PropertyOfZack revealed the Hot Rod Circuit portion of our interview with Andy Jackson just the other day, but we’re happy to be releasing the other section regarding Terrible Things and Death In The Park today. Andy and I discussed the circumstances behind his exit from Terrible Things, label issues, new Death In The Park music, touring, and more. It’s very informative on the situation, so read up.

I guess we’ll start with the obvious: Nearly a month ago you announced your departure from Terrible Things. Briefly after that, Josh Eppard did an interview with us stating that it wasn’t exactly your call and you mildly rebutted by saying there are two sides to every story. What’s your side?
He said a lot of things that made sense and that weren’t false. It’s just three or four weeks before that Fred and I had talked and we knew we were getting dropped from the label and I’d just been contemplating the band in itself anyway because we weren’t making any money. I’ve got three kids, an ex-wife, and a dog and a life as well. I had a band, Death In The Park, that was doing okay before we even started Terrible Things and I put it on hold as well as my life for that band and all we did was spend money. Not that being in a band is about money, but when I say no money, I mean I made $0 being in that band. I spent probably $20,000 being in that band. I spent my savings and did everything I could because I believed in the band. Nothing was panning out. Every band I’ve ever been in has found a way somehow to make some kind of money to survive. Maybe it was because we were on a major label and didn’t have the same opportunities to do things the way we wanted to as much, but it just didn’t seem like things were really panning out. I needed a change in my life; I had a lot of things going on. I know that some personal stuff got brought up about a relationship that I was in and about some things that were going down. I don’t mind talking about those things, but I don’t want to trash talk anybody. I wasn’t on drugs, but I was going through a destructive path in my life where I needed a complete change. I took the time to sit back and look at things and I wanted to do something in my life and become something more positive. I was really tired of being where I was and people kept coming to me every day and asked why I wasn’t singing and why I wasn’t doing this and why Death In The Park wasn’t doing that, and after you hear that so many times, it made me think maybe I should do Death In The Park or Hot Rod. I’ve written music my whole life and I’ve worked at it for so long and I just started to miss it.

Personal reasons for your departure were also given that we don’t necessarily need to go deep into, but was that a part of it as well?
It was. Another reason to was that we knew we were getting dropped from the label and I didn’t know where it was going to go form there because it cost a lot of money from me to fly from Alabama to Pennsylvania to go play shows and not get paid. I make my money from my studio. I’d come home broke, record bands, save enough money to go back out on tour and take care of my child support, and then turn around and have no money again. It was really catching up to me. Not to mention, we were supposed to do Warped Tour all summer and I had the opportunity to have my youngest daughter for the summer, which really threw a wrench in things and furthered my decision. I was trying to contact Fred and tried to find out things about what I needed to do to get to a show and he wasn’t returning my calls and then Josh called me. There was major miscommunication because Josh has been super busy with his band and we didn’t talk every day. It just got harder to get in touch with those guys; I felt like something was going on. The label paid for my flights, so they obviously weren’t going to pay for it anymore and I just felt like it was time to go while it was cool. I love everybody that’s been involved and I have no hard feeling. I saw My Chemical Romance and Thursday the other day and I ran into Tucker from Thursday and he ran into Fred before that and said Fred had nothing but nice things to say, so that made me feel better. He said over and over again that he was talking nice about me, so there’s nothing weird. I think people think fights have to happen, but we’re all older and it’s a financial thing when it really comes down to it.

Was it difficult for you to be well aware that the creative process was happening without you?
Sometimes. There were times where Josh and Fred would go to the label and have a meeting and I found out through my roadie about it three weeks later. There was a lot of miscommunication and I was in Hot Rod for over ten years and we left on good terms and it was because our communication was open. When I first joined Terrible Things I wanted to always be honest and talk about it because it’s like a relationship and it never really panned out to be that way. I was always being left out of something whether they meant to or not. Being the guy who was a leader of bands for years, I definitely wanted to be a part of it.

Do you have bad feelings about the ending? Not necessarily towards Josh or Fred, but just possibly about the label and the CD?
I still think we made an awesome record and I’m proud of it. It was a great learning experience with our producer and Fred’s one of the best guitar players I’ve ever played with and Josh is one of the most amazing drummers I’ve ever played with. I definitely do not regret doing it. I don’t regret not being in the band; I’m much happier now. I just chalk it off to a learning experience.

The main problem fans had with the record was that you were only featured on two songs. Was that a problem to you at all?
Well I knew what I was getting into from the first day I joined the band. I was in Montgomery running sound at my friend’s club and Fred did acoustic Color Fred and played a couple of the songs and told me they were new songs and I thought they were really cool. I asked if he was doing another Color Fred record and he said he was putting a band together and I told him if he ever needed a guitar player to hit me up. It was a casual thing and then he called me a few weeks later and sent me four finished songs from beginning to end. Four songs were done without me and Josh and I thought they were awesome and I wanted to be a part of it. I knew when I was going into it that I was more of just a guitar player for him, but I was in a place where Terrible Things was more of an opportunity to do something with professionals. We had major labels looking at us and we weren’t even a band yet. It seemed like the smart thing to do at my age and where I’m at in life. It seemed like a good opportunity because Hot Rod was on a major for a little bit, but never Motown Universal. I saw stars for a second there. I went into it with the mentality of being the guitar player, but then I started writing some songs. Most songs were done before we went in to make the record. Two out of four I wrote made it on the record. In that aspect, it was never a thing where I only had a few songs, it was just that the record was done and I was lucky enough to have two osngs on the record.

Do you think that it was a mistake signing to Universal?
Yes I do. I really do. In hindsight I do. I’ve always been an indie guy and never really dealt with that whole side of things before. I think it was a huge mistake on our part. I think that we could have retained things like college radio where we built our whole fan bases with TBS and Coheed and Hot Rod. We built all of our fan bases with college radio, but once we signed to Motown they didn’t give a shit about college radio. So they skipped all the people that we worked on for ten years to create our fan base. It was part of the major label deal; they just look at the big picture and dollar signs. It was not making dollars so we got dropped.
POZ: Did it just look good?
Andy: Yeah, it looked good on paper [Laughs]. This was a label that was going to give us money for flights and tour support so we could stay on tour even if we were only making $200 a night which is nothing with the gas prices. Then we had to pay for a roadie and a bass player. We were spending a lot of money on things and other people. It never got the chance to be just a band.

You were also sick vocally for about six months. Did that take its toll as well?
I think it did. I was definitely scared and I had a period where I didn’t think I’d be able to sing again. I think that’s part of the reason I knew things had to change in my life and that I had to stop smoking pot and quit doing these things. Not even knowing if that’s the reason why it happened, but I had to do something because I couldn’t even talk. We did our first show and I couldn’t sing. It was pretty depressing, I’m not going to lie. I’ve got my voice back and I’m strong.

I believe you just produced Davy And The Gods’s debut. How was that?
It was amazing. It was absolutely amazing. They’re such good guys. It made me like music all over again. Those guys came here and sat around all day with banjos and horns and barbequed on the porch. While I’m tracking there was like a festival going on in the back yard. It was so cool to see the relationship between dudes like that. It reminded me of being young again and doing it to have fun. I think that was a kicker. It helped solidify my situation a little more. It was like a brotherhood. Everyone was on the same page working together. I really wanted to be a part of it. It’s the first record I did where I felt like I was the extra member in the band. They’d let me do guitar parts. They asked me to do a tour and I said yes. I’d love to jam with them. It’s probably going to happen. They’re coming back to record more songs soon. It’s like a big family. I think people are going to dig it.

You’ve also picked up Death In The Park again. What exactly are you looking to do with that project this go around?
We’re really truing to make a double disc. I already have over eight songs and they just keep flying out. Before Terrible Things I had four or five other songs as well. We have like twelve/fifteen songs already. I’m still writing every day too. We’re rehearsing a lot and it’s just crazy how much music is coming out and where we’re going with it. The idea is to have a natural progression that’s very melodic and dark. Some songs will be heavier and then there will be some mellow stuff. It sounds like two different records so we might do two.

Do you have interest in playing shows?
For sure. We have a few shows in the works. We are playing in Alabama in July. We’ve had some offers for a few tours. We’re all checking it out. We’re so involved in writing so that’s what we’re focusing on.

I’ve also been hearing that you will be starting another new project. Is that true, or is that just Death In The Park stuff?
It had a lot to do with Davy And The Gods. I have all these acoustic songs and those might come out. Right now the main focus is Death In The Park. I have other stuff, but now I’m focused on this and it’s going so smoothly.

That’s it. Is there anything else?
There is something I wanted to say going back to Terrible Things: I don’t know if it needs to be said, but I know stuff came up in your interview where my relationship got involved in it. Parts of me want to talk about it because I feel like maybe talking about it could help someone else. I was married for thirteen years and was gone for ten of them while my ex-wife stayed at home and raised the kids without me, I went through a really bad divorce, wanted things to be different and to change my life, I fell in love with this girl in a band that I produced and wrote for, and wanted to be a better person for that person. I focused too much of my time on her instead of myself and I lost myself. That’s what Josh was trying to say; I was too wrapped up in her and I wasn’t focused on the band or things. I wanted to be home the whole time. You can only make yourself happy. You can’t change who you are for people. The day I decided to leave the band we were supposed to get married and everything blew up in my face and we’re not together anymore and it’s all down the drain for nothing. Focus on yourself and God, or whatever it is you grab on to and don’t worry about other people so much. I’m not a great leader, but I know that I’ve had influence and I think if I can say that and if it helps anybody then it’s a good thing.