UN: I was surprised to read that you guys have been around for over 10 years now. Has it been a hard struggle to keep the band going for this many years? I think it's a great thing that you guys have stuck to your guns for so long, it seems like most hardcore bands these days release an album or two and call it quits. You see so many stickers saying featuring ex-members or so and so that it's ridiculous! Do you see the Hoods staying together for another 10 years?

BEN: Yo, HOODS is the " UNDEAD " ! We are the band that has no choice but to go on. We've seen so many bands come and go in our time. It's always a struggle to find people that have the dedication and who aren't affraid to sacrifice everything ya know. When you put all your heart and soul into something, nothing should be able threaten or force you to quit. Everyone in HOODS has lost a job or two or five, but fuck it! Jobs come and go, just like bitches! HOODS is the only thing that we do right. this is a force that doesn't have any plans to call it quits anytime soon. Another 10 years? Fuck it, why not make it 20 or 30 more.

UN: Would you say that Victory Records is the ideal home for Hoods? They are releasing a lot of different stuff these days, but you guys are basically what people have come to expect from the label, awesome hardcore music that destroys everything in it's path.

BEN: We are totally happy with VICTORY. It does kind of seem like they don't really have to many HARDCORE bands anymore, but that's good for us. I mean it just makes us stand out above the rest. Even if we we're on another label, HOODS would still destroy their best. VICTORY is known for being a HARDCORE label and HOODS is definitely a HC band, so it's only right we go with the best.

UN: Do you think that the Hoods sound could appeal to both hardcore and metal fans? For the most part you guys are straight ahead hardcore, but every now and again you have thrash influenced riffs. I hear a lot of Slayer in a lot of the riffs. Are you guys big fans of the Bay Area thrash era? Also, do you guys prefer playing with hardcore bands or metal bands? Do you notice a difference in the crowds?

BEN: It's like this. most people don't even know what "HARDCORE' is. It's all METAL to most fools. When motherfuckers ask me what kind of music my band plays, and I say "HARDCORE" , then they say " oh, like KORN/LIMP BISCUIT " sometimes it's just to fuckin hard tryin to school bitches on the difference man. HOODS is a real HARDCORE band, but hey, a little METAL never hurt anyone ya feel me! We've always had love for the BAY AREA and of course it's gonna influence us a bit, but what you get on record is all SACRAMENTO! Most of the festivals that we play are a mix with METAL and HARDCORE bands. There is always a difference in the crowds. Most of the time it's like puttin two rival gangs in the same room together ya know. Ok, check this out. About a year and a half ago, we did a tour with DYING FETUS. It was fight central at every show. We did the MILWAUKEE METALFEST and well lets just say that HOODS kinda stood out. Them fuck sticks didn't know what to think of us. I mean, the whole entire place cleared out when we set up our little ass 4 piece drums. By the 3rd song , it was fuckin packed and the whole place went stupid crazy. All the fuckin long hairs were tryin to fight all the kids that came out to see us while they were dancing. We just told everyone who knows what HOODS is about and stands for to stick together. Next thing you know all the kids just started goin off and wreckin anyone who wasn't movin. So yeah, I guess you can see a difference in the two crowds. We tend to go over well with both.

UN: I have to say that I was totally blown away by Pray for Death. I've thought to myself many times that the scene seems to be lacking a lot of straight for the throat hardcore bands these days, and then your new album came along and blew me away. How has the response to the album been so far? Are you guys happy with how it turned out?

BEN: With PRAY FOR DEATH we took our time. Shit, we were kinda forced to. HOODS went through some shit last year. I can honestly say that HOODS almost died. I got myself thrown in jail for about 4 months in a bar fight that me and some of our krew got into. Our drummer quit on us during that time and we didn't have a permenant bassist either. After i got out, MARIO(bass) came back to finish what we started together. We found a better drummer and started writting the record. PFD is all truth. There is no lying or fakeness to it at all. We all went through our own persoal shit too. Last year was all bad for us. This year has been way better. Kids seem to love our new shit. Some like PFD better than some of our older material. Our whole band feels like it can't get no better for us right now. This is the record we needed to do.

UN: How did the decision to have Sean Taggert work on the artwork come about? Have you guys wanted to work with him for a long time? I think it's an amazing looking cover that would look amazing on a t-shirt. Just out of curiosity, what exactly does the name of the album have to do with the cover art? Can you explain the meaning of the album name?

BEN: I think that the idea to have SEAN TAGGERT do our cover was all MIKEY'S(guitar) plan. He called me up one day and asked me how I'd feel about SEAN doin our cover art. I almost shit myself. That dudes a fuckin legend. straight up! That motherfuckers no joke when it comes to HARDCORE artwork ya know. the posters, and all our merch looks so crazy. SEAN asked MIKEY what we wanted and he told him to draw up a mosh scene, where a bunch of skins are smashin out some punk rockers. The name of the record is just our way of letting the rest of the world know that it's all over now ya know.

UN: Are people ever surprised that you guys are from California? Music so pissed off and angry shouldn't come from a place that is sunny all of the time! Of course, I'm just kidding around. Do you think you guys stand out like a sore thumb amongst most California bands. I may just be out of the loop, but you don't really hear many pissed off, fast hardcore bands from California.

BEN: You'd actually be shocked on how many HARDCORE bands there are in CALI. Most of them are metalcore or whatever you want to call it. Even though there are alot of bands here, HOODS still stands out. Yo, we can't even really play in our own city cause of all the fights that tend to break out during our set. If it wasn't for our studio, we'd never play in SACRAMENTO. Most of the time people assume that we all surf and talk like BILL and TED. There ain't no fuckin beach in SACRAMENTO, just a dirty ass river that only scumfucks swim in. each of us grew up in different parts of SAC. MIKEY grew up in OAK PARK which is pretty much an all black hood. so he joined a street gang at about 12 years old. MARIO, is from the SOUTHSIDE of SACRAMENTO where there's nothin but CRIPS and BLOODS shootin and stabbin eachother up everyday. It's a constant war zone man. It's a fucked up place to grow up or raise a family. our drummer(NAVENE) lives in BERKELEY which is right by SAN FRANCISCO. So it's not too bad out there. as for me, i'm from the WESTSIDE of town accross the river. I lived there till i was about 17 then I came downtown and never went back. I don't miss that place at all. WEST SACRAMENTO was the METH CAPITOL OF THE WORLD for about 5 years straight. Most of it was cooked up in my bedroom by my pops. I guess you can get a small taste of how and why HOODS attack and smash anything that stands in the way. That's real talk!

UN: You guys have been touring since 1995. Is touring still a satisfying experience for the band? I'm sure after 8 years you have a formula for touring that works. I'm sure setbacks still occur though, from what I've heard touring is a very unpredictable beast. Have you guys had the chance to tour outside of North America yet?

BEN: For HOODS , touring is what it's all about. There's nothin else like it. We are straight up fuckin road dogs. We've been doin it ever since 95. The whole fuckin country with no support or help from anyone. You bet your ass we've had our share of road hell. Too many to count man. We still do alot of D.I.Y. tours though, just for the love of the game ya know. That's why we got the respect that we have all over this country. Yo, from EAST to WEST motherfuckers know our name. We had the respect way before signing to VICTORY. I'll be honest though. Having a label like VICTRY behind us certainly makes it a lot easier tour wise. we are always greatfull for their support. Most of the tours we've done have been in the states, but hope to go to JAPAN, EUROPE, SOUTH AMERICA, Fuck and anywhere else we haven't pissed on yet or that will let us enter. We'll play anywhere and blow up the motherfuckin spot like what!

UN: Would you say that you treat your music as a form of release? Reading through the lyrics, it's pretty easy to come to the conclusion that it's a very pissed off record. Is the music the solution to your aggression?

BEN: I guess you could say that this is our way of venting. Like i said before man, there is no lies in our shit. The lyrics are exactly how we feel or what we've seen, even been through personally. I mean we still get into shit and beat fools down, but we've calmed down for the most part. Still, it doesn't really take much to set any one of us off. I think that we've gottin better through the years though.

UN: Would you say that hardcore music is still a positive thing even if the music is angry and pissed off? I think it's a very positive thing when a group of complete strangers can get together, dance, sing along to the music, and feed off of each other's energy. More so then any type of music, you don't really see much distance behind the fans and the band members. They are part of the same family, so to speak.

BEN: Fuck yeah I'd say HARDCORE is a positive movement. This is a one of a kind scene. There's nothin else in the world that can even compare to this shit. If you can be pissed off and speak your mind and have motherfuckers feelin you that's most def a positive thing. I can probably go un-announced to any state and make one phone call and have at least 30/40 places to crash out. It is a family thing for sure. Your in or your out. If your out than it's like " fuck you, don't burn bridges" ya feel me. There's alot of bullshit that comes and goes in the scene, but for the most part we strongly feel that HARDCORE is a positive thing.

UN: Do you guys ever think about trying to break into a bigger market? A lot of kids haven't been exposed to what real angry music is. Hatebreed being on Ozzfest was a good start. I'm not one to judge any bands, but a lot of the mainstream bands seem to be forcing themselves to be angry. Sure, they are screaming but what do they have to be screaming about really? Would you guys jump at the chance to be on one of the bigger summer festivals?

BEN: That's true, a lot of kids don't know shit. They only know about what's fed to them. If HOODS got offered the chance to play at OZZFEST or whatever, fuck yeah we'd do it. Of course you'll have those kids who are gonna be like you sold out, but what the fuck have they done for this scene? Yo, we aren't an overnight success. We've paid our fuckin dues in this game. With bands like HATEBREED and SWORN ENEMY on those bigger gigs is only gonna make the scene bigger and stronger as long as they don't forget about the heart, soul, and integrity thats kept it alive for all these years. I look at it like this. if we did a tour with let's say, KORN or someone just as huge. A good chunk of their crowd is gonna like HOODS just cause we are raw as fuck. We just want to stabb bitches in the face with our music and move on to the next victim, I mean city.

UN: There was a pretty big gap in between albums for you guys. Do you think it'll be another two year wait until the next Hoods album? Do you think you'll take your time recording again? I'm not in a rush, but I'm curious to see how you guys come back again to top Pray for Death.

BEN: Hopefully it doesn't take as long to put out a new record as it did with PFD, but you never can tell whats gonna happen with us. I'm hoping that nothin fucks us up , but regardless, our records are only gonna be more real and filled with all the hate SACRAMENTO tends to harbor.