“We took about a half-dozen songs, a little from each record, and instead of just doing the same-old-same-old with them, we put a little rehearsal time and production time into it.We have violin, cello, stand-up bass and piano, along with guitar and drums. So it’s a brand new take on old songs.”
Since 2004, 10 Years have attracted a loyal following. Hasek believes their fanbase would, by now, be well-acquainted with the group’s wandering experimentation.
“I think we’ve weeded out our fans and tested out their faithfulness because we’ve never made the same record twice. We felt we didn’t want to rip ourselves off or become a gimmick of ourselves, so we’ve always tested the boundaries of how heavy we were going to go or how light we were going to go.”
The band’s first major label release, The Autumn Effect, attracted a great deal of attention, prompting comparisons to the likes of Incubus and Tool. Hasek admits feeling some pressure ahead of their follow-up album.
“Our sophomore record was called Division because we did have issues with what direction we felt we needed to go. We were torn in different directions because some thought that we should bend more towards the commercial side of things and others thought we should stick to our integrity.”
Hasek hints that pushing bands onto a supposedly pre-determined avenue of success besmirches the music industry at large.
“A lot of bands suffer from the sophomore slump because there’s all this pressure to create something that’s supposed to breakthrough the rock industry or be a hit for the suits and ties, but it can really hinder or hurt the music. The musicians got where they got by being themselves and being organic and natural, but when you start putting constraints and telling them to ‘Write a hit, write a hit,’ that’s ridiculous.”
10 Years have outlasted many bands that emerged in the hard rock realm at the start of last decade and Hasek believes that following their artistic aims, rather than becoming commercial fodder, greatly benefited the band’s career.
“We saw all these bands around us get way bigger than us and then fall way lower than us and that’s a really hard thing to recover from in this industry. The entertainment business is not forgiving, they’ll tear you apart, so we feel like we’ve had such longevity because our music has substance and our fanbase really believe in us. They’re covered in our tattoos and lyrics and that kind of stuff is a true testament to our fans’ loyalty to us.”
Inspiring people to get tattoos and seeing fans sing along is an exhilarating sign of achievement for Hasek. He interprets the support as creative affirmation.
“It reassures me as a lyricist and a vocalist to stick to what I do and really put time and energy into creating songs and not just slapping it together for something to sell to people. I want to care about it. When this is all said and done and we’re done playing music and we’re old and grey, [I want] to feel that we have done something bigger than us and inspired people.”
BY AUGUSTUS WELBY
