Hinder on Jagermeister tour: Are you ready for another shot?

By John Benson

The party band explores some of its influences on a new record.

Rock act Hinder headlining the Jagermeister Music Tour is tantamount to peanut butter meeting jelly or, more applicably, former Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash endorsing Black Death vodka.

For the rowdy, raucous Hinder, known for hit singles such as “Get Stoned” and “Lips of an Angel,” the offer to partner with the popular liqueur was too good to pass up.

“I think we all pretty much met at a party or a bar, so that’s what we like to do, go out and drink,” said Hinder guitarist Mark King, calling from Kansas City. “So it’s a perfect marriage for us and Jagermeister. We like to party, and we’re not shying away from that at all. I don’t know why bands wouldn’t want to be on the road and have a good time. So we make the most of it.”

In keeping with the alcohol theme, King said if Hinder’s multiplatinum debut, “Extreme Behavior,” was a power-packed shot of whiskey, the outfit’s recently released effort, “Take it To the Limit,” is “a double shot.” More so, the new CD features testosterone- fueled rockers and power ballads. There’s the lead single, “Use Me,” and “Loaded and Alone” in the former category and “Far From Home” and “Best is Yet To Come” in the latter.

“I think we all just went in the studio with a mind-set that we were going to put out the best record that we could, and I think we definitely did that,” King said. “We just like to have a good time, and when we went out on the road in 2005 and no one had a clue who we were, we just had a good time on stage. That kind of broke the mold of going to a concert and being [angry] and listening to music that just made them mad.

“So we were trying to play happier music, music with an ’80s vibe, a good party vibe. That’s definitely what I think we bring to the table, and we tried to do that again on this album for sure. “

King points to the band’s unexpected out-of-the-gate success as allowing the Oklahoma-based group to have more control over its musical direction. Specifically, he said, “Take it To the Limit” finds the band exploring influences, which includes Guns N’ Roses, Bon Jovi and M ∂tley Cr ºe. Appropriately, the Hinder boys will be able to learn what it’s like to take a walk on the “Wild Side” when it opens for M ∂tley Cr ºe in early 2009.

For now, it’s the Jagermeister Music Tour, which rolls into Austintown on Dec. 18 at the Wedgewood Entertainment Center. King said he’s looking forward to the band’s Youngstown return.

“We played The Cellar several times,” King said. “It’s a cool little venue. I think that was sold out every time we came there, even back in 2005 before anyone knew who we were. So you guys are good rockers up there in Ohio.”

While rocking Ohio is an accomplishment, longevity in the rock game is the ultimate prize.

What remains to be seen is whether Hinder will be remembered as the Poison or the Guns N’ Roses of its generation. For some folks, that answer may already have revealed itself.

“Man, I hope the Guns N’ Roses of our generation, because they actually have cred,” King said. “I think Poison, people kind of laugh them off a little bit, while GNR has good credibility, good players and good songwriters. That’s definitely what we want to be known as.”