ROUGH FRANCIS & Converge Drummer Urian Hackney "Goes Viral" with Cardi B Coronavirus Mash-up/Drum Cover (The Witzard Interview)
Urian Hackney is a Vermont-based drummer, engineer, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and skateboarder. Hackney's credits include Lake Superior, Libido Reign, Maneuvers, Caroline Rose, Western Terrestrials, and Wild Leek River. Urian Hackney has filled in for Converge drummer Ben Koller on multiple occasions and plays full-time in his own band, ROUGH FRANCIS. Consisting of three brothers and two of their close friends, ROUGH FRANCIS was originally formed in 2008 as a tribute to their father and uncles' 1970's Proto-punk band, Death. ROUGH FRANCIS are currently prepping their third full-length album, Urgent Care, for release in early May. Although, amidst the global Coronavirus/COVID-19 Pandemic, Urian Hackney has made a bit of a name for himself online as a result of his topical remixes/drum covers.
Last week, we first heard about Hackney's work when Scotty "Karate" Heath from Tankcrimes (@tankcrimes) Tweeted about "the Cardi B Corona Hardcore jam on Instagram by ROUGH FRANCIS guy." In fact, Colin Hanks, whose parents, Tom Hanks & Rita Wilson, were recently tested positive (and, eventually, negative) for Coronavirus, posted said video to his Instagram, along with the Comment, "This helped me today. Maybe, it will for you, too..." With a little digital sleuthing, we stumbled upon Urian Hackney's own Bandcamp, Instagram, and YouTube pages, which include a few similarly-minded drum covers, mash-ups, and remixes. We reached out to Urian Hackney, who agreed to take part in an exclusive interview for The Witzard, which you can now peruse below. We know these are dark, uncertain times for all of us and, maybe, Hackney's covers will help brighten your day, too!
Sincerely,
Matt "The Witzard" Horowitz
WASH YOUR HANDS & STAY INSIDE!
I. Where in the world did you get the initial idea to transform Cardi B's recent "CORONAVIRUS!" meme into a 28-second Bad Brains-style Punk/Hardcore ripper?
Urian Hackney: Her voice inspired it, really. I always thought her talking voice is hilarious and boisterous to the point where she could be a "Punk" singer. I tracked that whole thing in, probably, five minutes and had no expectations for it to receive the attention that it did.
II. How did your similarly-minded "Britney Spears Toxic FT Urian Hackney" remix/cover come to fruition?
Hackney: I took [an] Instagram Poll to see what Pop artist to make into a "Punk" artist and that suggestion got the most Likes.
III. What does your typical recording process entail when arranging a one-man remix/cover of songs from contemporary artists, such as Cardi B, Britney Spears, or Mariah Carey?
Hackney: I arrange the music to a raw vocal track. Not much different than Electronic mash-ups, but, instead, with real instruments.
IV. Aside from the current state of the world at large, what exactly inspired you to record an updated rendition of Nirvana's all-too-relevant "Stay Inside" from Nevermind?
Hackney: As an engineer, I study records I like and I try to replicate/mimic them to expand my personal recording vocabulary. I've always really been into Nirvana and wanted to take a crack at re-producing the sounds on Nevermjbd. Most of the experiments I do in that manner never get heard and are personal projects. I thought this particular song came out pretty good, so I changed the lyrics to be relevant with the [times] and released it.
V. Your latest cover of The Damned's "Smash It Up!" features Tony Hawk on vocals(!) along with Riley Hawk, Keegan Hawk, Kady Hawm, Calvin Goodman, Rose Hackney, Jules Hackney, Bobby Hackney, and Horace Wallace. How did this sprawling Hawk/Hackney Family collaboration come about, especially, amidst a global pandemic!?
Hackney: Me and Tony have been talking music for a while and he reached out to me about doing a song with his family and him. He ended up buying a small interface, so he could record his vocals and his kids playing to make it happen. It, actually, came out awesome and he and his whole family are super-awesome and talented.
VI. We recently saw your band, ROUGH FRANCIS, released their latest single, "Deathwire," to streaming platforms. What can you tell us about this release and when can we expect to hear an accompany full-length project?
Hackney: As a band, this is, probably, our favorite and smoothest recording to date. My friend Kurt [Ballou] (Converge/Godcity [Recording Studio]) drove up to Vermont from Massachusetts and tracked us at our bass player, Dan [Davine's] studio in two days. (Dan is, also, an engineer.) There's another single dropping on 4/20 and the full album gets released on 5/1.
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