It’s been a while since Northern Michigan University students have had the chance to enjoy a big concert, but students looking for one last night of fun before cramming for exams will be able to do just that when rock band Hinder comes to town.
The event is sponsored by Northern Arts and Entertainment (NAE). NAE president, Whitney Tapani, said bringing the band to campus answers a long time request made by NMU students.
“Students are ready to see a good, major concert here,” Tapani said. “The last performances we had were Emerson Drive and Dashboard Confessional, which were both a pretty long time ago.”
In an online poll conducted by NAE, students voted Hinder with Papa Roach as the concert they would most like to see come to Northern. Although Papa Roach was later dropped, three other bands were added to the line-up. Canadian post-grunge bands Theory of a Dead Man and The Veer Union, along with southern rock band Blackstone Cherry will all pose as the opening acts of the night.
The main attraction, Hinder, was formed in Oklahoma City in 2001. It began with lead singer Austin Winkler, guitarist Joe “Blower” Garvey and drummer Cody Hanson. The three formed the core of Hinder, and began performing with bands in their area. They later added guitarist Mark King to the line-up, and after seeing Mike Rodden play bass with a band in August 2004, asked him to join as well.
Rodden said that what brought them all together, and makes them work as a band, is simply their shared love for music.
“I think I can speak for the whole band in saying we all wanted to do this since we were teenagers,” Rodden said. “We all went through the stage where we realized we sucked at sports and everything else, so we picked up music.”
The band signed with Universal Records in 2005, and released their first album, “Extreme Behavior,” soon after. Their first single, “Get Stoned,” did well on the charts, but it was the next song they released that propelled them into the rock n’ roll spotlight. “Lips of an Angel” soon became the band’s signature hit, taking the No. 1 spot on charts in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. It also made it to No. 3 on the United States charts.
“‘Lips of an Angel’ is the song we owe our career to,” Rodden said. “I don’t think we’ll ever be sick of playing it. It’s an honor when someone screams out the title and wants us to play it.”
In November of 2008, the band released their second album, “Take it to The Limit.” The album debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 charts, with 81,000 sales its first week. Through late 2008, Hinder headlined the J’d1germeister Music Tour with rock band Trapt.
When it comes to Hinder’s music, it has been described as everything from post-grunge to pop/rock. Comparisons have been made to rock legends such as Guns N’ Roses, Motley Crue and Aerosmith. Rodden said being compared to these bands is an honor, but he thinks Hinder has their own unique sound.
“I’d say straight forward rock with a twist . our music can pretty much be described as a good time,” Rodden said. “Being compared to all the bands we look up to is an honor, but we’re just trying to do our own thing.”
Hinder’s upcoming visit to NMU has not only caused excitement on campus, but all over the community as well. Jim Koski, program director at local radio station Q107 WMQT, said he was instantly excited when he heard the band was coming.
“We play a lot of Hinder (at WMQT), and ‘Lips of an Angel’ is still one of our most requested songs,” Koski said. “Plus everyone I’ve talked to who has seen them in concert said they were phenomenal . when I first heard they were coming, I thought ‘this is going to be great and it’s going to sell out.'”
Because of WMQT’s frequent playing of Hinder songs, NAE decided to pick the station to welcome the band to Marquette. This includes broadcasting live from the Berry Events Center before the concert, and also involves a contest put on by the station.
The “Hinder Your Heart Out” contest is a way for one student and one community member to each win two tickets to the concert. To do so, the fan must call into the station during a specific time and sing a clip of their favorite Hinder song. Their name will then be put into a drawing for the prize, which includes: dinner at the Landmark before the concert, a ride in the Checker Cab stretch Hummer, being on hand for the live broadcast and a chance to meet the band after the concert.
“It’s been a while since we’ve had a really powerful concert here,” Koski said. “There’s no doubt in my mind that whoever wins this contest, and whoever else (attends the concert) on April 16, will have a blast.”
For Rodden, the excitement throughout the community only adds to the band’s eagerness to get on the stage. As the first stop of the tour, NMU will get a taste of a band that is ready to get back into the swing of performing.
“Colleges and smaller towns are the best places to play,” Rodden said. “Plus, we’re playing with three bands that we’re really good friends with and always have a blast performing with, and that shows in our shows . it’s going to be fun.”
The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. on April 16 at the Berry Events Center. Tickets for NMU students are $18 general admission, $20 floor; non-students tickets are $21 general admission, $23 floor. Day of show purchases are an additional $2 to each price. Tickets are available at NMU EZ Ticket Outlets or online at www.nmu.edu/tickets.
