1.
Please introduce New Royalty and give a brief history of the band.
New royalty are a bunch of dumb kids that have come together because
of mutual love of web 2.0 applications. Members= Chris (bass),
Lily (vox), Tristan (hitz stuff), Morgan (key thingys), Ben (guitar)
2.
What does New Royalty consider worth fighting for?
Love and good fudge.
3.
This past year and a bit has been pretty important for the band,
you played alongside a number of great bands including The Death
Set, Forest City Lovers, D'Urbs, Windom Earle, and countless others.
You've released your debut CD Sleepover and have gained
a lot of attention as the 'it' party pop band of Charlottetown.
How would you describe 2008 in terms of the bands' growth and
subsequent success?
Redonkulous. I've (Tristan) been in a few bands and I've never
been this proud or excited. It just feels like we're flying forward,
haphazardly, with blind folds, and fireworks, but I wouldn't have
it any otherway. We've done alot this year and I can only hope
that we can keep going at this rate.
4.
You seem to have an affinity for house shows; a good number of
your shows have been of that variety, and Tristan you actually
have opened your house up and put on shows in your living room
on a regular basis. From your experience what do you think it
is that sets house shows apart from the rest, and is there even
a difference? Why do you think you've played so many?
House shows are something that I've always loved. From the first
one I went to at the House of Rock (r.i.p?) I've been hooked to
the shear energy and sense of togetherness. When you go to a house
show everyone is so friendly, because you're just hanging out
in some punks living room. People might be baking in the kitchen,
doing each others hair in the bathroom, fuck even giving tatoos
in the basement, all this is just going on around you, it's just
a complete sensory overload. Then, there's some wierd aligning
of the stars and everyone gangpiles into the living room/basement
to absolutely freak out to some band that they've never heard
of. It's just fucking brilliant.
Oh
and reasons why we've played so many? Because well I book them,
and I book bands I like, and there's no real other place to play
shows.
5.
I've noticed that your lyrics tend to be somewhat gloomy but at
the same time very hopeful and positive. I'm wondering what are
some of the things you try to communicate through your music and
how the writing process takes place within the band?
Lily says: The lyrics do have a gloomy feel to them, it's true.
Writing gloomily seems to be my style but I always try to send
a message out through the words in the hopes that it will inspire
and lessen the gloom lolol. As an example let's take the song
Fluorescent. When I wrote this I was sitting in my dad's office
at a doctor's clinic, gazing up at fluorescent lights and thinking
about the good and bad in the world etc. The message the song
is sending out is that no matter how low you may be, no matter
how messed up your life might be, there will always be hope (I
view hope as a light that shines the way to better times) and
even though that may not be reassuring, it really is something
people subconsciously cling to. For serious.. There are kind of
a lot of love songs in NR and they're mostly just about hypothetical
love, not irl love. When I write I try to allude to things without
out actually spelling it out so one has to read between the words
sometimes. Lately the songs are becoming more story-like. In NR
I (Lily) usually write the songs as poems and then add the lyrics
to the music with a structure. The writing is mostly done by me,
sometimes with additives from Tristan.
6.
Let's talk a little about Sleepover; it's your first CD and I
have to tell you even though I haven't been able to get my hands
on a copy here in Korea, from what I've heard it sounds fantastic,
not only in terms of the songs but the actual recording quality
as well. Who did you record with and are you happy with how it's
turned out and the response it's been getting?
We recorded with Jon Matthews. We are pretty happy with the way
it turned out, we still want to go back in and fix a few things
but all and all we're really happy with it. Best part of having
your record out, seeing people sing your songs. Lily really likes
that.
7.
Let's talk a little about the Charlottetown music community. It's
safe to say that you've been in the forefront of the DIY scene
for the past year so I'm wondering how your experiences in Charlottetown
have been, both good and bad, and what are your thoughts on the
current state of the scene?
We need more bands. lordy -T. But all and all the scene seems
to be holding up fairly well, although I kind of thought it would
go to shit after you left ya big dummy because you did a lot of
work within it. Our experiences in Charlottetown have been great,
I can't say I can really think of a bad experience except for
like playing badly. Even then the crowd seems to be understanding
and still like us. I guess one bad experience could be that we've
gotten shut down by the police a couple times. Mind you the one
time we did get fined, the crowd raised 200 dollars in 5 minutes
which was amazing and I don't regard that as a bad experience
at all. -L
8.
You've been described as something of house show levelers, and
we touched on this subject a bit earlier in the interview but
I would like to know how house shows and shows at alternative
venues such as Ampersand and Back Alley Music have influenced
the band. Do you draw any inspiration from these experiences that
differs from other shows?
I think it's really come out in the kinds of songs we write, big
chorus's that everyone can sing along too and drum beats that
keep people moving.-T. I do for sure, I feel like alternative
venues for me require a lot more stage presence (although I guess
that should be present at all times). So playing at different
places is a good experience to learn from and become adaptable
to different surroundings.-L
9.
What has been your most memorable show to date and why?
Uhhh I dunno maybe our most recent one; a Halloween show at a
bar in Sackville. The crowd loved and was very into it. There
were many encouraging compliments when we were done and the drummer
from Fiest actually complimented us which was so coool!!!!! We
also got so much free beer and made new friends.-L
10.
Will we ever see a New Royalty tour? I know there have been rumblings
in the past but for one reason or another they have fallen through.
Will 2009 be your year?
Yeah we're thinking in March to go to Ontario and maybe some long
weekends in the coming monthz
11.
Word Association for no good reason other than it's fun!
Bobshred: A bobtail going through a blender (fuck Korea)
Green Canoe: Bens lips
Lyons House: Glitter
Dreams: Hakeem Olajuwon
Rooftops: Water balloons
JFK: Blown Away (R.I.P.)
High Fives: Forevar!!!!1
Sleep Over: Shut up
Secrets: Of mana
Mothra: Fucking cat
12.
What has been the craziest thing to ever happen at a New Royalty
show?
Crazy is the norm. We almost had a heritage home's floor cave
in at our ep release.
13.
What's up next for the band?
Sweet posta's and merch and more shows!
14.
How can ppl contact you?
Go to 146 price street, ask for Tristan, or CLICK
HERE.
