What is your full name?
Jason John Hodges
Do you have any aliases?
Yes, but if I told you I’d have to kill you :)
What bands are you actively involved with?
Just Ilium. Previously Oracle
What was the first instrument that you played?
I played organ when I was younger, but I don’t remember any of it :)
Tell me about one of your first musical memories?
When I was younger I guess there used to be a show on TV in Australia called Countdown which played music. In terms of metal, I was 13 and went to a friend’s place to listen to his new ‘ghetto blaster’. He played a bunch of stuff like ‘Heaven’s On Fire’ by Kiss and ‘Stay Hungry’ by Twisted Sister and my life changed forever :)
What was the name of the first band you were in?
Oracle
Tell me about the genesis of Ilium.
It was basically an extension of Oracle. In 1998 Mark (Snedden, original vocalist) and myself decided we’d try and get a band together so we could get some music recorded. We got Michael Noonan on bass and Kris Arendse on guitar (both had been in Oracle at different times) and a drummer named David Pearson. We were called Iliad at the time, but then we got Adam Smith (who had also been in Oracle) and changed our name to Ilium.
What inspired the name Ilium?
We were called Iliad, which is another name for the ancient city of Troy. When we found out there was some dance band in Sydney called Iliad we changed our name to Ilium (which is another name for Troy) so we’d only have to change two letters on our logo :)
How long did it take you to write and record Quantum Evolution Event?
It’s hard to quantify. With the title track I came up with the main musical theme and Adam turned it into a song from there. We have a lot of riffs and lyrics on hand and we just use them as the inspiration dictates :) Plus some of the songs on the EP are reimaginings of older songs. It takes a while to record though due to schedules and life. Unfortunately we can’t commit full time to it and it’s a very expensive hobby :)
If you could insert yourself into any one band what band would it be and why?
To be honest I’m not sure I’d want to be in any other band. I often have dreams that I’ve joined other famous bands though - usually bands that I grew up listening to.
Have you ever heard a song and immediately wished you had written it? If so… What was the song and artist?
Hmmm. Not sure. Certainly there are a lot of songs that have been a huge influence on us. ‘Die Young’ by Black Sabbath is an obvious one that comes to mind.
Do you have any non-metal musical inspirations?
I guess you can be inspired by just about anything. We’ve covered a few non-metal songs and certainly that has been great to break them down and re-interpret them. It also depends on what you call metal. I listen to a bit of progressive rock and melodic rock, a lot of which is in the ballpark for metal anyway.
We’ve done a few - Tragedy by the Bee Gees and I Got You by Split Enz. We were going to look at a few others, but at the moment we’re just concentrating on originals.
What band have you played with that has really impressed you with their live show?
We don’t play live. We used to play live with Oracle, but for various reasons we are just a studio band these days.
The year is 1998. Where are you at and what are you listening to?
That was the year we got Iliad, later Ilium running. I was listening to a lot of power metal like Blind Guardian and Gamma Ray, plus everything that I had always listened to by the classics :)
What advice would you give young musicians that are just starting out in the music business?
Do it for the love of it. It’s really hard for musicians these days. My advice would be more for the fans - support the bands. Spotify won’t pay them - buy their music and merchandise and go to their shows.
What is an absolute band killer?
Money. With Ilium, for some time it’s just been myself and Adam with hired guns. It’s a lot more work but we get to do things the way we want to. Time and life getting in the way tend to take their toll as well
Have you ever recorded a song that you really didn’t like, but somebody else in the band really did?
No, I really like everything we’ve ever done. Having said that, the level of production we’ve had on the last few releases has been so much better that I’d love to re-record our old stuff. We did re-record our first album and completely re-wrote it - turned out great :)
If you were to start your own music festival what would be the name of that festival and who would be the three headlining bands?
Hmmm, I should keep that to myself just in case :) As for headlining bands - I guess I’d like to have a diversity. Picking them is hard though :) Helloween or Blind Guardian maybe. Judas Priest. Rage - so many great ones.
What’s the longest time you’ve gone without bathing?
Not too long, a couple of days when I’ve been out camping I guess
What’s one thing that most people don’t know about you?
Hmm, I don’t think most people know anything about me :) I love animals and do wildlife rescue. I have about 80 pets, including snakes, lizards, turtles, frogs, native Australian rats, a cat and a couple of foxes :)
Is the Fistful of DOOM show in the top 10 of your favorite music podcasts?
Of course. It’s the only one I’m thinking of right now :)
They actually hang upside down like bats - little known fact.
You’re driving cross-country and you can only listen to one album the whole time. What album will it be?
Hmm, I have about 7000 cds - hard to choose ;) I generally consider ‘Painkiller’ by Judas Priest to be my favorite. Probably Ilium’s latest album ‘Carcinogenic’ though :)
You are writing a book about your life thus far. What is the title of that book?
I actually wrote a novel called Black Abyss once - you can get it on Amazon :) But in terms of an autobiography? Maybe name it after an Ilium song - ‘Imbecylum’? :) Maybe ‘Grey Stains The Rainbow’
What is your favorite song by Kylie Minogue?
That’s a low bar to set :) Lord (our vocalist Tim’s main band) did a cover of ‘On A Night Like This’ - it has an ‘interesting’ video :) For the sake of this interview I’ll say ‘Can’t Get You Out Of My Head’, but I avoid listening to Kylie at any given opportunity :) I’m sure she’s a great girl though.
Twelve Foot Ninja or Jinjer (if you had to choose)?
That would definitely require me to listen to them, which I’m not inclined to do :)
Doobies or Boobies (if you had to pick one)?
Option B - I’m pretty straight - don’t smoke, drink or do drugs, so that one is pretty easy :)
Waffles or Pancakes (if you had to pick one)?
Pancakes
Star Wars or Star Trek (if you had to choose)?
Hmm, I can tolerate both but not generally excited by either. I’ll say Star Trek
Favorite band t-shirt you own?
Besides Ilium shirts I’ll say my Destruction ‘Release From Agony’ shirt is cool. I just say it’s a photo of me before the operation :)
Favorite meal?
It depends. I’m vegetarian, so maybe a really good veg lasagne :)
Favorite book?
‘It’ by Stephen King would probably be the one I’d go for
Favorite movie?
I don’t watch that many. I did really enjoy ‘The Sixth Sense’ when it came out
Favorite album?
‘Painkiller’ by Judas Priest, though Black Sabbath is my favorite band overall. Thousands of great albums though :)
Massive thanks to Jason for his wildlife rescue efforts and for taking the time to answer my questions. I appreciate it. If you’d like an immediate adrenaline spike then you should wrap your ears around the high-octane fuel known as Ilium. Their new album Quantum Evolution Event will be available for your listening pleasure on January 14th. In the meantime, you can listen to their previous releases over at Bandcamp or Spotify.
~El Pedo Caliente (aka Uncle Jameson host of the Fistful of DOOM show)
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