Last month metal rockers Lamb of God released their tenth studio album into a world of fans in quarantine. They officially pushed their co-headlining tour with Megadeth into 2021 (dates below) and while that definitely gives us something to look forward to… it can’t hurt to check in. It’s a tough time for everyone, but it’s especially easy to overlook those unsung heroes of a live show—the crew guys. In this episode of Backstage with Crew nation, LoG guitarist Mark Morton catches up with his guitar tech Jake Hobbs. They talk about how Jake joined the LoG crew, the intuitive nature of what he does day to day and what they’re looking forward to most. Watch:
How they met:
Jake Hobbs: I met Mark at an arcade, in Louisville Kentucky. Lamb of God was doin' a show in Louisville and my wife and I and a couple friends went out to the show, met up with 'em.
Mark Morton: Beyond like a cool fan or whatever, it's weird to call you a fan, but I mean, I guess at that point you were a fan of the music, right? So, but yeah, we just developed a legitimate real friendship and then I found myself in a situation where I've had trouble keeping a guitar tech. I'd like to think it's not because of me, but maybe it is, but-(laughs)
JH: You were like, well, why don't you come be my tech? I was like, what? You know, of course. I came to Mark's house, that was the first time that I was ever on an airplane, I'd never flown until I flew to your house and he had a rig sent there so I could see the rig and see the signal path and how things worked and everything.
MM: Your first show you ever teched professionally or at all really, was in Bangalore, India. So you get to India a day late, right.
JH: I got there the morning of the show. Hadn't slept for two days probably, just because of all the stress and everything. And I distinctly remember the other crew guys, like man you need to get some sleep or somethin' you know. I was like, okay, so I remember layin’ down thinkin' what have I done?
MM: I think it's worth mentioning that you left a pretty good job to do this, a really stable, well-paying job, that you left to join the circus.
JH: Yes, I kinda topped out of my career path. I didn't think there was much room for movin' up, so-
MM: You decided to move down.
The details:
JH: With Mark, I'm usually carrying four guitars 'cause they don't have a lotta tunings. I work for other bands too, and there's times where I have 15, 16, 18 guitars, you know. There's a checklist of things everyday that I have to do. You know, at this time I set up the gear, at this time I change strings, stayin' ahead of the game is a big part of being a crew guy. You always take care of the little things, and the big things are covered if you do that.
MM: He's a great guitar player, and interestingly to me, Jake plays kind of naturally intuitively more like me, stylistically. So he knows, sort of intuitively, what little changes I want and how it should feel, and how it should sound. So we're really fortunate that we get along so well and that he kind of is already in sort of the same lane as me as a player. Sometimes he knows what I want more than I know what I want and that's what you want in a tech.
I think it's testimony to how great our crew is, like these guys can roll into any of those settings and put on a Lamb of God show. Guys like Jake make that experience happen as much or more than guys like me.
The future:
JH: There's thousands of people like me right now that our future is very uncertain.
MM: The virus, pandemic has effected everyone. I realized it was gonna be a thing before we had any sort of official changes made in any of the band stuff. I mean, you know, I watch the news, and you saw it coming.
JH: I had a really good friend in Italy that I was texting back and forth with and the situation there was pretty dire at that point, so I was like, oh wow, this is gonna affect things.
MM: It's really hittin’ a lotta these guys really hard and I really applaud Live Nation for this campaign.
JH: Since I started teching, this is the longest stretch that I've ever been home. So on the good side, I’ve got to spend more time with my family than any other time that I've been doing this so I've really been tryin' to enjoy that and Mark and I send each other pictures of our little projects we have goin' on.
MM: He's stays well advised on my projects with my chicken coop that I built a couple weeks ago. Gave me some pointers.
JH: It's so much more than just a job to me, what I do.
Being able to facilitate making people happy is very important to me and I take a lotta pride in that.
MM: That whole experience brings people joy, it brings people happiness and when I see a parent and a child on the barricade and you see them sort of passing that love for music on to their kids, that gives me goosebumps. We were a part of that moment.
To be a part of that system and a part of the joy that comes from that, it’s an honor, man, it really is.
JH: Personally I just can’t wait to look out on that front barricade and see all the smilin’ people with their fists in the air again. Gettin' to watch and experience the music that they love.
Megadeth / Lamb of God / Trivium / In Flames 2021 Tour Dates
July 9 - Detroit, Mich. @ DTE Energy Music Theatre
July 10 - Mt. Pleasant, Mich. @ Soaring Eagle Casino
July 11 - Toronto, Ontario @ Budweiser Stage
July 13 - Burgettstown, Pa. @ S&T Bank Music Park
July 14 - Cincinnati, Ohio @ PNC Pavilion
July 16 - Bristow, Va. @ Jiffy Lube Live
July 17 - Charlotte, N.C. @ PNC Pavilion
July 18 - Raleigh, N.C. @ Red Hat Amphitheater
July 20 - Boston, Mass. @ Rockland Trust Bank Pavilion
July 21 - Wantagh, N.Y. @ Northwell Health at Jones Beach
July 23 - Darien Center, N.Y. @ Darien Lake PAC
July 24 - Holmdel, N.J. @ PNC Bank Arts Center
July 26 - Camden, N.J. @ BB&T Paivlion
July 27 - Cleveland, Ohio @ Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica
July 28 - Indianapolis, Ind. @ Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center
July 30 - Laval, Quebec @ Place Bell
July 31 - Quebec City, Quebec @ Videotron Centre
Aug. 3 - Green Bay, Wis. @ Resch Center
Aug. 4 - Minneapolis, Minn. @ The Armory
Aug. 6 - Chicago, Ill. @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
Aug. 7 - Kansas City, Mo. @ Spring Center
Aug. 8 - Rogers, Ark. @ Walmart Amp
Aug. 10 - St. Louis, Mo. @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
Aug. 11 - Nashville, Tenn. @ Nashville Municipal Auditorium
Aug. 12 - Atlanta, Ga. @ Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
Aug. 14 - W. Palm Beach, Fla. @ iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre
Aug. 18 - Corpus Christi, Texas @ American Bank Center Selena Auditorium
Aug. 20 - Austin, Texas @ Germania Insurance Amphitheater
Aug. 21 - Irving, Texas @ The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
Aug. 22 - Houston, Texas @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Aug. 24 - El Paso, Texas @ Don Haskins Center
Aug. 25 - Albuquerque, N.M. @ Isleta Amphitheater
Aug. 27 - Denver, Colo. @ Pepsi Center
Aug. 29 - Phoenix, Ariz. @ Arizona Federal Theatre
Aug. 31 - Reno, Nev. @ Reno Events Center
Sept. 1 - Irvine, Calif. @ FivePoint Amphitheater
Sept. 2 - Concord, Calif. @ Concord Pavilion
Sept. 4 - Portland, Ore. @ Moda Center
Sept. 5 - Auburn, Wash. @ White River Amphitheatre
Sept. 7 - Pocatello, Idaho @ Portneuf Health Trust Amphitheatre
Sept. 8 - Salt Lake City, Utah @ USANA Amphitheatre
Sept. 10 - Las Vegas, Nev. @ Mandalay Bay Events Center
