HED pe / hed (pe)
Punk and hip hop have always shared one thing in common: a genuine D.I.Y. aesthetic. Back in the day before either sonic genre was seen as a viable commercial endeavor, both camps alike had to press up their own records, book their own shows and generally fend for themselves. Not much has changed, except that now the hard driving guitar angst of punk and the low-end rumble of rap dominate the commercial radio airwaves.
For the most part, when a rock group attempts to appropriate rap into the mix, the result is often forgettable or, at best, predictable. But forget all that. Enter (hed) pe out of Cali's Orange County with a style they call "G-Punk," and representing this style to the fullest. (hed) pe's sonic assault warps a metallic density with a nearly surreal sense of texture and invention that suggests a grand collision of Rage Against the Machine, Bad Brains, Funkadelic and The Bomb Squad-sometimes in the same song. Comprised of M.C.U.D., Wesstyle, B.C., Mawk, Chizad and DJ Product the turntable arsonist, (hed) pe is poised to hit the world with a blast of raw, unfiltered punk-hop. (written circa 2000)
(hed)pe Q & A with drummer B.C. - August 2000
ROL: How would you describe your music or your sound?
B.C.: Damn, we get asked that question alot and I still don't know how to answer it.. Let's see... I'll stick with our old term "G Punk."
ROL: What sets hed apart from other bands?
B.C. : I think our sound in this genre is totally different than our peers. I can't really pin- point it but if you listen to our whole album, that question answers itself.
ROL: What is the reason for changing the "p.e." after the band name for each album?
B.C. : In the beginning, we were called simply, "hed." Then when we got signed and the label told us we had to either change the name or add something to it. So, we added PE for Planetary Evolution but still hoped we could be just "hed" someday. Then the first album came out with the new (hed)p.e. logo and people would come up to us and say, "hey, don't you play in hed pee?" So for this record, we decided to change the logo to just "hed" and to change the meaning of PE to Planet Earth and put it under (hed) so that goes away. Hopefully for the next record, we will just be "hed."
ROL: How does "Broke" differ from your previous album?
B.C. :We slowed this one down a bit. Jahred's more melodic, and the songs were created during last summers Ozzfest so we had a few more influences to help with the creative process.
ROL:What was the hardest part of making the album?
B.C. : The waiting around.. Alot of time spent making a record is getting great sounds. So, there is alot of waiting.
ROL: How were you approached to cover a song for the Black Sabbath tribute album?
B.C. :We approached them. And, luckily, we didn't get to choose our song. They chose it for us but it worked out great because we love the result.
ROL: Which bands are you looking forward to seeing while on the Tattoo the Earth tour?
B.C. : We love touring with Slipknot... We taught them how to drink Jack D so they invited is to do this tour with them.. But, I am actually looking forward to all of the bands because we really haven't done much touring with any of them.
ROL: How do you feel about MP3s and other internet devices such as Napster?
B.C. : I'm pretty cool with the whole Napster thing. At our level, we don't make money off of record sales so only the label might suffer a bit. But, on the other hand, I believe most of the people who listen to our style of music are true music fans so they will go buy the album anyways. Until Napster can somehow play shows for us and sell merchandise with the (hed) logo on it, I am cool with it.