Marshal Dutton on joining Hinder: "I got this"

Marshal Dutton never would have expected that his production work for Hinder would one day turn into a full-time frontman gig. Dutton had worked with the rock band for years, but with the group's lead singer role recently up for grabs, he jumped at the chance to take over the mic.

Ever since 2013, when original singer Austin Winkler parted ways with the band following a long battle with substance abuse, the Hinder lineup has been in flux -- with Nolan Neal filling in before Dutton officially came on board.

"It kind of happened suddenly, but I wasn't a stranger to it," he said of taking on lead vocals. "Back in 2013, when things fell apart with the other guy, I filled in a number of dates. And I kind of got my legs for what it was like to front for Hinder."

Plus, Dutton had known the guys for years (since Hinder was a "baby band," he says) and was already tied to the latest album.

"I was working on it as a producer and then all of a sudden the band asked me to be the vocalist. So it was just like, 'Jump in, and let's go!' We already had all the other production done, so we recorded all the vocals and then we hit the road immediately. So I didn't really have a long time to sit around and think about it," says Dutton.

Dutton's vocals can be heard on Hinder's fifth full-length album, "When the Smoke Clears," which came out in May. It marks Hinder's first album without Winkler on vocals.

Dutton said the band, which also features guitarists Joe "Blower" Garvey and Mark King, bassist Mike Rodden and drummer Cody Hanson, had a lot of fun recording the new album.

"We didn't go into this record with any idea of what we wanted to do. The only idea we really had was, 'Let's just see what happens.... Let's just go write a bunch of songs and no matter what happens and however they come out, let's just let them have their own identity," Dutton says. "We didn't write to try to fit into a certain genre. It was kind of like when we first started writing songs when we would write for the hell of it. If it sounded like a country song, then it sounded like a country song. If it sounded like a rock song, then it's a rock song. If it sounded like a pop song, then it's a pop song."

In the end, Dutton says they ended up recording a straight-forward rock record that harkens back to Hinder's original sound.

For instance, the single "Intoxicated," came together very quickly and organically.

"We came out with a killer rock riff.... We just had a good time...I don't think we even spent an hour on it."

The song "Hit the Ground," Dutton says also happened fast.

So far, the concert crowds have been responding really well to the new material, Dutton says. Hinder has been playing three tracks from the new album, on top of older material, including the band's biggest hit, "Lips Of An Angel."

"There's a lot to please, coming from so many albums," he says, adding, "We've been hard at it, and it's been going great. The crowds have been big. A lot of the shows have been sold out. And the crowds have been really responsive. It's been overwhelmingly positive, which has been something that I necessarily didn't expect. Not to be a pessimist, but of course stepping into a role like this, it can be a bit of anxiety and worry, like 'What are these people going to do to me?'"

Dutton says he tries to bring his own edge to Hinder, while not straying too far from the original sound.

"I brought my own thing to the table but I try to keep it close to resembling the song. I didn't want it to be too different, but I added my own flair to it," he says.

And the guys have been having a blast on the road, too.

"Hinder is always going to be a little rowdy. It's not like it was back in 2006 or 2007. We still know how to have a good time. We still do it on a daily basis and that's band and crew included. And everyone gets along amazing well...Everyone in the band gets along now. It's really back to having a lot of fun," said Dutton.

Dutton is a breathing a sigh of relief that the fans have taken him in and says it feels like a "whole new life" for the band.

"After I got over the first few shows, it was like, 'Yeah, man I got this,'" he says.