Hailing from Oshawa, Ontario, Canada
Record label: Roadrunnner Records
Bryan Crouch - Vocals
Joseph Stamp - Guitar
Chad Taylor - Bass
Flavio Cirillo - Drums
I'm so excited to review these guys, its been a long time coming. I actually saw them at HeavyMTL 2010, I had no idea who these guys were, they were one of the early bands, so there was hardly a crowd, maybe 50 people at their stage. My friend and I had just arrived at the festival, and we heard these guys, Hail The Villain, had no idea who they were but instinctively begun headbanging, and simultaneously said "They're good!". We only got to hear the last 2 songs of their set, Runaway and Take Back The Fear, needless to say I wasn't done with them. As soon as I got back home I went on youtube and looked for their songs and I was not disappointed.
Hail the Villain, they are heavy metal, they sort of feel like a mix of Bullet For my Valentine, reminiscent of Matt Tuck with the power in his voice, but a style and maniacal energy of Billy Talent, on stage and in sound. Their riffs are fast yet melodic. They are a band I expect to blow up very soon. Their debut LP, Population: Declining, is definitely one of my favourite metal albums ever. It is consistent, startin with the 1st song "Take back the fear" up to the last "Social graces". My favourite track on the album would have to be "Runaway", it is one that would get anyone going. A fast paced track, filled with insane riffs, thrilling lyrics, and a concept that gets you moving(I actually feel the urge to run).
Apart from their sound, another great thing about this band is their lyrical content, they actually speak on societal problems, as much as I enjoy heartbreak and depression lyrically, a more "grab the bull by the horn" attitude is a breath of fresh air.
They also have comic books which share the same theme as some of their songs, those can be found here along with the albums. They are a dynamic band, more than just music and none of the other stuff overshadows the music as the music in itself is fantastic. Here is there interactive website.
This is the video for my favourite pick "Runaway"
Friday, October 14, 2011
Friday, July 29, 2011
Conducting From The Grave
Location: Sacramento, CA
Genre: Melodic Death Metal
Record label: Sumerian Records
Band Members
John Abernathy - Guitar
Jeff Morgan - Guitar
Greg Donnelly - Drums
Steven Lovas - Bass
Mikey Powell - Vocals
So this is currently my favourite band at the moment, discovered them last year, by just clicking on a youtube video for Eternally Gutted, I really only checked it out cause I thought their name was awesome, as soon as I heard this song, i was hooked, I listened to that song for days, it was stuck in my head, I realise the production wasn't that great but I think I enjoyed the raw feel of it and dirty scream and growl, but I think what I really enjoy bout that was the intense drumming at the start, twas fast and hard and guitar to follow it with brutality. After getting hooked on that I decided to look up some of their other stuff, and I wasn't disappointed, I eventually got the When Legends Become Dust album and Trials of the Forsaken EP, both brutal collection of hard tracks. My favourites were Marching towards Extinction and Hit the lights.....Armageddon's here, awesome breakdowns and awesome lyrics that just made sense.
Then in October 2010, they released the Revenants album and already being a fan I had to get it, while waiting I heard the 1st single release, Path of a traitor, I heard it and I liked it but it didn't stick like the others but I was still expectant of the album. I finally listened to the whole thing and it was and each time still is a mind blowing experience, beautifully orchestrated, better production on this album, as they got signed to Sumerian Records, every song links perfectly to the magnificently done finale, What Monsters We Have Become, it was divided into 2 parts, part 1 being the same style as most of the album, then they bring on some clean vocals, something never done in a CFTG song that I've heard, that sounded awesome, and soften the blow of the song well and then Part 2 starts off immediately after and it is the most beautiful outro I've ever been graced with in my music listening history. Made up of a beautiful soft guitar melody, that just sets my mind afloat, takes me to different place. Then when it gets more grungy and heavy, its a brilliant progression from soft to hard, masterful guitar work and then Mikey Powell inserts his vocals to finish off the album living you with a thought of What monster we have become.
Revenants is easily in my top five albums ever, it's consistent and has a great start and magnificent ending, you always just wanna start the trip again.
Conducting from the grave a 5 star band, hope to see them live someday, check them out they're on tour now, might be in a city near you.
MySpace
Facebook
\m/ Rock on can't wait till ur at HeavyMTL next year(Wishful thinking). Here is their 1st official music video, for Her Poisoned Tongue from Revenants:
Genre: Melodic Death Metal
Record label: Sumerian Records
Band Members
John Abernathy - Guitar
Jeff Morgan - Guitar
Greg Donnelly - Drums
Steven Lovas - Bass
Mikey Powell - Vocals
So this is currently my favourite band at the moment, discovered them last year, by just clicking on a youtube video for Eternally Gutted, I really only checked it out cause I thought their name was awesome, as soon as I heard this song, i was hooked, I listened to that song for days, it was stuck in my head, I realise the production wasn't that great but I think I enjoyed the raw feel of it and dirty scream and growl, but I think what I really enjoy bout that was the intense drumming at the start, twas fast and hard and guitar to follow it with brutality. After getting hooked on that I decided to look up some of their other stuff, and I wasn't disappointed, I eventually got the When Legends Become Dust album and Trials of the Forsaken EP, both brutal collection of hard tracks. My favourites were Marching towards Extinction and Hit the lights.....Armageddon's here, awesome breakdowns and awesome lyrics that just made sense.
Then in October 2010, they released the Revenants album and already being a fan I had to get it, while waiting I heard the 1st single release, Path of a traitor, I heard it and I liked it but it didn't stick like the others but I was still expectant of the album. I finally listened to the whole thing and it was and each time still is a mind blowing experience, beautifully orchestrated, better production on this album, as they got signed to Sumerian Records, every song links perfectly to the magnificently done finale, What Monsters We Have Become, it was divided into 2 parts, part 1 being the same style as most of the album, then they bring on some clean vocals, something never done in a CFTG song that I've heard, that sounded awesome, and soften the blow of the song well and then Part 2 starts off immediately after and it is the most beautiful outro I've ever been graced with in my music listening history. Made up of a beautiful soft guitar melody, that just sets my mind afloat, takes me to different place. Then when it gets more grungy and heavy, its a brilliant progression from soft to hard, masterful guitar work and then Mikey Powell inserts his vocals to finish off the album living you with a thought of What monster we have become.
Revenants is easily in my top five albums ever, it's consistent and has a great start and magnificent ending, you always just wanna start the trip again.
Conducting from the grave a 5 star band, hope to see them live someday, check them out they're on tour now, might be in a city near you.
MySpace
\m/ Rock on can't wait till ur at HeavyMTL next year(Wishful thinking). Here is their 1st official music video, for Her Poisoned Tongue from Revenants:
Monday, January 17, 2011
Warpaint
Location:California, USA
Genre: Soft rock/blues/psychedlic
Band members: Emily Kokal - Vocals/guitar
Theresa Wayman - Vocals/guitar
Jenny Lee Lindberg - Bass/vocals
Stella Mozgawa - Drums/keys/vocals
If you like: The XX, The Knife,Zola Jesus
The all girl psychedelic delight, Warpaint, with their calming voices and trippy but yet rather soothing instrumentals, their music is wonderful, for when one is having downtime or you just want to close your eyes and absorb the music. This band's music is great for that,I came across this group last year summer, and I've been hooked ever since, they had a show with The XX, a very good British band, with similar music to Warpaint, I didn't go to the show but I decided to check out the bands on the lineup, which were Zola Jesus and Warpaint. So I heard Warpaint and I was immediately blown away by them, the first song I heard was Elephants and I was in love, that has alot of their psychedelic element in it, and it totally put me in a trance, then I heard Billie Holiday, which is a bit more soulful and blues element to it. There's a version of them singing Billie Holiday a cappella and it just shows their true talent. Those were from their 1st EP, Exquisite Corpse, their latest release was their 1st LP, The Fool, filled with all brilliant tracks, they have their psychedelic tracks like Shadows, Bees and Composure and the more soulful ones like Baby and Lissie's Heart Murmur.
Good music they are making, and they are getting the recognition deserved as they were on BBC's Sound of 2011 list
Listen to their music on their website and here's something to show you that they are worth checking out
Genre: Soft rock/blues/psychedlic
Band members: Emily Kokal - Vocals/guitar
Theresa Wayman - Vocals/guitar
Jenny Lee Lindberg - Bass/vocals
Stella Mozgawa - Drums/keys/vocals
If you like: The XX, The Knife,Zola Jesus
The all girl psychedelic delight, Warpaint, with their calming voices and trippy but yet rather soothing instrumentals, their music is wonderful, for when one is having downtime or you just want to close your eyes and absorb the music. This band's music is great for that,I came across this group last year summer, and I've been hooked ever since, they had a show with The XX, a very good British band, with similar music to Warpaint, I didn't go to the show but I decided to check out the bands on the lineup, which were Zola Jesus and Warpaint. So I heard Warpaint and I was immediately blown away by them, the first song I heard was Elephants and I was in love, that has alot of their psychedelic element in it, and it totally put me in a trance, then I heard Billie Holiday, which is a bit more soulful and blues element to it. There's a version of them singing Billie Holiday a cappella and it just shows their true talent. Those were from their 1st EP, Exquisite Corpse, their latest release was their 1st LP, The Fool, filled with all brilliant tracks, they have their psychedelic tracks like Shadows, Bees and Composure and the more soulful ones like Baby and Lissie's Heart Murmur.
Good music they are making, and they are getting the recognition deserved as they were on BBC's Sound of 2011 list
Listen to their music on their website and here's something to show you that they are worth checking out
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Not Even Death
Location: Ottawa, ON, Canada
Genre: Heavy metal, Screamo
Band Members: Dani - Vocals
Justin - Guitar
Mat - Bass/vocals
Mike - Drum/vocals
Not Even Death, a great band with great music to say the least. I came across this band, very randomly on facebook, I have no idea how I got to their page, maybe someone posted a link or something like that, but I can't say exactly but most importantly I listened to their music and was instantly loving it, and my feelings for their music has only been more intensified, as I listen to them more and more. My favourite song by them is That You Would Part The sky. I keep discovering something new about the instrumentals in the songs, the breakdowns and the level of complexity and originality. Everything just works well together, all the different instruments brought together sounds perfect. I would point out that their arrangement is quite standard of most metal, start off fast and hard and midway through the song, we have a soulful piece which this band does well with a female lead vocalist, her soft feminine voice soothes you, and then a build up to a raise the tempo and decibels, but of course its different in each song but this is sort of the similarities. It is a good formula in my opinion.
They have their lyrics posted on their website and from that you can understand the message they are trying to put across, and from most of it, they have uplifting lyrics of encouragement in Annihilation of Ambition, and as I am of the Christian faith I understand that their songs all have the message past across, but not in a preachy manner, no talk of Jesus Christ and such, just the doctrines as such. Even if you do not believe in the faith, it is still awesome music, whether you agree or not.
They are definitely in my top favourite bands at the moment. You can see all of their music and such on their website
notevendeath.com
or their facebook profile:
Not Even Death's profile
Genre: Heavy metal, Screamo
Band Members: Dani - Vocals
Justin - Guitar
Mat - Bass/vocals
Mike - Drum/vocals
Not Even Death, a great band with great music to say the least. I came across this band, very randomly on facebook, I have no idea how I got to their page, maybe someone posted a link or something like that, but I can't say exactly but most importantly I listened to their music and was instantly loving it, and my feelings for their music has only been more intensified, as I listen to them more and more. My favourite song by them is That You Would Part The sky. I keep discovering something new about the instrumentals in the songs, the breakdowns and the level of complexity and originality. Everything just works well together, all the different instruments brought together sounds perfect. I would point out that their arrangement is quite standard of most metal, start off fast and hard and midway through the song, we have a soulful piece which this band does well with a female lead vocalist, her soft feminine voice soothes you, and then a build up to a raise the tempo and decibels, but of course its different in each song but this is sort of the similarities. It is a good formula in my opinion.
They have their lyrics posted on their website and from that you can understand the message they are trying to put across, and from most of it, they have uplifting lyrics of encouragement in Annihilation of Ambition, and as I am of the Christian faith I understand that their songs all have the message past across, but not in a preachy manner, no talk of Jesus Christ and such, just the doctrines as such. Even if you do not believe in the faith, it is still awesome music, whether you agree or not.
They are definitely in my top favourite bands at the moment. You can see all of their music and such on their website
notevendeath.com
or their facebook profile:
Not Even Death's profile
Monday, November 8, 2010
Hopsin. The Future of Real Rap
Current Location: California, US
Genre: Rap
Record Label: Funk Volume
Finally! A rapper that is not afraid to show his dark side and not afraid to show that he has problems in his life, just like the rest of us and not claiming to be the richest or most gangster individual out there. Hopsin's raps have this intensity and brutal, inhumane flow that just takes you back to Eminem's Slim Shady LP and Marshall Marthers LP. He is a lyrical monster, which he shows in his song, Sag My Pants, where he took shots at a number of well known rappers, Lupe Fiasco, Drake, Lil' Wayne, etc. It is an admission that he's not the guy ur parents want you listening to. He is the type of rapper that doesn't give a damn about anyone, he is taking shots at Eazy-E 's wife, who signed him to Ruthless Records for a few years and never did any promotion for him apparently. He has a song called Kill Her, directed at Eazy-E 's wife. He is definitely a talented rapper, with some management and a little polishing, he definitely could be a legend, at least if the world is ready to let go of the superficial bubblegum rap and let someone come out and 'air their dirty laundry' and let the music touch a soul and make you feel something rather than just to dance, because these days I cannot find a rap song that will make me want to just chill and listen and absorb the lyrics and envision it, except from what I've gotten from Hopsin.
Hopsin produces music that you can relate to and understand, and we need more of that.
You can check him out on :
www.myspace.com/hopsin
http://www.facebook.com/hellohopsin
That is just one of his masterpieces, my favourite song by him is Nocturnal Rainbows
Genre: Rap
Record Label: Funk Volume
Finally! A rapper that is not afraid to show his dark side and not afraid to show that he has problems in his life, just like the rest of us and not claiming to be the richest or most gangster individual out there. Hopsin's raps have this intensity and brutal, inhumane flow that just takes you back to Eminem's Slim Shady LP and Marshall Marthers LP. He is a lyrical monster, which he shows in his song, Sag My Pants, where he took shots at a number of well known rappers, Lupe Fiasco, Drake, Lil' Wayne, etc. It is an admission that he's not the guy ur parents want you listening to. He is the type of rapper that doesn't give a damn about anyone, he is taking shots at Eazy-E 's wife, who signed him to Ruthless Records for a few years and never did any promotion for him apparently. He has a song called Kill Her, directed at Eazy-E 's wife. He is definitely a talented rapper, with some management and a little polishing, he definitely could be a legend, at least if the world is ready to let go of the superficial bubblegum rap and let someone come out and 'air their dirty laundry' and let the music touch a soul and make you feel something rather than just to dance, because these days I cannot find a rap song that will make me want to just chill and listen and absorb the lyrics and envision it, except from what I've gotten from Hopsin.
Hopsin produces music that you can relate to and understand, and we need more of that.
You can check him out on :
www.myspace.com/hopsin
http://www.facebook.com/hellohopsin
That is just one of his masterpieces, my favourite song by him is Nocturnal Rainbows
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Hunter city madness \m/
Current Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Genre: Heavy Metal
Band members: Justin Gow(vocals)
Jordan Gow(Guitar)
Kyle Johnson(Guitar)
Sean Strasbourg(Bass guitar)
Mike Jelkovic(Drums)
Hunter City Madness, first of all I must say they totally rock but nothing especially new, I have come to realize. I found out about this band in the most random way ever and when I eventually listened to them, it surprised me how good they were.
So I found out about Hunter City Madness from a sticker they had on an Ottawa OC transpo bus, it caught my eye, i think the name was what got my attention. So I took a pic with my phone and tried to makes sure I remembered to check out their myspace page, I was having a rather shitty day, and then got home and decided to check out some new music, and what I heard made my day. I was so shocked at how good they were and surprised at why these guys weren't big. Firstly their artwork caught my eye and made me smile then I got to the music, Old habits of young lovers was the first one I heard and then Pleatherface(you can listen to it at the bottom) came on and I got off my ass and began headbanging and slam dancing, and I just wanted to trash the place. They definitely made a great 1st impression on me.
They are a sick band, Justin has such a strong voice, brutal growls, to match his extra bad ass persona, Jordan's singing, which is to a minimum, adds a certain pinch of soul to their songs, although I must say their heavier songs are the best of their work. The instrumentals on the other hand are perfect, the assembly of all the different parts, the 2 front guitars, for the melodies, they do a fantastic job synchronizing with each other, that is Jordan and Kyle(the newest member in the band). The drums are fast and brilliantly done, and of course the bass for the extra heaviness, done fast and when you see em live you just feel it in chest, then you know its time to rock.
I had the pleasure of seeing them live, along with a few other bands, 2 of which I think are worth mentioning, Ecliptium and Be The Saviour.
My verdict is that this band is really good and kick ass, and I'm glad they are making some headway, hopefully I would be able to say "I called it", when the world is loving their shit. Check them out on their myspace:
http://www.myspace.com/huntercitymadness
My favourite song of Hunter City Madness.
Genre: Heavy Metal
Band members: Justin Gow(vocals)
Jordan Gow(Guitar)
Kyle Johnson(Guitar)
Sean Strasbourg(Bass guitar)
Mike Jelkovic(Drums)
Hunter City Madness, first of all I must say they totally rock but nothing especially new, I have come to realize. I found out about this band in the most random way ever and when I eventually listened to them, it surprised me how good they were.
So I found out about Hunter City Madness from a sticker they had on an Ottawa OC transpo bus, it caught my eye, i think the name was what got my attention. So I took a pic with my phone and tried to makes sure I remembered to check out their myspace page, I was having a rather shitty day, and then got home and decided to check out some new music, and what I heard made my day. I was so shocked at how good they were and surprised at why these guys weren't big. Firstly their artwork caught my eye and made me smile then I got to the music, Old habits of young lovers was the first one I heard and then Pleatherface(you can listen to it at the bottom) came on and I got off my ass and began headbanging and slam dancing, and I just wanted to trash the place. They definitely made a great 1st impression on me.
They are a sick band, Justin has such a strong voice, brutal growls, to match his extra bad ass persona, Jordan's singing, which is to a minimum, adds a certain pinch of soul to their songs, although I must say their heavier songs are the best of their work. The instrumentals on the other hand are perfect, the assembly of all the different parts, the 2 front guitars, for the melodies, they do a fantastic job synchronizing with each other, that is Jordan and Kyle(the newest member in the band). The drums are fast and brilliantly done, and of course the bass for the extra heaviness, done fast and when you see em live you just feel it in chest, then you know its time to rock.
I had the pleasure of seeing them live, along with a few other bands, 2 of which I think are worth mentioning, Ecliptium and Be The Saviour.
My verdict is that this band is really good and kick ass, and I'm glad they are making some headway, hopefully I would be able to say "I called it", when the world is loving their shit. Check them out on their myspace:
http://www.myspace.com/huntercitymadness
My favourite song of Hunter City Madness.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Monday I Retire
Current Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Genre: Soft rock, with the occasional country "twang" in the vocals.
Band members: Mackenzie DiMillo(vocals)
Ben DiMillo(Guitar)
M.J. Heney(Guitar)
Andre Morrill(Bass guitar)
Andre St. Dennis(Drums)
I got the opportunity of hearing this band when M.J. and I had a class together and he told me about them. I, being curious and always happy to hear new music, in the search for the wonderful feeling of when you hear something so new and beautiful, I looked them up on google and I have to be honest, the first time I heard it, it was definitely good, but nothing special. A few days after I decided to look them up again, give them another chance and as soon as I heard Mackenzie's strong voice on their song, Coachella, I was blown away, and by then I didn't even know that I could be surprised more to find out that she is just 15 years old, which was my confirmation of the potential in this band. I finally got to see them live and I'm pretty sure they were the best out of all the other bands that played and I don't think I'm the only one that thought that, they are marvelous live and on digital forms. They have released their first EP, which you can preview the songs here and get 'em :
-> http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/mondayiretire
Also, check out their myspace page to hear their full songs
-> http://www.myspace.com/mondayiretire
I was able to get an interview with them after their first show that I was unable to make their set but saw the other bands they opened for Alamode and Choice Grade, I might cover them in the future, they were very enjoyable live, but I wasn't impressed prior to the concert but we shall see. Anyways here is my interview with Monday I Retire after their show at Club Saw, on the steps of the Ottawa Arts Court foundation.
Andre S: Its about the world of thought. You know you have your major labels, you have your independent labels, and that really englobes the music industry in Canada now, because music is throughout the world but you have to remember that Canada is only the 5th most popular country for music in the world, so it is hard but you can find your niches anywhere. So its definitely that you have to find your niche as a musician and as a band. There’s definitely some things I don’t like about the music industry, the business side, it’s a hard business to get into and you know we try to do our own thing like MJ was saying and we’ll keep on doing our own thing and hope that would work out.
Debut: What genre would you say your music is under?
MJ: Well for us it’s hard to label something that we’ve developed. Like in my opinion there’s no real genre, it’s good music and bad music, those are the 2 main genres in my head. So in my opinion its good music.
Genre: Soft rock, with the occasional country "twang" in the vocals.
Band members: Mackenzie DiMillo(vocals)
Ben DiMillo(Guitar)
M.J. Heney(Guitar)
Andre Morrill(Bass guitar)
Andre St. Dennis(Drums)
I got the opportunity of hearing this band when M.J. and I had a class together and he told me about them. I, being curious and always happy to hear new music, in the search for the wonderful feeling of when you hear something so new and beautiful, I looked them up on google and I have to be honest, the first time I heard it, it was definitely good, but nothing special. A few days after I decided to look them up again, give them another chance and as soon as I heard Mackenzie's strong voice on their song, Coachella, I was blown away, and by then I didn't even know that I could be surprised more to find out that she is just 15 years old, which was my confirmation of the potential in this band. I finally got to see them live and I'm pretty sure they were the best out of all the other bands that played and I don't think I'm the only one that thought that, they are marvelous live and on digital forms. They have released their first EP, which you can preview the songs here and get 'em :
-> http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/mondayiretire
Also, check out their myspace page to hear their full songs
-> http://www.myspace.com/mondayiretire
I was able to get an interview with them after their first show that I was unable to make their set but saw the other bands they opened for Alamode and Choice Grade, I might cover them in the future, they were very enjoyable live, but I wasn't impressed prior to the concert but we shall see. Anyways here is my interview with Monday I Retire after their show at Club Saw, on the steps of the Ottawa Arts Court foundation.
Debut: Its a pleasure meeting all of u. How did you guys get together?
Andre M: We 4 here (MJ, myself, Mackenzie and Ben), we all went to the same high school, Notre Dame High School, here in Ottawa, Mackenzie was 11 at the time, in grade 7 and she already had this massive voice, Ben here was a year older in grade 8, and they were gonna sing at....remembrance day?
Mackenzie: No, a talent show
Andre M: Yeah talent show. So with help from music teachers and getting to know each other and playing together in jazz bands, we got together to play with Mackenzie for different events in the school and while practicing for those we were like “hey you know, this is 'jellin' so well”, we decided to play our own stuff. We tried writing a song and we liked it and we picked up from there.
MJ: We’ve been jamming together for like 3 years now, like we were saying these kids are still in high school, like this ones 15(gesturing to Mackenzie) and Ben, 17 so they’re still pretty young to be doing what we’re doing right now
Debut: Okay and when did Andre(St. Dennis) get in?
MJ: We’ve been through over half a dozen drummers, in the last...well 3 years, and no one really seemed to stick. I did this thing called Jam clinic a couple of years ago, its just like band camp pretty much and that’s where I met Andre(St. Dennis). We were put in a band together and he was a sick drummer, and I asked him if he wanted to come jam with us and yeah it worked out.
Debut: Alright, and how did you come up with the name, Monday I Retire?
(A unanimous “O!” from all)
MJ: Well like i said we’ve been playing together for almost 3 years and we only picked a name about 6 months ago. We were basically forced into getting a name, because we applied to get into WestFest and we were like we need a name by so and so date, we had gone through hundreds of names.
Andre M: Alot of bad names like Do You Like Penguins.
MJ: So we were thinking of bad names and one popped into my head, Monday I Retire, sounds kinda cool. We just did a little vote, on who liked the name and it was the one that none of us despised and thats all we were going for
Andre M: Its not like any of us loved the name but no one was against it so yeah. We wish we could say there was any real meaning to it.
MJ: But I had to come up with a cool meaning, so my cool meaning is in life you’re caught in things that you don’t necessarily wanna be doing, like for me its school, engineering, i hate it, music is my life. You get caught up in things that pull you away from things you love, be it work or school and for me, retirement is a stage where all those things they vanish. So for me its just forget work, forget school, forget all that and Monday I retire. For me retirement is peace.
Debut: Very deep. So where do you draw your inspiration for your songs and writing from? Firstly, who writes your songs?
Andre M: Its kind of a group thing.
MJ: Like we said Andre’s only been with us for a while, so when it comes to writing its mainly just the four of us(Mackenzie, MJ, Ben & Andre M).
Andre M: Like there would be one song where say Ben, MJ and Mackenzie are heavily writing or 2 of them(Ben and Mackenzie) would be writing and I barely did or MJ didn’t do too much and there would be another song where MJ and I are writing.
Mackenzie: Ok i have a good depiction for our song writing, ok so our song writing, its kind of like I go get food for everybody and they jam for 15 minutes and I come back down and I hear it and the words just kind of like come out of my mouth and its glues together and its loving and its great.
Andre M: Yeah so food in, lyrics out.
(Laughter in agreement)
Debut: So food seems to be the heart of your music.(laughs)
Mackenzie: Well we’re italian, come on
Andre M: We get alot of food at their house
Debut: Ok, what was your first performance like?
MJ: First talent show
Mackenzie: Yeah first talent show was embarassing
MJ: That was about 3 years ago. We got the video and when we go back and watch it we’re just like, “Woah! People actually liked this? Men we sucked”
Andre M: Yeah but there was enough of a connection in it and enough fun that we wanted to do it again and hopefully we don't look back at what we're doing now and think the same thing.
Debut: and ur first gig with Andre (St Denis)?
Andre M: We played Greenfield’s Pub
Andre S: That was great. Like MJ was saying me and him would jam a couple times and I played with these guys a few times too before but when I was fully in the band, it was really nice how they digged a bunch of stuff, especially from a drummers point of view, I could identify with all these different genres and I could take from it and do my own little drum thing. And yeah first performance with these guys at Greenfield's was definitely a good , and what’s great with these guys is that they always want to improve and so we looked at Greenfield's and said lets do this, lets do that and so we're just getting better pretty much.
MJ: As this full band we’ve only played 3 or 4 shows like we really haven’t played that many live shows. And as Andre was saying we just try to learn everything that we can from every show and progress.
Debut: Thats good, very good. So what is your most memorable performance till date?
Andre S: Today?
(laughter)
Andre M: Yeah it feels like it right now, 'cause it just happened.
Ben: I agree, 'cause I found the mix of us together was really good, the sound guy too.
(Unanimous “Yeah!”)
Mackenzie: The sound guy was awesome. I could hear myself, that doesn't happen very often.
Andre S: Like I said before, we’re improving all the time. We always look back to our shows, 'cause we record all of them.
MJ: It was a good show, the crowd was amazing
Andre M: It was definitely a lot of fun
Debut: Ok. And how many of you are in Carleton University?
Andre S: The three of us, me, Andre and MJ
Debut: And the 2 of you(Ben and Mackenzie) are in high school?
Mackenzie: Yes! I’m in Canterbury for singing
MJ: (Talking about Andre M) He’s crazy, he’s doing a double major in music and biology, he’s doing music(referring to Andre S) and i’m stuck in engineering.
Debut: How do you balance school and music? like when you have to rehearse and what not.
Andre M: Its tough but you make it your priority, like we had to. Before this summer, we all sat down and we decided we’re all gonna have to commit and make music our priority. Its good to put that as apriority and its definitely hard cos we all can’t make every practice but we practice at least once a week, sometimes for 8 hours, sometimes for 3.
Debut: Yeah true, so would you say music is a priority for all of you?
Mackenzie: Yes! But don’t tell my mum.
Andre M: We 4 here (MJ, myself, Mackenzie and Ben), we all went to the same high school, Notre Dame High School, here in Ottawa, Mackenzie was 11 at the time, in grade 7 and she already had this massive voice, Ben here was a year older in grade 8, and they were gonna sing at....remembrance day?
Mackenzie: No, a talent show
Andre M: Yeah talent show. So with help from music teachers and getting to know each other and playing together in jazz bands, we got together to play with Mackenzie for different events in the school and while practicing for those we were like “hey you know, this is 'jellin' so well”, we decided to play our own stuff. We tried writing a song and we liked it and we picked up from there.
MJ: We’ve been jamming together for like 3 years now, like we were saying these kids are still in high school, like this ones 15(gesturing to Mackenzie) and Ben, 17 so they’re still pretty young to be doing what we’re doing right now
Debut: Okay and when did Andre(St. Dennis) get in?
MJ: We’ve been through over half a dozen drummers, in the last...well 3 years, and no one really seemed to stick. I did this thing called Jam clinic a couple of years ago, its just like band camp pretty much and that’s where I met Andre(St. Dennis). We were put in a band together and he was a sick drummer, and I asked him if he wanted to come jam with us and yeah it worked out.
Debut: Alright, and how did you come up with the name, Monday I Retire?
(A unanimous “O!” from all)
MJ: Well like i said we’ve been playing together for almost 3 years and we only picked a name about 6 months ago. We were basically forced into getting a name, because we applied to get into WestFest and we were like we need a name by so and so date, we had gone through hundreds of names.
Andre M: Alot of bad names like Do You Like Penguins.
MJ: So we were thinking of bad names and one popped into my head, Monday I Retire, sounds kinda cool. We just did a little vote, on who liked the name and it was the one that none of us despised and thats all we were going for
Andre M: Its not like any of us loved the name but no one was against it so yeah. We wish we could say there was any real meaning to it.
MJ: But I had to come up with a cool meaning, so my cool meaning is in life you’re caught in things that you don’t necessarily wanna be doing, like for me its school, engineering, i hate it, music is my life. You get caught up in things that pull you away from things you love, be it work or school and for me, retirement is a stage where all those things they vanish. So for me its just forget work, forget school, forget all that and Monday I retire. For me retirement is peace.
Debut: Very deep. So where do you draw your inspiration for your songs and writing from? Firstly, who writes your songs?
Andre M: Its kind of a group thing.
MJ: Like we said Andre’s only been with us for a while, so when it comes to writing its mainly just the four of us(Mackenzie, MJ, Ben & Andre M).
Andre M: Like there would be one song where say Ben, MJ and Mackenzie are heavily writing or 2 of them(Ben and Mackenzie) would be writing and I barely did or MJ didn’t do too much and there would be another song where MJ and I are writing.
Mackenzie: Ok i have a good depiction for our song writing, ok so our song writing, its kind of like I go get food for everybody and they jam for 15 minutes and I come back down and I hear it and the words just kind of like come out of my mouth and its glues together and its loving and its great.
Andre M: Yeah so food in, lyrics out.
(Laughter in agreement)
Debut: So food seems to be the heart of your music.(laughs)
Mackenzie: Well we’re italian, come on
Andre M: We get alot of food at their house
Debut: Ok, what was your first performance like?
MJ: First talent show
Mackenzie: Yeah first talent show was embarassing
MJ: That was about 3 years ago. We got the video and when we go back and watch it we’re just like, “Woah! People actually liked this? Men we sucked”
Andre M: Yeah but there was enough of a connection in it and enough fun that we wanted to do it again and hopefully we don't look back at what we're doing now and think the same thing.
Debut: and ur first gig with Andre (St Denis)?
Andre M: We played Greenfield’s Pub
Andre S: That was great. Like MJ was saying me and him would jam a couple times and I played with these guys a few times too before but when I was fully in the band, it was really nice how they digged a bunch of stuff, especially from a drummers point of view, I could identify with all these different genres and I could take from it and do my own little drum thing. And yeah first performance with these guys at Greenfield's was definitely a good , and what’s great with these guys is that they always want to improve and so we looked at Greenfield's and said lets do this, lets do that and so we're just getting better pretty much.
MJ: As this full band we’ve only played 3 or 4 shows like we really haven’t played that many live shows. And as Andre was saying we just try to learn everything that we can from every show and progress.
Debut: Thats good, very good. So what is your most memorable performance till date?
Andre S: Today?
(laughter)
Andre M: Yeah it feels like it right now, 'cause it just happened.
Ben: I agree, 'cause I found the mix of us together was really good, the sound guy too.
(Unanimous “Yeah!”)
Mackenzie: The sound guy was awesome. I could hear myself, that doesn't happen very often.
Andre S: Like I said before, we’re improving all the time. We always look back to our shows, 'cause we record all of them.
MJ: It was a good show, the crowd was amazing
Andre M: It was definitely a lot of fun
Debut: Ok. And how many of you are in Carleton University?
Andre S: The three of us, me, Andre and MJ
Debut: And the 2 of you(Ben and Mackenzie) are in high school?
Mackenzie: Yes! I’m in Canterbury for singing
MJ: (Talking about Andre M) He’s crazy, he’s doing a double major in music and biology, he’s doing music(referring to Andre S) and i’m stuck in engineering.
Debut: How do you balance school and music? like when you have to rehearse and what not.
Andre M: Its tough but you make it your priority, like we had to. Before this summer, we all sat down and we decided we’re all gonna have to commit and make music our priority. Its good to put that as apriority and its definitely hard cos we all can’t make every practice but we practice at least once a week, sometimes for 8 hours, sometimes for 3.
Debut: Yeah true, so would you say music is a priority for all of you?
Mackenzie: Yes! But don’t tell my mum.
MJ: Well I think for all of us, it actually is but we won’t admit it.
Andre S: I will.
MJ: Yeah well we might but depends on who were talking to, but deep down inside I know that music is our life.
Debut: So how big do you aspire to be in the music industry?
Ben: I find that trying to get big is the wrong goal and i think its just that you play music, do what you like to do. Play what you feel, and if they like it, then that’s what happens, its all about sharing the music.
MJ: I think whatever comes, we’re gonna keep doing what we love to do, in the way that we love to do it. And whatever comes of that, then all the more, we get a contract or record label then dude that’s awesome. If not then we’re still doing what we love..
Andre M: Like you can’t just do whatever and hope for it goes well, you have to put some effort, and unless you put your stuff out there, nothing’s gonna happen. I mean you could have written the greatest song in the world but unless your out there performing for people, you’re not gonna get anywhere but luckily we love playing shows and we do what we can to keep up with playing shows but yeah we’re definitely not trying to do it in an organized laid out way, but yeah it’s like MJ said its something we enjoy and if something comes of it, great but we’re gonna be enjoying it whether or not.
MJ: We’re definitely not trying to explode and become the next Jonas Brothers
We’re the farthest thing from that.
Debut: Ok so on that note, what do you think of the current state of the music industry?
Andre S: I will.
MJ: Yeah well we might but depends on who were talking to, but deep down inside I know that music is our life.
Debut: So how big do you aspire to be in the music industry?
Ben: I find that trying to get big is the wrong goal and i think its just that you play music, do what you like to do. Play what you feel, and if they like it, then that’s what happens, its all about sharing the music.
MJ: I think whatever comes, we’re gonna keep doing what we love to do, in the way that we love to do it. And whatever comes of that, then all the more, we get a contract or record label then dude that’s awesome. If not then we’re still doing what we love..
Andre M: Like you can’t just do whatever and hope for it goes well, you have to put some effort, and unless you put your stuff out there, nothing’s gonna happen. I mean you could have written the greatest song in the world but unless your out there performing for people, you’re not gonna get anywhere but luckily we love playing shows and we do what we can to keep up with playing shows but yeah we’re definitely not trying to do it in an organized laid out way, but yeah it’s like MJ said its something we enjoy and if something comes of it, great but we’re gonna be enjoying it whether or not.
MJ: We’re definitely not trying to explode and become the next Jonas Brothers
We’re the farthest thing from that.
Debut: Ok so on that note, what do you think of the current state of the music industry?
Andre S: Its about the world of thought. You know you have your major labels, you have your independent labels, and that really englobes the music industry in Canada now, because music is throughout the world but you have to remember that Canada is only the 5th most popular country for music in the world, so it is hard but you can find your niches anywhere. So its definitely that you have to find your niche as a musician and as a band. There’s definitely some things I don’t like about the music industry, the business side, it’s a hard business to get into and you know we try to do our own thing like MJ was saying and we’ll keep on doing our own thing and hope that would work out.
Debut: What genre would you say your music is under?
MJ: Well for us it’s hard to label something that we’ve developed. Like in my opinion there’s no real genre, it’s good music and bad music, those are the 2 main genres in my head. So in my opinion its good music.
Andre S: Its just us, MJ, Ben, Mack, Andre, that’s us you know.
MJ: Its hard putting labels on something, like even on our myspace page we had to put a genre, we put rock/pop/blues and even just putting that I felt bad because we’re a little bit of this, a little bit of that.
Debut: Yeah I agree, I can’t place it, all the songs have different elements.
Andre M: And I think that’s good in a way, ‘cause the stuff we’ve been writing now, we haven’t really felt like we’ve been forced to go any way and we have songs that do sound a lot folky and songs sounding alot heavier and songs alot "bluesier". I think we’re looking forward to being able to chase after different music and come up with stuff from all over the place. I really appreciate all these guys musical taste, ‘cause they all really vary and they appreciate how much different styles are out there to listen to. And they all do love different stuff, that’s why it’s so fun jamming with these guys, like you’ll come up with a song idea and they’ll all like it and they throw in all these curveballs that you never would have thought of.
Andre S: And it’s discovery, definitely a discovery of each other not just music, and discovering the music that we all individually like.
Debut: Ok cool. How much do your parents support you?
Mackenzie: They don’t charge us rent, and they feed us and they hug us(laughs)
Andre M: And they don’t care if I leave my bass amp and keyboard in their house, for a month. They’ve definitely been very supportive. MJ’s parents are very supportive. His dad owns a whole bunch of guitars which helps too.
MJ: My dad’s been playing for years and he’s got many guitars and that’s how i got into it. I’m fortunate enough to have a bunch of guitars to choose from. That’s how my parents support me. My dad really wants me to be doing this, my mum not so much, that’s why i’m in engineering. But our parents as a whole they help. They come out to shows, and basically their basement is a jam spot(referring to the Di Millos) like we’re really fortunate to have such a perfect spot to jam.
Andre M: Shout out to my mum and dad are very supportive, love you mum and dad.
Debut: Well that’s all the questions I have for you guys. Do you have anything else to say?
MJ: We were recently in the studio, all of June we were at the studio. Recording our debut EP, the EP is called Worn and Reeling, it’ll be out in september, and we’re looking to have an album release party sometime in october. But if you look on our myspace and facebook, we’ll throw on a bunch of details on there. So that’s the EP. September 21st is our next show, it’s at Mavericks, its with Take me to the pilot, they’re a band from Winnipeg, The Bypass, The Authors, Arms of the girl and Alexy & the guys in the back. We play at 9, doors open at 7, so come out to that. EP again dropping mid september, I can’t freaking wait for that. The EP is called Worn and Reeling and we’ll be giving it away at just $5. Anything else to plug.
Mackenzie: Dean!
MJ: Thank you Dean, of Gallery studios. If you ever want to record go there. The dude is a complete genius.
Mackenzie: Best place in the world and they let you sleep on the couches if your tired.
(everyone laughs)
MJ: Its hard putting labels on something, like even on our myspace page we had to put a genre, we put rock/pop/blues and even just putting that I felt bad because we’re a little bit of this, a little bit of that.
Debut: Yeah I agree, I can’t place it, all the songs have different elements.
Andre M: And I think that’s good in a way, ‘cause the stuff we’ve been writing now, we haven’t really felt like we’ve been forced to go any way and we have songs that do sound a lot folky and songs sounding alot heavier and songs alot "bluesier". I think we’re looking forward to being able to chase after different music and come up with stuff from all over the place. I really appreciate all these guys musical taste, ‘cause they all really vary and they appreciate how much different styles are out there to listen to. And they all do love different stuff, that’s why it’s so fun jamming with these guys, like you’ll come up with a song idea and they’ll all like it and they throw in all these curveballs that you never would have thought of.
Andre S: And it’s discovery, definitely a discovery of each other not just music, and discovering the music that we all individually like.
Debut: Ok cool. How much do your parents support you?
Mackenzie: They don’t charge us rent, and they feed us and they hug us(laughs)
Andre M: And they don’t care if I leave my bass amp and keyboard in their house, for a month. They’ve definitely been very supportive. MJ’s parents are very supportive. His dad owns a whole bunch of guitars which helps too.
MJ: My dad’s been playing for years and he’s got many guitars and that’s how i got into it. I’m fortunate enough to have a bunch of guitars to choose from. That’s how my parents support me. My dad really wants me to be doing this, my mum not so much, that’s why i’m in engineering. But our parents as a whole they help. They come out to shows, and basically their basement is a jam spot(referring to the Di Millos) like we’re really fortunate to have such a perfect spot to jam.
Andre M: Shout out to my mum and dad are very supportive, love you mum and dad.
Debut: Well that’s all the questions I have for you guys. Do you have anything else to say?
MJ: We were recently in the studio, all of June we were at the studio. Recording our debut EP, the EP is called Worn and Reeling, it’ll be out in september, and we’re looking to have an album release party sometime in october. But if you look on our myspace and facebook, we’ll throw on a bunch of details on there. So that’s the EP. September 21st is our next show, it’s at Mavericks, its with Take me to the pilot, they’re a band from Winnipeg, The Bypass, The Authors, Arms of the girl and Alexy & the guys in the back. We play at 9, doors open at 7, so come out to that. EP again dropping mid september, I can’t freaking wait for that. The EP is called Worn and Reeling and we’ll be giving it away at just $5. Anything else to plug.
Mackenzie: Dean!
MJ: Thank you Dean, of Gallery studios. If you ever want to record go there. The dude is a complete genius.
Mackenzie: Best place in the world and they let you sleep on the couches if your tired.
(everyone laughs)
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