In a candid interview with "Reckless" Rexx Ruger of Pod Scum, Shadows Fall and former Overkill drummer Jason Bittner delved into the motivations behind
forming his latest band, Category 7, and elaborated on his exit from Overkill after being with the band for 7 and a half years — explaining his reasons with remarkable transparency.
"If I'm being frank, the impetus, for me, was my dissatisfaction with my role in Overkill," Bittner revealed, (as transcribed by Blabbermouth). "I hadn't been happy in the band for, like, two f***ing years. It wasn't a surprise that I quit. I'd been dissatisfied for a long time, but I'm a team player. I don't like to leave things. I love the guys personally. So I just kind of hung in there, but I was not happy where I was career-wise, let's say, within the confines of that band. I wasn't a band member. And that's the main thing for me to keep doing this at this point in my life. That's why for Shadows Fall to be back together, I'm a 20 percent owner-member. I'm involved in the decisions. I just don't get told what's happening. I hate that. I'm a Capricorn. I can't deal with that shit."
Bittner elaborated on his preference for collaboration and ownership in the bands he joins. Reflecting on his career, he noted that Overkill was a rare instance where he was merely a session member rather than a stakeholder in the creative and operational aspects.
"For my whole career, for the most part, even like back to the early days, all the bands either I formed or I was instrumental in getting the guys together, or it was always just a one-for-all, all-for-one thing. Overkill was the only band I've ever played in where I was a hired gun. The only exception was Anthrax, but I was only a touring member with Anthrax, and with Prong — only touring. That's a different animal than being, quote-unquote, in the band. Even when I was in Flotsam And Jetsam, I was a 20 percent member-owner. I was involved in the decisions. So seven and a half years of that was a long time for me."
"My whole career, I had my ears always to the grindstone and I'm always just in the mix to know what's going on, like, 'Oh, hey, someone's looking for something.' Not that I want to be a ship jumper or anything, but I've had a lot of downtime on my hands in the last number of years. So anything I can play on, play with, be a part of, I'm gung-ho to do. But for a while with Overkill, I wasn't like that anymore. I'm, like, 'All right, this is cool. I'm not looking for anything else.; But after a while, I was, like, 'All right, I need another outlet,'" Bittner explained.
"For a while it was fine, but I needed to make myself available for the bands that I'm a member of. That's really what it is. I couldn't be tied to Overkill anymore to be their drummer and only their drummer and 'this is the schedule for the year and you have to work in whatever you do in this.' Uh-uh," he added.
"I know Blabbermouth is gonna take this and run the wrong way with what I'm trying to talk about," Bittner sarcastically said. "My point: I love the guys, I was a team player, I wasn't leaving, but I was dissatisfied and I was looking for something else."
Despite his exit from Overkill, Bittner emphasized there were no hard feelings among the members, recounting a recent encounter where he was warmly received by his former bandmates.
"Like I said, there's no animosity. I just went and saw everybody last Friday. Overkill just played in my backyard Friday night. I went, and I knocked on the bus, Blitz opened the door: 'Hey, you coming tonight?' 'Yeah.' 'All right. Come on in.' Gives me a big hug, like I knew he would. I gave his girlfriend a hug. I said hello to a couple of crew people that I knew. I went inside and gave everybody a hug. D.D. came up, and slapped me on the back. It's got nothing to do with our personal lives. It's just a business thing."
As for Category 7, the project represents not only a fresh creative outlet but also an opportunity to strike a balance between touring commitments and financial sustainability. Comparing his current endeavors with his time in Overkill, Bittner remarked, "I know that the people are already typing away, 'Yes, but Shadows Fall doesn't tour the way that Overkill did,' blah blah blah blah. Yes, true — very true. But remember, I have another band, Category 7. Between the two, we'll be working just as much. But also, the thing to keep in mind here, too, is I can play five shows with Shadows Fall and make more money than playing 30 with Overkill."
With Category 7 and Shadows Fall now being his main focus, seems Bittner is eager to move forward.
