What do you consider to be the darkest piece of music you’ve ever heard?
This has changed over the course of time so I’ll bring it back to the first piece of music that felt really dark. In high school I came up in the hardcore scene and I remember the day my friend put on Zao’s “Lies of Serpents, A River of Tears”. The minute Daniel Weyandt whispers “Your eyes…search for me” it felt really dark. This didn’t feel like your run of the mill hardcore band. This was much, much darker.
How would you characterize your own music?
I originally started writing this music because I missed this sound from my younger days. So basically, it’s music for the 17 year old version of myself.
What are your musical aspirations?
This is such a hard question to answer because it changes all the time. Current music aspirations include being able to continue to make records, play the festival circuit and being able to sustain ourselves financially, emotionally and spiritually through our music.
What are your main musical inspirations?
Musically speaking, it’s a combination of the underground scene from the 80s and 90s, as well as bands from modern times. Some notable albums: Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation, My Bloody Valentine - Isn't Antying, DIIV - Oshin and Charlie Sexton - Pictures For Pleasure.
What are your main goals in life?
To continue to see, meet new people, see friends and experience the world through music. Japan and Europe are definitely high up there for places I want to experience next.
What motivates you to create?
Inspiration can happen at a moment’s notice for me. I might see or experience something out in the wild that makes me feel a certain way. Those feelings from said experience will inspire a song. Something will start looping in my head. Usually a melody and I’ll work on it until it sounds like it does in my head. I can get a high from the final result. Music and song is the way feelings sound to me. The experiences that motivate me to create are so unique to that exact period of time in my life, that I can’t repeat it.
Are you more of an early bird or a night owl?
Despite what some of us in the band would say, the entire band are morning people. I don’t know if this is a good or a bad thing!
Besides music, what other art forms would you like to explore?
I really enjoy digital design and making videos. Madison makes these incredible mini comics of characters saying super funny things.
Which is the very first record that had a big impact on you?
Mystery Machine - Glazed. At one point in my early to mid teens it’s the only album I listened to all day. The actual sound of the band on that album, the song structure, inspired the first band I was ever in, and still inspires me to this day. I couldn’t see it at the time, but I thank the musical gods this album fell into my life when it did. It set me up to be a better player and songwriter. At the time I first got into that record, most kids in my class could not wrap their minds around ‘Glazed’. I felt all alone on an island with that record at times, because it was almost impossible to connect with other kids on music. I remember times like some kid on the bus asking: “Hey what are you listening to in your head phones?” 30 seconds of listening to Glazed in my headphones and you could see the kid’s mind getting utterly warped. It challenged everything they listened too. Back then, there were no streaming sites for kids to experience all sorts of music, it was all based off of one’s CD collection. Most kids had 10 to 30 CDs and that was it. Along comes Glazed challenging all of that… Another cool thing about ‘Glazed’ is that the album’s songs have such memorable, rich sounding vocal lines. The choruses are extremely memorable but not in a cheesy anthemic kind of way. This really set the tone for a lot of Canadian bands like ourselves for example. On our US tours, I’ve had a slew of US bands mention that they noticed Canadian bands having these kinda melodies or choruses despite the wall of guitars or noisey musical parts underneath…and when asked how or why I always, always ask them if they ever heard Mystery Machine’s ‘Glazed’ LP…
What is the best decade for music?
This is based on my mood or current inspirations at the time. In one instance, I may say mid to late 80s underground, in another I could suggest the 90s or current times just with all the music we are so spoiled to be able to listen to these days. Honestly, to me, it’s all just awesome music. One decade inspiring or revolting the following decade…
What do your future plans include?
We just released our new record ‘Thirteen Moons’ and are making plans to tour, working out some stuff with some festivals once things open up again this year. I also have two records in the bag we are currently working on in the meantime while we wait…
Thirteen Moons is out now via Blew//Rose
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Did You Die
All questions answered by Richie Felix Alexander
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