Josh Eppard has always surrounded himself with musical projects, and he is finally ready to bring back Weerd Science with a new album called Sick Kids that is due out on May 17th. PropertyOfZack was lucky enough to catch up with Josh for what turned out to be an incredible interview regarding his drug use that delayed the record multiple years, his collaborations with MC Lars, and what the future holds. Please read up, it’s an insight to Josh that does not usually come out!

You released your first album under Weerd Science called Friends And Nervous Breakdowns in 2005 on Equal Vision Records. All this time later, are you happy with the total reception it garnered up?
In some ways, yeah, and in other ways, no. That record came out and the video I did was number four on MTVu and things looked like they were really going to happen.  It was really exciting and I just couldn’t even believe that Equal Vision put the record out. It was just a collection of demos I had been writing since before I was playing drums. I was just excited that somebody put it out. Looking back, I wish that we were able to dedicate more time to Weerd Science. I was so busy with Coheed there was no way I could tour. Coheed was touring nine months out of the year. We never got Weerd Science where I wanted it to go. I think we’re gonna get the new one there. It’s going to take a lot of work. That’s the thing that we weren’t able to put in in the first record; I wasn’t able to tour on it, I wasn’t able to give it the work that it deserved. I love hip hop music; hip hop music saved my life. This time we’re going to put in the time. That’s why we’re going to Europe. I never thought I’d be going to Europe to rap. There are all kinds of good things going on, so I think it’s going to get there, but no, it never got to the place I wanted it to. I was happy, but never fulfilled.
 
There were plans as far back as 2007 for you to release Sick Kids, the follow-up to the record. Can you just discuss the extremely long delay?
Because I was a drug addict. I’d tell people, “Alright, lets do this record.” The intentions were real; I wanted to do the record. There was a whole team of people. The first Weerd Science did well enough that some people made money, so people wanted to do the next record and tour. It sucks to say and it’s embarrassing to say now, but I’m a different person now, but it’s really hard to relive those things that happened back then. I couldn’t go on tour. I couldn’t go three hours without putting a chemical substance in me. How was I even going to write a record? I was just constantly letting people down. Part of this process for me is a way to make up for lost time. I always wanted to do Weerd Science first and foremost, and nothing could ever replace that in my heart. I love playing drums, but Weerd Science is what I always wanted to do. I just couldn’t get it together. You can’t just wake up one day and say you’re better. Trust me, I tried. I tried to convince my family and friends that I was better and we’d make the record. The first couple times people would be cautiously optimistic and say, “Josh is back, we’re going to do this.” But then I wouldn’t show up to the studio because I was sick and out on the street hustling and trying to get drugs. It was awful. Trust me, no one is more embarrassed and appalled then me, but it took years. It took two years to get my head right. Hopefully we can make up for all the missed time. Hopefully we can kick some fucking ass out there. To everybody who was waiting for years for this record, we’ve been trying to put up as much material as possible. We recorded seven new songs that we’re just giving away for free. It’s definitely not going to be another five years until the next record comes out; we’re going to put out another record next year. I was always writing while I was using drugs. Some of the best shit I ever wrote was while I was in that state, but I just couldn’t get it together enough to hit the road. We would try sometimes. I would have a meeting at Equal Vision, but they could feel that I wasn’t there and I wasn’t ready, and I had to eventually move on from them. I love those guys; it’s the best record label. The Horris Records guys are the shit though. A brief answer would be: I just couldn’t get it together, that’s why it took so long. It takes a long time to kind of become yourself again. It took around a year for me to not hate myself. I fucking hated myself; I was not just depressed. It was hard to think about making a record six months down the road because I wasn’t planning on being on this planet. As dark as stupid as that sounds, I really pretty much expected to die. In a lot of ways it’s very positive to put that behind me and for Sick Kids to come out. It really turns a corner for me, because I couldn’t get it together for all those years.

The title has stayed the same, but has the content within the album completely changed from then to now?
I didn’t even track anything for the new record until 2008. We purposely kept those same tracks. We were always tweaking it in the studio. Sick Kids is the same record it was in 2008 except for a couple new tunes. It’s still dealing with the same subject matter. It’s like an expose; it’s like a journey into the mind of a drug addict. Now as a clean Josh sees that, I think it’s something that’s really interesting and unique. I can hear desperation in me on those songs, so we kept all of the vocal tracking. Literally in between cutting those vocals I’m shooting up smack in the bathroom. I can hear it. Clearly I’m a better MC now, clean. I thought we needed to keep it like that. The theme was always the same. It’s a name that spoke to me. To me, it’s the real thing. All the songs we’re cut but one in 2008. With this record I kept taking more time because of the drugs. The theme throughout is the same. It’s literally about sick kids. The town where I come from is disintegrating. It’s scary. The first time I ever tried dope a seventeen-year-old girl gave it to me. It’s a scary place where I grew up. It’s a look into the day of the life in that town and all the kids that are dying in that town. People on the streets are robbing each other and it all goes back to drugs. It’s really eating that town alive and I suspect that a lot of towns are like that. Everybody’s on prescription drugs and it eventually goes to heroine, and it’s a really deep, scary thing to me. To me, that record is the perfect expose of what’s going on in Kingston, New York.
 
To fund the album, you launched a Kickstarter and exceeded your goal by over double. How did it feel to know that so many fans were interested in hearing your new music?
It was life changing. We would go to Virginia to do a Weerd Science show and I was promising everyone on the way down that I was alright, and there I was just sick from drugs and was a total fucking scumbag that hated myself. We would do these sporadic shows because no one would come out; they were terrible shows. There was no promotion and no one knew I was coming out. It really destroyed any bit of confidence I had. The Kickstarter made me feel that at least somebody cared. It was the first time since I got clean that I felt it was really paying off. Not to get overly sentimental, but it really touched me. I was so afraid there would be $50 in that Kickstarted, but MC Lars told me people still cared. He heard Sick Kids and said he needed to help put it out. It’s a dark record. Lars’s music is tongue-in-cheek and is light-hearted, but this is as dark as it gets. I didn’t even realize it while we were doing it, but I was in such a dark place that it just came through. He made me do the Kickstarter. He’s really been the cheerleader and the guy who has championed this project. Everything is feeling great. It really touched my heart that anybody cared, let alone that we doubled our goal. I just could not be happier.
 
What do you plan to do with the surplus of capitol from the Kickstarter?
Probably not. We’re doing so much stuff with that money. We’re going to make two videos. In my mind and my heart, I think people have a jaded view of me, and that’s my own fault. I think people will be surprised though with how quick the next one comes out. We keep putting up songs and people keep listening to them. We put up a song that we did real rough in a basement with a $40 microphone and a laptop, but as long as the heart is there, we’re going to keep putting up material. It’s definitely not going to take five years to make another record. It costs a lot now-a-days to print up actual CDs with artwork. Unfortunately, most of that money is spoken for. Maybe a year from now we’ll do another one, but we plan on being where we want to be in another year. I don’t think we’re going to have a problem getting where we need to go.
 
On Warped Tour you will be playing a joint set with Lars. Should we expect some crazy things over the summer?
We’re going to go for it. Lars’s show is fucking awesome. It’s mind-blowing to me. Lars is like my hero, he stepped in and told me to stop sitting on my ass. I was bright enough to know he was right. We’re doing an EP together; we’ve already done a couple of songs for it. It’s a real privilege to me to get to back him up on songs and for him to back me up on songs. We’re doing a ton of Weerd Science songs. Lars is my hero. He’s changed my life. He didn’t have to invite me to be part of his show. He’s having his live band learn a bunch of Weerd Science songs. He’s really putting me on in a way. I think the show’s going to be phenomenal. I’m so excited.
 
Are you at all worried about being able to stay mentally fit while doing both Weerd Science and Terrible Things every day for two months on Warped?
Maybe a little. I can go pretty hard. I’m not worried, but maybe interested. I was talking to Fred before and I said, “How many things when you’re 31 are brand new to you?” I think it feels exciting. I’ll dump every bit of energy into it. I’m not worried, I know Warped Tour can be grueling, but it’s not like I’m going into Warped Tour blind. This will be my fourth time on the tour. I think I’ll kill it. I’m just excited. Half the time on Warped Tour the worst part is sitting around with nothing to do because you’ve already seen every band ten times. So me and Lars booked every off day at clubs in between Warped. We’re going for it. This is always what I’ve wanted. I’ve always believed in it. We’re not going to take a backseat to this thing. The people who give a shit about this thing, they own my heart and I owe them. I’ll just go as hard as I can for them. I’m going to give it 100%.