In a brand new interview with FM99 rock girl Jessica, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH guitarist Jason Hook was asked if he enjoys touring. He responded (see video below): "Well, actually, these days, it's pretty good. I mean, we're spoiled. Each of us has an assistant and our own dressing rooms and we have a masseuse. "We kind of had this conversation a long time ago that being in a band and being on tour shouldn't suck," he continued. "It's hard to explain to the public, but there are many micro frustrations that come with changing cities and changing buildings every day. Just micro frustrations — these are not real problems. A brain tumor is a real problem. The air conditioning in the room every day is not a real problem. But it's frustrating. So if you don't know how to process all this change — this constant change — if you don't know how to process it, it can burn you out a little bit, emotionally. But we fight through it." Asked what his favorite thing to do on tour is, Hook replied: "Well, to be honest, I really enjoy playing the show. It's the best 90 minutes of the day. 'Cause the rest of it, really, is sitting around and waiting to play the show. I do maintain that I do like to play my guitar." Hook also revealed what he does right before he goes on stage. He said: "I lift weights. I'm not trying to break any records [in terms of how much I lift], but it serves a couple of purposes. One is it kind of wakes me up — if forces the blood to go through your head and your body, which kind of brings me to life. And also, I've got the VAN HALEN cranked and I do some curls and push-ups; I do some shoulder flys. I just try to get the body as awake as possible. I used to pound energy drinks, but then, the net result of that was that after the concert, having consumed six energy drinks, I couldn't fall asleep. It was a disaster. So I pick up the weights and I just swing them around and crank the music and I'm ready to go. "Look, your health is your wealth," Jason explained. "And we're not, or at least I'm not a young man anymore. I mean, this is a young man's game. When you're 25, you can drink a 24-pack of beer and, 'Woo-hoo! Let's rock.' I'm not a young guy anymore. So it's really just about preservation and survival. I know that's not a romantic rock and roll answer... For me, it's all about supplements, vitamins, cardio, weights… I don't smoke, I don't drink. I spend a lot of time on Pro Tools, computer, stimulating my mind, read books — whatever." Hook added: "We recognize that we are so freakin' lucky to have broken through a plateau that so many don't. We are so lucky that we kind of look at it, like, we need to take care of ourselves so that we can continue to do this and to make people happy — keep it going. 'Cause we've all had a back thing and a shoulder thing and a knee thing, and you realize you're not immortal. And if we want to keep this alive, we almost have to redirect our focus off of strip clubs and pool tables and Jack Daniel's to weights and supplements. That's just the truth." FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's eighth album, "F8", will be released on February 28 via Better Noise Music. The LP is the band's first to be completed after frontman Ivan Moody's very public struggle with substance abuse took him to rehab several times. FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH kicked off a U.S. headlining tour last month with THREE DAYS GRACE, BAD WOLVES and FIRE FROM THE GODS that next stops on Monday night (December 9) in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
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