Subject: Band About To Rise To New Heights? - An Interview with Chris from The Livid
theo
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posted on 2003-5-11 at 12:55
Band About To Rise To New Heights? - An Interview with Chris from The Livid
Ok guys, thought you might appreciate my posting of this interview I conducted with Chris a couple of months ago, it was included in the school
magazine I write for and edit. Enjoy.
Last issue The Livid was featured in a short article titled "Three Top Bands To Look Out For This Year". Well after a short e-mail
correspondence with Chris, Writer and Guitarist for the band, he very willingly accepted my request to do a short interview with him. These were the
results of my persistent and nagging ramblings, please appreciate that this interview was about the music for a change!
On your site you have a request for all good singers to step forward and audition for your band, how were the responses to that?
WE HAD A LOT OF RESPONSES TO THAT REQUEST. I'D RECEIVE A COUPLE OF E-MAILS
EVERYDAY REGARDING AUDITIONS.
Do/did you have a preference between male and female singers to fill this position? At the moment you are all male...
WE WERE DEFINITELY IN SEARCH OF A MALE SINGER. THE LIVID HAS BEEN A BAND WITH A CERTAIN STYLE FOR 6 YEARS NOW. TO CHANGE THAT STYLE BY TAKING ON A
FEMALE VOCALIST WOULD'VE BEEN A LITTLE TOO WEIRD FOR ME. ALTHOUGH I SECOND GUESS MYSELF EVERYTIME I HEAR THAT EVANESCENCE BAND.
The 3 songs up on your mp3.com site are now taking a definite form, is this the sound you will be working towards for now and in the future?
YEAH, THAT'S OUR SOUND.
With the addition of another singer, how will this help you to progress?
IT'LL HELP US MOVE FORWARD TO THE NEXT LEVEL WITHOUT FEAR. WITH THE OLD SINGER IT WAS ALWAYS A CASE OF WHETHER OR NOT HE WOULD JUST QUIT ONE
DAY AND GO BACK TO SCHOOL. THOSE WORRIES ARE LONG GONE.
Between your 'old' and 'new' band, which do you feel to be the better?
THE NEW BAND IS DEFINITELY BETTER. THE MUSICIANS ARE ALL MORE EXPERIENCED AND MUCH MORE DEDICATED TO WHAT THEY DO. THE OLD BAND USED TO REHEARSE 2
TO 3 TIMES A MONTH. THE NEW BAND REHEARSES 2 TO 3 TIMES A WEEK. WE'RE MUCH BETTER LIVE THAN THE OLD BAND WAS. THE OLD BAND WAS MORE OF A HIGH
SCHOOL BAND WHO HAPPENED TO HAVE A GOOD PRODUCER, AND THEREFORE REALLY GOOD RECORDINGS. IT WAS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE FOR THE OLD BAND TO RE-CREATE THE
SONGS LIVE.
In my view, at the moment, you are almost what could be described as "a faceless band", with little info. and no pictures of yourselves up
on your site at all, what's your response to that observation?
I AGREE, BUT THAT'S ONLY TEMPORARY. MY PRIORITY FOR THE LAST LITTLE WHILE HAS BEEN TO GET THE BAND UP AND RUNNING AGAIN AND RECORD A DEMO THAT
COULD GET US A RECORD DEAL. NOW THAT THAT'S ALL RUNNING SMOOTHLY THE WEB-SITE IS THE NEXT THING ON THE LIST. WE SHOULD HAVE SOMETHING UP IN A
COUPLE WEEKS.
How old are all you guys?
JUSTIN (voice) IS 23, ADAM (drums) IS 25, CHRISTIAN (bass) IS 25 AND I'M 20.
Being based in Canada, have you found it easier or more difficult to get recognition for your works, than you think you would have if you were based
over here in the UK?
I'M NOT SURE ABOUT WHETHER IT WOULD BE EASIER BEING IN THE UK, BUT IT WOULD DEFINITELY BE A LOT EASIER BEING IN THE USA. HOWEVER, OUR MANAGERS
HAVE REALLY GOOD CONTACTS DOWN THERE, SO GETTING OUR STUFF LISTENED TO GOES WITHOUT MUCH EFFORT. BUT AS FAR AS BUILDING A FAN BASE GOES, IT'S
DEFINITELY MUCH EASIER TO DO IN THE USA. THERE A JUST WAY MORE PEOPLE THERE. OUR STYLE OF MUSIC IS MUCH MORE POPULAR THERE THAN IT IS HERE.
How well known are you in Canada right now?
BARELY KNOWN AT ALL.
Is the Internet going to have been key in providing for a base from which your band can stand?
DEFINITELY. OUR INTERNET FAN BASE IS QUITE LARGE. WITHOUT THE NET WE REALLY WOULDN'T HAVE ANY FANS AT ALL.
What are your views on the distribution of mp3s?
THEY'RE GREAT.
How long have you been writing?
6 YEARS.
Where does all the aggression come from?
JUST REGULAR EVERYDAY STUFF. SAME PROBLEMS EVERYBODY FACES, SAME WAY EVERYBODY FEELS EVERY NOW AND THEN. I JUST CHOOSE TO WRITE ABOUT IT AND HOLD
NOTHING BACK.
Your music can be compared to the likes of Incubus and the Lost Prophets amongst many other bands, what would you say were the bands that have
influenced you the most?
RUFIO, FINGER ELEVEN, METALLICA, TOOL, A PERFECT CIRCLE, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE.
Your band has quite a raw sound, any comments on that?
OUR "RAW" SOUND COMES PRETTY MUCH FROM USING ONE GUITAR PART WHICH I DOUBLE IN THE STUDIO, ONE BASS TRACK AND SOME DRUMS. THE VOCALS ARE
PRETTY ELABORATE. A LOT OF TRACKING GOING ON THERE. BUT OTHER THAN THAT WE'RE FOCUSED ON MAKING THE SONGS SOUND THE WAY THEY DO WHEN WE PLAY
THEM LIVE.
Where do you record your songs? They seem to be of pretty reasonable recording quality...
YEAH. OUR PRODUCER KICKS ASS. HIS NAME IS MURRAY DAIGLE AND HIS STUDIO IS CALLED MDS RECORDING. HE'S LOCATED IN AJAX (HOME OF SUM41). HIS
RATES ARE GREAT CONSIDERING HOW GOOD IT SOUNDS. HE DOES ALL THE ENGINEERING, PRODUCING, MIXING AND MASTERING. HE'S AWESOME. WE ACTUALLY FOUND
JUSTIN THROUGH ONE OF MURRAY'S CONNECTIONS.
So how come Adam is the only one without a girlfriend? - You don't have to answer that.
ACTUALLY ADAM JUST STARTED GOING OUT WITH A GIRL LAST WEEK.
Describe yourself in one word.
IMPOSSIBLE
Describe your band in one word.
THELIVID
What are your plans for the future?
FORTUNE AND FAME.
Thanks greatly for giving up some of your time to answering these,
Theo.
By Theo Pape
Check out www.mp3.com for some music by two top bands mentioned here: Evanescence and Rufio, along with The Livid itself; among many other superb
bands, both signed and unsigned. Try stopping by www.allmusic.com for a huge archive of well-written musical-info as well.
P.S. I could only include the text from the .pub page, so concequently the interview has lost a touch of its impact in comparison with the
original, however it still reads well and is only really a cosmetic 'problem' - I'm such a bloody perfectionist!
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posted on 2003-5-11 at 13:03
Wicked
Thanks for posting that, Theo
Al McShort
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posted on 2003-5-11 at 13:26
yeah that was cool
Al
Mark
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posted on 2003-5-11 at 14:28
Thanks Theo, thats awesome
www.westpointrock.com
theo
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posted on 2003-5-11 at 16:09
That's cool guys, here's the "Three Top Bands To Look Out For This Year" article I made reference to as well (just text
again - and is also quite a dated article now).
The Livid - A considerably talented, young rock group with Canadian roots: having started out as a High School band in 1997, Chris Schembri, seemingly
the 'owner' of - and writer/guitarist for - the band, decided to stop his collaborations with all his band mates of '97 and about a
year ago re-formed under the same name with new band members. Not only do the styles between songs change so dramatically that you're sometimes
not sure if you are still listening to the same band, but the versatility of Justin's (the lead singer's) voice makes you wonder if you
are even listening to the same voice. As they have not yet & 'made it' this apparent variety should not cause too much of a problem
(if you can even call it that), but should rather give them a chance to discover their strengths and allow them to focus on improving in their most
suited musical direction. Although not yet signed up to a major record label, they have put together two CD's of some of their work so far,
which is available for purchase on their website (www.thelivid.com) by mail order. They are looking for a new singer, so whoever gets that privilege
will have a very bright future indeed. If that doesn't convince you, then it should also be pointed out that many of their songs resemble the
music of Incubus and perhaps even the Lost Prophets... Also check out: http://www.kickassriff.com/view.php3?id=i-thelivid.html where a short interview
with Chris can be found.
Steel Train - Sharing styles with the likes of such great bands as Raidiohead and a resemblance to Hundred Reasons (if not just in their appearance),
this band already has potential. Upon listening you are treated to a relaxing and well-balanced band with a deepness in their songs to match. It being
difficult to determine the history of the band (mostly due to the fact that they have only very recently formed), I will rather look towards the
future. Having already been signed to Tooth and Nail records, they are in a very strong position. Tooth and Nail described themselves with an excerpt
from their site: "Tooth & Nail Records is an independent record label based in Seattle, Washington. In the 7 or so years that we have been a
company we have put out around 200 releases." They have been very important in signing up new bands with spotted talent and in marketing those
bands to new heights. Other bands also signed up with Tooth and Nail include great Emo scores from the likes of The Juliana Theory and Further Seems
Forever (their previous lead-singer was Chris Carrabba of Dashboard Confessional). You can check out all of these bands and many more at:
www.toothandnail.com. Steel Train's first 6 track EP "For You My Dear" was released on the 28th of January, this year. For more
information drop by their site at www.steeltrainrock.com
The Rocket Summer - Bryce Avary created this quite literally, one-man band back in 2000 at only 17, when he recorded his first self-titled EP,
"The Rocket Summer". He was a solo singer, creating the illusion of an entire band, stretching his talents from the perfectly timed
chiming of bells to beautifully sang lyrics, written by none other than himself. He was able to achieve this when he was given the privilege of some
time in Arlington's Deedle's Room Recording (studio) - equipped with a 24 track recorder and a lot of dedication, he set about creating
his first EP, which would soon be used to attract some of the biggest record labels (and certainly me!) into giving him more than just one listen. He
is currently on tour with The Adventure Club: the ironic thing being that he now needs a band to recreate his works on the live-set to the standard to
which he had recorded them on his own in the first place. That process of the creation of a one-man band has links with Moby's way of working,
however what is so impressive in the case of Avary, apart from the fact that he is very young, is how he manages to convince us so surely that he must
have a band around him, unlike Moby who, to me, almost wants to make it apparent that he is sampling and mixing all of his own instruments together.
From some photos on his site (www.therocketsummer.com) we can see support from the likes of such big names as Andrew W.K. and Rivers Cuomo (lead
singer of Weezer). "Calendar Days" was released this February 25th, under The Militia Group label and has already been acclaimed by CMJ as
one of the "top 100 records to look out for in 2003" this 'kid' has a very promising future!
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posted on 2003-5-11 at 17:03
"band about to rise to new hights" bahh stop being so sceptical of course they are
"i can smell a pig coming so i stay on my toes" The Coup
LostCauseCrew
Hyde
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posted on 2003-5-11 at 17:12
Gonna check those other two bands out now
theo
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posted on 2003-5-11 at 17:31
To be honest with you, they're very different to The Livid, and i know pep who like Livid, but neither of the other two. The story of Avery is
truely inspirational, and encouraged me to pick up my drum stick and start bashing some skins! But I have compiled a list of about 40 top bands of
this year in my opinion, so I will post that as soon as i have sorted it a bit (i.e. cut it down to about 20), all have music online, a lot of them on
mp3.com, so i will hopefully be able to post links to some of their songs too. I'm thinking of starting up a music magazine, perhaps just an
E-zine, however this will have to wait for about a month or so... If anyone is interested in writing/reporting/edditing it alongside me, then it could
be a very good investment of your time, depending on just how far I can take this. I think it will be based on the reporting of smaller/unsigned
bands, such as The Livid, Accidental Superhero, or even a band from my own country: Joski. My e-mail address is: 9pape@uppingham.co.uk (link to it is
below anyway) so contact me if you think you could help.
p.s. getting really into Westpoint, so thanks Mark for pointing them out!
heh, yeah i got that song, i'll have a look on kazaa later cheers boss
LostCauseCrew
theo
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posted on 2003-5-12 at 09:25
quotation:Originally posted by Jeff K
You were very well spoken in that interview Chris. Then again, I wouldn't expect any less from you.
Excellent job.
It's good to hear you say that, thank a lot! That's ine thing that really annoys me when reading music mags is that they're always
swearing and using slang when it's just not neccesary and makes you feel like you're an immature 'tw*t' to read such badly
written 's**t'...
