|
Interviews
2006 - Present
Since 2006 I've been interviewing bands who either have roots
on Prince Edward Island or have come through on tour.. and some interviews
are with bands I just wish would play PEI. I'm in the process of updating
the old archive; here are a few interview I've done in the past. New
interviews on the way.
A
History Of
Halifax, Ns / Truro, Ns
Fortunately (or unfortunately) since I was exposed to
Ant Records around the same time I was getting into playing music, DIY
has been pretty much the only method of doing anything for me over the
last decade. I'd like to have the opportunity to do a record, tour,
etc. and only worry about writing the music but I think that being your
own booking agent, producer, engineer, label is the only way that people
are going to be able to do this music thing in the next few years. I
don't know how to answer how it has influenced us really, because it's
all we know. I can't really say it's given us some great control we've
never had before, because we've all done it this way, always.
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE A HISTORY OF INTERVIEW
AV
Gaspereau Forks, Nb
I didn't have a car in Halifax and I'd move all my gear around
in a shopping cart. I used to take a synth and a drum machine and a
Peavey guitar amp and play outdoors all over the city. All I needed
was an electrical outlet. I played all the time down on the boardwalk,
in the parade square, in parking garages, usually at 3 in the morning
when no one was around, just to hear the sound of beats bouncing around
in a concrete urban space.
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE AV INTERVIEW
BA Johnston
Hamilton, On
What challenges me about touring is getting off my fat
ass and leaving mothers house. I just moved into the basement there
and I have a seperate entertance and cable, and Canada is fucking huge
dude. My fav show is one where they have moniters, theres people there
who like me and I get paid. Honestly I could be playing on top of a
hotdog cart as long as someone buys a cd and I get 50 bucks.
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE BA JOHNSTON INTERVIEW
Banner Pilot Minneapolis, Mn
The last five years have been fantastic for me as far as the
band goes and totally exceeded my expectations – initially they
were just to try to write some songs with Nate, play some local shows
and maybe record something. It’s hard to for me to believe that
we just released an album on Fat Wreck Chords and are about to tour
Europe – things just seem to have fallen into place, and I think
we’ve been lucky with a lot of the opportunities we’ve gotten
and the people we’ve connected with (Jacques Wait, Fat Mike, etc.).
Release-wise, I definitely think we’ve been progressing and improving
our songwriting/production with every release; Collapser is the first
one that I’m totally happy with and I’m excited to get going
on the next one. Touring has always a lot of fun for me – I look
forward to going to Florida every October and reconnecting with cool
people I’ve met along the way. I’m just stoked that the
stuff we come up with on cold nights in a tiny practice space on the
outskirts of downtown Minneapolis means something to some people. It
means a lot to me – it’s challenging, I get to work with
a lot of talented people, it’s my main social outlet, and a chance
to be creative and use both sides of my brain. I think without it I’d
be totally bored.
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE BANNER PILOT INTERVIEW
Barnkats
Charlottetown, Pe
The Barnkats are a girl duo from Hunter River. We started "the
summer of grade nine" and have been been playing and writing since.
We were bored that summer and Gillian knew a few cords and Katie could
keep a beat on a bongo; so we hit it up. With time came a little more
talent, you could say, and here we are! Still having fun, not taking
ourselves too seriously, because we don't understand why some people
actually take our music seriously. We do, however, love playing in front
of an audience, compared to an empty cow field.
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE BARNKATS INTERVIEW
Black Ships
Montreal, Qc
It is actually getting really good. We have a solid venue
called the Black Dot which is run by our friend Dan. People always come
out, have a good time and support the local and out of town bands. There
was a serious lack of decent, affordable venues here so now with the
Black Dot, the scene is changing. More shows are happening, more people
are getting involved and all in all its really encouraging. I've also
started to noticed that younger kids are coming out to the shows now,
which is really cool.
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE BLACK SHIPS INTERVIEW
Bloodsport Halifax, Ns
As a kid, I was convinced that Bloodsport was in a neck
and neck race with Best of the Best for the title of greatest American
movie of all time. I lived in a tiny suburb and all my culture came
from the corner store down the street. The owner would only really stock
horror movies, porn and action epics, so when a lot of kids might have
been watching Ghostbusters or Mac and Me I was watching Van Damme get
glass thrown in his eyes and Eric Roberts try and fight with one dislocated
shoulder. I guess the band's name is kind of a nod to those days.
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE BLOODSPORT INTERVIEW
Books On Tape
Los Angeles , Ca, Usa
To me, Books On Tape is largely a DIY experience. I'm the frontman,
the rhythm section, the driven one, the one who wants to quit, the one
who drank too much last night, the one who has to be responsible...I
know that isn't typically what "doing it yourself" means, but having
those roles contributes to the feel of being a DIYy kind of project.
My favorite place to play and to see shows is this great place in L.A.
called The Smell. It embodies and encourages everything right with the
DIY community and it has rubbed off in a positive way on most of the
people from this area who are making good music.
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE BOOKS ON TAPE INTERVIEW
Bridge And Tunnel
Huntington Station, Ny, Usa
There is obviously a lot of issues in all different scenes
across the U.S. I guess here in NY one of my gripes is when kids come
to house shows with a bunch of beer and then when they are asked to
donate money its like a huge issue. Fuck that. If you can afford to
buy a six pack then you should be able to afford to give a touring band
$5. That shit always bothers me when I go to shows. Gas is expensive
and touring vans don't run on PBR.
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE BRIDGE AND TUNNEL INTERVIEW
Brutal Knights
Toronto, On
Toronto has a pretty cool hardcore punk scene. Lots of shows,
bands, interested people. There is a whole slew of younger people making
new bands and doing shows right now. Its really fun and nice to check
out and be a part of it. Our local shows over the past year have been
a blast. We're real lucky to get to do a bunch of different stuff with
the band. In my eyes its the only way. I'm so glad we get to do this
and not be part of some "circuit". I keep things interesting
and fun.
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE BRUTAL KNIGHTS INTERVIEW
Buried Inside
Ottawa, On
The biggest challenge in the underground music community to
me is the popularity of some of the commercial "punk" bands.
Some of them are of the most transparent and void music I've heard in
my life. Business oriented people presenting themselves as bands, labels,
etc., expoiting a pretty sacred culture and making it into some sort
of marketing machine for Hot Topic or whatever. Next we're gonna see
some of these bands persuing legal action against kids that download
their music. Honestly, I think the Backstreet Boys are more genuine
than a lot of those bands.
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE BURIED INSIDE INTERVIEW
Castlemusic Toronto, On
Definitely find a haystack and tip it and lie on it and
watch the sun come up from it on a foggy hot morning with your best
friend. The railroad tracks are cool. Or get a good seat to watch the
Vogue Theatre performances. Or find the ocean and leave the festival
for a few hours. Being there was pretty awesome. Actually just being
there was great. Everyone treated each other well. There was good food
and beds. People were nice and I like Sackville a lot. I went bowling
in that old bowling alley with a few friends a learned that Dallas Wherle
can spin the worlds slowest bowling ball and I mean really really slow
and still get a decent pin count down.
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE CASTLEMUSIC INTERVIEW
Christina Zinester Profile Charlottetown, Pe
My first exposure to paper zines was through an old friend
of mine, Mike of Jetplane zine in 2000. I remember being amazed that
there was an entire subculture in the punk/diy community that was dedicated
to self-publishing. Mike lent me half a dozen of his zines (Cometbus,
Otaku, etc), explained how zine distros work and I was pretty much hooked
after that. In the spring of 2001 after my first year of university
I made my first zine, Expectations of Deterioration (EoD). It was a
tiny perzine of which I made about 10 copies, enough for my group of
friends at the time plus a couple penpals. After I moved to Ontario
in the fall of that year, I started getting into mail-order in a huge
way and had Don’t Fall Asleep distributed at a handful of distros
in Canada, the US, and New Zealand. Since then I have scaled way back
and make zines solely for myself, my penpals and From The Heart Distro.
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE CHRISTINA INTERVIEW
Cold Warps Halifax, Ns / Charlottetown, Pe
I'm incredibly optimistic when it comes to this band. I think
the diversity in all of our backgrounds allows us to be pretty open
with what we're doing, and it really helps us to write songs that I
think.. escape genre-rules to some degree.. We're trying to write garage/pop/punk
songs with a bunch of people who's main songwriting experiences are
all pretty different. I think that helps us write stuff that fits what
we're going for, but still manages to be unique and interesting within
the genre. I also feel very lucky that this band works really well together
on a personal level. Lance and I played together in the hardcore punk
band Prisoners, and we know that we understand each other. I think a
big reason this band works so well together and is doing so much, reasonably
quickly is because we just really enjoy hanging out together, and we
seem to have pretty similar ideas about where we want to go, and what
we want to do as a band. So those parts that can sometimes be challenging,
aren't presenting themselves as obstacles in this project. Which is
an awesome feeling.
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE COLD WARPS INTERVIEW
Come Clean
Toronto, On
Truly independent artists establish their own ethics
by deciding how they want to work, without the influence of the music
industry that pervades ALL levels of music today. I don't think it's
necessary, people can do what they want (i.e. make boring shitty music
and sing lyrics about absolutely nothing if they want to), but it often
happens that the bands/artists that are exciting, not to mention nice
people, are those that do work with a set of ethics - fun and energy
and dignity over business and generic mediocrity. We, however, are a
fairly generic hardcore band, and I know people who think we're boring
and shitty, and we can't afford to go on tour and never get paid cause
we're always a few bucks above broke, so the evil is in us too - it's
just a balance and a matter of what works and what makes you happy.
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE COME CLEAN INTERVIEW
D/A A/D / Snapped In Half Halifax, Ns
I hope to build up a solid roster, we already have Lexes (from
Italy), Suburbia Melting (from Portland), The Sunken (from Washington),
Loveletters (from New Jersey and loveless tapes fame), and the amazing
Riververb (from San Diego). I want to expand our list of distributors,
and well as get the distro out on the road with touring acts. Between
this and a few other projects I have on the go I hope to not have to
do the awful 9-5 routine within the next 2 years. The only way to be
free is to work for yourself!
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE D/A A/D INTERVIEW
Daïtro
Lyon, France
Lack of communication
and bad behaviours are a not a cause, they're a consequence of the punk
folklore which is the problem in my opinion. You know, slogans, politically
correct, the 'more radical than thou' attitude... DIY punk is not a
wonderful world where everybody likes each other and I'm ok with it.
I feel good right now in that community and its pros and cons actually,
but it took me years. But some things that I get pissed off about and
think that could be challenged are your integrity being judged from
the music you play, how the concept of local scene is totally poisoned
by the internet, how some people take the DIY organization as granted,
how they see their own bands as an end. How these challenges can be
overcome ? Back to the roots ! Do It Yourself !! You think this zine
is too much or not enough radical or political or whatever ? Do one
yourself ! You think this band should play in a squat rather than in
a bar ? Open a squat!
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE DAÏTRO INTERVIEW
Daniel Striped Tiger Boston, Ma
DIY has always been a central theme in our band and everything
we whether it is releasing a record or planning our own tours or what
have you. The people whom we know and have been involved with in this
community are some of the most incredible and honest artists I know.
It is a community that continuously supports and helps each other out
on so many levels. DIY is a mean and and end in itself.
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE DANIEL STRIPED TIGER INTERVIEW
The Death Set
Sydney, Aus / Baltimore, Md, Usa
The best show for me is playing at a house or DIY space
where the promoter knows whats up. A lot of people have good intentions
but don't know how to run a show. For example passing a hat for donations
after a show is bullshit. A show needs to have a door price for it to
be valued in a punters head. But... pheeeeww... Now thats off my chest.
I love playing house or warehouse shows where the kids at the show know
or have looked up your band and sing along and smile and it is just
so much fun. Certain cities like Kalamazoo Michigan where people would
laugh at you when you tell them that their scene rules so much harder
than DC because they all really care and are the best. I love playing
with my friends bands first and foremost of course. Particularly my
friends bands from Bmore and Brooklyn.
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE DEATH SET INTERVIEW
Die Brucke
Halifax, Ns
One thing that seems to have happened in the last couple
of years is that bar shows have waxed, while all ages shows have waned.
There are a lot of major cities where it's much easier to get bar shows
for hardcore/punk bands than it is to get an all ages one. It's kind
of disheartening. However there's some great bands making great music
in this city: Vkngs, the Memories Attack, Windom Earle, C.I., Risky
Business, Ratbag, too mention just a few. It'd be nicer to see a stronger
DIY presence in this scene, but maybe I am lazy and not looking hard
enough for it. I'd bet on me being lazy.
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE DIE BRUCKE INTERVIEW
Divorce Records
Halifax, Ns
For better or for worse, I don't think there is a Divorce sound.
I like all kinds of music and try to represent that on the label roster.
Right now Divorce runs the gamut from bent-folk to punk to noise. I
like bands that are a bit unusual in their approach. They have to be
great live and have a good work ethic - touring, song writing, etc..
Besides that, I definitely have to get along with the artist/s on a
personal level.
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE DIVORCE RECORDS INTERVIEW
Dog Day
Halifax, Ns
Dog Day is what we settled on after we couldn't get any shows
under the name of Fag. Remember when we threw rocks through your friends
windows to get revenge and his mom came out and hurt us. A guy I sometimes
work with, who is in an Alice Cooper cover band, described us as rock,
but something different.....good song-writing.... but where's the solos?
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE DOG DAY INTERVIEW
The
Ghost Is Dancing Toronto, On
We're all friends, and have been for a long time. So
travelling together, under any circumstances, is so much fun. It's a
unique opportunity to be able to go to cities and immediately communicate
with the people there (by playing a show). We almost always make great
friends and get to experience, for one night, the way they live and
what makes them tick. We swam in a foot deep pool infront of Edmonton's
City Hall at three in the morning, we played an inpromptu set in Banff
at an open mic and made falafels and had four houses to stay in... We
literally have the time of our lives. It's worth it.
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE GHOST IS DANCING INTERVIEW
The Got To Get Got
Halifax, Ns
We're friends and there's no pressure to make it big.
Everyone involved in TGTGG is absolutely amazing and I've benefitted
greatly from this experience so there's no reason to stop. We'd all
rather be making music for a living but at some point you just need
that Sony 37" Bravia LCD TV. The word career is a necessary evil,
but I'm happy to call tours "vacations" now.
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE GOT TO GET GOT INTERVIEW
Hands of Death
Montreal, Qc
Locally speaking theres a crazy amount of good bands
these days from Montreal, Quebec and Canada in general. Unfortunatly
a lot of them don't last long enough to tape a cd. With that said I
find heavy / aggressive music to be very alive and well. With more and
more up and coming bands from all over the place.
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE HANDS OF DEATH INTERVIEW
Horses
Toronto, On
A lot of the songs I write are inspired in one way or
another by Cape Breton (where we grew up), and my conflicted relationship
with the nature of life there. I am constantly drawing on the people
I know and the places I have been in the songs I write. Disconnected
from that, I am inspired by (and constantly borrowing from) bands and
musicians that either write good music or good stories, usually both.
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE HORSES INTERVIEW
Husband & Knife
Halifax, Ns
I’ve gone through so many styles of music in my life, but I
have always had pretty strong views about motives behind art. I get
bored very fast and generally stick to what I feel is sincere, especially
when deciding if I like what other people do. I have always related
to the honesty and primal nature of punk. In answering your question
I’d have to say as soon as I found about bands like DK, Black Flag,
Minor Threat, all of a sudden I realized music was a form of true expression,
and is about unleashing raw feeling without having to censor yourself
too much. The approach I take with Husband and Knife follows this way
of thinking. Folk to me is like blues which I think is like punk, where
you just lay it on the line, vulnerable and naked. It is not about what’s
trendy, or how many handkerchiefs you can fit in your ass or up my nose.
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE HUSBAND & KNIFE INTERVIEW
Japanther
Brooklyn, Ny, Usa
Fuck yeah, you can start a band and do as well if not lots
better than us. We know very few chords but we love music. Our common
love of The Ramones and comedy drove us all over the U.S., Canada, Europe,
Australia and continues to pay for our trips all over. You and only
you can make Rad American (Canada) a reality. Make your square foot
totally rad! We must unite and destroy the old way!
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE JAPANTHER INTERVIEW
Jose Phine
Malaysia
Our experiences playing in Malaysia are not really tremendous.
I can say it is quite moderate. Other than us, there are several active
bands in Malaysia I can list here such as Dhaigila, Dramacoma, Halal/Hadhari,
Killeur Calculatuer, Monaco Heart Attack and many more. Personally for
me these guys are talented. We managed to share one stage with them
before and it was quite an amazing moment for us. The bad thing I'd
like to mention here are punctuality. Let's say on the flyer the show
will start around 2PM but in the end it may drag up until 5PM to start.
I am not saying that we've never come late to a show before. We are
also trying to minimize this habit and improves our ethic from time
to time. I do not know if the problem is associated with our culture
or what.
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE JOSE PHINE INTERVIEW
Kias
Fansuri Kota Kemuning, Malaysia
What we're hoping
and currently are doing is trying to make people aware of the issues
that are related to their everyday lives. We believe that people need
to know or be aware before they can take any action. Without the knowledge,
the act is useless. For us, we are just an ordinary screamo band that
are trying hard to change ourselves to be better people. Hopefully,
by all of us achieving this, there will be a better society in the future.
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE KIAS FANSURI INTERVIEW
Laura
Barrett Toronto, On
Fairly
recently - when I was a university student, I didn't go to shows often
and wasn't sure whether I'd ever perform my own music in front of people.
It took a Weird Al tribute at a comfortable tiny bar (R.I.P. the Bagel)
to give me the confidence to try out something halfway between bedroom
mumblings and fully-fledged solo shows. That was in August 2005, and
the following months saw the Weird Al tribute become a monthly themed
night, for which I wrote original songs (those became my Earth Sciences
EP). Since then I've joined other people's bands, to balance out the
oddness that is solo performance.
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE LAURA BARRETT INTERVIEW
Medium Mood
Truro, Ns
We're a really self-motivated band (most of the time,
anyways!). Every time we reach a goal, we push a bit further the next
time. I personally enjoy the two 'parts' of the band equally, although
they are rewarding in really different ways. Part A is the creative
part of the band - writing and recording. I thoroughly enjoy the process
of making a complete record, which I feel has gone a little to the wayside
these days. We recorded Fugitives entirely on our own, and did a lot
of work to New Alarm by ourselves as well. I'm a bit of a geek for guitar
sounds and recording, so I really enjoy that. Part B is the performing
end of things which is really visceral and rewarding in an immediate
way. I don't think I could have one without the other.
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE MEDIUM MOOD INTERVIEW
Minivan Halen Halifax, NS
I don't think I've packed more fun into such a short
time. I got to play in a band with two of my best friends (Jim and Gerry),
become better friends with Myles and made a new friend in Brian. I have
never played in a band with a group of people as funny, as nice, as
reliable and as talented as these four. I've had a rough week and I
couldn't ask for four better people to be around during this time. It's
sad that we're finished, but I am really happy with what we've done
and how we did it. We did so much on our own and accomplished what we
set out to do.
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE MINIVAN HALEN INTERVIEW
New
Royalty Charlottetown, Pe
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.
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE NEW ROYALTY INTERVIEW
Ninja High School
Toronto, On
If there was one memorable show, it would be like this:
the time all the glass got broken at an outdoor amphitheatre we were
playing illegally and everyone lied down in the glass before bursting
out into the street with confetti everywhere, and Tim Ford tried to
kill me but broke his ankle, Steve had an asthma attack, Greg Rabbit
punched me in the kidneys, I fell in the lake and Whitney had never
played live before. Anna and Star were wearing animal masks, I had a
batman cowl and goalie mask, I threw snowballs at everybody and did
a somersault on top of the crowd. It was the middle of the day, and
the audience divided like the red sea for Catherine to dance down the
middle of. Then Dylan yelled at a dude who punched his fist through
our car window and I was only breathing in styrofoam crumbs. All of
that really happened to us.
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE NINJA HIGH SCHOOL INTERVIEW
One Hundred Dollars Toronto, On
Also, we were
driving around and we saw a huge porcupine in our headlights, late at
night. It wanted something. It had been injured and it seemed to be
beaconing us to kill it. We just sat and contemplated killing it and
then got too chicken. And you can’t pet the thing because a) it
shoots needles in you and b) you can’t even know if it wants that.
It was totally telling me with ESP to kill it, but I also felt confused
about whether or not I have ESP.
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS INTERVIEW
Patrick
Callbeck Charlottetown, Pe
The
first camera I bought was a Pentax K1000. It was a wildly popular SLR
back in the 70s. The one I found had a 35mm screw-on lens and the most
amazing depth of field I have ever seen. As for my first moment of inspiration.
It must have been the moment after I had developed the first roll of
film that I had ever shot. I was still at the point where I didn't quite
know how to use my camera, but I remember the excitement of me and my
friends as we opened that sleeve to look at all the pictures.
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE PATRICK CALLBECK INTERVIEW
Pig
Truro, Ns
JC: Truro has
been a fun scene to grow up in. Hardcore, punk, metal was all it was
when I got into it pretty much, but now it's different genres at all
times, most of the time. MS: Truro's a city? I haven't been here for
long but I was quickly welcomed into the scene. I really like it. Great
bands play here all the time and sometimes we get to play with them
which rules. TF: Truro hasn't really influenced me. It's cool. JM: The
people i've met that live have influenced me. I feel the scene is lacking
in bands and attendence but what remains is pretty solid.
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE PIG INTERVIEW
Play Guitar
Halifax, Ns / Montreal, Qc
I was just thinking about shows earlier and funny places for
us to play. It would be fun to play in a wide open space. A football
game or NASCAR...! The audience would be hundreds of feet away. Crazy.
But in reality, I prefer shows where there is a nice exchange going
on between us and those in attendance. I wouldn't be playing, but Jim
Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Make Believe, Deerhoof, The Beatles and My Bloody
Valentine would.
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE PLAY GUITAR INTERVIEW
Racoon Bandit Charlottetown, Pe
We recorded the album on the same farm where we shot the video
and its just an incredibly relaxing, nostalgic kind of place. We really
wanted to display that and bring the audience into that culture with
the minute or so of film before the song kicks in. I grew up in Hazel
Grove and the other guys in Charlottetown, for the most part, but I
think most Islanders have a certain respect and warm relationship with
rural PEI. Growing up the country is a wonderful thing and I think something
that teaches you a lot of independence, creativity and appreciation
for simpler times. It was kind of hilarious shooting this video as in
junior and high school we used to run around the same woods, fields
and barns making budget productions for school projects. The only difference
now is more beards.
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE RACOON BANDIT INTERVIEW
Raein Flori, Italy
We are just interested in friends' labels, I cannot imagine
a Raein release on another label. I think it's the greatest thing to
be able to do it with your friends and to create something that'll be
yours forever. I really like doing records with people I know because
I know they care about me/us not only as a band but mostly as people
and I love them mostly as friends and not "people from a label".
We'll always be part of that [DIY] community. Since we were kids we
always were in touch with these kinds of things, we used to go to see
shows in a squat close of our hometown and that world was the one I
wanted to be part of with my own band. I always thought DIY had big
potential but sometimes it's too closed into himself... in my opinion,
the biggest challenge would be to be more open and more known from more
guys but still maintaining the same attitude. Shit, it's hard to explain..
I hope this is understandable.
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE RAEIN INTERVIEW
Rebecca
Ford Charlottetown, Pe
Most of the work I do for a painting happens in my head
before I even pick up a brush. Once I have a particular theme or image
that I want to portray, I sort out in my head what I think would best
show this on canvas. I pick the colours, images, and sizing. Once this
is done I start the hands on work. It is rare for me to do a painting
start to finish without painting over it once or twice. I play around
with the image until I think it has portrayed the theme I was going
for. I always know the theme I want a painting to have, but not necessarily
the image I will end up with. In this way, the goal for my art is to
show a certain thought and not a certain image. Ultimately, I hope to
open up my audiences' eyes, even just a tiny bit. It is never guaranteed
that an audience will understand the original aims of an artist. My
hope is that in the process of viewing my art at least a few people
will leave thinking or seeing a piece of the world in a new light. But,
it would also be really great if everyone who sees it just leaves with
the thought that they saw at least one image they thought looked neat.
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE REBECCA FORD INTERVIEW
The Right Crowd
Charlottetown, Pe
As humans, our feelings towards certain things change with
the world around us. I'm not sure what's next, but I'm going to go deep
down and say that I think everyone on this earth loves someone/something.
We are an example of that love. We love to be happy and make other people
happy while we do our songs. I really think that there's always room
for that no matter what the genre.
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE RIGHT CROWD INTERVIEW
Scribbler
Halifax, Ns
We released our first album 'Scannopapia' in 2005, it
was a free release with 29 noise, ambient, experimental .... songs/clips
on it. After its release we were offered a spot at the hamburger party
(a noise show in Halifax). Then we stated doing random noise shows,
we would play noise sets with regular bands and give no 'warning', so
the crowd never knew what they were gonna get, we really pissed some
folks off at times.
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE SCRIBBLER INTERVIEW
Sinaloa
USA
I
first became aware of Sinaloa a couple of years ago; it was through
a friends distro where I was first introduced to the band through their
split LP with the amazing Ampere. I knew then that I had to interview
them. I got in touch with the band in the summer of '09 about a possible
interview. They were more than happy to do it and over the following
months we chipped away at the work below. I hope you enjoy reading it
as much as I enjoyed putting it together.
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE SINALOA INTERVIEW
Smothered In Hugs
Charlottetown, Pe
This is something we had planned for a while. But we kept it
pretty close to the vest. The idea of giving something away for free
to our fans here in town. We really really appreciate their support
over the years and wanted to show it. Rather than making the new songs
available exclusively for download (which admittedly would have been
waaayyyyyy cheaper) we wanted to do a little extra- to be able to look
everyone in the eye and place the thing in their hands and say 'thanks".
So that's what we're doing. We called the EP "Customer Appreciation"
for good reason. You'll get a nice piece of artwork enveloping a manufactured
CD with four brand new previously unrecorded songs. We're happy that
we are able to do this. I won't lie, this is also a good way to get
the new music out there, we're just trying to make the process a little
more personal for everyone. Come to our show at Hunter's and get a free
EP. HOWEVER, if you don't make the show, and don't have a good excuse,
you'll have to pay for the EP. We're generous, but not that generous..
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE SMOTHERED IN HUGS INTERVIEW
Special Noise
Halifax, Ns / Montreal, Qc
The first time I ever went to Montreal, Greg and I were
going to meet up with my brother's band Radarfame and play a show. Greg
and I got into Montreal late at night, we're not supposed to meet Radarfame
for a few days and all of our couches to sleep on were not answering
the phone. So we were kind of up all night in the new city trying to
figure out where was not sketchy to sleep and after checking inumerable
roofs that weren't climbable, sleeping in a park and having some sketchy
guy take a dump in front of us, ended up downtown in front of a shop
half asleep at 6 am while the business folk rolled in on buses. Then
Radarfame didn't show up for the show because their van died halfway
between Toronto and Montreal but somehow the people at the Electric
Tractor (RIP) just found enough gear for us to play a set and it was
fun as hell. I was most impressed that they had a lefty guitar i guess.
Those guys are nice guys.
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE SPECIAL NOISE INTERVIEW
Stolen Minks
Halifax, Ns
Within the band, the politics vary a bit, but we're definitely
a feminist band. It comes out in the music because it's something we
think about a lot and incorporate into our lives. We try to blend politics
and fun. I think that who we are sort of comes out in the music. We
like to goof around and have fun, but we're fairly political at the
same time. We do almost everything ourselves, we really like to be able
to sell cheap cds and merch, so that's another focus.
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE STOLEN MINKS INTERVIEW
Superfantastics Halifax, Ns
One late summer eve, following a game of tips (sort of like
frisbee), Steph mentioned that she would like to learn how to play the
drums and that the best way for her to learn would be if someone played
guitar so she would have something to drum along to. Matt agreed to
help her out. thus began The Superfantastics.
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE SUPERFANTASTICS INTERVIEW
Swords
St John's, Nfld
When I was about 17 or 18. DIY was the most important aspect
of hardcore/punk for me. I grew up buying expensive records and tapes
and then all of sudden I went to a few shows around where I grew up
and they were selling their stuff cheap and it just made sense. Keeping
control over what you are doing is important plus I like making our
shirts, our cd covers.
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE SWORDS INTERVIEW
Tastes Like Burning
Charlottetown, Pe
There was this time when Mike got trapped inside the ass of
this 30 ft tall inflatable gorilla in a parking lot in lockport, NY,
but really that summary is funnier than the story. Also, he got in a
boxing match in another parking lot with one of the guys from Pg99.
The fight was over a soccer ball, and he totally lost.
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE TASTES LIKE BURNING INTERVIEW
Think About Life
Montreal, Qc
The band was first formed by Graham Van Pelt (the albino, vocals,
guitar, keys) and Matt Shane (the hipster, human drum machine) who were
basically living together at what use to be known as the electric tractor.
The dudes jammed together and came up with some awesome overdriven tunes.
Then they called up some other dude who they didnt know that well to
sing on their awesome ovrdriven tunes , his name was Martin Cesar (the
black guy, vocals) and they instantly clicked. And they were a band.
That was back in the summer of 2005 and now its spring 2007. A lot of
shit has gone down. Another dude joined the band , Brendan Reed (the
other red head, bass , percussion and shit has been awesome..
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE THINK ABOUT LIFE INTERVIEW
Titan
Toronto, On
As far as DIY
goes, I've always had a close relationship with it. But I'm careful
to be critical of it as well. I really don't think DIY should be taken
literally, where some band would do -everything- themselves. One of
my favourite parts of being involved in music is the community that
is associated with it. So when it comes to putting our records, we'd
much rather work with labels that are our friends than release our records
by ourselves. I love being able to work together with people where we
all benefit, rather than focusing on doing it ourselves. Maybe some
people disagree with it, but that's my interpretation of it at least.
We've done a bunch of records with React with Protest now, and they're
basically like family to us. We stayed with them at their house for
at least a week while we were in Europe and they really welcomed us
with open arms and treated us as though we had been friends for years.
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE TITAN INTERVIEW
Torso Halifax, Ns
After about a
year of playing around, I began to get very obsessed with recording
and it became something much more important to me than simply experimenting.
This was long before I began playing live, and at the time I had no
other outlet beyond sound recordings. After months and months of recording
in the solitude of my basement, I compiled enough material I was happy
with to release a small CD-r. I made about 20 of them and gave them
to close friends. No one else was interested at all. It wasn't until
quite some time later that Matthew asked me to play one of his Garage
shows that I ever considered doing this in a live arena.
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE TORSO INTERVIEW
Van Johnson Ottawa, On
We have all grown up in a world that has taught us to hate
and despise ourselves, and not one of us has a clue as to how to go
about loving each other. These songs are about growing up in a world
that wants us to live in little white-washed coffins of beliefs and
ideologies and dogmas. They want us to live like ghosts on city streets,
voiceless and bodyless, screaming silently to each other...it's no surprise
that we wear our griefs and unhappiness like badges, so proud in our
suffering...and we are sick of seeing a world that is in the throes
of death. We are sick of leading lives that are lies. We are sick of
living like dead men. These are our days, and our nights, and our hopes,
and our dreams, and our hearts...and we have to promise ourselves, that
from now on, with every breath in our dying bodies, that we will not
waste them.
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE VAN JOHNSON INTERVIEW
VideoHippos
Baltimore, Md, Usa
Too often people are swept up in the convenient and "acceptable"
ways of doing things, and in the process forget what they are actually
doing. It just makes sense for me to be physically connected to as many
aspects of my life as I can handle. I feel much more comfortable, say,
learning how to use a four track, a microphone, a computer program,
than letting someone else do the work. I like to be aware of how things
are working on multiple levels. Of course they are limitations to what
a two person band can do on their own, so we have let ourselves be aided
by other individuals and groups so that we still have time to be creative.
But Jim and I both naturally are inclined to be involved hands-on in
as many of aspects of our band as we can.
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE VIDEOHIPPOS INTERVIEW
VKNGS
Halifax, Ns
I got into it
through skateboarding, meeting new people and getting turned on to new
bands. My then-girlfriend's mom took me to a record store and said I
could pick any cassette I wanted, and I got Black Flag's 'My War' and
it ruined my life.As far as learning from past bands, you learn from
your mistakes and hopefully don't repeat them. This band is alot heavier
than anything I've done before, but I've always been into this stuff.
We were talking about this the other day, we have never had a shitty
practice. We always have fun. This band is an outlet for so much shit,
you can't not have fun playing these songs. With some other bands I
used to dread going to practice because you knew it was going to be
3 hours of bullshit, walking on eggshells around whoever is in a pissy
mood, or dudes would be so fucking high they couldn't remember songs
we'd been playing for a year. We practice so infrequently that half
the time we just yak and catch up and make fun of each other.
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE VKNGS OF INTERVIEW
Windom Earle Halifax, Ns
My parents assume it's not a real band since their isn't a
drummer, and we lose money whenever we go on the road but my mom is
very supportive by lending the car, letting musicians sleep on her floor
when we're in town, and feeding us. That's really all I could ask for.
My brother is helpful with career advice and promoting us.
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE WINDOM EARLE INTERVIEW
|
