Kicking ass and raising babies

How Mates of States' Jason Hammel adds some remix to his life.

By Joey Vergara

Published April 9, 2009

Only hours before his band took the stage last week for a "surprise" show in Milford, Conn., Jason Hammel made a quick run to a martial arts promotion test. There, Hammel realized the potential for disaster in fighting a kyokushin match the evening before leaving for tour -- after receiving a sound kick to the leg. "I had this huge Charlie horse," Hammel said. "I was like, 'This probably isn't the smartest thing to be doing right before I go on tour.' But I couldn't miss it."

Luckily, Hammel, the XY half of Mates of State, earned his red belt and made it back in time for the show.

This is the sort of anecdote that makes a few things fairly clear about the drummer/singer, even from a short conversation. He faces challenges with positivity and knows the careful art of balance.

Additionally, Hammel is a people person. In an effort to collaborate with others, his band is set to release a series of EPs featuring remixes of songs from last year's Re-Arrange Us.

"It's really kind of exciting how you can take a song and either highlight the things that make it a great song, or someone can show you some of the things that are great that you didn't realize are there," Hammel said.

All of which might help to explain why he and wife and fellow Mate of State Kori Gardner decided to raise their two children while on tour. Hammel doesn't refute the trials that came from that choice, but by now the family has found routine.

To deal with the regularity of having their children in the focus of the public, Gardner began a parenting blog.

"It's kind of a way to control it," Hammel said. "Even doing a Twitter page or doing your blog, you can say what is out there and people can form their opinions and fill in the blanks too. And the stuff we want to keep private, we can do that."

With such a photogenic family and sweet music, the Mates have faced an endless struggle to balance their image with their musicianship. But despite almost constant attempts by fans and critics alike to turn the band into a parody of itself with clichés about being the cutest, most saccharine thing since condensed milk, Hammel and Gardner maintain their independence and artistic creativity.

"To be honest with you, I hate those terms too," Hammel said. "It's sort of like your grandma pinching your cheek and being like, 'You're so cute.' She really just thinks you're cute, and it probably is meant as a compliment, but at the same time it hurts my cheek when you pinch so hard, you know what I mean?"

Their music is more than hook-laden power pop ballads, and they know it. Though hooks abound, the melodies are Brian Wilson-scale enterprises and the musicianship is highly nuanced.

"Maybe I'm wrong, but I like to think of us as a thinking man's music as well, if you really want to delve into the song structures and lyrics," Hammel said.

Cute or not, Hammel is exactly where he wants to be, even with his unique family lifestyle. Halfway across the country he can wake up each morning and swim in the hotel pool with his daughter, Magnolia, who, at only four, is also a touring pro.

"This is normal," he said of their lives. "As normal as anything you want it to be."