Skrillex is bringing his acclaimed Full Flex Express train tour to Echo Beach on July 11th and the lineup is massive, it’s him and Diplo as Jack U, Zeds Dead, A$AP Ferg, Tycho, Kiesza, Hundred Waters, and Anna Lunoe x Mija. The whole tour is inspired by the 1970 Festival Express with The Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin and The Band. Skrillex wants to bring back the collaborative spirit of that tour, all the artists travel together by train and Red Bull provided them with a studio to work in.
We touched based with Hooks (1/2 of Zeds Dead).
Zeds Dead
TheSceneInTO: You’ve toured a lot and given the chance, what’s the one thing you wished someone had told you while starting out? Any life lessons from the road?
Hooks: I didn’t know about the hotel points programs. If I had been collecting points since I started I’d have a lot of free nights. Other than that kind of stuff probably just should have read more books. Even if I just read a few pages in the time between when they say put your electronics away on takeoff and landing I would have read a lot of books.
TheSceneInTO: Where does your inspiration for music come from? Do you lock yourself up until the ideas flow or is there a method you work through?
Hooks: Ideas get started all the time wherever we are, in the studio, on a plane, in a hotel, etc.. So for us it’s a constant process of looking through old ideas and moving them along as well as starting new ones. So it’s always different, sometimes the inspiration is the idea you made a few weeks ago, sometimes it’s just messing around with sounds for a while and something pops into your head, I’ve had times where I woke up with a melody and had to record it into my phone.
TheSceneInTO: What’s the one festival you’ve always wanted to perform at? Any artist you’ve wanted to collaborate with?
Hooks: Burning Man looks like a crazy time. I’d be into one day getting out there for that one.
TheSceneInTO: Who’s on your current playlist? Anyone in particular you’re keeping your eye on?
Hooks: Just looking at this months playlist I got some Billboard, Mssingno, Lido, Nebbra, Yatch Club, Braille, Ivy Lab, Tchami, Memorecks, Elliot Moss, Ten Walls, Travis Scott, Asap Rocky, Action Bronson, Flume, Lockah, and a bunch of other stuff. The stuff I listen to is mostly laid back stuff. I get most of my fix of loud club bangers when we play them at shows.
TheSceneInTO: What’s the weirdest thing that’s ever happened to you while touring or performing?
Hooks: Meeting Hulk Hogan was one of the most surreal experiences for some reason. I used to have an action figure of him when I was a kid and then to see him introducing us and throwing up the Z hands kind of blew my mind.
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