Few bands will ever achieve the sort of press frenzy that NY's Hatebeak has; but then again, few bands will ever have a parrot as their singer. Waldo (parrot/vocals) holds his own in a genre where singers hardly sing; instead he relies on abrasive yelps and chirps, all of which come off oddly "human". In support of their debut 7" and upcoming full-length, the band (not the parrot) took time out to talk about being on the forefront of music history.

What kind of parrot is Waldo?

Waldo is an African Grey Parrot.

When forming Hatebeak was Waldo the particular parrot you had in mind? Did you ever consider a different bird?

Once we heard Waldo and his guttural scream, we knew he was our frontbird.

Would Hatebeak do a tour like Ozzfest? Would you be worried about Waldo flying away during the outdoor shows, or worse, him hanging out with Slipknot?

Considering that Hatebeak can't really play live, we couldn't do a tour, and hanging out with ANY number of bands on Ozzfest would be a bad thing for Waldo. He knows he's a "pretty boy" and all of that attention would go to his head.

I read that you guys might do a split release with Caninus (a Brooklyn-based grindcore band with two pit bulls as singers), is that true?

We are doing a split with Caninus, and actually, it's all recorded and done, and should be out on Reptilian Records in about a month.

Do you ever think that you are on the forefront of a new genre of music here? Years down the line do you feel that Hatebeak will be known as the founders of this new style of music? Do you see a day where there will be parrot frontmen for emo bands? Parrot MCs?

A new genre of music? Animal core? I don't know; I'd hope that we are acknowledged as the forerunners of this, but if not, that's ok. Hopefully, not even humans will front emo bands any longer. Although I would like to do a hiphop record with cats and call it "Insane Clown Pussy."

I read that parrots can live a very long time, do you ever worry that Waldo will replace you with younger bandmates? Or go solo after you die?

Parrots live a long time, but longer than humans? I mean, we're not pygmies, so we should outlive him. Also, as he's in a cage for the most part, I doubt "going solo" would be very tangible for him.

Does Waldo have beef with any other singers out there?

Only human singers that repress him with range and melody.

I notice Hatebeak shares a logo with hardcore veterans Hatebreed. As a singer, who is better, Waldo or Jamey Jasta? My vote is for the bird.

We don't really "share" that logo with Hatebreed, it's more of a "borrowing"--as far as who is the better vocalist... I'll let the masses decide.