Interview with Nate from Highway Eyes
Don't hassle me I'm loco
I spent a lot of my life thinking way too much about everything and one of those things is the nature of friendship. I have written a bunch of songs about different dynamics, passed judgments I may not stand by today and made concrete declarations that feel juvenile now. One thing I have grappled with the past few years is the way that some people are able to weave in and out of your life in a seamless way that feels like you hung out yesterday no matter how long it’s been. This is all in regards to this posts subject, my friend Nate. Nate brought me on my first tour ever as a roadie for the band Rattletooth and the second tour as a brand new member of the band. He is someone who truly changed my life in so many ways from introducing me to the road or various artists that hold a a lot of importance to me it is my honor to be able to be a part of his return to playing music with Highway Eyes. I knew before this band even played a show I wanted us to help release music for the band. If I remember correctly I am pretty sure I was one of the first 5-10 people he ever tattooed. I don’t like to speak for Ashton but I know it means a lot to her as he did some of her first tattoos. Check out the highway Eyes 7” and pick up a copy if you know what’s good for you.
Read on for talks about friendship, music, movies and the crack market.
LDB: Okay introduce yourself, who are you and what do you do?
Nate: Hey, I’m Nate Hardy. I tattoo in Louisville, Kentucky and play guitar and sing in Highway Eyes.
LDB: You have been playing in bands in the Kentucky/Ohio area for as long as I have known you but I know you took a fairly significant break from music before Highway Eyes. How long were you dormant and knowing you to be a big riff guy how long have you had some of the riffs that are coming to fruition with Highway Eyes? Or did none survive the break?
Nate: Yeah I took a pretty long music hiatus from 2012-2022 when we started kicking around songs for Highway Eyes. Haha I am a HUGE riff guy. There’s one song that survived the break. We’re demoing a bunch of new stuff right now and a song that we play live called Swirl Pool was written around the time I stopped playing in bands. It even has the original chorus from back then that was stolen from an unreleased/unrecorded Rattletooth song which is strange but cool (I think)
LDB: That was one thing that I think set Rattletooth aside from other bands like us was how much I feel you could work the songs differently to sound okay for another type of band. Prior to the hiatus you, to my knowledge at least, only did heavy bands and Highway Eyes is distinctly different to say the least. Did you ever actively play in anything resembling the music you are currently playing before?
Nate: Yeah absolutely I think that was true. Oddly enough other than bedroom demos for the last 25 years I’ve only played heavier music. I think when I was young and dreamt of being in bands in rural Kentucky, by the time I moved and came of age heavier and aggressive music was the accessible avenue to pursue music/play shows and it was fun. I’ve always wanted to be in a band exactly like Highway Eyes though so it’s been super rewarding creating it with my friends. It all falls together so easily and it’s so fun being in a rock band with open chords and loud amps. Incredible. No notes.
LDB: You were very responsible for opening my eyes and ears to music in and out of HC to an embarrassing degree. I don’t think I have ever admitted to this but I once went to see Drive-By Truckers with my dad based only on the fact that you and Frank talked about them in the van so much. I ended up nodding off at the concert mostly because it was seated but also because I was so bored. It took another year or so for DBT to hit my ear the right way. I remember being so in awe of the depth of music knowledge you had. I was a fairly good student of HC but you helped me find and fill blindspots.
Nate: That’s awesome to know and thank you for the compliment. It’s a pleasure to still trade music and new bands with each other after all these years. That’s funny about Drive-By Truckers, I went to see them once at the Hazard High School auditorium with my parents and Tyler Childers opened shortly after Purgatory came out. That album was starting to catch on and he set the place on fire short of people swinging from the rafters then DBT came out and played for 3 hours, we were trying to leave but my parents refused and I got so bored after one and a half hours.
LDB: That is so funny I don’t believe I would be that bored by that now but I also wasn’t blown away by their last coup[le records. Trading music with you has always felt pretty lopsided but I think it’s because the music you have shown me have turned into full on obsessions. I remember distinctly having never given Hatebreed a solid chance and you playing them in the van opening my eyes. You also played Superdrag and Steve Earle’s Guitar Town while tattooing me sparking life long obsessions with both. I was already somewhat interested in Steve Earle but you intensified it. When you guys were getting Highway Eyes together I remember you describing it as 90’s emo and I have heard some people even give it the alt country tag but when I finally heard the band my takeaway was that it sounded like terrestrial college radio in the best way. What are you all cribbing from with the band that you can pinpoint?
Nate: That’s so cool. Everyone should listen to Steve Earle and Hatebreed. Embrace the Live Mas mentality. There is so much and both of those things are elements of it but it doesn’t complete the whole. Alt country (whatever that is or means to whoever) has been part of my life probably as far back as the term was coined so Matt and I love pulling those things into it but it’s a lot of 80’s/90’s rock and emo music we grew up with too. Westerberg/Replacements, Gin Blossoms, The Cure, Everclear, Superdrag, Spoon, The Promise Ring, Jimmy Eat World, Counting Crows, Weezer, Smashing Pumpkins creeps in a alot from my perspective. But anyone in the band could probably give a different answer to what their contributions are inspired by.
*** Also though I never connected with these before Highway Eyes but was fully aware of them, Superchunk and Guided By Voices (live, check out late 90’s shows on youtube) have been really good to discover and I feel like we have those vibes unbeknownst to me.
LDB: Hearing that I stand by my assessment that college radio works as a perfect shorthand. I have also only found Superchunk in the last few years! Beyond riff guy I know you to be a double threat lyrics guy as well and something I always loved about being in Rattletooth were not just the way you tackled different feelings and topics with your own lyrics but the way you managed to steal lyrics from various other artists to incorporate in the songs. This is something I have done ever since and definitely owe that little game to you. Is that something you are still doing and are there any you want to cop to whether it’s from the new 7” or the demo?
Nate: I love easter eggs in any form of media. I’m trying really hard to think but we haven’t done that yet! Kind of hard to believe but I’m sure we will. There are a few movies and TV shows we’ve borrowed lines and themes from. X-Files shows up on the demo and I have a couple other songs inspired by it. Duncan Cherry and I have done a good job of disguising that as much as we can. Thank you so much for the compliment about the lyrics, sometimes they feel like the bane of my existence. Duncan and I have been sharing the duties and collaborating so far and he’s doing a great job of it.
LDB: I was going to ask if you were aware of him doing it at all. I like borrowing from TV and movies my favorite Rattletooth song is the one we never recorded that had the line from Planes, Trains and Automobiles. I know I keep coming back to the topic of music sharing but so many of my formidable memories of our friendship revolve around those moments. I can remember one time while I was tagging along with you delivering newspapers overnight you showed me the Depression EP and being blown away with how heavy it was. (Editors note: he also showed me Agitator Enter Vice Lords that same night) You have had, I will say an eclectic career path from delivering papers to tattooing to social work and back to tattooing. What are the oddest jobs you have had?
Nate: That rules I forgot about that. I’m gonna have to fugure out how to listen to that song (Editors note: he has to be talking about the Ghost of Cabbage Town), so much of that stuff is gone from my brain. Sharing music, movies, books whatever with my friends is the best and that’s why my job is the best. We get to listen to music all day, new stuff, old stuff, whatever stuff. I’ve had so many weird jobs, scanning death certificates for a life insurance company and seeing all the strange, insane and brutal ways people died was pretty weird but nothing beats tattooing. Having a sex worker remove her shirt and lift a boob up where a little baggie of crack falls out, then tries to use that as payment can’t be topped. I’m all for trading and bartering but I come from old crack money and I just didn’t need it ya know?
LDB: Dude that’s incredible and really makes some assumptions that either you are down to smoke the crack or possess avenues for monetizing the crack. I would honestly rather take crack than bitcoin tho. I feel like crack at least has functional value and may be a more stable commodity.
Nate: Absolutely. It’s a crack market. I’ve been saying that. And I obviously put off the crack vibes so I GET IT but still a wild jump to conclusions. I appreciate there’s still some magic left in this hellscape.
LDB: Speaking of hellscape something I thought about yesterday but think of on an almost weekly basis and figured I would get your take on it. How sad are you going to be when Bill Murray dies?
Nate: Dude it’s going to be so weird. There’s a reckoning coming where everyone we watched in movies or listened to in headphones or in the car with your family growing up is going to die. Bill Murray will be wild, everybody just put down your phones that day and don’t drive angry. The SNL 50th anniversary stuff recently was bittersweet, seeing how old everyone is now. With that said RIP Phil Hartman always.
LDB: Phil Hartman was an incredible presence and was maybe one of the first people who truly delighted me to pass away, the only other that comes to mind is Chris Farley because I feel like John Candy passed before I grasped the concept of death. I think keeping things like that in mind though morbid makes you appreciate all the warm feelings that art and performance can bring to your life. I will always associate Bill Murray with our friendship because the first time I saw Rushmore and enjoyed it was with you around when we became friends.
Nate: John Candy was the best. He still holds up, even in the weakest movies he’s still bigger than ever and makes it watchable. Rushmore is so good. I think I still have the copy I bought on the cheap somewhere in Delaware on tour with you sometime. I haven’t watched it in a while, withb the passing of Gene Hackman I’ve been wanting to go back to The Royal Tenenbaums. Bill Murray is larger than life in everything but him as a quiet broken person in Rushmore is so good. He was a big influence on Rattletooth, I feel like it was born out of quoting What About Bob. Also you and I cannot beat the Step Brothers allegations, we watched that on repeat on a whole tour and played it on a laptop at the merch table for all to enjoy.
LDB: Dude we watched Step Brothers every time we got in the van that entire tour. It is such a shame that split we did isn’t on streaming I have to dig the vinyl out any time I need to hear that Step Brothers soundclip. Closing this out I wanted to ask if you remember the Rattletooth curse? It felt like nothing could go right in that band but I often wonder if it was just that time and nothing went right for anyone. Still to this day when bad shit happens part of me thinks the curse is back.
Nate: I think it’s streaming on spotify now. Yeah the curse was a real thing. We definitelty got a spiritual spanking for being blashphemous rubes haha. I think the curse lasted longer than the band or even the memory of it.
LDB: It is what we get for calling the fucking 7” Curses and for anyone curious about what we are talking about check out the Rattletooth song 20 Roses, it’s here to fuck shit up. Well Nate thank you for chopping it up with me for this. Everyone check out the Highway Eyes 7” and get tattooed by Nate if you can. Is there anything you wanna touch on before we shut this down my dude?
Nate: Just thank you again for all the kind words and years of friendship. Also thanks to you and Ashton for putting out this record, it’s a great honor and we’re so happy to work with ya’ll. Love you my guy.
LDB: I love you Nate, whether we sell a thousand of these things or ten I am so happy this exists and so is Ashton.
I want to thank Nate for being a constant in my life and I hope to anyone reading this you have people like him in yours. Someone who is always there to pick right up where you left off no matter how long it’s been. Pick up your phone and reach out to someone that adds value to your life that you haven’t had time for in a while, and make that time.
“Life is long when you’re lonely.” - The Ergs