off this month.



"It's crazy, not that I'm complaining," Loren said.



And here's something interesting from - again - a self-described bad apple. He says fans have written him saying Hurt's music has saved their lives, and he hopes to inspire others. He says that comes from his tough life experiences.



Hmm, maybe he's not that horrible after all?


"I've had a lot of misfortunes come my way and I think it's something good to memorialize," Loren said. "It's only made me better.



"I've been surrounded by a lot of death of close friends for a variety of reasons. I was so popular at a funeral home as a pallbearer that when I went to the last one, somebody asked about the briefing and one of the directors said, 'Ask him, he knows.
'


"The music has also saved him, so much that he's committed his life to it.



"I'm compelled to do it," he said. "I have no other functionality in this life.
"


"Nothing else holds my interest like music. Ever since I was a little child, I wanted to be the greatest musician in the world. Obviously, I'm not, but I want to be.
"


I reposted that from Ryan. Thank you, Ryan.


NOW I SAY:

ALL of us that know of HURT'S magic, their amazing talent, their refreshingly unique and DEEPLY emotive art in the form of music, MUST now step up like never before! We must spread the HURT, expand their fan base, help get others to buy their concert tickets, merchandise, and CDs to help keep them going, and to share their second-to-none art with more of the world!!!

We WILL do this!!! It WILL be done!!! I know HURT, and I know my fellow HURT fans.
So, fear not! I KNOW we will get this done!!!

Here's how/where you can help keep HURT going, get great things for yourself and others, and show Capital what a monumental mistake they just made.

HURT merch

Get your arses to a show, or two, or MORE, and bring as many people, HURT fans, and HURT virgins alike, to one of these shows:

05/17/2008 Crossroads Cafe Huntsville, AL (Headline)
05/18/2008 Verizon Wireless Amphitheater St. Louis, MO (Pointfest)
05/19/2008 A1A Concert Hall Lexington, KY (Headline)
05/20/2008 The Intersection Grand Rapids, MI (Headline)
05/21/2008 Motorhead's Bar & Grill Michigan City, MI (Headline)
05/22/2008 The Foundry Dayton, Ohio (Headline)
05/23/2008 The Town Ballroom Buffalo, NY (Headline)
05/24/2008 Herkimer County Fairgrounds Frankfort, NY (Line-up TBA)
05/27/08 Valarium Knoxville, TN (Headline)
05/28/08 The Masquerade Atlanta, GA (Headline)
05/29/08 Club Fusion Cookeville, TN (Headline)
05/30/08 Power Station Macon, GA (Headline)
05/31/08 Off The Wagon Montgomery, AL (Headline)
06/03/08 Bob's (Cain's 2nd Stage) Tulsa, OK (Headline)
06/05/08 Lola's Fort Worth, TX (Headline)
06/06/08 Jake's Back Room Lubbock, TX (Headline)
06/07/08 Momo's Austin, TX (Headline)
06/09/08 Smokin' Aces Mission, TX (Headline)
06/10/08 Scout Bar San Antonio, TX (Headline)
06/11/08 House Of Rock Corpus Christi, TX (Headline)
06/12/08 Scout Bar Houston, TX (Headline)
06/13/08 Capitol Street Jackson, MS (Festival)
06/18/08 The Black Sheep Colorado Springs, CO (Headline)

Also, PLEASE continue to online street team via your Myspace, Facebook, and any other pages, as well as on any boards and/or chats you regular. And, to get others to hear HURT and see what they are about, send people here:

HURT's Myspace

Here:

HURT's Facebook

AND here:

HURTband.com

And, as always, CALL YOUR RADIO STATIONS requesting more HURT!!!

~Raina

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Raina,

What?! Capitol Records are fuckin dumbasses..I thought Hurt was doing pretty well for themselves lately..I've been hearing them on the radio quite a bit and on tv...whatever the guys don't need them anyway, psh!

fuck "the man"

man fuck record labels.

this pisses me off so much

Believe me, I DO understand the anger and disgust. But, Capitol is having serious problems, may not be around for much longer, and didn't do much for HURT, anyway. I'm sure that another label will try snatching them up, soon, and will hopefully be a better fit, doing more for them. And, w/the way of the music industry atm, they may just do it themselves like other bands have been doing lately. They DID do the Recon and BMEP themselves. And, their touring was virtually left up to them. So, I'm not worried at all. Although things may get a little tougher for them than it has been, for a little while, this could actually be a blessing in disguise.

im not worried, because i know they will survive, its just shitty. god i hope Atlantic doesn't sign them....

quote:

Originally posted by hbp0819:
god i hope Atlantic doesn't sign them....

Ahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Going to see HURT tomorrow night. I can't wait!!! Woo-Hoo! Happay Memorial Day weekend!

Luckyyyyyyyyyyy! Hope/know you'll have a great time.

yay for raina!

im seeing them on tuesday!

Shoot, you better not scoot out right after their show, again, like you always do! I just may have to bring a pic of you w/me and have one of the guys find you, come up behind you, and give you a smack upside your head! hahahaha

That's awesome that Hurt is still going without a record label. It shows that you don't always need a record label to support your band.

If anyone's going to the WJJO Band Camp on July 27th, definitely check out Deaf Pedestrians. i was turned onto their song '15 Beers Ago' and it rocks! It's a fun, melodic rock song that fans of Hurt should check out.